For the first time ever, we’ve been able to spend part of the boys’ Spring Break in Hilton Head. Usually, we get to come down for July 4th and New Year but, for some reason, that didn’t work out this past Holiday season. So, I’m really thrilled to get opportunity to give the guys a Spring Break vacation.
On our first full day on the island I was able to get out and visit my favorite thrift stores. Not quite the door buster, but I was able to get to St. Francis Thrift Store a few minutes after it opened. The parking lot was packed! Of course, there’s a new Dunkin Donuts next door—but still, it was hard trying to find a parking space. Once I got in the store, I was able to find a nice little stack.
True Grits: Tall Tales and Recipes from the New South (The Junior League of Atlanta, Inc.), A Taste of Enchantment (The Junior League of Albuquerque, NM), New Southern Cooking (Nathalie Dupree) and Cooking with a Beat (Longview Washington Civic Symphony Auxiliary).
The Nathalie Dupree cookbook is autographed!
The next stop was the nearby Goodwill store but I came up empty on cookbooks. I did find a super cool Christmas tree Bundt pan and decided to pick that up.
And now for my favorite thrift store in the whole world! I pulled up to the Hospice Community Thrift with about fifteen minutes to spare before they opened. And then I see that they’re already open. Okay! I was amazed at the selection I found.
There’s a reason this is my favorite spot and here’s why:
A Touch of Atlanta (Marist Parents’ Club, Marist School, Atlanta, GA), Ursula’s Cookbook (Ursula Knaeusel, Ursula’s Cooking School, Atlanta, GA), Tullie’s Receipts: Nineteenth Century Plantation Plain Style Southern Cooking and Living (Kitchen Guild of the Tullie Smith House Restoration, Atlanta Historical Society, Inc., Atlanta, GA), Christmas Gems for Holiday Entertaining (The Garden Club of Georgia, Inc.), Atlanta Natives’ Favorite Recipes (Frances Arrington Elyea, Atlanta, GA), What’s Cooking at Rock Spring (Rock Spring Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA), Atlanta Cooks for Company (Junior Associates of The Atlanta Music Club), Plains Pot-Pourri (Plains Jr. Woman’s Club, Plains, GA) and Charleston Receipts (The Junior League of Charleston, SC).
I probably need to do some research on ole Ursula and find out more about her and any influence she may have had in the Atlanta area...but her cookbook is also autographed!
And here is the rest of the haul:
Southern Sideboards (Junior League of Jackson, Mississippi), Yuletide on Hilton Head: A Heritage of Island Flavors (Edited by Dotti Trivision, Marion Conlin, Mary Murray and Phyllis White), Three Rivers Cookbook II (Child Health Association of Sewickley, Sewickley, PA), Temptations (Junior Service League of Rome, Inc., Rome, GA), Trader Vic’s Tiki Party (Steve Siegelman), Southern Delights: Recipes from Williamson County (Williamson County Chamber of Commerce, Franklin, TN), Famous Recipes from Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House in Historic Savannah (Sema Wilkes, Savannah, GA), Country Days and Nights (Fox Chapel Country Day School, Fox Chapel, PA), Culinary Treasures: Hilton Head Island (The Avid Gardeners, Hilton Head Plantation, Hilton Head Island, SC), Old Mission San Juan Capistrano Cook Book (Catholic Women’s Club of “Old Mission” San Juan Capistrano, CA) and I’ve Got a Cook in Kalamazoo (Service Club of Kalamazoo, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI).
I’ve got some time until The Bargain Box opens up later in the afternoon. But I see some people waiting on the front porch of the building. I pull up and ask them if the Bargain Box crew has started to give out admission numbers. They said “no,” but there were about five boxes that were out front with the label “Free Stuff.” I spot a Better Homes & Garden cookbook sitting on top of one. I park the car and go through all the boxes. After going through the boxes, I get a nice stack:
The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, Ladies’ Home Journal Dessert Cookbook (Edited by Carol Truax), The Great Cooks Cookbook: A Good Cooking School Cookbook, Appetizing Dips & Spreads, Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, Craig Claiborne’s Gourmet Diet, Potomac Area Newcomers Recipe Book (Potomac Area Newcomers Club, Maryland) and Famous Native Recipes of the Virgin Islands (Gathered by Dea Murray).
These are some pretty decent cookbooks! If these are the books they’re giving away for free, I wonder what they’ve got still left on the shelves inside? Definitely coming back this afternoon.
I head back to the condo and have lunch and try to talk the whole family into going with me…but no luck. I arrive and have to park in the side auxiliary lot. They have limited capacity inside the store and only allow a certain number of customers inside. And while I’m the only one in line—I still have to wait for someone to leave.
When I finally get to go inside, there’s a long line that I have to get around to get to the cookbook shelf. And at first glance, the shelf looks untouched, maybe one or two spaces where a book may have been removed. I don’t really see much that grabs my attention. Maybe I got the good stuff in their free box a few hours ago?
I guess I’d feel better about what’s in front of me, if I could actually get to the cookbooks in front of me. There’s some woman just standing there reading through one of the cookbooks. She’s just standing there. Hello?! I’m trying to look at the selection—could you move?
Thankfully, her friend came over and they decided to get in the checkout line. Finally, a chance to get a proper look at the selection. Here’s what I find:
The Greens Cook Book (Deborah Madison with Edward Espe Brown), Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making (James Peterson), The Trellis Cookbook: Expanded Edition (Marcel Desaulniers), Fish & Shellfish Grilled & Smoked (Karen Adler & Judith M. Fertig) and Great Meals for Busy Days (Nathalie Dupree).
Now this Nathalie Dupree cookbook isn't autographed...but the fish one is:
Now that’s the way to start off Spring Break! I’m thinking that with all these great finds, I can finally relax and enjoy the rest of the week…