The Weekend After Christmas

Once again, we find ourselves a little behind on our posts. We should be caught up soon. Perhaps, it should be a New Year's resolution! 

We hope everyone had a great Christmas! We did. Family...Fun...Smiles. It's the best of what the holiday season has to offer. What it also offered this year was a four day weekend. Both of our jobs made the day after Christmas a holiday! Before we tell you about our weekend, we wanted to show you the last Christmas thing we received before the holiday,

This beautiful Christmas tray was a gift from one of Monica's co-workers. She knew Monica liked vintage Christmas things but was not sure if she would like this. Here is a brief excerpt of their conversation:
Monica: Oooooh...it is made in Japan!
Co-worker: Is that good?
Monica:. Yes...that is good. That is VERY good!

We have wanted one of these for a long time! 

So, we had the day after Christmas off. Whenever we have a Friday off, our thoughts turn to the possibility of saling but there were no opportunities the day after Christmas. There were so few opportunities the entire weekend after Christmas! We spent Friday doing our household chores and then relaxing after the non-stop adrenaline rush that defines the weeks leading up to Santa's visit. It was a chance to put the brakes on. And so we did.

Saturday arrived and our list of sales was very, very short. There were two sales on our list and we were not even sure that one of them existed (more on that later). Still, two was better than none and we optimistically embarked on our day's adventures.

Our first stop was to visit Monica's mom at the cemetery.It was an unusually warm day for a December 27th on Long Island and we stumbled across this outdoor garage sale nearby. Lots of stuff...lots of people...nothing for us. Oh well...it was worth a look!

Our next stop was the sale that did not exist. On paper, it sounded good. We found it on craiglist and the ad described an old house. The sale's first day was Wednesday and we also saw a posting that said that the sale was a hoax and that there was no sale there at all.  It was on the way to the other sale. We thought we would give this a shot. When we arrived, there was a sign on the door saying that craigslist made a mistake and that there was no sale. Oh well...foiled again!

It was almost lunchtime and we were near Rob's hometown. We were hungry. The place to go next was easy.

The Sweet Shop! 

The neon sign in the window has been around forever! 

The Sweet Shop....since 1925!

Rob used to come here with his grandmother and parents since he was a small child. The counter seats are still there! 

There have been some changes inside but so many things remain the same from when Rob was a kid, This was Monica's second visit here (Rob took her last year too) and she loved the food as much as Rob did. Monica's dad worked in Rob's hometown and he remembers everything that Rob loved about his hometown as a kid. He, too, loves The Sweet Shop! We will take him next time!

They were still decorated for Christmas and these decorations clearly date back to the 1950's. Look at the Mica houses and the reindeer! 

Our next stop (and our final stop) was two counties away and was a house described as a digger. The tag sale company that advertied the sale said that they had only seen the place one time and that they did not know what to expect. Nor did we. We went anyway.

There was no mistaking that we were at the right place base on the number of signs

It was definitely an old house and it was definitely a digger. Look at the old stove! Look at Monica's leg! 

We really liked the stove!  

The entrance to the basement had a mounted pencil sharpener...always a good sign!

There was a small crawlspace in the basement. Rob had his flashlight and dug in

The whole basement presented us with an opportunity to dig...and Monica did!

It was  a decent stop and we did find a few good things to take home. It was our last stop of the day and, when we got home, we took a nap together...something that we like to do every Saturday after saling!

Saturday evening spent with Monica's sister, brother-in-law and the kids and we took a drive to see all of the Christmas decorations in the neighborhood

This one was one of the brightest in the neighborhood. Many, many lights! 

This one had a blow mold overload!

There was a choir to serenade us! 

Santa and his eight reindeer plus Rudolph! 

There was a giant Santa on the garage. We want this!

This was another house that we saw. So bright! 

We spent Sunday relaxing and finishing up our chores. We did not find all that much this weekend but we did find some things. Here is what we found:

Books and magazines

A ceramic wedding couple (dated 1949) and a homemade poodle (from the 1950's) 

Some old Christmas things

It may not have been the greatest saling weekend but it didn't matter. We spent the weekend together and that is all that every counts. Life is great amongst the ducks...life is great together!