When will the temperature "Fall"

The calendar says it is almost Fall, but the temperatures in Southern California are hot, hot, hot.  And, that is how it always goes around here this time of year. It is difficult to switch gears and 

think about autumn decorating when the beach is still the only place to be. 

In San Diego autumn arrives late, but it is still my favorite season. When it finally arrives, 

I will put away the seashells and get out the pine cones. 

My favorite fall decoration

Last fall I put together this basket with a great piece of wood from the pile out back. 

I loved it and kept it out until spring. 

Sometimes I find a curvy piece of wood in the pile - doesn't happen too often

I'm looking forward to putting it together again and adding some new pine cones.  

The wood fit nicely around the basket handles and I attached it with twine.

Thrifty-Not

Just a little humor today from a local thrift store that thinks it is okay to charge more than twice the price  for something you could purchase for less brand new.  Do they leave the original tags on just to make us laugh? I guess they get away with it - so maybe they have the last laugh.

These placemats were sold for .98 cents each at Target on clearance. The thrift store is charging $8.99 for the four of them. More than twice the sale price.

The design on the front of the placemats

The sale price from Target

The price for four placemats - more than double what you could buy them for new.  

I truly have a love/hate relationship with thrift shopping these days . . . it's sad since I have been a die-hard thrift shopper since my teen years. This particular store recently underwent a big remodel (including a coffee bar addition) and their prices reflect that now. They always seem to have 40-50% off on their merchandise so they know they are overpriced to begin with. A deal would be 40-50% off "already low prices" - not their inflated prices. Yet I continue to go back again and again . . .