Was it a Wasted Day?

I had planned to go to the booth first thing this morning to add some stuff, clean and straighten it some and then hit a sale or two and then head to the big sale at Williamston Antiques...Then I found an ad for an estate sale just a few miles away, and an auction a little further away.

At the estate sale I got...

I also got a couple of old brass and crystal lamps, that didn't make it in from the car yet!

Then Kevin and I went to an auction. I've been DYING to go to one for a lonnnng time. We used to go every week when the boys were little and it was cheap entertainment for us. We got some cheap treasures, and had a fun time.

I forgot how long auctions take! There was about 140-150 people there and it was at a hall that was PACKED with mostly junk. There were some good things mixed in, but mostly flea market junk. I went because the ad said "Fiesta collection". It was all post 86 Fiesta (made after 1986), and there wasn't much of it. After sitting there for 3 1/2 hours I finally asked one of the runners to ask the auctioneer if he would sell the Fiesta.

They did, and only the back up auctioneer was bidding against me-probably because they didn't want it to go so low. I got the pieces I wanted and flew out the door to the car. Kevin waited out there almost the entire time-he got bored inside, so he went out to read his book.

I think the prices were ok, but not fantastic. I got some harder to find pieces that will be good for the booth, so for that I am happy, but when I add up the cost of the gas, and the time I just sat there watching junk go for crazy high prices....I wonder if it was worth it after all.

I saw another couple from the antique mall where I have my booth. They really loaded up on one pattern of vintage china. I thought they paid way too much, but they seemed thrilled with their pieces. I can't imagine that they could make a profit at the prices they paid, because I've seen some of the pieces they bought in our mall and others for the same price.

I think I'll try a couple more auctions to make up my mind, but so far I think garage sales and estate sales are out-weighing auctions. I get a LOT more stuff in a lot less time, and I get better prices! This auctioneer wouldn't sell anything less than $3, and a lot of things he said "No interest? Then we'll move on" and the items didn't sell.

When we left, they still had about half again as much stuff to sell! I don't think I would ever sit for 8 hours at an auction-no matter how much I wanted the stuff!

Here is the Fiesta I got today...

What do you think? Was it a wasted day? Do you like auctions? Do you have any tips for me since I am (for now) attending them as a reseller and not just someone looking for cheap stuff and cheap entertainment? The box lots at this sale were stuff I would have just thrown away, I can't believe they were selling that stuff!

Friday Bargain Day

I was able to sneak out to a couple of sales today, but couldn't make a day of it because we were waiting to pick up Adam's car at the repair shop.  I spent the rest of the day soaking and ironing linens. I really HATE ironing! I have avoided it at all costs most of my life-and now that I plan to sell some of my hoarded tablecloths, I have to iron them better. I think I stink at ironing too!

Every time I get the iron out it makes me chuckle because I remember when we were doing a craft night at church with the kids, wayyyy back when Eric was probably kindergarten or so and we were ironing a design on to a white t-shirt that the kids would then paint.

We brought our iron in and my friend Mary was in charge of ironing, once each child picked their design. Eric was waiting in line and he looked at her and said, "That's our iron." She made some polite comment back and then he said, "We only use it on Sunday mornings." Out of the mouths of babes! My secret was out! LOL!

I've got several tablecloths, aprons, and hankies ready to go to the booth, as well as a couple I need to take pictures of to send to a blog friend who might be interested in them. I think I've ended my search for vintage tablecloths after all that soaking and ironing!!

Here is what I got today...

A felt Christmas tree with jingle bells and mini ornaments, a glasses carrier, a lamp, a ceramic bean pot, a picture frame, an Ohio Art barn, a wire flower frog, a blue bird, a pair of JAPAN pig salt & pepper shakers, a candlewick coaster and candle holder, a Lariat coaster, a yellow bow hat with netting, a black feather headband hat with netting, a candlewick cream and sugar set, a green juice bottle, a pair of crocheted hot pads with red roses, a pair of Japan egg cups that say "Eat Michigan Eggs", a bandanna apron, a strawberries apron, a pink and white crocheted hot pad, and two pieces of blue carnival glass.

What do you think the most expensive thing was? How much do you think the most expensive thing was? Would you believe the most I paid for any of these items was $1.50? It was a tie between the two carnival glass items. The rest was between a quarter and a dollar each-with most of the items being five, twenty five, or fifty cents!!!

Great End to a Busy Week!

It was gorgeous today! Everything was discombobulated around our house since Adam's car decided to die yesterday. Eric drove me to work on his way to school and since I had mega hours in at work, I only worked a few hours this morning to get the essentials done-so that meant Kevin had to come pick me up.

He wasn't game for any sales, but was more than agreeable for me to take his car. I've never really had to stop and think before if something was going to fit in my car when I've been out treasure seeking. Today I did-and I didn't like it!! I missed out on an awesome dresser at the last day of an estate sale! Oh well, I got enough other good things that I can let it go. Today just reinforces in my mind, at least, that I'm keeping my granny car (Buick Rendezvous)  until it turns belly up.!

I stopped at a few sales, two of them being estate sales. One was in it's last day. I must have read the ad wrong, because I thought it was the first day. Imagine my delight when I walked up the driveway and on their sign it said "50% off Day"! I got a bunch of linens & doilies, a vintage Christmas candle light, the copper s & p shakers, the felt Christmas stockings & angel, a Pyrex cookbook, and some older sheet music.

One ad said "dealers welcome". They didn't do a good job drawing you in from the descriptions in the ad, but when I saw those words, I figured it was worth a try. Boy, was I GLAD I went! I got two splash-proof Fire King mixing bowl-white with red polka dots!!! I've been watching these for years, on Ebay and at antique shops, and just drooling! They were always priced wayyy higher than my cheap wallet could afford. Today I got them for a steal! She actually took $12 off when I asked if she would go any lower! It was a "start the car quick" moment for sure!!!

I also picked up some more Pyrex bowls, a glass towel bar, a bag of yo-yo's (my very first!!!), some unfinished yo-yo's were also in the bag, and a spooner. I would have been happy with just the things I got at this sale--the other things just made it like the icing on the cake! Take a close look at the yo-yo thing that is out of the bag...what is it? It is open at one end, and it is just big enough to fit over my hand and arm and goes up to my elbow. It's too small to be a blender cover...not wide enough to be a toilet paper hider...am I just totally missing what it is? Are you laughing at me? :) Do you know what it is? Please tell!!

See the cake carrier on the left side? Black with painted flowers...it doesn't have the bottom, so it was only ten cents!!! I got the bottles at a fundraiser sale a friend from church was having. She's raising money for a mission trip to Haiti. When I walked up she told me she had a set of old Pyrex bowls and thought of me, but one of her volunteers that helped set up snatched them up! Ha! If she would have only set them aside when she thought of me!

The last sale I stopped at was at a place near home that I had good luck at last summer, so I stopped again. Their prices were fifty cents or less for the most part. I got some crystal toothpick holders, a mini hobnail vase, some Osterizer jars, some plates to plant in my flower bed next spring, and some more sheet music!

Tomorrow evening there is an auction that might be interesting...I'm waiting to see if Auntie wants to check it out with me! I need to get stuff cleaned, and priced and into the booth at some point this weekend as well as normal weekly household chores and volleyball Saturday night...maybe I should skip the auction and do my chores---but what fun would that be? :)

Enough blabbbbbbing already! Here is what I got today!

Off to see what you've been up to this week! Hope you have a great weekend!!! What did you think of my Would you buy it Wednesday post this week?

Would You Buy it Wednesday...Kinda Scary!

When I saw this today at a garage sale, I just had to take a quick snap of it! Would you buy it? It was $45...It's "very old" (or so I'm told) and it's made from paper mache. It was worn in parades "back in the day".

I am linking up to Stephanie at Junker Newbie for "Would You Buy It Wednesday". What do you think? Would you buy it??? Did I buy it??

Go on over to her blog and check out all of the fun things everyone else has been finding-maybe even post your own! While you're there, don't forget to "like" my post please!!!

So, How Did I Do?

Back in April I posted my "Summer 2011 Wishlist". A list of things I was hoping to find over the summer at garage sales, flea markets and estate sales. Here is what I posted that I would be looking for with updates-showing what I got...
               ~Vintage brightly colored tablecloths
               ~Vintage Fiesta #7 mixing bowl (2)
               ~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 think I did pretty good! I am glad I made the list so I could go back and cross things off-it makes me see how much I did find!


Some things I added to my list during the summer are:
     ~Vintage Sheet Music
     ~Vintage Furniture
     ~Vintage Picture Frames
     ~Colored Bottles
     
It's been a big, fun treasure hunt! I can't wait to see what I find over the fall and winter months. I wonder if I'll even have a wishlist for next summer... :)

Moonlight Madness Sale...

Just thought I'd pass this on to my Michigan friends. Williamston Antiques is having a moonlight madness sale!

I'm thinking about going...let me know if you're going, I'll look for you!

A Tribute to Ugliness??

Two posts in one day!!!

I had to run in to my booth today to straighten things up a bit and add in some things because I sold a big trunk yesterday, so it was all discombobulated and a mess! On the way there, I passed sign after sign of sales. "One Day Only" sales, "Vintage Sale", and garage sales and moving sales and an estate sale. I was talking to my mom on the phone (hands free) while I was driving and she always knew when I saw another sign-she heard the sharp in-take of breath and the big sigh.

The sigh was because I had to go do business at the booth before I could "play". I stored those sales away in my mind and trudged on to the booth. I think they helped me whip things into shape quickly, because I was in and out in less than an hour!

Didn't find anything at any of the sales until the last one...

The last sale I went to was the estate sale. All of the prices were really high-much higher than I'd like to spend. The sale was held in 2 garages and a living room of the house. I had just about given up on finding anything when I found a box of old Christmas lights (pretty good sized box), that had "$3 ALL" written on it. I dug through and found some ornaments in a box and walked over to the ladies holding the sale (all of 4 feet away), and asked if they would sell the ornaments separately. The lady cracked up laughing and told me to turn the box around and read what her mother wrote on the box.

"Nothing Special -a tribute to ugliness (use only in desperation)"! I cracked up too. She said her mother had a crazy sense of humor and she couldn't understand why she just didn't toss them out rather than go to all the trouble of writing this message on the box.

She said, I could have them for free since they were so ugly. LOL!
She kind of stuttered on the word ugly-almost like she was afraid of hurting my feelings since I was asking to buy them. It was pretty funny!

I don't think they are ugly-they will look wonderful in my giant ornament jar-and you can't beat FREE!!!

Would you Buy Them?

Last Saturday, I went to a wonderful sale and loaded up my car. I got some great bargains and some really fun things. These 4 chippy chairs were part of what I took home. I got some oilcloth and recovered the seats...what do you think? Would you buy them?

Linking up a little late to Would You Buy it Wednesday at Junker Newbie-click on the link and take a look at all the fun stuff people have been finding!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

(Cue the music to the song "Wild Thing")...Free box....I think I love you! (I couldn't come up with a Christmas song to match my excitement!)

I went to a sale today, that I almost skipped because it was kind of off the beaten path and a little out of the way. I am sooooo glad I decided to go! I only had a short amount of time when I got off work until I had to take Eric to get his formal senior picture taken, so I was trying to keep it within just a couple of miles of my work and my house.

This sale was about 15 minutes away, in the next town. It was in a sleepy little sub with nary a single car drifting down the road (notice- trying to stick with the Christmas theme?). I walked up and stopped first at the free boxes (there were 2). I found so many awesome things in the free boxes that I had to ask if I could set it all down somewhere so I could still look!

I could feel them chuckling at me when I wasn't looking. Have you ever felt that when you were at a sale and found the good stuff? I wasn't hooting and hollering, but I sure was smiling...and I guess, loading up on stuff. The sale was being run by a couple who looked to be in their late sixties and the stuff they were selling was from an older lady whom I'm guessing was the mother of the woman, and I'd say she was in her mid to late 80's.

She was soo sweet! She looked a lot like my grandma who just passed a little over a month ago, except there was one huge difference, she just had an air of kindness and sweetness about her. I'm not being mean or talking ill of the deceased-just stating a fact.

She collects cat figurines and anything cat related-but doesn't have real cats! She said she's been collecting figurines since she was 16 and she has over 16,000! Over 85 cat magnets on her fridge! Will my Fiesta collection be that large by the time I'm her age? Yikes! Scary thought!

Enough talking-show the stuff--right??

 These beauties weren't in the free box, but they were a steal of a deal!

 A chenille full size bedspread-can you see the price on the sticker? Yup-$2!!! SWEET!

 A red vintage tablecloth in the lower left corner under a pile of doilies, a free kitty tin a bunch of Christmas decorations for free or ten cents each, knitting needles-the whole lot for twenty cents, a vintage purse and a vintage bar towel for a dime!

Here are some close up shots of the wonderful ornaments!

Purple stripes??? LOVE it!!!

I'm hoping that we will be buying the wood for the built in bookcases this weekend-so maybe soon I'll have some pics to show our progress!

Death By Chocolate!

I took my family's favorite dessert to my nephew's farewell party on Saturday as a thank you gift for my sister-in-law for being a picker for hire for me. It went really fast! It always does. I thought I'd share the simple recipe with you so you can enjoy it too!

Bake 1 box of brownies according to directions on box. Cool completely. Mix 2 small boxes of fat free, sugar free chocolate pudding with milk (use amount specified on box) and set aside.

Smash two double packs of Heath bars in the package with a rolling pin until small chunks. Thaw 1 large cool whip container-I usually use fat free.

Break up the brownie into small pieces and line the bottom of a glass bowl or trifle dish with brownie. Cover with a layer of chocolate pudding. Cover with a thin layer of Heath bar chunks. Cover that with a layer of cool whip.

Repeat layers until you end up with cool whip on the top and sprinkle with heath bits. it is better when it has a chance to sit in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.

ENJOY!!!

Don't Forget to Check-Out My Blog List!!

Over the summer I've added several new blogs to my favorites list, so don't forget to scroll through and check them out! My "must read" list is getting longer as my free time is getting shorter! If you have a blog that I've missed send me an email and I'll add it to my list!

Visited a New Place on Saturday...

On our way to Kevin's sister's house on Saturday to say farewell to our nephew Nick (he leaves tomorrow for the Coast Guard), we stopped in White Lake at the Fisk Farm Festival. The Fisk Farm is right in front of Walmart on M-59. I've seen the signs the past couple of summers and have wondered what it was all about.

Well, now I will wonder no more! You can visit their website to see more information if you are interested. It's a festival that they have been holding since 1986, and it is their main fundraiser of the year. It was $1 per person to enter, and there were lots of fun things for little kids to do as well as a few people with tables selling stuff. There was even a kettle corn booth-but $8 was out of my price range for a bag of kettle corn!

It was interesting going into the old buildings and looking around. There were even some women dressed in period clothing. In on building they were peeling apples and making fresh apple pies! They were selling slices out of the back door. They smelled delish-but we didn't want to ruin our appetite for dinner at his sister's house-especially since I brought Greek pasta salad and death by chocolate!

Here are a couple of pics I took. Sorry about the quality-cell phones aren't the best-especially when you are in a hurry!

 Fresh apple pie cooling on an old hoosier!

Alpacas-they liked the people at the other end of the fence better than us!

There was only one lady selling stuff that might have been interesting, but it wasn't old enough. I was hoping it would be a BIG festival with LOTS of vendors like Greenmead-at least now I know! It still would be a fun afternoon family outing if you had small kids though-so if you are in the area, and have small kids-check it out!!

I met a new friend today!

After our big fall kick-off for student ministries at work/church today, Kevin and I went to the Greenmead Flea Market. I think it is more like a vintage/antiques/collectibles market and not so much flea. I just LOVE this flea market! It is pretty close to home and there is a lot of good quality stuff at mostly reasonable prices. Some of the vendors are crazy high in their prices-but aren't there vendors like that everywhere?

We got a late start, I didn't even leave the church until 12:20-so I hurried through the first section because I had a date to meet a blog buddy in person for the first time between 1 and 1:30 at the hot dog stand. I really enjoyed meeting Jeri and her beautiful daughter Abby today! I'm trying to talk her into doing a blog of her own! It sounds like she has a lot of fun collections-and projects! She and her daughter make beautiful button bracelets!! In fact, she brought me a couple of vintage buttons as a gift! How sweet is that?!?!

We spent a little while treasure hunting together-I wish it could have been longer-but Kevin was ready to go! He always zooms through and if he doesn't find anything-he is antsy to go! Plus it was soo stinking H O T!! I felt like I was a melty, drippy, sweaty mess!

I didn't get much today, but I am thrilled with what I did get! I am keeping 1 thing, maybe 2...can you guess what?

Ok, so maybe I'll keep three things...I saw a really fun utensil hanger in Flea Market Style magazine that used an old beater as the thing that all of the other vintage utensils hung from-I think I'm going to try to make one. The Harlequin novelty pitcher was a steal and the best thing I found all day! The purple vase is fun and different from any of the other things I have in purple, so that is the third and the "maybe".

The rest of it will find a spot in the booth. I have to start getting rid of some of what I've got stashed in the basement anyway! What used to be a nice finished family room in a walkout basement, has turned into staging and storing central and needs to be whittled down!

How about you? Did you get to any sales or festivals today?

This is what my sister-in-law picked up for me the other day! Don't you just LOVE the little red chair?!?

Guess where I'm going tomorrow???

Greenmead's Fall Flea Market!!! I'll be getting a late start since it is also "Launch" Sunday for the new year in Student Ministries at church (which is also my work). I assist 3 youth directors, and we are planning on having about 400 people at our launch! It's a really great time to gather parents and students together to worship together and pray for the new year. They also get to sign up for fall retreats at a discounted price, get a free t-shirt, and they can get their permission slips notarized for the entire year's worth of trips and activities all at one time!

So, by the time that is all done, I'll be leaving for Greenmead around 11:45 or 12. Kevin and/or Eric, may or may not go this time-remember last fall when Kevin bought all that enamelware? He still has it all. It's on an upper shelf is his woodworking shop in the barn all on display. I may even end up on my own...if something better comes up for them to do.

I also have another reason to be excited! I am meeting a blogging buddy (Jeri) and her daughter! We're meeting at the hot dog stand-how fun will that be to meet up at such a fun flea market!?!? Can't wait!!! Are you going to Greenmead tomorrow? You can join us-we're meeting between 1 and 1:30. I'll have my red granny cart and I'll be wearing a distressed red t-shirt that says CSM.

Had a nice day with family today. Saying farewell to our nephew who is leaving in 3 days for boot camp for the Coast Guard. Too tired to drag the camera out to show you what my sister-in-law picked for me-that will have to wait til tomorrow! She threw in a few extras that she picked up at another sale too! She actually had fun picking-even though antiques are not really her thing.

We stopped at Sonic on the way home tonight and Eric got a pumpkin pie shake....YUMMMM! Even though we still haven't gotten over them discontinuing the banana cream pie shake...this is pretty awesome! I tried a little sip...mmmmm!

I'm off to catch up on what you've been doing and finding! Hope you are all having a great weekend so far!!!

Another Busy Day!

I was able to get to a couple of sales this morning, although I didn't get an early start! I didn't leave the house until almost 9. There were two houses right next door to each other that were about 2 miles from my house that were having sales. One of the houses used to belong to the brother of the old farmer that used to live down our road. He passed away a few years ago well into his 90's, and his brother passed more recently.

One of my fondest memories of our elderly neighbor was hearing a car honking all the way up the hill of our driveway. We live on a dead end dirt road with only 3 houses and lots of cornfields, so it was always startling when someone would pull into the driveway, not to mention honking all the way up!

When we would run out to see what was going on, he'd be sitting there waiting for us and would usually have my empty dishes to hand back (I used to cook more than what we needed for dinner and take him dinner 3 or 4 nights a week for a while-until I found out he didn't need it, because half of the county cooked him meals and baked him desserts every week!). A lot of weeks in the summer he would pop the trunk on his car and tell me, he had a six pack for me in the back.

His "six pack" was a cardboard 6 pack beer bottle carrier-filled with 6 ears of sweet corn! I miss him a lot! His house sits vacant and we have to drive past it to get to ours. He set his field on fire one year with his burning barrel when it was too windy to burn. It was really scary for several hours-we could have lost our house had the fire jumped the road! Kudos to the 5 fire departments who kept it on the opposite side of the road!

The second sale was right next door and I've been to a sale there a couple of years ago. I've been hoping for a couple of years that they would have a sale again, because they have great stuff at GREAT prices. I almost hyperventilated when I parked in their yard! (kidding! My heart did pound a bit harder though!)

I filled my car at their sale! Within a half an hour, I had my car loaded and had to head for home! They were flabbergasted that I bought so much. I was thrilled with what I got and the prices I got it for! Wanna see what I got?

This is from the first sale:

 A pair of vintage napkins-looks like they were never used!

 A pile of vintage hankies! LOVE vintage hankies!!

The tablecloth that matches the napkins-it was definitely used-it is faded a bit.

This is what I got at the second sale:

 An old iron twin bed-with side rails. I've always wanted one of these-but really have no place for it. Should I save it for when the boys move out? Or should I put it in the booth to sell?

 This is a wood shelf that curves-not liking the gold too much...wonder what color would look better...

 A set of 4 of these chippy, rusty darlings. Not crazy about the seats-I'm thinking something much brighter and cheerier.

 An old wicker bed tray.

 A canister and bread box set-the whole set was $4!

 A child's rocker-I've sold one already in the booth-it went within a week! Hopefully this one will go as fast!

 I just love the bright colors on this! Plus I am missing our girls. They were a lot of work, but they sure were entertaining to have around!

 A little jam jar?

 I'm looking forward to reading this! From 1965.  It was only fifty cents!

This is from the town I grew up in! There are two of them.

I have no idea what this is! LOL! I just thought it looked interesting and my mind is spinning with possibilities! Do you know what it is? Would you buy it?

I had to run home and unload before I could head to the other two sales on my list for the day! The next sale was an estate sale. I saw the pictures on estatesales.net, and the stuff looked pretty dirty. I was right, it was pretty dirty. I got a few things, but this wasn't one of them!

I had to take a picture of this! I couldn't believe my eyes! $25 for a Scrabble game? Really? 

This Fiesta tumbler was only $1.

I had a set of the old lawn Jarts (or darts-depending on where you are from) in my hands and was looking around and one of the workers came and took them away and said someone else was already buying them. Bummer!!! They were only $1! I didn't even see a pile, but as I gave them up a man further in the garage thanked her for watching out for his stuff. 

 The creamer is actually from yesterday-on my way home from work-fifty cents!

I stopped for a quick minute today at a charity thrift store and picked up this tablecloth-I love the bold red with the white stripe! 

I picked up a few things yesterday that got mixed in...

 I didn't even know there were glasses in this pattern-did you?? Underneath is a gravy boat and under plate.

 A small refrigerator dish.

 More Pyrex!!!

A couple of floral prints that I think are older than their frames.

Yesterday and today were quick little trips squeezed in between running errands for the family and doing other mom stuff. It was short but sweeeeeeeeeeet! Did you get out yesterday or today? I'm heading to your blog next to see what you did or found!!

I'm linking up to Stephanie's linky party at Junker Newbie for Would You Buy it Wednesday -hoping to see if anyone would have bought the rusty metal stand thing, and if anyone knows what it is!!