I think I used up all of my luck this past weekend. Friday night I was searching for sales to go to in the morning. I spotted turquoise Pyrex at a yard sale that happens most every weekend. I think the guy must be an eBay seller or something because he always has tons of crap and fancy signs he puts all over the area. I don't usually stop there because I went once and found it to be too expensive for my taste. After seeing the turquoise that I didn't get in my kitchen lot Craigslist purchase, I was so sad that I hadn't looked for sales the night before because it started Friday morning. BJ had to work and I didn't really feel like riding around town on my bike and try to safely transport things home in a basket, so I didn't even bother to look. I told myself that it would be our first stop of the day and crossed my fingers that it was still there. I didn't see it when I walked up and got that defeated feeling. There were cool Eames style mid-century chairs on the lawn and I thought I'd just take a look because I knew I wouldn't be able to afford them. And then there was Pyrex! UGH, I paid low retail for it... but it is in really nice shape with only a few nicks in the paint and no dishwasher damage.
I think I made up for the retail price on the 403 when I found a Lace Medallion 045 with lid and cradle at an estate sale (2 hours after opening if you can believe that!) for a total of $15! It is super DWD, but I can forgive that for the price with cradle. I picked up a Red Owl promo needle kit with most needles still intact and a little cold cream jar with turquoise lid for a buck each at the garage sale of one of the dealers from Urban Cottage. The cute Christmas ornament box came from a yard sale run by two nice older ladies and was also only a dollar.
As I said at the beginning, I used up all my luck. My life turned back into a pumpkin by Monday with the usual craptacular stuff that always happens to me. My rear bike tire seems to be trashed, but I can't be sure of that because I'm just a stupid girl. I see the tire itself as having tears in it, but BJ thinks it is probably just the tube inside, which I can't see because I'm just looking at the obvious unstable condition of the rubber on the exterior and he didn't look at it at all. Obviously he knows best. I think I'll err on the safe side and just replace both. Now to actually accomplish this before I have to bike to work on Friday.
I'm off to do housework, bleh.
First off, my Spoonflower proofs arrived and all designs are now for sale! I'm a little late on posting this, but if you follow me on Instagram then you probably already know that. Also, Society6 now has leggings. I've made my pink and turquoise Pyrex design available for this product. There is free shipping this week if you're interested in anything!
I've been really very busy lately. I've basically got one day off per week and that is spent cleaning apartment and recovering from 6 mile daily uphill-both-ways bike rides to/from work where I do physical labor and take approximately 17 thousand plus steps a day. I hope that explains my absence. I died my hair for the first time ever several weeks ago. Just the tips- and I went bold with blue/turquoise/now turning greenish. My mom did not comment on it when I saw her over Mother's Day weekend so obviously she thinks it's stupid, but I like it. Most days my hair is back in a braid so I don't get to appreciate it as much as I'd like.
BJ and I decided to visit a flea market for the first time. A lot of firsts recently, I guess. We drove all the way down to Le Sueur for the annual flea. I found a photo on a blog from last year and there was a huge Pyrex booth and I had my fingers crossed that it would be there again this year. There was a Pyrex booth, but everything was priced well above retail. $30 for a DWD Friendship 401 as an example. I did walk away with a green wheat for $30 simply because I'd never seen it in person and I didn't want to leave without a piece of Pyrex. Hopefully I can trade it for something I'd rather have some day. The day wasn't a total bust, though. I got two McCoy planters for a dollar each, a lady head vase, several Japan tchotchkes, a yellow Miss Priss creamer, a deer planter, and a chalkware apple. It was fun, but I don't think I'll go back next year because it's too far of a drive to look at farm equipment and antique store prices.
We've been finding good patterns/colors of Pyrex at the thrifts lately, but sadly most of it comes with at least minor DWD. I found a full set of pink bowls at Goodwill, completed my cinderella Butterprint set with a 443 from a flea market in Anoka, and found the 402-404 unnumbered primaries to complete that set at Arc's all in the same weekend! I took a chance on a large lot of vintage kitchen junk on Craigslist. The seller called the bowl she had as part of the lot "medium aqua Pyrex," but the picture looked green. I thought maybe it was just bad lighting, but no, it was an unnumbered green primary. I guess that explains the use of medium, but not how she could mistake plain old green for aqua when she owned it in all forms of lighting. I'll make my money back and then some, but I don't know that anything in the lot is a quick sell...
I'm not a fan of the new trend of antique store pricing at garage sales. Last weekend, we skipped an estate sale that had Friendship (probably over priced) and went to a garage sale in Coon Rapids that had what I thought might be Bakelite bangles and Jadeite plates. I was right on both counts. The plates were in a lot of 7 green plates (2 were green depression glass Pyrex dinner plates, one a junk ceramic dessert plate) for $7. Right when we walked up a couple of guys picked them up and I was very disappointed. They put them down. All the jadeite was chipped, but I don't leave behind dollar jadeite! I couldn't find the box with the bangles and was worried the lady who was there before us had bought them, but they were just not put out in a shop-able area. The ladies running the sale called them "World War II Bracelets" and said they were brought back from France in the box they were being sold in. They were plain maiden sized tubes and I felt that she was asking too much for something she clearly didn't know anything about. I did find a bakelite handled icing knife at the flea market later though.
Since I have to work all the time during spring, I plan for sales well in advance so that I can request them off when I submit my availability for the season. Unfortunately, BJ wasn't able to get all the city-wide sale days off when he got his new position. Luckily we got to hit most of the sales I picked off the map and scored a bunch of great stuff. No notable Pyrex, sadly. I did get a 473 and 474 Woodland for the lids. Everything I got was a super great deal. The fan, which works, was only $3! I went to another sale after that which had several vintage fans for $100+ each. I got a handi holder for free at that sale and the little rooster planter because I felt bad just taking something from the free table without buying anything >_< I scored big at one sale that didn't have anything priced. The seller seemed flustered and didn't know what to price anything on the spot and threw out a dollar a piece on everything I had- this included a Griswold cast iron muffin pan! She looked at her daughter and said she wouldn't really be getting anything for the pan if she priced it that way and asked her if she wanted it for camping. All things that definitely should have been thought over before setting something out for sale, right? The daughter said she didn't want it and offered a $2 price tag, which, duh! So for $12, we got the cast iron muffin pan, 7 ball jar lids with glass inserts, a NOS box of Ball Jar rubber seals, a jadeite saucer, and a Hazel Atlas refrigerator jar. There was a really cute scrolled pink window with a screen that I doubt was priced which I regret not getting, but where the heck am I going to put that right now?! I could have gotten it for a steal though, maybe I'll see if it's still there tomorrow.
The only non-vintage Halloween that I'm allowing myself with no guilt is Boney Bunch from Yankee Candle because I love skeletons and they're too cute! Boneys are basically gold to those who collect them because almost everything sells out. That means they aren't usually found anywhere but eBay with high prices. I was shocked to see one for a dollar at a charity garage sale! I squealed. I can't wait to get some watch batteries and see what her crystal ball looks like illuminated!
That's all for now. I miss my babies and they miss me, so I'm going to get in a long snuggle sesh, watch Grimm, and then more garage sale-ing tomorrow morning!
