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.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

An Estate Sale Tale

For the last two weekends there has been an Estate Sale in Fayetteville.  It was advertised as basement, attic, two floors and a garage full of 60 years worth of stuff.  I didn't go the first weekend because, for the most part, Estate Sales around here are pricey and out of my league as far as having antiques and upscale items.  I am always on the prowl for vintage and holiday and I have never had a lot of luck finding those things at the Estate Sales I have been to - so I just don't go to them much at all.  But, Lara went the first weekend and told me that it was truly a house full and it was cheap.  Really cheap.  They had the sale again this weekend, but I couldn't go Saturday because of the Bazaar.  Lara stppped by there on the way and scored a plethora of AMAZING tablecloths for a dollar or two each.  Good for her!  Sadness for me.  :)  

So, short story long, after the big Bazaar Bomb, I was feeling sorry for myself and needed to go on a drinking binge.  Since I don't actually drink - I needed the next best thing - JUNK FIX!  So, I got up and left the house alone - no husband, no Bean.  Just ME!  This doesn't happen often, believe me.  I was the first one there, so I got to look around at my leisure.  I went into the basement first, which wasn't really a true basement - it was under the first floor.  It had two big rooms and the were full of tings.  I was surprised at the volume of stuff the had left after two full weekends of selling things.  Even though there was so much stuff - every single item had been priced.  I don't know how they had time to do that - I really don't.  The first few things I picked up were priced 5¢ to 25¢, so I knew I was in for a fun afternoon.  The best part was when I took out my first bag to pay and take it to the car - it was HALF OFF DAY.  Woo hoo!
Sign of a day well spent!  And, half off that to boot!

I looked in the basement, then the garage, the utility room, inside the house and back through each area two more times.  I kept filling up my bags and parking them by the door.  I love it when I hear people say - "This is my pile." "Pile" is a very good word in the world of junking, isn't it?

I got a lot of smalls - but that is what I tend to find.  Things to sell, things to keep.  A little bit of both.  

I found one of these old wooden pink hangers on the floor and they gave it to me.  Then I found another hanging in a closet.  Words cannot tell you how happy these silly PINK hangers make me.  

While I was looking for wooden hangers, I came across this heavy duty metal hanger - also in PINK.  It reminds me of those old aluminum tumblers.  The wire is about four times as thick as an average hanger.  It's kind of spectacular.  *A note of interest here:  I loathe hangers.  I know if I ever go to hell or prison that it will be my job to wrangle the messes of hangers.  Oh, how I hate hangers!

 Check out this redneck photo.  The dumb kid next door decided it would be fun to kick down half the pickets off the fence this weekend.  Now we have a straight on view of the neighbors house that is in the midist of a renovation.  Plus, everyone can see into our backyard which I HATE.  I don't want them seeing all my motel chairs and gliders.  I'm afraid they will go missing!
Nice, right?  Dumb kid.  I want to complain, but it isn't our fence.  But, sheesh, it looks terrible!

Okay, on to the JUNK!

 A toy dish drainer, giant old cigar box, three tiny gingham dish soap aprons and three neat old Lustreware Silverware trays.
 An ashtray from the local bowling alley advertising CAKE, some tiny metal bowls, an old floating duck, a chicken from a FP farm, some old birthday candle holders, a set of tiny vases that attach to a taper candle, a neat old hook and a wee purple mouse.  
A bit of research and I find that this is a Liddle Kiddle  - it's on ebay for $50.00 right now.  I paid a nickle.  Actually, I think I paid half of a nickle.  


A good old tablecloth, a bunch of Salt and Pepper shakers and a set of rainbow drip candles.

A bunch of old dolls that ARE NOT SCARY, some small pottery pieces and a tiny "Never hit a man when he's down...KICK HIM" plaque.

More non scary dolls, a vintage bunny and some old office supplies.  

I scrounged up a bunch of vintage things and salvaged bits of Christmas off of them to fill up this small box - a spun head, tiny Shiny Brites, a silver sleigh, a cool box of Angel Chime candles and a chime too.

Can you see that pie box?  It has the PI sign on it.  That was the last thing I picked up.  Moments before that someone walked up to me and said ARE YOU STILL HERE?  Lara had found me two hours after I texted her to get there quick!  I was happy to find a watermelon potholder for my collection, some fun old tins and some sweet old fabric potholders.  

Fun old tins, vintage playing cards, an old SpiroTot game, beads and gardening tools.  

Vintage Dennison Crepe paper, an old Christmas candy tin (I've been wanting one of these) and a Hallmark Greeting Card holder.  

Gardening tools for my collection.  Seed beads in tubes.  
Know anyone named Doris?  Me neither.  

Lara and I just had a discussion about these dish soap aprons on Saturday and then I found all these.  In gingham.  Mini gingham aprons.  It was meant to be - 25¢ for all three.

I loved these old marbled plastics from the 1950's. The cutlery trays were all around the house with sets of cutlery in them.  I asked if I could buy them and they said "yes, for a quarter."  So, I rounded them all up.  I left behind a red marbled one that had a crack, and now I am sort of regretting that.

 There was a big box of doll clothes marked 5¢ each.  I didn't want to take the time to look through it, so I just took it all up front.  They charged me a dollar for it all.  There is a lot of cuteness in there.  I'm still washing and sorting it.  
I bought a baby doll just to rescue this adorable dress.  Now that poor naked baby is sitting in the car waiting to go to Goodwill.  I am such an awful person.


Other purchases of note:  Two cases of old Knox, Hazel Atlas and Ball Mason Jars.  The bottom box is actually older than the jars that were in it, but the jars are old too.  They have the screw on lids, ot the glass lids like on the box.  I loved the boxes as much as the jars!  I am saving some, taking some to booth and making a few into snow globes for the booth.  

 I know I went into too much detail about all that little stuff.  But, I had SO much fun just poking around finding things and then getting them so cheap!  It's such fun to find something like the Liddle Kiddle and discover it's worth way much more than you paid for it.  I haven't done that in a very long time.  Beats drinking!

15 comments:

  1. You found some great stuff at super prices! I love hearing about the smalls - it's what I tend to gravitate to also. Finding the liddle kiddle was super. Glad you went and had a good time!

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  2. Smalls are my favorite things to find at estate sales. You found some awesome stuff but all I can think about is what must have been there when the sale started!!

    My sister bought that exact same Santa cowboy tin while we were together last weekend. Pretty random!

    ~Erica

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  3. You deserved that haul after the sale you had. We have the tootsie roll bank we use it for pennies. Love the table cloth.
    Cathy

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  4. Great haul-- nice "pick-me-up!" Liddle Kiddle and a Flatsy??? I'm in Heaven! And my husband has an Aunt Doris.

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  5. Oh my gosh, I would probably be there STILL. Great finds!

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  6. Much more fun then drinking and more profitable too! Love it all and oh my I would have joined you in the dig! If you see any fun 'Tiger' items (smalls) in you searches let me know, I'm always looking for new things for the Christmas Tiger tree! Flash cards, tigger's, etc!
    hugs,
    Linda

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  7. Glad you could loose yourself in a sale like this and without a drink in hand! I could spend a couple hours digging like you..mindless fun and just adding to my pile. Glad you got the fix you needed and so much left after the sale already going on!

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  8. Anonymous5:44 PM

    Sure makes up for the Bazaar! What a haul. My mother recently said that she can't believe how long I take to shop in a thrift shop (one hour or less). She'd be shocked to go with my friends-they take two or three hours!

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  9. Oh I'm so happy for you! Aren't those kind of days the most fun? I love that dolly dress the most I think!
    Oh...and that Christmas candy tin/pail. That same one was at the last sale I went to, but it was waaay under a table in the basement. And I would have had to crawl on my hands and knees in nasty stuff to get it. Plus with my R.A, I never know if I will be able to get back up! lol So I had to leave it there. Booo! Happy you got it though!
    Erica :)

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  10. You can suss out the good stuff at a sale like nobody else. I couldn't believe that that was my third trip through that estate sale and you found stuff I hadn't even seen!

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  12. Pretty sure that non-scary doll in the blue plaid dress is an American Character Betsy McCall doll. If I'm right, that's quite a find!

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  13. I wouldn't be so sure about the dolls, if it were me. I think that the Liddle Kiddle is the ringleader.

    I love that pic of the price tags! You ought to consider making note cards or something with it to sell at your next bazaar or barn sale.

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  14. What a sale! I'd have passed on that Liddle Kiddle because it's scary-looking - I had no idea!

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  15. What a great haul! I love thrifting, garage and estate sales. It's the thrill of the hunt.

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