Friday (Rainday) Finds...

For the summer of 2010, I think we here in Michigan should rename Fridays to Rainday. It seems like almost every Friday since April has been a rainy one! Not always the whole day...just when I am getting groceries, stopping at a few garage sales, or when everyone comes over at 7pm to try to play some sand volleyball.

I stopped at a church rummage sale first thing this morning after P.T. and got these linens.

 2 tablecloths and 3 tea towels for $3.60.

Then we headed to Ypsilanti to visit Pam's garage sale and all the sales in her sub. We got a bunch of music cd's for 50 cents each at one of the sales, and at Pam's house we got a load of black mulch for FREE!  She ended up with more than she needed so she had a small pile in the driveway and a huge sack of it in her garage. We took the driveway pile and loaded it right up on the tarp into the back of my car. The sack in the garage was easily 3-4 times the amount that we took. There was a guy there just waiting for us to pull out so he could back in for the rest. 

This looks really small in this picture, but it is a pretty good sized pile. That's a kitchen trash bag full, sitting to the right of the picture.

At one other place, I found this enamel pot to use with my $1 chair from last week to plant flowers in. I just need my DH to help me secure it in the chair seat.

After we left there it felt like we went on a wild goose chase around Ypsi and Ann Arbor looking for several sales that either were non-existent, or the trail went cold because the signs disappeared. 

So, other than the first couple of stops, today ended up being a frog of a day.

Fiesta...Lemongrass VS Chartreuse...

I absolutely LOVE chartreuse Fiesta and I've been wondering how much difference there is between the new Lemongrass color and the post 1986 chartreuse color. I recently bought my first pieces of Lemongrass and decided to put them together to see how much of a color difference there is.

The candle holder is chartreuse, and the platter is lemongrass. When they are side-by-side you can really tell the difference. I prefer the chartreuse. I don't think I will be rushing out to load up on lemongrass any time in the near future. I'll stick with vintage Fiesta along with the post 1986 chartreuse and plum.

This is a month of milestones!

Today, my baby boy (who is 16 years old, 6'4" tall, and wears a size 15 shoe) got his driver's license! It seems like just yesterday he was learning to ride his bike...and now here he is ready to go off on his own in a car! He is almost done with his Sophomore year (only 3 more half days) and will be off to spend most of the summer  in the U.P. with grandma and grandpa.

My oldest son (who just turned 19 last month) finished his first year of college, and completed and passed his Nurse Assistant classes. He's hoping to get a full time job as a Nurse assistant while he works toward his degree as a Nurse Anesthetist.

Last Friday, my DH and I passed a milestone of our own...it was our 22nd anniversary!

Look how young we were! Can you tell it was 1988-LOL!

We are planning a big trip for our 25th, so this one was just a nice dinner out for just the two of us. He also surprised me with a very sweet letter that he hid in my purse that I found as I was leaving for Midland...I had to run back inside to give him a HUGE hug and kiss-it was soo sweet-it made me cry!! It was filled with the nicest, sweetest things he has ever said to me!

WOW! What FUN!!!

Yesterday was the first Michigan Antiques Festival at the Midland State Fairgrounds for 2010. It was their 42nd year and it was a GREAT one! There are two more dates coming up (July 24-25 and September 25-26)-so mark your calendars!! You won't want to miss out until next year!

It's about an hour and a half drive for us, but I think we would all agree that it was worth the trip! This is the third year for Auntie, Eric and I. Pam (a treasure seeker friend from work) joined us for the first time and she seemed to really enjoy herself as well.

We got there at about quarter after ten, and it was backed up all the way down the exit ramp. I've never seen it that crowded before. I was surprised how many people where there so early this year.  Usually we get a pretty close parking spot-this time we were way out there! Thank goodness for the free trolley ride from the entrance to the parking area-especially when it's time to leave and you've shopped til you are about to drop!!

We took Auntie's granny cart and a couple of big shopping bags I got at Marshall's to go inside. Eric was the chief cart pusher and did an awesome job! I think he's turning into a treasure hunter in training! He actually likes to go garage saling with me, and to antique shows and stores-not all the time, but if he doesn't have anything else to do-he is usually right beside me!

It doesn't hurt that he usually gets free food out of the deal too-and yesterday was no exception with our traditional Italian sausage lunch, lemonade refresher, kettle corn and then a banana cream pie shake at Sonic on the way home.

 We were so hungry, we forgot to take a picture of our lunch until it was almost gone!

Fresh squeezed! When it's 89 degrees outside-this really hits the spot!

Here are just some random shots of the fairgrounds...

 We saw LOTS of interesting things, and we bought a few fun treasures! We were glad to see some of our favorite vendors had returned-especially the kettle corn guys!!! We left around 3:30 and had to sit in a long line just to get on the expressway to go home, but it was well worth it. The Weather Channel was calling for cloudy, overcast weather with a high in the upper 60's to the low 70's...when we got back in the car, the thermometer read 89!! We all got some sun, and I think we were all tired and worn out.

I don't know if I will go back in July or not. I'm thinking I might wait and go in September instead and enjoy more local sales between now and then. Not because I didn't enjoy it, I REALLY did! It was worth the anticipation for sure...but because it is such a long drive, and I've been finding such good treasures at local garage sales.


These were my treasures...

A Manhattan divided platter and bowl set.

A Fiesta Lemongrass 15" pizza tray.

A medium oval Fiesta Lemongrass platter.

2 glass lady bug garden stakes.

And 2 giant bags of kettle corn...when you have 2 teenage sons...it doesn't last long enough to get a picture of both bags!!

A prince of a day-for sure!!

Friday Funday!!

Today's garage sale trip was short and sweet!! Auntie and I met up around 9am and for about 2 hours we hit some local sales. Lately, the best thing I've seen about sub sales is that there are a lot of sales in one area-and usually not a lot of good stuff. Today though, we saw a big variety of things and found some good stuff!

Can you read the price sticker??? YEP! $1! Can't wait to make this into a flower box!!

 All 4 windows for $2!

Vintage doily...50¢.

 Vintage tea towel 50¢.

 Half pint 50¢.

 

Is this an old IV bottle? The numbers on one side are upside down...$1-what do you think?.

Not bad for $5.50!

I just hope that all of the good finds today don't turn tomorrow at the Michigan  Antique Festival into a frog!

 The weather is supposed to be nice now-no more rain forecasted for tomorrow! Chilly though...upper 60's to low 70's-sounds good to me!!!

How about you? Did you find any neat stuff today? Are you going to Midland tomorrow or Sunday?

Happy Treasure Hunting!!

Weigela, Flowering Plates in the Garden and Great Grandma's Peonies...

This bush is such a hearty bush! When we first bought our house, it was located at the top of our driveway (inconveniently located) right where everyone leaving would have backed into it. One day, my DH decided to chop the bush down and get it out of the way. He (not knowing what it was) really hacked it up-all the way to the ground! The next year it started coming back, so he dug it up and put it at the end of the driveway. We didn't give it much hope of surviving, but look at it now!

I'm glad it was stronger than the axe! I love its pink blooms!

Here are the plates I got at Warren's Greatest Garage Sale...all planted in my flowerbeds!

Every year this gets bigger and bigger! For years it only got to about 6-8" tall, then the last few years it has gotten bigger and bigger. Last year it had only a couple of buds, but they never opened. I hope these open!

Love the Peonies!!!

One of my Peony bushes is blooming and it is gorgeous!!!

I have another one that used to be my great grandma's. It is just about ready to bloom. My mom dug it up from her grandma's house and had it growing in our yard when I was growing up. Then when my parents built a new house my senior year, she took it with her. unfortunately...it never bloomed. I've had it now for 16 years, and this is the first year it is bursting with buds! I can't wait for it to bloom!!

Growing Chicks...

Just a few pictures to show you how fast Eric's chicks are growing!

Our Newest Project...

A few weeks ago, while out antiquing with Auntie, I came to the realization that I am really starting to like Hoosier cabinets. I mentioned to her that I think I'm going to keep my eyes open for one (at a great price, of course). She immediately said "I know were you can get one!" I just kind of laughed and thought she was going to tell me some antique shop where she'd seen one, but instead, she reminded me that she had one that had belonged to my parents in her barn that needed to be refinished and put together.

I had totally forgotten about it! My parents moved to the U.P. 8 years ago when they retired, and they had given a bunch of things to Auntie-one of them being this old Hoosier cabinet. At first I thought it would be rude of me to take it when she offered it, and it took a while for me to think about it. She convinced me that she has had it and hasn't done anything with it, and she didn't have anywhere to put it if she did finish it.

So, today, my DH went over and picked it up! Part of me is excited and part of me is overwhelmed...we'll see how it tuns out...