No Horsing Around

We are still a little behind on our blog. This story is about the first full weekend in June. We will catch up soon!

The first full weekend in June had arrived and our saling prospects were a little slim. It's not that there weren't sales. It's just that it there weren't a lot of our type of sales. That happens sometimes and we really couldn't complain too much after having a great saling day last Saturday. There were five potential sales on our list but it would not easy to hit them all. First of all, they were not located in one nice, neat cluster. There would be a little bit of travel in between stops. Secondly, Monica's car was being fixed and the shop closed early on Saturdays so we had to be back in time to pick it up. Lastly, it was the day of The Belmont Stakes. We had to make sure not to be anywhere near that area for a good six hours before the race or we could be caught in a nightmarish traffic jam. Our time was too precious for that. We didn't have time to horse around! 

Monica donated blood the day before and they tied up her tourniquet with a little bow! 
With the bandage removed and Monica feeling 100%, we got an early start Saturday morning and headed to the first stop on our list.

It was a 45 minute drive from our house but we knew we were in the right place. The sign told us so!

There was a small line (the downfall to arriving early) but it moved quickly and we were inside within ten minutes. Monica was smiling!

The house had a basement with plenty to search. There was a really cool Pepsi Cola cooler which we did not get...

...but there were plenty of other things that were a bit more practical. We took home some records, Christmas salt and pepper shakers, a Rheingold bar caddy, some books and a few other items. Stop #1 was a success.

 After getting some breakfast, we made our way to stop #2 and we recognized the house. We were here at some point in the recent past and no one was there. They closed early and left no word. We didn't have high hopes for this one anymore despite the description of the sale that had said both "vintage" and "house bursting". We figured all the good stuff was probably gone many months ago.

There were two floors and the basement had this really great table (and a pretty great floor too)!

Although there were two floors, there were areas that were off limits. No one was allowed to search the "cabinates". 

The kitchen had some great cabinets (we never found the "cabinates") but there was nothing inside them as the many signs told us. It was a quick stop with not much worth buying. We took home one record and a package of vintage birthday candles.

We really had to give a lot of thought to what our third stop would be. There was an estate sale described as "vintage sale" that began on Friday but no pictures to support the claim. There was another sale listed as a "retro estate" that also had no supporting pictures. In the end, we chose the second sale. It was a one day sale and we decided that the first one was just way to close to where The Belmont Stakes would soon be held. We still had to pick up Monica's car and we just did not have time to horse around!

We arrived at the "retro estate" and there were things set out on the lawn so we knew we were in the right place. We were the only ones there when we arrived so we could take our time

 There was a great stove in the kitchen from 1948 which looked like it was never used!

It even had its original manuals! 

There was even a pencil sharpener mounted on the wall that led to the basement. That is always a good sign! We spent about 30 minutes here. While there was not a lot to look through, we did find some good things. We left with some vintage household magazines, an old Halloween blow mold, some New Year's Eve noisemakers, some old cake toppers and some vintage Christmas corsages

As we left this sale, we got the call that Monica's car was ready so we went to pick it up. It was a 45 minute drive but the timing was great. After dropping the car off at home, we would still have time to go to the last sale on our list which was only ten minutes from home. This was our plan all along...to stop at this sale last because of its proximity to our house and because the tag sale company running this sale always has lines to get in. At the time we would arrive, there would be no more lines

This was our fourth and final stop of the day. As we had hoped, there were no lines! In fact, aside from the tag sale company staff, there were only two other customers inside the house. It was described as a "digger" and it truly was! There were three floors to search and lots of things to unearth from the dust. We spent about an hour and a half here, under no pressure to hurry to find things first. 

When we were checking out, the owners of the tag sale company got a big kick out of the things we picked out and we had fun negotiating. They like us and always give us good prices. They decided to snap a picture of Monica with her two chosen hats (one on her head and one in her hand) for their website! Oh...don't worry...all of that stuff on the couch was not ours. The vintage flower pot next to Rob's foot WAS one of the things we got though. They wanted $5 for it and we decided to pass on it but, since they were having so much fun with us, they threw it in for free! We also took home a vintage dress for Monica (with chickens and bees on it), some vintage barkcloth, some Christmas stuff, a vintage apron, postcards and greeting cards and more!

Although we planned on barbecuing, we found ourselves just ten short minutes away from one of our favorite places to eat in the warm weather...All American Drive-In!

It has been around forever and little has changed. It is always crowded and that's what we expect. We try to make it here a few times per year and it was our first time this year. It will not be our last. Oh...and spoiler alert...Rob barbecued on Sunday 

Here are some of the things that we brought home with us today:

Some records

More records

Some more records

Some books

Some cookbooks and home decorating magazines

A postcard from the New York World's Fair and a postcard that squeaks and has a cat with googly eyes

A vintage dress for Monica with chickens and bees!

A bartender's apron for Rob

Some barkcloth. This might be made into curtains

A pair of hats for Monica

New Year's noisemakers

Thanksgiving and Easter stuff

Halloween decorations

Christmas decorations

Some old Christmas corsages for Monica.

Cake toppers and a package of birthday candles made in Japan

A Rheingold bar caddy, a pair of vintage trivets, a vintage "glov dryr", a plastic duck pull toy (made in Japan), a pair of mint green Boonton dishes and a vintage sweater guard

It was a great Saturday...the weather was beautiful, we made most of our stops, we made our first visit to All American Drive-In this year. We even had a chance to take a brief walk by the water Saturday evening.

It's a great time of year where we live. It's warm but not too hot. The days are longer. The evening skies are beautiful. And, as always, we have each other. That is reason enough to smile.