The Best Yard Sale Ever!!

When the roommate got home from work the other day, we headed out to the mid-century modern/atomic era yard sale that was listed on Craigslist. From the moment I got out of my car, I didn't know where to look! Everything he had was so cool and interesting that I wanted everything. It turns out that he had a booth at an antique mall and pulled out when the recession hit and he wasn't making any money. If the prices on his stuff is any indication of how he priced things in his booth, he definitely needs to get back to it.


I didn't take much cash with me, but we ended up going back on Friday and buying even more. Everything in this post is just from our Friday trip and doesn't include the black mushroom lamp my roommate bought (marked down from $35 to $17 and in perfect working condition) or the turquoise bullet lamp that he bought ($3 because it had a minor chip in the shade that you can't even see when it's turned around) or anything else he bought. I'll post Friday's purchases when I clean out my car!


First up is this awesome mid-century table. I love everything about it from the great pattern on the top to those amazing legs with the brass feet. Excuse the grossness of my garage; we're in the process of turning it into a little lounge area. The funny thing about this table is that I almost didn't buy it. I saw it, the roommate pointed out that he already has a mid-century modern table in our living room, and we got in the car. We didn't even make it a block until we realized that it was perfect for the garage, so we turned around and went back. A ten-dollar bill and it was all mine.

I'm so jealous of the blow molds that I see on everyone else's blogs, but now I have a few of my own!

The Christmas ones will look great sitting on the mantle this Christmas. I love how how casually he's leaning on the chimney.

The little snowman looks so happy, and he'll go nicely with the Empire one I picked up a few years ago.

 
This is the only one with a maker's mark on the back. It's marked Empire and it's from 1970. Oddly enough, he charged me $1 for this one and $2 for the others. I bought one on Thursday for $3, so he probably marked things down a little.

I also picked up this smiley guy for $2.

 
And his new best friend for another $2.

Speaking of Christmas, how about a happy little mouse? He's marked Roy Des FLA 1970. I've seen other designs online but I know nothing about him. He has a slit in his back, and some of the listings online claim it's a bank. He's clothes are so tight that I have no idea how you would put money in and get it out. For $2 though, he'll look nice at Christmas.

 
This little pixie has hands that let him hold onto something. Unfortunately, his arms are pretty loose, so he'll probably just end up in a sitting position. How could I leave him behind though, especially for 50 cents?

I also grabbed some other knickknacks that I probably don't really need.

I love the Miller Studio fish, mainly because I remember my mom having two of the fish and the bubbles in our bathroom. I've only found two of these fish in the past, and my cats were nice enough to knock one over and break it into a bunch of pieces. This fish had a similar fall at some point, and someone tried to repair it. He was only 50 cents though, and I didn't even notice the repair until I took it out of the car. It's marked 1970.

This Glasbake mug came home with me, even though I originally thought it was Fire King. It's such a pretty color though that I couldn't resist.

The nut grinder probably should have stayed behind. Even though it was only $2, it looks like someone used it to grind something nasty. There's some kind of yellowish or brownish discoloration and stickiness inside.

I'm not sure who made this bowl, but I love the color and it was only 50 cents.

I somehow missed taking a separate picture of it, but I also got a black melamine ashtray. It was $2, which was a little pricey for an ashtray, but I loved the boomerang style.

This cookbook will go nicely with an old Esquire bartending book I picked up at a book sale years ago. "For the pioneering male with a taste for fine food, and for the woman who wants to be the perfect hostess." I'm not sure how good of a hostess I am, but maybe this book will make me a little better!

Though completely not exciting, one of the reasons I went back to the sale was specifically for these coasters. My ex-boyfriend left a set behind that we use for drinks, but the moisture seeps right down into the bottom and all over your drink. These have tiny holes that push the moisture into a pad hidden in the bottom. Plus, I have a hard time resisting any type of vintage Tupperware, even if it is from the 80s.

This giant (GIANT) poodle ashtray caught my eye as soon as we started up the driveway. This has to be the biggest ashtray that I currently own, but the poodle was so kitschy and I'm pretty sure it begged to come home. 

 


I hope the poodle doesn't mind having a set of cats nearby. The colors on these practically scream 70s, and I love how well behaved the kittens are. So much better than my own cats!

Lastly, remember how I said I don't need anymore dishes? I'll gladly make an exception for Blue Heaven. Made by Royal Sebring, which was right here in Ohio, these dishes made me do a happy dance. I got six of the large soup bowls and one of the small berry bowls, which will go nicely with the matching cake plate I got the day before. He charged me $1 per piece for the bowls, $4 for the poodle ashtray, $1 for the cookbook, $2 for the cats, and $3 for the coasters.


All in all, I spent about $40 on Friday and another $20 or so on Thursday. My only regret is that he only has this sale once a year!

Mid Century Modern and Atomic Yard Sale? Yes, Please!

While searching Craigslist in the hopes of finding a rummage sale or a church sale, which sadly seem to be lacking this year in my neck of the woods, I stumbled across a yard sale featuring mid-century modern and atomic era items. In the four photos listed, the seller showed one of those yellow smiley face cookie jars that I keep seeing in thrift stores, a starburst clock, a funky pink chair, two swivel lamps, and several pieces of Pyrex. After spending far too much time drooling over the pictures, two things about the listing caught my eye.


The first is that the sale is only on Thursday and Friday, which is an odd time for yard sales around here. Plus, the sale runs until 7 at night, which seems pretty late to me. The other weird thing is that the seller "casually" mentioned at the bottom that they took the pictures from their last yard sale but that some of the same items and many similar items are available. That makes me wonder if this is a former dealer, an eBay seller, or maybe someone who just doesn't want to deal with opening a shop. Sadly, the pictures were just a smidge too fuzzy and small for me to get a look at the price tags.


I'm planning on stopping by probably Thursday to get a look at the items, but I highly doubt I'll walk away with anything. We have an antiques mall and several flea markets here where people sell mid-century modern items at pretty high mark ups. I would do some naughty things to bring home a starburst clock, but the cheapest one I've seen around here is $65. Those amazing swivel lamps pop up for a couple hundred dollars, and since they seem to disappear, someone's clearly buying them. We also have a few mid-century modern dedicated shops in the area with price tags that make me wince and run and hide. I somehow doubt that this "yard sale" will have anything in my price range, but who knows?

On a more positive note, I did pick up these lovelies this week:

 

I stopped by a Goodwill that I haven't found anything good at in quite a long time. The last time I was there, I noticed that they started pricing Fire King and Glasbake pieces as high as they price Pyrex. This time, I spotted one of these little beauties sitting on a shelf neglected. Called Swiss Chalet or Swiss Alpine, these are Marcrest Stetson plates probably from the 1960s. The company also produced a line of matching glasses and some other matching pieces, and it matches back to a Fire King pattern.


I need to collect another set of dishes like I need another hole in my head. I already collect a line of Taylor Smith Taylor dishes and the complementary pieces from Harmony House, and I have a ton of melmac and melamine dishes and pieces. I also have a good collection of the turquoise/aqua Pyrex dishes that I picked up from a flea market a few years ago. Unfortunately, I haven't come across a single piece since then, and the last few times I encountered my other dishes, they had some pretty high price tags attached.


At $.79 a piece, I just couldn't resist bringing home these dishes though. As soon as I get the chance to wash them, they'll go right in my cabinet for daily use. The others can wait for a special occasion. And as for that yard sale, I'll let you know how it goes. If nothing else, maybe I can get myself a little pre-birthday treat!