A Little Bit Here, A Little Bit There

Hi Everyone!

It's been pretty crazy around here the last few days.  Trying to get ready for a party 18 years in the making can be exhausting.  High school graduation only happens for a kid once in their lives so I really want to make it special for Alex.  I tend to go a little overboard with my parties.  I hope he appreciates it!

I have been able to pick up a few things lately to give me my fix and slow the jitters of not being able to treasure hunt as much as I would like to.  I just have to keep telling myself that summer will be here soon enough and with Miss Maddie in tow, I should hopefully have lots more time to hunt.

I have now completed my pie plate set.  This aqua one was really hard to find!  I picked up the cute striped Hazel Atlas bowl at the flea market.

I've been finding lots of books for Maddie lately.  How cute is the Butterball one?  I bought the Morning Glory pillow case off of Instagram.  I have a tablecloth almost exactly the same print.

I've managed to thrift some pretty good pieces of Pyrex over the last couple of weeks.  All of this came from the Goodwill closest to my house on different days.  I wonder if it was all donated by the same person?

Some sweet Made in Japan pieces I found at Goodwill the last time Hanna and I were together.

And no post would be complete without one (or eight) thrifted vintage pillow cases.  I am hooked on these!

That's all for now.  Maddie has her last orchestra concert tonight so I gotta go help her get ready.  It never ends I tell you.

Linking up with We Call it Junkin' for History and Home, Jann Olson for SYC Thursday, The Cottage Market for Junkin' Joe, and Melissa's Antiques for Thrifty Things Friday.

Have a great night!

Erica

A Long Weekend of Sales

Happy Monday and Memorial Day.  I hope everyone is remembering the spirit of today and honoring our service men and woman.  I had a really wonderful conversation with a veteran this morning at the grocery store that made my whole day.  I hope everyone gets a moment to take a chance to show their appreciation today.

I'm lucky that I'm on the North Coast because each Memorial Day weekend means the "Longest Garage Sale" in the Long Beach area in Washington.  This is just a scary car ride over the Megler Bridge in Astoria.  I hate heights and bridges, but make an exception each year to cross over the Columbia River because these sales are so fun.

Friday afternoon I was going crazy because I usually spend the whole day hitting sales, but I had to work, there was no way around it.  Finally at about 2 pm I couldn't stand it any longer.  There had been an estate sale advertised in Astoria that started that morning.  I figured that it would be totally picked over, but I just had to go and check it out.  I'm so happy I did.

 Erica must be rubbing off on me, because I just get so excited when I find vintage Christmas now!  I was especially happy to find the Santa boot mugs in the original box, plus 2 extras in case I drink too much eggnog and break one!  I have no idea what I'm going to do with these giant wood cutout elves but they were too cute to leave behind.  I think they must have been part of a classroom or stage.  I think I'm just going to hide them somewhere in the house to scare Matt. 

I was really happy to find a Santa cookie jar and didn't think much about it, besides, I couldn't believe there was still vintage Christmas at this sale.  When I got home and saw that it was marked Metlox USA I thought maybe I had something special.  From my research, it sounds like this guy is worth a lot more than I expected.  I plan on selling him to add to my funds for mine and Erica's Alameda trip in August.

I know Erica and I have both mentioned Instagram lately and how much we enjoy it.  We recently started a joint account so we could start selling some of our goodies on Instagram.  It is a lot of work but so much fun!  I'm not going to share everything I got at sales this weekend, because a lot of it was for my Instagram sale today, but I wanted to share some of my favorite finds.

 I keep finding these sweet little lambs.  I couldn't resist the face on the piggy bank, and I also picked up a tiny Napcoware angel.  I also got a few pretty pillowcases, and bunch of vintage fabric with sweet little pink bunnies.

 I found a few pretty mugs and couldn't leave behind the pastel Tubberware.  Erica has this martini shaker and I've always admired it because of its unique size.

Just a few other really random items.  My most favorite find would have to be this Made in Japan Mt. St. Helens Souvenir.  I was so giddy when I bought it and I think the sale person thought I was nuts.  Does anyone else notice that the mountain still has its top?!?  I can't quite figure out what it is used for (it has a hole in the top and side,) but I'm definitely keeping it being the science nerd I am.  I can never resist birds, and the Florida Souvenir was too strange to leave behind.

Well, I'm off to get ready for my Instagram sale and enjoy the quiet day off.  The hubby is working, so its just the dog, kitties, and me enjoying the record player, lots of coffee, and playing with vintage things.  Its the best.


I'm Linking up at Thriftasaurus
Always a Pleasure!
Hanna

Estate Sale Friday

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

I hope you guys have more exciting plans than we do.  On our agenda this weekend is yard work, and a lot of it!  We have two weekends left to get ready for Alex's graduation party so no camping or road trips for us.  But I still managed to squeeze in a little estate sale picking yesterday before it was time to get to work.

When I brought home that ice tray last week, my mother in law asked me to try and find some for her too.  She'll be pretty happy to see how quickly that happened.  These were only a quarter apiece but I think I'll tell her they cost way more.  I am not sure exactly how old the nursery rhyme decals are but I'm not one to pass up something cute that I collect.  And it's been a really long time since I've found a syrup dispenser.  I love the shape of the bottle on this one.

This milk glass planter is one of the Fire King ones.  I am starting to amass a small collection of white hobnail milk glass.  I didn't used to care for it but it's definitely growing on me now.  This is the time of year that I pull out all of my Melmac dishes so I has happy to find two more turquoise pieces.  The Hazel Atlas dishes are a beautiful fired on green color.  I found a dessert dish just like them at another estate sale a few weeks ago.

More linens for my soaking pile.  I've been washing a lot of them lately since the weather has been so nice.  Those of you who follow me on Instagram have seen my progress!

How awesome is this one?  So very MCM and retro.  It definitely stands out in my collection of pastels and floral tablecloths.

I actually found this a while back but just recently pulled it out of my stash of dish towels.  I don't think I've shown it before.  It's a handmade table runner.  The material is heavier than most of my linens, almost like a canvas.  Plus it's 8' long and perfect for my giant dining room table.

I picked up this book for Maddie.  This particular style of Shiny Brite boxes is one of my favorites.

I'm pretty sure that someone painted the handles in the fall colors on these fall & Halloween themed cookie cutters.  It was cool to find some different than the green and red I always seem to come across.

I stopped at one thrift on the way home and spotted this Horizon Blue 442 in a cart they had just wheeled out. I dug for more but there was none.

While digging, I almost impaled myself with this aqua handled Ecko serving fork.  It would have been worth it though!  I have a really small collection of these and the pink handled pieces, all thrifted.  Have you seen how much they go for online and in antique stores?  I paid a quarter for this one.  I'll just keep trying to thrift them.

Not a bad day for a holiday weekend.  Normally, there aren't a whole lot of sales around here during Memorial Day but for whatever reason, there are TONS this weekend.  Sadly, I won't be going to any more.  Hope you all have all of your yard work caught up on and can get out and treasure hunt.  I will live vicariously through you!

Linking up with Jann Olson for SYC Thursday, How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday, and Melissa's Antiques for Thrifty Things Friday.

Have an awesome long weekend!

~Erica

Estate Sale Finds-The Double Edition!

We're back! 

Hanna and I both had super fun weekends despite not being together.  I love going on vacation but after a few days, I really start to miss home and my routine.  Plus, I hit a pretty good sale before we left town so I was anxious to get back to go through everything I got.

This sale was advertised as an estate/moving sale and used the typical words "collectibles" "vintage" and all those other ones a lot of people use to lure you to their sale.  But, I figured I would take a chance since it was just right down the street from Maddie's school. 

The funny thing about this sale is that I picked up quite a few things that I already had.  But prices were so cheap that I had a hard time justifying leaving it all behind!

 

 

 

Tis the season for finding vintage linens!

I was just recently saying how I only have one tablecloth with purple in it and then I find this.  Almost a collection!

I have quite a few of these ice cube trays.  I always keep them filled and ready.  You just never know when the ice maker is going to run out of ice!  I have a pretty good collection going of these cute jars with the bunnies and chicks on them.  This one is already tucked away with my Easter goodies.  And I was absolutely thrilled to find another donkey Meyercord decal.  I used my last one on an old jar and have been on the hunt for another ever since.

Maddie already has this little skunk toothpick holder in her collection so I grabbed this one to use in my kitchen.  And I rarely pass up vintage platters.  I use them all the time.

The Horizon Blue 401 was the only Pyrex I found at the sale.  I also found another Fire King white swirl bowl.

Maddie has got me hooked on the Rand McNally Junior Elf Books.  They are so cute.  She immediately informed me that she already had Surprise in the Barnyard.  How does she remember that?!  I recently purchased No-Good the Dancing Donkey at a show in Portland but for a quarter, I had to grab this copy too.

So normally, Hanna is the one who gravitates toward the hat boxes but I picked up these two because I figured they'd make really good storage.

I found these donkey shakers a while back but immediately put them in my donkey display without photographing them first.  They are joined by my newest Pixie friend from Thursdays sale.

Not a bad haul and now I am getting even more excited for the season to start!

Linking up with Sir Thrift-A-Lot for Thriftasaurus & We Call it Junkin' for History and Home.

Have a great week!

~Erica

Leaving Town

Hi Everyone!

Tomorrow, both Hanna & I are headed to the heat.  I'm going to Vegas and she is going to Phoenix.  We are both super sad that we won't be vacationing together but sometimes that is just the way things go.  But before I hop on a plane toward 100+ degree temperatures, I thought I would take a quick minute to share some recent finds.

I immediately thought of Jill over at A Little Bit of Everything when I found these old magazines.  It only took a couple of page flips to decide that I needed them all.  The covers are so great plus there is a Christmas issue too.  Can't wait to see what is in it! 

I absolutely do not sew but I do collect these Better Homes and Gardens books.  They look really cute stacked on my coffee table.

Yay!  Another addition to my baby box for Hanna.  This is the trim on the sweetest nursery sized pillow case.  I love it!

I don't find king sized pillow cases very often, especially vintage ones.  Happy to find a pair in good condition!

I recently shared this on Instagram but haven't shown you guys yet.  I bought this dress form a few months ago from an estate sale and fell in love with the aqua base.  It needs some minor repairs but I still think its so pretty.  I have it sitting upstairs next to some vintage suitcases.  Every time I walk in the room, I still get startled.

Finally drug something out of the project pile in the garage and fixed it up.  I bought this Dominion fan at Goodwill a while back for 5 bucks.  It's original color was turquoise but it was really rusty and not in good shape at all.  Brian saw it as a challenge and took it apart, sanded it down, and repainted it all, including the blade.  I absolutely love this fan!  I point it at the elliptical when I work out in the morning.  Is it weird that something as simple as a fan can make me so giddy?

Well, that is all for now.  I have one estate sale to hit in the morning before we leave town.  Brian and I will be in Vegas for 4 days so I am sure I will be able to get him to leave the strip for a little bit to do a little digging.  Isn't it always fun to hunt in new areas?  You never know what you may find.

Be back next week!

~Erica

It All Started With A Sink...

For those of you who remember, I picked up this amazing aqua sink at the Farm Chicks show last year

I bought it without any idea what I was going to do with it, but knowing that it was just way too pretty and perfect to leave behind.  I threw around lots of ideas and finally settled on turning it into a hanging planter. 

Then one day as I was walking through my laundry room, it hit me.  Why not use the sink for, well, a sink?  When we built our house, we were originally going to put a sink in the laundry room but I decided that I would rather have the counter space.  Since then, I have become obsessed with vintage linens and really needed a good place to soak them.  Brian was getting a little sick of having to share the kitchen sink with me so I knew he would be on board with cutting out part of the counter and adding a sink.  Plus, we already had plumbing ready for it so I figured it couldn't be too hard of a project.  But what did I know?

For a good 6 months, I hunted high and low for the perfect faucet to go with my sink.  I couldn't just go to Lowes and buy any old faucet.  It had to be old or old looking.  I was just about ready to throw in the towel and spend big bucks on a repro that I found online when Brian called me to tell me that one of his contractors was gutting a 1947 house and said I could have the old kitchen faucet.  Score!

Its perfect and even has the original H & C on the handles.

So the addition of the sink and faucet posed another problem...the counter top.  The original one we had in was too beige-y so we had to replace that too with white tile.  Well, then the floor didn't match the counter so we had to rip that out and replace it with lighter ceramic tile.  Then the paint didn't match....are you getting where I'm going with this?  Yes, an entire laundry room remodel.  Well, it's all done now and I can finally show you my little decorator touches.  I apologize in advance for the photo quality.  There are no windows in this room so it's a little hard to get good pictures.  Hope you enjoy!

From the doorway that leads into the kitchen.

You don't have pie birds and Pyrex in your laundry room?  What is wrong with you?!  Brian put this shelf up for me (painted aqua of course) to catch the overflow from the kitchen.  The Ball Jars have been sitting on my washing machine for about a year now.  I can't find another place for them but don't think they look too bad there.

The sink that started the madness.  It really was worth all the work because it's the perfect place to soak linens.

My trusty Oxy Clean, coin catchall in a Zippy Pickle jar, and a Hazel Atlas shaker I found in the free box at a garage sale!

That awesome laundry bag dispenser I picked up the last time I visited Hanna along with some old dust pans, child size ironing board, and a pink jug.

I had a hard time trying to figure out how to display my small collection of child size hangers so for now I just hung them on the wall above the doorway.

Shout out to my pal Erica over at Golden Egg Vintage for directing me toward this awesome repro kitchen clock!

Small metal wastebasket found at an estate sale and a broom/dustpan combo in the most perfect shade of Jadeite green from World Market.

The pink hamper was another Farm Chicks find and the Cosco step stool used to be yellow.

I love this ironing board!  I bought it on another trip to visit Hanna.  The top part is yellow and the legs are aqua.  I found a very vintage-y looking cover at Home Goods.  It is also home to that pink hanger thingy I found at a sale last weekend until I figure out a better place for it.

The weather finally got nice enough around here for Brian to paint that brass colored shelf that I picked up at an estate sale a while back.  It was the last thing I needed done to finish this project.

I love it, especially the jar with all of the colorful clothespins.

The top of my cabinets holds some random yellow and aqua plastic pretties.

Finally, my small collection of laundry bags. 

Onto the next project!!

Happy Mothers Day!

~Erica