...of Pinks and Pyrex

Friday was a layed back saling day for me... Rainy, yet productice! (PRODUCTIVE = Little 'Keep' + Lots 'SELL'!) Upon unpacking my goods at the end of the day, there was yet once again a couple of overriding themes to the days purchases!
PINK - from the great old plastic sewing box ($2), to the retro paper mache angel (.20¢), to the sealed bottle of Avon (.10¢) to the sweet flowers in the teapot (.50¢). Do you think that this is a sign of a color to come for the wicker plant stand ($3.)???
MUGS - 4 Retro JAPAN stacking mugs(.25¢), Pyrex (.10¢) and a W. Germany (.25¢). I must be feeling empathy for Shara over at MONKEYBOX!! PYREX - Not normally my thing, and I don't know anything about it, but when I walked into one of my favorite Thrifts and they were having a 50% off EVERYTHING Labor Day Sale, I couldn't pass these beauties up!($3.00 for everything!)

Sorry, no sweater clips to share...

Wishing you all a GREAT Holiday weekend!!

...SWEATER CLIPS/GUARDS

TWO for TUESDAY!!

On my way home from work today, I swung by the Thrift. What to my wondering eyes should appear (In a store that I have Never, Ever found a Sweater Clip!!), but TWO on ORIGINAL CARDS for .25¢ EACH!!

So... this MUST be a sign that it is time for me to FINALLY do an entry dedicated to my collection! I have had a few requests for this, and far be it from me to disappoint my WHOLE audience of about 6!! Here goes...

Once upon a time, I believe it was the summer of '94, I bought a bag of junk jewelry while out saling. I sorted through the bag and came across this TACKY-NASTY pair of soft plastic, yellow flowers attached to each other with a chain. The next day my parents stopped by for a visit, and I showed it to my Mom to see if she knew why these UGLY 'clip-on' earrings were held together with a chain. She explained that it was a Sweater Clip or Guard... the girls used to wear them in the 50's to dress-up their cardigans or hold the cardigans on when they were draped across their shoulders. "Okay", I thought "now I know". The next Saturday I was out making the saling rounds, and found a BLUE TACKY SOFT PLASTIC Flower one - I know what that is!! Then I saw that it was .10¢, so it had to come home with me to join the Yellow one... I showed the two of them to the guy that I had just started dating (now DH) - he was thoroughly 'impressed' (ha!) - as any Twentysomething Guy would be!! A few days later he stopped by my desk (we worked at the same place at the time) with 'this' creation... 'I made you a sweater clip!'

We ALL know that 'THREE' makes a collection! Now 14 years and approximately 400 clips later...

I have found that vintage bird cages make wonderful displays...Right now I have two of them in use... but there are a couple of more up in our attic waiting to be put to use!
You guys may remember a post that I did back in January, when I made new valances for our Dining Room windows to display more clips...

One has 'all' (six?!) of my signed clips (Monet, Trifari, Coro...) and any other all- 'gold-toned' clips & chains...
The other valance holds any with rhinestones... Yes, believe it or not, they are all organized by colors, materials, etc... so that I can keep track of what I have - NONE of these are doubles (to my knowledge!!). I do sell and trade any doubles that I incur.

The bottom shelf of my Barrister bookcase is devoted to sweater clips that I have on original cards or in original boxes... as well as to my compact collection...
... and various other 'girly' oddities that I have stumbled upon in my Swtr Clip journeys...
hatpins, glass chains, purse ashtrays, handbag holders (below left - a 'prim' Lady never set her purse on the floor while dining out! She would pull one of these little contraptions out of her handbag - set the decorative top on the table with the metal 'arm' suspended under the table edge to hang her pocketbook on!!)...

and 'Glove clips' are displayed on one of the birdcages (again bottom left). These 'oddities' took a LONG time for me to finally stumble upon their true purpose in life - and believe me there were MANY speculations!!!!!! The chain portion was fastened to the handle of a purse, thus leaving the 'clip' easily accessible at meal time to hold The Lady's gloves... I have about a dozen of these!!
As a set standard I don't spend more than $1 a piece on these... unless of course it's signed, or a rhinestone, or something extra special - then I may splurge and go to $2 or $3!!

There you have it folks - the why, where and how of one of my bizarre passions!

...4H(s)

...and NO I'm not making a reference to a Youth group at the now in progress NY STATE FAIR!



I AM referring to the lame morning of saling that I had Saturday! Yes, it was my own fault... ~BUT~ it had been SOOO long since this Forty-somethinger had last stumbled in at 3am, that she had forgotten the consequences!! Didn't get out into the hunt until almost 9:30am Saturday morning (2hrs later than usual!!), then the 4H(s) hit.... HANGOVER, HEAT, HUNGER, and HEADACHE!!! Ugh. I did last until noon, but the 'gatherer' in me was just not there. Picked up a couple of things, but not even worth photo-ing... except this cute kitty with the 'boo-boo' paw, rescued from the free pile-o-garbage'!!

After some food, lots of coffee and LOTS of water, I did have a fun-filled afternoon with DH though doing a little 'site-seeing in our backyard'...

I have lived in the FingerLakes for 20+ years, and I finally made a visit to Sonnenberg Gardens... YEH!! (Bonus: They were having their ART IN THE GARDEN show too!)

...and Ext. Makovr - Home Ed. is doing a local house. The family returns on Monday, it was just torn down on Wed., and this is how it looked on Sat.!! I'm NOT going to get into a discussion of my opinion of this TV Show, but it was fun going to check it out and it is 'BIG HAPPENINGS' in our little corner of the world!

Luckily Friday was full of garaging goodness, so it more than made up for 'day off' on Saturday!!

Skaneateles dip chiller ($1);Sun Tile Trivet by Bennington pottery ($2); Old chalkware bunny wallhangers (10¢/pr); McCoy 2 qt mixing bowl and Vino Carafe ($1 ea);some more wire shelf organizers (50¢); fun retro recipe metal recipe box (10¢); Snoopy figure (.10¢); 2 vintage cocktail glasses (10¢); Finland Plate and an old cork board to try my hand at 'upholstering' (50¢)

Isn't it odd how you can go months, even entire seasons, without finding something - then all of a sudden in a 'wave', you find multiple pieces?! Well, the 'wave' came crashing in on Friday with MacKenzie-Childs!! I found these two pieces at two different sales! I found my conversation with seller at one sale rather amusing... She had two different pieces. The first that I picked up was just a stray 'cover/lid' (no bottom). "How much?" ... "Oh, that's a MacKenzie Childs - VERY nice piece! They make Great stuff! That's $10. Do you know how much they sell for new?!" ... Okay, I passed on that, but as she was speaking I noticed another, NICER, complete piece (heart shaped) that was in one of their retired patterns, but not as clearly marked (older/fainter impressed stamp on bottom) "How much is this?"..."That thing? A dollar?"... Done deal!!

M-C square bowl ($12); M-C heart ($1); Laurel Burch bag (50¢); William-Sonoma tablecloth ($1.50)

~AND~

HAPPY DAY...HAPPY DAY!

A sweet, 'unusual' Sweater Clip ($1)!!!

Now, I'm off to the garden... and then get ready for a family picnic we are attending this afternoon!

When my parents were out last week, my Dad brought a few of his creations - these three iron supports that I had 'wished for' during their previous visit. PERFECT for the Japanese tea light lanterns that I have randomly been picking up all summer!!

HAPPY DAY Everyone!

...is this a sign of a L-O-N-G Winter ahead?

Sales were plentiful on Saturday!! A local paper had '69' listed on their website (that has to be a good sign... right?!), of those I jotted down about 21 (according to proximity & interest), and from my list I only made it to about half - because I stumbled on so MANY unadvertised ones!!!

Here in the NE, there is no saling to be had during the Winter months. Weekly jaunts to the Thrifts are my only 'fix'. With the 'Hunting & Gathering' that I did this weekend, I'm afraid that it's a sign of a LONG Winter!!

Only a couple of 'really' good finds. The sales were heavily weighted toward 'the pastels' (Kids stuff!). That's Great if you have kids... but we DON'T!! No Haeger, VERA, or Sweater Clips to be found.

The prices people had on things were insane! I can't remember the last time that I stumbled onto so many nickel and dime items!One of my favorite 'scores' was a Red Silicone Cupcake tray - brand new - 50¢! After my last batch of zucchini muffins I had finally retired my old metal cupcake pan to the scrap pile. It had been passed down to me from my Grandmother MANY YEARS AGO... the underside was all worn and left rust stains on everything from the dishwasher to dish towels.... ENOUGH! I have enough treasures from her that I REALLY DON'T need to be sentimental over a cheap P.I.T.A. cupcake pan. I decided then that I wanted to give this style a try, but hadn't gotten around to buying one yet. Some of the other 'me' finds included a Jones NY dress ($1) & funky top ($1), Margarita book (10¢), Grate for cooking veggies on the grill (5¢), HP cartridge for Staples refund (free box), and some sealed lotions.

Not a 'lot' of resale goodies... but a few! (4) vintage wood hangers - chippy green, chippy pink, vintage floral fabric & advertising ("They're OLD, how about 25¢?"), bottom of a USA cookie jar (5¢), tole tin cannister (10¢), cookbook (5¢), small vellum lampshade (10¢), and an old Car card game (25¢).

A few Christmas stocking stuffers...An angel pin for Mom, a book for L - who adores cats, and yes, a Trace cd for A. I don't normally encourage the partaking of Country Music in any way, shape, or form... but this is an exception. ( A couple of years ago A and I went to Nashville (GREAT Blues!) and we had a T.A. siting - sooooo.....) .

Another 'score' of the morning was this LARGE market basket (16" x 27"!!). I'm not normally a 'basket person' ('basket case'... well, maybe...), but this basket is just stunning! The size! The condition! When I picked it up, the feel and the patina of that well loved handle just won me over... $2.

I am getting the feeling that the 'saling gods' were trying to tell me something, as 'organizing' accessories were a-plenty! 2 shelf wicker baskets (more?!) = $1/set. A pair of wire 2-bin each stackable units = 25¢. Guess I better get busy!

At the last sale of the morning (11:30am), I had picked up a vintage smock apron and a little kitchen chopper thingy - 25¢ ea. . When I went to pay, I realized that I had spent all of my change and the smallest bill that I had left was a Ten. I apologized to the woman (but it WAS 3hrs into their sale, so I figured they would be able to change it) - she looked at the bill, looked at the closed money box, and just decided it was TOO much effort "Oh, that's okay. Just take them. Are you going to use the Apron? Will you take the rest of them too? I don't want anything for them, just to know that they are going to a good home. They were my Mother's. She Loved them and would like to see them enjoyed." Hey, far be it from me to refuse a request like that. The vintage Blue & Green floral was my original choice. Of the others, only a couple are vintage, but there are some fun Holidays!Before I forget ... AGAIN... my Favorite find from the 'Twister' sale. Isn't this set AMAZING?!! Does anybody out there in BlogLand know anything about them? The holder with the wood handle has the appearance of 1950's? Danish design? I don't think the glasses are Swanky Swigs, but they look earlier than the Retro 60-70's... ANY IDEAS??
8 glasses and carrier... $1.

Now, I must put some of these 'finds' to use... don an apron, maybe bake some muffins, do some 'organizing' - and hopefully add to the purge tally !!

...which is more disturbing?

I can't decide which part of this equation is more disturbing... The fact that somebody had a stack of FOUR Twister mats (no boxes, no dials) for sale at their YARD SALE...

~OR~...the fact that THREE of them came home with me?!?! But, but... at 25¢ each, they'd be cheap drop clothes, or fun picnic table covers, or, or...

The same sale that produced Twister, produced a PLETHORA of retro goodies...

Dripmor teapot ($3), California Pottery ashtray (10¢), Retro Ceramic 'shroom (10¢), Cool lime ice bucket (25¢)

I also sorted out a STACK of vintage books with FUN!! Graphics - not in the best of condition, but at 10¢ each, how could I go wrong?!


Total for the stop was $7.75 - so at these prices, you can imagine the load I came home with... Guess I better 'step-up' my efforts towards 'Purge Challenge'!!!!

....PHEW!

Everything got done.
Everyone has come...
...and everyone has gone.

I had a Wonderful Week! It started Monday afternoon, when my parents from the Western part of NYS arrived enroute on their annual August motorhome/camping journey. That evening we picked up my niece from the train station for a few day visit before she heads off to start college (sad to think that this yearly summer visit will probably be the last she will have time for...)

Tuesday was full of visiting, catching up, sightseeing & lunch in Skaneateles, and preparing food for an evening BBQ with more friends.

Wed. morning my parents headed out early to continue on their journey, leaving 'the girls' to do some venturing...
We started out with a 'drive by' of the monkey (the house across the street from a local farm market has a 'rescued service' monkey - look closely at the roof, to the left of the cupola!)

Then we ventured through a couple of the Fingerlakes (Cayuga & Seneca) for a Tour of the Mackenzie-Childs farmhouse and State Park sightseeing... LOTS of waterfalls
...and trail climbing
...and MORE waterfalls

Oh, it definitely was a workout keeping up with an 18 year old!! But SOOO worth it!!

After her departure Thursday morning, I worked some more on the 100 ITEM PURGE challenge. Since my original undertaking of this challenge I have parted ways with TWO large garbage bags of clothes sorted from my closet, and have gotten 27 auctions listed on E-bay...

~now the dilema~

How exactly do you count the items towards the 100 goal... is each item of clothing counted? or is it per bag? or do clothes just count as '1' in general? Do you count things you purchased to sell in this tally??

I'm pretty sure I'd have to subtract from my 'accomplishment' for the 'new to me' shorts I purchased today at a sale, as well as the few pieces of seaglass found during the journeys of the week, but...

OH, I guess 'The Number' really isn't as important as the effort!

I've decided in my next life that I'm coming back as a cat! When I got home from work today, the lazy neighborhood cat (Mia) was CRASHED in this position (yes, she is Sound asleep in this photo - not moving!!) on MY chair...
When I nudged her, to get her OUT of my chair (NO CATS ON THE FURNITURE)... she just rolled over to her side, yawned......hopped to the floor, and immediately resumed sleeping!

Oh, the life!

...48 hours

Various members of my family are diverging on our house in 48 hours, and what am I doing?
-BLOGGING! ...and Taking/downloading photos for e-bay auctions! ...and spray painting...

The iron flower stand I picked up this morning while saling, and The 'Moderne' tin garbage can that you may remember from earlier this year...

~BEFORE~

~AFTER~

Voila ~ lime green plant stand to blend in with the eclectic summer porch!

and tres chic chocolate brown /pink garbage can for the walk in closet (converted from a TINY, unusable bedroom!) !!

ARGH!! I must stay focused! I started out good, but when I went down to the basement to do laundry, I had to walk past the shelf that held various cans of spray paint... and when I was picking up the house I came across some things that should be on e-bay NOW...

...and now I'm inspired by a SWEETFINDS blog that I was just reading (because I HAD to do something while the photos were loading!!). She is posing the 100 ITEM PURGE challenge! I'm gonna go for it!! Anybody else ready to 'purge'?? I'll keep you posted on my progress!

...it's all on where you place the blame!

I read this morning at The Misadventures... that today is 'National Garage Sale Day', prior to reading the 8-8 entry, I just about had myself talked into staying home and being productive in preparation for this weeks pending house guests, but hey, it was my 'duty' to go... right?! So I blame Sarah completely!! (Thanks!)

Sooooo..., though I was back home by 9:15 am the 'treasures' abound!

Vintage Large shelf sitter Elf ($1)

(2)NWT linen dish towels (.25¢ ea)

1991 Leo Ward Bluebird ($1)

Iron plant stand for porch ($1)

Leo Ward BlueBird to add to my newly forming collection on my window sill (this is #3) - this is definitely Shara's fault!!

and a couple of cups for my new formed love of TIKIs (.25¢ea) - 'credit' lies completely on Monica's shoulders for this one!!

A WILTON cookie press w/ SEVEN(!) decorating tips - those alone were worth the $2!!

I know the older Holt Howard figurals are worth a lot more, but I am addicted to some of their 60's Retro patterns!

at .25¢ how could I let this signed HH1967 just sit there?!?

I'm afraid that I have nobody to blame but myself for this latest obsession... While questing after my Dearly Desired red confetti bowl, I have formed a new appreciation for larger size utilitarian BOWLS! Here are some of the little strays that have followed me home in the last few months during the journey... RED annodized aluminum w/ smaller blue version; Beige confetti w/ red flecks; Gold annodized aluminum (Love the shape!); and the most recent addition - a tan ROSTI (Denmark) w/ tab handle and spout. I must start purging, but HOW??~AND~

NO, It's not a sweaterclip!

No sweaterclips this morning, but I did score a couple of VERA!! I have only shown one here - either end is a different color scheme. The one I didn't photo was rather plain, and definitely paled in comparison to this one (my newest 'Fall' favorite!!).

found in a pile of scarves that were marked 10¢ each!!!

I don't think this poor pumpkin blossom has time to become a 'real' jack-o-lantern, so I am just enjoying it in it's present state! Isn't it a beauty?!!

HAPPY NATIONAL GARAGE SALE DAY EVERYONE!!