Since You're All Still Here...

Unfortunately, nobody was caught up in the sky over the weekend. Or maybe if they were it was only like two people, who don't live near other people, so none of us know about it. We've all been left behind. I figured that I'd share some of my great finds from Rapture Day with you all in consolation. I mean, if we're still stuck here, we might as well go yard sale-ing, am I right?

Though, probably if the end of the world is coming in October I should have stocked up on canned goods and cigarettes instead of annuals and ballet flats. In the post-apocalyptic world you'll be able to trade cigarettes for anything. Who is going to want gold bars? Nobody, that's who. You are going to want to traffic in booze and cigarettes. Trust me on this one. When everyone is wearing tied together bits of leather and has gone without a good scrubbing for months people are going to need something to make that sight look and smell better.

The sale we went to was in Churchville, ironically enough. In attendance: Me, HB and Lilah. We also stopped at the Gates Town Hall which was having a huge community sale in it's yard and labyrinth-like bowels. HB and my mom bought every kind of plant imaginable. I bought a baby Chinese Lantern plant for $2. They bought the same and something called Purple Passion from a woman wearing party beads. I wouldn't be surprised if you could smoke the stuff.


HB found the enamel bucket for $2. She first thought about plating flowers in it (because these two had pants on the brain, let me tell you) but then I reminded her about the patio she is planning and how the bucket might be perfect for ice and beer. Obviously, she agreed. Snap out of the plant coma, people, there is more to life. Like beer.

Lilah bought her share of foliage and a Vincent Van Gogh umbrella for $1. Sometimes I wonder how the masters would feel having people put their work on umbrellas, blankets and aprons. Ah well, they're dead. Who cares, eh? People gotta stay dry, warm and clean, they might as well look cultured doing it. Especially people who pronounce Van Gogh: "Van Gauck" or "Van Gaugh".


My mom also got an old heating pad still in the box for $2. We used to have one just like it when I was little. She got a Buffalo Bills potholder for cheap, a cool shaker for $1, a cute flower pin for 50 cents and a glass candy jar for a quarter! The recipe box was in the free bin and the gift bags were a quarter each. Cheaper than the dollar store! Take that $4/gallon gasoline!


I would like to say that Lilah also got a bag of fresh popped popcorn. We smelled it, we saw kids eating large bags of it, but we never seemed to find the sale with the popcorn. The neighborhood was essentially a circle and just as we were getting back to our car we saw it. The empty popcorn machine. One sale to the right of our car. One fatal step away. Lilah nearly cut herself. She did swear repeatedly and announce that it was time to get the hell out of there. Poor kid. She had behaved all day and never stolen so much as as one piece away from those lucky children with their bags full of corn. OK, so she might have eyed them a little too interestedly and made their mother's very nervous, but she didn't take so much as a kernel. A tragic story.

Hb found a muffin tin made out of this star patterned metal that she loves for $1 and some magazines for a quarter each. This girl needs more magazines like she needs more trash cans. She hordes them. It's a sickness.


I got two shot glasses and two small planters for a quarter each. They sort of match! The green shot glass says "Reforestation Expert" and the yellow one says "Water Conservationist". They are prizes for the Seersucker Social bike ride on Sunday. The planters are for the basil plants that we got at the public market.


Here is my Chinese lantern $2, a pin cushion 25 cents and a Goosberry Patch stack of pumpkins that I got for $1.


The ballet flats were $1 and the three pieces of estate silver were $1 total. I went to a restaurant here in Rochester on Friday night called Good Luck. They brought the silverware out in mason jars. It was all mismatched pieces of silver. The chairs were all mismatched, too. It's adorable in there. I have some silver, but I was re-inspired by visiting the restaurant. If you look, you'll be able to find silver for ridiculously good deals too!


I paid 15 cents for the ceramic Christmas house. You're thinking that I paid too much, aren't you? That is so like you. I got the vintage Hallmark "Midnight Snack" ornament for 50 cents. A mouse on a Christmas donut with sprinkles? Yeah, I think so. The silver holly was FREE!

Here's a little peep at the Belles in Seersucker garb.

Hidden Valley Ranch

It's very hard to say "Hidden Valley" without following it up with "Ranch". We've visited this site before. As promised, I took pictures of the scenery this year. Very adorable, magical even. At least I think so. It's so quiet back in this neighborhood of town homes and there is a lot of green space. Even though it was rainy I was able to get a few pictures. Check it out and see for yourself.

In attendance: Sarah, the husband, HB, Alicia and their mom. It's also hard to say "your mom" or "their mom" without it feeling like a punchline. One of the ironies about this sale is that last year I got a really large umbrella for free. This year, I put that umbrella to good use. Even though it was rainy we managed to get through all of the sales.
No great stories or witty anecdotes to share, really. I stopped one lady from thinking that a butter applicator was a garlic press. Heather bought a Dixie Chicks cd, but other than that nothing too funny or crazy happened. We did get some great stuff though. Have a look!

Alicia was on the lookout for things she can use when she moves into her own place. Since she has a big ol' doggy she'll need one of these. $2.


HB's house has lots of ceramic trees at Christmas time. Looks like the idea caught on. The deer head vase was $2. Jewel eyed. Move over buying garbage cans. There is a new love in Alicia's life. Welcome buying blankets!

HB's loot. A little purse with a mirror inside for chapsticks and stuff (10 cents) Two tupperware cake plates for $3.25 total and a...Dixie Chicks cd. Try not to judge her.

The husband has been getting the sale-ing fever of late. Something in him recoils at the thought of paying full price. At a garage sale. He got a covered pan for $3 instead of $5 (How did we make it this long without a covered pan? I mean, not that I cook, or really have any reasonable idea what one does with a covered pan, but it seems like a good question. ) But his big claim to fame was the 75 cent aluminum beach chair. It was marked $1. I told him that I had gotten our other one for $1, which was clearly a mistake. He imagined a challenge in my voice. He offered the woman 75 cents, she looked at him like he was nuts, heaved a sigh and said she supposed that would be fine. He paid with a dollar. Classy.

I found a cream colored ceramic vase for the living room. Nice and tall. Marked $3, paid $2. The metal (reusable!) skewers were only 5o cents. They look like medical tools from here. That's kinda creeping me out. Let's move on.


I've been collecting stemware this spring because I only have large, chunky, colored glass goblets. These are great fun, don't get me wrong, but It's weird drinking champagne from them. Not impossible but weird. Plus, here at the Snug Bungalow the keyword is snug. It's a small place. Not a whole lot of storage. So, I opted for these. They are etched glass and quite adorable. Wine would look great in these glasses as would champagne, or a martini, heck even beer would look classy in these little ladies. At 25 cents each, I'm pretty proud of my investment.

And then a book about Paul Bunyan for 50 cents. Because, you gotta.

Dirty Church

The husband and I started our day out at the Public Market at 8:00 am. I don't know if you know this about Rochester, but we have the #1 Public Market in the country! In the entire US of A, Rochester has got the best Public Market. It seems unbelievable, but when you arrive at 8:00 am and have to park two blocks away because the place is so packed, you start to understand. We had our veggie and meat grocery list and were able to get almost everything on the list. I swear to you, it seemed like every single thing was $1. I can't wait to go to Wegmans and find out how much our three bags of produce and chicken would have been.

Then we went to two neighborhood sales that are across the street from one another. It's been years since I've been to these particular sales. Last time I went it was a mad house. Swarms of people the likes of which you might witness at Woodstock or NYC on New Years Eve. Call me crazy, but I just felt like living on the edge today. There were plenty of other great sales to go to, but these were closer to home and gas is $4 a gallon. Not that I drove. But, you get the point. Anyway, it ended up that the crowds were thinner and the pickins better.

In attendance: Lilah, the husband, Sarah and Sarah. We started at a church sale. Innocent enough, or so one might think. We found gobs of 80's stuff. Including "Yo MTV Raps!" trading cards still in the box and stickers wanting to know, "Where Is The Beef?" Not where's the beef. Where. Is. The. Beef?! Then things started to get a little...kinky. There was a gold necklace charm of a couple...coupling and a photo frame with factory photos of men in the buff that showed you exactly where the beef was. Two other gems did not elude us:

Sarah pities the foo' who doesn't cure virginity...hound dog.

The husband is pretty pumped to use this on his desk at work next week. Jealous? As we were checking out Nick mentioned that he thought churches were supposed to burn things like this. The man collecting the money said, "Not this church, we're awesome." How can you disagree with that? Lilah scooped up a vintage folding lawn chair for 50 cents and Nick took it's match. Then of course Lilah wondered if she should have gotten both and they spent the rest of the day keeping their respective chairs out of reach of each other.


The vintage still in the wrapper message board is for someone who likes that kind of thing. It has felt pieces on it. Authentic 1970's felt. We're talking high class.

The husband got two Beach Boys records. One has NEVER BEEN OPENED. They were 50 cents each.


Lilah scored a tiny little turkey (she has to be the only person I've ever met who loves turkey things) for a quarter, a vintage silhouette jar for 50 cents, two plants for a buck and ...popcorn. She was eating it before we even realized it was there. My mother is a popcorn fiend. She can smell popcorn three miles away. She can also eat her weight in popcorn. She housed that junk. It was fresh popped, too! Right in someone's front yard. Two things to know about my mother: Do NOT get in between her and popcorn OR her and fresh oranges from the tree. You will be chewed.



I got several things as well. The first to tempt your imaginations is: the dog air freshener or "Air Refresher". It's fuzzy, it's green, it's a dog...apparently. This one is for a friend. Obviously. What are friends for? Plus, it came from Dirty Church.

I love tiny. I love cute. I love holidays. Put those hands together.

I had this book when I was younger. I just started to think about it last week and I missed it. I remember the pictures so vividly. Glad to have it back.


This vintage black purse was $1 and came with it's original change purse. The leather pouch is for a friend who loves horses. And probably leather to some extent. But definitely pouches.


I've been all about the 80's stuff lately. Even more so than usual which is bad news. I looked at plastic 80's jewelry online the other day for about an hour. I was then gifted with this for like a quarter. Now, I used to have a ton of these when I was a kid and then again when I had the 80's toy website: 80's Twilight. (calm down, that was at least 10 years before The Twilight Saga came to be) I forced the collection onto a friend. For her own good. (who, me?? Never!!) But, I think I'll keep this one. At least until my nostalgia fades away. I bet you recognize some of these charms from your own necklace, don't ya?


Stay tuned for more yard sale-ing adventures on the high seas! (or on land, in the suburbs)

Marathon Weekend...Literally

Well, I guess it's a half marathon weekend, if you want to get technical. The Flower City Challenge, to be precise. One million things are happening. Check it out: Friday we went to a church sale. We go every year. Never find anything too epic, but we feel compelled to go since it's pretty close to where we live. Also, I have to support church sales that start on Friday and stay open till 7 or 8 pm. That's just rad. All those old ladies staying out past their bedtime. I'm talking about me and my friends, of course.

We're not going to mention the fact that HB looks drugged in this picture. Or that she's wearing some conglomeration of pajamas. I don't think she reads this, so what she doesn't know can't hurt her. Anyway, the Millhouse sisters have a love of moody sea/ship art. Alicia is in the market for a place of her own and she found one of these at the Friday sale. In the middle of debating whether to keep it for her new place or give it to her sister, she noticed a second one. The same. Twinsies. Boom. I think they were like 50 cents each.

All of the little animals are Alicia's of course. As is the picture frame. Maybe she'll put a mirror in it. Maybe she'll paint it a rad color and put it over her new peep hole. Who knows? the wooden spoons are for her new place, too. HB bought the embroidery hoops, the bobbins and the great vintage Christmas tags. Now, I'm going to show you what I got. You might want to sit down. Because this is good. Almost overwhelmingly so.

Right?? Mouse pad! I'm using this bad boy at work. Goodbye plain red mouse bad. Hello love of my life! The whole shebang cost me 75 cents. Beat that with a stick, if you can! But maybe not, because I think it would break my new wine glasses. I sort of just realized that I don't have stemware. So, I'll be on the lookout all summer long. So then on Saturday morning the husband and HB teamed up for a duathlon. She ran, he biked, she ran. Team Chick and Nick placed 13th out of 49 teams! Not too shabby! We got up at like 5:20 am they did physical activity, I waited around a took pictures. It was nice out. And sunny.

After they finished we went home to clean up. I took a nap, you know, since all that looking around was such hard work. Nobody else napped. That's just how my lazy ass rolls. Literally. That's how I'm maintaining such astounding rolls. Take note. A few minutes later we headed out to a neighborhood sale. It was glorious outside. Just as we started to get hungry we discussed the potential for us to come across someone selling hot dogs. Just at the same moment we spotted said person. The combo was $3. Hot dog, bag of chips and a drink. I opted for Fritos and water. I gotta watch my waistline. The menu said that gossip was free. I'm not sure why I didn't document this in photographs. Too much eating, I guess. Then I belched up hot dog for the rest of the day and remembered why I don't like those little mothers. They don't even really taste that great the first time.

The husband got vinyl.

Sarah got a very cool green bag and a Pennsylvania Dutch Unicorn plaque. Which, makes perfect sense to me. Andrew got a tea bag squeezer outer. I'm pretty sure my family used to have one of those.


Alicia got the hoodie she's wearing and it came in handy right away. Babe the Pig is a toy for her dog. Something about that makes me cringe. Don't worry Babe, it won't hurt for long. That dog will have you ripped apart in four minutes flat. The totally unauthorized Michael Jackson trivia book is nice because we can all learn a little something from it. I don't know if the thing draped over her arm is a rug or a blanket. Knowing Alicia, it's a blanket. Because if it's not a garbage can, it's going to be a blanket every time. Or a small animal statuette. With jewel eyes. I can't wait to see her new place!


HB got the skirt for a quarter. Ridiculous. She wears skirts all summer long, so I'm sure she'll get her monies worth out of it. More vintage Christmas labels which were free and a glass what says "Norma" if you can believe it. The Millhouse sisters have an aunt Norma (Normie) and she enjoys a nice cocktail every now and again. So this is the glass she'll use when she comes to visit.


This is my haul. $1 for the mug which I'm giving to my aunt. She loves cardinals and she also likes cute cartoon things. I think she'll get a hoot out of it. That would have been a funny pun if it were an owl mug. Pretend, ok? The strawberry shortcake things will be listed on my Etsy page shortly and the linen was ten cents. Ten cents, ok LuLu?!? So no guff from you! It's awesome and you are getting it and I don't want to hear about rules! Heather made me do it! She made me get it for you even though I tried to tell her about the rules! She doesn't go in for rules and she's a bully to boot! I blame her.

Then on Sunday morning HB and a bunch of our other friends ran the half marathon. Right after that we went to the public market for their yard sale day. It was so nice out. Perfect weather for running. I would imagine. Not that I know from experience. But I do have a pretty good imagination, so just trust me on this one. Below you will find the things the husband and I bought. Just the wine glass is mine! (25 cents) This is the most that the husband has ever bought in one saleing event. I think he had a tinch of the bug. The fever. He didn't want to pay full price for anything and ended up getting a $4 plant stand that our friend Mae had been wanting for $2 instead! He's gettin' good at this. The belt buckles were $1 and $2 (he's going to try for all 50 states. The funny part is that the Arizona buckle was made in Colorado.) and the movies were $5 together. Great way to finish off the weekend. I'm proud of you, my son.

OK, time to go get ready for brunch! So many good things! Hearts and bellies full of joy!