“One man's junk is another man's treasure!”
It's Market Friday!
I'm sure you have heard this said many times before, and it is nowhere so apparent as in a thrift store where items discarded by some are excitedly purchased by others!
This is my first day back home from a ten day trip to New England to visit my husband's Mom for her 90th birthday. Probably for the first time in my recent life, I did not travel with my DSLR, but relied only on my iPhone 8 Plus to document our trip. Today I have had the fun job of downloading 800+ photos to my computer and reliving the fun time we had there.
One day I discovered this amazing thrift store which occupies an entire 4 floors, the basement being entirely devoted to Christmas items!
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
The building was once the Mendon Country Gift Barn, but Compassion New England now operates a thrift store in this delightful building! The purpose of this store and its sister store in Milford is to give back to the community. It does this in many ways – by way of a food pantry and fuel assistance, by giving out vouchers that can be redeemed for merchandise at the stores, and through different kinds of classes and workshops for preparing for job interviews, teaching ESOL classes, helping with resumes and helping students to prepare for their GED, for example.
This is not your ordinary thrift store either, by a long shot. Upon entering the barn, my first impression was of a very large and very well laid out eclectic gift shop. But, let the pictures tell the story of this incredible place, and if you are ever in the area, be sure to visit it at: The Blessing Barn, 5 Hastings St, Mendon, MA. Store Hours are Mon-Sat: 10am – 5pm.
So, what would you shop for? What is your treasure?
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved. Camera: iPhone 8 Plus
Thanks to @dswigle for introducing the fun #marketfriday tag!
Thanks for taking the time to read this! I appreciate it. Please check out my photography-101 account here for photography tips and tutorials and Follow if you wish.
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Welcome back, Diane! Missed you!!! @dmcamera
Look like a great place to shop, minus the two loveable 90-year-olds and your dahusband! Next time you visit, maye you can leave them behind. Your photos are so detailed and crisp! Great post!
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Thanks, Nina! It’s nice to get away sometimes, but nice too to get home and back into routine!
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Very cool! I’d be checking out the vinyl while my wife tried on furs. :-)
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My son is a vinyl lover too! I'd go for Xmas decorations ;), love them!
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Hehe! I could have spent the whole day in there, but my husband could only take so much! I went thrift shop hopping the next day with a friend!
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Little bit of everything in there.
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Absolutely! What a find! I wish it was close to my house!
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What a cool building and such cool stuff in there some real cool and interesting things in there it must be a pleasure to visit
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I could have stayed to explore for hours!
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I bet it would be a hard shop to leave
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It was, but with a bored husband and two 90 year-olds sitting outside on the rocking chairs waiting for me, I didn't have much choice! LOL!
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That would make you speed up for sure :(
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You had me at Christmas floor!!! 😄🎅🏻🤶🏻🎄
We are headed to New England for 10 days in August. ☺️ I might have just added Mendon to the list. 😃
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They have a sister store in Milford too - both are in southern Mass. towards the CT and RI border.
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Oooo. This lines up perfectly with out August trajectory. Yay! 😃
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That's cool! Such a neat area of New England. It's my husband's home area.
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That's my kind of store! Cosy and warm! And love the architecture too!
I'm glad you are back sound and safe, my dear Diane! Big Hug!
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Nice post @dmcamera. I like thrift shopping. Always find something good when I go :D
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Me too! Thanks for stopping by!
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This is my kind of store. I'd have loved to roam around and take hundreds of photos.
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What an amazing place to shop, I love stores like this!
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What an amazing place to shop, I love stores like this!
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Me too! LOL!
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Oooh I could have loads of fun in this fabulous place........crammed full of items I would term, 'Treasures' @dmcamera I'd need to pack my lunch though as it wouldn't be a quick browse. A nice sandwich and a cup of coffee curled up in one of those rocking chairs with a book in hand sounds like the perfect way to relax in between browsing. Great photos btw. Love the unique building too.
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Oh my gosh! You said a whole floor of Christmas, didn't you? How did you know that that is one of my honest-to-goodness weaknesses? I just love Christmas and I'm not sure about this but I may love Christmas decorations just as much. Of course I'm kidding, but you know what I mean.
I am not sure where I would begin with the store. I guess coming through the front door I might head towards the back and work my way up, there was so much there, so many Treasures, so many Treasures, so many Treasures. It's funny how we look at some light up and wonder how indeed anybody could toss it away or give it away or let it go to a thrift store. I am not talking about things that you do not need anymore, but some memories. Little pieces of Grandma.
I wax nostalgic. I am a huge fan of donating items that are no longer needed, especially to a charitable organization that uses it towards the betterment of personal development. What a wonderful place this is! I am always happy to see small little places doing good things, where the big box charities spend so much money in Administration fees that most of the money is eaten up. Let me stop ranting.
I am from Connecticut and so New England is my Hometown stomping grounds. I love going through there thrift shops and little shops and you can always find something interesting in them. Thank you for taking us there and I'll be looking them up on Instagram and giving them a plug somewhere down the line. As always, it's nice to see you and welcome back home my dear. Good to be away. Good to be home.
You are always missed!
Upped and steemed
Tip!
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Hi @dmcamera! You have received 0.1 SBD tip from @dswigle!
Check out @dswigle blog here and follow if you like the content :)
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Hello @dmcamera, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!
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Thanks! I appreciate that!
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