Yard Sale Haul: Part 2

Ok, I realize that I should have titled my last post "Yard Sale Haul: Part 1" rather than "Vintage Toys: Part 1", but I was so starry eyed over the Barbie furniture that I got confused.  As I mentioned in that post, my finds last week were so uncharacteristically numerous that I couldn't fit them all in one post without risking putting readers into a trance.

If you read this post, you know that Bekah has a humongous dollhouse.  It is too big for any normal table, so I had been on the lookout for one of these upon which to rest it.

I had put a train table on my mental list, and within two weeks, there it was.  I paid $10 for it, and the dollhouse is already atop it, looking great.  (in truth, even at 3ft x 4ft it's still a bit small for the house, but is an improvement over what we had.)  It has two large drawers underneath to hold her extra furniture.

Books were another big find last week.  I sort of collect vintage children's books.  I say sort of because it's not an official collection, I'm just captivated by their illustrations.

Look at that book in the lower left, Pockets. Have you ever seen anything cuter??

Not all of the books I bought were vintage.  With three voracious readers in the house, I rarely pass up good books.

Rachel has read many of these before, but I pick them up again for Joshua and Bekah.

I'll wrap up part 2 with these darling vintage children's book and record sets.

The taller black and yellow ones in the back came with a filmstrip!!!  A filmstrip I tell ya!  Just like the old kids' books, these book and record sets often have the most adorable images on them.  Most of these will be in my Etsy shop soon, so if you have a favorite you can get it there.

Check back in the next few days for part 3.  There are more toys and some odds and ends.

Did you find any vintage goodies, or just anything good for cheap, last week?  Share in the comments.

(i tried a new technique for photographing things.  i put a sheet over a large window, hoping to take advantage of muted natural light.  as you can see, it was a major fail.)

Vintage Toys: Part 1

I went to a few yard sales this weekend.  Normally I try to include photos of everything I got over the course of one week in my Sunday night post.  I can usually cram all of it into 4 or 5 photos.  Throw in a few close ups, and my thrifting/yard saling posts usually have about a half dozen pics.  This week I needed 11 group pics to get it all in.  That does not include the close up shots.  ELEVEN!  Let's just say I got a shocking amount of stuff this weekend.  As a result, I have decided to break it up into several posts over the course of the week, and just focus tonight on one aspect of my finds.  Check back over the next few days if you'd like to see the entire haul.

I had a strange experience on Saturday.  I returned to the same yard sale three times.  I know.  It was very close to my house, almost close enough to walk to.  I stopped the first time and bought several vintage toys and other items.  However, I left some things behind that I was on the fence about.  It was several early 80's original Cabbage Patch Kids and a ton of their clothes.  When I got home I mentioned them to Rachel, and she agreed that I should go back and get them (hehehe).  When I got back to the sale, only about 20 minutes had elapsed, but during that time someone else had swooped in and bought them.  Remember rule number one in bargain hunting: You snooze, you lose.  Anyway, on this second trip back I spotted something even better that had not been there before.  The man having the sale told me he was still bringing stuff out, and would be for several hours.  That led to the need for a third trip about an hour later.

The golden find on that second trip is the subject of this post.  I walked back over to where the CPK's had been, and saw a box full of this:

Is that vintage inflatable Barbie furniture??!  You'd better believe it!  And who is that lovely gal seated on the blow up chair?

Oh, it's Barbie's little sister, Skipper.  She's straight out of 1970, and looking great.

I already had the large cardboard box in my hands, ready to buy it.  There was a ton of stuff under the inflatable furniture, but I didn't even bother to look at it there.  It would not have mattered if that box had contained a rat carcass from 1970, I was buying it and taking it home.  Once home I found this:

Ah, Barbie (1966) and Ken (1968) relaxing on the Dream Furniture from 1978.  The tables are missing their mirrored (mylar) tops, but they are still really fun.  That desk intrigues me.  I don't recall anything like it from the late 70's, real or toy.  Very futuristic.

The box contained many more treasures, including another Barbie and Ken, and a bunch of replacement pieces for the Barbie Star Traveler RV.  Those might show up in one of the later posts, and they will be available in my Etsy shop soon.

In fact, the plan is to put all of this treasure in my Etsy shop in the future.  That can't happen right now, though, because of this:

Yes, that's my smallest chick, fresh from her pre-bedtime shower, resuming the activity that she had been engaged in since the big cardboard box entered the house before lunch.  She knows they are not "hers", and that they are not staying forever, but she is enjoying them for now, so any Etsy buyers anxious to relive their 1970's childhood will have to wait a bit.  A 21st century kid is busy with them right now.

Linking up with:
Her Library Adventures for Flea Market Finds
Me and My Shadow for Magpie Monday
Apron Thrift Girl for Thrift Share Monday
Coloradolady for Vintage Thingie Thursday

Saturday Night Retro

What a week!  I know that I am not the busiest person I know.  In fact, I have friends who have 10+ children and run small family farms, so there is no doubt in my mind that I am not the busiest person I know.  However, it has been a busy, busy week.  I intended to get a couple of blog posts up during the week.  I even worked on them some, but didn't get anything finished.

I was able to finish a few DIY projects around the house, and I hope to blog about those soon.  I haven't done as much of that type of blogging as I thought I would.

Ok, on to the cool, smooth tones that will help you unwind on what is a beautiful, warm evening with a huge full moon (it's at perigee this weekend) here in northwest Arkansas.

First up:

Ahhhh, that's better. Who's next?  How about...

Ok, let's go back and listen to that one again.

Done?  Ok,  The last musical interlude for the evening is from one of my favorite musicians from my childhood.

I am so relaxed now I can barely type.

On Mondays I do a post about my thrift store and yard sale finds.  Many of them are vintage items (that's how this ties into Saturday Night Retro).  This week I will be showing an old wooden Fisher Price Little People toy that I found.  Here he is with two other Little People finds.

 My sister and brother and I played with Little People endlessly in the 1970's.  My kids have all played with them, as well.  Some day soon I'll do a retro post about my little collection of vintage toys.  Have you collected anything as an adult that you loved as a child?  Share with me in a comment.

Toys of My Youth

I recently came across this on Pinterest.

Fashion Plates

Oh my goodness!  I had these when I was a kid.  I think I was 12 or 13.  I had a lot of fun with this.  In fact, the three plates shown in the center were my favorites.  I know that my girls would love this, and if I find one at a thrift store or yard sale I will grab it.

That got me thinking about some of my other favorites from the 1970's.  My sister, brother, and I played with Fisher Price Little People all the time.  We had the farm and the school, but I remember how over the moon I was when I got this for Christmas.

Fisher Price A Frame

The best part about that one is that my mom kept it, and my kids have played with it, too.

I think I got this doll when I was 6 or 7.

Pedal Pretty

Pedal Pretty accessories

I guess she must be pretty rare, because those two images and one other were all I could find.  I liked her a lot, and was very excited to receive her for Christmas.  I think the Velcro that held her feet to the wagon came off early on, though.

Probably my favorite and most played with toy was the Honey Hill Bunch.

Honey Hill Bunch Clubhouse

I got the clubhouse and a bunch of the dolls in about 3rd or 4th grade, and I loved them.  I was able to add a few more dolls over the years.

Honey Hill Bunch Hayseed

Honey Hill Bunch dog

Again, my mom kept quite a few of them, and my girls have played with them.

Researching this post led me to several other toys that I loved, so look for a part two at some point!