Blatant Consumerisn

Every fall, one of our local organizations puts on a inter-county garage sale that takes place over 2 days and boasts over 100 different venues and events.  It's huge.  They print up a booklet that offers descriptions of all the entrants and a map, so you can see them all "at a glance". 

That special weekend took place last weekend.  I hadn't attended in a couple of years (can't remember why I missed it last year...) and I had only one goal: find a small, solid-wood chest of drawers.  This is something I've been pining for since last year and the reason is that I'm getting annoyed with storing my fabric stash in cardboard boxes.  I lose things completely and get so overwhelmed by the bits and bobs in there that I avoid sewing.  I don't want avoid sewing because of something so fixable, so I've been on the lookout!

This place was neat - their sale was held in a nice courtyard of a motel, along the side of the highway.  It was multi-family and well-staffed.  We picked up a slew of mint-condition DVD's from a widow who was downsizing.  Her husband had been a big movie buff and had a truckload of action movie DVD's (my husband is like-minded).

I spotted this bumper sticker and couldn't resist.

Check out this fully-functioning Japanese washing machine!  It's made by Hitachi and my grandmother has one just like it.  They were asking $20 for it and though we don't need a washing machine, I was sorely tempted to take it home.  These little things are fantastic!  And very water/energy-efficient, too!

I bought these adorable little cups for 10 cents each.  I tried to find a fourth, but it was not to be.

This little bowl/dish was 10 cents and I just love it.  We have a serious serving dish shortage in this house, so I've been on the lookout for that, too.

These insulators were a bit steep, price-wise.  However, I couldn't resist.  I got the pair for $5 + 2 eggs.  Yes, 2 eggs.  The sellers were a couple from out-of-town, camping in an RV and they had been trying to buy only 2 eggs from any of the local stores (they didn't want to buy 6 or 12, as the leftovers would have gone to waste).   We went and bought a dozen, kept 10 for our own use and gave them 2.  Strange, but effective.

 This isn't something I bought - it's a piece of green milk glass that my grandmother gave me.  She used it for mashed potatoes for YEARS (I don't think I ate mashed potatoes out of any other dish for the first 8 years of my life) and never for anything else, oddly.  Last year, she started thinking about moving into the local "seniors' community" where all her chums live and she wanted to downsize her possessions before it comes to that point.  She came to visit last summer and brought me this (the only thing I really wanted) and her ENTIRE COLLECTION OF VINTAGE KNITTING NEEDLES (the only other thing I wanted). 

 See why I love it?

I found and bought this little fan for $2...

...and this one for only $1!

 (Yes, do!)

 

And guess what?  They both work perfectly!!!

 This one even has some neato swivelly action going on.

Found an awesome wool blanket for $10 (army surplus-style which, in addition to the goose-down duvet and other wool blanket on my bed, keeps me toasty).  The vintage sheets in this photo were also a garage sale find ($2).

And yes, I DID find a little chest of drawers.  It needs to be stripped and painted white (with these knobs in white and red, methinks).  It was $15.  Much better than the $200 I was finding in the stores...

Oh, and we found a much more suitably-sized dining set for our kitchen.  Picture it painted white, please.

Oh, and as I threatened to do at the beginning of August, I bought myself a Nantucket Bagg for my knitting.  So so so SO SO SO glad I did!

...

But, by far, my most important and unexpected purchase was this:

 Have you guessed what it is, yet?

 Yes, that's right!  A beautiful vintage bicycle!  I am so over the moon in love with it!  It needs some love and I haven't had a chance to roll up my sleeves on it yet, but I will.  Oh, will I ever!

She needs some cleaning, new reflectors, a rack and lights, but that's no big deal.  The tires are original, as are the seat, the handlebar grips, the paint, the decals, the everything.

And how much do you think I spent on her?  $100?  $150?  Nope.

Yup.  It was fate.  Thank you, Universe.  I love you.