Community Yard Sales

 
This weekend marked one of the biggest community yard sale events in my area, but with the rain pouring down on Friday night, no one knew if it would actually happen. Woke up Saturday morning to a few clouds, but those clouds gave way to temperatures in the 90s and sunshine the rest of the day. My and my boyfriend's brand new matching sunburns prove it!


We went out with my dad and managed to find some good stuff. The boyfriend snagged two brand new looking pairs of jeans for 50 cents, a video game that came out a few months ago for $8, and some other random stuff. We also found eight dog toys for 25 cents each, cat treats for 50 cents each, and other stuff we actually needed.


I did have a few complaints though. First of all, we came across a lot (a lot) of yard sales where people were selling toilet paper, canned goods, bread, and other stuff from local food pantries. My dad said that people set up at one of the flea markets where he goes every weekend to sell the same stuff. It just seems to me like that's taking from people who actually need it.


My other complaint was from an eBay sale. Everything in the "yard sale" was price according to eBay prices. The wife of the couple was actually on her smartphone and looking at prices while pricing new stuff they put out. They had a used chainsaw that someone priced at $179 on eBay brand new, and they were literally putting the same price on it. They also had a Huffy bike the boyfriend loved that they wanted $200 for. He checked on his phone and found it going for half that currently online. Oh, and a not-at-all-vintage Coca-Cola table and chairs from the 1990s that they priced at $240 with a note that it was vintage from the 50s. Sure. Now that I've finished my whining, let's just get to the good stuff!

 

Some of my pictures are slanted, so I apologize. I've loved Eyeore since I was a kid, so this mug for $1 was a no brainer. I think it's funny to see expensive stuff from the Disney Store show up at sales. The little Snoopy was actually a kids' meal toy from Wendy's when I worked there in 98-99. It was a quarter for my Snoopy loving boyfriend.

 

 

I had this exact same caterpillar when I was a kid. The lady running the sale gave her to me for 50 cents and asked if I wanted the similar orange one. The orange one belonged to her son, and her daughter had the pink one. It's worth noting that the orange caterpillar was in near mint condition, while this one definitely shows some love.

 

This was a boyfriend buy for $1 or something. He bought a glass, an ashtray, and something else from one of those donation sales that I hate. Even their bake sale was donation only, which left me wondering how much to pay for two itty bitty brownie slices and a rice krispie treat.

 

This came from one of those I-don't-want-to-get-out-of-the-car-sales. It was five tables of kids clothes with some toys underneath. My dad wanted to ask about a car they had up for sale. Knowing my love of owls, the boyfriend got this for me for a dollar and the seller threw in a light up pumpkin. This is actually a Hallmark product with its $14.95 tag still attached. It sings and dances and still works!

 

Who can pass up a vintage ice crusher for 50 cents? It actually has a dial on the front that lets you turn it to change the size of the cubes. We also got a barely used cat condo for $5 from the same sale that our cats refuse to get in but like standing on top of to watch television. I also got this fantastic vintage looking popcorn popper for $5 that I forgot to photograph. I nearly paid $100+ for one last year, so it was a great steal. We even used it last night while watching The Duff.

 

I love The Muppets, have since I was a kid, and got this same set when I was younger. Unfortunately, each one in my original set is missing hats or something. I know we bought a few of these in the past, but I won't complain about spending $1.50 for another set LOL.

 

The boyfriend grabbed the Peanuts books from a sale where all books were 25 cents. He then decided to just get a few other vintage books. The seller was so excited to sell some books that she only charged him 50 cents for all of them.

 

Who could pass up Pound Puppies and one Pound Kitty? These were the kids' meal toys from when I was a kid. We paid 25 cents a piece for each one plus the Snoopy.

 

This is the pumpkin that the seller threw in for free with the Halloween owl. I think he looks pretty sinister sitting on the top of the car!

 

I thought this was super cute but probably overpaid for it. It had Pete's Dragon and a few other Disney books in it. Each one comes with a record so you can read along with the books. The seller said it was hers when she was a kid but her husband had the same one so they decided to get rid of one. When I got it home though, it's mainly random stories, missing The Pokie Little Puppy shown on the front, and is probably not worth the $5 I paid considering that I find these book/record sets individually pretty cheap.

 

This will probably be a purchase I end up regretting. I love Halloween and $3 really isn't too bad, but I have so much Halloween stuff that this will probably end up in a box somewhere.

 

One of my only Pyrex purchases of the day! The boyfriend spotted it way before me. Not only is it my favorite pattern, but it was only $1. The seller and I then had fun talking about vintage Pyrex, Corningware, and Vision Ware.

 

My other Pyrex find came from a sale filled with guy stuff, lots of oil cans, car parts, and hats. It does have some marks on the front that I haven't tried to get off yet, but it was only $1. I came thisclose to buying both jars from a thrift store that thinks it's an antique mall for $10 each last summer, so I'm glad I found this one!

 

We already have this one, but couldn't pass up another one for 50 cents. The boyfriend and I both love tiki stuff, but the roommate is not a fan.

The other big find of the day was this working vacuum sealer with a nearly brand new roll of bags for a buck. I was so obsessed with these when I was a kid that I would actually watch the infomercial over and over again. It was kind of nice to find one so cheap that I can play with without making a real investment.


Believe it or not, this isn't everything I bought this weekend. The roommate and I found one of those get in the car before they catch us sales on Friday. I got the mother load of blow molds for an amazing price. I'll post pictures as soon as we get his car cleaned out...

World's Longest Yard Sale Finds

I had a tooth taken out this week, and since I couldn't do any work-work, I thought it was the perfect time to finally post my finds from the World's Longest Yard Sale last weekend. Our first stop was at a sale miles before the real one started. The woman worked at a daycare center and put out a lot of their stuff. 

 
Everything here was $1 a piece. The Fisher Price school is just like the one I had when I was a kid, except mine had a missing door. The shelf is already hanging in our bathroom, and the vase was a roommate pick. The lady actually giggled and said she wasn't even going to put it out because she didn't think anyone would buy it, but he loved the colors.

 
I'm always on the lookout for vintage Tupperware, and both these pieces came from a sale at a church. It was part church sale/part flea market with individual vendors set up, and both came from one of those vendors. The funny thing is that my mom sold Tupperware back in the day, and when I came walking back to the car she said, "how much did you have to pay for the ham keeper?" Yeah, I had no clue what the biggest one was. I just knew it was big and we needed some big containers. The ham keeper was $3 (I think, or $3.50) and the pie holder was $2.50. The base snaps off, which makes it super easy to store!

 
Two more pans for my collection! The woman was closing up for the day and had these priced at $5 each early in the day. By the time we got there, she let me have them both for $1.

 
All four of these came from the same sale. The Pyrex custard cups are newer but will let me feel better about displaying my older ones, and all four were $3. The pink aluminum creamer and sugar dish were 50 cents, and the crock pot (which my roommate bought) was $3. I saw one of these mushroom dishes in a thrift store and couldn't find a maker's mark. Turns out that it was made by Corning. I'll have to swing by the thrift and see if the others are still there! There's something about the 70s colors that I love.

 
Can you tell my roommate loves Mickey Mouse? I think he paid 50 cents for the book, and I know the plastic lunchbox was $5 and has its original thermos and the metal one was $10. Funny thing is that I collect lunchboxes and the lady with the plastic one also had a Voltron one that I loved. She wanted $15 for it, and it didn't even have its thermos!

 
The Shiny Brites at the top are the same one the woman wanted $5 for, which I thought was too high. Her husband offered them to me for $3, and she whined and complained that it was too low for something that old and that the box was worth more than that. We could still hear her snapping at him when we left. The Corning meat platter/dish thing was $5, but I never, ever see this with the metal piece still on it.


I'm not sure who makes the white mixing bowl. It's not Pyrex, but it does go with a mixer and came with the smaller bowl for $4, which my roommate couldn't resist. I have a similar one that I use as a water dish for my menagerie, and he still gets upset when he sees it on the floor. I collect the Spring Blossom pattern, so there was no way I was leaving behind this little creamer for 50 cents. The green chip and dip set was another roommate buy. We keep seeing them in thrift stores, but they're always missing one piece or another. He got all three pieces for $5.

I also picked up three vintage board games with all the pieces. The Alvin and the Chipmunks game at the top is from the 80s and was 50 cents. The other two were on a table at a big parking lot sale with no one around. We kept checking back and no one was ever there. We checked one last time before leaving and the seller was finally back in his booth. He said the games were $6 each, I asked if he'd take $10 for two, and he grumbled a bit before agreeing. The Popomatic Alvin and the Chipmunks game is all mine (big surprise!), and the other is for the roommate. I wish now that I had grabbed his Miami Vice game too!

 

I bought the Corning piece for $2 because it's small but super deep, which will make it great for dips. The Tupper Silent Partner poker chips were $1 and are the most amazing shade of pink, which just so happens to be my favorite color! I snagged these three magazines from the 70s/80s to look at the ads off of a free table. And I have two funny stories about the others.


Literally an hour after my roommate got his chip and dip set, we came across this one. It came with the large bowl, four smaller matching bowls, and a bracket for $3, so you know it came home with me. Sadly, the silver flaked off all over our hands, so I'm not sure I'll actually use it. As for the pink Three Way Dispenser, I pointed it out to my roommate. He bent down to look at it, saw a $7 tag on it, and was deciding what to do. The seller said he'd take $2 for it. Before the roomie could even stand up, I had my money out and was paying for it. He claims it should be his because it was in his hands, I say not only did he snooze and loose but that I'm the one with a pink kitchen LOL.

 
A vintage hamper has been on my wishlist forever. This one was only $10 and is in almost perfect condition. It literally looks like no one ever used it. Plus, it's a Redman! It took up way too much space in the car, especially since I bought it at an early stop, but I love it oh so much. We came across another one later on for $3, but it was a fairly ugly shade of blue and the inside was pretty disgusting. 

 
And of course I had to find some Pyrex. A dealer had two sets of the bowls priced at $15 for each set. I wandered around for a bit, came back, and asked if he'd take less. He said yes and then just stared at me for 30 to 60 seconds before finally saying $12. The roommate really hates the pattern and kept calling them ugly, but I kind of like it. I also found the opal Pyrex at a barn sale for $2! The dealer had Fire King and Glasbake stuff priced higher than that.

 
This was probably the find of the day. My roommate started collecting this pattern after finding a few pieces for $5 each at a thrift store. The dealer had the top two smaller dishes priced at $5 for the set and one of the larger dishes for $5, so it was $10 for three pieces. When he went to pay, my dad popped up and, ever the flea market guy, asked for a discount. The dealer dropped the price to $8 and threw in the dish on the bottom. He ended up getting four pieces of Fire King Candle Glow for $8! I'm a little jealous that I can't find such great deals on Spring Blossom!

Flea Market Finds!

I posted the other day that I went to the flea market where my parents have a booth last weekend. They actually have two, and it's funny because I found some of my stuff there that I left at their house when I moved out the last time. Not sure anyone wants to buy my old Fear Street book, my NASCAR pint glass, or the textbook from grad school, but go for it.


I haven't been there in a few years, but it's a pretty nice flea market. There's a guy selling vintage posters and movie memorabilia, and if he still has it the next time I swing by, that Giant lobby card is coming home with me! What can I say? I'm a gal who loves her James Dean.


There were a number of dealers selling new stuff, especially food and pet stuff. I managed to get a few bags of in-date dog treats for my hound and some new toys for her too. She had a bad habit of ripping apart dog toys in a fast period of time, but these have lasted her nearly a week. I also got for me:

I know these noodles are so bad for me, but they're the perfect thing when I was something fast and yummy. Plus at 69 cents a box, it's cheaper than the store. The summer sausage was 2 for $5. I like to keep it sliced up in the fridge with a bag of sharp cheddar next to it for snacks.


One of the sellers had a bunch of toys, and I managed to find a few vintage goodies.

 
The top picture is one of the Rainbow Brite Sprites. She had all of the larger ones for $3 each. I couldn't even get shipping for that price online! I only bought one, but I'll have to get the rest if she still has them next time. The bottom is the Rainbow Brite Puppy. Puppy Brite was $4, but it was one I didn't have but desperately wanted as a kid.


The vendors at this flea market clearly got the memo about Pyrex. I picked up a medium size bowl in an ugly pattern, saw the $10 price tag, and quickly put it back down. The cheapest mixing bowl set I saw was $35, and that seemed to be the going rate. Most of what I saw was ugly and boring patterns from the 1980s. I did find a couple of gems though.

I believe the top one is Colonial Mist. It's the medium sized casserole dish, and it was $3. The seller marked it as "miscellaneous kitchenware" on the tag. The bottom one is the Desert Dawn pie plate. It's the first piece of Desert Dawn I've ever found! It was from the same booth and had "old pie plate" on the tag. She had it marked $3 too. I really need to find a list of all the Vision Ware pieces made because the seller had tons of it for $5 or less. I started out buying the brown pieces after seeing a set at a yard sale for $150. Yes, $150. Then I started buying the purple and cranberry pieces too, but I have no clue if I have a full set or not.


It's an interesting flea market, but I'm not sure I would visit very often even if I lived there. The new stuff is abundant, and the old stuff is priced on par with my local antique mall. I need to go over once a month to stock up on dog toys, cat treats, and noodles and to check out all the cheap food LOL.