Sent Packing Vintage Style

Today, I went out on my last outing until I leave to go home from Brighton.  So, I walked back to the cool vintage coffee and tea place on the corner of Queens Parade called Eclectea and took in the morning for an hour or so.
I also went back to have a look at a suitcase I had spotted while I was there with Mum and Dad on Saturday.  But they were in a hurry and needed to hit the road before the traffic blocked up the highways between here and Logan City.  Not wanting to hold them up, I didn't want to make them late and let the suitcase I had my eye on go.  
Usually I hate doing this - and this was no exception.  I hated letting the suitcase go; in case somebody else snapped it up.  So, I went back today and found it there tucked away on top of the change room with other suitcases and old bags waiting for me to buy it.  However, there was no price tag on it.  So, the guy at there photographed it and sent it off to the owner and we got a great price of $30 for it!  What a wonderful price for such a lovely suitcase.  I snapped it up straight away and am so happy I did.  
Isn't it a lovely piece?  I'm not going to travel with it as it's would never survive the abuse of travelling around places or going through customs anywhere... so I'm going to use it as a storage container in my house.  So, if I have it out, and somebody comes over, I just need to close the lid and it looks cool and funky as it is without looking like it's storing anything; and you can't see through it, so you can't really know what's in there.  And while this is true, I'll put a tag on it - sort of like a travel tag - to list what's inside it, so it looks like it's about to go travelling.  The more there is, the more tags I'll attach... cool eh?  Well, until my next post, happy bargain hunting!

Eclectea Collections... and Coffee

Today, I went for a walk.  I have found that around here, places are a little further away than they are at Logan and so, it pays to plan ahead and make sure to get to where you want to go early. 
I wanted to go to this place called Eclectea Vintage Tea Shop on the corner of Queens Parade, not 10 minutes walk from my brother's house.  Now, I thought that all it served was tea and coffee - and may be the odd home-made baked munchies - but I was wrong.  This place is an antiques store full of goodies of the non-food varieties.  It surprised me to the point that I thought it was two separate stores at first; well, until I saw the doorway through to the coffee area.
I found all kinds of things in Eclectea I haven't seen anywhere in a long time.  There were complete collections of matching canisters for flour, tea, coffee and sugar.  I found biscuit jars and cake tins, bread bins, clothes, old books, vinyls from the 1970's and some great Glo-Mesh bags that were not over-priced as they are in great condition, without a tile out of place and some were in their original boxes.
I picked up a double-vinyl set of 'History of British Pop'  and a gorgeous two-tone teapot.  The vinyl was $5.00 and the teapot was $10.  There were other teapots but they were much more expensive; but when I found this teapot, I found it much more appealing as it was just the most lovely colours.  
This place is well worth a visit on most any day.  But do keep an eye on your budget, as it's easy to let it run away on you; it's not a charity store... it's a proper antiques store where things have been valued and cared for.  Until my next post, happy bargain hunting!

Sandgate Life Line Scores!

Yep!  I'm on holidays again, and there's a Life Line Charity store here in Sandgate/Brighton.  Today being my shopping day, I thought it would be nasty of me not to have a good look at the place and see what they have in their store.  So, I took off early on the 312 WIZ bus and arrived just after the place opened.
From the outside, it looks small, but it's like a Tardis on the inside... much bigger!  However, like the area, I found this bargain store is anything but full of bargains.  I was looking for a dress to wear, and didn't find anything that was under $20 that was worth it.  The dresses were either too big, too small or too trashy; and they weren't worth the price tag.  They had plenty of shoes, scarves, hats and other items; and yet were lacking in coin purses and handbags.  I saw some but they were hung about the place on all kinds of hooks and not in their own little area where people could look at them on their own.  I found no Glo-mesh purses or bags (it's as though they don't exist) and a lot of the jewellery is just cheap, crappy stuff as well.

However, amongst all the things I didn't like, I found two things that were diamonds in the rough.  There was a bag that was up high on a shelf where nobody could get to it; and I had to ask to look at it.  And then, there was a large Paua Shell from New Zealand which I loved straight away at the bottom bargain price of $4.00.  The bag was going for $8.00... and it was worth it too.  As with any bag, it was a little worn, but the handles were in great shape; as were the insides.  So, I bought it for the condition of those two things as well as it being able to be used when I go to volunteer work next time.  Well, until my next post, happy bargain hunting!

I just found this site about the Bean Pole bag!  I'm stoked!  This bag is a big hit in Asia; and so I thought to share this with you guys. :D

Bean Pole Bag Review