Three Sweet Mid-Century Finds

I'm getting ready for some extended family time, so this will just be a short post (and probably the last one for a week or more).

My friend Bargain Hunter sent me a text last week that said "Did you see the sweet lamp on the vanity at that sale that starts tomorrow?  Are you going?"  I hadn't seen and wasn't going.  The sale was billed as a 'Huge Tool Sale' and I'd looked at a few of the pictures, got bored with all the hand & power tools and then skipped the rest...and the best!  Thanks for the heads-up, Bargain Hunter!

The lamps were VERY cool and I was determined to get them...
The sale was less than a mile away, so I got there at 8:10 for a 9:00 start.  I was number five and the four people before me (and two right behind me) were all men -- the early ones had arrived at 6:10!  By 9:00, I was still the only woman there and was the only person who went into the house instead of the barn -- how cool is that!

I asked where the lamps were, saw them and snagged them -- SWEET!   They're a pair of 1950s ceramic vanity lamps with great two-tier fiberglass shades.

Pink & gold ceramic vanity lamps -- so cool!

Right after I got the lamps, I picked up these two pink Pyrex mixing bowls.  Finding them makes me laugh, because I'd searched for them for over a year and couldn't find any.  I finally ended up buying the ones I needed at the antique mall to complete my set.  Here were two just waiting for me!  It seems like I always find more of what I've been looking for AFTER I stop looking.

The other bowl is a peach confetti melmac bowl -- like Texasware, but not Texasware. It's in great shape and the price was right, too.

I went out into the barn because there was a gorgeous starburst formica table there, but it was much more than I wanted to spend.  The dealer gave me her card, though and told me to check back after the first day was over.  Well, it was so high-priced that the table didn't sell.  The second day was going to be 25% off, but that was still too much.  The dealer invited me to make her an offer, so I went down to 50% off and she took it!

I forgot to take a picture of the table, so this is the picture from the sale listing.  The starburst pattern is so unusual!  I wish it had come with chairs. (Never satisfied, I guess)

Those are my three mid-century treasures.  It's amazing to me that I got all three, since they were literally the only three mid-century goodies in the sale.  All the rest was newer stuff or tools.  It was a good shopping week!

Fun at a Country Auction!

One of the perks of giving up my day job is being able to go to sales & auctions early in the week.  Last week on Tuesday there was an auction just a mile from my house at an old farm estate.  It was billed as a 'country auction' and was heavy on tools, guns, farm equipment and horse stuff (not really my thing).

I went anyway -- because I could -- and because a lot of the things I like aren't likely to make it into the promotional pictures.

A gorgeous day for an outdoor auction!

It was so much fun and turned into a most-of-the-day event.  Because of the tools and farm equipment, men outnumbered women by 2-1.

Most of the auction looked like this...

That made me feel pretty confident about the household items coming later.  There were a few things that were really interesting.  They had a penny candy or peanut dispenser (like you used to see in stores) that dated back to the 1910s.  There were two phone buyers from across the country for that and it went for about $1,000!  There were also several saddles signed by the saddlemaker and some beautiful woven native american and mexican textiles -- all from the early 1900s.  I was just a spectator for all of that, but it was fun just to watch!

I blew a big amount of money (for me, anyway) pretty early on this great wooden card table with a map of Great Britain on it.  I just had to have it and went over the limit I'd set for myself. I immediately texted Mr. KV and told him I'd just bought my birthday present.  The couple who's farm it was were at the sale -- they're moving to a smaller place -- and the man told me that the table had been in his family as long as he could remember, and he's 81.  He said his mom and dad had glued a National Geographic map to a plain wood card table.  I love it!

Sweet wood card table with map of the British Isles

By the time the auctioneer got to the box lots and household stuff, he'd already spent 3 hours on horse riding things, furniture, guns and all the farm implements & tools.  Most of the men had loaded up their trucks and there wasn't much competition for what was left (that made me happy).  I spent just $1 - $5 a box for the rest, except for the box that held this quilt, which was a little higher.

The quilt box lot (there wasn't really anything else of value in it)

The quilt 'after' -- I soaked it in Biz, then rinsed it well and laid it out on the grass in the sun to dry.  It's lovely!

Then I had the fun of bringing all the stuff home -- this is just a little of my 'pile' (I forgot to take a picture before I had loaded about half of it up).

My car was packed!

Sorting through the box lots was fun!  A lot of times they make you take stuff at auctions that you don't want in order to get the stuff you do.  Most of what was in the boxes will be donated or sold at a yard sale, but some of it was really nice and those nuggets were well worth the price of the box.  Here are just general pics of the box lots (unsorted, so you can see them in all their 'glory'...)

A wooden farrier's box

Some other fun stuff I got at the auction:

A clothespin bag 

This cool horse lamp (it cleaned up well)  I think it would be cute  with books in the middle 

Each side of the lamp has this cast iron horse & horseshoe.  

A big paper roll holder & cutter -- probably from a store

A little paper trimmer

This cool mid-century picture was FREE!  The guy who was forced to take it didn't want it and gave it to me.  It's really big, maybe 24 x 36

A monogrammed art deco hamper and waste can from the 1920s or 30s.  It turns out that I know the man whose grandmother it belonged to (how weird is that?

A cool two piece metal utility cabinet.  It has great bakelite pulls 

I even like the old red linoleum that lines the drawer!

 Now that I've bought all that (for surprising little money) and hauled it all home and sorted it, I feel like it's time to slow down on the shopping for a while...

...BUT there's always another great sale...and another...and another!

Speed-Shopping Greenmead Flea Market!

Last Sunday was the spring flea market at Greenmead (a historical park in Livonia, Michigan).  I'd been sick all week, but 'forced' myself to go since the market won't come again until September.  We had something to do later in the afternoon so I had to speed shop -- I had to leave at 12:00 noon, which only gave me 2 hours!  I know I skipped some of the vendors and missed some things, but all in all it was a great day.

One of the favorite things that I got was this giant Santa head blowmold -- isn't he great?  Sometimes they're a little creepy, but I think he looks pretty nice.

Here are the rest of my speed-shopping finds...

This sweet Kreamer bread box.  I love the blue trim and the flowers on the front.  The handle is black bakelite and the inside is in perfect condition!

A ceramic spice set in a wooden rack

Gray graniteware pail full of clothespins, a melmac platter with  turquoise Queen Anne's Lace on it , 2 California  pottery dessert dishes and 5 sweet little chick figurines.  I don't think they're really old, but I just couldn't pass them up.

An old wood framed beveled mirror and some salt & pepper sets.  I always like the 'Made in Hong Kong' plastic nativities, too

New old stock stationary and greeting cards -- Father's Day, Mother's Day &  Graduation 

A collection of dish towels

A bunch of 1960s sport cake toppers -- check out the stylin' basketball players in their tightie shorts!

The great deal of the day -- a Texasware confetti bowl...and a kewpie doll

This little sweetie will be a gift for someone (she doesn't do the internet -- or even computers -- so I know I'm safe posting it.).  I just love the little birds all in a row.

A Crazy Two Weeks!

I haven't posted in a while -- it's been a crazy, up-and-down two weeks.

It started with a trip to Bowling Green, Kentucky for my son's wedding.   Mr. KV and I went two days early so we could help out if they needed us.  We stopped on the way down at Jeffrey's Antiques in Findlay, Ohio (one of my favorites) and I found a few treasures.  We ate at Skyline Chili (always a requirement on any trip through a state that has them).

On Thursday, we had the afternoon free, so I dragged took Mr. KV on a 'typical' junking expedition.  Since Bowling Green is a college town, there are LOTS of consignment and thrift shops -- we weren't able to get to even half of them.  We went to Salvation Army (a real hole -- almost empty and totally filthy), St. Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, Volunteers of America and a consignment shop called Grandma's Attic.  Grandma's Attic was so dirty!  It had all the dirt and atmosphere of a picker's sale, with none of the goodies.  Mr. KV was so grossed out that it made me laugh (he should see some of the sales I go to...)!

This pic makes Grandma's Attic look much better than it really is!

The gem of the junk-hunting trip was Junkyard Gypies.  If you're ever in Bowling Green, be sure to stop there -- it was marvelous!  I got quite a few things, including a couple of Mexican themed tablecloths and some Pyrex.

Junkyard Gypsies -- this entire house is FULL!

Oh, yes, we also had a wedding...

The ceremony was lovely, the reception was a blast and now the happy couple is on their honeymoon in Iceland (yes, you read right...Iceland)!  Not the typical honeymoon site, but it's got it all -- mountains, waterfalls, hot springs to swim in, puffins, whales and romance.

The newlyweds were able to hang around in Bowling Green for an extra day and a half before the honeymoon, so we got to spend some time together with them and my other two sons and their wife & girlfriend.  It was a rare treat for the 8 of us to be together, since we're scattered across the country.

I came home from BG on Memorial Day with what I thought was allergies -- I figured something was blooming there that we didn't have in Michigan.  By Tuesday afternoon, I realized I was sick -- I was down all the way through Sunday with a cold/flu.  I forced myself out of the sickbed to go to Greenmead Flea Market, since it's one of my favorites and it won't come again until September.  I found some great stuff there, too, but that's another post.

So, that's what's been going on with me!  Now I need to catch up on what all of you have been doing.