Trying to get to all the last sales of the season!

There has been an overabundance of sales lately. Everyone trying to get the last bits of junk cleared out before the snow falls, and everyone is stuck inside looking at it for the winter. I've been to several sales the past couple of weekends, but only a few things have caught my eye.

I found out on Monday of last week, that I will be needing surgery, It is scheduled for November 5. I'm very happy and very impressed with my surgeon. I had an appointment with a different one, but my husband who works in the trauma burn operating room, made me switch to a different surgeon, because he didn't know anything about her. This new surgeon came very highly recommended by all of the nurses, and when I met her, I was very impressed with how down to earth she is, how knowledgeable she is and how easy to talk to she is.

She spent a considerable amount of time with me at my appointment-it was 2 hours and 45 minutes long!! Then when I had a couple more questions and emailed her about the questions, she called me at 8:30 at night to answer every last question-never rushing me, never making me feel stupid, and never being impatient.

After the doctor appointment on Monday, I stopped at Knightsbridge just to wander around a bit and let my mind veg out for a bit after that long appointment. I didn't find anything I couldn't live without, but I did enjoy my time wandering and checking out all of the treasures in the many booths.

The rest of the week just flew by, and before I knew it, it was Thursday afternoon and time for the weekend! I went to a couple of sales after work, and then Mr. and I started a marathon cooking evening. We cooked 20 beef meals for the freezer. Next weekend, we plan to do 20 chicken meals for the freezer. We used to do marathon cooking on a regular basis, but we've gotten away from it and we've missed it. We would spend a weekend cooking for 3-4 months at a time and freeze it.

It feels good knowing that it's all in the freezer, ready to be used, and that no one will have to go to any trouble for meals while I recovery from surgery. I should be up and pretty much back to normal within a week,but am told I will need to be off work for 4-6 weeks.

I went to a couple of quick sales on Friday morning before heading to Dearborn Heights to help some friends get their dad's stuff ready for an estate sale. The dad had to be moved to assisted living, so they are trying to clear out his house to get it ready to sell.

We spent about 6 1/2 hours pricing stuff. They did all of the hard work of pulling everything out and sorting it onto tables throughout the house. I just worked with them on pricing things. I wasn't thinking there would be as much stuff as there was. He was a collector of quite a few things. He had a big collection of carnival glass and a large collection of Patrician Spoke depression glass.

I can only imagine the hours the family has put into getting everything ready for pricing!There was so much stuff!! We spent some time looking up prices online on some of the items that were out of my realm. I think everything is very fairly priced. It is a good deal for the shoppers and the family will make some money for their father at the same time.

Saturday, Mr. and I went to a couple of sales, but they were all frogs-not one prince to be found, and we came home empty handed. We did a few things around the house and then went and played a couple of hours of volleyball-it was a lot of fun, with some really long plays-FUN!\

Today, we're taking it slow, doing a few things around the house, and relaxing and enjoying the 72 degree, sunny day. Next weekend Auntie and I are going to Davisburg for the Antique Festival there-I can't wait!! I'm trying to talk Mr into the GR vintage street fair on the 12th, but other than that, I don't have any plans in the near future for festivals or flea markets-I might go through withdrawals!! I'm kidding--kind of!

Here are the things I picked up this week...

 This matches a canister set that I got a few years ago! It was a great price, and I had a great chat with the seller-a former dealer in an antique mall in Allen, who lives in my area.

 Can't wait to sit on the front porch and watch the leaves change!

 404 Friendship!!

Must be the time of year for orange Pyrex!!

Last Trip to Midland Antiques Festival for the Season

Since we missed the first two antique festivals at the Midland Fairgrounds this year, we weren't going to miss out on the last one of the season-not even with a 60% chance of rain in the forecast! Auntie and I left just as daylight was showing up. It sprinkled a little on the way, and we even saw some lightening, but we weren't letting that worry us. We had rain jacket/ponchos and a couple of umbrellas in our granny carts, and we were chomping at the bit to get to the treasures!

Within the first five minutes, we ran into my blog buddy Marie. It was great seeing you Marie!! We crossed paths a few times, and at the end of the day, we ended up at the same place at the same time-how cool is that!?!

We walked our legs off today! As long as I kept moving, my back seemed to not hurt as much, it was when I stopped and stood in one place that I had a hard time. So, I kept going, and going.I saw so many fun things to look at. I even picked up a cobalt blue glass-what I thought was a rolling pin but turned out to be an oil jar/bottle. The tag was halfway ripped off so it looked like it was $5. I should have known for how fast the dealer ran to my side when I picked it up that it wasn't $5. It was only tapered at one end so it was obvious it wasn't a rolling pin. The actual price was $145!! I put it down as quickly, and as gently as I possibly could! I wasn't looking to spend that kind of money on everything I bought today-and especially not on only one thing.

One of the food vendors was selling apple cider slushies-YUM!!! It was just as good as our local orchard. The man running the booth said he's been voted #5 in the state. I didn't even know there was a rating system for cider slushies-did you?? Now I'm anxious to get the the cider mill for fresh hot donuts and cider slushies!

There seemed to be a really good mix of things for sale. It didn't seem like any one thing or type of thing took over and was everywhere. There was a lot of vintage Pyrex, tablecloths, quilts, vintage kitchenware and a lot of rusty, crusty metal. I even saw a dealer from an antique store in Plymouth! I had plenty of my favorite things to look at today, and I enjoyed every minute of it!

The sun eventually came out, and even though it was super windy, it turned out to be a great day-it even got up to 80 degrees by the time we left! I'm so glad we didn't let the weather forecast scare us off!! We spent the hour and a half, each way, drive time catching up, solving all the problems of the world and planning our next treasure hunting trip to Davisburg the first weekend in October.

 First purchase of the day!

 I LOVE iron beds!!!

 So many quilts, and linens!!

 I've had a teapot in the barn for probably 5 years, waiting to do this.

 I'd love another bottle tree-Mr. needs to get busy and make another one!

 Look at all the Fiesta! I used to get very excited when I would see this every year. Now that I've been collecting for a while, I look, but that's it.

 I didn't get a very good picture. This is the same food trailer that was at Davisburg last spring. They have subs and wraps-much better for you than the usual fair type greasy food. The vendor told us they make their own bread too! It was very yummy and perfectly toasted-hope they are at Davisburg in October!!

 I took this picture to show Mr. what we are going to do with my sewing machine base and my yardstick collection!

 Auntie's cart about 1/2 way through...

 Both of our carts at the end. I've been known to share my cart space a time or two. 

Here's the trunk shot!

 Yes...I have to take a picture of the same sign...every year.

These are my treasures for the day. The more that I look at the quilt, the more I LOVE it!! The white Federal set was $8 for three bowls and a batter bowl, the small set in the corner is a fired-on set-no markings, but way to cool to walk away from, the butterprint casserole is a 475, and the funky piece of fabric was only $1. Of course, I did get kettle corn, but a much smaller bag than what I usually get. Some years, I've come home with only a giant bag of kettle corn and great memories. This year, I got the kettle corn, great treasures and more great memories!!


Hope you are having a great weekend! I'm looking forward to seeing your treasures!

End of the Summer Sales Might be The Best Sales of the Year!

After work yesterday, Mr. and I hopped in the car and headed to a few local garage sales. We both had fun hunting for treasures. He got a bunch of old tools and I got some things I love. It was the day for hidden treasures and super low prices!

One sale I went to had a stack of HLCC souvinir plates, the kind you get when you do the factory tour.When I saw them, I got excited, thinking that maybe someone was a fiesta fanatic, so I asked the guy running the sale. He didn't even know they were in the sale. He said his son got them in a box lot at an auction. As we were pulling out, he and his son were looking at them and talking-I wonder if they think they are more valuable now, and listed them online, or if they lowered the $2 each price since they were a freebie to begin with.

 I almost couldn't keep a poker face when I was told that this was only a quarter!!

 SO much work went into this bottle cap trivet...such a shame that I got it for a quarter!! I've never seen one with so much extra detail-love the little flowers!!!

Total spent: $3.10-Great weather, great treasures and great prices!

This morning, I got a late start. I've been moving slowly with a really achy back, but I made myself keep moving! I only had a two hour window because a repairman was coming to fix our oven. We had a bad storm a week ago that wiped out our power for 25 hours, and it wiped out our oven. Good thing it's only 5 months old and the repairs are free!

The repair guy tried to get me by handing me the receipt and telling me it was going to be charged to my credit card. When I said, "o.k." he couldn't believe it. I reminded him he had already told me it was under warranty, and I hadn't given him my card number. He laughed, he said most people fall for it, and start to get cranked up before he tells them he's kidding. Charming guy-huh? It makes me laugh knowing I didn't fall for his prank.

Today's sales were more of the same-great prices and a couple of hidden gems tucked away on tables of things either not interesting to me or way over-priced.

This is what I got today:

 A box full of wind chime materials for $3

 The little one was inside of the big one, and they were sold as a set for $4.

 I love old cook books and for ten cents, I couldn't pass it up!

The square flowers casserole was $1, and the mini pie plate was supposed to be a quarter, but the lady running the sale told me to just take it!

Total spent today: $8.10. Total for both days: $11.20 and so much fun was had! That moment when you happen upon a treasure,and your heart starts beating really fast and your palms start sweating a little...and you have to hold yourself back from squealing out-loud, and pretend a fake nonchalance...priceless!! To have it happen 3 or more times in two days-AWESOME!!!

I have a Dr. appointment on Monday and I'm probably going to have to have surgery, so I'm trying to make myself get out and about now, even though I don't feel the greatest, because I'm not sure how long the recovery time will be, and that means I'm not sure how long I'll be out of treasure hunting.

Tomorrow, Auntie and I are going to Midland for the last Antiques Festival of the year. I may be moving slow, and I may not make it all the way through, but I'm going!!

Finished Project---Solar Chandelier!

I just realized that I never got around to showing pics of the finished solar chandelier! The lights are a little crooked because I didn't want to glue them down so they could be replaced when the burn out. I'm o.k. with crooked. I've come a long way! Crooked used to drive me crazy, but now, it just gives something more character (IMO).

Hanging on a shepherd's hook, outside my kitchen window and my sun room window, so I can see it from a couple of different rooms-love the smile on my face when I see it all lit up at night!!

A Few Sprinkles, a surprise package and a Few Treasures!

Today is really chilly! Hasn't even hit sixty degrees, and it's been sprinkling on and off all day. This morning started off with a very early Fedex delivery. I was expecting to go to the front porch and find a box from Amazon with text books for one of my guys. Instead, I found this...

I saw that it was addressed to my youngest, so I sent him a text right away. I was assuming he'd decided to get back into raising chickens and expected the box to have chicken eggs inside. Since he was at school, it took him a while to get back to me. During that time, I left the house to shop some driveways. I left the package on the porch.

About a half an hour later, I got a text from him, asking me to take the box in the house because it contained his new "pets". Since I was gone, he said he was sure they were packed well, and they'd be fine. When I asked what his new "pets" were, he said..."scorpions, how cool is that!?! Don't worry, they aren't deadly." Included with the text is a whistling smiley face with raised eyebrows!! I cracked up! You gotta love this kid, he keeps us on our toes-never a dull moment and lots of laughs!!

There are three of them. They are not nice to look at (IMO). Lucy thinks they are new toys, and sits on his bed barking at the aquarium, trying to get them. He's been warned about what will happen if they ever get loose!

I went to a few garage sales today, despite the on and off sprinkles. Some people were wearing winter coats! I was fine in a tshirt and capris-I like cooler weather though. I was reminded that you can't really tell from the road what you might find on a table in a garage. Underneath a smaller oval plate, I found two vintage red Fiesta oval platters! They both have some gray utensil marks, but I'm hoping a good cleaning with BKF will take care of that!

I stopped at a small local antique shop and there was a barn sale behind it. They guy having the sale does estate clean-outs (that's what one of his workers told me), and there was a HUGE hodge-podge of stuff. I got a Hazel Atlas striped coffee mug. I've never seen it in yellow before, so I was pretty excited!

My next stop was at a garage sale that happens every year, a couple of times a year. Usually I find a couple little things, but most of the time things are too pricey for me. Today was different, they had a big section that was half off!! I know I don't need another quilt...but I couldn't walk away!!! The price was really great! It's hand stitched...some of the material is disintegrating, so that's a bummer, but it really is a pretty quilt-even with the damage.

Then I decided to visit the antique mall where I used to have my booth. today is the start of their annual back to school sale, and it's been about 6 months since I've been there. LOTS of changes since I've been gone!! I was happy to see my favorite worker was still there! She's so sweet, and always has s smile for everyone! Lots of new dealers too! Some booths still look the same and still have the same things in the same places, but for the most part, it was almost like visiting a new mall!

The sales are great! A lot of dealers are participating. It's fun to look for the sale signs as you walk into the booth, and then do the math in your head when you find something you can't live without! I got lucky with a 40% discount in one booth and a 25% discount in another and I picked up a vintage yellow Fiesta carafe (missing the lid, but the price was great), and a giant pickle jar.

Here are some pics of the quilts I got last weekend...all spread out.

So much hard work to end up at an estate sale for $1...someone had to rescue them, even if they aren't in great shape. The first one wasn't $1, but it was very cheap. It almost looks like it could be a rug, but it's a quilt top. It needs to be finished...one of these days I'm going to surprise everyone and myself and start sewing...when I have time (smile).

Tomorrow's another busy day, I'm sure I'll have LOTS to post. Until then, I'm off to see what you've been doing. Hope you have a great weekend!!!

A Weekend Filled with Fleas

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a long time, so when I started not feeling well on Wednesday, I was starting to worry that I wasn't going to be able to get out and about. This weekend I had five different flea markets mapped out, with plans to visit them all. I skipped the one that was the furthest away, but did make it to 4 out of the five.

Four of the fleas were scheduled for Saturday, and one was scheduled for today. We had a really bad storm roll through on Friday, and we lost power around 7:30 pm. Mr left around 5:30 for a weekend in Ohio for 1812 reenactment stuff with his brother-in-law, so it was just my two guys and I. Within a half an hour, they were getting the generator out and ready to go. It's a good thing, too, because our power ended up being out for 25 hours.

I found it interesting how much we take for granted electricity and wifi...until it's gone! The main road by our house is still closed while they clean up downed trees and wires, but our power has been restored. That's why yesterday was a perfect day to take in three flea markets.

I visited the Maple Street Mall Flea Market in Mason, as well as the antique mall because they are having great sales inside through the 12th. I found an awesome light purple chenille bedspread, but I talked myself out of it. How many chenille bedspreads can one person have?? I also visited the Columbia Street Mall & Bargain Barn, but didn't find anything I couldn't live without.

I checked out the Thrifter Sisters Flea at the Fowlerville Fairgrounds. They charged a $5 admission for this flea market, which was very small. I got there just as it was opening, and was surprised to see very few cars in the parking lot, and was very disappointed to see so few vendors. I just looked at their facebook page and see that it looks like more vendors came after I left, because some of the things they have pictured weren't there by the time I left.

I wonder if the storm the night before kept people from bringing their stuff to sell...I was done visiting all the booths within about 10-15 minutes. I hope they can build their vendor base for this flea market because it would be great to have a big vintage flea so close to home.

I also visited a Trunk Sale at a local church. They rent two car spaces that are end to end (lengthwise) for $10 (with all proceeds going to their food bank) and sellers park their car in one end and spread out their stuff in the other space. Some people had tables, some people just put out tarps and sold their stuff from there.

It was a lot bigger than I expected. It was free to get in to shop, and there was a really good mix of fun things to look through. I hope to visit this sale again next year...maybe I'll even see about renting some space and try selling some stuff. Even though I only bought two things, I am thrilled with them and I'm glad I went.

I stopped at an estate sale that I totally missed on Thursday and Friday, and I'm so bummed I missed it in the earlier days, because looking at the online pictures, I found some things I would have loved to have bought. They were of course, gone when I went Saturday morning. Saturday was the last day of the sale, and everything except furniture was $1.

I've never been to a sale where everything left was $1. Have you? There were TONS of things left, but I only found two things that I couldn't leave behind. When I first got there, there was only one other guy and his little boy shopping the sale, but when I left the road in front of the house was lined on both sides with car after car.

This morning I had to work. It is our annual fall kick-off day, and it was also the last of two Greenmead Flea Markets of the year. By the time I was done with work, the flea market had been going on for a little over two hours. I started for home, but talked myself into turning around and going to the sale. Admission is only $2, and it's only about 25 minutes away, and I knew I'd be going home to an empty house, so I decided to go for it!

I didn't get much, but it's ALWAYS fun to look! I really enjoyed people watching as I walked around to all the booths. I'm still smiling at a group of young people, late teens to early twenties who found an old "leather" jacket at one of the booths, and it fit one of the guys. Just to watch their faces, and see how excited they got over the jacket was so much fun! I think the vendor and her husband were getting a good chuckle out of it too, especially when the guys found out the jacket was only $5!!

A little further down the line, a woman walked up and found some Smurf glasses, and it was fun to hear her squeal with delight when she found them. Her husband was quickly behind her saying shhhh! She found the ones she needed for her collection and was very happy. I love seeing people find just what they were looking for! I know how fun that is and how good it feels so it always makes me smile when I see others experiencing that kind of joy.

It seemed like there were a lot more vendors this time, compared to other years. There was a really good mix of things to look at and buy, and even though it was only 73 degrees, it sure felt a LOT hotter in the sun!! I felt bad for the sellers who didn't have tents to block the sun-they must have been melting!

Here is what my weekend looked like...

 Borrowed his nephew's clothes to go off on a new adventure. 

 This was the Thrifter Sisters flea...I'd guess there were between 7-10 vendors while I was there.

Greenmead...a gorgeous day and LOTS to see!

These are my treasures from the weekend. The dress form has the base, but no pole. The quilt next to it and the one directly in front of it are in pretty rough shape, but they were only $1 each. The giant hatpin and the quilt top in the front were from Greenmead, and the wire basket was a great deal at the trunk sale for fifty cents!

The Pyrex bowl is for my trade pile...hoping to trade it for a piece I need. I have a couple of trade pieces now, so hopefully I will find someone to trade with soon. If you're a trader and you're looking for this Golden Scroll, send me an email!

I'm going to soak in the sunshine and the quiet house for the rest of the day until the guys all start coming back home...hope you have a great rest of the weekend! Next weekend is the Run for Their Lives 5C walk, and I'm thinking of going to the Renaissance Festival...I'm not sure though. Have you been to it? Do you have to dress up? How out of place will I be if I don't dress up??

One month ends,and another begins...

What's the best thing to do on a long weekend?? Treasure hunting!!! On Saturday, Mr. and I went to a couple of local sales. He wanted to re-visit a local "guy" sale that he checked-out earlier in the week, and then we just followed a few signs for a couple of other sales. The "guy" sale was pretty picked over, it was the last day. Mr. didn't find anything, but I found a couple of things.

The next sale was also an estate sale. It ended up being a really high-end sale, that we probably wouldn't have gone to if we'd known, but since we were just following a sign, and the other houses in the sub didn't reflect anywhere near how upscale this house turned out to be. I picked up a couple of cookbooks and a hiking book for Mr.

The next sale, was a perpetual local barn sale. I honestly don't know why I continue to stop at this sale year after year. The prices are really high, and they aren't willing to deal. They had an estate sale at the house earlier this year for a few weekends, and all the estate left-overs were moved to the barn. I did get a couple of cookbooks, but almost put them back because the price listed on the sign and the price when I got to the check-out table weren't the same. When I said no thanks, and headed to put them back, the seller talked herself into the lower price after all.

Then we came home and worked on some projects. We turned a Menard's pendant light into a Mason jar light over the table in the sun room. I think it turned out awesome!! I LOVE it!! Sunday was a quiet day, with a nice family visit, and today was another day of, wandering and treasure hunting for me and my youngest.

We went to Livonia to the Town & Country Antique Mall. It was the weirdest shopping experience I've ever had.Weird in a good way, not bad...I'm still trying to figure it out. When we were turning to go into a second room/area, an older man came toward us quickly, with a HUGE grin on his face. He had his arms up, and his hands were about shoulder high waggling back and forth. He looked so happy and excited to see us!

We just smiled and kept walking, but as we walked past, he said "I told my wife that today would be a good day for volleyball." We both chuckled a little and stepped into the booth where an older woman was looking at some glassware. I zeroed in on a Friendship casserole dish and as I picked it up, he followed us in and said, "Whenever I lose my wife in this place, it's always in this booth.". I laughed and said it was a good booth to get lost in-with so many fun things to look at. Then he and his wife moved on.

Both Eric and I were laughing to ourselves at how funny that was, and then we both realized, that neither of us were wearing anything volleyball related (since we play so much, usually one of us has a vball shirt on). How in the world did he know to say that? He seemed to think he knew us, and someone who does know us, knows about our love of volleyball...but we didn't know him!! How weird!!

We visited Town Peddler after that then on to Hobby Lobby and a trip through the parking lot at Ikea. There weren't any parking spots, so we decided to skip trying to fight the crowds. After that, we worked our way home stopping here and there, just hanging out, enjoying each other's company. I know these days are going to end soon. They are getting fewer and farther between, as the should, but I'm going to jump on it every time either he or his brother are willing to hang out with mom.

This is what my weekend looked like...

 Each metal basket was a quarter!! Each custard cup was thirty cents.

 Getting ready to spray the insides.

 All sprayed and hanging in the dining room. I'm looking for a small mirror to glue in the middle.

 New lights in the sun room!! Still need to paint the rings black, but that's going to be a project for another day.

 Today's only vintage treasure...the Friendship casserole on the bottom.

 A non-vintage treasure...that looks vintage!

I've been wanting a vintage one of these for a long, long time. I doubt I'll ever find one in my cheap-o price range,so when I found this one at Home Goods, I couldn't get it in the cart fast enough!!

Hope you all had a great weekend!! Next weekend I've got 4 different flea markets on my list...I wonder if I can make it to all of them... :)