What a Great Week for Thrifting!!

Disclaimer: This is a pic heavy post.

We're a family of thrifting. It all started with my brother, Curt. Many years ago, we all became jealous of his fantastic Goodwill/Salvation Army/"wherever" finds and the obsession began for us all. This boy even "found" a Big Green Egg that someone had dumped--it served us EXTREMELY well for years in Mother's backyard until he busted it into a gazillion pieces while trimming tree limbs a few weeks ago. We're really going to miss that smoker. Did I get off track already?? Okay, I'm back.

I am so very exited to share with y'all all the treasures we discovered during Father's Day week. There are quite a few so I'll jump right in.

After a lovely Father's Day "linner" (lunch-dinner) with the gang at in Griffin, we decided to drop by Goodwill. Now I really should have been driving to Mother's, but I couldn't resist the call of thrifting. So off we went all 7 of us, including MiniMe (3 year old great niece and first girl in the family since me), and we managed to purchase a few things.

The first (and best) deal is a 58 x 58 table for Nephew #2 (aka My Son/Reggie). He has been searching/waiting for the "perfect" dining table (his mother, Riley, has been teasing him for months claiming that she was gifting him with her current dining room furniture, but that hasn't quite happened yet--and it doesn't need to now!!).

Since I'm a junkie for dishes, kitchen gadgets, antique-ish items, I rushed to the homewares section and the first thing I spotted was this:

This stainless steel fish poacher was only $6!! It's missing the rack, but I can envision so many more uses for it without the rack. A beautifully roasted pork loin with all the trimmings, a nice serving of root veggies and herbs just waiting to be devoured or a pan filled with just-grilled meats. I could go on and on about my new treasure, but I have more goodies to share.

Next I found this stainless steel tray/boat. I'll use it for cookies, nuts, tea lights display (with sand or salt), after dinner mints, etc. Well worth the $2 investment.

Speaking of cookies, I picked up a set of tins for 69 cents. Just the perfect size for a few dozen treats making them oh so easy to transport. I'm actually using the square one to transport sushi and spring rolls to an outdoor concert this weekend.
My friend, Smiley Eats, loves vintage bowls, so I was happy to find something for him as well. A whopping 65 cents (I think)!!!
My final find was the cutest little pitcher, which I'll use for syrup. Isn't it adorable?
MiniMe discovered a Tonka fire truck, a Winnie the Pooh almost as large as she is, and a bracelet that she selected all by herself. So now, I'm on a roll for more finds during my visit with Mother in the country. We took a little trip to Dublin on Monday, so I just HAD to go to Goodwill and immediately scooped up the following items:

Desk lamp - $4

Cabinet hardware - 29 cents - 99 cents

I wasn't quite done, so I drove to Vidalia on Tuesday and stumbled upon these beauties for 69 cents!!! I already own a dozen so I decided to get them for Riley (my sister). Knowing how much I paid for mine (at a discount), I was simply giddy with delight to have found these!! When I checked out, I discovered the darn things were HALF OFF y'all!!! These bowls were 34.5 cents each!!! An absolute steal for $1.48 total!!

Now of course, on my way back to Atlanta, I made a stop at the newest Goodwill in Macon. I was determined that I wouldn't leave empty handed. An Amco stainless steel napkin holder for $1. This will be very useful for patio dining.

I just returned from donating a few items at the Stockbridge Goodwill and I'm now the proud owner of these mini brulee dishes and the perfect little holder for homemade popsicles.

Thank you for allowing me to shove a bunch of pictures down your throat while sharing my little treasures. Next time you're looking for something unique without breaking the bank, don't overlook thrift shops, consignment shops, garage sales, estate sales, and everything in between. You may be surprised by the things you'll discover.

Sheila Denise

Kirkwood Public House - Lamb Burger

Today, I had lunch with nephew #2 (birth order). Over the years, somehow I've managed to convince myself that he's actually my son, because we have so much in common. Our joint love of lamb is what brought us together for our lunch date. A few weeks ago, I read about a restaurant that offered a slider trio, consisting of a veal, a beef and a lamb burger. Now, as a southern who is absolutely obsessed with meat, I quickly added it to my "restaurants list" in my Blackberry, with the sole intent of taste testing these sliders, that is until I viewed the menu in it's entirety and saw a full-sized lamb burger!!! Right away, I sent #2 a text that we needed to eat there and he was more than happy to oblige. That's another thing I love about him, he's so wide open to being dragged about with his favorite auntie-mommy.

Okay, I guess I should get to the point here, huh?? We agreed to meet at Kirkwood Public House at 11:30 and he arrived early (as usual)--the detour sidetracked me for a few minutes, but he took a seat near the reception area as the employees were setting things in motion (they open at 11:30). While waiting he saw a car screech into a spot near the restaurant entrance. The driver rushed in, saw #2 waiting and promptly asked if he could take his drink order. #2 advised him that he was waiting for someone, but the screech demon urged him to place a drink order. Oh how I wish I had been a few minutes early. This would have been great to witness, but hearing the story was enough to make me laugh hysterically, because I'm a simpleton and I can manage to find humor in almost everything. By the time I arrived, Screech was a cool as a cucumber.

Y'all need to know that #2 is truly a bottomless pit. He had eaten THREE real meals this morning before we met for lunch and swore that he was starving!!! He has youth and metabolism (and exercise) on his side. He ordered chicken tenders & fries as our appy and we both ordered the lamb burger (mine with fries and his with the orzo salad). We snacked on the quite tasty tenders and hand-cut fries while we anxiously awaited our burgers.

Boy oh boy, we were not prepared for the most magnificent lamb burger dining experience. These hand-patted babies were so moist, flavorful and delicious that the only word we could muster out of our full mouths, was DAMN!!!! Now y'all know if you hafta cuss, the food is off-the-charts-some-kinda-good--my official description of KWPH's lamb burger. The caramelized shallots and the mint aioli were the perfect condiments to bring this fantastical piece of heaven to number one status for both of us.

If you're a burger lover, a lamb lover, or have a heck-I'll-try-anything-once streak, then take yourself to the House...right now!!!

Sheila Denise