Hey guys! a little late posting about the holiday weekend, but rest assured I had a good time with great friends blundering around the Chicago area. My good friend Beth is thinking about trying a booth too, so she was on the prowl for vintage finds, which meant, alas, I had no choice but to do some serious thrifting along with her and her hubby, and here I am to share a few of the highlights with you!
First thing we did when we got into the Chicago area was stop and check out an estate sale in a super cute 40s-50s era bungalow in the suburbs. I think it was Westchester. The house had fabulous vintage wallpaper that I'm already mourning since it's bound to be ripped off immediately when the house is sold, but it also had, in the basement, these:
We wandered several neighborhoods after that, and stopped in at a Goodwill along the way, but I didn't find anything I couldn't live without. Then we found our way to the Little Village neighborhood. I think I could have wandered around there for most of the rest of the day. I definitely would have enjoyed lunch there, but my partners in crime had had Mexican food the night before and were in the mood for something different. So we visited the Village Discount Outlet thrift store. Three stories worth of thrift - WOW! We skipped the first floor altogether, as we weren't interested in clothing, but we still spent a considerable amount of time picking our way through two other floors of treasures. Here's what I picked up there:
After all our hard thrifting work, we were ready for some lunch, so we wandered (pretty much completely aimlessly) into the Pilsen neighborhood, where we found Benny's Grill and Pancake House, which turned out to be omnomnommy. We all loved what we got. I had the Monte Carlo sandwich:
Then we wandered the neighborhood, which was fun and eclectic and boasted several cool vintage shops, which we very happily visited. The best by far was this one, full of vintage modern goodness I can't afford, a cute little dog, and a very nice lady who told us a bit about the neighborhood:
A few more glimpses of that area:
Due to our cheapskatitude, we weren't staying in the city proper, but out near the Schaumberg Ikea instead, and I had heard about a place in the northern suburbs that is something like a permanent estate sale. From what I gather, they buy whole estates, either what doesn't sell at a regular estate sale, or just the whole shebang, and they have a giant warehouse that was, at least this particular weekend, open to the public. So of course, we went for it. Check it out - the picture doesn't do the place justice - it's huge and kind of grimy and altogether awesome:
I came away from there with a few little treasures as well:
By the time we finished procuring treasures at the warehouse, we were kind of sweaty and dusty and gross ourselves, so we headed for the hotel, where we ordered a big messy Chicago style pizza and watched the new episode of Doctor Who. Yum all around!
More on the rest of the trip, including more thrifted treasures, a mini-review of the cutest, jankiest hotel you may ever meet, and possibly an epic poem entitled "Ikea, Une Saison En Enfer", coming soon! In the mean time, check out all the treasures hunted by the clever, clever folks at these link-ups:
Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Me and My Shadow's Magpie Monday, and Beez Rental Design's Frugal Treasures Tuesday
First thing we did when we got into the Chicago area was stop and check out an estate sale in a super cute 40s-50s era bungalow in the suburbs. I think it was Westchester. The house had fabulous vintage wallpaper that I'm already mourning since it's bound to be ripped off immediately when the house is sold, but it also had, in the basement, these:
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| Vintage cookbooks, yay! The Betty Crocker's Good and Easy is coming out of its binding, but the illustrations are so great I just don't care. |
We wandered several neighborhoods after that, and stopped in at a Goodwill along the way, but I didn't find anything I couldn't live without. Then we found our way to the Little Village neighborhood. I think I could have wandered around there for most of the rest of the day. I definitely would have enjoyed lunch there, but my partners in crime had had Mexican food the night before and were in the mood for something different. So we visited the Village Discount Outlet thrift store. Three stories worth of thrift - WOW! We skipped the first floor altogether, as we weren't interested in clothing, but we still spent a considerable amount of time picking our way through two other floors of treasures. Here's what I picked up there:
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| Nice vintage scarf - the green is much brighter in person. |
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| A gorgeous pair of mugs. The only marking is DR on the bottom. I love them! |
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| A cute children's book about a goose named Petunia. |
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| Check out the illustrations! Love the colors! |
After all our hard thrifting work, we were ready for some lunch, so we wandered (pretty much completely aimlessly) into the Pilsen neighborhood, where we found Benny's Grill and Pancake House, which turned out to be omnomnommy. We all loved what we got. I had the Monte Carlo sandwich:
Then we wandered the neighborhood, which was fun and eclectic and boasted several cool vintage shops, which we very happily visited. The best by far was this one, full of vintage modern goodness I can't afford, a cute little dog, and a very nice lady who told us a bit about the neighborhood:
 |
| If you're in the area, you should definitely check it out! |
Due to our cheapskatitude, we weren't staying in the city proper, but out near the Schaumberg Ikea instead, and I had heard about a place in the northern suburbs that is something like a permanent estate sale. From what I gather, they buy whole estates, either what doesn't sell at a regular estate sale, or just the whole shebang, and they have a giant warehouse that was, at least this particular weekend, open to the public. So of course, we went for it. Check it out - the picture doesn't do the place justice - it's huge and kind of grimy and altogether awesome:
I came away from there with a few little treasures as well:
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| 3-D crewelwork flowers in cheery blues |
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| A cute little desk lamp (works great!) and old-timey rabbit ears antennae. I realize nobody has a legitimate use for rabbit ears anymore, but I'm convinced that after steam punk comes something like analog punk, and whoever is into that will love them, right? Right? |
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| Two adorable mismatched mugs. |
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| A very, very old wooden puzzle in excellent shape! |
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| A little close-up on the children. |
By the time we finished procuring treasures at the warehouse, we were kind of sweaty and dusty and gross ourselves, so we headed for the hotel, where we ordered a big messy Chicago style pizza and watched the new episode of Doctor Who. Yum all around!
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| Plates, silverware and/or napkins would have been a good idea! |
More on the rest of the trip, including more thrifted treasures, a mini-review of the cutest, jankiest hotel you may ever meet, and possibly an epic poem entitled "Ikea, Une Saison En Enfer", coming soon! In the mean time, check out all the treasures hunted by the clever, clever folks at these link-ups:
Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Me and My Shadow's Magpie Monday, and Beez Rental Design's Frugal Treasures Tuesday
