First, a Thank You…

Just realized the other day that I have been writing this blog for 10 years now and what a pleasure it’s been. My readership and following is small but I’ve made many wonderful connections around the world. We are kindred spirits. Thank you for sharing your comments and a bit of your life with me.

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Well, I’m coping with not having my babies at home but was glad for the chance to see my youngest on Friday. We ended up walking two blocks from their new place to a cute diner for an early lunch. There is something about diners that seems so nostalgically small-town America. It’s heartening. We’ll definitely be back!!

Striking Out on Sourcing the Last Few Days

Tried to do a little thrifting on Thursday, but it was a bust. After I looked at all the hard goods with no success (too new, too junky, too costly, etc.). I headed to the purses and found two possibilities, but neither had enough resale value in my books. One was a Leather Co (Liz Claiborne) brand and the other a slightly worn Tommy Hilfiger that would have required I buy polish to take care of the scuffs. (These were in the $13 to $16 range.) I rather liked the Liz Claiborne purse and came close to buying it for myself! But do I need any more purses? No I do not!

And I came soooo close to buying this vintage Pendleton blazer for $13+. It was in good condition and didn’t appear to have any holes, but it was a size 8 Petite. Rather small these days. And in general I’m limiting the clothes I buy to resell. It’s not my niche. But part of me still thinks I should have bought it!! I mean, honestly, passing up vintage Pendleton!

But even with a few “maybe I should have bought this” regrets, I know there are always more goodies to be found another day.

So early Saturday morning I went to a yard sale just two miles away. I thought it was being held at a house where I had gone a few years ago that was a joint-seller sale with lots of vintage stuff and this was more of the same, but I got my wires crossed. Still this friendly guy had a few interesting antique and vintage bits. But he was “in the biz” and nothing was cheap cheap. I did buy two things, both out of my wheelhouse which was a gamble.

I actually bought this vintage Eastman Kodak film tin for my brother Danny’s birthday. (The Eastman Kodak company featured in our lives at one point as several relatives, including my recently deceased brother, used to work there!) But I decided to ask Danny if he wanted it before I mailed it to him. (He’s fairly minimalist and I didn’t want to give him something that he didn’t really want.) He decided against it so I’ll need to find it a new home.

And I bought this vintage Keuffel & Esser Co. lettering set (circa 1940-1960) because I adored this long, skinny, beautiful wood box with dovetailing. That’s what sold me on it. But I also like items like this. Sadly it turns out there are quite a few similar lettering sets for sale online.

They do sell, but some not for very much. Hmmm. Would I be able to sell this for more than $60?

So, in the end I’ve decided to keep the wood box (have I said I adore it?!) and sell off the contents.

Eventually I’ll sell the box…but not now!

Total paid: $30 🥺 My gamble didn’t pay off, but when all is said and done I will make my $ back and of course I have a beautiful wood box to enjoy for a while. Though I do wish I had done better this weekend. My judgment and intuition wobbled a bit.

Some Good Sales

Still I’ve had some recent sales that made me happy. Like this spoon.

Here’s the story: About 18 months ago I was searching through a box of old silverplate spoons at the flea market. The seller told me they were three for $1. Perfect! So I rooted around and found two matching ones (that I sold for $30) and this one. It was over-the-top fabulous and tested for at least coin silver, which given the era (late 1800s) was most likely. This $90 spoon sold a couple of days ago. And that was gratifying.

And this fabric was another good one.

Here’s the story. Two years ago or so I bought this fabulous bolt of vintage fabric for $15 at a yard sale. I sold it in two large lots–one for $110 and this for $150. I priced it very reasonably and could have made more if I had sold it by the yard, but I didn’t want to deal with having to parse it out like that. I’m happy with the overall result.

In Closing

Well, as Scarlet O’Hara said: “Tomorrow is another day.” And I know I’ll get my shopping mojo back!

Wishing you happy hunting,

Karen