Little Hits and Big Misses

Last Friday we woke up early to get in line at an estate sale. The ONLY good thing at this sale was a spirograph Pyrex with lid. I knew when we drove up and the number person was a young woman that we had already lost it, but we stayed on the off chance that we could still snag it. No luck. UGH!!! Three hours of my life WASTED!!!

We headed to Target and I decided to just see if there were any Halloween deals on Cartwheel. Amazingly, there was a 20% off all decor one day only coupon! We got everything we wanted except for the eye doorbell, but decided we would go to a different one later. I wish I would have checked earlier because there was a garage sale that started at the same time as the estate sale that had a Butterprint 404! It was a day of not so great decisions. We decided to try our luck anyway because it was a rainy Friday. Obviously it was not there, but we did pick up an Early America 501 for just 75 cents, a super cute Halloween mug, and a Spring Blossom 502 with lid. The lady wanted to get rid of everything so she threw in the all the Pyrex she had left, which was 3 bowls, all for the grand total of $5! I've been holding off on the EA 501 because I never wanted to pay the $8 I always see them for. Really happy I did!

The garage sale was in St. Paul and really close to Valu Thrift. This is the same one we visited on our Thriftcation and left with almost nothing because they charge eBay prices, but since we were close, why not? I found a Bakelite roulette wheel! Unfortunately two of the pegs are broken off, but it's still really cool. I'm thinking of making a roulette table for our party just so we can use it!

There was a lot of Pyrex there, but all of it was really expensive and none of it was anything I would want to keep. They were charging separate for lids and dishes. I'm a lid hoarder so I bought them... I also found three cute little Glasbake custard cups with red rims.

I think we used up all of our luck on the Big Bertha we found at Goodwill the night before. I'm hoping we aren't in a good Pyrex drought for long!

Venting and Thrifting

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow... for babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow... so quiet down cobwebs... dust go to sleep... I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep!!

I found this sweet framed embroidery at the thrift store last night and couldn't leave it behind. I don't have any human babies, but I love my furry ones just as much. I bought this for the shop, but I don't know if I can part with it. Am I ridiculous because it makes me cry? Probably. Today I woke up and was feeling sad missing my babies who are gone. I started thinking about Patches. It turns out that today is the day she died 11 years ago. I didn't even realize until I got home from work this afternoon and thought it strange that I would be missing her specifically out of all of them. A little random act of kindness helped me to it.

There is a beautiful garden which is lovingly tended on my bike route. The lady who owns it occasionally puts out canning jars with arrangements from her garden by the curb with a free sign. I've never stopped to take one before today, but I needed something to cheer me up. I hope one day that I can have a garden like she has so I can return the favor.

I rode to work against the wind, into the rain (0% chance of rain mind you...) and the first person I saw there was the miserable old witch who Minnesota Nices me every time I'm there. Then the new dumb cashier asked me very seriously where all the mums went and I wanted to ask her where the hell she thought things went when people paid for them and took them out of the store?! This has been the worst season I've ever worked at Home Depot in terms of how rude the employees are and I dread going there because I always leave pissed off. I was bullied all through school and I don't think it needs to continue into my adulthood.

I made a candy corn display which was quickly ruined because the old bats don't get color blocking and are too stupid to be clever.

Anyway, I'm home now and don't have to go back until Thursday. The apartment is in desperate need of a good cleaning, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. I wanted to share some of my fun finds from this past weekend. The BOO-tique opened at my main thrift on Saturday. BJ and I got in line and picked up the blow mold on the left. I also found several vintage dresses, but only got one because vintage commands high prices at this thrift store. The blow mold on the right we found at Goodwill last night. It seemed like a total bust. Then we turned a corner and found this guy waiting to come home with us. He is genuine vintage and looks like he has never met the sun. Don't tell the others, but he's my favorite!

We went to our shop on Sunday so that we could talk to the owner about expanding our space. I am SOOO excited! I never dreamed what he had to offer us. He told us that he didn't offer the space to anyone else because he thought that it would work well for us. I can't wait to move in!!! I know it's vague, but in November it will all make more sense.

Obviously I always shop when we visit. I left with the small blow mold, a pack of cake toppers, and a creepy Beistle die cut.

Why does he have so many teeth?!

The last couple of weeks I have started an I Love Lucy shaker collection. I'm not usually too into the modern merch, but they were all cheap so what the heck!

I found a couple of vintage pink Tupperware trays that will be great for organizing small things in our new booth. And of course no creepy Santa is ever left behind!

I found my first ever Pyrex pixie!!! I was so excited when I spotted it! I also found a teeny tiny little Fire King casserole and a 475 lid that has no imperfections. It was a really good day at the thrift store!

I have to go make dinner now. I really wish the cats would do it so I could go sit in bed and binge watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I have a start on several Halloween crafts and am so close to finishing one, so check back this week!

Seward Sale and More Pyrex

The pink mug above caught my eye in a basement photo from an estate sale. I didn't want to wake up early to get in line for it, so I thought I'd just chance it and see if it was there whenever we got there. It was! It is Hazel Atlas for anyone wondering. I picked it and the Fire King polka dot mug up for a dollar each and BJ came down the stairs with Halloween records in hand. We had them, so we passed on the $5 price tags, but did come home with a couple better priced Disney ones. BJ found a few old newspapers with Twins World Series stories for only .50 each! One of them even has a monster picture on front for a story inside and an article about Halloween socks at Sox Appeal at Mall of America. So us!

I LOVE children's books, I had so many as a kid. Some of my very favorites reside on the bookshelf by my bed. One of them is part of the same series as "What's a Ghost to Do?" so I obviously had to get it despite the heavy marking all over. I can't believe I found so many Halloweenish books at one sale. I made sure to look through all of them as not to leave any behind. 

This is my all time favorite Frosty in the history of ever! I know I had this book growing up, but I don't know if my mom still has it or not. I also got another one of my favorites, "Crybaby Calf."

There were a lot of board games at this sale as well. I considered buying Mystery Date, but the box wasn't in very good shape and I have absolutely no room for anything. Despite that, I got the Ouija board because I've only ever found the 80's ones and decided I needed it for my Halloween collection. We actually left this at the sale. I called my mom and was about to excitedly tell her I got  a Ouija board only to realize I didn't bring it home! I was freaking out and so sure that it wouldn't be there. Obviously it was, thankfully!

Our Targets still haven't put out much Halloween other than candy and baking supplies. The new Pyrex flew off the shelves right away. I had to visit four different Targets to get all three designs. The sugar skull design is the hardest to find in these parts. We stopped at a sketchy Target on the way home from the estate sale just to check. At first I was disappointed because there were only two different price tags for the Pyrex with an empty shelf. BJ looked around on the shelf and found the skulls! They decided not to put all the Pyrex together which was an odd choice, but definitely worked out in my favor because I'm sure it tricked a lot of other people into thinking they didn't have it!

Craigslist has been the same old Pyrex listed over and over again for months. FINALLY there was a new listing with interesting stuff! I got 5 pieces of Pyrex for dirt cheap. Two of those are this turquoise 043 and a willow 473. I've never seen this particular piece before and wish it had come with its lid, but I'm excited to have finally found something different that the same ol' same ol'! We hit up some of the thrift stores in the area that we went to pick them up. We came home with a sandalwood 441 and some Halloween serving trays for our party. Then we stopped at our thrift Googie calls work right before closing and found an adorable Hazel Atlas children's mug!

I'm off to start some Halloween projects. I have so many fun things planned so stay tuned!

Labor Day Roundup

First let's get some business out of the way. Free worldwide shipping in my Society6 shop only through that link! Promotion expires September 13, 2015 at midnight Pacific. Offer excludes framed art prints, stretched canvases, wall clocks, and rugs.

Moving on. I live for 50% off sales at the thrift store. Labor day is one of those sale days, and being a rewards member, it's actually two days! We found a lot of stuff for the shop, but nothing really for keeps. I did get some embroidery hoops to use in crafting a bat chandelier for our upcoming Hallowedding party and a couple of sweaters. Annabelle cannot be left alone because she gets into shenanigans like wearing hoops as belts without knowing how to get them off herself (see top photo.) The weekend included a lot of inappropriate elimination and new collars for both the cats. Annabelle a new pheromone collar and one with a bell for Basil to scare away the birds she keeps bringing into the apartment. At 10:30 P.M. last week she proudly announced herself as she walked into the bedroom with a bird in her mouth and presented it to me as a gift. While I appreciate the thought, I didn't appreciate her capturing a bird and letting it loose. It took forever to catch him and she injured his wing. She hates her collar and is driving us nuts with the jingling, but it won't be long until the door is closed for the season.

Back to thrifting. I found the candy pail (sans handle) and the McCoy cat planter at Goodwill. The pail had a price sticker from my favorite thrift store and they were charging a lot more. So tacky, but I couldn't leave him behind. The McCoy was only $2, what a steal! BJ found a set of 4 Waesterbach mugs on the half off sale, but all but one of them was chipped. He also picked up a little Federal Glass handless cup because it's cute.

Last week BJ found a primary set at the thrift store. When he brought it to me I thought the yellow one looked weird. When I turned it over I discovered that it was Glasbake! I had an extra yellow 404 to complete the set and I'm keeping this one. If I can just find another orange bowl, I'll have another candy corn stack. I also picked up a oval Glasbake casserole  because I like the colors on it. I'm not just purely Pyrex.

People in my shop are putting out Halloween stuff and I just can't resist! I tried to practice a little self control and only bought a few things. I'm going to scan them and upload them to Spoonflower to make re-useable versions and frame the paper placemat. 

I also picked up the middle pail. I think that is a really great stack! Blowmold pails and ephemera are mainly what I'm lurking for at the thrifts this Halloween season. If I find a papier mache pail, I'll be ecstatic! 

I got my Yankee Candle order last Thursday! This is me in the boney afterlife.

We finally completed the Munster family and found the new Lego mini figs. I've become really good at feeling out the packs. These were the three I wanted and the only three I got!

I'm very impatiently waiting for Halloween to fully arrive at Target. I am in the Land o' Target and yet it seems that we get things after most everyone else. I will be visiting everyday until I acquire the new Halloween Pyrex. When we took the trip the other night, I was overjoyed to find a Thing votive holder. There was no question that he was coming home with me! I almost went crazy at the Dollar Spot, but I'm trying to hold out because I know great things are coming soon. 

This HUGE spider has made our garden plot her home. I would say that she is a good inch and a half long. I really wish she would have picked the other side of the plot to live because we still have squash bugs killing off every single bloom on our butternut plant. Sadly, we'll only get the one squash this year. There is also an enormous luffa that I can't wait to use! The bees were busy pollinating last night, so I have my fingers crossed that there may be a few more before we have to take everything out.

Now I'm off to work a 3 cart delivery at night... *insert angry emoji here*

Halloween House 2015

I spent all of last week putting up my Halloween decorations. I'm still not completely finished. I have to hang the bats in the hallway and little things like that, but all the things are in place. A lot has changed since last year so it made me a little anxious about putting things where they go since the places they went are gone, but everything has a place!

We went to the thrift store last night and a working record player was waiting for us! I've been wanting a record player for a very long time, but haven't been able to commit to the cost when I've found only mixed reviews. This one saved us a ton of money, worked in the store, and looks as if it was hardly, if ever, used! I put on a Kay Starr album right away and then listed to one side of a Halloween Sounds record. Hammy's table is the only place there is space for it, and I didn't want to sacrifice the decorations there, so it will be a hassle to take everything off when I want to listen to something. Oh well...

Sorry about the dark photos. It's gloomy here today, but still grossly hot and humid. I was getting so used to the beautiful fall-ish weather we've been having and then summer had to come back with a vengeance. I had a lot of fun decorating my aluminum tree with the Halloween Shiny Brites we found at Home Goods. I was looking through my vast collection for something that I could use as a topper, and happened upon the Beistle tissue fan in my stack of die-cuts. I love it!

This is probably my favorite part of my decorations this year. I acquired a bunch of new black cats this past year and it really fills out the display. 

Yankee Candle had their Halloween launch "party" this past weekend. BJ and I were the first people in line at the store and we got there about a half hour before they opened. Only two other people showed up. Other stores around the country had people waiting in line for hours ahead of time! I purchase all the Boneys that I wanted online Saturday morning when they hit the site because I wanted an online exclusive and they didn't give out a dollar off coupon for in-store use before the party, but there were codes for online. We all have to save those dollars where we can! So we went to the store to get a witch hand and the candy dish since the special price on it wasn't live when I bought the Boneys. We got a free scent ball thing for dressing up and a free votive for who knows why. And a coupon for $15 off $45... Thanks, I won't be using that after I already gave you all my money! >_<

There's nothing like holiday decorating to remind you how much Pyrex you really have. I decided not to change out the hutch because I already had to put so much away from other parts of the apartment... So i just went with some window clings on the glass, added in a few fall colored things, and the Occupied Japan pumpkin sugar and creamer. I actually just found the creamer last week and found the sugar months ago, but at the same thrift store! Sorry about the reflection of the French Bulldog Crockpot obscuring the creamer.

The pumpkins above the balcony door are basically the same this year. I'd love to find more of those foam OH Lantern Family pumpkins at a decent price though! I found the small one (5th object from the top left) at a garage sale last summer for 50 cents. More of that please!

I got my Target bat hanging with the honeycomb ball better than I had it last year.

This area is what created a challenge since we got rid of the big entertainment center. Since I needed a little extra space to put things, I finally repainted the shelf I found at Goodwill last fall and hung it up above the TV. Lucky for me, there are little knockers that I was able to hang the Beistles that had always been sticky tacked to the cabinet in the past! I'm so in love with the huge vintage die-cuts I found at that estate sale this past winter. One day I'm going to frame them.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any other place to hang my skeletons other than the spot they usually go, so they're pretty hidden behind the massive lampshade. Maybe I'll bang some new nails where I could see them better. I'm really excited to finally get to display my Frankenstein's Monster and Dracula candles properly. I found a candelabra at the thrift store during the friends and family 50% off sale at the thrift store this spring. I got a two pack of striped battery operated candle sticks at Michael's without knowing what I'd do with them because I forgot about the candelabra. Now I need to go get another pack to fill in the last holder and hopefully score a cool finger ring candle stick holder.

The door shelf houses my Boney Bunch collection, my Lori Mitchell Wizard of Oz colletion, Pop vinyls, and stacks of vintage glass. The bottom is a yellow brick road stack with a harvest corn themed 501 stack, and in the middle, Pyrex bowls and milkglass mugs stacked to look like candy corn. 

I'm going to go try to talk myself into exercising, but might just be influenced to follow Basil's lead.