thrifting in montana

We went to two little shops yesterday morning, and we'll hit the local thrift store today since they were closed yesterday. The first store we went to was River Breaks Gear & Books. It's mostly a used book store, but there are a few antiques & knick-knacks crammed between the piles of books, as well as used outdoor gear scattered throughout the store.




The little ceramic owl was hanging—unpriced—from one of the bookshelves. It was covered in dirt and had melted wax caked inside, but I don't mind having to clean off a few layers of neglect. The owner of the shop sold it to me for $4. Here's what he looks like with a candle lit inside:


Next we checked out a saddle and antique store. The owner repairs and sell saddles, and even has one of my parent's old saddles for sale right now in his shop. I hadn't seen it for years, but as soon as my mom pointed it out to me, I recognized the leather lacing on the back—that's where I used to ride when our family would take our horses out for the day. My sister always rode with my dad and I always rode on the back with my mom. I wish I had appreciated those rides when I was little. Instead, I remember being bored, hot, and repulsed by the foamy horse sweat seeping out from under the saddle.


There were some great wool blankets for sale at the saddle shop, most of them priced between $35 and $85. They reminded me of the blankets at the Ace Hotels. I'm still tempted to go back and buy one, but I don't know if I want to deal with the dry cleaning.

This yellow striped one is actually a saddle blanket and was smaller than the other blankets, but I loved the colors! Here's the blanket at the Ace:


My mom also picked up this glass hen dish as a birthday gift for me. I'm not sure what I'll put in it yet, the black and green iridescent glaze is peeling slightly on the inside, so I'll have to be careful with it.