The One To Beat

Every year you hit that garage, church, or estate sale that is just the tops.  You get tons of great crap at rock bottom prices and then you have hours of re-looking delight, not to mention telling everyone you know about it in great, great detail.  It becomes The One To Beat. 

Last week I went to a sale that falls into this category.  It was mere blocks from my house, was an estate sale run by one of my favorite companies, and everything was half off!  For some reason sales in my part of town are not well attended.  Which, is great for me.  Because the less people, the more chance you have to snag the bits you want!  So on day two (half off day) the house was still stuffed with items!

I hopped on down to the basement first to take a crack at the holiday fare.  There were buckets of it, though most of it was new or super uggs.  I did find a few flocked apple ornaments that I'll use in my everyday red/jadeite dining room setup.

(I already had the Jadeite creamer - it's just a photo prop in this pic) I got everything in this photo for $6.50.  The pencils just thrill me. I have one other Christmas pencil with an elf head on top.  It's shocking to me that they were there on the second day.  But, as I've said, nobody wants Christmas right now!  Dummies!  The Santa is a cookie jar.  I'm not sure that he's vintage, but he's just too adorable for that to matter at all. The red and green polkadot scarfs were part of a treasure trove of scarfs I found in the boudoir, all going for 50 cents!

This is another of the scarfs.  Pure magic!  I'll be displaying this one at Halloween!  I snagged the Florida coasters for 50 cents.  I just love that beach graphic!  The beach is my place.  You know, besides estate sales.  Those are my place as well.

As I was waiting in line to check out, I was carrying, among other things, this insanely awesome hot pink garbage can.  The lady running the sale leaned over and asked if I'd seen the matching hamper. Wha-whaaaatt?  She told me where it was and back up to bedroom #2 I went!  When I first found the trash can I couldn't tell if it was red or hot pink.  The lighting in these old houses is notoriously bad.  I'm actually thinking of starting to carry a flashlight.  Many of the houses don't have overhead lighting and therefore rely on lamps.  But then, the lamps all get sold and you are left in the dark!  I had to take the trash can over to the window to determine it's color.  I'm very glad she told me about the hamper, because I completely missed it in the dark mire of stuff and shoppers.  I snagged the pair for $4.50!  The hamper is much too small to use for an actual hamper.  I plan to use it to store my off-season work out clothes or something.

When I was originally scoping out the sale I saw a whole pile of vintage plush toys. I was hopeful that by day two some of them might still be there.  Well, all of them were still there.  Apparently nobody in town wants vintage plush toys from the 50s.  I scooped up the ones that were in great condition.  I'm going to keep this large Easter bunny man for myself.  He's going to  look so faboo in my Easter display!  I just love his pink, felt eyelashes and his ticking outfit!

Now it's time for...

New In My Etsy Shop

(Click on a photo to be taken to that listing in my shop!)

Vintage Sewing Cards

The graphics on these cards are just so darn adorable! There are 8 cards in all and I can't stop thinking about how cute they'd be in different holiday displays.  Because that's where my mind is most of the time.  Putting together holiday displays.  How perfect would these kids be in a 4th of July (or other patriotic holiday) display, I ask you?!

Vintage Strawberry Shortcake Wall Clock

Unfortunately, this little gem doesn't run.  But the clock mechanism could be replaced pretty easily if you are a handy person. Imagine using this in your office, instead of that ugly old plain black one.  Every time you checked to see how many hours of torture you had to go, you'd be greeted by cheerful Strawberry and her kitty, Custard.  They'd be rooting you on!  They'd be reminding you how much fun you were going to have after work!  They'd be on your team, helping you file your TPS reports!

Vintage Mid Century Hand Painted Reindeer Ornament

I just love the colors used on this guy.  I love a liberal use of aqua. This dude has stripes.  He's got polka dots. And judging by his upturned snout, I'd say he has a bit of an attitude about it. A little hoity-toity there, Mr. Reindeer. Christmas is one of my favorite things, ever.  I decorate one full sized tree, one medium, and one small.  As of right now none of them are mid-century specific, but you never can tell what the future might bring!

Vintage Dreamland Creations Squeak Toy Doll With Dinosaur

I'll admit it.  When I first became part of the Instagram community, I didn't know squeak toys were a thing.  But it turns out, they so are. People love these little babies!  This baby in particular, is hard as a rock and no longer squeaks.  She is still ridiculously adorable in her Pebbles-esque-ness. (that's a real thing) She's toting around her little dino buddy and in the back she's losing her britches, a bit!

Until next time ~ Happy Hunting!

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We're Having A Heat Wave, A Tropical Heat Wave

It has been seriously warm this summer.  Temps in the 90s with little humidity (and no mosquitos!) to speak of.  I couldn't be happier.  I'm sure most people up here in the frozen north have had it with all this heat, but I say, BRING IT.  Because already I'm fearing the icy breath of Old Man Winter.  I'm trying very hard to "live in the now" and enjoy summer while it lasts and not worry about the ever encroaching winter.

I went to some estate sales and one of the area flea markets in my quest to celebrate summer fully.  The flea is about an hour away, but huge.  Indoor booths, outdoor booths, those weird garage type spaces.  All kinds of stuff.  Unfortunately, this flea market very clearly has an identity crisis.  It thinks it's an antique store. Because whoa, prices!  When I go to a flea market I'm looking for people wanting to get rid of some junk.  For cheap. And fast.  People who don't want to haul it all home.  People who are ready to make a deal.

Although the prices were nuts, I was able to find a few things for reasonable amounts. 

I found my first jadeite swirl mug! $3. The Butter Mints tin came from an estate sale for a quarter. (I'll display it at Easter) I really do think the estate sales around here have ruined me for other vintage shopping venues.  They have great prices and great items.  Maybe I don't need to scout out other places to get my fix.  I'll just stick to what works!  The ceramic dog / pineapple (?) planter thing might well indeed be a creamer.  See that the plant portion has a spout?  And the dog is acting as a handle?  It had an adorable dog, and the right colors, so I swooped it for $5. Mint green is just so delicious!

I just love that nobody in this area is hot to trot over holiday stuff like I am. It used to be cut throat around here.  Now I can visit an estate sale on day two and score a little Lefton holly Christmas footed cake plate in mint condition for $4 without any competition.  Most of the holiday stuff is relegated to the basement and garage. Which is where I found the large , wired, mercury glass balls for 50 cents.  The Christmas corsage in the back was found at the flea market for an amazing $1.  The package has a lid, but I removed it for the photo.  I love finding them in the original packing.  The care that was taken to present such a wacky gift!!  "Here, I got you this Christmas corsage.  It's made of a painted pinecone, a ribbon, some random floral berries, a glass ornament, and some plastic Christmas bits. You're welcome."

I found the hankie at the flea market for $1.  There was a basket of them with a sign reading "Eco Friendly" which made me chuckle.  It's rare for me to find a fall / Halloween colored vintage linen to use in my displays, so I was pretty excited about this little beauty.  The two sets of earrings were $1 each.  They were in baggies with other gross earrings, so I couldn't really tell that one of the parrots was missing part of it's tail.  :(  But, I'm still going to wear them anyway.  The hot pink enamel clasp bracelet was gotten at day 2 of an estate sale for $2.50.  It's an "Original by Robert" and small enough for my child-sized wrist.

I was walking around the flea market thinking (And by "thinking" I mean "talking out loud to myself like a crazy person".) how I hadn't found anything really really awesome, just a few cute things. And you always want to find that one item that makes your guts clench with desire and gives you that throwy-uppy feeling of excitement, right?  No?  Just me then? At the moment when I was about to call it a day and go home, I saw this gross little bird-like head sticking out above a pile of crap!

BA-BAM!

That's right, baby!  A Dark Crystal lunchbox! An item I've never even seen in real life!  Gack!  I flew over to the table and tried to non-challantly grab it before anyone else could, (Even though the only other person at the booth was the proprietor.) whilst maintaining my smoothest poker face.

It had a masking tape price tag splayed right across the front, (What are we, barbarians??) reading $9.50.  A price I was more than willing to pay, even though the box is not in great shape and has it's fair share of rust.

As I was pulling out my cash, the chatty older gent manning the booth told me he just couldn't ask me to pay $9. So I asked if $7 would do.  He said, "I'll take six!  How often does that happen!?" Haha!  I told him not often, and that I'd never forget it, he could be sure of that.  When I got home I gave the lunchbox a few coats of clear spray paint to halt the rust erosion. It was a trick finding a spot for it in the very full Muppet room, but us collectors are good at forming towers and piles.  :)

Recently I separated my personal Instagram account from my shop Instagram account. Personal: @thesnugbungalow  Shop: @thesnugbungalowshop I'll be posting items for sale on the shop account, and personal treasures on the personal account. In August I'll be doing a small giveaway of a single Muppet (Animal) MiniMate. (Because of the new (stupid) way they are packaged this time, you end up with an extra Animal or Rowlf)  I will also be posting a coupon here and on Instagram for my Etsy shop, during the moth of August.

I've posted quite a few items in my Etsy shop since last time I shared some with you.  So let's do a 

New In My Etsy Shop:

Click on a photo to be redirected to that listing in my shop.

Vintage Princess of Power Action Figure Doll She-Ra

Man, I still remember the birthday that my dad arrived home from work toting a Princess of Power and her pegasus Swift Wind. My gawd, the thrill! What an awesome toy line, and role model for girls! And because nothing in the 80s could ever be one thing, She-Ra here came equipped with an alter ego (Adora) and a long lost twin brother! (He-Man/Prince Adam) Oh the tangled webs we weaved to make a storyline in the 80s. (Also in the shop: Catra and Castaspella.)

Vintage Sea Wees Flora Tropigal Mermaid

I have some very vivid memories of playing with my Sea Wee family (They came with a child and also a pet, all mermaids/meranimals.) Mine had blue hair and came with a floating sponge you could shove the dolls into so they could all float around together in bathtub land.  Let me tell you from experience, there is nothing more mesmerizing than watching a Sea Wee's hair underwater.  Trust me on that.

Vintage Alf Plush Doll

Ah, Gordon Shumway. Eater of cats, singer of songs. I loved this show, and like the rest of you, couldn't exactly say why. Because, puppets? Aliens? Gentle family comedy? Hard to pinpoint exactly. But this might do the trick.

Vintage Fairgrove Drinking Straws

When I was a youngling I was obsessed with drinking straws. The fancier the better. I begged for them every single grocery shopping trip, which I'm sure my mother really appreciated. I've always had an unhealthy love of plastic. And when you put it into a fun shape and tell me I can sip a favorite beverage from it, well, that just about seals the deal. The packaging on this set is just the tops. It would have had me pitching a fit in Tops, for sure.

Vintage Knickerbocker Sesame Street Ernie and Bert Dolls

Knickerbocker makes some lovely dolls. Their toys are top notch. The moment I realized that Ernie and Bert sounded exactly like Kermit and Fozzie was a real eye opener, in my life. It cemented my love of all things Henson in a very real way. And the thought that you could grow up and have an artistic career! You could actually get paid to play with puppets! Very big stuff.

Vintage Spuds MacKenzie Plush

Remember in the 80s when they marketed adult products, like beer and cigarettes directly to children by means of adorable cartoon and life like characters? Spuds MacKenzie is the "original party animal" and he loved to wear clothes, and drink beers, and throw confetti and shit.  He was also a she.  On account of we can't have a boy dog's genitals hanging about in advertisements. Because that would be wrong. Never mind marketing beer to kids, that's totally normal and fine.  Just overlook that bit and focus on the genitals.  Because we protestants love to focus on the genitals.  By not focusing on them.  Because we're tricky. And like beer.

Until next time, you Little Kiddles, happy hunting!

Magic Summer II

When I was in high school my friend Ann and I devised a scheme whereby we'd drive to yard sales and flea markets, find the toys of our childhood, and then sell them online.  On our own website.  Designed and implemented by us.  That was in 1996/1997. That's right.  We were ahead of the curve.  Most people we knew didn't even have an email address yet, and we were already hawking 80s toys online.  We did that for many years.  People actually found our site, and bought things from us.  We actually made some money.  It was pretty boss.

Ann started referring to these summer sale sessions as "magic summers".  The sheer joy of being in the warmth, and sun, hunting treasures with the kinds of friends you didn't have to try with.  Ya feel me?

This year, I don't work on Fridays.  Ann is a choir teacher at a school and therefore has the summers off.  She also just started an Etsy shop selling vintage clothing and accessories.  The name?  Magic Summer Vintage. 

Again we bring the epic (and slightly annoying, to all those around them) duo of Ann & Sarah back to the sale route.  Estate sales, thrift stores, church sales, neighborhood garage sales, and piles of junk at the curb be forewarned.  We are coming for you.

Here are some of the things I've found on some of our recent outings. 

We went on an long journey (one hour away) to a neighboring city to hit up a bunch of thrift stores on half off day.  They mostly had clothes, which was weird.  But I did find a few things for myself. I have no idea if this Christmas rag rug is old or new ("Old or new!? Old or new!?") but it matters not.  I love it and will delight in using it in front of the sink during the Christmas Season. (November to February) It was about $2.

I also scored all of this great stuff on half off day.  A vintage shelled vase ($1) that says "Florida", A tropical 80's serving tray ($4) and a vintage 80's pastel purple purse. ($4)  The purse is very Blanche Devereaux, which is why I love it so much.  Since it's my life goal to become one of the Golden Girls. (Sophia, preferably) 

I love me a flamingo, so I was super happy to find this toothpick holder at an estate sale for $1!  I bought the plastic shell mirror compact to go with my new Blanche purse. (.50 cents) And lucite earrings! ($5) I love lucite, let me tell you.  Throw some glitter or aquarium gravel into some plastic and I'll never stop swooning.

I found the little totem pole for $1 ("Made by American Indians"!) and the tulip shaker for $2. The turkey is a Steiff turkey. IT WAS ONE DOLLAR!!!  CAN YOU EVEN?!  The weirdest part was that there were other Steiff animals for sale for very reasonable, but much higher prices at this same sale.  But, mister turkey was relegated to the basement, with the holiday brick-a-brack.  I thought, "Oh look! A fuzzy turkey, how cuuuuu......!!!!!" and was cut off mid thought when I actually touched him and realized what was up.  This was one for the books. (or rather, blog)

I found this awesome tin for a quarter. I know that I need to stop with the Christmas tins. I can stop any time I like.

This amazing vintage Halloween mask was found at our Public (Farmer's) Market on one of their weekend garage sale days.  It's only the third one I've found since I fell in love with them several years ago.

I had a fabulous tip-off that this Kermit puppet and Miss Piggy lunchbox (Neither of which I had!) were hiding out at a super gross flea market in town. The kind of place where teeth are optional. The first shelf you see when you entered the flea market building had individually wrapped rolls of toilet paper. For sale.  It smelled like a car air freshener and an incense stick had a revolting smelling baby.  My bravery and nasal sacrifice was worth it.  I got the pair for $8 total.

THEN I found these two at an estate sale I was at with Heather!  I might of slugged her at the sight of them.  Possibly even shoved her out of the way a little? Then I tried to regain poker face.  It wasn't easy. $5 for the pair!  What a great week for the Muppet Collection!

My first honeycomb Christmas tree!  For $1! The cardboard Christmas box was also $1.  And it smells like old lady inside.  Don't pretend you don't know exactly what that smells like.

I've been searching for a red Cosco stool for years!  They get scooped up at Estate sales around here lickety split. This one was made for Target, and not vintage.  But I got it for $10 and it still has it's tag! I'm pleased as punch!

I'm going to forego the "New In My Shop" feature this time since this post is so long.  I'll post some shop updates later this week, along with a coupon to use in my shop!

Until next time, happy hunting!