New alley-shelf and a whole lotta Swiss Alpine

When I first rented booth 78 at Kenrick Antique Mall, I had lots of items to sell, but not a lot of good ways to display them.  Here's how it looked, last February:

A fair bit of inventory has come and gone since then, and lots has changed, but until today, the crummy little shelf in the third picture above has remained in the space.  It really was a crummy little shelf.  It's former owners thought so - they hadn't even bothered to donate it to a thrift store.  I found it in an alley shortly before the date I was supposed to move into the booth, and gratefully hauled it home in spite of it's slightly warped and wobbly nature so I would at least have something to display items on.  A few days ago, on one of my alley "shortcuts" I occasionally take for this very purpose, I found a somewhat less crummy shelf!  So today, Alley Shelf #1 was retired (I did donate it to the Value Village next door to the Antique Mall, because while it's crummy and warped and wobbly, it is still a shelf, not garbage), and replaced by New Alley Shelf.  Here it is in the booth:

New Alley Shelf in his new home, next to the Globe Drug liquor shelf I picked up a few weeks ago.

It fits perfectly in the same space as Alley Shelf #1, but is taller and deeper, which opens it up to more light, so the items displayed thereon are more displayed than just stored.

I also added a few recently acquired treasures to the booth, to gear up for the big sale this weekend!  Wanna see?

First, some more vintage clothing for Halloween costumes!  Zombies are the best scary creatures, in my personal opinion, and I think High School aged girls are probably the scariest zombies of all, so I brought in some dresses from various times and styles, so you can be a Prombie!:

Prairie/granny prombie

Square Pegs prombie

70's flamenco prombie

Floral curtains prombie

And a couple of other 70s pieces:

Men's floral 70s shirt

Blue lace polyester jacket

I also added this awesome vintage wind-up alarm clock that I picked up at an estate sale:

Now there's ticking in my booth.  If you stop by, give it a wind, will ya?

And I forgot to show you a couple of last week's additions, this pair of Glasbake dishes with a pretty autumn leaves pattern, and this cool mid-century magazine rack:

 

Back to today's new additions, I found this adorable little picket-fence shelf-thingy at the Goodwill pound store awhile back, and finally got around to fitting it in once the bigger shelf and the magazine rack made a little extra space on the blue and white table:

It's for sale for $14, but in the mean time, it's displaying some items that have been in the booth way too long.  This cute set of milk glass cups and saucers:

 And these Southern Comfort glasses:

Both of the above have new, lower prices on them, because they deserve happy new homes, sooner rather than later!  I didn't mark them with sale prices, just put new tags on, because that way they'll be 25% off even of these new prices over the weekend.  When you do a percent-off sale in your booth, the mall doesn't count items already marked as on sale.

And the best new addition this week, is a pretty big lot of some very pretty dishes.  Made in USA, too!  I read somewhere that they were once a promotional item given out by service stations.  I adore the pattern, with it's pretty blues and greens and the sort of star burst the layout forms on the dishes.:

The set is pretty big.  2 large plates or small platters, 5 regular sized plates, one large bowl, 8 berry bowls, 8 saucers and 4 cups.  The strangest thing is that I sold a sugar bowl of this same pattern very early on in my booth, in February or March, and since then I've acquired 2 more of the exact same sugar bowl.  All three have been in good shape with the lids intact, but I have never once found a creamer.  Also, I forgot to bring one of the 2 sugar bowls I still have at home with me to add to this lot.  Oops!  If it's still there after this weekend, I'll add the sugar bowl to the set for the same price, but at 25% off $46, I'm hoping it will all be gone!  Besides, I love the pretty pale blue on the sugar bowls, and the matching pair of them would be cute little cotton ball and swab holders in a bathroom if I sold them together!

Linking up tonight to these great blogs/link parties:

Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday, Me and My Shadow's Magpie Monday, Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Cap Creation's Thrifty Love Link Party, and Chic on a Shoestring's Flaunt it Friday.

Something you won't want to miss

I'm excited for October, you guys!  I've always loved October.  When I was a little girl that was largely because of my Birthday, and Halloween.  I suppose those are still two of the main events, but the attractions are numerous:  cool crisp weather that allows for layers and sweaters; Fall leaves that look beautiful, smell kinda spicy, and swish and crunch underfoot; apples, apple cider and apple pie (more on that soon!); the return of my favorite earthy colors to clothes and home decor; the smell of wood smoke on the air; snuggling under blankets; unexplained bouts of nostalgia... need I go on?

But now there's one more thing to add to your list:  The Kenrick Antique Mall-sponsored Fall Flea Market, next Saturday, October 6th! 

Now, I've been to a few flea markets in my day, and I want to be clear.  Sometimes, when people say flea market, I've gotten all excited and shown up and it looks like this:

Or like this:

On the other hand I've also, in my days in Brussels in the 90s, had the great privilege to go to the Saturday market in the Place du Petit Sablon, which was like this:

Unfortunately, I can't promise you that next weekend will be like the Antiques Market in Brussels, but I can promise you it's not going to be just knockoff handbags and sunglasses, or three guys with some books spread out on blankets. There will be tons of vendors, this much I know.  And last time (in the Spring), they had food, so there's probably that to look forward to again.

I, unfortunately, will be stuck at work the day of the sale, but I've seen it twice now, and it's prety big, with lots of variety (Kenrick Plaza's parking lot is super huge, and much of it will be taken over by vendors.  I think the last I heard it was 80+, and the smallest vendor space is the size of a parking space.  Not bad!  And don't forget, the antique mall itself is open, and practically every booth inside will have a sale going for the weekend.  The 2ndhand Moon booth (78, as if you didn't know, 2/3 down the 3rd aisle, on the right!) will have 25% off every single item, no exceptions, so it's a good time to snatch up something vintage for Halloween, or a Treasure Craft candy dish or planter,or some cool vintage luggage, or a bit of Pyrex, or even the gorgeous Mad Men-esque chair, seen here if you missed it!  And as if the flea market and the antique mall weren't enough, don't forget there's also the huge Shrewsbury Value Village right there - literally next door to the mall, in the same plaza!

So if you go, let me know how it went?  I'll be stuck indoors away from the nice Fall air and all the treasures, so I need someone to give me the scoop!

Themes

I planned to sleep in this morning because I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.  And when I say sleep in, I mean way in!  I wasn't going to bother opening my eyes until noon.  But the cute little gray kitty who has taken up residence in my house had other plans.  She let me sleep until about 10:00, but after awhile even Mary Poppins gets impatient, so she let me know that it was definitely time for breakfast.

Mary Poppins, cute enough to wake up "early" for.

Once I got up and fed her, I found texts on my phone from both Mayberrys of my acquaintance to the effect that I was missing out on a sale full of stuff I would get a big kick out of.  And as I have no willpower at all to stay away from sales when even mildly provoked, I hit the shower and headed out the door.  And they were right, this sale had a very clear theme, and I stuck right with it.  Wanna see?:

MUSHROOMS!  They somehow both compete and go perfectly with my wild 70's kid-sized card table, don't they?

A closer look?  Why certainly!

Tossed a couple of tissues in there so you can see the details.  I'm classy like that!

Love polka-dotted ones!  Strangely I've never seen a polka-dotted one in the wild...

The two tiny ones in front are porcelain, apparently intended to hold tiny candles.  The lager, almost-matching one with the flowers painted around its base is wooden, and came with (some of) its own candle.  The little mug is plastic and way too reflective to get a decent picture.  The pitcher has a chip right in its pour-spout, and there's also some chipping to the enamel on the big saucepan, but if I told you what I paid for the whole bunch of stuff, you'd know why I just don't care.  It's all adorable!

The second theme of the day wasn't really dictated by the sale itself, which had lots of other totally unrelated things, but for some reason I was drawn to things that all sort of told the same story:

Vintage desk lamp, address "book", stamp holder/letter scale and bow-tie.

In my head his name is Martin.  He is very meticulous, but not uptight.  His work is something academic that involves lots of correspondence to confer with colleagues around the world.  And these are his things:

Add Love the font and the star-burst, and you gotta know bowties?  Are cool!

It was hard to get a decent close-up, and now you can see I didn't bother dusting it first, but check out the awesome little scale.  You slip your envelope in the little clip to weight it so you'll know what postage to use, and then your roll of stamps is right there handy.  So cool!

A little glamour shot of the lamp.  The perforations in the shade are little Eiffel Tower shapes.

Anyway, I quite like Martin and his lamp and I'm glad his become one of the many fictional residents of my brain ;)


Wanna see what some non-fictional folks came up with, too? Visit these fun link-ups; I am!

Cap Creation's Thrifty Love Link Party, Chic on a Shoestring's Flaunt it Friday and The Thrifty Groove's Thrifty Things Friday

Thanks for the tip, Mom and Dad!

I made a pretty good thrift score today.  Something I have been wanting/needing for some time.  A tall, narrow shelf for the booth.  And it's all thanks to my parents, who pointed me to exactly what I needed at a really good price!

I usually try to spend time with my wonderful parents on Mondays, and yesterday was a gorgeous day.  We met up and went to lunch at the Rib Shack on Natural Bridge in North County (very tasty, by the way!), and over lunch they mentioned that they had recently been down to Globe Drug on Broadway, and saw some shelving they thought would fit the bill for me.  I was excited to check it out, but not just then, because after lunch  we decided to have a little fun and visit the Zoo:

Sea lions always seem to be having so much fun.
The way the sunlight dances in the water must have
 something to do with it, don't you think?

I am convinced stingrays come from another planet entirely.
Just look at those alien bodies!  Also?  I got splashed by a shark!

 My favorite little zoo buddies, the Prairie Dogs, for some reason were in a posing mood for me yesterday:

     


The day also included Ted Drewes Concretes, and some good quality relaxing time watching last week's So You Think You Can Dance, which my sweet Mother records for me.  So clearly there was no time for a run to Globe drug at the time, we were too busy having fun!

So this morning after a couple of other errands, I made my way down there and found some great options.  Some of them I would have liked to have snatched up were too heavy and bulky to deal with all on my own, so I went with one that was lightweight and very functional, if not all that stylistically interesting.  I forgot to get a shot of it on its own, so here it is in its new home in Boot 78 at Kenrick Antique Mall, already laden with goodies:

Just the tall skinny shelf I've been looking for.  Plenty of room for treasures!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the big booth overhaul that went along with the handy new shelf.  In the mean time, here are a few other new bits, like some prairie-esque goodness for Fall, in both preppy and hippy styles!

       

And two very different examples of a little too much of everything:

High-collared, puffy sleeves, itty bitty pleats
and lace.  Victorian prim, although that strip
of lace down the front/center is not lined, so
there's a tiny bit of secret raciness going on.

Proof that 1970's craftiness knew no bounds.
A men's work shirt (JC Penney Big Mac)
with bandanna-flower appliques, eyelet lace
trim all over, and fancy red stitching.

And one example where, in my opinion, all the ribbons and lace and fancy stitching gets it just right, if you can see it (I'm not sure if I'm having trouble with my digital images, or my screen display, but everything's looking kind of blown out.  Can you see the details, or is it a white glare?  I just don't know!):

Pale, pale pink vintage Barbizon
bed-jacket (jammies top?)

So yes, if you're wondering, I am gearing up for Halloween costume-y goodness.  And here's one more little unrelated item that is also a bit over the top:

Fun psychedelic satin covered magic magnetic
photo album.  Flower (and paisley) Power!! 

Tomorrow night I'll post about all the rearranging I did at the booth today.  In the mean time, enjoy these fun link-ups I'm joining up with tonight:

Me and My Shadow's Magpie Mondays, Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, and, late to the party, Cap Creation's Thrifty Love Link Party.  And say goodbye to Beez Rental Design's Frugal Treasures Tuesdays, where the pretty peacock-y mugs I posted about last week were featured.  She's discontinuing the link-up, but her blog is still a fun read!

The rest of the Chicago thrifting

Hi guys!  Can you believe this?  Three days in a row I'm posting!  Aren't you proud?  So Wednesday I told you all about this past Saturday's tourist-thrifting in a few nifty neighborhoods around Chicago.  Last night I gave you a cheapskate's review of an adorably decorated but decidedly cheap hotel.  

Now it's time to show off Sunday's haul, for yes, the thrifting did continue!

We started our day from the cheap hotel far, far from the city, and, as breakfast was not included in our thrifty accommodations, we found this fabulous establishment:

That's right, we had Spunky Dunkers Donuts for breakfast!

We took our sugary bounty to go, found the Starbucks at the local train station, and ate at a picnic table in the little park nearby while wondering whether very small aliens created the lawn-circles there, or whether perhaps someone spilled weed killer.

After downing two donuts and an iced chai I was ready for some more exploring.  We had hoped to visit some vintage shops we had scoped out online in the Wicker Park/Bucktown/Humbolt Park neighborhoods, but every place we found was either closed on Sunday or closed this particular Sunday because of the holiday weekend.  Todd and I did press our noses longingly to the glass at An Orange Moon, but nobody materialized from the back to let us in for an exclusive peek and huge discounts like in my daydreams.  Still, so much to covet there!  And a wander around that nifty area was by no means a bust.  There were fabulous old businesses and lovely residential streets to wander:

And lo and behold, the lovely residential street depicted above sported an "estate sale" sign - bonus!  In a converted carriage house, I apparently learned the importance of coasters, for here is what I purchased:

A set of 6 vintage coasters with Parisian street scenes. 

My very own Stonesters!  Sorry about the lousy pic quality - I guess I was excited.

I posted here about a set of cut stone coasters I got my Dad for his birthday at a craft fair this summer.  These are by the same guy - they have the same sticker underneath, and are just as awesomely Andy Goldsworthy-esque as those, but I got these for about 1/5 the price - yay!

After the estate sale we felt the need to appease the youngster in the group who had very patiently wandered neighborhoods and waded through junk with us for so long, so we headed for Michigan Avenue so he could do some coveting of his own at the Apple Store.  As sleek technology is nice but not necessarily covet-worthy to me, I took that time to stop and smell the... well, not roses:

Flower beds on Michigan Ave.

I'm sure this is a famous building.  I just call it cool                                                     

More from the flower beds 

I so want to go to the Tip Top Tap!

After Michigan Avenue we went looking for the Randolph Street Market, but again struck out, either because we were thrown off by the North Coast Music Festival that kept getting in our way, or because it was closed that day, I'm not sure which.  We did, however, find a real live nitty gritty old-tools-and-cheap-sunglasses flea market:

And look - the sky was clearing up!

I didn't find any vintage treasures there, but, as the clouds all blew away and the sun came out full force, I did buy a pair of the above-mentioned cheap sunglasses, and this most excellent concoction:

Mango con chile - sooooo yum!

Later, without realizing we were doing it, we found our way to another amazing comfort food spot that's apparantly been there for over 70 years, never closes, has been featured on the Food Network, and (this part's just my own personal opinion based on the super nice people who waited on us) appears to be a really great workplace.  The White Palace Grill boasted really, really good food, even if you weren't impressed by all that other stuff.  The soup was amazing (they really like to feed you soup in Chicago, I think).

So after a relative bust in terms of thrifty finds up to that point in the day, we managed to find one of the many Unique Thrift stores in the area, where they were having an awesome sale, and where I found quite a few treasures:

A green vintage lampshade (stitchery bit needs redone, and
I should've turned the seam side around, but oh well!).

A really nice mid-century magazine rack.

An adorable matched pair of crewelwork kite-flying kids.

A cheaply made but awesomely printed vintage bedspread
that doesn't appear to have ever been used.

A small blue and red monogrammed overnight bag.

An old TOMY owl clock-toy.

A beautiful vintage tablecloth in bright autumn tones.

I think I picked up more at this one medium sized strip-mall thrift store than I bought anywhere else all weekend!  We went back to the big amazing warehouse I mentioned in Wednesday's post after that, so Todd could do some wheelie-dealing (he totally scored a Lane Acclaim coffee table for $40!), but what I picked up there I included in what I showed you from there yesterday.  So this concludes the thrift haulage from the weekend, and my energy for continued typing.  I suppose that means I'll spare you my thoughts on Ikea as an analogy for the road to hell.  You don't have to thank me!

If you haven't had enough of thrifted treasures yet, check out these link-ups full of folks who are lucky in thrift:  

Chic on a Shoestring's Flaunt it Friday and The Thrifty Groove's Thrifty Things Friday. 

And what about you?  Thrift anything good lately?