And They Were Good

On Friday I went to not one, but two, fundraiser sales at two different retirement communities. This caused me some consternation because these - next to church fundraisers -- are my favorite kinds of sales and don't come around very often, so I don't usually have to decide which to go to first. This is important because the best items are nabbed early.

I flipped a coin.

I arrived at the first sale just as the doors opened and then had to make more decisions as there where six separate rooms of items...and I wanted to go to all of them simultaneously...I have yet to figure out how to do this. Would be such a handy skill.

I chose the room with kitchenware and was happy I did. I found this unusual vintage stainless steel Revere Ware pan with a Sea Horse design. Never saw one of these before.

And then spotted this great set of 6 matching mid century high ball glasses.
The next room had electronics...found this cute Tensor lamp.And another room had linens...found this fantastic Eames era linen towel with cocktail recipes.

When I had picked through each room, twice, I decided I'd go to the other sale just to see if there was anything left.

There was...not much, but enough.

The best find was this Bates bedspread in perfect condition, like it was never used.
The picker Gods were smiling that day and my cup runneth over.

Whoo Hoo Friday

Whoo hoo Friday! That's what I like to call the last Friday of the month, four-times a year, when these two blond's favorite retirement community has their sale. It's a charitable event to raise money for members of the retirement community who have run out of funds - so its also not a bad place to spend your money either.

This last sale on Friday did not disappoint. I don't know what it is about this particular community that makes it so great to pick at, maybe its that the residents there that donate their cast-offs for the fund raiser were all furnishing their homes in the same era that I like to buy (50's, 60's and 70's)...and they all had really good taste!

Here is my absolute favorite thing I found, and one of the first things I spotted. A vintage chenille bedspread in near perfect condition. Gorgeous. I'm actually having some trouble putting it up for sale!


Linda and her mom, Lee, introduced me to this wonderful quarterly event and I will be forever grateful, it's a pickers dream. Which is also why it has gotten progressively more crowded each time we've gone. It is at a point where you need to get there almost an hour before to get in line, and then be prepared to just about run to the area you have the most interest in - I usually go for the craft table first because I have a thing for sewing boxes, and then I head for the linens table, where I found the chenille spread.

This is a cute green pot from the 60's I snagged in the housewares area.


This event has gotten to be such a madhouse that Linda, Lee and I devised a plan to most effectively survive, and even enjoy, the day. We got there a half-hour before they opened the doors so we could be in the first wave, and then brought our armloads of purchases out to the car where we snacked on sandwiches and donuts we'd brought to fortify ourselves. After a half-hour sanity break, we headed back in and found the crowds had died down somewhat and we could poke around at a more leisurely pace.

Good day. Whoo hoo!