a Goodwill costume challenge

For most of the last decade, I've spent the second half of October managing a tent at Nashville's "Boo at the Zoo" trick-or-treating event.  I manage a tent for the main zoo sponsor, where we pass out candy to kids.  Over the years I've enjoyed seeing all the kids show up in their costumes, and I've been impressed at how often the parents dress up too, or the whole family comes in costume.

The parents are obviously not trick-or-treating (the zoo wouldn't give them candy if they tried - our tent does, though!).  So all these adults are dressed up, I can only imagine, for the sheer joy of putting on a costume.  I don't imagine too many of these toddler parents are off to bars or afterparties. (Or are they?)

Anyway, observing all the fun costumes over the years inspired me to want to create my own.

 And it just so happens I know the best source of cheap inspiration...and so the House of Goodwill costume challenge was born.

In 2023, I decided to make my own costume, inspired by whatever I could find at Goodwill.  Here is the result:

This was fun to make!

Except for the headband (that came from Wal-mart - I needed it to glue the star tree-topper to), everything I'm wearing is from Goodwill.

I think it cost me $20-something dollars for all.

I put it on for some photos on Halloween, but I wore it to work and pass out the candy one night.

The next year, 2024, we had just returned from five weeks in Colombia (adopting our daughter), and were just settling in when the zoo job started and I didn't have the time to plan anything.

So this year was the first official year of the Goodwill Costume Challenge.  I told the whole family they had to come up with a costume based on something(s) found at Goodwill.

I have to say, the costumes of everyone (even my husband's who planned his at the eleventh hour and bought everything on Halloween) came out great!  Here they are:

The costumes:

an undead baseball player, an old rich man, a scarecrow and a crazy cat lady.

We even had enough daylight for a photoshoot in the backyard before trick-or-treating.

It turned out to be a fun way for our family to spend time together.  Everyone's costume was his own idea, which I loved.  My son and I based our costume idea off something we found while browsing through Goodwill, my daughter came up with her costume inspiration from the internet, then I took her to the store to find what she needed.  We all helped each other with the shopping and making accessories.

Here's the breakdown of the costumes:

Nothing like the last minute!

So, my husband said he found the cape and mask in a bin of formerly used costumes we have.

He had seen a baseball helmet at Goodwill the day before, but didn't buy it.

When he went back to buy it, it was gone, so he bought this bike helmet and altered it.

He also bought the "baseball" (actually a black pumpkin decoration) at Goodwill.

The rest of the baseball uniform was his from the 1990s.

(See, it DOES pay to hang on to things!) 😆

Total cost of costume: $9.

When I saw this pink bathrobe at Goodwill, I immediately thought it would be perfect for a crazy old cat lady.  I was really happy with how the costume came out!

I bought the bathrobe ($9), leopard slippers ($6), three cats ($5 for all) and hair curlers ($3) at Goodwill.  The haircolor, face makeup and velcro to attach the cats came from WalMart. My friend saved an empty cigarette package for me and I made the cigarette out of a piece of wooden dowel.

It was just over $30 for the whole costume.

My son found this lounging robe at Goodwill, and said he could use it to be "an old rich man."

After he'd already picked it, we saw it had a giant Playboy logo on the back.  So I bought some black stick-on patches at Wal-Mart to cover it (that was a definitely not) and it actually didn't look bad from the back.

I gave him a vintage silky shirt from my closet; his sister made him the huge dollar sign (that we attached to a faux-gold chain) and the pipe (from a piece of dowel and a wine cork). Everything else was his.  Total cost of costume: $7.

My daughter decided to be a scarecrow.  We found the overalls ($9) and t-shirt ($4) at Goodwill.  She also bought the boots at Goodwill (though not for Halloween, but they were perfect!). The hat was my husband's and plaid shirt she borrowed from my son.

She painted the sunflowers on the overalls herself, and the two dahlias on her hat we cut from my garden.

Her outfit was so cute I told her she needs to wear it not just as a Halloween costume!

Total cost of costume: $13.

My son is twenty-five, but everyone always thinks he's sixteen, so his job is take his sister trick-or-treating.  This was her second time going in the U.S., and she loves it!  In Colombia (where both my kids grew up), kids trick-or-treat in stores only.  So it's a much different experience here, and the candy haul is greater. 😉

My husband and I walked the neighborhood with them in costume.  I had three people stop me to tell me how much they loved my cat lady costume.

Since I first had this idea, I've been wanting to plan a Goodwill costume contest on a bigger scale, and with prizes.  I'd love to host a Halloween party where everyone comes in their created costume.  It's challenging, because it's the one time of year that I'm working every night and have to replace myself at the zoo.  So we'll see what happens in the future...

Stay tuned!

I came, I saw, I...don't know...

Well, we did it!  Traveled ten hours to visit the potential dream house for sale in Pennsylvania.  My husband was driving from Tennessee to New York anyway, so I went with him and we took a detour through New Castle to officially look at the house.  We spent the day checking out the house and the town, then the next day he drove on to New York after dropping me off at the Pittsburgh airport to fly home.

And - it the house was EVERYTHING I had hoped it would be.  And then some.  It was a dream house for sure.  In fact, seeing it live made me love it even more.

Not only is this a magnificent house - really, just a giant piece of art - but it has barely been altered since it was built in 1912.  Old house lovers understand what a big deal this is.  Almost all the original parts are still there.  No one painted the woodwork.  No awful renovations to undo.  And the woodwork and floors, etc. are still all in amazing condition.  It is a solid house.  Made out of the best of everything.

I'll share a few highlight pics from my personal tour:

I could hardly believe I was actually standing in front of the house I've looked at in pictures dozens of times.  It is *beautiful.*

There are 16 fireplaces in the house; I was told all work (allegedly).

I was also told the current homeowners (who have lived there 25 years) only ever used a couple of them, because 16 is a lot to take care of if you don't need them (my assumption).

Each one has unique tile patterns.

I believe this one is from a child's room.

The third floor of the house is the servant's quarters.

All through the house these original calling systems are still intact, though I don't think they work anymore.

Just about every room has a beautiful window seat like this.

I couldn't believe what good condition the woodwork was in.

So I found out where the elevator goes to!

I had seen it a photo in one of the solariums on the second floor.

It goes down to the outside, next to the carriage entrance.

"What do you think this is?" the realtor asked us about this untouched contraption in an upstairs bathroom.

Here's a clue: the hole at the top is where your head sticks out.

If your guess was "old school sauna" you would be correct.

This is a sauna heated by about 40 vintage lightbulbs.

I cannot even imagine...

Outside underneath the stone gazebo were two baby deer.

Apparently they are regular visitors.

This was strange, since the house is in the center of town.

And here is the indoor heated pool, with no water (obviously).

We were told it's been in continuous use, but the last time it was drained the owners did not refill as they knew they were planning to sell the house.

Here is a picture of the carriage house from the yard.

The apartment above the garage is a shambles.  (Project!😊)

The landscaping looks like it hasn't been done this year; there is a stone wall in a rectangular shape in the above photo that is full of grass.  I assume there used to be a garden inside.

I can make that happen!

Here is a view of the house from the side yard.

*sigh*

There is a church next on this side of the house.  Not a bad neighbor.

The front porch is quite large and there is beautiful detail (woodwork, stonework, tile) every place your eye goes.

Here is a photo of a room in the carriage house apartment.  It only looks lit because of the flash from my camera.  It was totally dark up there; all the windows were boarded up and there is no electricity turned on.  You can see there is still beautiful woodwork, though!

I wonder how it got to this clearly distressed state?  I think the house went up for auction in the 1960s and the windows may have been taken out then. (?)

The current owners never bothered to restore it as the house was plenty big enough without the huge garage apartment being necessary.

There is a double sided fireplace in the apartment that's viewable from two rooms. 💗

Yes, it was the house of my dreams.  So here's the catch: New Castle.

As it turns out, apparently no one online has anything nice to say about New Castle for a reason.  As we interviewed a lot of random New Castle residents on the city we got a lot of negative feedback.  The main reason?  Drugs.  Apparently there is a significant drug problem in New Castle and all of the issues that go with drugs are problems there.  And we were told that the neighborhood and street that the house is on (apparently one of the better neighborhoods in New Castle) is not good at all.

The problem, according to one lady we spoke with, is that years ago as the original millionaires were abandoning the city and the economy was slowly going downhill, the city council in New Castle allowed many of the bigger old homes to be divided into multiple apartments.  So now instead of the beautiful old houses attracting single family units, it's multiple lower-income families in each house.  And that has changed the feel and atmosphere of the neighborhood as much as you imagine it would.

Many of the apartments on the street are HUD housing, so some of the problem tenants are difficult to relocate.

Not everything everyone had to say was bad though.  But the main consensus: New Castle isn't bad as long as you don't live in the city.  Which is bad news for this house.

I have witnessed right house, horrible location so many times now it's frustrating.

If only people didn't like New Castle because it's small.  Or boring.  I'm sure I could tolerate either of those just fine.  But possibly dangerous?  I'm not sure.  That's the part I'm not too clear on.  It's obviously a somewhat troubled area, but how bad it actually is I'm not too sure.

Meanwhile, I haven't stopped thinking about this house.  Worth it?  I don't know.

an honorable mention

This old house search has been going on for a long time.  A LONG time.  The housing market is awful.  Interest rates are high.  It's been awful for a long time and there hasn't been much to choose from, as far as old house inventory.

Last year I did find one that I felt was a contender.  It was forty minutes from our current home, in a much smaller town, which will probably grow as the rest of Nashville has and become a good investment.

But this house was a real mixed bag, and my husband was not interested.

Would you like to see it?

I really liked the Victorian look and huge porch of this house that was built in 1900.  It sits on almost two acres, and the yard had lots of potential.  Such a big yard, yet it was close enough you could walk to "downtown."  There is also a police station down the block - not a bad neighbor!

Here's the entrance.

So what was weird about this house?  Well, everything.

Apparently this house was purchased several years ago and was remodeled from a single family home to a group home.  It was clear that the only consideration in the renovation was cost of materials - only the cheapest possible materials were used.

I counted at least seven different floorings used (see pic above).

And note the exit sign above the font door - there are commercial signs built in throughout the house.

Other remodeling "highlights:"

all the woodwork in the house was painted white (*sigh*),

many of the old windows were missing and

pocket doors were removed (see above) in an awkward attempt to add another bedroom by putting in a single door.

Of at least five fireplaces that I remember seeing, they all appeared to be blocked and non-functioning.

It was clear that function was the ONLY consideration - beauty didn't seem to be a factor at all.

Above you can see the kitchen layout was totally weird; again, I'm sure whatever was cheapest to do dictated the decision making.  Since this was a group home, there were ovens on both sides of the kitchen.

Here was what was formerly part of a wrap-around outdoor porch, enclosed and turned into a long and narrow sunroom.  A second kitchen was then added.

Upstairs: more white paint and cheap modern flooring.

I didn't post the photo, but the upstairs also has a bathroom with one toilet, two showers and three sinks.

The curb appeal and location/lot of this house are it's best features.  The house is just shy of 4,000 square feet with a separate two car garage and shed, so it also has a good amount of space.

But wow, was the interior all over the place.

According to the realtor, it functioned as a group home for less than two years.  So, all those renovations for what?  I asked the realtor if the remodeler had saved any of the old house features - it's windows or pocket doors or original light fixtures, etc.  She asked and the answer was no.  All that stuff just tossed in a dumpster.

So in the end, there were two main drawbacks.  One was that the house contained almost nothing original.  The second was the price.  This house was listed at $695,000.  That's about $30,000 more than my dream house from the previous post. I know this is Tennessee, but $695,000 for this mess?

I've been looking for a project house, but this project would be EVERYTHING.  It would be sourcing old house features and then putting them back in.  Although the house is move-in ready, everything would need to be undone and then redone.  Which would be kind of fun.  But really expensive, especially considering that the house is WAY overpriced to begin with.

Even I'm not sure I want a project that big.  Especially while I'm living in it.  Though I could see potential (I always can), this was a big no from the husband.

And the saddest part of it all is that the house was dismantled for seemingly no good reason.  Once they're gone, you can never get them back again.

I really wonder who is going to buy this house...I was told the way too high price was partly because it could operate as a commercial property.  But this is a very small town for a business, and what doctor's office would want to have to maintain a nearly two-acre lawn?  The house is WAY too random and ugly to be a bed and breakfast, so....who is going to buy this messed up house?

Time will tell.

I think I'm in love...

It has been a while, but I need somewhere to process my thoughts right now...I think I'm in love.

With a house. 💗

I've been looking for my "forever house" for a while now - at least five or six years, seriously.  My husband and I have lived in our current house for over twenty years, since we watched it being built.  And that's the whole problem: it's a new house.  (Well, technically, I guess it's not really new anymore, but my point is, it's not old.)

I have ALWAYS wanted to live in an old house.  I love old houses.  I love historic architecture, antiques, vintage things, really anything with a past and a history.  And as much as I've enjoyed where I've lived, I'm ready to move on; I've been ready for a while.

While I LOVE The House of Goodwill (love, love, love it) - it's merely a vintage house (built in 1974).  It's not really old enough.  I have always wanted to live in an OLD house.  And as I'm getting old myself, I better find one soon.

The problem is, so many people have moved to Tennessee, that the real estate market has shot way up.  So everything I'm interested in - an old project house on more land - has pretty much already been bought by a developer, so it seems.  And lots of them were converted into "new" old houses (yuck!) or else they are just way too expensive.  And our next move will be big, so I'm not ready to commit to another house unless it's THE house. 

So anyway, the big news is: I've found a house.  I just haven't seen it yet in person.

That's because it's not in Tennessee, a state I never thought I'd leave.  While I've loved living in Tennessee (in particular the zero state income tax and low property taxes), the area we're in has changed a lot since we first arrived.  And not for the better, in my opinion.  More people, more traffic, more crowds...it just was never my dream to live in a busy suburb.  I'm more of a small town girl.

Because I love real estate, and looking at old houses, I was randomly surfing a real estate site that lists only historic properties, and I was looking at Pennsylvania, a state I've lived in before.  And that was where I saw it.  THE house.  I could not believe the listing, and as soon as I saw it, I started researching the area.

I could go on and on.  But would you like to see it?  This house has everything!  All the old house features I've always dreamed about, and more!  Here we go!

Yes, it really is 9500 square feet.  Quite possibly way too big.  The size is definitely not the appeal.  But this house is just so beautiful.  This house in Nashville would be multi-millions of dollars.  The price is a steal!  It was built in 1912 as a wedding gift for Grace Johnson, the daughter of an oil baron.

I love the stone and all the old windows.  The mansion is considered to be an "eclectic" style.

Here is the living room with a beautiful built-in window seat and built-in bookcases.  This house has sixteen fireplaces!  I wonder if any of them work?

Ok, so this is the library, built with imported pink marble from Spain.  On the opposite wall of the stairs is a fireplace.  Finally, a house that could fit all my books!

Here we have the second floor sunroom (there are four solariums in the house) or sleeping porch.  Can you imagine sitting in here during a cozy rain shower or snow storm?

This is the first floor sunroom, or breakfast room.  Not only could this house fit all my books, but all my plants too! 🌹

This is another of the home's solariums, I posted this one because it has a picture of - get this - the elevator!  (Currently not functioning I was told, but a solvable problem!)

I love this photo because it shows off the beautiful woodwork, which is all through the house.

Here's a photo of the outdoor pergola.  The outside of the house has just as much beautiful detail as the inside.

Here is the two-story carriage house (fits nine cars) with apartment on top.  The structure to the left is the greenhouse (in need of new glass).  The carriage house needs to be finished inside, so I was told.

Here's another photo of the outside.  Even the clay tile roof is beautiful!

I've seen more than one hundred photos of this house online, but those are some highlights.  I've studied the history, searched out the town, talked to the realtor, learned everything I could about this property and place.  All that's left now is to see it, and that should be two weeks from now.  I can't wait!  We'll see if the "good on paper" house lives up to real life dreams fulfilled.

What else to know?  The house is on 1.3 acres on a street with many other beautiful historic homes.  Not the acres I was hoping to find in my next property, but the house is so beyond anything I've ever imagined that I think I could live with 1.3 acres.  I think it would be enough to contain my garden (I've got big dreams), and the four indoor solariums and greenhouse to redo would enable me to enjoy all my plants year-round.

The yard also has a pond and creek, and there's an outdoor fountain in one of the covered porches.  The master bedroom has it's own balcony and did I mention the heated indoor swimming pool in the basement?

This could be a house I would move for.  A house so amazing I would toss aside all my assumptions about the future to change course and live there.  It's not the size.  (It might be too much.)  It's the details.  It's the stained glass windows, the woodwork, the stone, the greenhouse, the history.

The downsides?  We'd be leaving a state with no income tax for a state with.  Also with high property taxes.  Not to mention that the cost of utilities in this house is sky high.  Oh, and back to winter six months a year!  There's one other big downside - no one online seems to have anything positive to say about New Castle, PA, where the house is located.  Hence the price.  

Looking at New Castle online, it's a town full of incredibly big, beautiful historic homes for low, low prices.  I'm looking forward to seeing it live.

And then I'll know.

when no decision becomes the decision

Over the years visiting thrift stores, I've found myself walking away from a lot of interesting things.  Things I liked but already had, didn't have a place for or just plain didn't need.  Most of them I've completely forgotten about.  But there are a few that haunt me.

I hadn't been to an antique store in ages, but visited one just before Christmas, a few weeks ago.  Though I often don't find anything I want or "need," there was one booth that day that had quite a few things I really, really liked.  They were all Christmas decorations.

Here was the problem: I almost only buy things that are inexpensive, or undervalued.  (It's how I justify the habit, I guess.)  But all of these things I liked were not inexpensive.  I often think vintage and antique items are worth their price, as they're usually well-made, and rare or one-of-a-kind.  So these things may have been reasonably priced, I'm just used to not paying a lot.

Because everything cost above what I wanted to pay, I walked away.  But I'm still thinking about them.  So does that mean I should have bought something? 

Here they are:

I really loved these two vintage Christmas trees, which I would consider a kind of folk art.

They are obviously handmade, and by someone much smarter and more creative than me.  (I have no idea how they made the metal frame for these.)

They are really well made, too.

I love that someone made homemade decorations like these that have lasted so long, and are such good quality.  I just loved them.

The seller (I assume) put a string of lights in each one so they shine, too.

The green one was $35.

The white one was $60 (!).  (The white one has a handmade beaded angel at the top and was a little bigger, I assume that's why it was so much more expensive.)

I imagine I am drawn to these for the same reasons I'm drawn to vintage anything:
the quality is high and noone else I know has anything like this.
I like things that aren't trendy.
I like things that are unusual and different.

Next up is this pair of brass reindeer pulling sleighs.

I haven't seen these for sale much, though I see brass animals from time to time.

Vintage brass animals got trendy and now cost a fortune, so I was actually surprised these reindeer weren't more expensive.  But still...

The one above was $70.

The one below was $48.

I was really considering these guys.  So they are actually quality Christmas decorations.

(I was also wondering if they were definitely brass and how much polishing they might need...)

And finally, there was this vintage Christmas house:

I feel like this looks more interesting in person.

Though a lot of old stuff I like is Victorian-ish, I have a soft spot in my heart for kitschy, mid-century stuff, like this.

On closer inspection, I noticed a couple of things:

this is really well-made.  It's not plastic-y, even if it looks like it.

It also doesn't have any maker's mark anywhere.

It is obviously older, and has survived a long time, with every little detail perfectly intact.

And it has a lot of detail when viewed up close.

I just really liked it, but I guess not $55 worth.

So there they were, all the things I thought might be nice additions to my Christmas collection.  I just couldn't get over the price tags.

So after Christmas I went back.  I thought maybe there'd be an after Christmas sale.  I had it in my head that I would buy the lesser-priced of the brass reindeer.

Well, there was a sale.  15%.  But 15% is barely a sale.  And of all the items I liked, guess which one had sold?  Of course, only the one I had decided I definitely would buy.

So I walked away for a second time.  And guess what?  I still think about those things I saw from time to time.  I haven't forgotten.  So what does that mean?

Many, many times in my life when I haven't known what decision to make, I've chosen not to make one.  (And many in way more important situations than shopping.)  As I've gotten older, I've realized that no decision WAS the decision, I guess I just didn't realize that.  I've sometimes I regretted it, and have learned to acknowledge that no action, or putting off making a decision, is in fact making one.

I wonder if next Christmas I'll be remembering any of these things.  I'll let you know!