Saturday was my free day to do as I pleased before skipping back to the 'Lou, and I know, surely everyone's on the edge of their seats wondering what I got up to!
To be completely honest, I didn't get up to as much as I thought I might, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and left plenty to do and see on some other, possibly slightly warmer Chicago wander someday. I had in my head the whole week that I'd like to get to an estate sale or two while in the Chicago area. I love treasure hunting at estate sales, but more than that, what a fun way to get to see an unfamiliar city from a strangely intimate point of view. So I checked online and found a couple that sounded like they might be interesting, and was headed in the direction of one of them.
On the way, though, I stopped at
New to You Upscale Resale. The world "Upscale" in the name was a turnoff, but when I drove by it looked big, and not too much like a lunching-moms' designer castoffs kind of place, so I had hope it wouldn't be too pricey, and for the most part, it wasn't.
First, a few of the things I left behind:
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| An adorably homespun sock-and-broomstick horse. |
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| Cool mid-century table lamp - see closeup of the shades below. |
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| The swirly shades are the best part. |
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| Awesome mid century shadowbox mirror thingy. |
I love the mirror piece - I imagine it came from the same home as the lamp, as they share the gold and the swirl and the era. And look - there are my feet, all toasty and dry in my newly thrifted English sheepskin lined boots!
Now for some of what did come home with me (I picked up a few things not shown; this is all I have shots of so far):
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| Cute little black frame purse - needs dusting. |
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Pretty gold brocade clutch. The little faux-pearl on the clasp has
lost some of it's finish, but the brocade is in great shape. |
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| Sweet caramel-apricot satin lining. |
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Cool souvenir glass. Love the colors, the font,
the illustration, and the childhood memories of a
family road trip that took me over that very bridge. |
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Yes, yet another gold clutch, but this one's lovely-
colored lining is actually plasticy, so it would
make a cutely glam makeup bag! |
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| A pair of what I can only think to describe as lanyard-woven bottles from the 50s or 60s. |
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| Cool 60s Hallmark bridge set. |
After a pleasant time at that shop, I wandered a little further North and East to the Oak Park area, where I found no treasures, but had the voyeuristic pleasure of looking through a 11/2 story bungalow with tons of character - mostly original looking, except for the kitchen. The neighborhood was beautiful under a blanket of snow:
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| Snow makes everything prettier, doesn't it? |
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| Super cool street lights in this neighborhood, complete with icicles. |
After wandering up and down a few streets I suddenly came across
a vision of awesomeness in bright orange and turquoise stuck on the front of an old frame house!:
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| Parky's... I don't even know what to say! |
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| Hot dogs and italian beef , and RC cola - didn't even know they still made that ! |
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| Every detail of the place was nifty! |
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| I imagine this little wedge of sunshine in a box gets warm in the summer! |
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| Stool/shadow/snow |
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| Orange and red! |
I'm sure it wasn't really true, but it seemed like no two red vinyl and chrome stools were alike; I love that acquired-over-time indication of the history of the place, not to mention that the whole thing seemed so DIY, from the hand-drawn combo-menu signs to the shelf-tables to the whole entire structure just tacked on to the front of a building. It definitely had the feel of a local institution, so it made me smile to see some of the reviews online when I looked it up later. Of course I had an Italian beef sandwich to go. It was tasty! It was no
Adriana's, but then Adriana's is one of a kind.
I wandered around some inner-suburb areas and a bit of the city for awhile after that, but between the snow and the cold and parking issues, I mostly just drove around looking and making mental notes for a future visit, then I decided to head to the even-more-outer-suburbs than I'd been to thus far, to visit
IKEA. I picked the Boollingbrook location, since it's close to interstate 55. I thought I might find some organizational inspiration and/or cheap tools for the same. Instead I found another Goodwill on the way there, where I picked up a few more treasures (pics another time), and at IKEA itself, I picked up some red drawer-pulls that I may or may not use as drawer-pulls, and one of those wire and clip contraptions that I think I will use to hang a couple of vintage aprons on to serve as a treatment for the back window in my kitchen. I'll also admit to a relaxicating visit to the cafe there for a piece of Swedish apple cake. After that I decided to hit the road for a bit so the drive home Sunday would be easier. I ended up spending the night in Bloomington, Il, in a room with a very loud heater. Pics of the magical world I visited on Sunday in my next installment!
