Ahhhh...its the Carrot People

This was once a normal couple that lived down the street from me and then they went on Weight Watchers and found out carrots were zero points and ate so many they turned into Carrot People.

Sorry, feeling a little silly today. And hungry...I'm on Weight Watchers too.

Can't wait for not one, but two retirement village sales tomorrow bright and early. Hoping they will distract me from wanting to eat Ring Dings instead of carrots.

No offense Carrot People.

Here they come...weird Santas

When I was at the post office on Friday the postman - who, after sending 500 mailings over the last 15-months, I've gotten to know pretty well -- was teasing me about Christmas coming in only 60-s0me more days. Ahhh!

But he was a little late in freaking me out about how close we are getting to the holidays, the thrift stores are way ahead of him. Everywhere I look now there's snowmen, reindeer and, of course, so many, many incarnations of old Saint Nick.

Some are cute. Some are kitschy. Some are even regal.

And some are just weird, or even a little gross. This rubbery santa in the bathtub caught my eye first because it looked like Santa was an amputee - and you don't see that everyday. Then I realized his arm was just bent behind him holding a towel stretched between his two arms, which moved back and forth if you hit a button on the bottom.

Plus, he's naked. I don't need to think about the big guy naked.
The actual gross part comes when you take a closer look to find rolls in his belly made of dirty-rubber that move too when its turned on. Eww.

And its not just Kris Kringle who lands on the shelves. His wife is there too.
In all the Christmas stories Mrs. Claus is portrayed as super-nice and friendly. Baking cookies for the elves and feeding Santa a big Christmas Eve meal because "Nobody likes a skinny Santa." So what's with the angry, librarian-looking-over-her-glasses incarnation of Mrs. Kringle here? She needs some gingerbread and cider, I think. Right away.

But not all the old Christmas decorations are bad. I picked up these cute, vintage, Homco angels and I'm happy to put them in my etsy.com shop.
They remind me of my father-in-law. Every year I ask him what he wants for Christmas, and every year he answers, "A blond, a brunette and a red-head."

I should give him these. Probably not what he meant, though.

More pretty

In my last blog I gave a little taste of some of the more...unusual...things that turn up on the thrift store shelves that sometimes make me pause and think, Oh, my. Someone actually bought that on purpose, at some point, and put it in their home for decoration, or...holy crap...gave it to someone as a gift.

Today at another thrift store I was struck with the same thought, and here's why...

The photo isn't even doing justice to the matching girl and guy with the livestock, their outfits are florescent orange. The cow to the right looks friendly though, more so than the spray-tanned blond with the holes in her skirt.She looks a little pissy, her bow is probably too tight.

Although today there were some things on the shelves that reminded me of why I do look for - and often find -- some more desirable old thingies.

This 1950's tea pot made in Japan was on the thrift store shelf at 10:00AM this morning, in my etsy shop at 12:45 and sold to someone in North Carolina by 1:00...now that's how I like it!

And this mid century magazine rack may be hard to part with, looks so cool next to my husband's favorite chair (which also came from an estate sale - just an irrelevant fun-fact).

 I do get a kick out of wading through the weirdness at the thrift stores and estate sales to unearth the cooler old collectibles and atomic ranch decor. Sometimes I'm not sure which I like better.

Oh yeah...its the cooler stuff.

Pretty, pretty, pretty

This is going to be a very short blog.

I was at the local Salvation Army today and noticed the following collection of items on the shelf.

I just want you to look at them and realize that each one was at one time purchased - or given as a gift -- knowingly, willingly and probably with excitement.
P.S. Yes, that is a multicolored ceramic monkey on the left.

Enough said.

Enamel Me, Baby

Perfect fall morning, leaves turning, sun reflecting off the water as the Suburban crossed over the Codorus Reservoir...and the other blond and her mom riding along...all good.

Our first stop was a church sale that held much promise, but turned out to be a dud. Although, it was a nice way to start the day, none-the-less. An older man excused himself when he thought he was standing in front of me at a table, and I assured him he was not by saying , "You're fine." He took my hand, looked me in the eye and said, "Why thank you, you are fine as well." And kissed the back of my hand. Had he been a few years younger, I would have found this creepy, but coming from the elderly white-haired gentleman with a twinkle in his eye, I took it as a charming little moment.

Not sure where to go next, we decided to turn the truck towards Hanover as there were several yard sales listed in that area on Criag's list. As we pulled into town Linda pointed to a church parking lot on a hill. "Something's happening up there. Let's go see." What we found was the second day of a church sale, so not much left, but what was left was all $1 stuff-a-bag. Nothing spectacular but I did score this little turtle planter.And a pair of red-metal candle-stick holders that would be especially cute at Christmastime.After grabbing a cup of tea at my favorite book shop/coffee house in Hanover, where I picked up a fresh copy of Writer's Market (yes, I'm going to start torturing myself with submissions and rejection letters once again), we admitted defeat for the day and started homeward. About 5-minutes from home we came across a sprawling yard-sale in an old garage and the picking became a little more promising. I found this great enameled, cast-iron, mid century Cousances saucepan in yellow.This was the second piece of enameled kitchenware I'd come across this week. I found this refrigerator box at a thrift store on Wednesday. I have a little thing for enameled metal, don't know why...maybe I should ask my brother-in-law what that means...he's a shrink.
I have several other pieces in my shop.
This set of pallella pans is one of my favorite examples of mid century kitchenware.And this super-mod frying pan in orange and purple could have fried up some fish while the cook was watching "Threes Company."
This tea pot is more kitschy than mod, but love it anyway.
These pieces stand the test-of-time because of how well they are made and how strong the materials are. I have a set of Le Crueset pans that I use and figure someone in thirty-years will probably buy them in a yard sale. I hope they enjoy them as much as I do.

Pickin' in a Pavilion

The first stop this weekend for the other blond and me was a church sale held in a pavilion a few towns away. The air was autumn crisp, leaves starting to turn, met my aunt at the sale too...all made the morning wonderful...but not the picking.
Left with nothing but a few pieces of pink depression glass...pretty, but not exactly the treasure of the Sphinx.
I did come across this statue of an eyeless girl eating a baby arm or a tree limb, or playing the flute, not sure. So creepy.
But it was all worth it anyway - not only because I got to be outside on a beautiful fall day with some of my favorite people looking for treasure in a churchyard -- but because I found the perfect Thanksgiving Day hat.Turkey hat...yay!Best $1.00 I may have ever spent. Buddy likes it too!

The Ugly Step-Sisters of the Salvation Army

Friday was one of those combining errands with poking through thrift store kinda days. It makes my chores a little more fun when I know I can do some picking too.

So the other blond, her mom and I headed towards Baltimore to Trader Joe's and then the Salvation Army for a quick look around. Unfortunately, the shelves were dissapointing, as far as hunting for merchandise for my etsy shop went...but for bringing you a little strange, much better.
Found these lovely ladies next to each other on a shelf and the image of Cinderella's ugly step-sisters popped in my head.

The dark-haired girl on the left might need an appointment at the salon for a good eye-brow waxing.

And her friend must have once starred as the creepy girl in a B-rated horror movie.

Oh, the things people once had decorating their homes.

What is that?

Sometimes I find an item at a yard sale or on a thrift store shelf that I really just don't know what it is, or what its trying to be, or why anyone thought it was a good idea to make it at all...this would be one of those times.
Linda actually found this little beauty and - although it frighted her a little - she held it up for me to photograph thinking it would be a fun item for the blog.

A sunflower... a child... a sun-child?

Is it surprised, angry? Doing a jig?

My etsy shop is running a little low on super-cool things, and this angry sun-child is not going to help me turn my inventory around. Yard sale season is coming to a close and I am going to turn my attention to auctions.

I will miss the yard sales, but I'm hoping to find a better quality of items at the auctions, although I'm sure the strange and odd-looking things will be lurking in the boxes there too.

Lifting the Doldrums

Fall is upon us and the spontaneous, and occasionally lazy, days of summer have been replaced with a rigid schedule of 7:00AM bus pick-up, football practice, soccer practice,Boy Scout events,Sunday school and back-to-school nights - and anything else the universe can throw our way.

Is it June yet?

And I have decided to make my way back into the working world so that we may continue to feed two always-hungry teenage boys and somehow, someday (someway) pay for them to go to college. So my once flexible daily schedule will also soon be handed over to a boss (hopefully a benevolent boss). I can sympathize with the boys as they hang their heads over their cereal bowls and moan while hoisting their overstuffed backpacks onto their shoulders.

This change in schedule, and life in general, has put me in a bit of a funk - the "doldrums" seems a fitting word. This is not a place I like to be, so to give myself a little lift, I headed to my favorite thrift store yesterday with the other blond and her mom. What we found put a smile back on my face. Most of the merchandise was 50% off as the store tries to clear space on the shelves for fresh items for Christmas.

Yay.

Linda and I had the most fun at the counter where they keep items that are a little more valuable; there you have to ask an attendant if you want to see the merchandise. I have bought several pieces from this area of the store in the past, they are usually still reasonably priced. But there are other things that were just a little too rich for my blood.

Until 50% off day. That made several things just the right price.

I've had my eye on this PA Dutch teapot for ages, it was the first thing I pointed to on the shelf.
Linda directed the attendant's attention to a great 70's picnic basket/ice chest and quickly put that in her cart.Just as I was about to leave, I spotted these two stainless and enamel Reed and Barton bowls on the counter and quickly stashed them in my basket like a kid in a candy store (who's just found out half the candy is free).
So as more meetings, structure, dinners crammed in on the run and becoming a responsible adult all loom, yesterday was still a day to run amok in my favorite candy - I mean, thrift- store.

Doldrums, what doldrums.

Blog to Blog

I took a trip to my favorite thrift store this morning and had a fairly good hunt for stuff for my etsy.com shop.

The theme was definitely 70's today with this hand-embroidered picture for a child's room...
This Otagiri ceramic spoon rest with the cute little owls...

Joan Walsh Anglund stationary from 1973...

And a classic 70's coffee maker...

When I came home to put these little goodies in my etsy shop, I had an email from another blogger who has a great site on interior decorating and featured one of my upcycled mirrors.

Fun.

http://decoratinginsanity.com/2011/06/21/bright-colored-mirrors/

All in all, a good day in the world of etsy.com





twoblondsandavan.com/

Brick and Mortar vs. Virtual

When I opened my etsy.com shop last July I thought it would be a good way to help supplement the family income doing something I already enjoyed - rummaging around at thrift stores and yard sales. It has had the distinct advantage of letting me make my own hours - a definite plus for a mom of two boys that are not of driving age -- and starting a business with very little risk and overhead.

So now, I have to ask myself, why am I contemplating a move that would reverse both of those advantages? The other blond and I are looking today at an empty shop in our town with the thought of opening a "brick and mortar" shop (which is kind of funny because it is actually made of brick and mortar) versus a virtual one...and I didn't sleep too good last night.

There is rent, electric bill, insurance, heating bill and regular hours that I would have to be at the shop, weekends included. Ahhh! What am I thinking?

Partially I am not thinking, I am feeling. Despite the laundry list of reasons that it would be a risky proposition, my gut reaction is excitement, joy, nervousness and a general feeling that this could be wonderful. It also scares the s*#& out of me, but maybe that's how you know you're alive...or I'm just spouting that from a motivational poster I saw once and need to get a grip.

Just going to take this one step at a time. I will post here tomorrow on how our tour of the rental property went and if we are going to step out of the virtual world and into the real one. I wish the real one didn't have so much overhead and paperwork.

Mele and Me

Ever since I got my first jewelry box with the little ballerina that popped up when I was five, I've had a little thing for pretty jewelry boxes - and so do people who shop at etsy.com.

I have sold several vintage leather jewelry boxes, these two just in the last two-weeks.


Mele is one of the premiere makers of the elegant, leather jewelry box and a favorite of those who love the best of a vintage, so its one I keep my eye out for.

This morning, when I headed to my favorite thrift store, I just about jumped up and down in the middle of the aisle when I spotted a shelf with not one, not two, but four of these beauties, all in great condition.
It was kind of weird how I had the thought "I would like to find some nice vintage jewelry boxes, preferably Mele, and "poof" there they were...very The Secret. It was like I had a pickin' super-power.






I wish this super-power worked for everything...wish I had the winning lottery ticket..."poof."

I wish my house was permanently clean..."poof"...nope, still a cobweb in the corner of the ceiling and a glob of toothpaste in the sink. But I still have my Mele!

Roaming the Countryside

A cool Saturday morning dawned with me rolling out of bed into my jeans and a sweatshirt, and then heading out to meet the other blond at the end of my driveway. She picked me up in her van which was filled with not only her mother, but daughter, daughter's boyfriend and her two sisters - that's a die-hard picker family! I love it!

We were a little bleary-eyed at the early hour, and not completely clear or organized in which direction to head...its been a long winter and now that yard sales, church fundraisers and neighborhood sales are popping up, we're so excited we want to head in three different directions at once.

But we focused and steered the van eastwards to a church sale in Brogue, PA. We didn't have high hopes as it was the second day of the sale and that usually means the best stuff is gone, but we decided to give it a shot. We were right about the picking - I found one serving dish and that was it -- but it was totally worth it anyway for the beautiful drive and one of the best apple pies (handmade by one of the church ladies) that I've ever had for our breakfast, along with a fresh brewed cup of coffee.

Next was a fundraiser sale back in York where there were a few more little bits of this and that to find. Picked up a necklace I later altered with a cabachon I made from a children's book illustration.

And then came the main object of our day out, we went to the 14th Anniversary sale at our local Salvation Army where everything in the store was 50% off. Mecca was reached, the van emptied and we all scattered to find our favorite areas of the store. I was particularly happy with a set of bar glasses and a set of china I found.

The company was great, the pickin' good and the apple pie yummy...a very good Saturday morning indeed.

twoblondsandavan.blogspot.com

Impersonating the Easter Bunny

The thrift store shelves are full of pretenders, lairs, phonies, tricksters...false Easter Bunnies!

She thinks we'll be fooled by those big, brown eyes, but that's no bunny nose.
Can't believe this bear eating honey thinks slapping on a pair of big ears is going to fool anyone.


OK, the Cadbury Pig...I think not.
Wait, maybe this really is the Easter Bunny...no, just the other blond!

And it was good...

The other blond and I had a rocky start yesterday morning getting out bright and early to find a yard sale and then a church sale - family members in need of care, confusion with boys getting dropped for Boy Scout activities, mom stuff -- but in the end, we prevailed and headed out in the van to the nearby town of Red Lion.

But difficulties continued as the first place on our list was a moving sale, and when we drove by, we both thought it looked a little scary - broken plastic kids toys on the porch and questionable looking characters hanging out by the front door with cigarettes dangling from their mouths -- so we passed. We chose instead to regroup at the nearest Rutters and get a cup of coffee and breakfast sandwich and realign our picking karma.

And we did...the next stop was a church sale with, same as last week, a line going out across the parking lot with people hopping from one foot to the other in anticipation. And then the church lady unlocked the doors, the angels sang and the hoards moved in and tried not to trample her.

Much as last week, I had trouble focusing at first on what I was there to do - find neat stuff -- there were just so many people and things and pushing. But what helped was that about a minute and half after I got there, I spotted a very nice enamelware roasting pan with a stand, and once I had that in my bag I relaxed, the ice had been broken. If I didn't find anything else, I would have been happy with my morning. Who am I kidding, I was happy already just getting to poke around, even with the crowds.

The next thing I found took me back to my own childhood. In my grandparents attic - the perfect farmhouse attic with requisite trunks and stacks of old books and photo-albums -- where there was a box of marionettes. I think there was a Howdy Doody and a couple others, my cousin and I would play with them for hours. So when I saw this fortune teller marionette, I grabbed her and placed her in my bag without hesitation.

There was more squeezing past people, trying not to overheat in the crush and a very long line to wait in to pay for your purchases, but it was still worth it. Some really nice items. Even on my way out, only two-people away from the check-out table, I saw this great hand-tooled leather bag for under a dollar and added it to my arm-full of stuff.
So even though its hard sometimes to juggle the mom obligations with escaping for a few hours to hunt down neat old stuff, yesterday morning worked out just fine...and the kids are all still alive and accounted for...so we're good.

Love on the Shelves

The days are getting longer, the weather...we all hope...will be getting warmer - spring is coming!

And that means all the little animals are finding their mates, and apparently not just in nature, I've noticed them pairing up on the thrift store shelves as well.

Ah, smells like love...or bacon...both good.

Awww, those lovey-dovey Germans.

Only hand holding in public, Erma.

Happy spring!

Stage Mom

I'm so proud, one of my little finds is headed for stardom in California.

This old metal child's toy "tool box" - hammer, saw and level included -- was purchased by the art director for CSI. Yes, C...freakin' S...I
Now I'm left wondering if my yard sale find will be part of a murder scene...will the victim be beaten with a mallet, jugular vein sawed, or bonked on the head with the level (that one does seem pretty far fetched).

Or, will this old metal box be a part of the background in a scene in an antique shop or the home of a homicidal vintage toy collector...I am so curious!

I'm going to have to watch every CSI episode now and scan the background for this fun old metal toy. I'm such a stage mom.