Yard sales and questionable choic

The Ragu vs. Prego commercial sometimes gets on my nerves, but I must admit that when I was looking over some of my latest yard sale buys I scratched my head and wondered, "What other questionable choices have I made lately?"

Here are a few.

Above I purchased a not so nice mandolin for a dollar. I knew it would probably never be used to entertain company with strains of country music, but if I do a good job restoring it, I could use it as a wall-hanging.

The chair I bought at a thrift store in Florida. It was $3, worth every penny (I hope) and one day I will try to restore it with all new materials. I will strip it down to bare wood. No stuffing will remain, only new everything, including a nice coat of stain and poly. I'm only out a few bucks if I mess it up.

This chest was only $5. I will sand it smooth and probably paint it black. It will be used in my half-bath for bathroom tissue, soap and towels. I think it is at least structurally sound. We'll see how long it takes me to start this project.

I love, love, love this little book of poems about flowers. I bought it to use for graphics in art projects. It is old, worn and a thing of beauty to me. I think I paid $2. Might not have been a bargain but still, I love it.

I bought this at a thrift store in town and though it is not in the best shape, the drawer pulls match my dining room furniture. I am thinking, restain, poly and a nice marble or granite top. I think I might have paid as much as $15 for this future piece of furniture for my dining room.

Above, a fireplace insert. I have always wanted one and I don't know if this one will work in my fireplace but I thought I could resell it for the five bucks I paid for it.

When my husband saw this in the car he said, "We really need to talk."

We then had a discussion about how sometimes things could burn the house down and would I please just give him a call before purchasing something like this again.

It looks like people are beginning to pull out things for fall and yard sales are beginning again. I love it. I hope I can use all the things I bring home but I am sure some of my purchases will be questionable. I just can't help but think if I redo some of these "treasures," what little money I have invested will surely be worth it.

I think my husbands rebuttal would be, "Maybe."