Mighty April

April is starting to get on my last nerve.  It will be glorious for a day.  Sunny, radiant, nearly 80 degrees, even.  Then come the rains, the 40 degree weather and the sinus infections to go with it.  I'm creeping up on two weeks with this blessed condition.  Looking and feeling like a human poster for infection.  Delicious.  

Screw spring.  I want summer.  Full-on summer.  85 degrees, blinding sun, boob sweat, the whole shebang.  I want to wear sandals and bracelets again.  I want to remember what it's like to hear those delightful bangles chiming away on my arm.  I want to wear huge earrings with pointy bits that I can't wear during the winter on account of the fact that they will get caught on my scarf.

If it doesn't happen soon I'll go out of my gourd.  I'll dress in my finest white jacket and sit in a very plush room.  You hear me, April?  I'll do it, I swear I will!

Anyway...

There have been a lot of church sales this month, much to my delight.  It's not enough to save my brain from the knowledge that it's freezing and raining like ark time out.  But,  I've gotten tons of stuff for the Etsy shop, though I won't bore you with those details.

Check out what I did get, though: 

Please don't miss the red Cape Cod fish coin purse.  I cannot wait to use it.  At yard sales, obviously.  You are used to seeing the vintage picture frames.  I really want to stress how amazing these look all spray painted up in some crazy bright color.  So unique.  You should really try it.  Plus, this one was like a quarter.  You can't even get a crappy picture frame that will break in two seconds at the dollar store for a quarter.  It being the dollar store and all.

Now, you might think this is all one glorious study in plastic.  And it is.  But it's not one piece.  There are two Christmas pieces which have white plastic holly, silver holly, glitter and red Christmas balls.  Who doesn't love Christmas balls?  Eh?  Eh?  

This picture really isn't doing justice with regard to the bird house.  Let me break it down for you:  It's a brown plastic faux wood birdhouse coated in white glitter snow.  I know, right?  I could stop right there.  But no, there's more!  One yellow plastic bird greets you from side A while side B sports a blue plastic birdie.  Then, there is the grass on the bottom made of cellophane tipped in, you guessed it, white glitter snow.  Despite all the snow, I'm making it an Easter decoration next year.  Because really, it's more honest here in upstate NY.

Recently we've had a very big piece of news here in Ra-ch-cah.  A Mighty Taco opened.  Now, this is a fast food taco chain from Buffalo, NY.  The husband, like all Buffalo natives, is in love with it.  Would defend it to the death and ask for it as his last meal before said death.  He used to work there, ate there nearly every day and it was and is both his favorite job he's ever had and his favorite restaurant.  On earth.  Ever.  A fast food taco joint.  I'll just let that disturbing information sink in.

So, as you can imagine we were there on opening day.  With bells on.  We waited an HOUR AND 45 MINUTES for food we've had one million times.  Food that we just had two weeks prior, actually.  It would have been faster to drive to buffalo and get it.  But the husband was just ecstatic the entire time.  Witness:

So, now it's five days later and the line is still out the door.  No lie.  People, let's get it together here.  Fast food tacos, ok?  I mean, even if they are the best fast food tacos on earth, they are still fast food.  See?  No?  No.  They don't see.  Well, congrats Mighty Taco, and welcome.  Apparently you are well loved here in the Flower City.  Hopefully I don't see you every week, but it looks like there is a slim chance of that.

So, in summary:

April kills dreams, puppies and unicorns

Plastic is a balm for what ails me

Fat Americans

First Sale of the 2012 Season

The first sale of the 2012 season was at a middle school in Irondequoit. I'd never been to this sale before, and I don't generally let my expectations run amok in that situation. But, when we arrived, the parking lot was full and people were already pulling away with truckloads of things. Literally. This made me practically run to the entrance. When a sale has started minutes earlier and people are already leaving with truckloads of items, you need to run. That's like, one of the most basic rules. You might want to write that down.

I was caught off guard because there was a $1 admission fee. I wasn't prepared for that so they had to break a 20 for me. Salers consider that kind of a dick move. To make them break your 20 dollar bill first thing in the morning? Yeah, I was that jerk.

So, it was set up in the gym and it was full of vendors. Like a mini dome sale. Which, incidentally some of the exact same vendors were at. (I'm looking at you overpriced vintage jewelry salespeople!)

In attendance: Me, husband, Sarah Mae, Kara, Kelly, Noah & Vito. A good, hopeful crowd. I'll show you what they got in alphabetical order. And I apologize. These are phone pictures.

Kara

Kara got a vintage wine selector booklet, a gorgeous vintage rhinestone pin for her mother with the most amazing colored blue stones, a squirrel couple that hang on a pot (Word on the street is that she's going to hang them in her office so that they are peeking at her from above her monitor.) and a vintage mirrored 3d (Did you get all that?) picture of Niagara Falls. It needs a tinch of tlc, but it's nothing a few minutes with a hot glue gun won't fix. The thing is gorgeous. It even has faux flowers in there. You can't imagine what the person was thinking when they created this as a souvenir. It's amazing. And I think it was like $2. I was able to help Kara purchase more things than she normally would with my super power: Enabling.

Maybe that's my X-Men power. I had a dream the other night that I was a member of the X-Men. But I never got to use my power during the dream on account of Prof. X not wanting us to when we were out in public. And we were at the movie theater. Scott Summers used his powers though. He was mad that they wouldn't let him out of the parking lot because they said he owed them money for parking. He just lasered the crap out of the arm on the booth and drove right through. I told him that Prof. X was going to be upset at him. On second thought, I think my power is more likely to be in the bossiness realm. (Not a peep from any of your!)

Kelly

Kelly bought a book about the Pyramids and a Diet Coke. They had a full on lunch area at this sale. One second longer and I would have caved and had a nice bowl of chili. It smelled so good. And you just know some middle schooler's grandma made it. Old Lady food is always the best, don't try to deny it. Probably I need to ask Kelly why she picked this book and then dazzle her with my theory about movies and pyramids. In case you are dying to hear what that is all about yourself, I'll tell you. My theory is that any movie involving the pyramids in any way is a sucky movie. Can you think of one good movie involving the pyramids? Nope, Stargate doesn't even count, so don't try it. You know it's a sucky movie and just because you don't want to admit it, it doesn't make it less true.

Nicholas

Ok, I didn't take a picture of the husband and his stuff. I forgot. And I had his stuff in my bag and so that added to the forgetfulness. He got files. For $1 each. You know, like, tools? Yes, those files. He said they are about $15 each or more in the stores. He was pretty excited about it, really. I should have taken a picture.

Noah

Noah got to the sale first and scored the awesome glass turtle lamp. For $1. It's very beautiful. He also got an Apple keyboard for $2 and a game new in the package for...cheap.

OK, now I'm going out of alphabetical order, but it's only because Sarah Mae bought the most and the biggest (obviously) and it's going to take a while to get through her stuff.

Vito

Vito got this entire pile of tools for $10. He was pretty impressed. He waved one clamp at us and said that just that one item would be over $10 new in the store. Check out the dudes scoring some stuff they can get excited about. I love when that happens.

Sarah Mae

Don't act like this surprises you. If you've been reading this blog over the past year you know that Sarah Mae likes herself some creepy babies. And while these little guys aren't babies, they are creepy Dickension Christmas carolers.

Then we have this fun bunch of trinkets. I love souvenirs.


A group shot including the Noel mugs with elves as handles!

Here are two items that I found for Sarah Mae and bought for her. On purpose. The pink haired fairy baby on the left shouldn't be confused with an angel. Because she isn't. Firstly, she has no halo and wings that I'd clearly categorize as fairy wings. Lastly, she's in a negligee. The "Baby" statue is terrifying. I know it is. But, it's what she likes. Try not to think about the fact that the infant is in a semi-sexual coy pose. There are a disturbing amount of these items out there.

Sarah Mae also bought a large roll of upholstery fabric from the 1960's for $10 in shades of brown, white and orange and some 1940's paper print block things for $1 each. They have some great illustrations from the 40's.

Last but not least: Me. I got a few things for my Etsy shop and two other things: A roll of green crepe paper streamers and an unopened bag of vintage chenille pipe cleaners. I think I spent less than $5 all told. And I didn't take a picture because I'm lazy. But I will leave you with this pleasing image:


My mom brought these back from her trip to Florida for me. I have the most awesome mom on the planet.

Also, the covert craft project is coming along well. Only one more to do! Then I can show you what I've made!

So, in summary:

Power Of Enabling
Don't Be Jealous Of My Dream
Movies With Pyramids = Not Good
Forgetful And Lazy
Creepy Babies Want To Seduce You
Yes, I Did Need Another Pair Of Converse

Back on Track

Hi-ho. You're never going to believe this. I went to many thrift stores on Saturday with a large group of people and I'm going to blog about it. Right away. No months of letting the pile of unphotographed flotsam sit on my kitchen floor. No weeks of guilt as I look at said pile and wish I had the time to tell you all about it. No pretending as though I don't owe you anything.

So get ready, because here it comes. Everything you see was bought at my absolute favorite and cheapest of the thrift stores: AmVets.

I didn't have the gumption to look at clothes this time. Our (one, small, coat) closet is spilling over and so are all the drawers in our place. I need to do some serious purging before I can be allowed to bring more clothes into this small space.

I did, however, look at all the "stuff" areas. Got me some good junk.


As I look at this photo I'm really reconsidering that last sentence. The 99 cent vintage frame is well and good. I snag them whenever I can because they look smashing when spray painted (or not) and I use frames all the live-long day. The Christmas devil, on the other hand, might have you wondering. Wondering if I'm into haunted dolls that will stalk and kill me from the shadows of my own home some dark and stormy night. I'm not. That, my friends is a gift. A gift for my aunt, who has other such...pieces. But I don't think she has a Christmas...one. Now she will. I can't tell you how much I paid for it. It's embarrassing. It's the kind of thing you should only have if you lost some kind of bet, not if you paid for it. But I think it will make my aunt and the other imps in her collection happy, and you can't really put a prices on happiness...right??

Don't look directly at it. You'll turn to stone.

My colors. Pink, green and black. (My jam, if you will. As in, "This here is my jam!") Don't even say "Another polka dot purse? How many polka dot purses does one girl need?" Because you know the answer: Many. At 99 cents, it's not about need, anyway. It's about 99 cents. You don't think at that price. You just act.


Yes, I've bought another pair of pink shoes. That I probably also will not wear, like most of the other pink shoes I've bought. It always seems like a grand idea at the time. But then, when you're going out to lunch in June you put them on and look down and think, "My, but those are pink!" and then you kick them off and put on some flip flops instead. But, I'd like to point out two things. One: Made in Italy. Everyone knows shoes made in Italy are better. Why or how, I wouldn't know. But they are. Two: 99 cents.


Green plastic earrings: 99 cents. Marked down from nearly three whole dollars! See why I love AmVets? The pink tablecloth was a whopping $3.89. It's in gorgeous condition and worth about $40.


This is a gold tone cat pin. With jewel eyes. I have a friend who collects critters with jewel eyes. I can't help it, I know some weird ass people, ok? The fur in the background isn't just to make the photos look sexy and dangerous. It's a faux fur collar and I'm going to attach it to my jacket at this year's Tweed Ride.

So, in summary:

Vintage Frame
Devil Doll
Another Purse
Shoes I Won't Wear
Green Earrings
Fake Fur
Vintage Tablecloth
Scary Cat

Sunday...At The Dome Arena...!

OK, so it was Saturday morning, but still. The Dome Arena has a nice ring to it, you have to admit. When I was a kid they would hold monster truck rallies and WWF matches there. (Dude, when I was little it was called the WWF and I refuse to call it the WWE or whatever it's supposed to be now. Long live Jake the Snake Roberts.) Now Roc City Roller Derby is held there. Hell yeah.

$2 to get in at 8:00 am. I'm guessing that right now you think there is something wrong with my brain. Waking up at 8:00 am and paying to get in to what amounts to a big yard sale. You're right. There IS something wrong with me. I'm a freaking genius.

I was working on a very limited time table of two and a half hours. This place was packed. I didn't end up getting that much, but my heart goes pitter pat whenever I step into a place that large packed with so much junk.

Check it:

The orange boots were the first thing I got. Right after stepping foot into the front door, paying my fee and getting my hand stamped with blue ballet shoes. (?) $1 for the pair. The purse is from the Gap. $5. The lady who was selling it had other great purses and a myriad of hand made hair do-dads. She calls her business "My Best Friend's Closet", which I think is adorable. The purse is in immaculate condition and I can't wait until summer so that I can carry it around.

I also bought a few things to re-sell on my Etsy page, of course.

Then there are these guys:

Lilah wanted the nun for $2. I'm going to put it in her Christmas stocking. This little sister will end up playing French music for a grouping of other nuns at my mom's house. She only has one poor, lonely friar, though. The Santy mug is for a buddy of mine. Looks like ol' Santy has a drinking problem with that nose of his. Stop spiking the eggnog that you leave out with the cookies, will ya? It's not easy driving a sleigh with 9 reindeer, especially when you are blowing a .08%


Speaking of blood alcohol levels...this set is also for Lilah. I mean, could there BE a cuter bar set? No. The answer is no. I'll save you the hassle of thinking for yourself. Check out those tiny top hats!

I wish I'd have gotten more of a chance to re-look around the place several more times. I would have made a run to the ATM and bought a bunch more stuff, maybe. But I console myself with the knowledge that it's happening again in January. It will be sub zero here then and nice and snowy. I'll be in need of a good hit. Get the tourniquet ready.

A Rose By Any Other Name

I've said it before and I'll say it again. It's the Craft Antique Co-op and no amount of rebranding, fresh coats of paint, new color schemes or stupid new signs is going to change that. Harumph.

So last weekend some of us went on a shopping trip to the Craft Antique Co-op. I got quite a few things. Little things. Like, $80 worth of tiny $2 items. (Ok, ok, slight exaggeration, but wait till you see!) You know how I love my plastic. And my glitter.

It was Sarah Mae's first trip and she seemed to think we were overestimating when we said we'd be there four and a half hours. By the end of the first row (Where we stopped for a snack, no lie!) she was starting to get a handle on the situation. By the time we left she had a crazed look in her eye, was sweating and hauling two baskets to the check out counter. She got tons of great stuff (as did we all) aside from all the nightmarish rabbit/baby, lamb/fox and elf/babies. Girl has a terrifying sense of adorable.

Here is all the stuff that I'm adding to my already garish jumble of odds and ends:

With glitter.


I like the house to smell like fall.

A tiny clutch (ok, wallet if you must) and earrings. I couldn't decide if I liked these earrings because they remind me of corn or because they are sort of art deco or because they remind me of native American art. Why choose? Plus, when I wear them they make the most gorgeous tinkling noise. Like my own personal wind chimes.


And all the little bits. I love vintage Hallmark. Almost as much as I love vintage Avon. Let's not talk about it. I know that you are busy and don't have that much time on your hands.

I also got quite a few Christmas presents but I'm not going to show them. Some people should be forgetting that they exist.

Now. I've been telling you all about a certain room that I've got hidden away in my house. I wish I could say that it's concealed behind a secret bookcase/door that will only open if you move a certain book the title of which I'd never share or make public. (Though, seriously if I had one of these, I'd almost always go Catcher in the Rye. Is there anyone more fun to quote than Holden? "It gives me a real pain in the ass, if you really want to know the truth.") Alas, it's not hidden behind a secret door, gotten to through a secret passageway or revealed only with a magic word. It's just in my basement. There is one finished off room in our basement and the Muppets have been relegated to it. Some days I feel pretty bad about it. But, this being the 75th anniversary of Jim Henson's birth and all, (I think we might have talked before about how I can't get on the train where people say it's so-and-so's 75th birthday when so-and-so is no longer with us. It's the anniversary of his birth, but it is NOT his 75th birthday.) I think you deserve a peek.


Keep in mind you can't see three walls of this Cave of Wonders. I'm in the process of databasing the collection. I know, right?

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!

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.

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.