Five on Friday: Thrift Shopping Hazards

One of my ideas for paid work that would fit into my already busy schedule and would be fun for me is to do some commercial acting. I responded to a call the other day for "unique" home decorators and attached pictures of our home as required. Then there was a questionnaire, including "Which of these shops do you buy most of your home decorating items at?" and a list of major retailers followed.

Whelp, I'm not getting this job, I thought, as I checked "other" and wrote "nearly everything in this home is from the thrift shop."

However, they liked me and set up a Skype interview that went pretty well so we'll see. I'll of course keep you informed but in the meantime here's a Five on Friday list of the top five hazards of thrift shopping:

1. Trying to buy a gift for a friend that you know donates to the thrift shop frequently. (This one time I kept seeing this adorable squirrel cross stitch that I knew a friend of mine would LOVE but I was afraid to get it for her in case she was the one who had brought it in in the first place. I kept seeing it and thinking of her every time so when it was still there on half price day, I bought it anyway. Good news? She'd never seen it before and loved it.)

2. Buying something that your friend donated and then wearing it out to meet her for coffee. On my way out I thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if she was the one that donated this?" She was. We laughed.

3. That thrift shop smell! It's not bad, per se, just very distinct.

4. Purging, donating, forgetting and then bringing the kids shopping there. "HEY MOM! We have a firetruck JUST LIKE THIS at home!!" Uh, no you don't. Not anymore.

5. I've also been on the receiving end of this. I was shopping at the thrift shop down the road from my parents' house when I saw this little wooden drawer. I thought, "I think I made something like that in Industrial Arts when I was in grade school!" Pause. Turned it over and yep, not only was it the one I made, it had this totally embarrassing signature on the bottom. I had to buy it. My mom swears my Dad must have been the one to drop it off.

I'm not even sure what this is supposed to be.

JAMMIN' GINA SAMPAIO (wow.)