Another Successful Saturday...

Yesterday was a good day for sales-despite the weather. It has been rainy, and muggy and gray for most of the past two weeks. Today is the first day in a while that has totally blue skies.

It seems that Saturday mornings have become treasure hunting days for my DH and me. We get up whenever we happen to wake up (no alarm clocks for us on Saturday mornings), and head out at a leisurely pace. I know some think that you have to hit the garage sale road early to find the best items, but I've been successful and unsuccessful with finding treasures at all times of the day.  Just  because you were the first to arrive at a sale doesn't always mean you will find that one in a million treasure. I've found those on the last day of a sale in the last hours, and at anytime in between.

A book I recently checked out from the library called "Garage Sale Gourmet" gives a lot of good advice for beginning garage salers, and some extra tips or reminders for others who have been enjoying garage sales for a while.It is a quick easy read, and the parts that you feel that you have a pretty good handle on, you can skip over. I would recommend it.

Yesterdays finds were interesting... since my DH does a lot of woodworking, he saw on an episode of New Yankee Workshop a wood steamer made by using a burner from a turkey frying unit. He was thrilled to find the whole set, the burner stand and big pot with lid for $10. So we can try fried turkey and use the pot, or he can use it to steam wood with an old well worn pot that he already has.

He also got some "how to" books on plumbing and household repair for a quarter each. That is how I found the book on old pen and ink drawings of Christmas (reproduced) from the mid to late 1800's. At other sales, I found green bamboo tie down stakes (50) and a red bottle (for my flower garden bottle-scape from the magazine 100 Ideas Flea Market Style), a tall galvanized, skinny bucket, a divided pyrex snowflake casserole dish, a glass holder with 6 glasses, and a green fondue pot with skewers that look to have never been used.

Here is the galvanized bucket I got last Friday at a garage sale in the middle of the day-I've added a spike and some purple wave petunias and plan to add in some other vines when I get a chance to get back to the nursery.

This was my prize for winning Baby Shower Bingo at a shower I went to after all of the sales on Saturday.

What kinds of treasures did you find this weekend? I love to hear about all the fun things you find! So if you have a minute, leave a comment about what fun things you brought home this weekend!!

Oh, I almost forgot!!! Remember the 1863 Civil War game I got at a garage sale for $1 as a gift for my brother-in-law? I looked it up on Kovel's today and they placed a value of $65!

Happy Treasure Hunting!!

My Friday just flew by!!

My day started at 5:30am. Drove Eric to school by 6:55, P.T. (physical torture) at 7:00, garage sales at 9:30! I made a pretty good dent in visiting the sales in my hometown-it seemed like the most I had to drive between sales was 1-2 miles. There were sales EVERYWHERE!!!

A couple of the sales I stopped at, I got to visit with people I knew. One sale was a fundraiser sale with all the money raised going to P.E.O. (philanthropic educational organization), focusing on promoting educational opportunities for women. This is what I bought...

This is a beveled edge mirror-don't care for the frame-maybe I can talk hubby into making a nicer one in his woodshop...if not, I can always paint it...$4 for both.

Stopped at several more sales and ran a couple errands...

 Got this game (appears to be intact) for my brother-in-law-who is crazy about the Civil War-he participates in re-enactments all over the place several times a year ($1).

Got this little beauty for ten cents!!! I forgot to mention vintage ornaments on my summer sales wish list. This one can join the others in here...

I hope to fill it to the top with all kinds of bright vintage ornaments.

  I also paid a visit to a local consignment store where I found this!!!

I had a 15% off coupon so it was even more exciting!!

This was from a couple of weeks ago, I just forgot to show you. I got it at a church rummage sale for a quarter.

I also picked up a vintage Christmas tablecloth for a quarter, but it is soaking in Oxy-clean--it had a bunch of stains. I figure for a quarter, I'll give it a try, and if the stains come out-yay! I got a great deal. If they don't, no big deal.

Before I knew it, it was time to pick up Eric at school. On the way home, he called to see if his chicks were in, but they aren't coming in until Monday, and Wednesday. He's getting 12 (3 Red Stars, 3 Aracanna's,  and 3 Leghorns). He talked me into taking him to the feed store to look at the chicks, and we ended up bringing these two little ladies home. He was so excited-it was like Christmas morning! Now, we have to figure out how to integrate them with his quail and guinea hen...when they are old enough, of course.

Did you get out and visit any sales today? Did you get any treasures? I missed my treasure hunting buddy Chicken's Auntie today...she's busy with family this weekend-her youngest is graduating from college!!!

It's raining again, so that means no one is coming over for sand volleyball tonight. The last 3 Friday's have had stinky weather-I hope it's not a repeat of last summer's Friday nights!

Hope you have a GREAT weekend!!! Happy Treasure Hunting!!

What are you reading this weekend?

I just picked up these two gems from the library-and can't wait to read them! If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know I have a serious addiction to Fiesta and Garage Sales. So what could be better than getting two books all about the things I love?!?! I'll let you know if they are worth the read when I'm done!

What's on your reading list? Anything fun?

Tomorrow looks like it's going to be a GREAT sale day! There were 168 sales listed in our local paper and an interesting looking estate sale on estatesales.net. So many sales....so little time!

Summertime Treasures Wish List…

This summer, while I am out hitting the garage sales, flea markets, estate sales, rummage sales and auctions, I will be keeping my eyes open for the following things…

            ~Chartreuse Fiesta 15” and 12” Trays

            ~Chartreuse Fiesta Millennium I Vase

            ~Plum Fiesta Vases (all but the bud vase)

            ~Vintage Fiesta Relish Tray with inserts

            ~Vintage Kitchen Kraft Stacking Refrigerator Dishes

            ~Amethyst Depression Glass

            ~A Glass Pyrex Turkey Baster (with original box)

            ~Bright Vintage Table Linens

            ~An Antique Oak Secretary with Side Cupboard

            ~Fostoria American Cake Plates (both round and square)
            ~Fostoria Punch bowl & Mayo Set

            ~Bright Vintage Dish Towels

            ~Vintage Homer Laughlin Harlequin Dishes

            ~ Vintage Ladies Hankies

            ~Vintage Fiesta Mixing Bowl Set

            ~Vintage Pyrex Turquoise Mixing Bowl Set

            ~Vintage Fire King Dot or Tulip Mixing Bowl Set

            ~Vintage Christmas Ornaments

           

And anything else that I haven’t thought of yet that just happens to catch my eye! ;)

What  kinds of things are on your Treasure Seeking wish list? I'm always curious to know the kinds of things people collect, so please leave a comment with your lists-I'd LOVE to read them!!

Finally Got the Right Magazine!

A few posts ago, I was trying to figure out which magazine my friend Deb showed me with the article about the guy who collects sun purple bottles and how he displayed the bottles tipped up on green dowel rods poked into the ground in and around his hostas.

It wasn't Flea Market Style, it was 100 Ideas Flea Market Style by Better Homes and Gardens.

 Can't wait to try this!

To Do List Accomplishments…But Many More Things To Do!

Yesterday was a good day to get a bunch of things done! After church, I had the whole day to be busy working on crossing things off my “To Do” list. It has been really crazy and hectic around here lately, so some of the things have been needing to be done for a while.

I got one flower bed weeded and cleaned out and ready for some purple and pink Wave Petunias (another thing on my “To Do” list). I finished staining the display book cases my DH made for me and got them into the house. Now I just need to load them up with my glassware and books!  

While I was out in the barn, I saw one of the many trunks we inadvertently collected last summer, sitting off to the side all by itself. I really need to work on the rest of the trunks and get them finished (more things on my “To Do” list).

There seems to be a theme here…the more I check off my list…the more things I need to do! Maybe I should re-think this “To Do” list while I take a break and lounge in the hammock in the yard admiring the beautiful blue skies and sunshine! ;)

60 Years of Collecting Tools Estate Sale Saturday…

A couple of months ago, I was introduced to a website estatesales.net, and have really enjoyed getting the weekly emails with photos of estate sales in my area. My friend Chicken’s Auntie and I have gone to several sales, and my DH has gone to several sales with me. The sale yesterday though, was all about him! It was an estate sale from one man’s lifetime collection of tools.

It was very overwhelming from the minute you stepped onto the driveway! The further you got in the house, the more congested it got. Starting in the garage, you could only walk around it in a U shape, and all the tables were heavily laden with adz’s, hatchets, wrenches, old wooden planers, old metal lunch boxes, old oil cans-you name it! There were bins with tons of pitch forks, shovels, rakes, hoes…I can’t even remember all that was out there!

Once inside, it was very obvious that this wasn’t a girl-friendly estate sale. With the exception of his collections, it seemed as if he was a minimalist as far as furniture, and general household items were concerned. There wasn’t much kitchen stuff or decorations or furniture, but boy were there collections of stuff!

One whole bedroom was set up with bookcases and had so many books, it could rival any small town library! The entire basement was jam packed with saws, anvils, ice tongs, log rollers, more saws, axes, hatchets, and more tools. DH took off as soon as we got there and I had to hunt him down-finding him in the basement, totally overwhelmed at all of his favorite eye candy-TOOLS!

He has never been to a digger sale before, so the whole prospect of digging through stuff to find something that might interest you was new to him. I helped him out a bit, but after a while, we just had to leave. He got the main thing he came for a small handheld adz. Something we both have been hunting for his collection for a few years-as well as a few other tools that he found to be really neat.

Since yesterday was the second day of the sale, there was a 25% discount-so that made it all the better! Guess where he is today??? YEP! Back in Flint at the final day of the sale-and this time he took our youngest son with him! They both got up really early, went to the 8:30 service at church and took off to find more treasures that he just couldn’t live without. He’s hoping to wait until the last half hour and get a really good deal on a huge lot of tools…I’ll let you know what he comes home with…

 I guess now, I can understand how his eyes glaze over when I am excitedly telling him about my newest Fiesta, or linen treasure-because I felt my own eyes glazing over while he was talking to me on the way home about his new tool treasures!

The pictures below do not even begin to do justice to the magnitude of how much there was!

Pictures borrowed from estatesales.net



This is what he got... the little shovel is the one thing I picked out for me for my flower beds. A couple of things he got at garage sales that we stopped at on the way home.

Then he went back and got this...

He said they still had crazy amounts of stuff left and there was only about an hour and a half left before the sale was over.

Friday Funday...Enjoying the Sun!

Today was the first day in a couple of weeks that we haven't had any rain or gray skies. It was a beautiful, sunny day with lots of puffy clouds and blue skies. My friend Chicken's Auntie and I headed off on a fun adventure starting in St. Johns at a garden/barn sale. We found out about the sale last weekend when we visited Lamb's Gate and the Salvage Yard.

The barn was set up like an antiques shop in side, decorated and painted with nice displays. It didn't feel like a barn at all. This place is only open 2 weekends out of the year. It seems a shame to let that neat little shop only be open twice a year!

I didn't find any treasures that I couldn't live without, but Chicken's Auntie found a couple of neat things.  When we left there, we headed into downtown St. Johns and visited a garage sale (frog), before programming the GPS for an estate sale in Lansing. On the way to the estate sale, we saw a sign for a "HUGE" garage sale and decided to stop.

It ended up being the prince part of my day!! When we were walking up, it sure didn't look "HUGE" like the signs said it was...but then we noticed that a covered trailer had goodies in it as well as an uncovered trailer the driveway and the garage. This is what I found...

See the price? $3...We stopped at Williamston Antiques on the way home and they had one exactly like it for $50!!! We asked a dealer there, who goes to our church, what she thought it was really worth and she said at least $35-woo hoo!

Not a bad deal for a quarter each!

I know these aren't old, but they are my favorite color...PURPLE!!!

This awesome galvanized bucket, that I am just itching to plant some flowers in!

We got back on the road and finally made it to the estate sale. Chicken's Auntie found lots of neat treasures. I only found one...not quite sure what it is...do you know? Is it a berry bucket? A vintage child's lunch bucket?

I was thinking it would be cute made into a bird house...picture a little hole on the front with a little wooden perch and hanging in a tree in my yard....for $2, I'm willing to give it a try!

We ate lunch at Johnny Rocket's! I got the grilled chicken club and my favorite... diet coke with a cherry shot-YUM!

When Chicken's Auntie and I go out treasure seeking, we always seem to have lots to talk about and lots to laugh about! This was a fun day! Lots of fun with sunshine, blue skies, great deals, and a good friend!

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Flint to an estate sale that my DH is practically foaming at the mouth to get to...60 years of one guy collecting ....TOOLS-his favorite things! I hope we can hit a couple girl-friendly sales along the way! Then tomorrow afternoon is our end of the season (volleyball) blind-draw tournament and potluck...and since the Physical Therapist told me on Wednesday "no ball for at least a month"...I get to watch and cheer everyone on!

It's Getting Closer!!!

Only 3 weeks and 3 days until the Midland Antiques Festival!!!

(Photos from Michigan Antiques & Collectible Festival website)

I can't wait!!!

I just started physical therapy today for my right foot that has been bothering me for a couple of months. I thought I just strained something playing volleyball, and thought it would just work itself out...wrong! I have Achilles Tendinitis and a severe sprain of my ankle. I was told absolutely no volleyball for a month!

I just hope it will be up to par for the Antiques Festival-because I'm NOT missing it!!!

Two Great Publications and a New Additon to Complete a Set...

Recently, my friend Debbie was out antiquing with her daughter and they stopped in at Startin' Antiques in Fowlerville. It was kind of funny, because she sent me a text message and asked if I'd ever heard of this place, and at the time, I didn't have her number programmed into my phone so I had no idea who sent me the text! I was driving when it came in, so I had my younger son text her back and said "yes, why"? and then sent another text asking "who is this" ?

She didn't have her phone on her and didn't get my text for a while, so it took her a while to answer. While, I was waiting and trying to figure out who sent me the text, I was asking everyone I talked to if they had texted me about Startin' Antiques. Eventually Deb and I connected and had a little chuckle over it.

When Debbie and her Mandy paid for their purchase, they gave her a complimentary copy of Antique Week Travel Guide to Antique Shops and Malls.

Since she is moving in a couple of weeks to Atlanta to be closer to her daughters, sons-in-law, and granddaughter ( boy are we all going to miss her and her husband Bill!), and the book doesn't cover Georgia, she passed it on to me! Thanks Deb!

I have enjoyed looking through the book, and even noticed a place that I hadn't heard of before! When we visited Allen a couple of weeks ago, one of the shops was selling the same books, and I asked Deb if they were the same as what she gave me. The ladies there were shocked that she was given the book for free!

Debbie also introduced me to another publication...Flea Market Style. Last week I went to her house for a couple of hours to help her pack (she waited on me and made a really yummy dinner--I was supposed to be helping her!) and she said she had read an article that made her think of me. She showed me the article about a guy who collects sun purple bottles and how someone had come up with the idea of putting dowel rods painted green into the ground poking out around a hosta plant with the bottles turned upside down resting on the dowel rods. What a fun way to display and enjoy a bottle collection! After looking at the pictures, I had to run out and pick my own copy!

Except the copy that I found wasn't the same. It didn't have the bottle article, but had a lot of neat ideas and great pictures. I'll have to check back with her to find out issue hers is.

I've given Deb the assignment of checking out all the antique shops near her new home in Atlanta, and mapping out a trip for us, so that when we can take a really long road trip, we can visit her and take an antique trip together-just like old times!


I'm looking forward to Thursday this week! 10 of us from work are all going to get a pedicure together! It will be our last get together with Deb before she moves. We are going to Applebee's for dinner after our toes have been soaked, and pampered and will be joined by a couple more ladies from the office-It's going to be a fun night!

Over the weekend a fun little package arrived from Etsy. I finally found the last tiny little bowl to my Federal Glass Atomic Dot mixing bowl set!

Right now, I have the bowls stacked on top of each other on my buffet cabinet surrounded by the bright little egg cups I got a few weeks ago from shopgoodwill.com. It's a cute little display that makes me smile when I look at it!

Hope you're having a great day!