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.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

The Week in Junk: Fruity Finds

Friday was a rainy day.  It rained almost 4" and then it rained again all night.  Saturday was cold (in the 40's), drizzly and just a soggy, cold day. I usually stay in on those sort of days, but I had the car today and there was a HUGE SALE not far from me that sounded crazy good, so I headed out. The sale turned out not to be HUGE, but I did find some good stuff there and the people that were having it were super nice, so that was good.  (They did have a small child ringing a bell saying in a completely monotone voice "TOYS, SEVENTY FIVE CENTS. TOYS, SEVENTY FIVE CENTS" over and over again like a horror movie.  I offered to buy his bell, but no dice.)   After that I headed to my beloved Super Cheap Thrift to see what I could scrounge up.  The thing about the Super Cheap Thrift is that you would go once and think it was a big let down.  But, you have to look everywhere and at every single thing and you have to go often to find the good stuff.  I never find anything there worth a fortune, but I find a lot of 10-25¢ items I can turn into $5-8 items and some for even more. Plus the ladies that volunteer are SO nice and they love me because I bring my own tote bag, bag my own items and I always round up when I pay.  I know this because they tell me every.single.time.  

Today's finds:


Not a huge amount, but it's all vintage and it's all for sale.  Win-Win!

It was a fruit themed day, apparently.  Watermelon picnic basket, pear cookie jar, orange cup, apple cup and an orange juice set.  Pile of quilt blocks, lone vintage glass, Starbucks demitasse cup (not vintage, but a good seller) and an old reader.  


Cute little juice set.  Two of the cups have tiny chips, but I will price it mostly for the pitcher and throw in the cups.  Cute on a shelf or completely usable too.


The Barrett Collins cookie jar is missing it's lid, but I think it would be good for utensils or even with a plant or flowers in it.  It was only a quarter, so I had to rescue it!  Glasbak milkglass cups - cute enough, right?


Fisher Price xylophone that I am thinking about making into a magnet board of sorts (I mean, what mother actually wants their child to have an actual working xylophone???) and four Texasware lunch trays.  



I bought the big watermelon picnic basket for The Junk Ranch or maybe just the booth.


I got a nice pile of these fabulous old Friendship quilt blocks.  They are really big 18" squares.  They would make fabulous pillows.  I really need to learn to sew enough to pull off things like that.  


Dangit. Sideways.  Anyhoooo - look at that fabric!  TOO CUTE!


The ladies name is Mrs. BEAN.  Love it!

A few recent finds.  



I had passed on one of these at the big sale I went to with Lara a few weeks ago and I was sick I had to leave it (too pricey).  It had big wooden beads, which was cool.  This one has big plastic beads, but it's still pretty awesome.  I think it will fit in at the Junk Ranch with my flashcards and old readers.  



This painting is totally not my color theme, but I for some reason, I really like it.  I love Fall, so maybe that is it.  I seem to be squirreling away simple paintings for the Junk Ranch.  Everyone likes that cabin, campy look and the farmhouse look, so I am trying to find paintings that would go in those themes.  


I already had the one on the right, so when I found the one on the left for 66¢, I had to have it.  I was hoping I could find more in different colors.  But, a little research told me that it is Shawnee, which was nice to find out and that they only made them in yellow.  So, I guess if more find me, I will have a field of yellow tulips!



Last Saturday I only found one yard sale since it was Easter weekend.  When I pulled up at nearly 1:00 in the afternoon, I was surprised to see this old mail sorter sitting in the driveway.  I was less than a block away from where all the flea markets are and the vendors are usually out looking for things like this for their shops.  I figured it was going to be super pricey since it was still there, but it was only $20.00!  I can't decide it I will sell it as it, paint it and add numbers and sell it for more, keep it and use it at the Junk Ranch for display (it weighs a TON though) or use it in the booth for display so it will still me "mine" but it will be put to use.  I'm far to lazy to paint things, so I am leaning towards the display ideas. I don't have room for it, but I might someday if I ever get my office to be an adorable sweet oasis full of vintage craft supplies and my vintage dollhouses instead of the total junk filled crapfest it is currently.  *cough*

I hope yard sales are popping up in your neck of the woods.  The cold weather today really put a damper on it.  But, maybe next week will be stellar.  You just never know!

13 comments:

  1. That kid with the bell is still making me laugh. And laugh and laugh. Parents I am sure have tuned it out. As you know, I still vote paint and sell on those awesome sorter shelves... props for a show should not be beyond one person to move. And lastly... a junk oasis sounds like the stuff of dreams. Reality is my garage...ah well.

    Chanelle

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    1. The family thought he was "adorable" and being an "entrepreneur". I thought he was being "an annoying little butthead". As you know, I set up like a store front, so I often haul things for display. Still an option. But who knows.

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  2. Went out for a bit yesterday in the cold and drizzle, only spent $12 and not much to speak of. Went to one sale for a Montessori school and a guy was going around raising prices on the stuff the ladies already had priced. He was pulling stickers off as you were looking at an item and replacing with what HE thought it should be. Jeans $15 and some totes of crafty decor I was considering at $4 each for school, he quickly put $15 each on them. I would have bought several for $4 each but left with nothing due to his shenanigans.

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    1. Tacky, tacky, tacky. Prices seem to be getting pricier lately. But changing them while there's shoppers isn't cool.

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Where did your post go???? I wanted to respond!!!! I like your posts!

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  4. The guy changing prices might have had an awful lot leftover at the end of the sale! We were going to several neighborhood sales but the weather changed our minds for us. We did get to one sale but the guy having it called my husband because he had a pachinko machine he was trying to sell. He wanted $150, but it was worth the $50 we paid for it. But that's all we found.

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  5. Sorry – I was signed in as Rie and just to be consistent, I wanted to sign in as I usually do - Ree (I turned to phonetic spelling because people would call me Rye when we met in person LOL). Anyhoo – I had so much to say and got distracted and forgot to post again.

    Grrr - people overestimate how cute their kids are. I was at one where they had a lemonade stand and were YELLING over and over: lemonade 25 cents! Yeah it's cute that your kids want to join in the action but do you really want to annoy and drive your buyers away instead of making them linger to buy. Gheeze.

    I love those vintage xylophones. I have a few that I thought I would make into wind chimes but of course never have. I bought a cookie jar without a lid too - I love it - it's a McCoy owl. I, too, fancied that it would be a nice place to put kitchen utensils.

    And that sorter!!! I live for stuff like that - printer trays, cubby anything, etc. I would definitely put it in my booth for display with a ginormous price tag so it won't sell. By the time you get your craft room together, you can reclaim it from your booth. If it has sold, you will have gotten enough so you won't feel bad. Well, that would be my justification anyway.

    The buying selling season is off to a good start for you!

    This week, I met two older brothers set up at a church flea market. Their mother, who was a dealer, passed away and they were selling off her collection of vintage and antiques. They said this was only the tip of the iceberg - the house was bulging (as I was, excuse me, salivating – is that terrible!?). Almost everything they were selling was $1 and $2, except for the Griswold cast iron pans, which were only $5! Of course I should have bought the five pans that were still there but they only took cash and I only brought $40 with me and I wasn’t halfway through all the tables. They had a box chock full of flatware that I was drooling over. I asked how much for the whole box and “Jim” said $120. It was probably worth it but not to me, that day. I bought a few things (two cake stands for $1 each! plus other glass pieces) and told him I loved Pyrex and did he think he had any and here’s my cell #. Well he texted me the next day (Sunday) and said he looked through some boxes and found 22(!!!) pieces and would I like to come and look and please don’t mind his appearance. He didn’t know how to take a picture and send it via text so I said I’d be there in 20 minutes, did he want some coffee and donuts and please don’t mind my appearance! He had given me a business card the previous day and just in case he was a serial killer, I wrote Vintage Pyrex on the back of it and left it conspicuously on my desk so it would be a clue to the mystery of Where is Ree? in case he was and my stun gun didn't work. Well he is just a sweetheart. He had lots of different colors and patterns and some favorites of mine – a large Cinderella butter pint turquoise, several gooseberry pink bowls, and bright yellow and orange bowls. I couldn’t leave any of it behind. I asked how much he wanted and he said you tell me – I’m sure anything you offer would be fine, so be good to yourself (isn’t that sweet!). I didn’t know where his head was on price so I insisted he throw out a price. He said how about $60 – around $3 a piece? To any Pyrex lover that is a steal but I just automatically countered with $50 and he said that’s fine. I’m still high and I think this high will last another week. He showed me TONS of flatware in wooden boxes and said he had lots of loose pieces. It was too much for me to think about! So I said thanks for the Pyrex and I would see him and his brother later. They are going to have a large yard sale in May. He knows to text me if he comes across more Pyrex. So sorry for the long comment and I know you’re not crazy about Pyrex but you understand when you find something you love, you have to tell SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS the feeling! So thanks for listening : ) PS – I would not be offended if you delete my comments for being too long.

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    1. I wondered where this new "Rie" commenter had come from - although the comments had YOUR ring to them, so I thought maybe it was you and I had just lost my mind. Either could be true, trust me.

      it is true that I am not a Pyrex collector - mostly because I don't have the time or money to fall down that rabbit hole! I think the bowl sets are gorgeous and I think that it is a fun collection for people to collect. Much more specific than my collections of "all the cute stuff" and "any and all vintage Christmas". I'm thrilled that you were able to get all that good Pyrex for yourself and that the guy was nice and wasn't a serial killer! Most importantly - did he want a doughnut????? :)

      Your plan for that mail sorter sounds like just what I was thinking. Use it in he booth and then bring it home when I am ready for it.

      I'll never delete your comments for being too long or too short. I LOVE THEM!!!!!! And, I look forward to them!

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    2. Aww you are just too sweet Boo! And LOL - he said thanks but no thanks - he was up at 5:00 AM and already had his coffee and breakfast. Darn - because I wanted that donut! So I didn't indulge that morning. I made up for it that night and had a big ole slab of cheese danish : (

      Oh and I love Starbucks mugs although I have yet to find an ornament! It's funny because I think if you buy them at all, you kinda get a feeling for them and can pick them out in a crowd of mugs.

      Still drooling over that mail sorter . . .

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  6. Love your finds. I have one of the Shawnee tulip vases like yours.

    xo Dianne

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  7. Fun finds, even in the rain! Too cold and rainy her for any sales yet. :-(

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