...any port in a storm...

...or should I say, "Any VERA in a Thrift drought!"VERA 2010#3 ~ .50¢

Good thing this turquoise sheer still had it's tag, still barely dangling on, because even VERA didn't find it 'signature' worthy!!For .50¢ it DID brighten my day, and it is another example to round out my collection of VERA - so I'm NOT COMPLAINING!

...a girl can dream!

...morning coffee won't quite be the same.

I can't take credit for this photo!! J was out playing around with his camera the other day, and caught this noisy guy...

A bag is ready and waiting by the door to be taken for donation...

Mission for the morning: one appointment and then off for some Serious, mindless, THRIFT THERAPY!!

Was greeted at work yesterday with the news that one of the friends that I had visited on Friday with Valentine cookies passed away yesterday morning. Carm will be deeply missed at morning coffee.

...do you see what I see?

Saturday, on our way home from my parents house, we !Finally! found a little shop open that I have been scoping out for Months!! OH, the joy of Fresh Turf!! 2011 Sweaterclip #1

Royal Haeger that J fell in love with because of the lion head 8-) 2011#2 (early Vday gift from him!!)

Do you see what I see in this photo? I took it to our back porch for some natural light, and Lo-n-behold - SHADOWS!! Which can only mean one thing - SUNSHINE!! Yes, Upstate NY actually had some SUNSHINE this afternoon!!! Oh, it was Fabulous...

and not just a few 'shadows', but LOTS of SHADOWS!!! Okay, I'll admit it was only 17°, but who really cares, when you have SUNSHINE in February?!!

..."He requested roses - but we were all sold out."

Remember the mottled orange/pink train case that I picked up the other day for .50¢? Well, it ends up that it only cost me .34¢!!

While giving it a thorough cleaning this morning, I found a rather hidden 'pocket' that was FULL-O-GOODIES!! Mostly the usual bottom.of.the.purse kinds of things like coins, safety pins, odd buttons, etc...

There was also this TINY little Sterling charm with initials on one side and on the backside it says Christmas 1968...

My FAVORITE find of all...

This card.

Yeh, Phil was a schmuck for waiting until the last minute (after the roses were all sold out!), but 'SCW' must have thought he was pretty special to have hung onto the card! 8-)
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

... last one... PROMISE!

...until I find some orange / green gumdrops for St. Pats Day - of course!! (Can you imagine how many of these we would go through if we had kids in the house?!?!)

...oh SUGAR! SUGAR!

Not sure if 'THURSDAY IS BAKING DAY'... but is was at Chateau svelte! LOTS of Pinks and Purples and MY KIND OF GLITTER!

Yesterday I used my 'thrifting hours' to deliver plates (eclectic 'thrifted' ones OF COURSE!!) of VALENTINES to friends / beloveds that I don't see nearly often enough! Was a GOOD MORNING!!

One older friend even greeted me with this 'purse ashtray' that she had set aside 'ages ago!' when she was cleaning out 'cause she knew that I collected them, and she was hoping I would stop by soon'

On my way to a Nursing Home, I spotted a sign that said HUGE SALE with an arrow... well, what was I to do?!? I think that a 'guy' must have made the sign. (not much stuff.)

I did grab this Samsonite train case for .50¢ !! How FUN! is that mottled PINK/ORANGE coloration?! This one is definitely staying with me 8-).

Gotta go... J and I are on a roadtrip to MY parents today to deliver their Valentines and see what other mischief we can get into! Have a GREAT WEEKEND !

...in the mood

Decorations at our house are sparse for V-day, but they are starting to appear...
My buddy Buddah in his flashy metallic purple & pink glory!
but, many of the 'usual suspects' are showing off their Colors of The Season!

RED! Leo Ward bird, who is glad that he isn't try to get at that snowy birdfeeder ...
I have to get J (I'm tired of the 'DH' designation, and opting for just an initial - until I can come up with something more creative!) to show me how to do a proper photo!!

Tin Man by my Daddy!

...Friday findings

Friday findings were few and far between, but they were FUN, and that is what counts - right?

(enamel & metal pendant .80¢ - anybody know anything about the signature NEUBERGER?? I'm not having much luck researching. That's okay, 'cause it's a keeper anyway!)
Looking back on my 'REALITY CHECK' post, I hope I didn't give anybody the wrong impression with that blog entry! I just found myself reflecting upon everything that 'I' /'WE' pour into our treasures from start-to-finish, and how absolutely INSANE we must appear to 'Outsiders' who don't 'get' our passion!! Yes, 'We Who Love Vintage Stuff' definitely view the whole process from a completely different perspective - perhaps through rose colored glasses at times...

• we add extra hours to our day by getting up early, and have seen beautiful sunrises.
• those 'sale signs' have taken us on roads that we may never have explored otherwise, and seen breath taking sights - journeys we have remembered.
• we've explored Barns and Homes others can only dream of prowling through!there is adventure around every turn, a complete cast of 'characters' - yes some good and some not so good (shower maybe?!)... but we love them all, and find ourselves worrying, just a bit, when they aren't in their usual spot in line ahead of us at that estate sale.
• if it wasn't in our hands, we wouldn't have a reason to research and learn about it - and all of that useless info rattling around in our heads comes in oh-so-handy!!
• it really is a 'cheap addiction' compared to lots of them - have you seen the price of football tickets??!
• the 'sale' is just kind of a validation of sorts... (oh, and it DOES support our 'habit'!!)

(old tin/bakelite CAMELS I 'Finally!' untangled... will give to a friend who adores Camels $1)

It's the PASSION for STUFF / JUNK ~ you either have it or you don't!

(just for fun skeleton earrings to be part of my next altered art / collage project - $1)

...and if you keep coming back for MY silly ramblings and STUFF FINDS

- you Must have The PASSION for STUFF!

(SWEDEN pewter necklace)

AND...

VERA rectangular SCARF 2010#2 $1.00 !!!!!

Now, go get your GOLD & BLACK on!

...reality check...

... testing ... testing ... one ... two ... three ... testing...

Yep. This blog is still alive!

There is still life here in CNY - though barely... things are pretty much flat lining here. Even the weather! Though I'm not complaining about the fact that we have been dubbed 'THE BIGGEST LOSERS' over the fact that the storms missed our area, and all we got was a 'usual Winter's day' accumulation of about 3-4" w/ temps in the teens!(pair of coffee mugs by Guy Buffet)
Thrifting for the most part has been pretty non-existent ((yawn)). Estate and Rummage Sales ~ WHAT are those??

OH well, I've been trying to be productive catching up on a couple of years worth of scrapbooking (note 'trying' is the operative word here!!).

I have also been implementing a new 'Project Purge' for the Year 2011. In honor of the year, my goal is to purge '211' items each month. This can be in the form of selling, donating, tossing, consigning - whatever... just OUT OF THE HOUSE!! January was an easy success, let's see if I can continue!! It's kind of a Two-Part Goal that goes hand-in-hand. The second part of the goal, is to have a bag of 'stuff' in the Blazer for donation whenever I go out on a Thrifting adventure. No bag of stuff sorted and ready to go? Then I can't stop yet! (see, it kind of serves two - purposes!) WISH ME LUCK!! So far, so good...(Recent Thrift find - Stetson bowl)

With the lack of 'saling', I've been doing a LOT of de-stashing. This Stetson bowl purchase inspired me to pull out a bunch of plates and china that I've been procrastinating on. Similiar to the motivation that the purchase of the Pyrex was last week! So this week has been a LOT more listing!!

(Mid-Century Yugoslavia Enamel Paella Pans coming soon to an ETSY shop near you!)

With all of the listing I've been doing the last couple of weeks, it's made me take a hard look at selling vintage on e-bay and etsy... A 'Reality Check' of sorts...

• weekend~early hours&hours to get the 'good stuff'
• #miles~$gas
• insane people~crazy work conditions (weather, animal remnants, decay bldg)
• clean~research
• write-up~photo
• store~pack/box~collect $$~ship

ALL of this for how much return on your investment? As a college graduate, I think about how much I used to make an hour, sitting at a cushy desk job with full benefits - and how I MUST be out of my mind now - when I get excited over a $12 ETSY sale! Then, I remember how I used to hate getting up in the morning...

('Sic Kay The Other Mug...' ever hear of these??)

Hoping everyone is safe and warm, and has a BIG MUG of Hot Cocoa with their favorite addition - Peach Schnapps? Bailey's? Mini Marshmallows!?

OH! Almost forgot - did find a few 'goodies' for ME the other day at the Thrift!! Three leather belts (Levi brown, Italy black & No-name sage-green) - I've been in a serious 'belt' mode lately with all of my sweaters - and at .50¢ each for leather I couldn't go wrong! LOVE the great buckle on the Italian!! You can't really see it, but I also grabbed a black wool 'wrap'. It's like a H*U*G*E* fitted sweater~shawl. I have a plum one that I bought at VanHeusen a couple of years ago, and love wearing in the Fall. I found it in the 'scarf' bin for another .50¢!!