Vintage Finds

I have spent a fair amount of time yard saling the past few weekends.  The fabulous finds have been a bit hard to come by, but it's been fun.  This past weekend I stopped by a Thursday yard sale and discovered it was two elderly sisters who were selling their recently deceased mother's belongings.  Some folks find that macabre, but I just see it as the natural progression.  And in this case, the sisters didn't think their mother's stuff was much better than junk, but for a vintage-phile like myself, it was exciting.

A lot of the items had been packed away for decades.  Normally that leads to untold treasure. Unfortunately, the bulk of the items had been stored in cardboard boxes.  Folks, don't store things you love in cardboard boxes.  The moisture will ruin your stuff.  This yard sale had dozens and dozens of old books, all damp and mildew covered.  Quite a sad sight.  There was also a metal science kit that still had many of the dangerous chemicals that used to be included with science kits for older teens.  I would have loved to have that for homeschool, and Husband is well equipped to determine the usability of the chemicals, but the metal case had been allowed to rust badly, and most of the lids to the bottles were rusted, so it was just trash.

However, among the trash there were some gems.

This old fiberglass chair is a much prettier shade of turquoise than it appears in this photo.  It had several things piled on it, and when I asked how much it was the seller looked like she couldn't believe someone wanted it.  She said, "Fifty cents, and the dirt is free."  It was covered in a layer of dust/dirt.  I told her I'd take it, and moved it up near the cash table.  Later I heard another shopper ask about it, and the seller told her I was buying it.

I also found that cute piece of vintage advertising that you see on the chair.

Isn't that darling?  It says Story Road Drive-In Dairy.  The thermometer works, and on the back is a calendar from 1962!

That will probably end up in my Etsy shop eventually.

You might be wondering about that questionable looking box behind the advertising piece.  I agree that it looks like something not everyone would want to pick up.  But I'm not everyone.  And I'm happy about that, because it did lead to a little treasure.

Did you hear that squeal?  That was me and Rachel expressing our delight at these lovely vintage cards.  They are in very good condition, and we plan to use them as they were intended to be used.  So if you know us, and you get married in the near future, that beautiful 1950's bride might appear in your mailbox.

As I was heading to my car with my finds, the other shopper who had asked about the chair approached me.  She said, "That chair is really great.  I'll give you $15 for it."  I told her thank you, but no, I was going to keep the chair.  She said, "Twenty."  I laughed and assured her that I was not trying to drive the price up.  I told her my daughter was really going to like the chair, and I wanted to keep it.  She was disappointed, but friendly.  I guess she had been hanging around, waiting to see if I really bought it, and to offer me more.  Vintage-philes like what they like.

I'm linking up with Me and My Shadow for Magpie Monday and Her Library Adventures for Flea Market Finds.  Go check out the goodies.