good 'n planty

Dishes won't seem so hard to tackle if you're drying them with these sweet dishtowels.  

Floursack hand-printed dishtowels, $12.00, indieNC 

[Via] 

Say what you will, I am a shameless Target fan. From the pop-y commercials to the nice packaging to the end-of-the-rack sales, I never had a better time shopping for hand soap. ( I enjoy Method's Sweet Water.)

Anyways, this explains why I was surprised and delighted to find Target merch at my local Goodwill Thrift store... I was out looking for kitsch additions to my apartment and left with some sleek matted picture frames- but noted a selection of those over-the-toilet cabinets I'd been considering, some nice outdoor furniture, a decent tv cabinet- and ipod accessories(!?). A week later, I met my parents at the same Goodwill to show them the fine new selection of housewares- happy to find all new stuff since the week before. My parents scored a dresser for my nephew for $25 and I got a beautiful bookshelf for $12. I stopped there, worried that these items marked "Surplus" actually meant "battered, chipped, broken, and worthless".

But after reading this article, via notmartha.org, I can go back to Goodwill worry-free. It seems that Target is working on greening up it's act and is teaming up with Goodwill to offer it's leftovers to Goodwill shoppers... although beware- turns out Goodwill marks some items up from the Target clearance price. Overall, I'd say you're bound to find a bargain on a basic (such as a bookcase) right next to that vintage set of encyclopedias.

Egglings:

Herbs that grow from a ceramic egg, comes in herb or mint, $10

Matchstick Gardens: 

Tear a "match" from the book, toss it in a pot of dirt, and expect a surprise of flowers or herbs! $6.00 

Rhodia Treasure Box:

 My sister Laura always has one of these tiny books of graph paper on hand- helpful for lists, spur of the moment ideas, or sketching an inspirational garden plan, $15

Campfire Tealight

Cozy up by the campfire, even when you're too old for camp, $12