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.

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Weekend Loot

Yesterday I said that I had a car full of things from garage sales. After I unpacked it all, there wasn't exactly a carload. There were the two new bowling balls, four pumpkins, a gallon of cider, a Walgeen's purchase, Redbox movies and some garden tomatoes in the car too. Today, it's all in the house, sorted and photographed. Last step - the old bloggity blog. So, here goes.

These two gumdrop trees were sitting on a table at one sale. I commented on the "cute gumdrop trees" and the ladies said that they had no idea that they were - so please take them. Okey dokey. They were very nice ladies - I will be talking about them again later.
For 50¢ - A big paper mache egg candy box complete with old green grass inside. This was my only purchase at one biiiiig sale that looked really good from the steet, but not so good up close. But, when I saw that big egg, I knew that was the reason I stopped.
I saw one of my beloved picnic baskets sitting by a table at a sale as I was driving by. Screeech! This was at the Gumdrop Tree ladies house. I asked, "How much for the picnic basket?" "Uhmmm...how about...uhm....a quarter?" "A quarter," I said "Would you take a dime?" Then we all laughed and they said it had been that kind of day. Everyone wanted something for less. I even offered to pay more than a quarter for it, but they would have nothing of it.
Four funny vintage-y Halloween masks for 25¢ each and a funny black cat candle for 25¢. Anyone recognize any of those masks?
Christmas, Christmas, oh my loverly vintage Christmas. So, all this stuff was on the table above the picnic basket at the Gumdrop Tree ladies house. Nothing was marked. I had my eye on the loverly blue ornaments, but they weren't priced. "How much for the Christmas-y things?" I asked. "Uhm...well....How about you take all of it and put in that picnic basket and give us 50¢." Okey Dokey. That's when I actually looked and saw there was more than the blue ornaments. A glittery reindeer, a silvered plastic reindeer, an old tin, PINK Christmas lights, an angel chime, a vintage card box and other silly sweet fun vintage items. ALL FOR A QUARTER!
Love, love, LOVE those glass grape clusters in gorgeous blue and silver. They all still have thier paper JAPAN stickers on them.
Things I am keeping (besides the above): Plastic flower "frog" arranger, vintage chenille stem insects, a tea strainer (I have quite a collection of different tea strainers. I don't even drink tea. Why do I collect these?) and a very sweet old eraser with a Blue jay on it.
Hey! There's that card box again. Wasn't it in the previous photo too? Why yes, yes it was. Wanna know why? 'Cause there was stuff in it. Treasures, I tell you. Treasures!
See? Treasures! Teeny tiny mercury ball on a gold gilded pinecone tiny felt bells, a wee Holly leaf, a teeny plastic Poinsettia, lots of garrish pink holly berries and what's that in the center?
Happy, happy, joy, joy. Too adorable. Everything in the box including little Mister "Too stinking cute for his own good makes me too stinking happy for my own good" was a part of the 25¢ Christmas score. Yahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Everything here is headed to Etsy. Brass owl, lipstick holder, Japanese themed wall pocket, a squirrel Scherenschnitte and two sets of handmade bookends.

More for Etsy: An old book, a piece of pottery, two turkeys, two different Daily Prayer/Blessing card sets, a glass globe with roses, a vintage retro plastic tray and a set of old celluloid-ish dolls. I actually found eight sets of those dolls. The book under it is a really nice old, old Encyclopedia. I see old encyclopedias all the time, usually a book is missing and they are priced 25¢ each or so. This is the first to one of my new collections. (I know, I know, I don't need another collection.) I decided to start buying only the "S" book from old encyclopedias. "S" is my first and last initial, so it is fitting. (I won't break up complete sets, but if a set is missing a book and the "S" is there - it's mine!)
So, there you have it - my weekend in JUNK.
The Breadman is on vacation this week and I plan on working him like a pack mule. We'll be cleaning out the shed, the garage, the bedroom, installing new ceiling fans (I do the electrical work, but I can't reach the ceiling) and lots of other household chores. I more excited about this vacatinon than I ever am about going somewhere. Finally, we will get some work DONE!

8 comments:

  1. Great stash. I know what you mean about people bargaining for deals on things that are already cheap. Whenever I hear people doing this at yard sales, I think it's so tacky. The only time I ever do it is if I'm interested in buying a lot of stuff that's not underpriced. I'll say, "Will you take $10.00 for all of this?"
    Erin

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  2. Those blue cluster Christmas ornaments would have been enough for me. And that little chenille guy, too - I love them. You did great.

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  3. Great vintage Christmas score! And that's a pretty nice looking picnic basket too. I love when you ask the price for something that you really really want, and you don't know if they're going to give you a crazy high price, and then they say a quarter, and you start to dance with glee on the inside! I love that.

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  4. Your post looks like it came directly off the Magpie Ethel blog after a particularly good weekend! You really scored BIG!!!

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  5. This is my kinda sale!! Woohoo!

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  6. You hit the jackpot! What an awesome price on that basket.

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  7. That is a quarter very well spent on that christmas...I would have returned to my car with basket loaded with goodies and screamed with EXCITEMENT! Total score...If you are going to be getting rid of the gumdrop trees - when I did a post on them recently I had a woman who had been searching for one forever....still have her email if you are interested in parting with one.

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  8. LOVE the picnic basket! you are the queen of finding great deals!The junk box journey looks so fun... keep me in the loop if you do it again!

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