We have been vacationing in the Catskills for the past couple of weeks. I look forward to this summer retreat every year. The house is located in Merriewold Park, Forestburg, NY; nice and secluded, in the middle of the woods complete with dirt roads, no lawn and a lovely little lake. Peaceful, woodsy, a hiatus from our busy and active lives. Honey Bea, our newest addition, is in heaven. Chipmunks abound here and she doesn't get much rest on the porch listening and watching them sashay outside. Well, sometimes she takes off "sentry duty" and naps.
The downside of a secluded getaway is how difficult it can be to find yard-sales that aren't miles away....and over mountains! My sister-in-law Polly and I found 2 last Friday that were not conveniently located but not an hour's drive! The first one was technically a yard sale since the items were set up on the lawn but really this was a dealer getting rid of stock. So prices weren't rock bottom but they weren't ridiculous either.
We were encouraged to "make a pile" to get the most bang for our buck. So we started piling. Below I found the needlework kits and the cast iron bird clothes rack. Polly picked up the turquoise blue Hall stoneware bowls and the child size flatware. Total amount was $10. Not a fabulous price but we were happy to find something! I am going to list the Bucilla embroidery kits (there are two identical) on Ebay. Bucilla sells well and there are none of this particular scene. The books and construction paper came from both of our searches.
The cast iron bird clothes rack gave me pause. It took me a few minutes to realize that yes, it looks pretty bad...obviously a child had painted the birds but all it takes to get rid of the amateur art work is spray paint! The family house here can always use a little decoration and useful decoration is great! I did look this up online and found them for sale. Not an old piece by any means! But retails for around $25. Runs in two colors: rusty black and shabby chic white. I went with shabby chic creamy white. I did like the pop of the black/rusty on the creamy yellow walls here but went with white since there was a can of it already in the shed! Connivence wins out with decisions like these! I will leave it to my other female relatives as to the placement. My work is done: finding and painting. Interior design is not my forte. You are going to have to wait for transformation photo because the spray paint was water based and I am not having good results covering the old paint. It doesn't help the weather here has turned humid and wet again. Sigh. If I had just started immediately on Monday with sunny weather I would not be having this problem #proscrastination.
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| close up of cast iron bird clothes rack |
So here is what I mean. I found this stock photo which is much better than my description! Cute, yes?!!
On the way home, Polly spotted another yard sale close to the first and after a screeching u-turn (just kidding), we pulled up to view their offerings (this was a two family sale). "Everything's negotiable" was called out as soon as we scrambled out of the van. We walked around not seeing anything we could use. Then Polly spotted this chair and seeing the $12 price asked if they'd go lower. Apparently it belonged to the other seller and she said NO, not that one, it was already marked as low as she wanted. In a few minutes she asked it was $5. No, it was marked $12 Polly replied but said quickly, I'll buy it for $5! Well, the seller said, how about $6. Sold. Polly plans to sand and prime and paint it for the house and keep it on the porch. Perfect for putting on shoes. We tend to remove our shoes here on the porch before entering the house because of the red clay dirt and lots of debris our shoes bring in. It is really sturdy, solid wood and I love it!
The blue Hall bowls are really cute and Polly's daughter Mary likes blue turquoise retro pottery. These we believe Mary will be quite happy with. The child size silverware sets are way too cute. You don't find these very often anymore.
There was another yard sale set up at very close to the house but the tables were covered with tarps and CLOSED was on the semi-permanent sign by the side of the road. I am not normally a fan of semi permanent yard-sales, the pickings aren't usually very good in my experience. But, with the dearth of any sales nearby I decided to check it out the next time we saw the tarps off. Sunday afternoon provided that opportunity.
Well, the pickings were pretty crappy but there were a couple of items that gave me pause. And the older gentleman was pricing to sell. I hemmed and hawed over this divided plate. It was dirty but I could tell it was a quality piece of glass and I am a sucker for amethyst. It is heavy and no scratches or chips that I could see. But, I have absolutely no place for this. So I put it down. And then picked it up again. Then the seller said the magic words...$3. Ok, I was in. So into my pile it went. This picture really doesn't do it justice but it's the best I can do. I looked it up later online and found one exactly like it on Ebay describing it as Bohemia Czech glass.
Another lamp!! It is taller than it appears in this photo. See, even here, away from home I am not safe from my lamp
Pfalzgraf coffee/cocoa mug for 50cents. It is just the right size and I think the pattern goes with the house. It will stay here in Merriewold. I have been enjoying drinking my coffee every morning on the screened in porch. Great way to start your day. Especially now that the humidity is lower!
Now the items below were a waste of money but I only paid 3 for a $1. These are by Hallmark, Merry Minitures and I was thinking collectable and possibly selling them. The Madame Alexander miniture I would show my sister-in-law Polly who used to collect Madame Alexander dolls. But after looking them up, they are not much value and unless Polly wants the one, they'll go to Salvation Army.
And that folks is the end of my yard sale-ing adventures and finds in the Catskills this year. We'll be traveling back to NC on Saturday and I doubt Steve will break for yard sales. But....you never know! Happy bargain hunting ya'll!
Thrifty Christy
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