Greenmead Fall Flea Market

I was able to go to one of my favorite events last week -- Greenmead Antiques Flea Market in Livonia, Michigan.  It only happens two Sundays a year and it's a don't-miss opportunity to find some great stuff.

A beautiful, sunny day!

I always get there early (by 9:30, at least, for the 10:00 start).  At $2 admission, it's a bargain!

I've usually filled my granny cart and also had some large items to go back to pick up.  This time, though, I filled my granny cart, made a trip to the car to empty it, went back and filled it again and then STILL had big items to pick up.  Three trips to the car -- WOW!

Here are some of the neat things that I found:

Two old bed-spring pieces.  I'm going to mount these to the wall and hang things off of them.

Felt Christmas tree skirt -- it needs a tiny bit of mending

The green breadbox is pretty shabby, but I liked the polka dots.  The chalkware kitty bank is shabby, too/  I couldn't believe I found a red Pyrex 401 bowl in great condition!   The black salt & pepper are pretty cool, too.  

Do you see the pink Pyrex fridgie?  SO excited about that one!  My son and his wife have already claimed the 1970s giant glasses -- I knew someone would love those...

I know I don't need any more Christmas tins, but Santa (who you can hardly see) is very friendly looking.  And I can NEVER resist souvenir pennants or cameras!  Can you see the mid-century Coronet thermos jug -- it's so cool!

Franciscan Desert Rose salt & pepper, Christmas aprons & more dish towels

Love these tablecloths (the songbirds are a dish towel).  I got the rooster & hen cloth for $1 because it's so stained.  I'll see if lots of soaking will work on it...

I wish I knew who manufactured the big soup mug with the lid.  It's ringed like Bauer, but I don't think it is Bauer.

I just had to have these funky corn dishes.  They're hard plastic (celluloid?) and very thin -- I think they're popcorn dishes

This is a Westinghouse roaster base or cabinet.  I think it would look cool set up as a bar

Lots of storage room for bottles & glasses inside

The suitcase is a project piece.  It's been completely stripped inside, so I get to line it!  

Here is one of my favorite things from Greenmead... I bought it to sell (and still might), but I love it so much that I'm tempted to keep it:

This is a pretty big picture -- maybe 18x24.  It's a 40s or 50s photo of a girl blowing bubbles and she just looks so joyful

 And the BIG STAR is this globe -- it's a Repogle game globe from the 1960s.  I was very excited to find it and when I asked the vendor if he could take any less for it, he dropped it by a lot.  I was doing the happy dance away as fast as I could, before he changed his mind.

 If you live near southeast Michigan, try to go to Greenmead sometime...you won't be disappointed!

A CRAZY Four Weeks

I looked at my last post and realized I hadn't written in 4 weeks -- that might be a record.  It's been a really crazy month here at Kitschy Vintage land -- in a good news-bad news, up-and-down emotions sort of way.

I don't normally share much personal stuff, partly because I know that everything posted online lives forever and also because I can't really believe that my life is anywhere near as interesting to you all as great vintage finds.  This time, though, I'm making an exception.

Bad News -- Mr. KV had a heart attack a month ago and spent several days in the hospital.  It wasn't the first time he's had heart trouble, but that doesn't make it any easier to go through (for him or me).
Good News -- Thankfully, the heart attack was fairly mild and didn't do any damage.  They were able to clear the affected artery with a stent, rather than surgery.  It was still really scary, though!

Bad News -- When Mr. KV got sick, the entire garage was set up for a yard sale.  Every table we could find was covered and piled up with household junk and LOTS of what-was-I-thinking items from my stash in the basement.  It was terrible timing, but I had to go ahead with it, knowing that once Labor Day weekend was over, no one would be shopping sales.  We were all exhausted but there was no going back.
Good News -- My son and his wife are moving back to this side of the state, so he was around to help me move tables and furniture and get things set up.  My friend Bargain Hunter knew how stressed I was about it and came over after work to help me price things.  She's a master at running sales and is so calm about it that she makes it seem do-able -- she was a real life-saver!
More Good News (I guess) -- With Mr. KV on total rest and not allowed to drive or go to work, he couldn't do anything but sit around, so he sat around in the garage and took people's money.

What was I thinking?

Did you ever see so many glasses?

We spent LOTS of time telling people that my Beetle wasn't for sale!

Junk, junk, junk!

Bad News -- Because it was a week & a half before Labor Day, the entire state of Michigan was on one last vacation before school started! Very few people were shopping the sales and they weren't buying. About half or more of my 'treasures' were left over. SIX loaded-van trips to Salvation Army later, I'm still tidying up the garage and trying to figure out where the leftovers will go...they're NOT going back to the basement!

Bad News (though minor) -- We had a mini-tornado go through our area and, while I don't think the tornado hit our yard, the high winds did. We lost almost all of the apple tree closest to our garden and half of the healthiest one by the barn. It not only made a lot of cleanup work, but I grieve over every lost tree because I'm such a greenie! I think the bumper crop of apples we have this year contributed, too.

The tree by the garden -- only one major branch is still upright.  The tree almost split in half

Good News (and Bad News) -- I had a birthday.  A BIG birthday -- one than ends in a zero.  Those are both a blessing (have health and long life) and a curse (getting old isn't for sissies)...  Mr. KV sent me a HUGE bouquet of beautiful roses, though and took me out to dinner.

This beautiful arrangement is about 3 feet tall!  The vase alone is 18" -- there are LOTS of roses there!

Good News -- My sister & brother-in-law came up from Ohio to celebrate my birthday, too, and we had a great time (plus they took me out to dinner...birthday dinner #2).  We had a great time, with lots of talking and laughter.  They gave me this wonderful birthday gift (a big thank-you to my niece for seeing it on my wish list on the blog).

Fire King polka dots mixing bowl -- YAY!

My birthday was marred by a terribly sad event, though...

Bad News (and Good News) -- A dear friend and co-worker died on my actual birthday, after a very fast but difficult battle with breast cancer.  She was in her early 50s and was much too young to leave us.  All day long I got phone calls and text messages from friends telling me that she'd passed away and ending with 'Oh, by the way, happy birthday'.  I'll miss her so much!   Her funeral was on Labor Day weekend and the Good News is that it was a real celebration of her life and her strong faith and the knowledge that we'll see her again in heaven.

Good News -- I'm going to be a grandmother for the first time in January!   I've known for a while, but wasn't allowed to tell yet.The other good news is that it's a girl!   As the mother of three boys, I can't wait to have a little girl to play with -- I've got all the vintage toys and dishes she could want and still have my baby doll, Ginny Vogue doll and Barbies to play with!

It's a girl!

Good News -- The weekend after my sister and brother-in-law left, my son from Florida and his girlfriend came in to town for a long weekend.   They also took us out to dinner -- it was birthday dinner #3 *SWEET!*   It was so good to see them and get to hang out -- Florida is just too far away!   Since my son and Mr. KV were going to a football game and playing golf, I got to spend some precious time with my son's girlfriend -- always a blessing!

In between heart attacks, sales, birthdays & visits, I've been trying to put the garage back in order (so we can pull our cars in again), continuing to work through organizing the basement, and keeping the Etsy shop and booth stocked. It seems like I haven't had a minute to regroup and figure out what's next.

I think things are getting back to normal.  The 'normal' of shopping and keeping and selling...and telling you all about great finds and fun transformations.  The basement reorganization is almost complete and I can get to my sewing machine again.  I've got so many ideas of creative projects to do -- I'll keep you posted on their progress.  Hopefully, the next post won't be four weeks away!