Fun Things Popping Up All Over!

This morning I was looking for a little adventure, and a little time to be by myself so I took off to the community that I grew up in for their annual community wide garage sale day. Last year I went with Eric and we had a really good time, so when I saw the ad in the paper, I couldn't pass it up this year.

Last year, there were all kinds of sales with LOTS of variety. This year...mostly baby and kid stuff, and no where near as many sales. I actually only got out of the car twice! Needless to say, I didn't buy anything-but I did get to see my old home town, my grandparents home of my childhood and all of the houses on their old street that just seemed so huge when I was a kid, and today, they looked so small!

It was a bright and sunny day-still a little chilly, but it was a nice day to be out. It was a day to slow down a bit, ponder some things and just be alone with my thoughts. That part of the day was great! The finding good deals and great things part...not so much.

Since I still had some time to kill before I picked Eric up at school, I stopped at a local consignment store. SCORE! A little refrigerator dish I have been watching for a couple months was finally discounted to the lowest price, and I found this little individual Pyrex casserole! 

When I got home, I had a couple packages waiting for me! One was a freebie from getting new tires last fall. I had given up hope of ever seeing anything since it has been so long...here it is!

Why they were giving out Flip cameras for buying tires...I have no idea, but I think we are going to have fun playing with it!

The other package was this!

My first Harlequin novelty pitcher (or creamer)! I've been watching them for a while on Ebay, but have always gotten outbid (by a LOT). This time I was lucky and got it for a song!

As I think back on the community sale last year, I've been trying to remember why it was so much fun...was it because of the cool things and great deals I got? I didn't buy much if I remember correctly. So I concluded that it was a fun day because I was hanging out with my son- that's what made it so much fun!

A Surprise Visitor...

This morning we had a surprise visitor...I wonder if she was checking out the girls...? Maybe wanting to make some new friends??

The Ugly Duckling...

One of Eric's ducks is a runner duck. I feel sorry for it, because it is (in my opinion) the ugly duckling. Eric loves it, and with the exception of his mallard, it is his favorite-probably because it isn't as "pretty" as the others. He always has a soft spot for the under dog duck.

Happy Easter!

How was your Easter? Did you get to spend it with family? Adam had to work, so it was just Kevin, Eric and I, but we had a nice quiet day, and a most delicious dinner!

Hope you had a wonderful day! Happy Easter-He is Risen--He is risen indeed!

Good Antique Mall...Bad Antique Mall...

Today was the first day of the annual spring sale at Livingston Antique Outlet (the mall where I have my booth). It was packed! Lots of shoppers, and lots of dealers. I was very pleased to see the place so full and even more pleased to see people buying lots of stuff!

When you walk in at LAO, you are greeted by one of the workers at the check-out counter whether they are assisting someone one or not. The staff is all very friendly and eager to help. I spent a good couple of hours there wandering through all of the booths and ended up with some great deals. I was surprised that not all of the booths participated in the sale. I wonder if other shoppers did what I did, and skipped those booths that didn't have sale signs...

When I left, I headed down the road a little bit to another antique mall and was so disgusted-I probably won't go back for a mighty long time-if ever.  The owners are all older guys with long hair and scraggly long beards. There is nothing wrong with that in itself, but they do not greet you when you enter, (even when you have to walk past them smoking on the sidewalk to enter the building) they don't have staff walking around assisting, they aren't friendly, and they are intimidating because they look like they are scowling at you when they look at you.

The check-out room has a squalking parrot sitting out on a perch, the whole room looks like something you'd see on Pickers-it's a HUGE mess! Worst of all...the music! AC/DC is not soothing music to shop by---especially when it is blasting so loud, you cannot even concentrate on what you are looking at and only want to get the heck out of there!!!

I carried a pitcher around for a long time walking past one of the owners several times before he finally offered to carry it up for me. Then he disappeared so I had to go up to ask the guy at the counter for someone to unlock a locked cabinet for me to see something. He said, "Of course it's locked!" What's that supposed to mean? Then the other guy walked in and he told him I wanted to look at the Hall stuff. The one coming in rolled his eyes, lets out a big sigh and got the key.

I lead him back to the cabinet and he pulled out the two pitchers for me to look at-one had a huge manufacturing flaw. I asked how much because, oh...by the way...none of the pieces were marked (my biggest pet peeve). He said a ridiculously high price and I quickly stepped back and said no thanks. He countered $20 less and as I said no thanks and kept walking, he kept shouting out, what do you want to offer? I politely said nothing near that price-thanks anyway, and kept walking.

I am soo glad that we chose LAO to rent our booth space! I was wondering about the other place and how their sales were. I noticed only one other couple in the second mall, while I couldn't even count the people in LAO! Overall, the shopping experiences were night and day different. 

Here is what I bought today...all but one thing is for me... (eye) candy for my Easter basket? =)

I've had my eye on the big orange Fiesta chop plate for at least 3 years, and today it was 20% off-so I snatched it up! The fired on bowls were ridiculously cheap-couldn't leave them behind either. I got the white pitcher, blue pitcher and baby A & W mug at the second mall. I plan to sell the mug and keep the rest.

I went to lunch with Eric today. We ate at Red Robin and used his coupon for a free burger for his birthday. Do you have a Red Robin by you? You should go to their website and register your birthday-they will send you a coupon via email for a free burger for your birthday. We all are registered and we go every time.

Adam is house sitting for a friend of mine and Eric is staying with him. They have a HUGE house and a HUGE dog! He's a great dane who thinks he's a lap dog. When I dropped Eric off, Zukey came out to greet me, and I snapped a few pics to show you how huge he is...

Did you get to any sales today? I'm heading over to your blog next to check out your treasures! Hope you had a great day! Happy Weekend and Happy Easter!

Marshmallow Drop and Moon Glow Egg Hunt

Do you remember last year when I posted about the marshmallow drop and moon glow egg hunt that was held on the township property next door to our house? You can read about it here. Today is their second attempt and even though I stayed home this year, I am pleased to announce that they seem to have a much better handle on organization and they actually seem to be pulling it off this year!

They have a better plan for parking, and they have people guarding the eggs so no one can get in early and snatch them up.  They learned well from last year's fiasco. There are hundreds of kids next door...and at $8 a kid...I'm glad to see they got the kinks from last year worked out! Although, I think $8 a kid is totally ridiculously high...maybe they can work on lowering the price for next year! =)

We can stand in our soon to be sun room and hear the loud speakers, and see the giant bunny and chicks dancing to kiddie Easter music. We just stood in the doorway and watched a helicopter fly over head and drop a huge load of marshmallows-and they actually hit the soccer field! Last year they used an airplane and it didn't work at all!!

The helicopter flew right over our barn, only above it by about 20 feet! That was nerve wracking for Kevin for a couple of seconds! They were higher on the second pass-if you look close, you can see the stream of marshmallows falling from the helicopter!

My BABY is 17 today!!

Seventeen years ago today my youngest son was born. On that same day, my husband, his brother and brother-in law and I were busy planting 300 pine seedlings that we got from our county soil conservation organization.

I kept telling Kevin that I was in labor and I thought we should go. He really wanted to get his trees planted, and he remembered my first labor and delivery with Adam...I had to be induced and it took 8 long, boring hours for the contractions to start...so he assumed we had plenty of time, and kept putting me off.

Finally, at 9pm I got him into the house to go to the hospital, but he had other plans...he had to take a shower...pack a huge bag of snacks and some things to do (during the long wait). I was so sure I was further along, I thought I was going to have Eric in the car on the way-his brother-in-law did too!

We made it to the hospital at 9:30pm. Since I felt like I was ready to push, he took me to the emergency entrance. We pulled up, I hefted my huge body out of our tiny little Ford Escort, and we were met by an emergency worker-who promptly informed us that if I was in labor, we needed to get back into the car and drive around to the women's & children's  hospital.

We got in, drove around to the entrance to the women's and children's hospital...and he ran and got a wheelchair from the sidewalk, got me in it raced to the automatic doors...and they were locked!! All the while, I'm contracting, panting and trying to not push! He finally found a side door that was unlocked and raced in to be immediately stopped by the security guard who obviously had a vision imparement, because he asked, "Is she in labor?" Duh!

Finally we convinced them that yes, I was in labor. Somehow we got away and made it up the elevator to the labor and delivery floor. The nurses didn't believe I was very far along in the labor process and casually asked me to change into a gown, and give a urine sample. What a feat that was with constant contractions! After all that (which seemed to take a lifetime), when they finally checked...I was fully dilated and ready to push! They had to rush me into a room across the hall-I remember seeing nurses flying around trying to get the room set up in time. Three very quick pushes later...Eric William was born! 7 lbs 11 oz 21"-born at...10:01pm!

His middle name is my Dad's middle name, and he actually looks a lot  and like my Dad and has a LOT of the same mannerisms! He's a junior in high school, is going on his third mission trip in a couple of months. He is a very avid hunter and he loves to fish. He loves raising his chickens and ducks and just thrives in the outdoors. He is very good with children, he's patient, kind and very loving. He is wise beyond his years and very thoughtful. He has had struggles with ADD, but has worked hard to over come them. He has become a wonderful young man-who will make some lucky girl a wonderful husband some day!

Just today while he was at the store, he remembered that my windshield wipers were in bad shape and he picked me up a pair and installed them when he got home!

It's been a fun journey through all of the stages thus far in his life. I am so proud of the fine young man he has become. I'm looking forward to watching him grow into manhood, and some day become a husband and father.

Happy Birthday Eric! I love you!!

Chicks and Ducks Update...

It's been a while...I thought I'd show you Eric's girls...

The girls LOVE to free range! As soon as you open the door, they think they are supposed to go out! These girls are now a year old.

 He made them a pond and they LOVE it!!!

 Three new Black Star chicks...

 A Silkie chick...

 Two Cayuga ducks...

Can't a girl get some privacy around here!?!?

So, he's up to 17 chickens and 9 ducks! He's becoming the poultry version of Dr Doolittle! I'll try to post a video or two of the chicks free ranging this summer when it is warmer out. They are a riot to watch!

Look What Came in the Mail!!

Several weeks ago I mentioned that I found out about a Pyrex give-away...it finally came!!!

Saturday Date Day

Kevin and I went to one very tiny sale and a church rummage sale. The rummage sale was to raise money for that church's youth group's mission trip. I got a few things at the first sale, and I just missed a big pile of Homer Laughlin Riviera dishes by about 5 seconds-bummer!!!

I did get a lilac Fiesta cup and saucer, and some other fun things-so I can't complain. Kevin found a $20 bill in the grass a few houses down-so that made up for there being no guy things.

 This is a pic of my finds. The door on the left is from a small cabinet that I couldn't resist. All of the purple is staying-the rest is for the booth. I LOVE the musical cake stand...might have to keep that too!

At the church rummage sale, there was only 3 teens running the whole sale. On top of the usual rummage sale fare, they were selling homemade apple turnovers with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for $1-so Kevin had a great day too...found money and a fantastic dessert! I picked up a couple small things at the rummage sale.

All that fun and we were home by 10:30!! We sure enjoy our Saturday mornings together-what a fun date time we have going to a couple garage sales a week!

I think climbing up on ladders and hanging insulation is a job best left to the strong teenage boys and the husband in our house. After several hours yesterday and today, my back started screaming for me to stop. It stinks to get older-and I'm not much past 40!! Can't wait to see what I'm in store for in the next 10 years!

We Passed!

On Monday we passed our rough electrical inspection and today we passed our rough building inspection for our nightmare, money pit sun room! Whew!!! What a relief to have those inspections behind us and approved!

All afternoon we've been insulating, insulating, insulating! Maybe tomorrow we can start on the drywall! Next week the siding will go up and then we can have our final inspections-hopefully they will go as well as the rough inspections did. 

We are all very anxious to be able to use this room, and with the weather forecast for the next two days calling for rain...we won't have any excuses for not getting some serious work done!

We're trying to decide on the flooring...maybe you can help us make the decision. Our first choice was porcelain tile (same as what we have in our kitchen and dining room that opens into the sun room). My Dad recently suggested hardwood floors. I'm worried that the temperature fluctuations might make the wood warp, and with our sand volleyball court in the back yard, and having people coming in to the house through the sun room after playing...the sand could scratch up the wood. On the other hand, the wood would definitely be warmer than the tile and would be easier to install.

What do you think? We haven't made a decision yet. Either way, we'll be doing the work ourselves just like we did throughout the rest of our house. We probably could have enclosed the deck ourselves instead of hiring the builders, but we were expecting the professionals to have it done in the two weeks they promised (a lot quicker than the 3 months it has taken them). Live and learn-right?

I'm hoping that you all had a great day of thrifting today. Since I didn't get out to any sales, I'm needing a thrift fix! I'll be checking out your blogs to drool over your Friday finds.

Happy Weekend!!

2011 Summertime Wishlist...

I've made two treasure seeking wishlists and have done very well in finding things this past year that have been on my list. So I thought I'd make a new list for the new treasure seeking season! Here are the things I'll be looking for this summer as I head out to estate sales, garage sales, festivals and flea markets...

               ~Vintage brightly colored tablecloths
               ~Vintage Fiesta #7 mixing bowl (3)
               ~Vintage Fiesta #6 mixing bowl (2)
               ~Vintage Fiesta #5 mixing bowl (2)
               ~Vintage Fiesta #3 mixing bowl (2)
               ~Vintage Fiesta #2 mixing bowl (2)
               ~Vintage Fiesta #1 mixing bowl (1)
               ~Vintage Harlequin ball jugs/pitchers-all colors except orange, yellow and green
               ~Vintage Harlequin dishes and serving pieces
               ~Vintage Riviera dishes and serving pieces
               ~Edwin Knowles Yorktown dishes and serving pieces
               ~Brightly colored vintage dishtowels
               ~Aqua/Turquoise vintage Pyrex mixing bowls (404, 403 & 402)
               ~Vintage Pink Pyrex mixing bowl #404
               ~Vintage Fiesta pitchers, tea pots, and carafes
               ~Swanky Swigs-florals, stripes, and dots
               ~Amethyst blown glass rolling pin
               ~Vintage glass Christmas ornaments
               ~Vintage Fiesta and Harlequin shakers
               ~Vintage Kitchen Kraft items
               ~An old wooden school chair (desk size)

I know this is a huge list. I'd be thrilled to find just one or two things from the list this summer.

What about you? What does your summer wish list look like? Is there anything I can look for for you?

We're Having a Heat Wave!

Is this really Michigan? Or did I wake up in Florida today? When we left for church this morning, it was only 50 degrees, but now....

Look out hammock-here I come! My favorite place to be on a sunny Sunday afternoon is lounging in a hammock in the yard with a good book. Might just fire up the grill for dinner too. Eric wants to uncover the pool-now that's a little bit much. It is Michigan after all, and it could be snowing and 25 degrees tomorrow!

Hope you are having a GREAT Sunday!!!

Saturday...A Stay at Home Day

None of the sales today looked worth the drive, so we decided to stay home. Kevin puttered around in the sun room, getting a few little things done, and I went out the the barn and started sanding the headboard bench. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70's so I plan to go out after church to paint.

I started painting this picture frame.

I had it in the booth for 2 months and no one took it home. I think it was the gold color...pretty soon, it will be a creamy off white.  I might even try my hand at smashing some of my clear glassware to make the frame into this...

I saw these in one of the booths in our antique mall and immediately fell in love with them. I can't figure out how they did it though...any ideas? One of the workers at the mall told me that the back side was really sharp because of all of the exposed broken glass. I thought it was all glued onto a window...

While I was making lunch I heard the post office truck pull up the driveway and honk...look what came in the mail!

This big box and big sticker make it seem like something super important...

 It is!! Harlequin shakers!

Now this little guy isn't so lonely! ;)

Sorry about the bad pictures...our camera is MIA again, and all I had was my phone. I wish they had a remote finder device for cameras!!

Soggy, Slim Pickin's

Today was a rainy gray day with slim pickings at the sales I visited. I only went to two estate sales and both of them were grossly over priced. It figures the rain would stop and even a glimpse of the sun shone through when I got home and didn't have to be out in it any more!

These are the two things that came home with me today...a tablecloth and a napkin. The only reason I got the tablecloth was because the woman in line in front of me was scared of the stains and passed on it--so I snatched it up!

This month is turning out to be much better sales-wise for me in the booth. I only have $7 to go to make my rent-woo hoo!! Hopefully this weekend will put me over the top.

Did you get to any sales today? I'll be stopping by your blogs to see the treasures you picked up today-can't wait to see what you found!!

Happy Weekend!

What's the craziest thing you ever sold?

I guess I should also say what's the craziest thing you ever sold or tried to sell. Almost every night when I go online to check my sales for the day, my husband is totally convinced that someone has bought his anvil. He has an anvil in the booth. He rescued it from a barn that burned down and was set to be demolished. The original owner was our neighbor. He passed away a few years ago at the age of 92. The anvil is very old, but Kevin painted black so it doesn't show its age very much.

I think that the niche for anvil buyers is really small and I don't think he's ever going to sell it. It's not like it's something that can be moved around easily-especially this one-it weighs 131 pounds!!

Tonight Kevin and I had our little chuckle about it and then he suggested we get a Wylie E.Coyote stuffed doll and put it under the anvil...ha ha! I guess you had to be there! I'm sure we are the only booth in the whole mall with an anvil-maybe we'll be the only one in the mall with an anvil squishing a cartoon coyote...or maybe we should decorate it for Easter...

What about you? Have you tried to sell any crazy things? Were you successful? Want to buy an anvil? ;)

Do you check your bank statements?

Today I got an email from my husband. He was concerned that there was a $10 "Miscellaneous" withdrawal that was pending on our checking account. He has heard from someone that clever thieves will gain access to your account, withdraw a small amount one or two times then totally wipe your account out!

Needless to say, I got on the phone right away! At first it was a little scary because the customer service guy couldn't find our account with our account number or my social security number. I was beginning to wonder if the whole account was already wiped out, or if maybe it was a scam number on their website and I was giving away my ss number to a thief...all kinds of crazy things were running through my head.

He finally figured out that he was using one wrong number for the ss number, and the bank account number was for the bank we originally opened the account with (they were bought out by another bank-but we were told we could keep the same checks until they run out). WHEW!!! What a relief to finally have my account found!

The $10 charge?? It is a yearly ATM card fee that this bank charges-our original bank did not charge for that. Since we both had debit cards linked to the checking account, I just canceled the ATM card and cut it up. The $10 credit is supposed to show up on my account by Friday afternoon.

I'm glad it wasn't a compromised account, and I'm glad Kevin found it so we could get it taken care of! Don't forget to check your statements for things like that-you could be paying a fee for something you don't really need like we almost did!

Please give me your opinion...

I have a great vintage enamel top table. It has 2 slide out sides and a utensil drawer. It is in really good shape, and the slide outs, work very smoothly. The down side? A previous owner spray painted the table apron and legs grass green. I had it in the booth for 2 months and ended up bringing it home today. At first I had it priced at $100, then lowered it after the first 30 days to $75.

Was the price too high? Was it the green that turned people off? Should I spray the green a different color like red or white? Should I try it again in the booth in a few months? Am I stuck with it? What do you think?

Junkin With My Man!

Today was a fun date day of junkin with my man! For the past couple of summers, Kevin and I have spent Saturday mornings hitting some local garage and estate sales and today was the first Saturday junkin date of 2011-even though it is no where near summer. It was a quick trip to a couple of sales and a local shop that I've been wanting to stop at for a while. We were home by 10:30 with a LOT of fun treasures.

He is just as excited with his finds as I was with mine! We didn't set the alarm, didn't make major plans...if we woke up in time to go, then we'd go. If not, then we wouldn't-no big thing. We woke up late, and I almost decided to stay home, but we went anyway. I figured since we only had 20 minutes to wait until it opened once we got there, that we'd be in the high thirties or forties (street numbers). We were surprisingly 18 & 19. Even more surprising...a lot of people with numbers ahead of us left and didn't make it back when they opened the doors! We only ended up with 8 people in line in front of us when the door opened!

I found some Fiesta, Riviera, Pyrex, aprons, vintage kitchenware, an old bench and an old suitcase. Kevin found some old swords. He LOVES swords and knives (pretty much all weapons). His brother is coming over tomorrow to look at them-he thinks he might want to buy them from Kevin. I found one of them online-it's worth $159-he paid $40. The other two, I'm not having much luck with finding out anything about them. I think they might be cadet swords-but I can't figure out how old they are, or if they are reproductions.

This is our haul from the first sale:

The second sale was in competition with a neighbor holding an impromptu yard sale-taking advantage of the free advertising from the estate sale next door! We actually thought the estate sale was the yard sale-when the men running the estate sale came over and said "Hey, the estate sale is that house, not this one." They didn't seem very happy with the yard sale couple.

It was a gorgeous house! Prices were wayyyy too high-but it was fun to go to the sale just to see the house inside and out. Here is a quick snap I took of the outside of the house...

The last place was less than 3 miles from my house. It was a little shop in a shopping strip that had gone out of business, but is now back in a different space in the same strip...confusing right? I drove by it every day for several months last summer-always wanting to stop, but kept forgetting...until it was too late and they were gone-out of business. Now that they are back-I decided to stop. I really didn't miss anything last year by not stopping...but at least now I know-right?

It was a fun junkin date day for me and Kevin, and since we've been home, we've been pulling electrical wires up through the floors in our new (soon to be) sun room-boy is that a LOT of work! Unfortunately, we found a BIG mistake our hired builders made...no wonder Mike Holmes gets so much business on Holmes on Holmes!! Geesh! What goes through the minds of builders who think they can get away with this kind of stuff?!?!? I sent the builder a text message with a photo attached-in less than 2 minutes he sent a reply: "I'll stop by on Monday." His usual response time is 2 days!

Here is the picture I sent him...all I said is, I want you to see this picture of what we found...a support post sawed in half with the broken saw blade still stuck in it-and only one nail to secure it...

I wonder how he's going to fix a support post that his son sawed in half and left the broken saw blade still in the cut line...and put only one nail in it to secure it...a post that has been there for 2 years and should have NEVER even been touched...hmmmmm....I imagine I'll have more to tell on Monday! We would have never found it if we weren't running wire today...

I'm being summoned to pull more wires (darn! I thought we were done!), I will go for now...hope you had a fun day today!