My Summer Wishlist

With summer here, I'm hoping to get back in the swing of things and maybe pick up some stuff. While some of its is functional/needed around the house, most of it it just stuff I want for me and my collection LOL.

#1: A dresser.

I had a dresser that an ex gave me. After three moves in three years, the cheap 80's model was falling apart at the seams. One drawer was stuck and the front was peeling off. When I moved a few years ago, I decided to just throw it out. I left it sitting on the sidewalk and less than an hour later, someone carried it off.

We live in an old house, so the closets are tiny. We each have our own, but we desperately need a new one. I found the perfect MCM dresser at a thrift store nearby, but as much as I loved it, I could not justify spending $150 plus tax on it. It sat in the store for over a month before I finally decided to bite the bullet and ask for a discount. It was in good shape, but had some minor stains, etc. that made it worth a lot less. Imagine my surprise when we stopped in this week and it was gone.

#2: Pink Pyrex.

We've had a Pyrex drought in our area lately (save for my finds today, which I'll post soon!). I only have one tiny pink Gooseberry lidded casserole, which I found in one of those thrift stores where you want to get in/out as fast as possible and wash your hands in the parking lot. I'm also searching for Spring Blossom pieces. There's something about the 70's avocado green that I just love!

#3: Temperware Sprite Pieces.

I found my first piece of this at a rummage sale for the historical society. It was the fondue pot in brand new condition with the tags still attached. I knew next to nothing about it, but I loved the colors and for $2, it came home with me. A quick search later and I found that the cheapest price I saw online was over $60. I'm not willing to pay anywhere near that for any of the other pieces. I'm really hoping to find the teapot though.

#4: Taylor Smith Boutonniere.

A few months ago, I walked into a thrift store and saw an adorable set of dishes with cute little turquoise flowers on the front. Instead of pricing it as a set, the shop priced each piece separately. I think it was $2.99 for the dinner plates, $7.99 for the serving dishes, $1.99 for the smaller plates, and $.99 for the cups. I didn't have the money in my budget for the whole set, and I didn't want to pay that much anyway.

Last month, I stumbled across a cute serving dish and picked it up for $4. It didn't hit me until today that it was the matching serving dish for the set! I found one of the other sets at an overpriced thrift store today and while I liked it, I didn't like it enough to pay $40 for the set. Here's hoping I come across some more pieces this summer.

#5: Vintage dinette set.

I found this exact set in a thrift store today. I really hate seeing something I love when I don't have the cash for it. This set will probably be gone in the next few days, if it didn't leave the store already. I have a love for all things vintage and retro, especially kitchen items. I've wanted a set like this for a long time, and I keep coming across them when money is tight.

As much as I love it, the truth is that I don't need it. We have a dining room table and a kitchen table. One of my old landlords gave me the dining room table, and we found the kitchen table in the garage when we moved in here, and our landlord told us to keep it. Still, if I find one cheap enough this summer, I'll definitely bring it home. This one was $90 for the table and two chairs. I kind of think someone reupholstered the chairs because the vinyl doesn't seem like it's attached correctly. Had I had the money this week, I would have dragged this one home with me though...

Rummage Sale Busts!

This weekend was a massive bust when it came to rummage sales. I found three listed, and they weren't even worth my time. The first was for one right down the street from us, so we hit that one first. Other than the brownies, blueberry bread, and pumpkin bread, I should have skipped it.

Granted this wasn't the worst sale of the weekend. It was at a local church, and their online ad said that they charged $1 just to get into the sale. They must have realized that they didn't have enough to make it worthwhile to charge anyone! There were less than a dozen tables, which included a few (cheap) framed "artwork" pieces, housewares, and "Christmas items." I use that term loosely because it was mainly cheap Wal-mart stuff on the tables.

The only thing I found worth my time was an ice cream maker for $5 and a serving dish. The ice cream maker is something the boyfriend wanted, and I probably would have found it cheaper later in the season. I also snagged a serving dish from the 1950s or 60s that has a great turquoise interior with matching flowers on the lid. Two of the women working kept talking about it constantly while I was paying, each of them claiming that they really wanted it. Um, if you wanted it, why didn't you walk the five feet over to the table and grab it? The best friend found a Mickey Mouse Christmas toy from the 80s and a vintage knife sharpener.

Total spent:

Serving dish $3
Ice cream maker $5
Blueberry bread $4
Pumpkin bread $3
Brownies $1

Total: $16 (Is it just me or are bake sales getting expensive??)

The best friend (and my partner in crime) totaled in at $1.10 for his purchases.

The next stop was a church rummage sale in a fancy/wealthy area of town. I usually have good luck at sales in those neighborhoods and the CL ads made it look excellent. Apparently they took photos from last year's sale because there was nothing worth buying. The ad claimed that they had a wide selection of furniture. They actually had a humidifier from the 1980s, a few worn out couches, and an organ. Nice selection. We did one quick circle and left without buying a thing.

My pet peeve at this one was that they had two high school girls running a "pie fundraiser" to raise money for their school. The girls were actually selling pieces of frozen cheesecake. They didn't bother taking the plastic wrap off or even defrosting it before the sale started. There was one entrance to the sale and the two girls were sitting directly in front of it. I actually had to ask them to move just to get inside the sale. There were multiple sale workers who never said a word to them, and the girls were so loud that you could hear them from any spot in the sale.

My other pet peeve was the sale sign. They advertised on CL and in the newspaper, but just set one sign in front of the church. We parked on the side and had to try three different doors before we found a sign posted, telling shoppers to enter through the courtyard. After running through the pouring rain to find the entrance and the teenagers, I was less than thrilled.

The last sale was another church with a big online ad. Once again, the church had one sign in front and no other signs telling you where to go. We ran into a woman with her kids outside and our little group had to circle the church just to find the entrance. This was the kind of sale where you could find adult diapers, hundreds of craft supplies, and potty training chairs with little else.

Total spent:

Vintage Tupperware Shredder $2
Scissors $1 for 2 pairs

The best friend bought a garlic press for my boyfriend and a cute shelf for hanging near the front door.

After that was over, I decided to swing back by a library book sale at yet another church. The boyfriend and I stopped by on Friday and I snagged a few movies, books and a stack of Every Day (Rachel Ray mags). Ironically enough, one of the church sales were selling magazines for $ EACH, and the library sale had them 10 for $1.

Saturday was the last day of the sale, so they offered everything left for $2 per grocery bag. We picked up four bags when we walked in, and then we discovered that all of the leftover movies were also part of the sale. We had to fight our way through well over 100 people, but we made out like bandits! It got to the point where if we saw anything that looked remotely interested, we shoved it in a bag.

We had so many bags that a woman told us we were her hero on the way out. We had 8 bags, which came to $16 and I told her to keep the change. I had at least 150 movies, which doesn't include the movies that the best friend got. The boyfriend totaled it out, and I spent 13 CENTS on each movie. Some of these were almost new movies that had only been out for a few months. If I don't like something, I'll just trade it in at the used movie place.

Since I found no Pyrex, we decided to swing by a few thrift stores. I found a Butterfly Gold Cinderella casserole for $4 and the New Dots mixing bowl in yellow for $3. It was the first time I spotted either pattern in my area, so it was an exciting day.

You're Selling That For What??

I've noticed some funny stories coming from resellers lately. When you find something hot, you usually want to keep it to yourself. Why would you share with others what sells best for you? Maybe it's because I grew up around the flea market, where resellers are like rabid dogs. As soon as you find out what sells well for someone else, you need to get it for yourself.

This happens to my parents on a regular basis. My dad once sold a particularly type of glasses, and he did really well at it. Another vendor decided that he wanted to sell the same glasses, but my dad wouldn't tell him where he got them. The seller eventually purchased some from my dad, and then a few weeks later showed up with his own supply. It turned out that he followed him from the store to his supplier, just to find out for himself. I've also watched as my dad sold out of certain items, only to have other vendors start bringing in the same thing a few weeks later. The prices drop from $20 to the point where no one is selling anything, and everyone has the same thing sitting on the shelves.

I read a lot of blogs online, and I have to giggle when I see what some people claim they sell. Maybe not what they sell per say, but definitely what they say they sell it for. I saw someone boasting about selling a Barbie from the 1970s for over $70 on eBay. I sold a similar doll and barely hit $30 on it, and mine was in better condition/originally packaging. Frankly, that doll isn't worth much. Since he claimed he sold it recently, I did a search for recent auctions. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the most that doll sold for in the last month was $27.

It makes me a little sad when I see these BS stories. A lot of people want to make money from home, selling on eBay or other sites. When the "veterans" jump in with stories of big picks and big price tags, other people try to sell the same things and barely make any money. It kind of reminds me of the people on Storage Wars, who put over inflated price tags on everything...

My First Post!

My name is Jenn, and if you couldn't tell by the name of my blog, I love Pyrex. I discovered my love of vintage kitchen wares when I was a teenager, and it never really stopped. When my college roommates arrived with brand new dishes and pots and pans, I had a bunch of enamelware and Tupperware from the 70s. Luckily, my boyfriend completely supports my habit, and he even loves shopping at thrift stores with me!

The thrift stores around us have some good buys every now and then. I'm also a huge fan of flea markets, probably because my parents have had a booth at one for over a decade now. Hopefully, I'll find some great deals that I can blog about in the future!