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.

Friday, August 03, 2012

Thrift Therapy

Thursday afternoon I decided I needed some Thrift Therapy.  Too many days of being worried, scared and sad.  Too many days of thinking about money and expenses - car down payment, sales tax (nearly $1500.00!), my citation fine :( and many other high dollar tickets had me having sticker shock.  I needed to see some prices like 25¢ and 50¢ - not $22,000.00!!!!  

Our Goodwill usually has mostly newer things with a smattering of vintage items occasionally.  Lucky for me, I can smell vintage a mile away so if there is anything in there - I will find it.  And, I did!

 I found these great old vintage Japanese dolls.  I think it is a wedding couple, but I can't be sure.  They have the same face, but I'm pretty sure the one in the hat is supposed to be a man.  They are about 15" tall, so they are substantial.  Not sure if they will go to the booth or ebay.  Probably ebay.
This old paper mache Santa has been there about a month.  Well, exactly a month in fact because he finally hit the 50% off BLUE ticket week.  He was $5.00 and I had been on the fence about him.  He is old and made of paper mache.  
His face is a bit, well not the jolliest, but not too bad either.  I decided that at $2.50 he was worth bringing home.  Besides, next week, if he hadn't sold, he would be headed to the Blue Hanger Bins in Little Rock and I would be out of luck.  So, he is with me now.  I'll most likely put him in the booth at Christmas time.  

 I found this great old box of pencils dated 1936.  It must be from an old store.  
 Inside the big box there are six smaller sized boxes.  
 And inside those boxes there are twelve un-sharpened drawing pencils.  I did a little research and old pencils sell well.  Like a couple of hundred dollars good.  Not sure about these, but what the heck, I'll give them a try.
I spotted a Ziploc baggie full of colored shiny things in the craft supplies.  It was only $1.00 and I was in a hurry, so I just grabbed it.  I wasn't sure what it was, but it looked like I could use it in my wreaths or something.  

 When I got home and opened it, I saw MERCURY GLASS BEADS.  Oh my!  And vintage tinsel.  Oh my again!  Gold tinsel with gold beads!
 Red tinsel with gold beads!
 Silver tinsel with gold beads!
 Turquoise tinsel with gold beads!
 A bevy of tinsel and mercury glass beads.  Twenty seven ornaments in all.  Sigh.  
Such a happy find!


And, as I was walking to the check out, I spotted this fat round olive wood ball full of horderves forks.  I have a thing for these little forks.  I have a drawer full of them.  Do I ever use them.  Uh, no.  Does that stop me from buying them?  Uh, no.  This set might actually make it to ebay though.  To me it is midcentury modern, but not completely sure.  I'll let the bidders decide.

I'm off to map out my route tomorrow.  It's still way too hot to be out, but I need some JUNK.  Good luck to you and good luck to me!

6 comments:

  1. Well I am glad you went shopping! I love that olive pick thingy. I would agree mid century modern. Great find to my eye. The Santa is kind interesting and those sparkly things...yippee! Hugs, Linda

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  2. Those tinsel ornament thingies are SO cool! Never seen anything like them. They remind me of fireworks!

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  3. I was just about to say exactly what Heidi said - fireworks! I've found a few of them but never with the mercury glass ... they're great!

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  4. I. can. not. believe. the things. you find. in your little town!!

    Those tinsel things are wonderful and love the olive picks and holder. Should be fun to watch when you put that on Ebay!

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  5. Hello..I don't think I have commented before although I have been reading your blog for quite a while now. I am Irish but live in Japan and those lovely dolls look Korean to me. Love the treasures you take so much pleasure in finding.
    Denise in Osaka

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  6. The Santa's face reminds me of Sebastian Cabot's face when he did Miracle on 34th Street.

    What wonderful finds!!

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