Thrift Shopping Therapy

As I said in my last post, it's been a really busy month.  We've had happy things -- a new grandson, lots of fun times with our granddaughter, lots of houseguests -- and there have been not-so-happy things -- lots of rain (and therefore, LOTS of mosquitoes), lots of yard work, and really slow summer sales.  People just don't buy much in antique malls in July because they're all busy outside or on vacation.  I don't blame them one bit!  Then there's the let-down when all the out of town family leaves and you know you won't see them again until Christmas (or later)...

So, I've just been crabby and down in the dumps.  What does a thrifter do when she's crabby?  Go shopping!

There was a mega-Pyrex estate sale today, but it was an hour away and began at 4:00.  My friend Bargain Hunter and I really thought about going -- they had over 300 pieces of Pyrex!  Look at all this Pyrex (and that's not all of it)!

We figured out, though, that if we weren't one of the first 10 or 20 people in we'd never get any good stuff and we'd use 4 gallons of gas just to get there and back.  We decided at the last minute meet up somewhere and just see what sales were nearby instead.

There wasn't much -- we kissed a few frogs (sales not worth the drive to get them), went to a disappointing local estate sale, an even more disappointing high-priced 'liquidation' sale run by the same company and finally ended up at a resale shop.

I bought one thing -- this fun little vinyl make-up bag or train case.  It's shiny black patent vinyl (like the Easter shoes I used to have when I was little) and has a clear vinyl layer that separates the stuff below from that above.  It was at it's lowest price at the resale shop and was a good deal.

When I restocked my booth at the antique mall today, I shopped a little and found these sweeties, too.  A 1940s never-been-used Hawaii tablecloth with four napkins in its original box!

Each napkin has a different island on it

Even the box is cool!

 I bought two of these turquoise and pink barkcloth panels for a bargain price because they're cutters.  See the big holes on either side (where the table shows through)?  I have a couple of benches to cover, though, that they'll be perfect for!

Even with the frogs and the disappointment of not going to the mega-Pyrex sale, Bargain Hunter and I vented a little and laughed a lot and both felt better for the trip.  Just goes to show that it's not what deals you find or what you buy that's important, it's the fun people you 'hunt' with!

Hope you find some good sales this weekend...as my dad used to say, "stay with the happy people"!

Good Choices, Bad Choices & a Trip to Hell

Got you with that title, didn't I?  We'll get to the trip to Hell soon enough, but first, the choices.  And life is all making choices and living with the consequences, isn't it?... I made these good and bad ones in the past two or three weeks.

Bad choice:  Choosing to go first to two estate sales about 10 miles west of my town, which were run by the same company on the same day.  Neither was any good because they were both overpriced and poorly organized.  Only bought a few things.

Good choice:  Putting a pair of Mammy/Aunt Jemima salt and pepper shakers on the 'hold' table at the first sale and then putting it back.  Another lady snapped the set up the moment I put it down, which made me think I'd made a mistake and instantly want it back. Has that ever happened to you?  The very fact that someone else wants something makes it more desireable.  It was a good choice, though, because they're just offensive to me, no matter how popular or collectable they are.

Good choice:  Leaving those two sales and driving to another estate sale 10 miles east of my town (if you're doing the math, that's already 30 miles on the car).  I bought several things there.

Fun styrofoam Santa face.  It will be hard to give this guy up

I really like the Androck whipper in the milk glass bowl!

A great mid-century relish plate -- perfect for cheeseball & crackers.  I may have to keep this for a while

Utensils with bakelite handles

This suitcase is in great condition!

Bad choice:  Taking a chance on an absolutely filthy Pyrex fridge dish, only to find out that the filth was hiding terrible wear.  Seeing mistreated Pyrex like this is so sad!

Bad choice:  Forgetting to make a note on my sale-addresses list of an estate sale the same day that was in my town.  Since I didn't mark 'estate sale' or put a star by it, the address just stayed on my list with all the other garage sales and I forgot to go.  It turned out to be an outstanding sale with lots of stuff.

Good choice:  Going to the forgotten sale on the second day.  I found a few things, but not what I would have gotten on the first day.  Oh well, that's the way it goes.

Nelly Bee loop weaving loom.   Did every little girl have one of these and did we all make potholders for our grandparents for Christmas?

Lots of postcard folders -- I'm always drawn to these!

Two very old (1910s-20s) school composition books with writing inside.  These are really popular with scrapbookers and altered-art artists

Bad choice:  Buying (and paying more than I should have) for a BIG lot of Barbie stuff:  two poor-condition cases, a Midge and a Ken (Ken had flocked hair, but a loose arm -- poor guy) and LOTS of Barbie clothes.  Actually the Bad Choice was taking a garage sale seller's word for the authenticity of all the clothes (in 3 gallon ziplock bags).  When I got it all home and looked through it, I realized that 90% of the clothes were homemade.

Good choice:  Being brave enough to take the entire lot of Barbie, Ken, cases and clothes back to the seller, telling her that it was almost entirely homemade and asking for my money back (I've never done anything like that and it was scary)!  It was only 2 hours after her two-day-long sale had started and she could easily sell the stuff to someone else.   Since I had specifically said "these all look homemade" (as I looked over the big plastic bags of clothes) and she had emphatically told me they were ALL official Barbie clothes, I felt justified.  She finally returned my money, though she did imply that I might have taken some of the clothes out.  I guess I might have thought the same thing in her position, though I don't think I would have said it.

Good choice:  Feeling really rich with my too-much-money-for-the-Barbies returned to me and stopping at another sale on the way home.  I got these cool things there:

My boys used to have this puzzle -- this one is in mint condition

Lincoln Beautyware canisters

These peg hangers are usually brown wood & boring -- this one is really cute

The condiment bowls don't have a maker's mark, but they look like Thermo-Serv

The clock has a roll-cover (from the bottom up).  I don't know if the lucite purse was made for a child or not, but it would be so cute to carry to a dinner or party.

This Fisher-Price light up globe has a little view-master type lens that you put over the circles and see pictures of the landmarks & people of the country the circle is in

A sweet homemade doll cradle

The round thing in the front is a heat spreader for a stovetop percolator

This big (24 x 36) picture has a gold plaster & wood frame

This great industrial cubby hole cabinet.  The yellow dot is the lid of a liter pop bottle on its side with a big hole cut in the 'top'.  The man I bought the cabinet from used it to store his nuts, bolts, screws, etc in bottles like that in the cubbies.  Brilliant!

Finally, the Trip to Hell:  Yes, there is a Hell, Michigan.  It's really big at Halloween and lots of Goth weddings take place there.  There's very little in Hell besides a bar/restaurant and an ice cream shop.  It's about 15 miles from my house, but I like to go to sales there because there because most of the houses are mid-century and there's usually good stuff.  

The day I went, it turned out to be a Bad Choice -- the sale was all new items and lots of 'interior decorator' supplies, flower arrangements and craft supplies.  I left with only an egg beater (a very expensive egg beater, if I factor gas prices).  Still it was a beautiful day for a trip to Hell. 

Fall Friday Finds

I was just lamenting that I hadn't been to any good sales lately -- none of the kind where you do the happy dance all the way to the car.  I still haven't, but today's sales were a little better!

Fall has come to Michigan.  The trees are all turning and leaves are falling.  It was chilly and damp when I left this morning to go to some late-season garage sales in a nearby town.  One had been listed on Craigslist and the seller had used words like 'destashing', 'mid-century' and 'anthropomorphic condiment dishes', so I knew I had to go.

She lived in a condo and her garage was barely wide enough for a car, but she had tables with 2 aisleways set up in there.  It was a tight fit for the 5 or 6 people who where there when I was.  Still, I got some good buys -- mainly old photos from the 1930s and 1950s.  The anthropomorphic condiment dishes?  Well, I was hoping they were Holt Howard, but they weren't.  They were just big vegetable & fruit heads and were $25 each -- not what I wanted.

An Argus camera with full flash equipment & original box, plus more photos . 
These are from the early 1950s and included Christmas and kiddie football pics.

A photo album with pictures from the 1930s -- mostly from a trip to the Catskills

Her condo development was supposed to be having a community garage sale, but I only found 2 other sellers.  At one of them I bought an old fiberglass & metal mail bin.  It has 'North Campus Library Annex' painted on it and, since we have several universities around here, I wondered if the old man I bought it from had stolen it.  I was afraid to ask him its history, though, because he was very crabby and a little scary.

After the condo complex, I went to a couple more sales in a couple more towns (it seems nothing in our part of Michigan is really close together) and ended up filling the car!

One thing I was happy to find was a tall unit of 4 shutters (door-height) hinged together.  I've been looking for shutters like this for over a year, because they're great for creating an instant wall in the booth.  You can also turn them slats-facing-up and hang things on them with S hooks.  These are perfect because they're painted a soft green that will look good with my booth walls.  One of them is broken, but I don't care about that.  I might even repair it...

All in all, it was a good shopping day, even if I didn't do the happy dance.

Here are some of my fun finds:

An old sled

A fifties stepped end table & a shabby red chair

Driving-range sized baskets

A framed cutwork & embroidered 'Welcome' motto

A silhouette jar and some sweet 1920s button on cards

A pyrex casserole, Moon & Stars compote and a Stetson 'Scots Clan' cream & sugar (sweet!) 

STRANGE BUY OF THE DAY:
This  little golf bag holder with plastic golf club drink stirrers. 

BEST BUY OF THE DAY:
A McCoy large jardiniere.  It has a small (and short) hairline crack at the top. Other than that it's perfect!

SECOND BEST BUY OF THE DAY:
A wooden box with etched mirror and a bakelite knob

FAVORITE BUY OF THE DAY:
A pair of mid-century wall pockets with elves.  Honestly, who would want to hang these on their walls and put plants in them?

 I hope you had a fun junking week!  I'll have to check all your blogs to see what you found.

One Good Sale and LOTS of Frogs!

I've really missed getting to shop on Thursdays.  Even if I have maxed out my hours on Monday-Wednesday, my boss wants me to make sure I have enough time left to be there on most of Thursday -- which means that I miss all the good stuff at the sales.  Yesterday, though, I found one that was pretty good even by the time I got to it.

The husband's mom had passed away and they were selling a lot of her household stuff.  I thought it would be a frog when I got there and a 1960s wood china cabinet (with lots of replaced sections) was priced at $300!  Once I got into the garage, though, I found a few treasures.

A Capitol album carrier

The cake carrier is a triple layer one -- can fit a cake plus 2 pies!

These are two large pictures from the 40s

A Hires rootbeer crate and an old 7UP carrier (with a metal frame)

A bunch of kitchen odds and ends.  The pyrex casserole has the original 2-burner warming frame!  I really like the drinks shaker with the olives painted on  and I've never seen a tiny Foley food mill like this, either.

These were a great find -- it took some research to figure out what they are:  muddlers!  I'd never heard of them, but a muddler is a masher or crusher used in bartending.  These spoons have flat edges to crush the fruit in a drink.  The smaller ones are new old stock, still in their original wraps in the box.  These would have been used with tea, to crush the sugar cubes!  Both sets are silver plate, made in Sheffield, England and have red knobs.  I'm sure that the longer ones' knobs are bakelite, but I need to test the shorter ones.

Today I slept in (a little), got some things ready for the booth and set out for garage sales.  They aren't my favorite way to shop -- I really hate all the short trips and going in and out of the car.  Like all  of the shopping trips, they're not as much fun when you're by yourself, too.  A local small town was having a city-wide garage sales so there were LOTS.  Unfortunately, besides lots of sales, there were lots of 'frogs' and lots of Little Tykes sets (no offense intended, moms of little ones, but when you don't have any littles in your life, there's only so much kid-stuff you can look at)!  I made lots of stops and only got a couple of good things.

The best buy of the day was this Argus 150 slide projector!  I recently bought a whole box of slides to sell on Etsy and it's really hard to see what they are with an old hand-held plastic slide viewer.  This projector is so cool (actually, it gets quite hot...) and it works perfectly!  It turns out that the slides I bought are from the 1950s and are from trips to Florida, some other coastal areas and Lapland, Finland and (I think) some Soviet bloc countries! 

The Argus 150 projector

 Here's a little of the slide show...

These are people at a lakeside in a central European country in the 50s -- I hope they aren't spy-slides!
Sorry for the blur -- my camera was confused by the light & dark exposure. 

Stylin' men from the 50s -- they really know how to 'loosen up' at the lake, don't they?

Check out the car!

After I visited so many 'froggy' garage sales that I couldn't stand it another minute, I went to the mall and worked on the booth.  That always cheers me up!  I love catching up with all of my friends who work there and I really enjoy talking to the shoppers, too.  It's so nice to hear their stories and talk about our common love of old stuff!

When I got home, I went out to do some 'farm' work (ha!)  Our lilacs are just coming on, the girls are laying like crazy (even Pee Wee -- see her tiny egg in the upper right?) and I had to pick ALL of the asparagus because we're going to get frost tonight.  Spring might just be my favorite season!

Well, now that I'm finding time to post again, I hope to keep it up -- I have so much to tell you!  We went on a trip to Holland, Michigan (the home of all things Dutch) and I won a giveaway (my first ever).  I've been doing some painting projects and, instead of straightening up the basement, making a bigger mess!  So much to share and so little time...

Have a great weekend!  I can't wait to see what you all did (and what you found) this week!