She Ain't Rainin' in Southport!!! (Well, in Northrop's)

From Top to Bottom.........
Red Vintage Lined Basket $26, Yellow Wooden Child's Bench $33, 'Southport' and 'Bald Head' Scrabble Signs $5.50 ea, 2 Yellow Shabby Side Chairs w/ Red Fabric $43 ea, Bud Light Electric Bar Sign $34, 'Cocktails' and 'Sail Away' Scrabble Signs $5.50 ea, Red Shabby Step Stool $19, 1950's Newborn Diaper Caddy $19 and last but certainly not least an Old Cast Iron Bench w/ Costa Rican Coffee Sack Seat $54.

The Nemesis, Fat Feet and a Potentially Deadly Spider Bite

Well, today wasn't a day dreams are made of but it was good. I didn't really have high expectations since there weren't a whole lot of sales so maybe that helped my complacency. Anyway, this is how it went down..........

First up was at Katy's Bar a few blocks from my house. (Incidental, if you want to have a good time Friday nights and want to see damn good Mexican cowboys and rednecks singing karaoke; this is the place for you!!) Anyway, it was mobbed when we got there 15 minutes early which gets both Jane and me all excited but it fizzled this time when the goods were a tad too pricey. I did get a beautiful old cast iron bench, a scrabble game and a Bud Light bar sign that lights up! I was hoping for a bigger kill but you can't have gazelle for dinner every night! Leaving, however, we noticed HE was there! I haven't introduced him yet because HE's hard to ever talk about. Here it goes.......THE NEMESIS.

The Nemesis is a guy who used to be a fireman and got a job working part time at THE antique consignment store in town in the warehouse. He immediately noticed how much money they were getting for their goods and thought he'd try a yard sale or two and make some extra cash. WELL, wouldn't you know he's now their #1 consigner and all the ladies there will tell me is that I wouldn't believe how much he makes and that he no longer slides down the pole (well, for money, or tax dollars- who knows what else he'll do for some bills?!) So, I hate him as you can imagine. Not only due to jealously but because he snaked me one time for a great old crock with a sailboat on it that I of course saw at the consignment store the next week for 100 mother fucking dollars!!! What intrigues us so about him is that every time we see his gray truck, it's usually filled with crap. The consignment store is super picky and I know wouldn't take 90% of the shit he buys so........what's he doing? It's something we're missing. Some junk store gold mine or something. I just don't know. I can't stand the mystery though. We've even seen him at sales before they start and the son of a bitch is helping them set up! Some day we'll get to the bottom of this. Our questions must be answered!!!!

So, with my head wrapped around unlocking HIS secret world, the next few sales were a bust. They would have been a bust even without The Nemesis but I'm still bitter about the crock so I'll blame him for whatever I want! Then we stopped at sale and I got a really cute 1950's baby caddy with little containers for 'swabs', diaper pins, lotion and cotton. Really cute! I also got a pair of flippers and brand new pair of shoes for my daughter that are in a European size (so you know they were expensive) but my little Fred Flintstone says they're too small. I might try to trim her toe nails later and see if i can't wedge those cabbage patch feet into those shoes. Maybe some butter even. Ugh! I want them to fit. Oh well.

The next sale was at a fancy house in a fancy neighborhood so all the roaches were there. Not the insects but the trailer trash (except us, we're classy grubs!). Nothing. Too expensive and too picked through. Normally I would never walk on some one's lawn because I'm ex-pizza delivery but I walked on their lawn. Take that!

After that we stopped at a freestyle and I got a pair of Vans flip flops (that I've already scrubbed down in rubbing alcohol and look great! Fav of the day!!!) and a little bench. When I asked the grandma how much, she asked if 50 cents would be ok. Can't they all be like that? Come to think of it, what the hell was 4' 5" Ruth doing with a pair of size 10 Van's flip flops? So many riddles to crack this morning!!

The next sale was a young couple who obviously never were even AT a yard sale before because they were grossly over priced. T-shirts for $5? Sorry folks. I know you're both fresh out of college and those business courses have taught you a thing or two about marketing but life's going to be your best teacher. Take it from me, Ashton and Ashley, t-shirts at yard sales are at best 50 cents, ok! Kids!

So, after that, I got an adorable old basket with the cutest vintage material that I want to keep so bad but I'm afraid if I bring just one more item in this house, the floors might sink to China. I also got a super cool old tennis racket and the super coolest old preppy carrying case to go with it. I seriously could invite 50 of my closest friends to play a match with me because I can't stop buying the old wooden rackets. I just love them! I'm extra inspired too because I just finished OPEN by Andre Agassi and it was terrific. A must read!

So, with the digital clock in Jane's truck reminding us it's time to head back, we only had time for one more. Well, that was the one prior to this but this other one was so close and we promised each other no lolly gagging so we had to go. All I got was a kid's bench but painted will be great so it was nice to leave on a high note.

Frankly, I could go on more but the spider bite I got last week on my derriere is not feeling so hot and the great old wooden desk chair that I'm sitting on that looks great but isn't that comfy to begin with is now killing my rump! Let's hope it wasn't a brown recluse. If I have to go suddenly, I really hope the story is a lot more exciting than a bite on the arse. Should it be my demise, however, be sure to find a way to keep ALL of my finds for my kids and for the love of god, keep my husband's new wife and her little fat fingers off my vintage post card collection. Whore! Thanks ya'll!

New Items @ Northrop's in Southport, NC

From Left to Right..............
Yellow Plate Rack $29, Nude Signed Sketch (poorly photographed) $65, Large Floral Painting in Yellow Frame $165, 1960's Rolling Rock Chalkware Horse $34, Little Red 1 Drawer Side Table $42, Yellow Armchair w/ Red Bird Fabric $68, Large Creamic Bowl w/ Small Flowers $23, Betty Boop $26, Coke Tray $14, Small Antique Desk $49, Vintage Picnic Basket $23, Yellow Lighthouse for Birds or Plants $32 and Bamboo Drink Table or Plant Stand $18.

One Small Crush, Two Boobies and The Ukrainian

Fiiiinnnnaaaalllllyyyyy!!!!! Yes, yes, YES!!!! Today was amazing!!!! I thought for sure the threat of rain would have me sleeping in but oh no!!!! No siree!!!! Where do I begin? How about the beginning.........So, first up was an address that I was pretty sure was my favorite saler of all time and low and behold it was. This dude has maybe 2 sales a year and he must be a auction freak because he always has soooo much cool shit. He's great on the buying end of the game but no so much with the selling end because his great stuff is really freakin cheap! He reminds me so much of Mike Wolf from American Pickers. He's kind of a hottie too (sorry, Dave, but I think I may fancy him). Well, anyway, at the sale, (note huge grin on my face) I got a huge floral painting that's in a great frame but painted a la 70's so it's a bit cheesy now but a fresh coat of paint on the frame and it's going to be fantastic! Ummm, I also got a side table, blah, blah, and an old mirror with a stupendous frame for my dining room wall of mirrors which I believe I said a few weeks ago was complete but what do you know! I can fit one more!!! And let's see...I also got a Rolling Rock statue with a horse, pretty cool and a weird Betty Boop plastic thing (????) and last but not least a great sketch of a naked (and perky) woman in a nice old frame. I would love to keep her but not sure where I could put her bosom. She'd look great in a bathroom but I think the moisture would damage the paper she's sprawled out on. I might have to keep her to make up for the crush I have on Dreamy Auction Guy. I'll know in about an hour when Hubby reads this. I'm just kidding, silly! (Or am I?)

Ok, I REALLY need to move on now! So, next up was a shit sale in a dry cleaners with nothing but kid's shit that I think they originally got from yard sales. They were unusually happy for that hour and I'm pretty sure are thinking about starting a church. Definitely a possibility. Ok, nothing there.

Next was also a house with nothing but kid's shit and the lady even called us back to look at another room of MORE kid's shit but nada there as well. Moving right along, next was a sale at another business and had really pretty paintings but the 'artist' wanted way too much for them. The one Jane picked up was still wet too and she had to shop the rest of the morning with paint all over her hands; beats some of the other funk we touch, though.

After that was a freestyle that we almost drove past but then I noticed a huge Moroccan inspired hanging lamp shade that will look superb in my daughter's room. The guy was a character too. Every other sentence out of his mouth went from a heavy Slavic language to full blown country. He had to be from the Eastern Block, though. No one except my late eccentric uncle could wear nuggets of gaudy gold around their neck except a foreigner. He also walked with a masculine sashay where he led his weight from his groin area (come on, you know mean). I'm sure he was quite the Rico Suave before he left the Ukraine. Come to think of it, I might have just the Russian friend for him!

Ok, I'll ease up on the Chatty Cathy now and get down to business. The next stop I scored a super awful plate rack that unfortunately I know will sell in a new beachy color. I got a Spider man punching bag for my lunatic son that wrestles down everyone he meets (much to my embarrassment). At another sale I got a great G Love and Special Sauce t-shirt (could be my fav of the day)!!!! Then we went to a freestyle and Jane got a great little dresser that we think would look smashing in a bathroom and I got a desk-ish thing that I could see more with coffee table books in the slot and one opened up on top in someones foyer. Not sure how I can word that when I go to sell it but I'm sure I'll think of something. And at our last stop I got a bedside, small dresser that's kind of masculine looking and I just see it in a navy for a boy's room. No, now I'm already thinking red. You know I loves me some red!!!

So, that's a wrap. I had a great freaking morning. I got stuff to sell and make some money and I got stuff for me and each of the kids even. How am I going to wait for next Saturday now? I want more, daddy! MORE!!!!! Oh well. Guess I'll go play with my fun house wall of mirrors now while wearing my new shirt. Man I live the life!

Warning: Must Drink Coffee Before Reading! Too Boring to Endure Without!

Today's lesson, kids, is about the journey being the destination. Or as Yard Sale Mama would say........this morning freaking sucked! What the hell is going on? I realize some peeps are on vacation but it's slim pickins out there, ya'll! Good news is, I saved money, right? And I got to spend quality time with Jane who's been tied up with family for the last THREE weeks!! I even turned down alcohol last night as I didn't want to break rule #1 in the Yard Saler's Code of Conduct Manual. Damn! What's going on?!

Well, I could never let down my fans (stop laughing!) so the show (or blog) must go on. This is what went down....

Although there were only 9 good sales this morning, 3 were at 6 a.m. Normally I love the early ones because of my 8:30 curfew but I didn't sleep well last night and when my alarm went off, it interrupted my marriage plans to David Byrne, singer for The Talking Heads whom I didn't realize I've ever had deep feelings for but in my dream we were courting and things were looking serious. Not sure how to analyze that one so I'm moving on.

Our first stop I was still so groggy (or love struck) that I felt like I had broken Rule #1. Luckily there wasn't anything to put me in a confusion tizzy. I did get an old bottle that is from Linden, NJ and it had barnacles on it so I thought I might have some stories to tell. (By the way, did you know that barnacles have the largest penises for their size than any other creature? [thanks, Amie for that piece of knowledge]).

Next up were 2 freestyle sales but only a cheesy set of metal salt and pepper shakers were to get me to dig into my wad of singles for exchange. I bought and sold this same set last year so I'm hoping for deja vu. After that was a haze of folks selling kids crap; and I mean crap! One sale had a Dora the Explorer bust that I guess you would put makeup on and style her hair like the Barbie ones of the 70's but this looked more like Dora had been trying to kick heroin but the hold the drug had on her had forced her to spend some nights on a park bench because this Dora had some nappy dread locked hair and a crazed look in her eye and really; does a little girl need makeup? Maybe it's a Latin thing. What? Did I say something offensive?

Ok, so the next sale was probably the highlight of my morning because I got 2 Yankee Candle tarts in my favorite Clean Cotton and the sticker said 2 for 10 cents but she didn't have change of a quarter so I got them for free! That's right, FREE!!!!! Woo hoo!!! After that I got a coffee table book of the Hamptons with some marginally pretty pictures. On a better day I wouldn't have bought it but today was only slightly better than a root canal so now I have yet another coffee table book and don't even have a coffee table. Is anyone still even reading this because I feel like I'm losing the few people who do tune in?

Oh this might wake you guys up........So, we were heading to a sale on my list when we came upon a freestyle. After we turned on the street we noticed it was on the front lawn of a very rusted trailer. You just never know though so we parked. The only thing I liked were these 2 white metal chairs with bright yellow pleather seats. I asked her how much and she said, "Oh no! I just brought these out for us to sit on. These are antique chairs. They go with my antique table that's inside. I could never sell my antiques!" Of course she couldn't. What would that do to her net worth?

Oh, what a morning I had! Somewhere along the way I also got a knitting bag which again would not have made it into Jane's truck if it hadn't been such a blah morning. Hopefully it will force me to accomplish Learn How To Knit that's #4 on my Things To Do In 2010 list. I don't friggin know. To think I turned down wine and Miller Lites for this. Bullshit. Sorry if you're thinking this is 10 minutes of your life you'll never get back. I hear ya! Let's hope next week is better, you know like I'll run over an animal or someone will expose their junk on the side of the road. Yeah, that's a good morning! Next week. Next week'll be better. Next week it is!

Don't miss this yellow shabby armchair with bird print fabric in red; this ocean blue table/stand; or this yellow wooden pig container @ Pelican's Roost!!!

Squatters, Churches and a Wooden Pig

Quite often Jane and I pull back into my driveway after our day of saling and we're a tad glum that we didn't hit the mother load. Quite often we're right. This morning, however, was slow and didn't feel like we were scoring much but as I clumped my finds together to take a photo, I was really quite pleased.

First up was a house downtown with a sign that read, "If it's not nailed down, it's for sale!" Nice. Unfortunately it's contents were your typical crap. They did have an old medicine cabinet but they wanted $25 for it. Prices like that get me in a bad mood. How dare they? I wanted to storm out of there but then I spotted a camping shower tent. I've been really wanting one of these so I dared ask. Luckily the gal said she hates camping so she told me a fair price. On principle I offered less and we met half way. Mama's happy!
It was as we were leaving downtown, to head to the next sale, however, that I had the highlight of my day. I was driving along and Jane giggled and told me to go back. I threw the van in reverse only to find a man squatting on a newspaper and wiping his ass as he stared me in the eyes. Now I'm not saying that there aren't times when you just gotta go..... but in a driveway? A few feet from the road? That was awesome. Can't make this shit up, folks. Literally!
Ok, on to number two (I couldn't resist that one) we just couldn't find the house. Luckily we freestlyed a different one and Jane got a great bistro set. Bi-atch! I bought an awful little table that I hate and wish I didn't buy but repainted some fool will buy it. Poor bastard.
Let's see......after that I got a great scrabble game with the dark stained letters from an old New Yorker and I gave him the money and then I saw a really nice sand chair (can you ever have enough of these?) and my change of the $5 was the $2 I just gave him and he said, "Whad ah you an Indian givah?". Guess so, P.C. Guy.
Moving right along.....at the next sale I got a to-go coffee mug (Again, can you ever have enough? The answer's 'no' in my house since hubby always leaves them in his truck and although there's always 10 on his front seat there's never 1 in my cabinet to hold my morning vice! Of course now there'll be 11 on his seat and none for mama. Errrrr!)
Next up I got a picnic basket for 15 cents because the guy didn't have change and that's all the coins I had. I might try to use that technique more often. In fact that did happen not that long ago I wanted to buy a great old bathroom cabinet and the lady wanted $2 and I only had $5 and she didn't have change and she told me to just take it. She said she was happy to just get rid of it. I painted that sucker and it sold for $40 a week later! Thank you, Yard Sale Gods!!!!!!
After that we went to the high school which was having a fundraiser and it was HUGE!!!! I was so excited but all I got was a big map for 10 cents. Oh and a Barbie life jacket which might have to be my score of the day since I've been looking for a girlie one in my daughter's size but they're really hard to find. There's tons for babies but not my baby. Now maybe she won't piss and moan on the boat that she has to wear a life jacket. Yeah right!
From there we stopped at a strange sale and the guy handed my a flyer about their strange church in an old bungalow. I bought 2 pool floats for the youngins and I was told to have a blessed day. Thanks, weird dude. I'll try. We live in the south. There's a church on every block. Why are folks always trying to organize yet another church? There's a perfectly good weird church in an old storefront 50 feet away. Just hang with those weird people. I really think you'd get along. (I wonder if hell really is THAT hot? I think if I stock up on the SPF I could be mayor.)
So....next I bought a wooden pig that's actually 2 wooden pigs with a wooden box between them and I was really excited when I purchased it until Jane and I were discussing what to paint it and frankly what you would do with it and then I realized I bought a wooden pig box. What the f*@$?
Ok, so now we're feeling wild because it's after 8:30 because both of our kids are with there grandparents so we can sale away but really now we're just looking at sloppy seconds. In addition I drove into this neighborhood that goes on and on and on and I got us lost and we feared we might grow old there. After a good 15 minutes we spotted our main road out of there but had to stop for one last sale. We pulled over and I got a great old arm chair. Single chairs are slow sellers but arm chairs seem to fly out of the store AND people will pay a nice amount for them. So, now I'm happy that I at least will break even on the gas I just spent.
Well, there you have it. Not a day for the story books but an adventure all the same. Can you believe I saw a man take a crap? You don't see that working 9 to 5!

Beat the Heat.......SHOP!

Sure the heat index outside is 105 but it's 68 in Northrop's Antique Mall in Southport, NC!!! Come get these great finds!
From left is 1939 beach scene print, a sea foam green table, 3 scrabble letters signs, an antique frame with chickenwire, a vintage school map of the war between the states, an aqua magazine rack, a barn red/tan potato and onion bin, a NC needlepoint, a sea foam green rocking chair, an antique white pot rack and a 50's paint-by-numbers light house painting.

Postcards, Huffing Addiction and Overpriced Glasses

I have so much adrenaline rushing right now I'm down right obnoxious! I woke up and just knew it was going to be a great day! Jane on the other hand broke rule #1 last night and did not share my love of life. Despite her lolligagging, however, it was a day yard sale dreams are made of.......well it was better than it's been, anyway.

So, the first sale was da bomb. My 1st purchase was a fabulous old sofa table right out from under the man who organized the 'send-a-youth-to-camp' sale (he was using it to stand behind with his money bin and coffee on it) and after I bought it I heard some of the other do-gooders talking that they couldn't believe he sold it. (Oh but he did!) Next up......my piece de resistance........a whole box, BOX I tell you of vintage postcards!!!!! At first the gal said 5 cents a piece then she went right to 3 for 5 cents so I asked how much the whole box would be and she said,"Oh about $2." I almost had a freakin heart attack! I love, Love, LOVE old postcards! I have a vintage postcard stand in my living room and now my collection has soared to a whole new elevation! Whoever had this collection was quite the world traveller too. Apparently he/she/they went all over the world in the 60's and 70's to places like Tenerife, Gibraltor, Guadalajara (where they also had a souvenir calendar card from '65 in the box as well), Grenada, merry old England and ALL over the US from national parks to a ranch in Wolverine, Michigan (with the dude, Buck's, business card) and Niagra Falls (with a receipt from The Spirit of the Mist '62). Man I'm still so pumped up about that score. Of course I've gone through each and everyone of them and displayed them in my stand already. Dangity dang they look great! You know they collected them their whole lives and their rotten children just sold them to me for the price of a cup of coffee (McDonalds I say; not even close to grande Starbucks frappa-whatever!)! Don't worry Gus and Gert, my brats will do the same to me one day.

So, after that it went downhill a bit. How could it not? Not too bad though. Let's see....after that we went to a school sale and there was crap but I did get 2 old bricks on the side of the road to add to my walkway that I've built one brick at a time (Johnny Cash Cadillac style!). After that I got an almost full gallon of paint in a bright teal that reminds me of the color they use at Maine Cottage that's in all the magazines that are so over priced I can't believe they sell a single thing! Maybe it's all in the color. We'll soon find out. I don't really like using latex though. A) I'm addicted to huffing the spray paint fumes and B) it's just so much more time consuming and messy. Oh well, for a buck it's worth some wrist action and a sober mind.

Ummm next....OH! Next we went to a sale in a fancy neighborhood which I always hate because they're usually packed with grubs and their shit is WAY overpriced. Well! Such was the case with this one indeed. I've been known to break a wine glass or 2 (because seriously- whoever thought to give a drinker a top heavy glass?!) and this whore had 2 odd glasses and when I asked how much she said $1 a piece! Are you freakin kidding me?! To that I mumbled something about them being that at the store and slammed them down. I'm not sure why it aggravated me so but lordy did it ever. Wouldn't you know, though, the very next sale had 4 for $1. That's more like it. You know I wanted to drive past My-Shit-Don't-Stink's house and flail out the window with my score. I didn't but I wanted to. Still want to!

Ok, so then I got a cheesy book for The Great Sabbatical, a pair of goggles for my younger brat, a scrabble game, a great vintage apron, 2 funky costume necklaces and a super cool old flag of Panama from a super cool lady who lived there in the 60's. We have a condo being built in Panama City but since it's taking FOREVER the flag will probably find it's way into my son's surfer room till he goes off to college and the place is finally done. I really dig it though! I freakin need a bigger house! Come on Panamanian builder men. Trabajo! Mama needs another crib to fill!

I Was 'Doobie'ous But Not Bad!

Ever so sound asleep you feel as though you're floating on a magic carpet with the wind gushing through you hair and although you feel exhilarated you're also in a state of total relaxation? Well, that was me at 6:20 this morning until the Doobie Brothers started screaming at me from within my alarm clock! Now I keep singing Black Water over and OVER in my head complete with the What's Happenin' scene where Rerun goes to see the Doobies live and brings a tape recorder with him but after bustin' out some of those famous Rerun moves he drops the devise on the floor and the music stops and it cuts to commercial and you think this is the end for good ol' Rerun but instead he gets a talking to from the band and all's good for Rerun, Rog, Dee and Dewayne Wayne. Mind you, every time I hear this song I mention this iconic scene from early 80's pop culture and I'm met with crickets and funny looks. Am I really the only one out there who saw this brilliant episode? Did I dream the whole thing on one of my previous magic carpet rides? Either way it was totally profound for me after school back in '82 but here in the new millennium at the crack of dawn I wanted to kick some Doobie ass (Rerun style with some knee slapping of course!)!
So, now I'm up, bouncing into door frames cause I'm still on borrowed carpet time, but up. I get ready (well, yard sale ready anyway) and go outside only to be blocked by sheets of rain that definitely weren't there 10 minutes prior. Being a freak whose mind never shuts off I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep so I went back to the world wide web in search of inside sales and low and behold there was one that looked promising. It was in a church (which you know I love) but it was pretty far out of town. This could have possibly turned me away but since I just got back from the mountains yesterday and spent a week in a world where 'local' attractions are an hour away I figured what the hell. I'm up.
So I get there and it's a moment where the angels are singing and it takes your breath away. Well, that was my first impression anyway. As I scaled the rows (and rows and rows) of the church gymnasium I realized it was not quite as heavenly as I first thought. It was pretty crowded too and a lot of 'professional' salers were there also. One freak (all pro salers are freaks except Jane and me)even had his fancy phone out and was scanning each item to see if it was worth anything. Dork! Anyway, I did score a great mirror that completes my wall of mirrors in my dining room and is up (dusty) already, an old camera that is also in it's 'primitive stage' but has already made it to my "world traveler room", ummmm......I got a Coastal Living book that will surely find a home with her cousins on my book shelf (although I haven't read yet and it's killing me!), I got 2 books (you know for The Great Sabbatical), I got a frame that is old and chippy and great but it's oval on top and a bitch to find a purpose for but I'm thinking hanging something on the wall and placing the frame around it might be good or GOOD GOD CHICKEN WIRE! Oh yes a little chicken wire behind and some clothes pins and and you've got one hell of a message board or perhaps an earring display piece! Hot diggity now I'm excited! Ok, back to the church.....I also got a scuba flag on a pole with a weight and bouy that I think will look cute in my son's room and a cheesy bench with a god-awful heart that will sell with a little paint and last but not least a needle point in a frame that's of the great state of North Carolina with all the cities marked and cutsie little pictures representing the regions. It's ok. Some fool will buy it.
Ok, so that was my morning. Looking back it wasn't so bad. I know I should write something cute and witty now but if I don't go read that decorating book in the next few seconds I could possibly spontaneously combust! You understand, right? Bye!!!