Toni's Vintage Trips: Fran's Favorite Gold Country Thrift Shops (Sonora, CA)

I headed for the hills this weekend to visit my mom, Fran and to film the Storage Wars flea market. To my extreme disappointment, the flea wasn't open. Did I have the wrong weekend? I asked Fran where we should go and she took me to some of her favorite thrift shops. I found plenty of interesting clothes and things to photograph and also picked out some very nice and inexpensive clothes for myself.

Mountain Treasures, our first stop, was like an LA soundstage of indoor stalls and scenes. After walking around and taking photos, I did some shopping. I found a beautiful emerald cut diamond-like ring (1/2 caret) for only $15. I also added to my Barbie collection with a vintage Cher doll, dressed in bell bottoms and wearing a faux fur jacket, for only $3. Fran wanted to buy the wire mannequin at the entrance to the store, but I told her it wouldn't fit in the car, so we moved on.

Our next stop was the Humane Society thrift shop called Purrrfect Bargains. This fun store combined clothing at a huge bargain, furniture and other odds and ends. In the back room, there were used pet items, such as collars and toys. I found a gorgeous black leather jacket, but didn't want to spend $60 on just one thing. Besides, I already have several jammed in my small closets at home. Instead, I photographed it and bought some shirts and turtlenecks for under $10.

Our final stop was actually my favorite because it had an abundance of very nice consignment-type clothes at thrift store prices. That store is called Good Stuff! and it is about to move to larger quarters where the old Salvation Army store used to be. I can't wait to visit it again in the bigger space. Enjoy the photos.

P.S. I stayed once again at the Gunn House Hotel in the heart of downtown Sonora. It is a great place to stay and has the most amazing breakfast, including the best coffee, baked eggs and several different kinds of pastries that are baked fresh every morning. I would recommend it to anyone headed in that direction. There is also an awesome pool that I will be trying out this summer.

Cheers, Toni