thrift store find: advent wreath candle holder

One small part of my vacation - after we got back from the Sierras - was to go thrift store shopping. I love thrift stores, and I've found great stuff there over the years, from pretty things like the beautifully-framed Constable print that hangs in our living room and to ordinary household items, like our bathroom scale.

But this time I found something I've been wanting for about six years now: the perfect candle holder for our yearly Advent wreath.

Ugly, eh? Yes, that's what was on it when I found it at the thrift store: ratty old pink flowers and an incongruous Christmas ribbon. It looked hokey. But I realized that neither the flowers nor the ribbon were permanently attached and underneath them was a simple and serviceable brass candle-holder with a spot for each of the four candles of Advent, and a spot in the middle for the Christ Child candle:

And even the pink flowers helped me see how to use it: with an evergreen wreath in their place, it'll look just right in December.

And I also noticed that when you look at it from overhead, it's cruciform:

It seemed like the sort of subtle, solemn reminder that was perfect for Advent.

peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell