Friday, August 29, 2008

The Saling Gods are smiling.

OMG! I can't wait to show you the bargains I picked up this afternoon... an early start to my "saling" weekend. I had decided that I would only go garage saling every second week (after payday because that's when I get my $20 "pocket money") but was still trying to work out how to break the news to hubby that, yes, I'm going out shopping for more "crap" to fill the house with this weekend. But wait, Mitch has gone away for 2 nights, to his State titles for boxing, so now I don't have to hide anything. Yesss! (Imagine a fist pumped in the air.)


Anyway, I was driving home from dropping Rosie off to gymnastics when I spy a lady setting up a sale in her front yard for tomorrow. Looks interesting, I says to myself, are they canisters I spy...and crockery? Goody. But do I have my purse with me? NO.


After picking up Rosie however, I decided to stop and just innocently knock on the door to ask what time the sale starts tomorrow. (I made sure I had my purse this time.) What me, have an ulterior motive? Can I help it if they invite me to look around now? And,oh boy, was it a good sale or what. There are two things that indicate a GOOD sale 1. Obviously that they have good stuff and 2. That they are cheap. (If I wanted to pay $20 for a cup and saucer I would go to a shop.)


The first thing I went for was her stack of china saucers. She's been collecting them for years she tells me, there's even Meakin and Shelley in there. I don't care what the labels are, I just go for what grabs me, right there in the stomach region, but if it has a label, even better. I look at a few pretty ones. "How much?" I ask, half wincing, waiting for the answer. (I had a bad experience last week, but then again it wasn't my week for "saling" so maybe that was my punishment for breaking my own rules.) 5c each! I take nearly all of them, 14 plates in all. "So that's 70c," she says. I feel so grateful that I say, "No, that's $2, at least." And even then I feel like a cheapskate. I also got this little canister (in the middle) which matches some dinner plates I already have. 50c. Yep. I think I'll keep my Chai tea in here.



Then I found this cute Dutch clock, which is plastic but looks real. I'm half Dutch, so would like to start collecting more Dutch things and I've been looking for a clock for the lounge room. But I think it would suit the kitchen more. We'll see.



Next up was this great set of scales. (The one in the middle, already friendly with my other two. I think I feel a collection coming on.) $5.


Then I found these cute pictures, the set for $3. They are about 20 cm square and have got double matting and everything.


And last, but not least, my favourite. These frames.

The lady told me that they are really old. She bought them from an estate sale years ago and has been holding on to them from move to move, but it was time to let them go. They are really old, she tells me again. So I ask the price, wincing again, thinking $15, $20 each. Nope, only $2, and even then, she's almost apologetic, as if she's overcharging. Woo hoo, as Homer says. Maybe it's a desecration for something so old but I think I'll paint them white. Then I'll have to work out what to put in them. I kind of like them even just propped up against this chair.

And I've still got money to go saling tomorrow with my good friend and crafting buddy, Lisa. Bring on tomorrow.



P.S. I have a confession to make. We had takeout pizza for dinner tonight (when Mitch is away, the girls will play) so after my holier-than-thou description of my baking in my Things About Me, I feel like a fraud. No, maybe just human. I do just get tired of cooking sometimes. Do you still love me?

2 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh - yes! You're a girl after my own heart! I love all your finds! The windmill clock is super! When my girls were little I made little Dutch girl costumes for them and stenciled little windmills on their aprons...Donna

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  2. Yes we still love you. Love all your posts and I'm glad to see you are also very human. I hate cooking and struggle all the time with it. It's not a priority compared to the teens, my animals, my treasure hunting and painting, but nobody is loosing weight so that's a good thing. I envy your style, really I do.
    BTW what is a bickie jar? is that filled with cookies?
    Have a great weekend
    CC
    Claudie from Canada

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Get to know me

  • I love the smell of cinnamon and vanilla.
  • My favourite flowers are daisies.
  • My favourite trees are pine trees.
  • I always like to have the bickie jar full and a cake on the cake stand. I know...not that healthy, but so good to look at.
  • Autumn is my favourite month, although I do wish we had more of a change of colours up here in Queensland.
  • I love Anne of Green Gables and Laura Ingalls Wilder. They started my love affair with "old-fashioned" stuff.
  • I'm a boots and jeans kind of girl, but also love vintage skirts and dresses.
  • I like sewing and am in love with quilts at the moment.
  • I love reading. (I have a weakness for archeological thrillers and historical romances, but not Mills and Boon-type ones.)
  • I love old houses with character. No new estate houses for me. (Sorry Rosie.)
  • I love vintage/cottage/farmhouse decorating and pretty pinks and blues, with a splash of red for colour.
  • Polka dots can make me sigh with delight.
  • I have 4 chooks. They are MY pets. Another tick on my dream-come-true chart.
  • I don't eat dessert much any more. I'm not dieting, I just don't want it. (Does that mean I'm growing up if I say no to an icecream cone?)
  • I'll still always say yes to chocolate though!
  • I like to sit on the front stairs in the sun, to drink my morning cup of tea, while I contemplate what to do in the garden.
  • I've got the gardening bug again recently. It comes and goes with the weather. I'm envisioning cottage flowers in pink, blue and white to go with my green picket fence.