Stop. Shower Time!

Today was my good friend Meggles' wedding shower. The husband and I got up early to go to the Public Market, but then didn't really have enough time for a full fledged day of yard sale-ing. So, I decided that I was in the mood to hit up a thrift store instead. I was in the market for sandals, shirts and dresses. As my good friend Meat Loaf says: Two outta three ain't bad. (Actually, I hate meatloaf. My mother would make it when we were little and my brother and I would sit at the table and cry. Real tears. She threatened us with having to sit there all night until we ate it. We chose to sit. And cry. Recently she told me that she had guests over and served it to them. I always knew she was a sadist. I don't know what I'd do if I was visiting someone for dinner and they served me meatloaf. Cry, probably.)

So, let's jump right into it. Lots of deals! First up the neatest Alice in Wonderland T-shirt I've yet seen. I have always loved Alice and I wish I could say that it was from the gorgeous piece of literature penned by Mr. Carroll. That not being the case I will divulge to you that my love for this fanciful tale came directly from the Walt Disney animated feature that both slightly terrified and intrigued me. I especially love the deep shadows in the film. Gorgeous! $1.99- Claire's Boutique, if you can believe it.


Next up is a drool-worthy find. Banana Republic jeans for $5.99 on sale, half off!! 3.00! Now, don't cry when I tell you this but, I'm cutting them off to make shorts. They fit really well on the waist and are way too baggy in the lower leg. They will be long cut off shorts as per the request of the husband.


This next shirt was $1.99, I Love H81, a Forever 21 brand, apparently. I don't think it's ever been worn. It's a very, very light sweater material and I mean, how retro 80's can you get? The shocker is that the husband liked it. He generally does not have a love of 80's fashion in any respect. This thing is tres comfortable. (sometimes I wax a little French)


Next up is a cute black and white (I know, you're shocked. I am too. I'm breaking away from my all black and whi...er...um...hm.) and red sun dress. $3.99 by Tres Chic. I can't find info on this brand so I have no idea where on earth it came from. But, I'm glad I know where it's going to. It has a cinch string in the waist, so it fits so nicely!


Here we have a pair of vintage Levis that have been made into cut offs. This might seem like a weird purchase to you but, might I call your attention to the zipper? All four glorious inches of it! That's right. These babies are not "low rise". These mothers rise all the way to the top. (much like my other good friends, House Of Pain) I repeat: I cannot wait until the highest waisted pants you've ever seen come back into style. I will rock those pants so hard and I will cry in unabashed gratitude every single day.


Last but certainly not least, the vintage 80's Wrangler Tshirt. (Remember those jeans? I want some of those jeans. I bet they have a six inch zipper!!) Oh, yes. Feast your eyes on this baby. Now, it was either this shirt or the oversize florescent pink Tshirt that said "Achy Breaky Heart", I mean, you can see what a dilemma I was in. This particular Salvation Army almost always has amazing 80's clothes. I've seen a red jumpsuit made of parachute material, a vintage Buffalo Bills jersey style Tshirt from when they were in some "The Big Game" and an awesome House of Guitars shirt which I promptly bought the husband, for $1. This place is awash in 80's goodness. If this store had a soundtrack it would be Living on a Prayer, Thriller and Whip It on repeat. The husband also liked this shirt, which is a wonder to me. But, I didn't oppose it, I just paid for it real quick before he could change his mind. $2.99

Six. Inch. Zipper.

Too Many To Do

This weekend there were lots of sales in our area. Lots of streets, lots of neighborhoods, lots of churches. We started at Dunkin Donuts to fuel up. We almost always start there. A little sugar, a little caffeine and we are ready to hit the open road.

In attendance: The husband, HB, Alicia, Sarah Mae and Me.

This is a picture from one of the church sales. I think it might be the exit, what do you think?

Just so you know where we're heading with this I'll give you a sneak peek at our haul:


And we had five humans in that car! For hours. In case you weren't aware, this is what is known as hard core. We are the few, the elite, the yard salers.

Alicia got a new backpack for scooting (when she rides her pretty red scooter) that is from the 80's and has the colors of the rainbow printed on it. It also has the original tag and a set of original mini colored pencils. So you can practice the colors on your own. Educational. $2. She also got an Amerks tote to bring to work with her. She loves those Rochester Americans. Can we just talk about what a rotten team name that is? "The Americans". Although on second thought I'm sure it would inspire tons of fear and loathing the world around, so maybe they are on to something there. Imagine if there was a team called "The Mexicans" or "The Spaniards". Not real nice. That was about a quarter as was the little hand towel with the reindeer on it. It's for Christmas time at her new house what she's going to get. I love that one of the first things she's planning for is Christmas. That's my girl.

The bulldog door stopper was $2 and the colossal and gorgeous vintage jewelry box was only $5.

HB got a ton of stuff. But, she didn't win the most or the biggest. She did get another ceramic tree (it does have plastic lights, not pictured) and this one is blue and was $5. A vintage Christmas light cover for a quarter, vintage scarfs for herself and for her Etsy shop (a quarter each), a mug for her mother who is an avid sewer, that says "Stitch-n-Bitch", some pounded pewter cups to use as vases (10 cents each) and a pair of earrings. They are hands with the middle finger sticking up. So sweet. So cute. What a perfectly appropriate subject for dangle earrings! We have a friend who will think so! (at least they were only a quarter)

The wire stand is what I thought (hoped?) would win "the biggest". I think it cost her $2 and was winning for quite a while. It has two baskets in it and she will probably use it outside to put flowers in. After a good coat of crazy bright spray paint. She has a collection of dramatic ship images: paintings, books and now, tins! The parrot clip on was a quarter or something. She loves birds, too. Especially ones that clip on. The large green glass ornament is Alicia's and cost a quarter at one of the church sales.

Here we have the winner of "The Most". You might think by these pictures that she must have won "The Biggest" as well. But, no so! All of the crazy hats are for her Etsy shop. They were about $1 each. I'm sorry to tell you that we planned a picture where we were each wearing a hat, and it was good. I was wearing the Q-Tip hat, second from the right. The yellow one seems to be made from genuine Muppet skin, and you know how I feel about that. The husband was even wearing one...the leopard skin hat. So, you can imagine the delight we had prepared for you. We even went so far as to ask a random lady in a church parking lot to take the picture. Then we even believed her when she said she wanted to "take two, just in case". She shut the camera off, instead. No picture. Sorry kids. You'll just have to use your ample imaginations, I guess.


The Bert and Ernie picture frame is vintage, adorable and was $1. The two leather purses were $1 each and the vinyl on with the ship was like 50 cents or something ridiculous. I told her that some hipster chick is going to love the shit (ship?) out of that one. There is a white metal tin with a rainbow graphic on it hiding back there. It's from the 80's. I used to have one just like it and I kept my crayons in it. Can you imagine the delight? The vintage Ray Ban mirror was $3 and she likes it so much she just might keep it. As for the nightmare rabbit...we'll get to that in a minute.

The cabinet was meant to house a record player...we think. There are holes in the back to that effect. We saw it at a church sale and sort of looked at it for a minute and then decided it was too much for the shape it was in. At checkout the guy from the furniture shed found us and asked if we'd take it away for like $2, Sarah Mae said she'd give him $1 and that was that. It's made of real wood and has nice brass feet. It's right up Sarah Mae's mid century modern alley. She loves tapered legs and clean lines. If you've ever seen the movie The Incredibles then you've seen Sarah Mae's dream house. She'd love to live in an atomic ranch built in the 50's.


So then, back to this...thing. I have a theory about toys from the 20's-50's. There is a very large time period where toys seem to be built for the express function of terrifying children to their little souls. Case in point. This fuzzy pink nightmare has a human face. It also plays music. Demon music rabbit. I think drinking was the national pastime during those years and it shows. What child is going to like this? What child is going to want to see this sticking out of his/her easter basket? No child, that's who. It's worse than Ralphie's pink rabbit pajamas.

Finally. The winner of "The Biggest". (Get your minds out of the gutter! You guys are seriously filthy.) The husband bought the biggest and what will surly end up being the most profitable. A Bridgestone bicycle from the early 90's. Originally marked $30. He waited until the end of the sale and went back to see if they would take less. Turns out they would. The grand total was $5. FIVE DOLLARS. That's no joke! Look at him all suave trying to control his bursting pride. Hopefully he really ends up selling it and doesn't add it to the menagerie of bikes that seem to be multiplying of their own volition on our porch. Hopefully he'll list it on Ebay and sell it really soon. Unlike the Doc Martins.

A few more shots for those of you who are interested in that sort of thing.

And here are my treasures. A free Encyclopedia from the 40's full of glorious pictures and illustrations. Another beer glass, this one from Dave & Busters which I thought was a made-up place from one of our favorite shows It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (50 cents) and what has got to be the world's ugliest Gonzo doll. I picked it up specifically to laugh at it. I thought there was no way it could be a licensed product. But, it was. Shame on you Disney! Shame on you Henson. You shouldn't sully your good names with sub-par character pieces like this! And what exactly is he wearing? A disco outfit? For the love of god man! But I bought it for a quarter because I'm a good collector. Or a sucker. One of the two. Geez. The thing is even wall-eyed. *shudder*


Then there's this little girl for a quarter. Vintage coy polka dot Christmas fiddle player. Flocked. Yes, please.


A few things for my Etsy page. Do you remember Nosey Bears? I didn't ever have one, but the popcorn one was my favorite! Better keep Lilah away from this little dude.


These things are both gifts. If you know much about me, you know I love Newsies. My friends love Newsies. We sing it, watch it and pretty much bond over it every chance we get. The gloves are for a friend that collects...gloves. I'm not sure that she has a pair of magenta in her stash of over 100 pairs.


This is my favorite find of the day. The fox lamp. I got it for a friend of mine but had she not wanted it, I wouldn't have walked away from this guy. I mean, just look at his little face! It reminds me of Fantastic Mr. Fox. A book I fell in love with many years before the movie came out. I love the movie, too.

The shade is a bit messed up, but...

I refer you back to this mug. Are you gonna say no to it? And at $5, it was a steal!

The Avon Flea Market

I've been visiting the East Avon Flea Market since I was in high school. That was a lot of years ago, but don't expect me to tell you how many. My family all started collecting stuff at the same time, I'm sure I've mentioned that before. The Avon Flea Market was one of our favorite hunting grounds. We used to go at least once a month. Now, I'm lucky if I make it there once a year. Generally we have brunch at the Avon Inn first. It's a delicious buffet at a great price. Incidentally, it's also where I got married, the Guru got married and it's where our friend Meggles will get married this August. It's a great place, you should go there. (we actually didn't go there this time)

Anyway, we went to the Flea Market on Sunday. It was a glorious day. Warm, bright, not a rain cloud in sight! the fruit guy yelling, "Bo-nana, Bo-nana, Bo-nana!" You can catch his act at the public market on Saturday mornings, too. Not many of the vendors have garage sale pricing, but they do love to haggle, so you end up getting some fun things at reasonable prices. Take a look!

In attendance: Me, the husband, Sarah Mae and Andrew.


Nick got manly things. A cigar (his first, and he still hasn't tried it yet) and a hand warmer for winter bike riding. You fill it with flammable fuel and it gets warm. This seems like a stellar idea to me, but he assures me that it's safe. He was going to get some records but the seller wouldn't stop telling him how old and valuable they were. We all hate that. 'Oh, it's old? Really? I could have sworn I just saw the same thing in Walmart yesterday!' Dummies. That attitude will throw anyone off the scent of your goods lickety-split. Some people bring their stuff, set it all up and just wanna show it to people and tell them how great it is all day instead of selling it.

Sarah Mae got a wicked etched belt buckle. "Rock, Flag, Eagle!" ($3)

There was a vendor who had buckets of plastic goods like these. Sarah Mae purchased these fine looking Santas and motorcycles on card. ($1) I didn't buy any small plastic things! Can you imagine? It's a testament to my character and strength of will...ok, I did buy something. But it's not...the same. I'll show you later. There is also a pair of blue cameo earrings in the picture if you can spot them in Santa's bag.

She got these vintage enamel earrings for $2.


Sarah Mae got art. Wooden. $4


My new necklace. Yep, Intercourse, PA. $2

Vintage Christmas ornaments! There was a woman who had a whole host of vintage Christmas stuff for sale. It was sorted by color and it was like the gates of heaven. I bought $9 worth of stuff.


The bookends of this picture were included in the $9 Christmas haul. You know how I like those putz houses. Mouse chimney sweep? Thank you, gov'nor! And in the middle you can see my plastic $1 purchase. Nudie lady food picks. Yep.


And the coup. $10. Pops, a Muppets action figure. One of the only ones that I missed buying in the stores. I got it for cheaper than it originally cost! This makes me very, very happy.

Big Dreams, Big Weather

This was supposed to be it. The big one. The dream maker. IT. Two major routes: 5 & 20. Three towns: Caledonia, Avon, Lima. Three days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. I had built this up in my mind to ridiculous proportions. I'll give you that. I was picturing similar things that I had seen between the covers of Country Living and magazines like that. Miles of tents and tables, vendors and craftsmen. It was going to be epic. And it was right here. Right in my back yard. Thankfully, I decided not to be too hasty. I didn't go whole hog, if you can believe it. I chose only to do Saturday and see how things went. Do a little research and be prepared for whole hog next year. It turns out the hog wasn't as big as I thought.

Plus there was the fact that it rained. And thundered. And lightninged. Wow, lightninged is really a word, who knew? One sale here, another down this road and one three blocks away. No tents, no vendors, no craftsmen. We went to a church sale and a rather large lawn sale. Then we got some brunch. Then we went home. A pretty sad state of affairs for The Big One.

I did come away with some trophies though. So did everyone else. In attendance: Sarah Mae, Andrew, Lilah, The Husband and I. Since I didn't get ANYTHING last time, I'm going to show you my finds first.

So, I'm going to be honest and tell you I don't really know what the thing on the left is. I do know that it was $2 and that I had to have it. If I had to guess I'd say it was some kind of a fairy tea party set for kids in the 50's. I have no idea if that's true. You could only put the tiniest amount of liquid in the cup things, so it can't be for real use...can it? If you have an idea of what it is, let me know. For now it's taking pride of placement on my jadeite cake plate. The tiny plastic couch is retro, red and priced right at a quarter. Who could refuse?


Wow. Check this stuff out, will ya? Skull? Check! Koosh ball mouse? Check! Vintage E.T. toy? Yes indeed! All of this stuff cost me $2. The Santa mug is for a friend, the Koosh and E.T are for my Etsy page and the skull is obviously for my Halloween decor. I mean, come on, that is going to look good next to the dead doll casket vignette. The crazy rabbit is for me and I think I'll fix the green...cat?...thing's eyeball and give it to a friend who I hope will love it.


Nick's finds, all for 60 cents. You can see what they are, no explanation needed, eh?


Mom's lot. The boots were $1 a pair and I think everything else was like 50 cents total. She also got an aqua plastic couch, on a larger scale than my little red one. Very cool. Here is a close up of the vintage wallet:


Sarah Mae and Andrew got some T-shirts, a tiny watch and an Infant of Prague statue that came with different dresses. It wasn't a doll, just a statue. With wardrobe changes. It was the first time I'd ever encountered that. It reminds me of people who have duck statues in their lawn that they dress up for different holidays. It makes me wonder if people like that wanted kids and could never have them or something. Or maybe they just love accessorizing. Anyway, I didn't take pictures of their stuff because it was pouring rain and they were in the other car.

Luckily I threw out the idea of consoling ourselves at the Avon Flea Market the next day. And we did. And it was sunny and 75 degrees. Stay tuned.

The Most & The Biggst

I've been forcing people to yard sale and collect for years. We've always gone out in hordes and descended like locusts. After doing this year after year patterns emerge. There are certain people who buy "the most". They are buying something at every sale. Though there might be two tv trays of baby clothes and a few old tires, this person will find something to purchase. The items in their bag might not be big and flashy, but there will be a lot of them at the end of any saleing day. Then there are the people who buy "the biggest". A chair, a bowling ball, a 14 foot toboggan? Yep, they're getting it. All. By the end of the day everyone else in the party has become a pack mule and is trying to jostle a baby car seat, a television and three shelving units.

HB frequently buys "the biggest". A giant dresser three drawers wide and three drawers tall, a chaise lounge, a kitchen table, a massive painting and an oven hood all stand in her past as pillars of testimony. This woman is not afraid. (I'm omitting all statements like "this woman likes it big". We all know that you'll just start making "that's what she said" jokes and things will deteriorate rapidly from there. I like to keep it clean, folks. Obviously)

I've been known to buy "the most". Not every time, but a lot of times. There was a period of my life where I was selling vintage items on a website and at two different antique co-ops. I was buying a lot of stuff. The second floor of my house is a testament to that. Bags and boxes of leftovers. *shudder* I've pawned a lot of it off on to friends for their Etsy shops (That reminds me, I have to do a post on all of my awesome friend's awesome Etsy shops. Awesome.) so it's clearing out up there little by little. But, we've all learned a valuable lesson about "the most". This weekend both awards went to one person. Sarah Mae. She bought the most stuff by far and it was all huge. Nick got a few choice deals, Alicia put in a good show, HB got only a few things and I...I.... I bought nothing. Nothing. I'm terrified of winning the award for people who frequently yard sale and have nothing to show for it. It's a hollow, fearful experience and I don't recommend it to a friend. The day was so nice, the sun so bright I hardly even realized what had happened until we were on our way back to the car. Nothing!!

Present: Sarah Mae, Andrew, Alicia, HB, the Husband and I.

Nick got these for the Christmas lights since it's his job to string them up and take them down every year. The going price was a quarter each. He got them both for a quarter. The fever. He's got it.

Then there's this. A milkshake maker. It wasn't marked. Nick asked the guy how much he wanted for it and the guy said, "I don't know, what do you think?" The silence was lasting too long. "Say something! Make an offer!" I hissed at the husband under my breath. "I'll give you 50 cents!" he pronounced in true Nick fever fashion. The guy sort of laughed and said that he'd take a dollar. It works. Boy, does it ever! We're gonna get nice and fat this summer. Similar versions (though not the same, amazing color) on Amazon are $30!

So, I forgot to take pictures of the other stuff that everyone else bought. In lieu of actual photos, I present to you some horrible drawings:

HB bought a shallow clear glass dish/tray to corral her kitchen sink soaps. She also got a white pie bird and fully intends to use it. I fully intend to be there at the trial run. I love pie so much more than cake. Her purchases totaled under $3. Oh, wait. I just remembered that she also got a beautiful retro aqua colored gravy boat with a great graphic of some yellow and green flowers.


Alicia got a tank top that promoted some sort of liquor (she's a bar tender) involving the name baby. It was so hot out that HB ended up actually wearing said tank top soon after it was purchased. Alicia also got and was very excited about a vinyl cooler from the 80's. It looks like a box of Kodak film. Since Kodak is a Rochester brand you'll often see this kind of oddity at sales. Employee incentive gifts and whatnot. I was confused by her amount of excitement. But then, i like plastic and glitter so I'm not casting the shadow of judgment on anyone, here. She also got a beach wrap skirt. It's made of thin cotton and can be worn any number of ways as a cover up and also used as a beach blanket or towel. Multi-use. Functional, practical...if you go to the beach. Which, she does. It had Asian dragon symbols on it. See how awesome I am at drawing those? I enlarged it there, for you to really get a good look at. Maybe you'd like one as a tattoo? I have one of these wraps that I hijaked from my mother when she came back from a cruise. It's batiked and has dolphins on it. Yes, it was in the 90's, funny you should ask. No, I never went through a marine biologist phase, but I did own my fair share of dolphin tail necklaces, rings and the like. We all did. Don't try to get out of this one.


Then we have the biggest and the most. Sarah Mae. Yes, she did get a pair of skis. ($40) Yes, she did get a book shelf ($3). And an adorable white metal shelf/cupboard thing what had scroll work on the top and sliding doors. (Good thing too, or I was going to have to buy it and where on earth was it going to go?? $3) Andrew bought an old book about something. I want to say it was related to science. And a sliding rule and a sweater stone. I want one of those now, holy handy!

Then, a picture of what I bought. Oh wait...