We think we have finally arrived at full-on garage sale season. Oh, Happy Day! We are so easy to please. Last week, we had just enough sales to keep us going along with a quick trip to Goodwill. It was a perfect day, only slightly spoiled by knowing I had to go work the Summer Intern’s school fundraiser that evening. Actually, the morning is what got me through the night!
First up, we know you love seeing flowers, and we wouldn’t want to disappoint. Just try and imagine the scent wafting from these beauties:
The French lilacs are in full flower around here. Just yummy. Even the hail that hit the town sporadically Saturday couldn’t dent these hardy specimens.
OK, on to the sales. We have pointed out in times past that we are inherently cheap. It’s not that we won’t spend money when it is necessary, but we are so much happier with a bargain. Things like this offend us:
The seriously tacky and outdated couch art priced at $35? We know it’s vintage, but slap a $5 price tag on it, and hope someone takes it for the frame.
The prices at this sale were all over the place. Deb did pick up a couple of fun things and they offered her a free Christmas item with her purchase. She passed on this:
Not that we didn’t get a good chuckle out of the macaroni angels. At first glance we didn’t even realize that they were made of pasta. Someone did a pretty good job. Too bad they were broken up a bit; that is the danger of food for ornaments. We still like the pasta angels more than these:
You know we are Barbie Collectors from waaaay back, but neither of us has EVER succumbed to the Ribbon Candy Monstrosity and her friend. We are amazed at the number of times the Christmas dolls show up at sales with obscene price tags on them, and huge signs pointing out the “collector Barbies” Give ’em to your five year old and let them have at them. Just pass us those vintage bubblecut dolls for a buck. (Don’t laugh, I have done it more than once!)
We spotted this little fellow at the same sale:
Go ahead and chuckle, we know you want to. This may be one of the best “use of shells” ever. Too bad there is not an award for that. Maybe we should come up with one. We are even going to give this a passing grade as a souvenir. If you tucked him into a tiny corner of your suitcase, and plopped him on the fridge when you got home, he would make you smile and remember the beach. A+ all around.
We stopped at a series of sales in an area of small retirement condos. Frequently, these are good foraging places for jewelry and vintage stuff that is the spice of life for us. I did pick up an awesome handbag here (see our Facebook post this past Thursday for a photo of it), and we each found a couple of small fabric pieces that came home to reside in our stashes. You really didn’t think we would get around to using them, did you? But … we hit the mother lode for blog fodder.
Where to start?
I don’t know what is worse: the frolicking manatees, the god-awful lamp, or the table it is resting on. The really scary thing? The table was already sold! Now if the first photo were not enough, here we have another offering from the same sale:
The ONLY thing we will allow for is the gemstone bonsai tree. These amuse us, and one tastefully placed in the decor is OK. The mind boggles at the lamps. What sort of shade could conceivably compete with the gilded belles of the ball? And were two of them really necessary? I like cats, and that cat sculpture sort of creeps me out. Those feet make you wonder if there is really a hobbit in disguise under there. Now just imagine all of these items in the same house. Must … Not … Think … Of … It. Argh ………….. Wonder what she replaced them with? Maybe we shouldn’t think about that either.
If I had a table and this lamp weren’t priced higher than I like, I might have succumbed:
I like twisty roots, just ask my family. The summer intern once had to share a back seat with a particularly fine specimen all the way home from a vacation. I even have a couple of large floor lamps made from the same. I like this one, and the shade is just kitschy enough to appeal to me. Alas, for lack of room and being too cheap to pay $20.
At least we weren’t toting around all this:
We thought we had a shopping problem. You would not believe to what lengths we go to take these photos surreptitiously. So far, we have never been confronted by an angry shopper demanding to know what we are doing.
A couple of weeks ago, we showed you something we had dug out of the $1.99 jewelry pile at the thrift. We just thought we would give you a taste of just how bad it can get:
I only have one hand on this mess. We are pretty sure every week, that there is nothing in there we want that badly, and woe betide you if there is. It will take you till next year to release it from the spaghetti mess.
We will be attending a convention this summer, and for one of the meals, we are supposed to dress like a Faberge egg. (Don’t ask me why.) So, we have been keeping an eagle eye out for the appropriate gear. We think we found the perfect thing, but it didn’t fit either of us, as it was an extra small, which we are not:
Seriously, look closely, can you see the hand of a master goldsmith?
Oh well, the hunt continues. I have a backup contingency plan, but it isn’t as perfect as the jacket.
I thought I would leave you with a fun item:
I adored the cat suit graphics on this fun case. I couldn’t think of any earthly use I could put it to, or I would have bought it. Please don’t come up with a really good one, and make me kick myself for not buying it. I showed such restraint as it is.
Happy Friday everyone, may all your garage sale goodies be bargains. Don’t forget to subscribe to our posts, or our Facebook page, or both! Till next week.
Second Hand Roses 