Yesterday was an epic shopping day. Hmmm... another phrase I overuse.


My sister in law Anita  is visiting from Florida, and she is an accomplished  thrifter. Yesterday we intended to head to some nearby consignment stores, but fate intervened.

About a mile from home, I saw THE SIGN. In the nearby old neighborhood of Lakeside, Brenda and her mother sell treasure in their garage. No license, no advertising, only THE SIGN.

This pink posterboard rectangle appears maybe twice a month on the odd Friday or Sunday. It signals to those in the know
that Brenda is open for business.

When I saw THE SIGN, I told Anita that we needed to make a quick detour. It may be too  dirty, I apologized, or too hot. If you don't like it, we won't even get out of the car.

We were there for two hours. By the time we left, Anita was Brenda's new best friend.

I accumulated 1970's baby clothes with their original tags, Lefton Christmas figures, Fenton glass, a 1930's Charles  Dickens book, an antique silk teddy worthy of Lady Mary Crawley, and ... PINK cowgirl boots. Absolutely meant to be mine.

Dingo, size 1. If they were 9's, I would be wearing them now.

My Mom and Brenda's Mom, both 83, visited while we shopped. We finally left with hugs and promises that Anita would return every time she comes to Virginia.

But I can  go back the next time that I see THE SIGN.

A perfect day in RVA. A blue sky with a few puffy clouds; temps only going into the mid 80's. A gentle breeze.  I know we need rain, but today is truly just about perfect.

Today I drove out into Hanover County, the "country ", to shop at a friend's house.

I met Carol when she became one of my  Etsy customers. Since then, we have had tea together and visited each other's homes. Carol's daughter has recently married and moved out of the area, so Carol is ready to sell some of the treasures that she had hoped her daughter might want someday.

We caught up for a while, and I had a nice conversation with Carol's new man friend. I also met his dog. Not surprisingly, I liked the dog best. The dog's name was Baxter. Or Brewster. The man's name was Berkeley. Or Baxter. Or Brewster.

We finally got down to serious looking and selling. What fun!

I came home with a box of 60's through 80's vintage baby items; lots of sweet dresses and 3 pair of tiny patent leather shoes. Baby boy outfits too.

I also bought Carol's Raggedy Ann and Andy from the 1960's and a tiny bisque doll. Perhaps my greatest treasure was her wooden tricycle from her childhood. A faded blue wood seat with  white bunnies painted on it!

A great start to the weekend. Will do my very best to avoid yard sales tomorrow.

 https://www.etsy.com/listing/245961684/vintage-baby-boy-knit-suit-soft-acrylic

Cute pattern from Saturday's yard sale!

Reminds me of a seersucker dress that I had at about age 6.

WHIle wearing the dress one summer day, I leaned over the outer fence of the bear exhibit at the National Zoo in Washington, DC and tore the seersucker most of the way down the bodice.

My mother was horrified, but I was too young  for modesty and I spent the rest of the day feeling cool and comfortable, with extra ventilation down my front.






https://www.etsy.com/listing/245425752/vintage-pattern-little-girl-simplicity?ref=shop_home_active_1

Yard Sale Part #2

A gorgeous day in RVA! The morning temp was in the high 70's and the sun was glorious but not too strong. A respite from a hot, humid August.

A perfect morning to follow up on the lead from last week's yard sale where I met the flock of sisters and Zoe the cat. I followed the directions that the girls gave me last Saturday and found their mother's house on a country road only about 15 minutes from  my home.

A big two story house with a shady front yard full of old stuff piled on tarps and tablecloths. My cup of tea!

I moved one display of 25 cent stuffed animals to buy the printed Mid Century table cloth beneath.

I had a great time, but when I got home, many of the items I had bought had a paint stain or chip that I had missed.

Still the sale was great fun and the box I brought home only cost me $7.00.

No shopping this week! Amazing for me!

This lovely sugar bowl, made in Japan, is a find from last week's thrifting. 

Tomorrow is Saturday and I may take in a yard sale, part #2 of last Saturday's sale with the fun ladies and Zoe the cat.

Happy weekend, everyone! 

Cannot. Shop. Today. Absolutely not.

That was my plan for today as I drank my coffee on the screen porch this morning.

There was laundry to do, a vacuum to run. My parents needed some help. Plus, I had a grand day of thrifting with my friend Julie yesterday.

So... Absolutely not.

The day was clicking along according to plan until my son called about 1:00 and needed a ride to pick up his car from the service center.

No problem; grabbed my wallet and took off.

I could not be held accountable for the inviting array of yard sale signs around the Farmer's Market on Lakeside Avenue, another of my favorite shopping haunts.

Sadly, it was now after 1:00, and most of the sales were packed up, vanished except for their enticing signs.

Why would you stop anyway? I asked myself, You found everything you needed yesterday.

 Or did I?

I recalled that Julie had searched for a vintage syrup pitcher to hold her evaporated milk. Winter is coming and she will need milk for her tea. Thus, a syrup pitcher is vital.

I continued on my way home and then I saw it; some women loading the remains of their sale into tired cardboard boxes.

I stopped. After all, Julie needed her pitcher.

"Still open for shopping?" I asked. They were happy to have another shopper and ready to deal.

They were lovely girls.  We visited; I met a cat named Zoe; I arranged to shop with them at another yard sale next weekend at another sister's home.

I left with a white McCoy vase, an old aquarium castle, some amazing 1960's plastic toy brooches
 (original package!),an ironstone hen on a nest,  and yes, a syrup pitcher.

It's not as old or as fine as what I had in mind for Julie, but it will probably work for her.

And if not, it was worth the stop.

I could not make this stuff up. 

So my thrifting buddy and I started out early this morning and headed to Southside, the "other" side of RVA, thick with thrift stores.

We spent the morning at one of my luckiest venues, the Family Thrift Center, a dark barn of a building packed with great stuff.

I reluctantly left behind a Madame Alexander who seemed too dear at $25.00, but I did snag a Nippon rose china  sugar bowl , hand painted, and a Homer Laughlin turkey platter.

Not bad for a morning's work.