A Different Caliber

The World's Longest Yardsale in August that stretches from Ohio to Alabama has become dignified. HGTV covers the event and every picker in a 1000 mile radius shows up for the weekend. Well, dignified means prices are high, items are already clean, and shocker, items may have a pretty price sticker on them. Kinda like walking into an antique store or boutique. Wait - did those stores just move their inventory outside to the yard sale? Yes. Yes they did. // Deep breath.... Rant over.//

I am here to tell you that HGTV is NOT covering the Hwy 46 yard sale that runs from Heflin Alabama to the Georgia line. Oh, happy day. :-) Here are my finds from it, as well as from an estate sale in beautiful Anniston Alabama.

The majority of my finds. My total was $27. This represents $15.

File holder and 3 packs of tab dividers. The estate sale had a section for "stuff a bag for $3" and these were it in. I will need them for my new business. :-))

Made in USA!

Also in $3 bag. E loves stock market books and I can't pass up good ribbon!

Acrylic / Lucite napkin holder and 2 pieces that I'm not sure what they are. $3 bag, yo! 

Now on to the yard sale finds. This sweet bathroom set was FREE. 

Cherubs and roses! 

Great teal bracelet. $1. 

25 cents. A china tea cup plate, made in Japan. 

The marking of plate.

Gorgeous tea cup! Now I will be on a mission to find the matching saucer.

Oh, and it was a quarter too!

Ok, this beaut cost me $3. Probably overpaid but I am drawn to these. This is Lusterware. 

It's all about the markings. ;-)

What a cute couple. And hard to beat for fifty cents! 

Made in Taiwan. 

I <3 tin platters and plates. These are so cute! And both still have the original price sticker even though you can't see the price. They were bough at May's Hardware. 

Brand NEW gold and black shades. Eight -- the perfect number for my 90's chandelier. I previously bought 8 white ones and planned to do a revamp BUT when I saw these beauties I knew they were what I really wanted. And for $2?!?! Yeahhhhh!

Found at the estate sale. Marked $10, got it for $5. 

Signed and numbered. Love it even more! 

My chandelier "before". 

And "after" with the new shades. Every time I walk in the kitchen I start skipping because I love the improvement so much! 

Okay, so I have a tendency to buy pieces and parts of anything, including lamps. So I have ended up with several lamp bases that need shades! I found this one and the lady ratted herself out by showing me an imperfection but she swore it can be fixed. (We shall see. Even if it's not fixable, I can work with it.) Anyway, she asked $3. I countered with $2. And she accepted. :-)

Walking to the car I noticed this symbol on the shade - Restoration Hardware. Sch-weet! 

When I bought this picture, I didn't have anywhere in mind for it. As soon I got home though I knew I found it's spot - in the hallway! 

Looking towards the front of the house with the new picture.

Whew! Not bad for less than thirty bucks! Oh - and $10 of that was for a table that is now acting as a recliner table. Pictures and post soon. I am still debating whether to leave as is or paint it. 

Blood Sweat & Tears && Bo Bice

A friend (A) and I went to a Blood, Sweat, and Tears & Bo Bice concert and had a GREAT time! It was both of our first times to the venue, Oxford Performing Arts Center and we were impressed by it. We both thought the 2 artists would be performing separately - but, delightfully, they performed together! I wasn't really familiar with either artist but I do love a good show. ;-)

We felt like we were crashing a 1975 class reunion and were definitely in the age minority. We sat in the back because we didn't have reserved seats but were entertained by guests as much as we were the stage. 

There wasn't much dancing ..........

Until, the last few songs and then everyone got peppy!

So, A is notorious for spotting and meeting famous people and I told her I wanted to see her in action! Thankfully, she didn't let me down. ;-) After waiting around (ahem.. clears throat!) we found ourselves back in the auditorium waiting on BST or Bo. BST came out and walked toward the front of the Center and A & I joked that we would just walk them out. BST heard us and said "noooo, we will walk y'all out!" so we walked out of the auditorium hooked arm in arm with one of the members of BST to the adoring fans! Walking out from the other door was Bo... and he had a police escort. The BST guys were definitely luckier than Bo! ;-) We had a set list and were trying to get it signed by all the guys. Since we don't really know them.... We aren't sure if all of them signed it or not. ;-) When we were in line to meet Bo, we remembered our tickets and that he could sign them. We were so excited! 

That's Bo's mom behind him, in the blue. 

What's up Bo!

And remember, if anyone asks, "We work here!"

Friday Estate/Garage/Yard Sales!

 This has the potential to be a longgggg post. Work with me here brain, let's make it short, sweet, and to the point! My mom and I and a family girl friend (from here on out know as "C") went on an adventure searching for estate sales a few towns over. We found the first one with minimal problem but when we started to the next town, the main highway between the two was under construction and we couldn't travel it so we had to take a detour (a fairly wide detour actually). It turned out to be just as well because we hit a couple extra garage/yard sales in the process! Here is the link to Estate Sale #2.... Stuck in the 70's, WOW! 

Okay! On to the finds................

This was my sole purchase from Estate Sale #1. These are painting edgers and replacements pads for paint. All for $1. Sweet! My mom and C found a few items here as well. 

This gem was at a garage sale that had bookoddles of stuff. I was just drawn to this tea pitcher because of it's lines and pretty off-white coloring. 

$2.50!?!? Sold. :-)

The inside - this is in decent condition. 

Shout out to all the "Made In USA" fans - This ones for you! The marking says, "Hall / Made in USA / 2517."

I am a sucker for wood frames.... You can use them for so many projects!

Especially when they are priced under a dollar. 

Ah, cards are always in high supply at these places. The art of handwritten notes is diminishing, but not if I have anything to do with it! Sweet cards were 50 cents.

What a find. :-) I declared this the find of the day. C and Mom weren't necessarily impressed, but I have always been intrigued by corner chairs and liked the look of them.... But not the price!

This is ollllllllllllld. It doesn't appear to have had any work done on it since it was built.

Okay, and how much did I pay? The guy asked $30, I suggested $20 and he took it. (happy dance!)

Ah, it has a chipped leg and needs to be reupholstered. I'm still in love.

Some links on corner chairs: 1, Country Living 2, Chippendale chair 3, corner chairs on eBay 

At Estate Sale #2, a red trashcan called my name.

And my quarter.

Cuuuuuute! I think I will put this in my bedroom. 

We were loving these prices!

The detail work.

No markings. 

USN Sweetheart hanky. I couldn't pass it up!

So sweet!

Very cool poster in pristine condition. 

Are these prices for real?! Yes, I'll take it for a dollar!

Bart Forbes. (Who?! Yeah I had to Google him too. He is pretty awesome!)

535 of 1000. It's always nice to have numbered art in your home. ;-)

Apparently this was part of a promotion by the Birmingham Trust National Bank and there are 4 posters in this series. It is to promote their International operations branch. Impressive approach. This information packet is also in pristine condition. 

What a cutie! This little guy will be great decor for winter. 

Paper plate holders are such a novelty to me. Fun, fun.

And at this price, I can share!

What a fun trip! We finished off with lunch at a local BBQ joint. Yum. So, for about thirty bucks I had enough thrills to last a few weeks as I decorate with these beauties, and for some - work on them!

-get loh