The Week in Junk - 5/7/12

This week was responsible for the very best Estate Sale trip ever.  And, not for the JUNK!  But for the experience!  Don't get me wrong - the junk was good too. 

The boys wanted to go see The Avengers.  I did not want to go see The Avengers.  So, I dropped them off and headed off for a day of junking ALL BY MYSELF.  Since I was in "the big city" I looked on Criagslist and found an Estate Sale close to the theater.  Now, mind you, I never go to sales in the big town - I prefer the sleepy little towns with older folks, and I rarely EVER go to Estate sales.  So, I get there and I walk in and I see a fellow junker (that I have known even before I was a junker) helping set up merchandise.  We visited for a while and then I went into the first room to start looking. 

The first item I picked up was a bag full of vintage birthday candle boxes.  Even though I do collect them, I rarley ever find them at sales, so that was rare too.  When I picked them up - the lady sitting behind the table at the sale noticed me picking them up and said, "HEY! Are you that monkeybox blog lady??"  I was completely taken aback by that!  I think I just stared at her for the longest time before I said, "Yeeeeees?"   I have never been recognized.  It was a Mother-Daughter team putting on the sale and they both read my blog and they were excited I was there.  No one is ever excited that I am anywhere - including in my own house!  :D I think most of my blog readers are other places, not locally.  And, I rarely ever put my photo on here since I am the Official Stacks Family Photographer.  So, I couldn't figure out how they knew who I was.  Turns out, we have a mutual friend blogger, Lara, who they know in real life and I only know in blog land.   They read her blog and found me through hers and now they read my blog.  It was all very surreal and very FUN!!!!!!  They actually said they had thought of me when they put the candles out earlier in the week.  It was kismet!  So, ladies - thank you for making my day!  :)  And, invite me to the next sale, okay????

In addition to the candles, I got this sweet little child's retro lawn chair.  I have a couple of these already, so I really should sell it.  But, will I?  Probably not.  It is adorable.

They gave me all these great old jars for FREE.  Love old heavy glass jars for storage.  They had a huge gallon peanut butter jar for sale.  I've never seen a gallon of peanut butter.  I should have bought it....

I've always wanted one of these old stockings, so that wish is fulfilled.  

And this completely adorable vintage apron.  It was priced more than I ever pay for an apron - not that it wasn't worth it - not at all, not at all - it's just that I am just really, really, really cheap!  :)  But my new friends made me a deal on my purchases and I only ended up spending $1.00 more that the apron was priced for the chair, birthday candles, a "C" tie-tack, the jars, a yardstick and the apron.  Thanks again!  

 The apron even came with a matching potholder.  I cannot imagine EVER using such an adorable thing!  

On to more junk from other places.  Just so you don't all think I have the golden touch - I do screw up.  Point in case - at the thrift store, I found this huge Doll house kit from Hobby Lobby.  I even went to Hobby Lobby after I bought it to check the price and it was $189.00.  I paid $8.00 and had plans to snap that bad boy together and put it out in the booth for big money.  When I got it home and opened the box - Lord help me- I don't have the skills to finish that thing.  There aren't any instructions and it is partially put together but there are still about a million pieces in the box.  I'm going to put in on Craigslist and see if some handyman Grandpa that knows how to do these things wants it.  Otherwise - back to Goodwill it goes.  Ouch.

Here's another one.  I found this metal contraption at a sale on Saturday.  It pulls out and extends and then smushes back up - I thought I could put it across the top of my booth to hang aprons from or to smush it up and use it like an accordion file holder.   I had all sorts of plans for it.  After I paid the $1.00 the man handed it back to me, looked up at me and asked...."Do you have an RV?"  What a weird random question!  "Uhm...no?" I replied.  "Uhm...why?"  "'I just figured you must have an RV since you bought that SEWER HOSE support."  OH MY GOD!  I BOUGHT A poop pipe holder.  ACK.  I could not see past what it was, so I put it on the curb for FREE.  I could puke thinking about it.  :p

Okay, so now that I have shared my floparoo's, let's get back to the GOOD JUNK!

I found this little Italian play set at the thrift.  It comes in a box like a puzzle and all the houses, cars and trees come out to make a little city.  There are people on the back of each building so you can see what sort of house or business it is - kids praying at church, kids in the bathtub at home, etc.  It reminds me of the German village I put out at Christmas.

Another (yes another) very old handmade basket, pile of old sparkly earrings, miniature flag in a presentation case, heavy as heck Santa candle, miniature trumpet in a case, a vintage "Mother" pin and a sweet doll quilt.  

This fun old 1970's cork board set me back 50¢.  I know it will sell quickly at the booth.

I don't like to buy or sell new things.  But, I found forty of these brand new Wee Village Bears that are actually quite sweet.  They are cute bears in themselves plus they are dressed up as pigs, frogs, sharks, flowers, peas, etc.  They are pretty cute.  I bought them from a going out of business sale at a Florist.  They were priced $12.99 each and I got them for 25¢ each.  I'm pricing them at $3.00 each and throwing the whole lot in the booth.

One last thing - an my favorite find of the whole week.  Make that the whole month.  Maybe the whole year.

I found this very tiny and very old basket at the Super Cheap Thrift for 25¢.  It is handmade and signed.  I suspect it is well over 100 years old.  If not maybe even 125 years old.  

How it lasted all these years only to be donated to the thrift is beyond me.  And, the fact that it actually got price and put out and I was lucky enough to spot it, is also beyond me.  I think it is probably very valuable.  Like a couple of hundred dollars valuable.  But, I'm keeping it.  It is a little work of art. 

What did you find this week?   Good junk or floparoo's?