Oodles and oodles

Buttons! and 19 days to go*

Buttons? Did somebody say something about buttons?



Yep. That would be Analise at Sugar*Sugar, whose blog I just found today (hooray!) via Jane's Apron. (another hooray!)



So I grabbed these guys fast to take a couple of quick pictures. Last night I decided to spend my Earth Hour (did anyone else do Earth Hour?) sorting buttons. I thought it would be pleasant and meditative and sort-of Little House on the Prairie-ish.

It didn't work out very well. The constant questions ("Why are we doing this?" "If I turn the lights out, can I keep the television on?" "Is the hour up yet?") didn't contribute to the meditative aspect of the event. Eventually everyone except me went upstairs. (Like I didn't know they had the lights on up there.)

That left me with my buttons and candle, and you know what? It's really hard to tell what color buttons are by candlelight.

*19 days until the yard sale season starts! 

Saturday's find, and 20 days to go*

Kind of a creepier-than-usual estate sale Saturday - crowded house, ancient dirt and grease, the lingering odor of stale cigarettes - but worth it to bring home my new little jar. (Don't you love photographing clear glass?) It's got a picket fence and bunnies and lambs and ducks and tulips in a pot. I brought out two of my spring-y Swanky Swigs to make it feel at home.







The jar wasn't priced, so the guy gave it to me for $2. (Surprising, since almost everything was crazy overpriced.) The Swigs came from a delightful sale two springs ago and were each a dime. I danced to the car after that find.

*20 days until the yard sale season starts!

Breaking news! and 22 days to go!*

In the most shocking development in the state of New York since
our once greatly admired governor resigned in a prostitution scandal
the new governor revealed his many extramarital affairs
the new governor then revealed his previous drug use
Oh, I give up. It's hard to match the shocking behavior that occurs on a daily basis in New York. Let's just say there is something Very Unusual happening at my house today.

Instead of vintage treasures coming into the house...

vintage treasures are leaving my house!

I know. Lovely things. Pyrex. Pretty handkerchiefs. Old, never-used  monogrammed pillowcases and sheets. Oh, look at this head vase - 50 cents at a yard sale last summer!

But something's gotta go. Too much stuff. Some of these things have been hanging around forever, things I like, things that were fun to find, things that were too ridiculously inexpensive to pass up. But not things I love.

 

Things I meant to list on eBay (and some of which I did) but things that now seem like too much work for a little return. The tablecloths are pretty. But I fret so much over the stuff I sell that I know I will spend hours treating spots and washing and rinsing and ironing ... only to spend a few more hours listing them and hoping they sell. And there are so many ways I'd rather be spending my time.

So I'm taking them to an auction house, where I've taken things before. I was happy with the money I made when I did this a few years ago, and I was even happier that I felt somehow ... lighter. My house will be clean (um, cleaner) and in a few weeks, when I'm least expecting it, there will be a check in my mailbox. A happy surprise. Can't ask for more than that.

*counting down the days to the yard sale season - hey! I'll have room so I can buy more stuff!

A dollar or less, 23 days to go*

Did you ever wonder what parents worried about before there were all those dangerous, imported toys from China?



They worried about dangerous, imported toys from Hong Kong!



These guys are lethal. Tiny parts, sharp edges, who knows what kind of toxins in the plastic.



I found a box full of these toys at the Dreadful Dollar Store last week. I took a handful of them over to Pete. (It's a bad sign when I know the first name of the folks at the DDS.) I explained that as weirdly fascinating as I found them, I really didn't want to pay a dollar each for them.

Pete agreed and suggested the very attractive price of four for a dollar.  You don't think he was trying to get rid of them, do you?

It briefly crossed my mind to buy Pete's entire inventory. (Sometimes the dim light and the instant headache I get from the mold and mildew makes it difficult for me to think straight.) Thankfully, I came to my senses.

Still, I'm now the owner of $2 worth of these awful little toys. No wonder my parents refused when I'd beg them to buy me something like this. It's sobering to realize that I'm at the age where everything my parents did now makes perfect sense.

Becoming the owner of these toys has left me with the same feeling I get when once every four or five years, I break down and eat a Hostess Twinkie. You know, that kind of embarrassed, vaguely nauseated, why- did- I- just- do- that feeling? I'm not even sure I'm up for my weekly thrifting trip today.

*counting down the days til the yard sale season begins and I can bring home even more junk.

A dollar or less, 24 days to go*

I always read the auction ads in the Sunday paper, but my eyes kind of glaze over the business liquidation auctions ... way too much heavy equipment for me. But going to an auction at a florist shop last fall changed my mind. How else could I have acquired a lifetime supply of bunny cupcake toppers for $1?



The auction was fabulous. Everyone else had come for the flower coolers and the boxes of Teleflora vases. Nobody was bidding against me for the bunnies. Or the velvet millinery leaves, or a box full of tiny vintage Santas and reindeer on chenille stems. It's not entirely clear to me why the florist shop had so many cupcake toppers (I got a lifetime supply of high school graduation ones, too), but I was happy it did.

*counting down the days to the yard sale season with finds that cost $1 or less

A little bit over a dollar, and 25 days to go*

I've been looking for a Bates coverlet ever since I read about them a few years ago in Country Living. At $200 apiece, though, I figured it was a lot more likely I'd be looking at one than buying one.



But you know what? I didn't even get to look. In all my travels, I never came across a single coverlet. Not at any yard sales, auctions, antique shows. Not a one.



Until a week ago, when I saw a promising-looking corner of a pretty bedspread sticking out of a plastic storage bin at the thrift store.



I pulled it out, took one look, clutched it close and walked straight to the check-out. There was no price marked on it. The clerk looked it over. Three ninety-nine, she said. I couldn't grab my wallet fast enough.



It's everything I thought it would be ... lovely woven ribbons and flowers, white on blue on one side, blue on white on the other. It's got a nice heft to it, too ... it feels heavy and old-fashioned, something you'd sleep under if you spent the night at your grandmother's house.

My coverlet isn't perfect. It's probably faded a bit, and there are a few light spots and pulled threads. But in my eyes, it's wonderful.

* Counting down the days until the yard-sale season begins with finds that cost a dollar or less ... or that make me so happy I've got to tell somebody!

Happy Easter!

Just a few more things to do

We're almost ready for Easter.



The bunny cakes have been decorated.



The hot cross buns have been baked and iced.



The jellybean dish has been filled. (And re-filled.)

Tonight we dye eggs and fill the Easter baskets.
Hope you're having fun getting ready for the holiday!

A little touch of spring, 29 days to go*

Happy first day of spring! There's nothing blooming in our yard yet, but I've got these little wall plaques to cheer me up for now! ($1 for both at a yard sale)

* 29 days until the yard sale season starts!

A dollar or less, 30 days to go*

One of my few, and therefore favorite, vintage Easter decorations - a little rooster pulling an egg-cup cart. A yard sale find for $1.

It's Wednesday - time to make the round of thrift stores and risk my well-being with a visit to the Dreadful Dollar Store!

*and it's less than a month til the start of yard-sale season!