Another Busy Day!

I was able to get to a couple of sales this morning, although I didn't get an early start! I didn't leave the house until almost 9. There were two houses right next door to each other that were about 2 miles from my house that were having sales. One of the houses used to belong to the brother of the old farmer that used to live down our road. He passed away a few years ago well into his 90's, and his brother passed more recently.

One of my fondest memories of our elderly neighbor was hearing a car honking all the way up the hill of our driveway. We live on a dead end dirt road with only 3 houses and lots of cornfields, so it was always startling when someone would pull into the driveway, not to mention honking all the way up!

When we would run out to see what was going on, he'd be sitting there waiting for us and would usually have my empty dishes to hand back (I used to cook more than what we needed for dinner and take him dinner 3 or 4 nights a week for a while-until I found out he didn't need it, because half of the county cooked him meals and baked him desserts every week!). A lot of weeks in the summer he would pop the trunk on his car and tell me, he had a six pack for me in the back.

His "six pack" was a cardboard 6 pack beer bottle carrier-filled with 6 ears of sweet corn! I miss him a lot! His house sits vacant and we have to drive past it to get to ours. He set his field on fire one year with his burning barrel when it was too windy to burn. It was really scary for several hours-we could have lost our house had the fire jumped the road! Kudos to the 5 fire departments who kept it on the opposite side of the road!

The second sale was right next door and I've been to a sale there a couple of years ago. I've been hoping for a couple of years that they would have a sale again, because they have great stuff at GREAT prices. I almost hyperventilated when I parked in their yard! (kidding! My heart did pound a bit harder though!)

I filled my car at their sale! Within a half an hour, I had my car loaded and had to head for home! They were flabbergasted that I bought so much. I was thrilled with what I got and the prices I got it for! Wanna see what I got?

This is from the first sale:

 A pair of vintage napkins-looks like they were never used!

 A pile of vintage hankies! LOVE vintage hankies!!

The tablecloth that matches the napkins-it was definitely used-it is faded a bit.

This is what I got at the second sale:

 An old iron twin bed-with side rails. I've always wanted one of these-but really have no place for it. Should I save it for when the boys move out? Or should I put it in the booth to sell?

 This is a wood shelf that curves-not liking the gold too much...wonder what color would look better...

 A set of 4 of these chippy, rusty darlings. Not crazy about the seats-I'm thinking something much brighter and cheerier.

 An old wicker bed tray.

 A canister and bread box set-the whole set was $4!

 A child's rocker-I've sold one already in the booth-it went within a week! Hopefully this one will go as fast!

 I just love the bright colors on this! Plus I am missing our girls. They were a lot of work, but they sure were entertaining to have around!

 A little jam jar?

 I'm looking forward to reading this! From 1965.  It was only fifty cents!

This is from the town I grew up in! There are two of them.

I have no idea what this is! LOL! I just thought it looked interesting and my mind is spinning with possibilities! Do you know what it is? Would you buy it?

I had to run home and unload before I could head to the other two sales on my list for the day! The next sale was an estate sale. I saw the pictures on estatesales.net, and the stuff looked pretty dirty. I was right, it was pretty dirty. I got a few things, but this wasn't one of them!

I had to take a picture of this! I couldn't believe my eyes! $25 for a Scrabble game? Really? 

This Fiesta tumbler was only $1.

I had a set of the old lawn Jarts (or darts-depending on where you are from) in my hands and was looking around and one of the workers came and took them away and said someone else was already buying them. Bummer!!! They were only $1! I didn't even see a pile, but as I gave them up a man further in the garage thanked her for watching out for his stuff. 

 The creamer is actually from yesterday-on my way home from work-fifty cents!

I stopped for a quick minute today at a charity thrift store and picked up this tablecloth-I love the bold red with the white stripe! 

I picked up a few things yesterday that got mixed in...

 I didn't even know there were glasses in this pattern-did you?? Underneath is a gravy boat and under plate.

 A small refrigerator dish.

 More Pyrex!!!

A couple of floral prints that I think are older than their frames.

Yesterday and today were quick little trips squeezed in between running errands for the family and doing other mom stuff. It was short but sweeeeeeeeeeet! Did you get out yesterday or today? I'm heading to your blog next to see what you did or found!!

I'm linking up to Stephanie's linky party at Junker Newbie for Would You Buy it Wednesday -hoping to see if anyone would have bought the rusty metal stand thing, and if anyone knows what it is!!

I hired a picker!!!

I saw an ad on Estatesales.net last night for a sale that started today out in Troy that looked like it was packed with all the things I love. There were only 2 obstacles...Troy is an hour or more away, and I had to work. I sent my sister-in-law a quick email that said "Too bad you're back at work" and I sent the link to the sale. She works for Rochester Schools and just went back after the whole summer off.

She replied that she'd go for me after work!!! She asked me to send a list with what photo the item was in on the  website and she'd hit it for me on her way home. How cool is that?!? She called me several times, because a lot of the items I listed were still there, but their prices were close to double what I wanted to pay and they weren't making any deals today.

She finally called when she was leaving and told me she got one thing for me from my list and it was a steal. Then she said..."I don't know if I'm going to tell you now or make you wait!" I guess I whined enough and she felt sorry for me and told me...since we are going to her house on Saturday for a going away party for her son (he's joining the Coast Guard), I'll pick it up then.

I can't wait to see it! I'll post pictures of it when I get it. She said it was in excellent shape, very sturdy and it could "hold up an elephant". Wanna guess what it is? It's red....

I think I'll make her a death by chocolate trifle to "pay" her with. :)

I'm heading out-meeting some ladies from work for a Girl's Night Out! Pedi and dinner-can't wait!

Have a great night!!!

Would You Buy It ?

I did buy this little clock a couple of weeks ago at a tiny little garage sale. It is really heavy, I think it is marble, and it works! Would you have bought it?

What if it was only $2? See why I couldn't walk away?

I'm linking up to Would You Buy it Wednesday at Junker Newbie. Head on over and check out all of the great things everyone has been finding!!!

New Magazine...New Ideas

I picked up the Fall/Winter Flea Market Style magazine today, and I am totally smitten with the vintage suitcase shelves!!! I have some in my booth that only one of the matching three has sold, so I am seriously tempted to run out there and snatch up the last two and get busy on a couple of shelves!!!

There is even a section of 80 Reader's Favorite Antique Malls and the mall that my booth is in is the only one listed for Michigan!!!

Vintage Tablecloth Addiction

After the post with some of my vintage tablecloths hanging on the red rack thingy, I decided I really should go through my cabinet and see what I have. It is such a deep cabinet that I can fit two rows of tablecloths on each of the 4 shelves. I had the rear stacks full and the front stacks looked small so I didn't even have a clue as to how many I actually have!

Is there such a thing as vintage tablecloth hoarding? My favorites were always in the front and I use them all the time, just rotating between about 8-10 of them on our table. I bought a piece of heavy clear plastic to put over them from JoAnn, so my guys don't ruin them, yet I still get to enjoy them.

Once I get tired of a particular pattern, I just whip it off to the washer and pop on another one from the stack. I kept using the same ones over and over, not realizing how deep the cabinets were or how many more there were to choose from! I think some of these will probably find their way to the booth in the near future. I mean really, who can use 58 everyday tablecloths and 12 Christmas tablecloths?

I already parted with a few earlier this summer, and added them to the booth. They just were repeats or not my style when I bought them so off they went. If I would have kept them, I would have another 10 everyday and 2 Christmas cloths!

Considering I got my very first vintage tablecloth and posted about it on March 12, 2010, I'd say I've had pretty good success in finding them! the very first one was the most expensive, I think it was $12. All of the others have been from a quarter to $4, with most of them being $1 or less.

I used to be totally paranoid about stains and wouldn't even look at them if there was a stain-until I found Biz! Now, no matter how big the stains, if the price is right, I snatch it up. The one thing I do stay away from is holes. I won't buy it if there are holes-a couple have snuck by me in my haste to snatch up a good bargain, but   I've done pretty well to stay away from them.

Well, there you have it. My dirty little secret is out. I'm a vintage tablecloth hoarder! Along with being a vintage Fiesta hoarder, and a Pyrex hoarder, and an amethyst depression glass hoarder...sigh! I think I need some swift thrifting therapy-I'm heading to the nearest garage sale, yard sale, estate sale or thrift store right away!! :)

Now it's your turn! How many tablecloths do you have? Do you use them? Display them? Are you interested in joining my 12 step program for vintage tablecloth addictions? It involves LOTS of serious thrifting "therapy"...

What Was I thinking??????

I had a serious lapse in judgement last weekend! I was trying to hurry and get to a couple of sales, and I was looking for furniture for the booth. I came up on an old oak curved glass china cabinet...It had glue residue from tape all over the glass-which I later found out only one panel was glass-the other two were plexi.

It is in really rough shape. Too rough for my limited abilities. I'm going to put it on Craigslist and hope to get back what I paid for it-although I can't imagine anyone being as crazy as I was to buy it!!

What do you think? Would you have bought it? I know it's not Wednesday yet, but I saw this again today in the barn and felt sick to my stomach that I bought it, and decided to try to get rid of it right away.

All loaded up...

Here is the red thingy, whatchamacallit thing that I posted about in my last post. You all gave some great ideas as to what it might be-thanks! I think I'll just use it for a while to hang some of my vintage tablecloths on. I was worried that I might not have enough to put on it-ha! Once I got into the cabinet where I store them, I was shocked to find how many I've collected this past year! I had no idea I had so many! I just keep picking them up when I find them for cheap. I'll have to pull them all out sometime and take a picture.

What is it??

I picked this up a couple of weeks ago at a sale, it was really cheap and covered in dog hair. I thought I could use it in the booth to display linens...I have no idea what it really is...do you?

After a good scrubbing and a coat of cranberry red (my new favorite Rustoleum color!)...I think I want to keep it to display my own vintage linens! What do you think?

What do you think it is? It has two hinges at the top and can open up to a straight, long thingy ma bob.

I am linking up to Junker Newbie's "Would You Buy it Wednesday"-hop on over there and check out all the fun stuff everyone has been finding!

Great Day of Thrifting...

I got a late start this morning. We were expecting a guy to come and pick up Eric's ducks at 8:30, and by 9:15 he still wasn't here! He finally showed up about 10, and the ducks are off to their new home. He was thrilled to get them. He was raising ducks and chickens and it seems there was an animal hoarder who lived near him with 80 cats, numerous goats, horses, and any other animals she collected.

The problem was, she abandoned them! They got hungry...started wandering...saw his birds...got dinner! He was pretty upset as you can imagine-they were his pets. So, he was very happy to have ours come to live on his property. The hungry, hoarded animals have been removed, so these should be safe.

I went to a church sale in the town I grew up in. It was at a tiny little church and when I pulled up (about 45 minutes after it started), there looked to be about 100 cars in the yard, in the parking lot, on the road-cars were everywhere! They had a big room (probably 30x40) with tables of stuff that was really picked bare.

They had another smaller room with more clothes than most department stores carry and a small barn with some furniture. I picked up a shabby, chippy white dresser, a pewter creamer, an orange art glass ruffle bowl, some blue toile (newer) valances, and two chalkware wall hanging lamps (Jesus and Mary).

This is still in my car! The boys are too busy spreading a load of gravel on our driveway right now to help me take it out.

Then I headed off to an estate sale. I got within a mile of the sale, and the road was closed! I had to back-track and go in another way, but I finally go there. Had I gotten there earlier, I probably would have missed running into my Dad's cousin Leona and her neighbor! I was so excited to see her walking down the driveway, I ran right up to her and gave her a HUGE hug!

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you might remember that I ran into her at a sale last summer in the same town. She just turned 89 and LOVES, LOVES, LOVES garage sales! It must run in the family genes because I have an Aunt who  absolutely loves them too!

The lady running the estate sale, was selling off her mom's stuff, and you could tell she was weary, and sad. Nothing was priced, she said just make a reasonable offer. I was picking through stuff, just enjoying the treasure hunt when I heard an older woman walk up and yell, "Is this the sale for that woman that died?"

The daughter sighed and quietly said, "Yes, I am selling my mother's stuff. She passed in November." The big mouth yelled to whomever was with her "See, I told you it was the sale of the woman that died!" I was at the back of the garage, and they were way down the driveway at the tables, and I kept willing her to say "I'm sorry for your loss" to the lady running the sale. I was thinking in my head, c'mon...say it...c'mon tell her you're sorry...c'mon...She never did. Instead she yelled "How much did ya want for the end tables?" "Hooo-eeee, I gotta sit down!" "You got somewhere I can sit?"

The lady running the sale got up off of the chair she was on and gave it to the woman-who never even said thanks. Some people...can be so...insensitive, rude, uncaring...and hurtful! I don't even think she realized it either.

When I was done, I had her look my stuff over and asked her to give me a price (which was more than fair). She was happy and I was too. I told her I was sorry for her loss, and she was soo appreciative for someone to CARE. She told me a little about her mom and her dementia, and I told her I could relate, because we just lost my grandma on the 8th of August.

I hit a few more sales on the route back home. One was in a backyard ( a former dealer was liquidating his stuff-prices were about half of the going rates, but still too high for my cheap wallet), one was in a basement (that smelled so much like moth balls that my hair absorbed some of the smell-ewwww! They invited me back in two weeks for their Christmas/Halloween/Easter sale! It might take that long to get that scent out of my nostrils and hair! I hate that smell! My grandma used to use moth balls---bleh!

I got a bunch of great stuff for the booth today, nothing sparks my interest enough to keep. Here is what I picked up...

 My first vintage picnic basket! Filled with smelly, moth ball scented items!

 A chalkware hanging Mary lamp, and a Jesus lamp too!

 A wicker lampshade- I love wicker!

 An orange art glass pedestal bowl with black trim.

 A Valentine's apron and hanky, an amethyst pitcher, a yellow Pyrex chip bowl, some vintage ornaments, a couple of cups and saucers, a cream and sugar set a couple of old books, a cow creamer, a set of un-embroidered linens and a Christmas tablecloth.

 This box of Christmas plates, mugs and tablecloth was given to me by a co-worker. It was her mother's, and it was given to her daugher-in-law, who didn't want it and gave it back to my co-worker who didn't want it, and said "Here, you take it."

These I got last weekend, just didn't have time to post about them. The stool is PERFECT for my vanity table (if I ever get enough time to get it done, so I can put it in the booth!).

Where o where has my time gone?!? I can't believe how fast the days and weeks, and even months are going!!!

Hope you were able to get out and get some fun stuff! I'm heading over to your blog now to catch up! Thanks for stopping by!!!

Shabby, Chippy Dresser...

Here's my post for "Would you buy it Wednesday" ( a couple of days late) over at Junker Newbie. As you can see...I DID buy it, since it is still in my car! The boys are busy spreading new gravel in our driveway and since it is 94 degrees-they are less that interested in helping me get it out of the car right now. I'll take a better picture later, but it's pretty shabby. The price was right, it is very heavy solid wood construction and other than chippy and shabby-no damage.

Would you have bought it? Don't forget to stop by Junker Newbie for the rest of the fun finds for "Would you buy it Wednesday"!