Whoomp!

I'm back in the saddle again, as it were.  I'm able to walk around unaided, have one pair of shoes that fits correctly on both feet, and can navigate stairs.  That means it's estate sale time, people.  And boy, did I sniff out a good one to start back with.  A great one, in fact.

Heather drove us across town and we both got a great haul.

We went straight down to the basement, where more often than not, our favorite vintage Christmas and holiday decorations are relegated to.  Everything in this sale was boxed and labeled by the previous owner.  You could tell that she took a lot of pride in her decorations and wanted them to be stored well and safely. Everything had a tag written out in fine old lady handwriting.  We always feel kinships with people like that.  Which makes us super happy to take home some of their treasures.  To keep safe in our nicely labeled bins, and to display with pride with our seasonal decorations.

This sale was what is referred to as a "digger sale".  This means that everything is just sot of out, or in big tubs, and almost nothing is tagged with a price.  So you just sort of find something to stick all the stuff you want in, and then hold it out and say, "how much for this many?"  Almost everything I bought was 50 cents.

This first photo is of some rare treasures indeed.  Crafted Easter bonnets, made from condiment cups, construction paper and bits of ribbon and flowers.  Each one is unique and endearing.  I just thought they were such a hoot!  I have NO idea how I'm going to display them.  But as we collectors know, that is not a question for now. I'll figure that out come April.  Right now I just have to follow my gut.

This vintage honeycomb pumpkin is giant.  It's like 9" tall.  The paper snowman is a vintage, flocked, Hallmark gummed label.  I think I'm going to put a card stock backing on him so that I can display him along with my Christmas stuff.

This huge stash of tiny mercury glass ornaments and floral picks was given to my mom.  I'm nice like that. 50 cents.  I did take out the wired red flocked balls for myself.  I'm nice, but I'm not a saint.

The jewelry was $10 per piece, marked down to half price.  Both multi-strand necklaces are made of wooden beads.  Tiki mama here I come!  After this score I went home and started watching Golden Girls nonstop. 

Here are a few more tiny Easter joys.  Vintage chenille easter chicks with bonnets and parasols, a vintage Easter bunny with a cotton spun head and some plastic dudes, too.  I can hardly even stand that tiny white plastic chick with his itty bitty orange wings.

All crafts in the 80s had shiny red apples.  Trust me on this.  I used to hate them.  They were everywhere.  But now that we've had some distance, I might be able to get on board with a few shiny red apples to be displayed with my Jadeite.  I also found a tiny vintage Hallmark Easter bunny for the shadowbox and a pretty crafted red and green ornament.

Vintage Christmas corsages are among my most favorite treasures to find. Next to Muppets.  And paper lanterns.  And Jadeite. These were found in the basement, underneath a table of wares, in some ratty old cardboard boxes filled with crumpled bits of paper.  The silver floral pick on the left is made with real metal!

I do apologize for the quality of these photos.  They were taken with my phone, and the camera isn't great.  But, it is very convenient. 

So, In Summary:

Tag team, back again.

Christmassy

It was very slow going this year, taking down the fall decorations and putting up the Christmas stuff.  It took so many weeks that I transitioned from crutches to being 100% weight bearing.  So, my dream of decorating my Christmas tree on my own two feet, being able to walk around it, came true!!  I'm teetering around like a toddler learning to walk for the first time, but I don't mind.  WALKING!!  That's the really important part!

It's finally all up, though.  And boy howdy, do I have a lot of Christmas decorations.  Thankfully, I've met lots of people on Instagram that have a ton more than I do.  So it makes me feel better about the amount I'm trying to cram into our small space.

I know I'm years late to the party on Instagram, but I'm hardcore addicted now.  I found it durning the months that I wasn't allowed to stand up.  Tiny pictures of other people's decor and thrift/estate sale finds really helped me get through some of those long, painful, 3:00am hours.  I'm also finally feeling well and steady on my feet enough to start tackling estate sales again!!  After a 4 month hiatus!  

So anyway, here are some pictures of my Christmas stuff.  :)

You know you've found a kindred spirit when that person decorates their bathroom for Christmas.  No space left un-jollied!!

This is the epicenter of the crazy.  I can admit that.

So I might have added one or two (hundred) more things this year.  So what?

More kitchen stuff.  Disregard the bags of dog treats and the dog brush.  They are not Christmas related.

The Santa garland and my brand new (to me) Santa honeycomb!

I love this tree that I picked up at the Ronald McDonald sale a few times ago.  It fits so well on my kitchen window ledge.  And the tiny pups are from my awesome friend Daria!  They are a salt and pepper set - with scarves!!

Shout out to my friend Karl who is always on the lookout to add to my (insane) Muppet collection!  These are two Muppet Christmas posters from his childhood that he gifted me.  They are hanging in my living room for the season!

There are lots more thrilling pictures on my Instagram account, which you can find a link to at the top right of my blog.  Also, lots of pictures of my dog.  ;)

So, in Summary:

My house lost the war with Christmas and I'm loving it!