Mother Lode

This past week was Spring Break for my son. The chances of us being able to afford a vacation this summer are pretty slim, so Roger and I decided to take the week off and just enjoy the time off. I thoroughly enjoyed it - vintage-style.

There was an estate sale advertised in the medium sized town where I work. We don't have a lot of estate sales there, so I definitely wanted to check it out. I am so glad I did! I've never had this kind of reaction at an estate sale. I walked in, and it was like a time capsule. I'm not sure these people had bought anything new since 1977. And the prices were wonderful!

I think I may have been pretty near hyperventilating as I went through the first apartment. (Yes, there were TWO of these time capsules!) And, then when I went to pay, I realized that I only had ONE check blank and not nearly as much cash in my wallet as I thought. I had to hold myself back in the second apartment, but I was already scheming in my brain to come back.

These two photos are of my complete haul.

I only read about Le Creuset on other people's blogs. I never see it. I saw it on Wednesday. And I saw it in abundance! I grabbed these three pieces on my first trip through. I had decided to get more when I came back, but they were already gone. The orange piece is actually a Cousances piece. From what I've read, I believe the Cousances company was bought by Le Creuset back in the 1950s.

Beautiful pieces of enamelware! I love this bright sunny yellow color. And those enamelware refrigerator boxes stole my heart. I should have bought some of the larger ones, too.

A couple metal boxes with their keys securely attached.

This tray is HUGE! I had one very similar to it last year with a rooster on it. This one is all about coffee!

I don't usually buy vintage purses. Mostly, because I know nothing about them, but this one was red and quite clean. I figured it was worth the chance.

Another thing I only read about and never find is anything Vera. Well, what do you know? Vera scarves! The middle one is silk. The scarf on the left is Pierre Cardin, and I couldn't resist the bright lime green color!

The previous owner was a science professor, I believe. Lots of science related stuff!

Not my usual Pyrex finds, but I wasn't complaining!

Even the glass stopper on this bottle is clearly labeled Pyrex!

I had to ask and was told that this little jar was used for dying microscope slides. Makes sense! The little ridges on opposite sides would have perfectly held slides, and the glass lid is still tinted pink.

And, oh my word! Vera china!! Twenty-eight pieces, but two of them were damaged. These were in the second apartment where I didn't have any more cash. I was so thankful they were still there when I came back!

All in all, a pretty worthwhile morning, in my opinion! And I spent about half of what Roger spent at his auction on Saturday. A very good day for me.

Follow me over to Sophie's for more vintage finds!

On His Own...

Every once in a while, I have to let Roger go to an auction on his own. This is is troublesome in a couple ways. First of all, I hate to be left out of the action. As our two year old is currently fond of saying, "No fair!" Secondly, I am a cheapskate. When the bidding goes into the double digits, I tend to back off. That's right, kids, I really am THAT cheap. Roger is not afraid of the double digits. So, he probably spent more than I would have, but he did get several pretty awesome things.

In and of itself, this is a pretty adorable (albeit dirty) bull dog. But, then you take him apart and he moves into the realm of awesomeness!

The spoon is his TONGUE!! The bottom is marked "Gold Castle handpainted Made in Japan". There's also a word that kind of looks like "Chikusa" if that makes any sense. If any one has more information for me, I would really appreciate it. I found information on Gold Castle china, but nothing like him.

Hurray for tin toys! We're suckers for them! The top has cute cowboys and cowgirls riding around the top. When you get this puppy spinning, it makes a whistling noise, because of holes cut at intervals all around it. Do all tops do that? I've never noticed it before, but maybe I wasn't paying attention.

This little bucket has slightly bizarre yet cheerful graphics all around it.

A Dick Tracy Target by Marx Toys made in the 40s. It's in pretty great condition. It originally came with a gun and ammo.

I love silhouette pictures, although my taste leans more toward the romantic scenes. These two are advertising pieces. The one on the right with the elk says, "Season's Greetings for 1942; Home Oil Company; H. R. and Lola Shaw; Plainville, Kansas". The one on the left has us a bit bemused. We have the pioneer man on his horse leading his ox drawn covered wagon through the dessert. (We know it's the dessert, because there is a cactus.) However on the right hand side of the picture is a red and white ringed circle of blue sky with an airplane in it. There's also a thermometer and a banner that says "Land of the Free". It's like the advertising department couldn't make a decision, so they decided to do it ALL! This piece is from Carpenter Grain & Stock.

Two store displays for hair nets! The DuroBelle display on the left is made of metal. The Rovina display on the right is wood. Cute! I love vintage stuff that can serve practical purposes. If I had a dedicated craft room, I would totally use these to store stuff.

More toys! We can't pass them up at the right price! The two wooden trucks at the back were made by the Cass company. The red and yellow truck in the middle reads "Super-X" along its side. The bottom is marked Arenwal Products.

Love this adorable peacock! We are drawn to peacock items anyway, and since this was also a tin toy, it was a double whammy! He seems to be missing his feet, but he makes up for it in pretty tail feathers!

Another Marx toy! This one is in fabulous condition!

I saw these Laurel and Hardy chalk figures on the auction website. I figured they were about 6 inches tall. I was wrong. They're almost 16 inches tall! They really are fantastic! The bases are marked "Paula's, Inc. St Paul, Minn". There might be a date that says '71, but it's hard to tell. I have found nothing about this company. I suspect it was a small local business that no longer exists.

Their faces are so expressive and interesting. I love looking at them, but it's getting a little creepy, so they'll probably be heading to the booth.

I have to say he did all right. There wasn't anything that made me say, "What the heck were you thinking?" although, I did raise my eyebrows at a couple of the prices. Fortunately, there were enough good deals to return my eyebrows to their normal position. But, next time, I'm not staying home.

So, THAT'S the deal!

So, here's the answer! Several of you were right on track. It IS a muzzle. I knew it was a muzzle, but I wasn't sure what kind of animal you'd use it on. The man behind me at the auction told me that it is a calf muzzle and is used to wean calves from their mothers. Interesting idea... He also told me that this one is pretty cow friendly. Some of them had spikes on them, so when the calf goes in to nurse, it pokes mama and she gives said child a good kick! Yikes!

What the heck is that??

I promised this post a while back, so here it is finally! My "what the heck is that?" post. Bought this a few weeks ago, completely because it was just a little bit odd. I sort of knew what it was when I bid, but the friendly guy behind me explained it further.

Now, you tell me, What the heck is this thing?

And, head over to Her Library Adventures and Apron Thrift Girl for more vintage goodies!