Things are Getting Back to Normal Around Here!

The booth is up and running, the volleyball leagues are up and running, my Dad has had his surgery and is safely back home in the U.P., and we went to a couple of pretty good estate sales this week. I got a lot of stuff at the first one, and almost everything was a quarter or fifty cents each.

The one we went to today was HUGE! So huge, they rented a hall (a small hall) just to get it all in. It was very overwhelming because there was so much stuff! They made us leave our bags at the check out table, so it was really difficult to carry the things around that we wanted to buy. I did find a handful of hankies, a couple of tablecloths that are soaking in Biz right now and a couple of pieces of pottery.

I was really excited about my finds until I got home and looked at them. Once again, I was in a hurry, in an over-crowded place and I got a couple of things that are iffy. One of the tablecloths has a reddish stain by one of the flowers that looks like either old grape juice or blood. I'm going with grape juice-and hoping it comes out.

 I actually got these awesome trays on Ebay...they just arrived yesterday! There are 6 trays, so I think I can keep a few and sell a few!

 My Dad told me about this little oil can. I wasn't sure what it was. It was really interesting to find out it is what they used to use at the gas stations when you needed oil for your car. They would go over to a big drum of oil, and pour a quart into it and then pour it right into your car.

 A wooden tool box, made with old wood, but put together with a pneumatic stapler.

 A pair of old skates.

 A little corner shelf.

 This is a HUGE vase!

 Don't you just love the bright colors on the drink shaker? It even has recipes on it for all kinds of mixed drinks!

 A pink melmac serving bowl.

 An old wire chicken shaped egg basket.

 A Pyrex platter-can't have a good day thrifting without some Pyrex!

 There was one more of these little ornaments, but Adam's thumb went through it.

 Thinking about painting this mug tree turquoise and sanding some of it off...what do you think?

 A couple half pint milk bottles-from Dunn Brothers Dairy Howell, Michigan.

 A little chicken timer.

 A Christmas tin and a bunch of plate holders for the booth.

 Hankies...

 Tablecloths soaking in Biz.

 A nut chopper in really bad shape, but it was a quarter!

 A mini syrup bottle.

 More linens-waiting to be soaked.

 A little white shelf and a Christmas tree candy container.

Last but not least...a Fiesta water pitcher-it has some small chips around the spout-I'm keeping this for me!

Best of all...one of the sales was just in the next town over-so I visited it twice! The seller (who was also the daughter of the homeowner) said she was bringing more stuff in from her personal collection and some stuff from a friend and they will be having another sale in 3-4 weeks. You can bet I'll be watching Craigslist for her ad! Her sale was the one that had the super low prices that had a lot of these ¢ after the numbers.

How about you? Did you hit any sales today? What did you find? I'll be stopping by your blog in just a few minutes to see the treasures you found!

Sunny Friday Funday!

Today was just gorgeous!! Beautiful blue skies and lots of bright sunshine-lovin it!!! My friend Anne (from Kitschy Vintage & Thoughts from the Chicken's Auntie) and I set off on a treasure seeking adventure bright (well, not really bright-it was still dark out!) and early. We went to a few estate sales, a few thrift stores and one of our favorite Antique shops--- Lamb's Gate Antiques in Grand Ledge.

We got to the first estate sale about 40 minutes before it opened. We walked up to get numbers and found a sign in sheet and a sticky pad of numbers. The sign in sheet was at number 23 and 24, but the sticky pad numbers were 35 and 36. Can you believe we actually got in with the first group?!? I was pretty excited about that! It was FREEZING out there today-the sun and blue skies were deceptive!

While we were sitting in the car (blasting the heat), before the sale opened, we talked a little with the guy who parked behind us, (he asked if there were numbers). While we were waiting outside he was there with his box and bag-ready to load it up once he got inside and he was telling people all about the people running the estate sale. So he seemed like a dealer....but he was acting like just a regular person who happened on the sale.

Once we got inside, I went right to the kitchen, because I had seen a LOT of Pyrex in the pictures on estatesales.net. Anne followed right behind me and he was right behind her. I was picking up the casserole dishes and putting them in my bag and Anne was picking up bowls and putting them in her bag. He says, "Oh, are you getting that? Those are the whole reason I came to this sale." I felt guilty, like I should give the poor guy the dishes and let him buy them. Anne said, "That's why we came too." He later mentioned a couple of patterns I was looking at and said, "Those never sell."

We ended up in a back room with him, and I had just picked up a really cool turquoise pan with a lid. It was marked $2. As I was looking at it, he told me he had the lid, but has been looking for the bottom for a very long time. I asked if he wanted it, and he said "yeah." So...gullible me...I gave it to him! Now, I realize he played me-ugh!!! I wish I would have kept the darn pan--it was soo cool!!!

I'm glad I had Anne with me, otherwise, I probably would have let him have the Pyrex too!!! Grrr! Why am I so gullible?

Oh well...no use crying over spilled milk (or lost turquoise pans), I did get some nice Pyrex, and a couple embroidered table runners.

 The hankies are from the second estate sale.

 Anybody know what the pattern/maker is of the bowl?

The next sale was a second day sale and a couple members of the family were there helping with the sale. I picked up a ziploc bag full of hankies that was $4. When I got home and counted them, I found I had gotten 29 hankies!!! They aren't anything special-but there were quite a few that were trimmed in purple!!!

This is what else I picked up...

 Anyone know what this is? Is it an old battery jar? An old aquarium? An old terrarium?

Anne bought a really cool Formica and chrome table-if you visit her blog, I'm sure you can see for yourself how cool it is!! The homeowner's son carried it out to my car for her, and just as he got to the back edge of the car, he slipped on the ice and fell! Poor guy!!! I felt so bad for him! I asked, and he said he was OK, and that he didn't need any help. It looked like he really hit his knees hard! I hope he's alright-he sure was a nice guy!

The third estate sale was a frog...but I did get this teacup and saucer hanger for the booth.

We stopped at a couple of thrift stores. One of them was a new one to me. It was called Volunteers of America Thrift Store. It was an OK store with OK prices. They wrote the prices with a black sharpie and a black grease pencil.

This is what I got at the VOA Thrift...

 PURPLE PYREX!!!

After that, we scarfed down lunch at a small cafe that was only a couple of doors down from Lamb's Gate Antiques, and then we wandered around and shopped, and shopped, and shopped! We totally lost track of time and by the time we were checking out, I noticed the clock behind the register said it was 1:55...that meant we only had 35 minutes to drive an hour and five minutes!!! Good thing Adam didn't have work or classes today and he wasn't too irritated (only mildly irritated---he is 19 you know~) with me for asking him to pick Eric up at school. I'll have to remember that 35 minutes notice isn't enough time to wrap up XBOX and drive 7 minutes away to the school! ;)

I got this gorgeous tablecloth at Lamb's Gate...Merry Christmas to me from Mom & Dad! I'm anxious to get it washed and on the table!! What do you think of it??

So...that was my day...how was yours? Did you get out and hit any sales? Find any good junk at the thrift shops? I'm dying for a good garage sale! Especially one where I don't have to drive over an hour to get to!! These estate sales are fun, and I've gotten some great stuff for me and for the booth-but all the driving...it's getting old real fast!!!


BTW...look at what happened to the deck/sunroom today!!!