estate sale finds // 02.10.2012 (part 2)

so, picking up where i left off...

the final item i snagged before i dragged myself away from the amazing estate sale was a diary/daily calendar from 1958. it was made for the fair department store in ft. worth, texas. below is a photo of one of the fair department stores in 1958 and what sits on the same lot now.

(source)

as i said in the previous post, it's quite sweet and a bit sad. i've transcribed the contents of the entries below the pictures.

front cover: divorce granted october 18, 1957 (friday). papers on record oct. 21, 1957 // tuesday, september 2, 1958 went to work at convair $1.72 per hour

friday, january 3: worked for [ft. worth] press. bill robinson said that i was doing real good in my work.

wednesday, january 8 [after being sick for 4 days]: was still sick, but went to work. bill robinson said that they had hired some one else that you weren't aloud (sic) to be sick.

friday, february 21: met john allen.

thursday, april 24: received a letter from jim today. he said that he was going to start paying support for mary kaye after the last week in april. but i doubt this very much.

tuesday, april 29: dr. beyer gave me a blood test so i could go to beauty school. dr. brown took 10 moles off of me.

monday, may 5: started to isabell beauty school. $50.00 tuition. 9-5:30.

saturday, may 31: jim got married approximately. his license came out in sunday, june 1, 1958 paper. he marries anita mashburn from meadowbrook drive.

friday, june 13: dr. beyer gave me my 3rd polio shot. he also gave me some pills to take 1 a day. [scratched out in pencil]: he said that he would try to get me a date?

this poor nameless lady! fresh from a divorce at the beginning of the year and she loses her job. she's a single mother (and in 1958, which, as we all know from mad men, was very much frowned upon) with no financial support and she seems to have trouble holding onto a job. i hope this john allen she met in february was a swell guy! i wonder if the pill her doctor gave her in june was for her polio vaccination (i don't think there was an oral vaccine in the 1950s, though). and i wonder why she scratched out that very last sentence? there were no more entries for the rest of the year to offer any more clues.

i sure hope things picked up for her and mary kaye! though this one was quite morose, i love finding little treasures like this at estate sales. they offer small glimpses into what daily life must have been like and i find that endlessly fascinating.

estate sale finds // 02.10.2012 (part 1)

i had last friday off, so i decided it was time to hit the estate sale circuit again. there haven't been many really great sales lately, but things are definitely picking up with the mild weather we've been having here.

one sale, in particular, caught my eye. isn't it funny how one small item spotted amongst literally hundreds of items in promotional photographs will set you on a 160-mile round trip course? because that's exactly what happened. and it was totally worth it.

first, some things i didn't get. i was actually lucky to snap a few pictures before the organizers got a bit, uh, cranky. but i know they have to keep everything above board, especially at a sale when the house is as unbelievably packed as this one was. rooms stuffed to the brim and not a dozen items newer than 1970, i dare say. everything was covered in a fine layer of grime, which, in my experience, is the very best type of sale.

(three shelves of vintage cleaning supplies - i was thinking of you, eartha kitsch!)

and what i did get:

juice glasses (the items that sparked my interest) // enamel pin (still in package!) // 1950 the smart set magazine // pink swirl glass & pink ceramic typewriter

junior deluxe edition books for my small, but growing collection.

more beautiful old books. i had to stop myself with the books because there were rooms (plural!) full of old titles. it was overwhelming, to say the least. 

i don't want to creep into photo overload territory, so i'm going to leave the last find for a separate post. it's sweet and quite sad, actually, so stay tuned! 

// part 2 //

estate sale finds // 09.09.11

today marks the beginning and end of my weekend, so, to make the most of my short time away from work, i decided to get out of town and hit up an estate sale in west ft. worth. let me just say that the 60+ minute drive was totally worth it, as this was probably the best estate sale i've been to in a long time. maybe ever.

before i show you what i picked up, let's talk about the house. this isn't the house that had the sale, but it's the one next door and the whole neighborhood was filled with amazing houses like this. the house with the sale had a huge apartment garage, a basement (in texas! this is a rarity.), butler's pantries (yes, multiple), garden rooms, back-of-the-house staircases, so many closets (all with custom built-in, beautifully painted shelves and organizational cubbies), dressing rooms, parlors, and bedrooms. it seems like an exaggeration, i know, but it's not. it was incredible.

call me weird, but i couldn't resist snapping shots of the bathrooms. the tile work was gorgeous and each bathroom was covered in either yellow, blue, or pink tile from floor to ceiling, with matching sinks and toilets, of course. it was dreamy.

so, what did i take home?

a children's art and music book from 1945.

an amazing (!!) pink bag/purse. i am in love with the color, shape, and details on this bag. and it was only $4!

a cuckoo clock wall pocket planter.

this shell pink milk glass piece will be my sister's christmas present. i'm always looking out for items like this to add to her collection.

how to own a dog and like it. i had to get this book just for the title.

i think i gasped a little (okay, a lot) when i saw this polaroid sx-70 land camera with sonar attachment. it is in almost mint condition and it was a total steal. i'm still excited and can't wait to order some more impossible film.

 another loud gasp for these. i got all three pieces for $15, which is crazy good for an estate sale.

 a few pieces of costume jewelry. i love the orange enamel flower and the daisy circle pin.

 i think i'm going to use this burlap-covered bulletin board in my sewing/craft/office room. i love the lemons!

finally, this double gooseneck lamp is going to be a makeover project. i have something in mind and i already stopped at the store to pick up supplies. i obviously have no patience and have to start on things immediately, even though i should be doing other things... like packing.

did you find anything today?

estate sale finds // 07.09.2011

i say 'estate sale finds,' but really, i brought nothing home from this sale but snapshots and an imagination run wild. before heading to hillsboro to save the bottle rocket motel last weekend, i went to a few estate sales with my friends, one of which was in an 1887 home in a historic neighborhood.

i almost felt as if i were entering crotchety mr. pendergast's dilapidated manor (please tell me how much you love pollyanna -- i can't be the only one).

everything was faded.

and bare.

and quiet.

the house was full of the clutter that fills a home over 124 years, but i couldn't focus on books and cutlery and maps when there was such a haunt to explore.

there were so many small, out-of-the way rooms and views.

i was particularly taken with this room. as soon as i saw the tennis rackets and the suit jackets, visions of a melancholic richie tenenbaum, former tennis prodigy, filled my mind.

everything was a bit grey gardens meets the royal tenenbaums.

an eerie perfection.

i would have loved to have seen this place in all its splendor, but i suppose i'll have to settle for a ghost.

estate sale finds // 05.28.2011



suffice it to say, the little bedroom community i call home (established in 1974) is not the best place for finding vintage wares or furniture; however, every once in awhile, you stumble upon greatness.

this past weekend, my mom and i hit up a nearby nature preserve for a bike ride and decided to stop at a local estate sale on the way home. and what did i find? not the buffet i was thinking about investing in, but an eight-piece dining set from the late 1940s/early 1950s.

after a few minutes deliberation (and a quick call to my brother to see if he could store the set until i move in the fall), i had a mid-century table, six chairs, and a buffet. the set isn't in pristine condition, but it was a great deal and it's definitely workable.

the table and the buffet both have burl wood detailing and the buffet has really interesting acrylic and metal handles. the chairs were recovered in the 1970s, so i cannot wait to remove the gold and green velvet (though i kind of love it) to see the original fabric underneath.

also at the estate sale?

this amazing dresser and headboard set. i'm a bit ashamed to admit it, but i didn't even think about these (i didn't even look at the price!) because i already have a dresser, though definitely not as classy as these.

i'm getting excited about autumn and new places!

half of a noah baumbach film

it's saturday and you know what that means! yep, i'm dodging phone calls from weird food guy and explaining how to print only what you've selected at work. i'm also learning that i can't quite function on five hours of sleep like i used to. *yawn*

i really just wanted to pop in and show you something super cute that i picked up at an estate sale on thursday morning.



hee! it's too much! i spotted this cutie in an online photo cluster of items up for sale at an estate in dallas (i always do a bit of research the night before and make up lists and maps). the sale opened at ten o'clock and i arrived at 9:25 to find at least fifty people ahead of me.

because the sale had so much fine jewelry, the estate sale company utilized a bit of crowd control in the form of only letting five or ten people in at a time. cut to a 45-minute wait before i was allowed in. once inside, i had to wait my turn at the jewelry section, where i happily found my whale to still be up for grabs. hoorah!



he (because, obviously, gender is assigned to necklace pendants) came on a child's length chain, so i had to get something a bit longer. as i didn't have any spare necklaces at home, i checked my local thrift store, but no luck. i was meeting my friend at the mall later, so i decided to go to icing.

can i just say that i never, ever want to have to go into that store again? unless i'm with a niece or somebody under the age of ten. even then, i'm still not sold. but i got my chain and i'm so happy with my little buddy.

estate sale finds // 04.01.2011

happy friday to you! i had the good fortune of being off today and took advantage of it by hitting up a vintage-saturated estate sale - my favorite kind. here's what i brought home:

a pair of mod orange japanese: a) oil and vinegar decanters or b) salt and pepper shakers. what do you think?

adorable lamb salt and pepper shakers. 

an assortment of vintage embroidery transfer patterns. i love the animated kitchen friends on the top!

a too cute for words merry maid clothes sprinkler container.

a funny little toothpick holder (the bird bends down to pick up the toothpick for you).

this little boy stole my heart. what a cutie pie!

i got pulled in by the cover graphics. i should know better by now, but i can't resist colorful vintage illustrations.

a complete 12-piece gitsware colorvision snack set. i love the orange, gold, and cream color combination.

a sampler-theme box of paper napkins and coasters. sampler art: another guilty pleasure.

this little electric fan was too cool (no pun intended) not to pick up. it's a great metallic green shade.

i had to have this just for the peacock feathers. i was surprised to see the bottom marked 'claire lerner studios' as its style is very different from most claire lerner pieces i've come across. it seems much more art deco than atomic era.

these all came together in a plastic bag. i was pulled in with the glasses, but there were some sentimental items in there, which i love finding. the crochet bag has a note stating emphatically that it was not to be washed and the two shoes are marked 1926 and 1927.

this cheerful wall-hanging wasn't at the sale, but at a thrift store stop on the way home. 

a new metal thermos for my vintage collection - yay!

i love finding these old hangers with the colorful crochet covers. this is only a portion of the lot i scored for just a few dollars.

this was also a thrift store find. i'm almost at the point of banning myself from picking up any more needlepoint scenes. i have so many, but i kind of just go weak in the knees thinking about how long somebody must have spent creating these works. i just can't seem to let them waste away in a lonely thrift store, you know?

it was a great morning for vintage finds and i'm extremely happy with what i got, but let me show you what i really, really wanted and didn't get to in time.

pretty amazing, no? i'm a little sick that i didn't get it. everything was so reasonably priced that i'm sure it was no more than $50. i was the fifth person in line and wouldn't you know it, the first two girls ran straight in and scooped it (and most of the other awesome vintage furniture) up. le sigh. keith managed to snag a great kroehler sofa, so i feel better. a little.

what did you find?

(this post is part of apron thrift girl's thrift share monday)