Split level

With a hot cup of coffee on a cool Sunday morning I begin my post with a sense of well being. I had an enjoyable morning yesterday with my friend Carolyn M. who  doesn't join me  often on the yard sale circuit, really has a great time when she does. And she manages to finds fabulous deals every time. Hmmm, perhaps I too should follow that path, cutting back on my addiction passion for bargains. Perhaps I could make room for other activities on early Saturday mornings....Nahhhh. Forget about it! 

Above is the trunk shot which I love taking especially when it is full of booty. Now to clarify, the wicker box thing, and the pile on the far right is Carolyn's stuff that wasn't purchased at the yard sales. We just didn't feel like moving it out of the way for the picture. However, the wicker box thing was purchased on a Facebook group called Pitt County, NC OnlineYard sale. It is a coffee table with a clear glass top. Carolyn is taking to her beach house and will place shells in it. Carolyn, I want a photo once you have it in place and shell selection complete. My readers and I love to see final projects.

On my way to Carolyn's I was stopped by an incredibly long train. So we didn't get started until 6:15. And yes, the long train had some part in the delay as did me coming inside for to fill a to go mug of coffee and to see  the chair Carolyn bought the week prior at her kitchen table. Looks really good. $5. What a bargain. And Carolyn, I still say, don't refinish it!

The first sale on our list started at 6am at an address that didn't show up on Google maps because it was a newly built home in a new subdivision. Agghhh. We had the right neighborhood but her signs weren't easily visible at 0'dark thirty. Fortunately we found one sale starting at 7am and they were ok with us "early birds" since we were stopping to ask for directions. Carolyn walked away with the candles in the photo below along with the candle holder. I didn't find anything I needed.

However, I do have a news update. The adjustable headlamp I picked up last week for $4 is a wonderful tool for these pre-sunlit morning adventures. I love it! I can adjust the beam and it lights up the area I am looking at and is quite comfortable over my baseball cap. I found Carolyn following closely, taking advantage of my lighting effect even though she opted not to grab her flashlight. They did have relatively good lighting from the garage but when it is still dark, you need a flashlight to get a good look around. 

Mr. Coffee 24 cup machine- $10. Candles plus holder-1.75. 5 plastic plates-$1 total. Glass fish plate-$1 and the rug itself: $1!

.

Armed with advice from these sellers as to where to turn to find the 6am sale, we headed off and around the corner, and then another, we found 3 sales! The 6am sale was down the street but 2 other neighbors were bring out their wares too. Carolyn picked up the Mr. Coffee 24 cup coffee maker: new in original box and all the instructions tucked inside. Perfect for her Sunday morning church group. She was beaming. Next sale she found the plastic, colorful, plates, as well as the glass fish shaped plate and the rug. All for the beach house. The candles too go Atlantic Beach. I am looking forward to joining her there and seeing all these treasures in place.

Had to show a close up of the deal of the day. Price on sticker: $12. Carolyn bought it for $10.

Moving along, we came to a sale I had great hopes of finding fabulous things. Well, the early birds had done a number and I found nothing to buy. However Carolyn zeroed in on a patio set. 4 chairs and a table in great condition and a nice style. $50 asking price. The seller had posted this on Craigslist and a buyer had expressed interest, said they were coming to look at it. But as you may know with Craigslist, or really any private sale, you can not absolutely count on buyers showing up. So to hedge her bets, she had it out for the yard sale. As Carolyn approached the seller, a gentleman was already discussing the set offering $40. Carolyn was unsure if she should pipe up and say she would take it at the asking price. So here is the art of the deal at yard sales, dear readers. Since the buyer had come in low, and the seller was saying, no, she had a possible buyer at $50, I felt ok chiming in and saying "she'll (Carolyn) take it for $50". And that was that.

Here is the "controversial" set on Carolyn's back deck. Looks pretty nice to me.

Wondering later if I was rude or underhanded by coming in like that, I discussed the situation with Brenna. We concluded I made an appropriate move. It would not have been appropriate for me or Carolyn to come in with the $50 offer if the seller had already accepted the lower price. So I felt better and Carolyn picked up her purchase this afternoon when her husband returned to Greenville with the truck. Which brings us to another subject. Often we find things too large for our vehicle. So check with the seller if it is ok to return later that day or the next day for pick up. Pay for your purchase, exchange phone numbers and the ADDRESS!

$3 and I didn't quibble about the price. Tried them on and they fit nicely

I recently discovered a hole in the toe of my sneakers. I need a new pair. I found them at a yard sale this weekend in "EUC" which I recently learned means excellent used condition. Except for some dust bunnies, these look great. And more importantly feel great on. Happy me. My holey pair are in the trash can. I have moved on. Best of all, the old pair were made by Saucony and I loved the fit. New pair: Saucony. Yay!

Paid $1 for each. And unfortunately the stain on the bottom one didn't come out.

These bath mats for my friend Lisa's beach house and I believe she is good to go for a long while on rugs/mats. Lisa, I will refrain from purchasing any more until you give me the green light. The pretty blue one at the top is a cotton rug, heavy and well made. The gray has a rubber backing and not the better quality as the all cotton one. Still very functional for a bathroom that gets a lot of use.

Top two are hardbacks for $1 each. The paperbacks were 25 cents and one for 10cent

Paid 50c each

I picked up the books for Brenna and Lindsey's classrooms but I will hold on to the Curious George for my "Grandma stash of books". They varied in price from 10 cents to 50cts. The top two in the top picture are hardbacks and the bottom picture contains all hardbacks. Bottom ones go to Brenna's home library for Nate. Lindsey, I will continue searching for your classroom and Early Readers.

The chairs were like this one, not in excellent condition but definitely usable

Items I didn't take a photo of were 3 bag chairs like the one above (stock photo, thank you Google images). This purchase was a request from Brenna. She needs a couple for sporting events. Friends of Carolyn and mine had a sale and I was delighted to find 3. Brenna didn't tell me how many she wanted and I had figured two would be a good start. But at the price of $1 each and the offer to load them all in my car, I went for all three. They can always give the least wanted away. Thanks Caroline and Jeff!

Tubing raft: $2

For my niece Kelley and her family I bought this tubing raft. Kelley had put in a search request for this a year ago. Well, here is one a year later. It is small, for a single person use. But I think perfect for Hugh to float around in. She ended up buying one but it is the doughnut design and Hugh doesn't like it very much. Hopefully this one will make my grand nephew happy.

We checked out a few more sales before Carolyn called it quits at 8am. She was heading to Morehead City and the annual Seafood Festival. I was still in the search mode, it was still relatively early so after I transferred my finds to my car and took pics of her finds, I headed back out.

This started at the end of the driveway...it kept going farther and farther and different sections. I neglected to crop my shadow out!

I stopped at this sale after circumnavigating the neighborhood trying to get to it. I was dealing with road work detours and a road race to boot. Avoiding runners and walkers, I made it finally. And it was a big one. Did I purchase anything? No. But I did chat up the seller who told me how she wanted to get rid of old inventory from a former business she had and also makes wreathes. After telling her about the Facebook yard sale group, we became "friends" so I could add her name to the closed group. Hopefully she will start listing stuff and get it sold.

I like the way she displayed the clothing

 

These are some of the wreaths she makes and sells. Just beautiful. Good luck!

I use one of these for my gps device. Paid $1 and sold it to Carolyn the next day for $5. Best price besides mine is Target sells for $10. No more suction cup mount on windshield.

I was ready to wrap up the morning but still had 2 more sales to check out on my way home. This one was fairly close to my home and still had quite a bit for sale. It was the not cleanest, most organized sale I've attended but I soon realized how much stuff had come out of this person's home and garage. It was not a "multi family" sale. The seller had become overwhelmed by the accumulation of stuff through the years and fortunately her relative had come to help her pitch declutter. I quickly learned to ask the relative prices because she was anxious to move out the inventory! 

Paid $1 for all of the balls and $1 for the set of lights.

I love these giant plastic ornaments for my outside trees at Christmas. The smaller ones pictured I can barely get my hand around. The two gold ones are ginormous. Last year when I was frantically searching the last week before Christmas for a string of white lights with green wire, I couldn't find any. Anywhere! So this year, I am ready with a new in the box set. Folks, now is the time to stock up on Christmas lights at yard sales. Trust me on this one. 

$2 for the lot. I did go through later and gave away a set of bowls to Goodwill.

Our cat, Prudence, has developed a compulsive licking problem called barbering. It seems to be a medical issue since an initial treatment of steroids helped, but as soon returned after treatment ended and may be allergy related. I have tried changing her litter to perfume free, better quality food, and though those changes may help, she is still barbering. So it may be she needs more intense play time and hence the reason why I purchased the large selection of cat toys in the above photo. I sure hope so. Her sides look like someone took a razor to Pru. Never a dull moment.

Pru, the barbering cat.

She is watching me through the window taking pictures of her new toys, hoping I will bring them back inside when I finish. She especially likes the ones with feathers.

$1(still had $8.95 price tag on the back)

And we come to the last purchase of the morning. Another item for Lisa's beach house is this metal towel, robe, whatever holder. The fish are detachable with magnets on the backs so they can be moved around or hold up a note. Cute and beachy.

 Lisa said anything with hooks is appreciated. 

$1 for each.

On Friday I went to a sale and found these two frames for Ellie. She asked me to look for embellished frames she plans to paint and put artwork in. The left one is for a 4x6 picture and the other is for a 8x10. Nice quality with velvet backing. And no, those holes showing on the larger of the two are not defects. Looking forward to seeing what she'll do with them and what color she'll choose.

So ends my accounting of the bargain weekend. Johanna is in Pittsburgh visiting with her brothers and nieces attending a Steelers game. Babs had visitors coming Saturday morning. A number of teens and adults from St. Peter's youth group came to help her with the overgrown garden that has been neglected the months of Uncle Tim's hospitalization. They worked hard and made a dramatic difference. I have seen the before and after photos. Babs, you must feel better not seeing all of that overgrowth now.

Next weekend I will be away in Washington DC with my husband celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary. No blog post next week unless we find yard sales  while sightseeing. You never know.

Hope you have a fabulous week and found bargain treasures of your own.

Thrifty Christy

Posted with Blogsy