Our Adventures Amongst The Ducks: In Their Original Boxes

This post is for the first weekend in June. We are one week behind and hope to catch up soon!

June had finally arrived and we were looking forward to the weekend. For Monica, it would be a slightly early start. Where Monica works, they give you a half day off whenever you give blood. Monica signed up, as she always does for the blood drives at work, and she would have an early start to the weekend. Rob starts work every day at 6am and, when things go smoothly, he can leave at 2:30pm without causing any ripples in the pool. Monica had looked ahead at the estate sale listings for Friday and found that there were two estate sales that were very close to our house. We knew that we should be able to make them both before they closed. It sounded like a great start to the weekend and so our weekend saling began early.

Our first Friday stop was just ten minutes from our house. It was described as the estate of a 90+ year old woman. We were hoping that there was plenty there of interest to us. When we walked in, we found that the sale was run by someone we know. He works for another tag sale company but he was running this one. His prices are always good

The kitchen was old and the old cabinets were in great condition!

The countertop was pink and we liked that too!

The living room had these two great turquoise chairs that were covered in plastic. They were faded in spots which is one reason that they did not come home with us. The second reason is that we really don't have room for them right now.

There was a basement plus several rooms on the main floor to search and, while no furniture made its way home with us, several other things did. We found a vintage metal stand, some McDonald's glasses, some vintage shot glasses, some Christmas things and a few other items. It was a good first stop!

Our second Friday stop was even closer to our house and was an estate sale that listed records, Christmas and walkers amongst the items for sale. Walkers are, of course, a potential sign that the decedent was elderly. When we arrived, we found an outside garage sale with plenty of stuff but nothing for us. Oh well! Our first stop was good and we didn't invest much time on the second stop.

By the time that Saturday morning arrived, we had a list of some sales that we were targeting; none of which seemed spectacular, but all of which had enough to make us consider them. For some reason, we rechecked the listings when we woke up and found a sale that looked like it was just listed the night before. It was just fifteen minutes from the house and there was something in the ad that caught our attention...silver tree. It was 8:15am. The sale began at 9am. There was only one question to ask of ourselves...how quickly can we shower and get dressed? The answer was...very quickly.

We arrived shortly after the opening to find this. Things were on display outside and there was a sign on the door that there was more inside. A quick check of the outside items told us that this Christmas would be inside. It was a privately run sale and the host asked us if we were looking for anything in particular. We both said that we liked Christmas things. The host said that he had some things in the attic that he did not bring down yet but could. He asked if we wanted a silver tree. Rob, trying to play it cool, said that he remembered them from when he was a kid. The rest of the conversation went like this:

Host: "Would you like it?"
Rob: "Maybe. How much would it be?"
Host: "I don't know. Make me an offer"
Rob: "I wouldn't know how much to offer"
Host: "How about $5"
Rob (though Rob's head was swimming at this moment and, to the best of his recollection, his response was short) : Okay!

It was a aluminum pom pom Christmas tree. It was in its original box and every single branch was in its original brown paper housing. It may have been used once or twice.

That was not all that we found here. We also got a great working color wheel in amazing condition and it plays "Silent Night" as it rotates. It was also $5. We also found a great ceramic pixie planter (made in Japan), a ceramic elephant ash tray, some old Christmas ornaments in their boxes and a few other things. It was a great first sale!

After bringing our first purchases home and stopping for breakfast, we headed, with an empty car, to our second sale which was just five minutes from our house. It was run by an estate sale company that we know and like and was advertised simply as an estate sale. There was nothing for us here but we wasted little time. It was so close to our house.

Our third sale of the day was a very quiet one but intriguing. It was described as an estate sale and walkers were listed amongst the items for sale. Again, walkers seem to point towards an older occupant and this sale was not advertised by an estate sale company. We were hoping that it was privately run and might be filled with treasures.

The house had a large basement and several rooms to search on the main level. It seemed to be privately run until we ran into a fellow saler in one of the rooms and he told us that it was his sale. We are friendly with him and we knew he would be good to us.

Sitting in a room on the main floor was this great 1950's kid's car. It was in pretty good shape with minimal rust. Of course, we are not in the market for one of these.

The garage, though mostly empty, had this great old turquoise barbecue which we had to consider but, in the end, chose not to find out how much it would cost.

We did, however, find some really nice things here. In the basement was an old pair of blow mold Christmas lamp posts that were still in their original box! They came as a pair and still had the original assembly directions and their hardware and all of the pieces were covered in plastic. It does not look like they were ever used! We also found some Christmas salt and pepper shakers (all marked Japan), some books and a few other things. It was another great sale!

Sale #4 was simply listed as an estate sale but there was something about it that interested us. Besides, it was fairly close to Monica's dad's house and it was now mid-afternoon and we knew that we wanted to go visit. Our other potential stops had some travel time attached to them and we now decided to cross them off our list.

Most of the items for sale were outside but there were a few rooms to check inside too. We loved the railings in the living room.

Here is another look at them. Aren't they cool?

It was a fairly quick stop but not one that left us empty-handed. By the time we left, we had picked up some Christmas things, some vintage glasses and a few more things.

We spent the remainder of our Saturday afternoon visiting Monica's dad and then going home to relax. On most weekends, this would have concluded our saling but we were ready to do a little more on Sunday. There was a sale about 40 minutes away that had some great pictures of things we would definitely consider if the price was right. And, since we were going to be out anyway, we added two other potential stops to our itinerary. We would be saling three days in a row.

Our first sale on Sunday was the one we were targeting and, upon arrival, we encountered the dreaded line. This came as no surprise. While many of the dealers would be tied down to their booths at the flea market, the other Sunday shoppers would be here. It appeared to be the best sale of the day. We were not expecting to do that well. First of all, some of the people that arrived before us (and were already inside) were dealers. Secondly, we knew the tag sale company that was hosting the sale and their prices are pretty high. Yes, we are voracious salers but we are also bargain hunters. We are not paying a premium for anything.

Once inside, we saw the items that drew us to this sale in the first place. Look at the amazing lamp!

The ceramic flamingos were great as was the three-tiered table that it sat upon.

The house had a great blue bathroom too!

We searched through the basement and the main floor at a fairly quick pace. The lamp and the flamingos and the three-tiered table that we saw in the ad were still here for us to see...and they remained there after we left. The prices were way, WAY too high. We did find some cool pamphlets at a reasonable price so we did leave with something.

Since the sale began at 10am and waited on line for a half hour and then spent another half in the house, it was late morning before we got out and we were feeling hungry. Knowing the area we were in, our choice of eating establishments was pretty easy. It was off to the Mineola Diner

The Mineola Diner has been around since 1948 and not much has changed since then. We have been here many times before and the food is always good!

We had a choice of breakfast or lunch but we chose breakfast. It was a good stop but we couldn't stick around too long. We had two more sales on our list!

Sale #2 was listed simply as an "everything must go" estate sale and we figured it was worth a visit. Most of what was for sale was outside on the lawn. It was a quick stop because there was nothing there for us.

We could have saved ourselves some time here because as we approached the house, we saw this little horse in front of the house. He tried to warn us that there would be nothing for us but we couldn't hear him. He was a little hoarse.

Our third and final stop was on the way home and only a few minutes from our house. It was an estate sale with the words "mid-century modern furniture" in the description. It was worth a look.

This bathroom was old and pink and that made us smile. We love that they still exist!

Look at the floor. It, too, was untouched!

There was a garage and just one floor to search and it was a quick stop but we did find one thing that made the trip worthwhile...an old starburst clock that was still in its original box. We were lucky but it was just that kind of weekend!

Here are some things we brought home with us this weekend: