What is a monkeybox?

When I was a little girl, we had a pet monkey named Amanda. My Dad worked in the produce business, so each night he brought home that days culls in a big box - spotty cucumbers, pithy apples, limp celery, moldy oranges and the like. We called it a monkeybox. It was really just trash, but my Mom would take each piece of fruit and trim it, pare it and cut it up to make a beautiful fruit platter for Amanda. Even though it was deemed trash by one, it still had life left in it and was good for the purpose we needed it. That's how I live my life - thrifting, yard saling, looking for another's trash to be my treasure.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Weekend Finds

Saturday morning was unexpectedly sunshiny so I zipped out to find a few yard sales before the rain kicked in again. And, it did about 1:00 that afternoon. But, I got out, found some good junk and made it back home about the time the rain started again.

These vintage ornaments along with a handful of gold and silver miniature balls were in a big glass fishbowl for $2.00. I was headed to the donate pile with the fishbowl when The Breadman walked in with Mother's Day flowers. I plopped an old flower frog in it, added the flowers and handful of old marbles and I had a stunning, yet junky arrangement.

This vintage Skyway Train case came from the Super Cheap Thrift. It's honestly the nicest train case I have ever seen. I'm not into train cases, so it is ebay bound.

This vintage wooden shadow box/drawer was $1.00 and the funny handmade and signed elf was 50¢. She has the longest dangley legs!

An old wooden Kraut Cutter for $1.50. We have a very old 30 gallon crock that The Breadman's Great Grandparents used for making Sauerkraut. I've been wanting a cutter to put with it for displaying. (The Breadman describes making Sauerkraut when he was a kid as an intensely stinky job what with the cabbage basically rotting over the course of a week while stirring it once a day. Yeech. Where I grew up we went to the store and bought our Sauerkraut in a can.)

A sweet vintage cat planter for 25¢ at the Super Cheap Thrift. She is sitting on a vintage postal scale that has 2¢ postage increments on it that I got for $1.00.
A hand painted porcelain decorative plate. Something about the banana motif that amused me. You just don't see a lot of banana themed items. It is well done and signed on the front and back.

A sweet miniature glass, maybe Fenton, basket. Now, I don't do glass. I just don't care for it. But, I like miniature things and I love that color blue. The 55¢ price tag cinched the deal for me. In the background is either a tablecloth or a wrap that I got for 75¢ - I don't know what it is for certain. I like it as a tablecloth, so that is what it shall be!

I went to a moving sale and the lady had a collection of Tom Clark Gnomes. I was familiar enough with them to have heard of them, but not well enough to know much about them. Gnomes and mushrooms are all the rage right now, so I thought I might get a couple. They were $4.00 each, which I thought was a pretty good deal. I decided to buy one. When I was paying, I heard myself asking, "How much for all of them?" Now, I really never do that. Honestly! But, she had just said that she was moving and she was not moving anything in the garage so it had to go. So, what the heck. She said she hadn't even thought of anyone buying them all, then said, "$35.00" for all seventeen of them. That made them about $2.00 each, so that seemed like a good deal. Once I got them home and did a little research and it looks like I have about $350.00 worth of them. So, not a bad deal after all. I just have to really, really, really try not to fall in love with them. Because they really are oh, so cute.
The Breadman is on vacation this week (And tomorrow is his birthday), so we are headed out in the AM for a little mini va-cay. We'll be back Friday night, so it's just for a few days. Honestly, if you saw the amount of crap we are taking, you would think we were leaving for a month. Or longer. It wouldn't be so bad, but the weather is still iffy - 50 in the morning, 80 in the afternoon, plus lots of rain forecasted. Boo Hiss. So we have everything from jackets and shorts and everything in between.
I'll have the laptop and wi-fi, so I'll still be checking in here and there. We may even have a little, "Guess where we are?" contest and I will shop for a prize. Stay tuned!

13 comments:

  1. OOH, great goodies! I love the train case, it is in such great shape! Have a fun trip!

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  2. All great finds, especially the cat planter and train case. I had to check out those gnomes because I'd never heard of them. I don't know if I could part with those. Maybe for a price...

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  3. That train case is great! Looks like it was never used. Have a fun trip! :)

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  4. The little cat planter is precious and the colors are fabu-loso. I just love little planters like this!

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  5. Holy Moly, those are some GREAT finds and so cheap!! Loving that case and the ornaments.

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  6. I think you have a Fenton basket. It looks like the Thumbprint pattern, probably colonial blue. However, I'm not positive about it because of the fact that I can't tell just how tall the basket is. If it is Fenton, you got a steal! And if it is not Fenton, you still got a pretty piece for an incedibly cheap price.
    Enjoy your vacation.

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  7. LOVE the train case!

    And the little cat planter is so cute. I can't seem to leave these little planters behind if I find them somewhere :)

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  8. If I ever come to AR I am going to go to some sales with you! You always find the coolest stuff. I am so in love with those ornaments. Thats the kind (and the only kind) we had on our tree when I was a kid. I got a lump in my throat when I saw those.
    The train case is too cute.

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  9. Good deal on the gnomes..love how you "heard yourself asking" like you perhaps were taken over by a gnome spirit! Have a great vacation.

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  10. Have a GREAT Vacay!!

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  11. Have fun! :)

    My parents have a 30 gallon crock in their house that my Dad's grandparent's used to hold water in their shore home which eventually became my parents home when they got married. It had running water by then! I grew up in that house and then 10 years ago they tore it down and built their current house. The crock survives to this day. :)

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  12. I also want to tell you that I have an award for you back on my Blog...stop by and grab it!
    Sonya

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  13. love your treasure finds! have been reading your blog for a while and really enjoy it.

    come visit mine whenever you can. looks like we have lots in common!

    hugs,
    terry lee

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