Bargain Hunting Treasure Seeker: Treasure Hunting in Allen, Michigan...

Yesterday, my good friend Anne (aka Chicken's Auntie) and I went on a long-awaited, much anticipated return adventure to Allen, Michigan. We went a few years ago (maybe as much as 5 or 6 years) with some friends from work, and we have said ever since that we were going to go back. The only problem...Allen is almost 2 hours away!

Yesterday started off on the wrong foot and just got worse! I woke up a half hour after my alarm was supposed to go off. I raced around to get ready, texted Auntie to bump back our meeting time by half an hour, and took off. Then I got into a long line of cars waiting for a train to cross-and it was sitting still blocking the tracks!

The roads were bad, so I was even later than I expected by a few minutes. Then I get Auntie all situated in my car and went to grab my wallet from my purse to put in my pocket, and found out it wasn't there!! A quick call home confirmed it was on the counter at home!!! Luckily, when we went to The Henry Ford the other day, I had pulled out all of my excess cards and left them in my purse in my car so I at least had my debit card.

We went to get cash at the ATM, when we realized, I didn't have my license! So back to the parking lot to switch to Auntie's car-her brand spankin new car! She took pity on me and we made a quick run through the drive-thru so I could get something to drink, but by that time, I was seriously feeling like a big loser! Who goes off on one of the biggest antiquing adventures of the year and leaves their wallet at home??? Doh!!!

In my distressed state, I was super wound up, and super obnoxious-sorry Auntie!!! I turned into the hated bossy, backseat driver! Argh! I think I pulled it back-eventually, but feel bad for being so bossy! The roads were pretty rough when we left, and it took a good 2 hours to get there.

The first stop was Hog Creek Antiques. We never made it to this mall on our last trip, and it was only a mile and a half from where we started on that outing! I'm glad we went! It was a fun adventure, and I got to see some things that you never see in our area!

Can you just imagine a bunch of old quilts folded up and on display in this beauty? It's a little rough around the edges, and could use a good paint job, but has great potential!

LOVE this-wish I had a spot for it!

This was one of a pair...no room at my house-wah!

I saw two of these hat stands-one was for sale, one was display only. I have never seen one of these-ever! If I would have had an extra $125, I might have considered bringing it home!

I felt like I was obsessed with old cabinets at this place! They had so many to choose from!!

We saw the KING! We actually saw him again at the last place we stopped. For $575 he can be yours!

Not my style, but different.

This booth had a bunch of turned table legs in a bunch of different sizes. My mind was whirling with possibilities...then I had to be realistic, because Mr. BHTS can do this on his lathe, and he'd give me a lot of grief if I spent too much...

A cobalt glass cough drop house! LOVED it! Very reasonably priced too!

This was a very fun mall with LOTS to look at! It even has an area with crafts and items you can purchase for your craft projects. I would highly recommend a visit to Hog Creek. I think we ended up visiting 6 antique shops all within about a mile and a half of each other! If I lived closer, I'd be there all the time!!!

The next stop was The Antique Barn. This was where we started on our last adventure, and it seemed to take hours and hours to go through it on that trip. This time we only had 2 people in our group, and we were able to go a little faster. There are two levels that are packed with all kinds of wonderful antique/vintage goodness! I really enjoyed our trip to this mall too!

This is a great idea for a chair seat! I have a little kiddie chair without a seat-I can't wait to try this!

This little metal kitchen set reminded me of a set I had when I was growing up. Mine was avocado green though.

This cabinet, in white, with light turquoise on the inside would be a dream come true cabinet! I LOVE it!!! No room in my tiny house, but I LOVE it. I think it would fit in the sun room where the metal quilt cabinet is...I wonder if I could convince Mr BHTS...

The next stop was lunch! We were starving and ready to gnaw off our arm if we didn't get something to eat soon. We stopped at the Outpost Grille. It was actually in the same parking lot as the next 4 antique malls! Talk about an ideal antiquing location!!

We ate there on our last visit and we were happy to go back again. It still is very inviting and comfortable inside and the food was good and very reasonable.

After lunch we made a quick trek next door to a little place with what looked like a bunch of repro primitives. The sign on the door said "Allergy Alert-Cats and Candles Inside". The cat smell got to me, the candle smell go to Auntie, so we didn't stay too long. Just long enough to find these...

Stained glass wall art with depression glass kitchen items incorporated in the art and old vintage frames.

This one used glass ball jar lids in the design.

The next stop was a trek across the parking lot that was at least 50 steps to Capital Antiques. We really enjoyed our visit and bought a few things each. I didn't get many pictures of the inside, I was so busy taking it all in, I kind of forgot!

Once, when I looked up, my breath was taken away by what I saw...

This is probably the biggest selection of vintage Fiesta that I've seen all in one booth.

My obsession with cabinets continues!

Since the temperature was in the single digits, we drove around the parking lot to the next couple of shops, so we could park closer. What a fun day!!! By the time we visited the last couple of shops, my legs were tired, and I was almost on sensory overload! Everything started blending into the same thing. We had pretty much hit our limit. We both managed to find a few things that we couldn't live without, so we weren't totally in a junkin coma, but definitely it was a LOT to look at and take in!

I really enjoyed the day-it really couldn't have been any better! Great companionship & conversation, LOTS of fun things to look at and buy, a brand spanking new chariot, and getting chauffeured around all day...well, I guess it could have been a little warmer, but you can't have everything-right??

If you are looking for an all day adventure, take a trip to Allen, Michigan. It is really close to the Michigan-Indiana border and it is well worth the trip-so many big places all in one area-it's awesome!!

Here is what came home with me:

Looks to be maybe a reproduction of a mid-century clock, minus the clock.

Drippings jar without the lid and a flamingo Pyrex pie plate.

Thin, chippy metal bows-might come in handy for a project down the road.

Prisms for the candlebra that I got at Goodwill a little while back. I lost one between the store and home somehow. I bought 4 just in case they weren't the right size. It was an exact fit!! Now I have 3 extras!

Turned legs for my trunk coffee table project!!! I can't wait to try this! Tomorrow is Dealer Day and if we can still get out with the snowpocalypse coming tonight, I plan to bring home the trunk that never sells to repurpose it into something funky.