Friday Finds...from Downtown Detroit!

Yesterday Auntie and I set off on another treasure seeking adventure. We went to downtown Detroit. Not to the areas that are being renewed...but to a kind of iffy area. There were some really beautiful homes that were taken care of, and right next door, there were homes that were burned out and boarded up.

It was a lot different from any other areas we have been to for estate sales. We live in the suburbs, about an hour west of Detroit. In our neck of the woods, the houses aren't so close together and we don't have whole rows of abandoned and/or burned out houses near us.

We decided that we would check out the neighborhood where the sale was, and if it didn't look safe, we would just keep on driving and head back toward home. It ended up being fine, and we did stop. I'm glad we did!! We got to go into a home that in its younger years, I'm sure, would have been quite a beauty! It had been let go, and needed some work to freshen it up.

It wasn't in such bad shape that it should be torn down. It was just worn down and tired. The plaster walls were cracked all over and needed repairs, the floors needed attention and the kitchen needed updates. Overall, if someone was willing to put in some sweat equity-they will have a beautiful home. I really loved the cove ceilings, the solid wood original doors with crystal knobs. The fireplace was pretty awesome too-with the original woodwork.

I think I have enjoyed going in to these older homes and seeing all the original workmanship, as much as I have enjoyed the treasure hunt-it all makes the experience special. Sometimes I wish the walls could talk-and share their stories of the history of the people who lived there once upon a time. I also wish I would have snapped a few pictures of the inside.

We stopped at a couple of other sales on the way toward home, and our final stop was Knightsbridge Antique Mall in Northville. We both LOVE this place-and since they were having a 15%-50% off sale...we just had to work it into our itinerary.

These are the treasures I came home with:

A set of 3 Glassbake individual casserole dishes for $1 each. They were very filthy, I wasn't sure if they would clean up or not-I'm glad they did! Aren't they cheery?

 A Glassbake covered casserole dish, and a covered refrigerator dish-both in excellent condition-no chips or cracks.

I got these two ornaments at Knightsbridge-Auntie picked one up too.

I just LOVE this measuring cup/chopper-it was from the Detroit house.

The three larger glasses were from a sale in Dearborn Heights-all three for $2. Later that day, I saw one at the antique store for $5 for one!! The pink and green flowered glass is from a sale in Plymouth, and the two Swanky Swigs (YAY!!! I finally found some in my price range!!!) are from Knightsbridge. I also picked up an old umbrella for $1 for a co-worker who wants some for her antique umbrella stand, and some more knitting needles for my mom.

It was a beautiful day too-it got up to 69 degrees-can you believe it? I can remember when Kevin and I were dating and he was home on leave from the Navy (on his birthday-November 12) and it had snowed so much he couldn't get his car up the driveway at my parents house-he had to park on the road and walk up!!!