It was Cinco de Mayo weekend. We were hosting our annual Cinco de Mayo party at our house on Saturday. Why Cinco de Mayo? We know what to make to eat. Tacos, burritos, guacamole, etc. Plus, it seems like such a festive holiday that we just sort of adopted it as an annual party!
Our flyer was made up and we were way ahead of schedule after working hard during the week to make sure we would be. We wanted an opportunity to do a little saling before the party and so we did. There were a few sales that showed promise but one stood out above the rest. It was an hour's driver from our house. We chose that sale knowing that, by making that choice, it would be our only sale of the day. We felt sure that the decision we made was right.
Our first and only stop. The sale was run by one of the busiest tag sale companies in our area. They have sales every week; sometimes more than one each weekend. We used to go to their sales a lot but we have not seen them in about seven months. It seems that most of their sales, as of late, have been in upscale homes with greater focus on furniture and bigger ticket items. We are sure that there is probably more money to be made there but, when we are narrowing down our route to include the most likely good spots for our interests, their sales have not made the final cut. I think we were both excited to be going to this sale. We really like this company a lot and we really like the people who run this company. They greeted us very warmly and we know they missed us too.
Right from the start, we knew we made the right choice. We found three old Christmas blow molds in the driveway, bought them immediately, brought them to the car and continued our hunting indoors. There was a great kitchen divider unit in the basement with old yellow countertop that we both admired. Monica was very happily searching every drawer and every cabinet.
The basement had an old pencil sharpener (or what remained of it) in the basement and that is always a good sign! There were two floors to search and lots and lots of boxes and we spent two hours here with a lot of great finds! Even with time we spent at the sale, we had planned well enough for the party that we could afford the time to stop for brunch after the sale and then make the trip home.
Here are some of the things that took the one hour drive with us back to our house:
Some Christmas blow molds
Costume jewelry for Monica
More costume jewelry for Monica
Vintage greeting cards
Vintage invitations and announcement cards
Some books
Vintage Christmas gift tags, a kit to mend metal cookware and vintage candles
A few Christmas things
A Lustro Ware Bread Box
A pair of ceramic panthers
Some salt and pepper shakers. Some are missing their mates. All are marked Japan
A honeycomb wedding bell, an alarm clock and an old Hawaiian Punch can
A pair of ashtrays made in Japan
A starburst oil and vinegar cruet, a pair of ceramic mermaids and a ceramic wishing well with an elf
A ceramic ketchup and relish set (made in Japan) and a soy sauce dish
A ceramic burro (purchased just in time for our Cinco de Mayo party, a ceramic farmer and a tea rest. The farmer is marked Occupied Japan. The others are marked Japan
It was a great day of saling and a great day and we arrived home in plenty of time to do our last minute preparations for our Cinco de Mayo party before our guests arrived!
Balloons and streamers adorned the house
Food was prepared
Monica's dad was quite the kazoo player!
Everyone was happy...even if they didn't look it!
It was a great day, a great party and a great weekend. Happy Cinco de Mayo from our casa to yours!
I love costume jewelry but it is obvious Monica is the one who gets there before I do. No matter how early I arrive, someone else has already gotten all the good stuff.
ReplyDeleteHa Ha! Monica does have a lot of costume jewelry but she rarely picks it up anymore. At this particular sale with this tag sale company, they offered a "fill a basket" price which we opted for based upon what we were seeing here. Monica wanted to fill every nook and cranny of that basket! :) (Rob)
DeleteI can't help but think you guys are doing a good service - so many of the things that you save from these homes are things that I bet people who knew the owners would say, "why are you saving that old thing (Hawaiian Punch can, ancient invitations, etc)" but you guys and the previous owners knew / know that they have value! I bet the owners are smiling down on you happy that you get it. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mod Betty! We think you are right and we know you think similarly. So many of the things we get hold sentimental value to us based on recollections of our childhoods. We suspect that things like the Hawaiian Punch can and the invitations would have been tossed in the trash at the conclusion of the sale. We visualize the can as having a place on a shelf in our garage. Some of the tag sale companies we frequent refer to our taste as "eclectic". We take this as a compliment. (Rob)
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