Thrifting & A Syroco Tale

I did a little thrifting this past weekend. My mom & I went to quite a few garage/estate sales, but we didn't find much to speak of. I didn't buy a whole lot, but I wanted to share the goodies that I did get anyway.

I got the vintage gray/blue tablecloth for $10 at an antique mall. I love the color & it'll match my dining room perfectly.

I also got the pretty table runner for $3 and sweet little leaf dish, also for $3, at an estate sale. Can't go wrong for 6 bucks, right?

Then we found something funny at a garage sale. In order for you to understand why this is funny, I'll have to give you a little background.

When I was growing up, our home was, how shall I say it, oh...ok...gaudy?

Tacky?

Garish?

My mom really liked all that gold decor from the 70s/80s. Syroco. Have you ever heard of it?

I think Syroco was to her back then what Marshalls/Home Goods is to us today. With the exception, of course, that Syroco sold lots of gold plastic "stuff".

Anyway, we have had many, many garage sales over the years and whenever my sisters & I would help clean out my mom & dad's house, we would always have to convince my mom to sell some of her Syroco collection. She always did, albeit reluctantly.

After all these years, my decorating style has changed. I have adopted a love for cottage style. So, what am I seeing everywhere in blogland & on Ebay & Etsy?

Vintage Syroco pieces, all spray painted! I'll see something & giggle, remembering that my mom had that exact piece. Then I'm envious because it's been spray painted, and it looks great and well, my mom had that exact piece!

Ok, back to the story. My mom & I find this at one of the garage sales.



I pick it up and look it over. She sees me & now I know it's coming. Mom comes over & says,

"You made me get rid of all my Syroco, now you're looking at it!!!"

Busted! Sheepishly, I tell her that I might want to buy it & paint it, however, I have no idea where I would put it. She agrees, that I should buy it and paint it. She also adds that if I can't find a place to put it, she'll take it. I look at the price. $1. Yep, that's one. whole. dollar. SOLD!

Oh if you could only have seen the face of my husband when I walked in the house with this. (We were high school sweethearts so he knows my mom's love of all things golden and Syroco and my one time distaste for it.)

To add a little more to this tale, I was checking out Etsy just for fun & came across this same exact piece, spray painted fire engine red, for $42! Can you believe it?

I'm yet to determine what color to paint it & where it'll go, but for $1 who cares!Maybe I can sell it for $42 on Etsy. LOL Don't worry, I could never do that to my mother!

I'm linking this up over at Debbie's Garage Salen Partay! If you get a chance, take a look at all the great thrifty finds. Debbie is a sweetheart & you'll surely enjoy her blog too!



*****Edited to add: I spray painted it blue. While I was waiting to see where to hang it (& if I would even like it) I had the piece sitting atop my living room ottoman. Apparently, my son managed to somehow fall on it, and broke the thing clear in half! I'm not sure what fate this thing will have now. I don't know about gluing plastic, but I just thought you'd like to know that the Syroco gods have certainly cursed me. LOL Or maybe it was my mom! LOL