I've been trying to stay true to my commitment not to buy as much -- I think that's much more realistic than a vow to not buy ANYTHING! How could I ever have thought I could quit thrift shopping cold turkey?
I've been picking up things here and there at the local thrift store, resale shops and one or two local junk stores, but mostly have been waiting for estate sales. There were two sales close by this past weekend, so I was able to hit them and still go to the booth and fluff. The first one was very close and looked like it was almost 100% new. I go to those anyway when they're close, because you never know what the dealer doesn't take pictures of -- it might be a hidden treasure! That one was a real frog -- all I found were 2 red dish towels with hand appliqued chickens on them.
The owner of the house was there along with the estate sale company people, and she kept talking to everyone and trying to 'sell' the items. It was really uncomfortable! I was able to ask her, though, about the towels and she said her grandmother had made them as a young woman. Judging by her age (60s) I think that dates them to the 1940s.
On Saturday, I went to a sale that was run by a friend and her sisters and cousin (it was fun to meet her family and see how much alike all those sister were). They'd lost a dear aunt in December and they were settling her estate. She was a lot like my Aunt Gene -- she had no children, so these women were just like daughters to her. It was really bittersweet for them because she'd died rather suddenly and they were still hurting, but they wanted to have some closure to her condo and the belongings that they hadn't wanted to take. I got there right before they opened and there were only 3 of us there because the weather was awful -- I got to have first pickings! I was really pleased to be able to support my friend and her family and also get a few things to use that belonged to her dear aunt.
Here are pictures of what I got -- but be sure to look all the way down because I've saved the best for last!
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| A couple of Pyrex pieces (not in the best condition), a Fire King casserole, 4 cool plastic egg cups, a turquoise coffee canister and even a turquoise bottle opener. The 'turquoise fairy' definitely visited my house this weekend! |
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| A bunch of hankies and some odds & ends. The old birthday candles (from the 50s) were inside the coffee canister. |
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| A cool galvanized basket and some linens -- not in good condition, at all, but at $2 for the whole lot, it's worth taking a chance |
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| A shabby cream colored train case -- beat up, but I like it! |
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| A Syracuse Carefree china sugar bowl and Boonton melmac platter |
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| A pair of 1950s souvenir salt & peppers from Florida -- Flamingos! |
And here's the best buy of the weekend (maybe of the whole year -- and the year is young!) I just LOVE this stereo & cabinet! It's a Magnavox and sounds wonderful. It comes with all the records that were stored inside of it (on the closed left side) and even has the original maintenance & use instructions. I'm hoping it will fit in the living room where I have my other turntable right now, but we haven't picked it up yet. My friends and her sisters really wanted me to leave it so they could listen to it on the day of the sale. What do you think -- would you have bought it?
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| 1950s-60s Magnavox stereo |
On Saturday, I sold a metal utility cabinet at the mall and had to hustle something over there to fill its spot on Sunday afternoon. That forced me to finish up a project I'd started, which will be tomorrow's post. Right now, it's time for bed!
