Thrifted Thursday...back with some vintage luggage action!

Hi!
I know, it's been a little while...but that's OK. It's my blog and I can post when I want to...(if you sang that sentence then we are totally on the same page).
I wanted to share a quick side table idea that I put together. I recently sold my den side tables at a yard sale (they had a glass top and shelves on the bottom=super hard to keep clean). So my lamps sat on the floor for a couple of weeks. Then, on two separate Goodwill trips, I picked up a vintage briefcase, and a really awesome giant picnic basket.
I still needed a base, so I scoped out the local neighborhood streets and...SCORE!

 These guys (the bottom two) were just sitting with someone's trash.

 I love the different looks and textures of each one and how they stack nicely to the perfect height!

These are vintage Platt suitcases from somewhere around the 30's-50's, and are apparently sort of rare. It made me a little sad that this even has someones initials but was still thrown out. (You can't see the initials unless you pull up the handle)

So for $10 total I have a new side table. And if I need to store things like blankets in the Summer I have a perfect place!
A tip for those of you wanting to find cool things like this for free and don't mind doing a little leg work: drive around your local neighborhoods the night before garbage day. You would be surprised the things that people toss out! The funny thing is that this is exactly what I went looking for and found it on the first try! That never actually happens!

Using magazines in everyday decor

If you are like me, you get several magazine subscriptions and aren't sure what to do with all of them after you've read them or while you are waiting to read them.

I like to keep some of mine for tips/recipes so I keep them stacked together and use them as part of my room's decor! If they are kept neatly it doesn't just look like a pile of mail.

 

 I love my Mississippi magazines and can't bear to throw away all of the good stuff that is inside, so I use them on top of the table under my TV so it's not just a bare surface.

 They work perfectly to add some interest without blocking the TV! The white covers give them a sleek look without being distracting.

What do you do with your old magazines? Recycle? Donate? Hoard them like me? I'd love to know!