Beautiful Junky Summer

What seems like ages ago now (about three weeks ago), my youngest daughter and I took to the road in my friends' Lynette and Paul's SUV crammed with furniture to take to my older daughter, Cally, in Alabama. Of course, I was on the hunt for treasures like these as well as the junk I so love.

The Mod Squad

Mod: popular, fashionable, modern - Yep. This fits the bill.

I've had my eyes peeled for one of these for a very long time. I passed up a cute blue one at a garage sale about a year ago because the woman was only willing to go down to $25.00. Being uber-cheap, that was too much for me. I hadn't seen another since...

...until last Saturday. 

Ambiance is in The Eye of the Beholder

Last week flew by in a flutter of many things, not the least of which included junk.

 From the FREE to the pretty darn cheap, my life this week came with a heavy dose of grit, grime and things being crammed (and sometimes not - when they didn't fit) into the back seat of my car. The casters are now on the cable spool I found in the trash last week, and it's serving as an outdoor side table. At least something got done.

Bringing Thrifty Back

I'm cheap. There, I said it.


Cheap has a certain beauty, no? This is what you get to see if you get up and get moving on a Saturday morning. Caught this beautiful sunrise as I left one of the sales I stopped at on my one-hour-garage-sale-tour-of-the-week.

Cracks, Couches and Sorter Siblings

It suddenly seemed imperative that I begin rearranging my dining room shelves last Sunday morning before church. Why I chose that moment to discover it was high time to change out all the books for the colorful blue and green plates I've found so cheaply, I have no idea, but begin I did and what a mess.

This is one of the few shots I could find that shows a hint of the general idea of how the shelves looked laden with books. I forgot to take a picture before I started rearranging.

Competitive Thrift

I told you I was competitive, and it has its drawbacks. My desire to win comes out when shopping the curb, a yard sale or Goodwill. Sometimes I compete with myself and sometimes I pit myself against the seller, but add another shopper to the equation (if I even suspect they might want what I want) and the will to win kicks into overdrive.

Fun Finds on the Fly

I want nothing.

I need nothing.

I have room for NOTHING! (My son just arrived home from California and told me it seemed crowded in here (or did he say cluttered). Number one: He doesn't know clutter, and number 2, Eh, hem! I beg your pardon! This is the random treasure of the world carefully stacked, arranged, or otherwise crammed into place for maximum visual effect. He also had questions about the giant pickle. Who doesn't.



Imagine the nerve of him not seeing the junky/beautiful splendor of it all. Apparently I have some work to do on that front. But if he would hurry up and get a place here, I'd be able to unload all the excess onto him. I'm waiting! I got most of it for HIM, after all.

Aqua Blue and Party Pink

The time has come for the "after" shot of my tall brown chest of drawers (and the little tray I bought last week), the painting endeavor whereby I threw out my back while standing in front of said chest holding one of the drawers out to my right. That's all it took. The back is much better, I'm no longer leaning like the tower of Pisa, but my back is only happy with constant movement or when lying down. I thought I was healed but this morning, it is still sort of calling the shots.

Brown Chest of Drawers Turned Blue

Now, I didn't despise this chest being brown. I stay on good terms with my furniture whenever possible. There was no animosity toward its dreariness. Its rustic look had a certain charm. However, I was in a mood and tired of the brown wood with the terra cotta floors. And mind you, there is also an Ethan Allen desk of a similar color wood to the left just outside of the picture. There was enough of that golden/orangey tone going on, so my other list of paint to-do's got tossed and paint gave this a similar look to the little chest in my kitchen that I also painted.

Cheap and Free

I never got around to presenting all the goods I came home with for the past couple of weeks as I went hunting for junk. Take a look at what I snagged a couple of Saturdays ago. Forgive the poor image quality on this first shot. I've been trying to resize photos to fit more into the space I have left on my picasaweb account and the quality got sacrificed on this one, so it's coming to you in mini format.

The guy I got the green iron plant stand from said it was from the 20's or 30's. It can stand on either end and you can hang plants off each prong and place one in the middle.

It's Tough Out There!

The competition is getting fierce out there, and there is no place for "the indecisive" on the streets of my town.

Seeing as I have no place to put anything right now and way too many things to deal with, I really didn't need to be out scouring the streets last Wednesday night and Thursday morning (several times). It would make a lot of sense NOT to take to the hunt right now since I'm trying to finish other things up and clear things out.

But I did. Of course I did. Where for art thou, sense and reason?

Well, I just hate the thought of missing out on something fantastic just because there is junk aplenty lining the walls of my home already. Surely I would miss something amazing if I didn't go. Plus I figured I can always trade out good junk for bad; I could just look for small things and ignore the big...right?

If it's free, it's for me!

Outrunning the Trash Truck

It was Thursday morning, almost 9:00 a.m. Why hadn't I made an early morning trash run? I was already so busy I had completely forgotten what day it was.

I took off running (actually driving) and made time, aiming for the side of town where the trash trucks may not yet have plundered MY potential treasure trove.

I was in luck. The streets were laden with fresh rejects awaiting a picker's eye to spot and rescue them.

Unfortunately my back seat couldn't hold all I wanted to add to my stockpile, so I had to hightail it home after loading up the first time. I took armfuls of new, unfinished wood from the underside of a bunkbed as well as the head boards, a basket with handles, a tray, some weathered fence posts...





 ...the drawers for a dresser, which was unfortunately no where to be seen itself.

Then my eyes landed on this wonderful old pedestal phone table which was missing its drawer. No matter, I thought, it has cool hardware and maybe I could figure out something to do about the drawer space. At the last second, I happened to spot a couple of little wood drawers over in a bin, snagged them, thinking they would make cool trays or something, and ran it all home so I could clear out the car and head back to that same pile for the shabby chair with the curvy legs that needed me. Turned out that the two little drawers belonged to the phone table. Glad I picked them up!

The trash truck was closing in, so I had to rush. There was also a great 9 drawer, late 60's early 70's dresser about 4 apartments down from the pile I was plundering, and it was standing on it's head hoping I would take notice and stop to perform a sort of 911 rescue and recovery on it. Well, believe me, I noticed, and I really wanted to help it out, unfortunately there was no way to get that sweet thing in the car. It was long, lean and drawer-rich, with enough detail to have some real fun with. It would have been a dream to redo, but alas, my car's backseat has its limits.

Sometimes a girl could use a second set of hands to help with the heavy lifting. Mainly I just want someone along to share in the shame when the hefty load won't fit after struggling with it, because an audience tends to show up, watching with amusement, intrigue and that quizzical look that says they are trying to comprehend what exactly I would want that for and what kind of desperation I must be in to dig through other people's garbage piles. When you have to send it back to the curb to await the trash men, it's a real bummer, an epic fail...sheer shame. I prefer to have someone with me at such moments to deflect all that. You feel a bit less visible if someone else is there to absorb some of the onlooker stares.

I should certainly have loved to have had that piece. I hate missing out on large old dressers! I'm having picker's remorse about it. It plagued me all day yesterday. Another one bites the dust. After all, it would have been free.

Distressed Donna's words about getting a truck still ring in my head weekly as the discards, shabby gems and timeworn classics lie unplucked from their resting places. I SHOULD start scounting the road for old trucks for sale. If we're gonna open a shop, I'm not going to be able to afford passing up fantastical free stuff just because my back seat is limited.

On another note, last I left you on Saturday, I had regretfully driven away from a French door that I was unable to get into my car. Well, I'm happy to report that I went back by while returning to a yard sale for these leaded glass sidelights...

...and the French door was still there! Note: Lynette said the sidelights were definitely worth the asking price, and that we should have them, so I hightailed it back and was able to get the woman (hesitantly) to go down on her price! Woohoo! Leaded glass and heavy wood, and they were under 7 feet and fit in my car, end to end. While they look pretty spectacular in the light of this photograph, the brown is just not cutting it and the intent is to paint them white. The green patina of the leading would look great with a distressed white finish. Meanwhile, Lynette was able to come to my rescue in regard to the French door, and we loaded that baby up and delivered it to her storehouse of goodies. I was happy to see she had a fantastic stash going of her own!

So aside from these roadside junkfest finds, we have had quite the busy time adding to our stockpile today. I headed out yesterday morning on an impromptu trip to check the curbside in a neighboring town. It was 8 a.m. and my goal was to be home by 8:30 so I could start right in working my projects for a full day of glorious results. Along the way, I encountered a wreck of a 3 drawer chest I couldn't fit in my car. I snagged the drawers (only two of them had hardware, but I loved it) and texted Lynette to see if she was going to be out and about. It was early. I sent the text and drove on. As I went, I started finding other "too big for the backseat" things, texting my finds to her as I went. Then I started to head home, stopping to pick up a really weathered (but über cool) chair that I had spotted the evening before but hadn't picked up at the time because I was in a rush. Luckily, I still had room for a chair.

It was National Empty Chair Day yesterday, so it worked out perfectly that I got this one. It sat out in the front yard all day.

Check out this glorious shabby detail:

But back to my story. Lynette called as I was heading home and she was on her way.

Hurray! Lynette to the rescue! We met up, and after she got the dresser and a pallet and unloaded them at my house, we took off to see what else awaited.

The three drawer chest dressed up in a gaudy outfit, yes, but we can fix that. 

Check out that leg!

It turned out we found quite a bit, and we loaded Lynette's car with tons of wood drawers, furniture legs, three clay pots, a yard stick. Then we spotted a huge, 2 column white shelving unit that would be perfect in our shop. However, there was no way it would fit in her car, so we drove on and spotted these amazing wood folding chairs.

We've never seen any like them (and of course I didn't get a shot of the detail, so you can't tell how cool they are - they have a delicate cutout design on the seat backs, and the chairs are padded). We were so excited. Then, we spotted an old boat, like a dingy, about 8 or 10 ft. long, kinda weathered. We had to drive on with remorse hanging over us because we couldn't fit it in.

As you can imagine, after acquiring all of this, there has been a lot of hauling, cleaning, sanding, and along the way, a few stops at places like Dunkin Donuts' drive through, a consignment shop and Goodwill. Needless to say I wasn't home by 8:30. Try 12:30. We scored the goods, though, and the loss of time only ramped up my work ethic.

Lynette and I each took charge of some of the finds. The good news was that I had two sweet college students who were off school and they offered their free time to work projects with me. I set them to work scraping the drawers of the three drawer chest. They sat out in the heat and got it done!

The layers of paint were elastic-like and peeled somewhat easily in places; it had to come off. That took a while. While they did that, I glued and clamped the phone table that was bowing and did the same to one of the dresser drawers. There weren't enough clamps, so I used a heavy metal pot filled with rocks and plants to assist me. Hey, whatever works!

Then I scraped and sanded the top of the dresser, sanded the drawers after the girls were done, picked up mushy avocados that had fallen from my tree, got stung by a wasp, and on and on. All in a day's work.

Time does not allow me to tell of the glories of the day before and the final touches that I'm pleased to say were put on the vanity I got a week ago. I also worked with the drawer fronts I salvaged and started another new project with plates that I got at Goodwill. There is fabric ready to go for another project, and all the while that was going on over the weekend, Casey was busy with some design work of her own in her bedroom. My fingers are crumpled from the scraping and sanding, the sewing and the painting and waxing. My back is crying out for rest.

I'll pick up there next time and show you the progress we've made.

For now, it's time to stop trying to outrun the trash man. I have to get back to the paying job.

I'll be sharing this at:

Thrifty Treasures @ Southern Hospitality
Nifty Thrifty Sunday @ Nifty Thrifty Things
Sunday Show Off @ Twigg Studios
Creative Things Thursday @ The Vintage Farmhouse
Cowgirl Up @ Cedar Hill Ranch
Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
Be Inspired @ Elizabeth & Co.

Longest Yard Sale Treasures

Part Three 

from our adventures at 

The World's Longest Yard Sale

Well kids, here it is...another day and I did say I would finally show you what I hunted down and haggled over (or not) as well as hauled home from Longest Yard Sale, didn't I? I was supposed to do that two days ago now, but honestly, when I said I would post my finds "tomorrow", I think I really meant the tomorrow that seemed a lot further away. The "next day" is almost always too soon to promise anything. I don't know what possesses me to do that. I do so hate being a slacker...and yet...

Anyway, as you will see, my takeaway was not hefty, but the items I got are each a treasure in their own right. You think I'd go crazy buying junk with all that laid out before me on Tabor Road in the Noccalula Falls area of AL, but as indicated previously, those rolling eyes kept me in line. Those eyes belong to my daughter who is in the accounting field, and she has a stellar sense of thrift. Those eyes are a powerful force too.

By the way, today we are celebrating her birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear CALLY!

Sending hugs and kisses from home.

xoxo

Now, in Cally's eyes, buying numerous inexpensive and unnecessary treasures is as foolish as purchasing overpriced things at a high end store. So I took great care not to overbuy just because something was cool, old or cheap compared to the store. I really do think that for my stellar restraint I deserve points or some sort of "good financial behavior credit" I can apply toward my next thrifty adventure, don't you?

So here is what I came home with:

An ammunition box I'm now using this to hold my fire wood and christmas tree stumps. I paid $8. I know, that's $3 over my limit, but he was asking $10 and I've never come across one around here before.

Love all the imprinting on it.

I had fun buying these goodies. 50 cents for each potato sack, $1 per headlight (I have a plan for them and they were on my list!), I paid 50 cents each for the black handled scissors and 25 cents for the fantastically rusty scissors.

The Chevrolet emblem I got for FREE comes with a story. 

I came upon an older man, who was probably in his 70's. He was tending to a table laden with the assorted car parts of the ages. It was just as beautifully junky as it could be, covered with random stuff in boxes overflowing with paper, hoses, automotive thingamajigs and doohickies and whatnot, displayed about like he had just gathered up the lifetime contents of his garage still in the dirty and oil stained boxes and dumped it all out there in a pile. Think "trash heap". I loved it. I had fun looking through it because it was car-related and I need some old car stuff for something I want to make my brother one day. The man struck up a conversation with me as I discovered and picked up a sweet Chevrolet emblem that was the old cursive look and made of metal, but he wanted $10 for it. That was not what I wanted to pay, even though I've never found one before and have only seen them online for about the same amount or more. 

He wanted to know what the heck I would want that for, so I tried to describe what I wanted to do. Maybe it made sense, maybe not. When I asked how much, he said he needed $10 for it because it was old and they are hard to come by. I know they are and didn't begrudge him the price but it was too high for me and what I really want and need is an old metal Mustang emblem. I thanked him and looked around through the stuff a bit more. Not seeing anything else of interest, and knowing we had miles to go and things to see, I said so long and off I went. 

I finished looking around at what some of the other vendors had to offer and then ordered a hotdog at the food cart which took kind of a long time. As we waited we stood in front of a huge old fan they had set up to keep the customers somewhat cool; huge fan, meaning like 5 feet square. When we were done, Cally and I went to the car and were about to leave but I ran back across the expanse of grass to throw something away by the eating area. As I was coming up to it, across the shady dirt path to my left came the same man carrying this Chevrolet emblem. 

He held it out. It was plastic (and not cursive). I told him, "Aw, that's cool, but I really need the metal kind. I'm looking for an old one in cursive that's made of metal." He tapped it and said, "it IS metal!" "Naw, that's plastic," I laughed. (and after tapping it a couple more times as if to convince me and himself, he laughed too.) "...but I'm sure I could use it for something," I said. He smiled and handed it to me and told me I could have it. Awww... I thanked him kindly and told him how sweet that was, and as I was leaving, one of his old buddies joined the fray and questioned him, "Are you hittin' on her?" they chuckled and joined another older guy under a tree on the path to chew the fat and compare notes on the day while keeping tabs on their tables full of treasures and perhaps a few stories yet to come. I smiled to myself and off we headed to the next sale and the next story. 

And that, my friends is what it's all about.

2 Potato Sacks I only bought two of these because I wasn't sure the print on them would suit my needs. I have a chair seat (a step stool chair in my kitchen) that I want to recover with something along these lines as well as an ottoman and a bench that might be candidates for something similar. We'll see.

Longest yard sale goodness! 

Quick story about the cute little pail.

Another super personable older man was sitting in front of some sort of a weathered red wood building in the shade at a small table with a shotgun or a rifle lying across it (not sure, I wasn't really paying attention to that). In front and to the right of him was a huge old trailer, the flatbed of it was wood. There was some sort of antique plow or some such thing and a couple other items strewn around and remnants of whatever had been there lying on top of it, but not much left. I walked up and said hello and started looking around. The cute little pail was lying on the ground and I picked it up and turned to ask him how much he wanted and he said, "you better hurry and get that before them democrats come and tell you you can't have it cuz it's no good for ya." I laughed and said, "you're lucky they haven't shut down this whole sale yet." He laughed and told me he wanted a dollar for the pail. It was too cute to pass up. 

Then I picked up a pair of rusty scissors and we proceeded to haggle over the price. I wasn't going to pay more than a quarter and he was trying to get me to grasp the higher value he wanted to attribute to them, starting at a dollar and working his way down. We had a good natured financial tug-o-war about it. His friend came up and said "What are you doing!?""Give the girl the scissors! They aren't even worth a quarter!" 

So he accepted my quarter with a laugh and then as a man came up to ask about the shotgun (he wanted $300 for it), he told me how his daughter had cleared out her barn and piled everything on the trailer. He said he was sure everyone would go crazy for the antique plow or whatever it was and a couple of other cool old things he had, but he said that people passed those things right up and had a free for all fighting over the junk. He said elbows were flying and people were snapping up the old stuff that he thought was worthless, and they didn't seem at all interested in the things he thought were the treasures. "Go figure", he said. Indeed. And darn, but we were no where near there when the free for all was underway. Sorry we missed that. Well, I did get the pail and the rusty scissors, and those scissors came in very handy while trying to get Cally's new place in order. There were no scissors in the apartment and we kept needing them desperately. Those rusty things had one good spot on them, and we made the most of it. Rusty scissors to the rescue!

I got these two windows for $10 each. I thought these were especially cool because they each have hardware on them; a handle and a latch. One side of each is wood and one side is painted a dull dark green. They also have a bluish green layer.

Yes, it would have been nice if I had ironed this old Florida tablecoth treasure before showing you, but I assure you I didn't buy it clean or ironed, so all's fair. At least I've washed it now (and you know that's saying something because my washer is still torn apart and lying in pieces where I left it when I told you about my attempt to dismantle, diagnose it and prove my genius).

I've wanted one of these for the longest time. In the past the people I have found selling old Florida tablecloths, which have been few and far between, have always been asking closer to $75. I once saw one for $55 but it wasn't the right color. None before have been these perfect 50/60's colors like this one. None were the right price either. I paid $25. At first I had to walk away from it and hope the other woman from Florida who was looking at it didn't go back and get it while I was trying to decide if I could let go of that much money. She ended up back there too but decided to buy something else. Woo hoo! I'm so glad I got it!

So without ironing it, I went ahead and put it on the table to see how it would look. Isn't it so perfect? It's only card table size, but that works for me because I don't like to cover my table completely. I'm not really much of a tablecloth person, more of a table runner type, if anything, so this works well for me. Best yet, is its Old Florida style which is something I love and find works well in my old Florida house with its old Florida temperament! Oops, I forgot to light the candles in the above shot. I liked the minimalist look of the centerpiece but for those of you who like things a little more involved...

... I stepped up the look by moving the flowers over from the table in the back room, just to give it a little flowery pizzaz for ya.

 So you see, I do have a use for some of the things I buy!

(For the record, the tablecloth is in a special category which justifies spending $25 on a single item. I'd never expect to get an old Florida tablecloth for $5, although I'm not opposed to trying!)

So it goes at the World's Longest Yard Sale.
You want it, you better be ready to break your own rules.

And it doesn't hurt to take your daughter along for the memories and the fun.
Thanks for accompanying me on the journey, Cally.

It wouldn't have been the same without you!

I'll be sharing this at:

Thursday Favorite Things @ Katherine's Corner

Time Travel Thursday @ The Brambleberry Cottage

Cowgirl Up @ Cedar Hill Ranch

Open Call Tuesday @ Salt Tree

Cure for the Common Monday @ Lines Across

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Tuesday to Do @ The Blackberry Vine

Metamorphosis Monday @ BNOTP

Newbie Graduate Party @ Debbiedoos

Thrifty Treasures @ Southern Hospitality

Sunday's Best @ My 1929 Charmer

Mop it up Monday @ ISBMTF

Nifty Thrify Sunday @ Nifty Thrifty Things

Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

One Creative Weekend @ One Creative Mommy

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

Thursday Favorite Things @ Town & Country Living

Treasure Hunt Thursday @ FMFPTY

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday @ Primp

Share Your Cup Thursday @ Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

The Longest Yard Sale - Tips for the Novice

My foray into the other world that was the World's Longest Yard sale came along thanks to a heads up from Stephanie at The Cozy Old Farmhouse. Thank you, Stephanie! 

It wasn't but a day or so before I was to leave to visit Cally in AL that I found out this long-wished-for opportunity would come my way while I was there with her, and that it was starting only an hour from where she lives. What!? I could hardly believe the brilliance of the timing. After driving over 11 hours to get to Mountain Brook, what was one more hour on the road the next morning? I knew the joys that would await! Cally was kind enough to oblige me, despite the fact that spending a full day in the heat wandering through and looking at people's old junk was not on her list of top 10 ways to spend her waking hours, especially when it was one of two days she had off of work to get her new place in order. Thank you, Cally!



The adventure began with breakfast at the hotel that I had stayed at the night before. We got on the road a bit later than planned but the experience was every bit as fun as I thought it would be. I do regret that we couldn't go for more than one day, that I didn't concentrate on taking more (and better) pictures and that we passed up so many good things thinking we might come back to them later if we didn't find something better. 

Now hear this: There is no going back. You snooze, you lose.


I have a few other tips from my novice trip to the World's Longest Yard Sale. Feel free to learn from my maiden journey to this enticing venue of junk and stuff and treasures.

Have a Spending Strategy

or Come Prepared to Go For Broke

You may have heard it said, "Don't bring a knife to a gun fight," well I say don't bring a fist full of dollars to the World's Longest Yard Sale. That is unless you are a tightwad like me with fairly strict self-imposed spending limits and a thrifty daughter in tow who will keep you in line whenever you dare to err where financial prudence is concerned. Actually, even I came prepared with plenty of cash on hand. I knew the likelihood of finding something spectacular that I might not see for some time (if ever) again, if I didn't come with enough cash to spend. In the end, I found that space for hauling things might be more of a consideration than price, but my spendthrift ways did go a long way to holding me in financial check, that and Cally's facial expressions whenever I considered buying something pricey or that she considered too frivolous. Cheap habits die hard and they run in the family.

Photography 101

Take lots of pictures! By all means, if you are going to carry a humongous camera with you as you drive and haul it along every time you exit the vehicle, and if you are actually going to have it on your shoulder with every step you take - for heaven's sake, use it and use it well! 


Get in and get close. This was one of the few times I did just that. This huge light was something I would like to have bought, but at $25, it was way too expensive for me. I thought it would be a cool addition to the shop my friend and I want to open but she wasn't there to consult, so I let it lie. I saw soooo many things that would be cool for our potential shop, but without a consenting voice of affirmation, I had to pass them up.

• Don't just take pictures as you are walking or driving or practically running from one place to the next, snapping random thoughtless distant shots of the general area as I did. What a waste! Learn from my mistakes. Look at my photos; you'll see what I mean. They could have been so great, but I didn't take the time.

• Do take in the sights then set aside your concerns of what people think of you taking pictures (even your daughter) and just do it. I wish I had pictures of the people I spoke with too. They were one of the best parts of the whole day! Get your memories stored in digital format so you have them later (Especially if you are going to blog about it. People want interesting visuals! Right?) 

• Besides, if you don't take pictures, you'll forget all those cool things you let get away. Capture them on camera so you can fully mope about, and rehash, what could've, would've and should've been when you get home.

Slow Down

This shot was one of those taken quickly from the car as I waited in standstill traffic.

• We were in a bit of a hurry because, well, first of all there is so much to see that you don't want to miss a thing. Secondly, we were looking for some specific furniture pieces for Cally's new place. We did a lot of scanning of sales as we drove by, trying to see if they were worth stopping for, always mindful not to hold up traffic like some people in front of us did. I refrained from being a horn honker myself even though people inching down the road with a line of fanatical garage salers piling up behind them made Cally and I crazy a time or two. We tried to be polite and patient. One angry woman drove a long stretch of road laying on the horn for an eternity despite the fact that the woman in front of her was going along what seemed to be perfectly fine. Just come to the sale with your driving patience in good working order.

Enjoy the Experience

The fact is you aren't going to see it all, so you might as well actually take in and enjoy that which you ARE able to see!

• We did do some quick run-throughs of some of the different vendors to see if they had anything remotely close to what we wanted. The day seemed short and the yard sale, endless. It's hard to stop and enjoy what's in front of you when you are thinking about what someone else might have that could be better and cheaper down the road (apparently what is true in life is also true with reard to yard sales!). The best parts of the day were those where we stopped and interacted with people, tried to score a deal (when it worked and even when our attempts failed) and those where we got an up close and personal look into the lives and stories of the folks along the way, not just a look at the items they had for sale.

A Strong Bladder Helps

Go to the bathroom before you begin and bring lots of water, preferably in a cooler. 

• Having a vehicle with a good AC in it was invaluable for recharging our energy as we drove from one group of sales to the next. After each jaunt through a section of sales, we'd get back in the car and crank the air and chug water. Luckily we were so hot and we sweat so much that the water never seemed to make it to our bladders. That didn't stop us from following the signs to the Black Creek Fire Department on Tabor Road and Blackwell and Styles Bridges Roads that lured every woman at the Gadsden end of the sale with their strategically placed signs for miles; signs that boasted CLEAN RESTROOMS and great BBQ.

The #2 is where we started the sales, and we went as far as the #3 to the Black Creek Fire Department and then back again. How does anyone get through all the way to MI or even halfway in four days. Talk about rushing...

• After stopping at a zillion sales on our way there, we decided to make that fire department our turnaround point, at which time we were going to go back and hit all the places we had noted down side streets, as well as others we had passed up. We wanted to revisit some stops where we had seen potential purchases, at that point still hoping we might go back and score a deal. Although we went all the way to the Black Creek Fire Department to find the bathrooms (just in case we needed them by then - seeing as it was the only hope of bathrooms we'd actually seen), once we walked in to what on the outside appeared to be a tiny little ho hum building with only one person sitting on a rocker out front and a couple guys grilling out back, there on the inside it reminded me of a small church fellowship hall from back in the day. We opened the door and the place was bustling with lots of folks buying food and drinks and eating at tables packed together to accommodate the masses as women lined up against the walls to have a turn at what appeared to be the one bathroom available, a line that snaked all the way around the inside of the room. That was enough to make mine and Cally's decision for us. We didn't need to go - it was agreed. We were fine. Really. Good thing, I didn't want to sacrifice that much of my quickly dwindling yard sale time partaking in the camaraderie of a long bathroom line. So we hopped back into our car and made tracks to the next set of vendors. 

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

Try to go on the first day before everything gets snapped up and while vendors have the most stuff from which to choose. Then if you see something you want, buy it right then while you can or put it out of your mind and move along to what lies ahead.

• On our way back, one place I wanted to revisit was the set up under some trees on the side of the road of an older guy who had lots of interesting antique things, one of which was a large square weathered metal box with faded buttery paint on it. He was only asking $15, but being the cheapskate that I am with my general $5 limit per item, that felt high for me early in the day. His wife also had some wood folding chairs like I've been collecting, and he said she wanted $8 each (about $5 too much). When we came back by on our way through as we were leaving, he'd been wiped out of almost everything he'd had for sale earlier. The man with the one dresser we were considering for Cally had also sold much of what he had when we stopped by earlier. I'll tell you about him in the next installment.

• If there are any one of a kind or special things at the sale that you think are to die for, buy them, right then. Most of the trendy stores in Homewood, AL wanted way more for items similar to those that one guy I'll tell you about next time was selling. And when I say the trendy stores want "way more", I'm talking as much as $100 more. There were so many fantastic things in the Homewood stores, but woo-wee! were some of them expensive! One store had a burlap pillow for $100. Sure it was cute...but $100 for a pillow...and made of burlap? Those stores made the expensive yard sale vendors look like dime (not dollar) stores in comparison.

The Road Less Traveled

Next time I would go to more of the sales down the side streets where individuals are actually having yard and garage sales. 

• Many of the vendors in the lots on the main thoroughfare were dealers with their antiques and pricey items (often the same type of glassware and expensive signs that other vendors had). So many of those were not all that rare, and similar treasures might easily have been up for sale by an individual clearing out their garage or cleaning up their yard or storage area for a fraction of the price the dealers were asking. However, we could fit more stops in if we parked by a large group of vendors, got out and walked to a bunch of sales on the main road before getting back in the car to move along to the next set. Some of the side streets only had a sale or two at a time. You never knew what you might find anywhere! 

Speak Up and Ask!

• In many of the places, the items were not priced, so after finding out how high some vendor's prices were, it was tempting to assume everything like those that I wanted would be out of my price range at the other vendors' sales as well. I almost passed up some old windows because I assumed they would be as expensive as they were at the guy's place next door. I ended up asking though, and this guy's prices were half that of his competitor's. Because of that I didn't try to talk him down further, which Cally reminded me, I may have gotten them cheaper. I was just glad to get them for cheaper than what I paid for one at home and half of what the guy next door was selling them for. I completely forgot to try and bargain with him. You have to stay on your toes and be on your best game! The longest yard sale is no place for bargain slackers. Gotta be thinking about your strategy every minute.

It seemed that most of the prices were higher than yard sales here where I live. Deals were still to be had though, and there were so many cool items, especially if you didn't mind paying flea market prices rather than garage sale prices. 



We were going fast, so I didn't take the time to really linger too long at any one place or take the time to soak everything in and really peruse all the cool items littered about. It takes time to scope everything out and relish the sights. Mind you, Cally has an eye for a different aesthetic than I, and she tends to turn her nose up at the old scrappy junk I could spend hours pouring over. I saved lots of money because of her response when I'd show her some remarkable old thing that I apparently (in her mind) have no use for. I really didn't buy too much. I spent $57.25 altogether which was plenty, but one of my items was significantly over my usual limit. It was something I'd wanted a long time and had only seen previously for two and three times as much as I got it for here, so I was happy with that. I also got the couple of windows I mentioned for $10 each. The few other things I got were each a dollar or less. The whole experience was lots of fun for the amount of ground we were able to cover in a day, and we made some memories for sure!

It was a day of entertainment, exercise and unequivocally good junk and good people. 

Next up I'll tell you about a couple more people I spoke to and show you a bit of the scenery (not sale related) that we saw which added to the experience as well as show you what I brought home with me!

I'll be sharing this with:

Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors

One Creative Weekend @ One Creative Mommy

Treasure Hunt Thursday @ From my Front Porch to Yours

Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style

Open Call Tuesday @ Salt Tree

Tips & Tricks @ Stringtown Home

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm

Tuesday to Do Party @ the Blackberry Vine

Inspire Me Monday @ Create with Joy

Sunday's Best @ My 1929 Charmer

Thrifty Treasures @ Southern Hospitality

Manic Monday @ Serendipity And Spice

Mop it up Monday @ ISBMTF

Nifty Thrifty Sunday @ NIfty Thrifty Things

Sunday Show Off @ Twigg Studios

Spotlight Saturday @ Classy Clutter

Saturday G'Day Party @ Natasha in Oz

Show & Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal

One Creative Weekend @ One Creative Mommy

Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous

Treasure Trove

Last weekend I went out treasure hunting, as I've been known to do. I have a running list of things I'm looking for, and then there's the thrill of discovery that comes, because well, you just never know what you might unearth while digging through boxes and piles or sorting through the items buried within the sundry stockpile of belongings laid out like dirty laundry for all who dare to rummage around in it.

To score good junk, you have to be willing to get your hands and clothes dirty and willing to let your backseat get familiar with someone else's discards (the backseat of the car, people!) I came home a mess last weekend, but I sure had a blast.

It's amazing too, all the things I didn't know I needed, but which I obviously do, because they came home with me.


For over a year, I've been hunting for a croquet set. Mind you, I have yet to score one, but, look here... I did find this wonderfully classic horseshoe set for $6.

$6 is over my limit, but I was at a consignment store, in their mancave section, and these were probably the cheapest thing in the whole store. I decided they were worth overspending for because it was a "pay it or forget it" kinda thing. I figured I'll not likely come across a set like this again.

Would you consider these worthy of a $6 price tag? I had no clue if that was a good price, but I really liked them. So, I guess that's what matters. They are heavy and fantastically chipped up. The turquoise is especially fabulous. They are practical as well as beautiful. Everyone needs a set of horseshoes for their backyard get togethers, right?

Grungy Wonder
One of the first garage sales I came to last weekend, was, I kid you not, a spread of grungy wonder. A guy had bought this house with all sorts of stuff left in it by the previous owner. I drove up to the driveway and my eyes went wide. I got that panicky feeling inside, the one that makes you want to jump out of the car while it's still moving before anyone else gets a chance to score something you should've had. I did manage to stop without running over my own feet or even screeching to a halt. I got the car into park, and while presenting a deceptively calm front, sauntered up so as not to give away the fact that someone with a measure of junk insanity was coming their way. I knew right away my other sales would have to wait. There were tables and boxes of pure junk, much that I did not need, but the kind where you know you should take your time and touch and move each item, because you never knowing what you might uncover. (I kick myself for not taking a picture of the spread. It was just a fun sight. Everyone who came up commented about how long it must have taken to set it all out.) So fun to look through.

The man doing the selling was friendly and talkative and helped me search for things I might want. He occasionally brought me my Dunkin Donut coffee cup that I kept setting down while hunting but forgot while I began rummaging in other areas.

I asked about some rusty wire baskets all stacked up under this huge dilapidated workbench and asked how much he wanted for them. He said $0.25/piece. What!? I kept my faux cool, the one that belies the level of excitement within. There were 8 of them and each was full of wood scraps I really didn't think I needed.

Wire baskets were on my list, but not white rusty ones. Did I want them? For a quarter each, I figured I could decide later if they'd work for anything I might want to do. I stacked them up and left them on hold while I continued to look. At one point someone came near them and I had to choke back the desire to yell out "those are mine!" like some of the outwardly crazed yard salers I've come into contact with in days not so long past. I took a deep breath, watched and waited... Truth be told, no one else in their right mind was likely to want them... but my inner reaction when I thought they were threatened told me that I had made the right choice to buy them. You always know how much you really want something as soon as you think someone else wants it. It all becomes VERY clear.

The guy told me I could have the wood too (he wanted all that stuff outta there!) but I didn't really think I wanted to cart all that home and have to store it. He said I could always use it for longburning firewood if nothing else..."just take it!" he begged.

DONE! I have since realized there are several projects for which I can use some of these pieces. The fact that some were already cut into circles was a huge bonus (I don't currently have those capabilities, so the work was already done for me! Hallelujah!) and are going to come in really handy for something I got from a wonderful blog this week. (I hope to start on that project this weekend!) I'm so glad I didn't dump them all out and leave them behind in my quest not to hoard! I would have been kicking myself for sure. Sometimes you have to take stuff when you have the opportunity, because it's a one shot deal. I hate coulda, shoulda, woulda regrets. If you are a project person and think you might someday use it and it's basically free, go ahead and take it. You can throw it out when you get home if you decide later you don't need it.

I also found these great huge swivel casters (they were on my list!), two paint brushes (from my list!) and old lidded jars (on my list!). How great is that. I was all done shopping and ready to leave when I went back to find my wayward coffee cup and spotted this:

 Cue the fanfare!

$3.00

I could not believe it. I have been looking everywhere for one of these wagons, and there it was, pretty as a picture (an old, rusty and faded picture, but pretty nonetheless). I figured the guy would let it go reasonably. To think I'd almost missed it. It had a piece of wood attached to it with a hose guard on that. Apparently the original owner used the wagon to cart his hose and stuff around the yard. I managed to talk the guy into selling it below my limit, for $3, and one of the young guys there was kind enough to go get some tools and remove the wood thingy for me so I could get it into my car. It took everything within me to act non-chalant about it, but I drove away and whooped it up after I rounded the corner. I intend to either plant flowers in it or use it to haul things around my own yard. Charm...on wheels!

It's been out in the weather already and seen better days, so it's not like I'm gonna ruin it by leaving it out. However, do you suppose I should try to rid it of some of the rust and then repaint and seal it to see if I can stop the decay? Is that even possible? Even if I leave it as is (I kinda like the look), wouldn't it help to polyurethane it or something to keep it from getting worse in the rain? Would that work? If you know, leave me your thoughts. I'd appreciate it.

And look at these...

At another yard sale, I found the cutest little black rubber boots ever! Based on the high prices of things at this yard sale, I didn't even bother asking about them and left. Still, I knew they would be perfect for my nephew, Micah, and couldn't stop thinking about them. So I went back and was able to get them for $1! This picture does not adequately convey their absolute adorability. I can just picture him out in his yard helping his mom and dad in their garden while wearing these! Meanwhile they are keeping my pink boots company by the front door.

These were on my list for a project I want to do sometime. At the same place, I got a bunch of old yard sticks and rulers in a handy home sewn fabric holder for $1. I just never got around to taking a picture of them. This week I discovered some things I may be doing with those in the near future. Woo hoo. Glad to have them.

Cool, junky, rusty, chippy boxes will always come home with me if they are but $1. Call me a sucker or a hoarder, I don't care. Look below at the cool removable box inside.


I got the fish hooks as a bonus! The fishing line was $0.25.


Love this little special latched compartment.

Don't know yet what I'll do with this, but I've needed watchfaces before and didn't have any. Now I'll have one on hand. Love the simple number style. Reminds me of watches my mom wore back in the day. It cost me 50 cents.

And then there was the Completely FREE Stuff....

This heavy wood stool was free at a yard sale I went to. Fine by me. It's now being used outside as a plant stand between the two metal patio chairs I repainted. Someday I'll probably paint it.


Snagged another small pallet that would fit in my car. I'm now considering making a patio deck out of pallets. See those patio stones underneath it. I long to be rid of them. They are unttractive and the weeds are always having to be pulled. I saw someone create a deck from pallets in a blog somewhere that I'll have to go back and find. I happened to be on the way to the store when I spotted this one in a place that always has pallets. There was a wonderful long one with all the wood slats butting right up next to each other. I was going to stop for it on my way home, because it would have made a great bench seat, but it was gone within the half hour before I got back. Ugh! When will I learn!

Also picked up a full length mirror from someone's trash. I didn't get a shot of it, but it's something Casey's been wanting for a long time. Done!

And last but not least... do you remember the little off white china cups with the gold trim I got for $1. See them HERE. I went to see if the matching dishes were at the consignement store the guy I bought them from told me he'd taken them to. Long story short, they were there! They had been brought in back in January of 2011. The bad news is they were originally marked $150.00 for what was left of the set, which wasn't a whole lot. They had been marked down to $120.00 three months later, never to be marked down again. The woman said she would go down to $75, and even though they'd been there a year and a half AND she said no one ever buys china, she would not take my offer of $20.00. Cally and I had agreed that we only wanted them if we could get them for $20.00. So I bought the horseshoes above and went on to Goodwill where I spotted these:

Since I was looking for simple white dishes for Cally's new place, these caught my eye. It's a full set of Royal Kent China from Poland (6 place settings - 8 cups and saucers) and all of this was $40.00. Seeing as sets that are only a third this size (everyday dishes at Target) are over $60, I figured this was a better deal, and pretty on top of it. There was way more to this set than what was left of the expensive set at the consignment store. There is also a large pitcher just to the right outside of the picture. It's missing the lid, but is really pretty. These place settings include bread plates and there is also a salt and pepper. In addition to the gold edging, there is a slightly raised pattern around the edges of the plates and bowls. Simple yet, pretty. I'm thrilled with it despite a couple of chips and the fact that some of the gold on the dinner plates has worn off. If anyone knows of a paint product that can be used to touch these up, please let me know in the comments!



It was a great day of treasure hunting... wouldn't you say?

Meanwhile, does anyone know of any flea markets or events between Florida and Birmingham, Alabama, going through Georgia somewhere between August 1st and the 6th or 7th? Even if you know some great thrift stores or whatnot, that would be great too. Please let me know!

I hope you have a junky weekend!

Visit these great parties:

Live, Laugh, Linky @ Live, Laugh, Rowe
Time Travel Thursday @ The Brambleberry Cottage
Share Your Cup @ Have A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here
Wow us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday @ Primp
Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims
Link Party @ Very Merry Vintage Style
Cowgirl Up @ Cedar Hill Ranch
Knick of Time Tuesday @ Knick of Time
Tuesday's Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday @ Coastal Charm
Terrific Tuesdays @ Adventures of a DIY Mom
Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home
Tuesday To Do @ The Blackberry Vine
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping it Simple
Metamorphosis Monday @ BNOTP
Make it Pretty Monday @ The Dedicated House
Sunday's Best @ My 1929 Charmer
Thrifty Treasures @ Southern Hospitality
Cure for the Common Monday @ Lines Across
Inspire Me Monday @ Create with Joy
Sunday Show off @ Twigg Studios
Nifty Thrifty Sunday @ Nifty Thrifty Things
The Sunday Stop @ Joy 2 Journey
Mop it up Mondays @ I Should be Mopping the Floor
Get Schooled Saturday @ Too Much Time
Saturday Show & Tell @ Cherrios & Lattes
Vintage Inspiration @ Common Ground
Potpourri Friday @ 2805
Inspiration Friday @ At the Picket Fence
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous
Simple & Sweet Fridays @ Rooted in Thyme
Tickled Pink @ 504 Main