Oui ou non?

I just purchased these antique wood church auditorium seats.  I really should have purchased a couple more since they fold up.  Anyway, I think they are pretty cool, but maybe I am wrong.

Recent small acquisitions

Just a quick post about some of my minor acquisitions from the past few months.  This walnut record cabinet will store a portion of my vintage vinyl in my bedroom.

No reason for purchasing this mini cast iron skillet.  Just because it was small and cute.

Some recent Arabia finds.  I actually found two of those blue faenza platters.

This poor Danish candlestick was all alone, but I figured that I can display it along with my others for a sculptural composition.  About 2 minutes after I took this picture the penguin fell off the cabinet and broke its nose.  I kid you not.

Up in the air

I picked this up the other day and at this point I am on the fence.  It was not a big investment, so that is not a deciding factor.  I am thinking of using it in the center hallway.  I currently have a plain hanging globe pendant light.  This lamp starts out simple and basic.  See above.

Then there are eight of these hollow glass hanging pieces.

See?  That adds a lot.  I feel like Coco Chanel would tell it to remove at least one accessory before leaving the house.

This is sort of what it will look like.  There will be some space between the gold disk and the tops of the glass baubles.  They actually hang down from hooks.  Also, it will look different having the light emanating from the bulb inside.  I cannot tell if it is too much.  Too granny.  Too glitzy.  I guess I will have to get it hung and lit up to decide.

Red Eye

 

Geez!  I am such a sucker!  Like I needed another sewing machine?  I just could not resist this beautiful Singer Red Eye.  Could you?  Look at all of that beautiful paint!  I know.  I can rationalize any purchase.  Would you like me to rationalize a purchase for you?  I can do it without a problem.

So, This was taken the day that I bought her.  Ten bucks!  Come on!  She looks very different now.  I took her to my trusty Singer repair shop and they had to giver her a new electrical system.  They also threw in an overhaul.  She is now in perfect working condition.

End of Season

It turned out to be a mid-century end of the season for me.  This is what I acquired at the final rummage sale of the season.  A nice Cathrine Holm casserole.

Lovely salad servers.

Fondue forks.

Just the Highlights

This past weekend was the final push of rummage sales until September.  There were three to attend so I got my fix while I had the chance.  There were many finds, but I don't want to bore you so I am only posting the highlights.   I found this mid-century tension pole lamp for $6.  I think that one of the lights is touchy so I am going to take it in and have the wiring checked.  I love the shape of the glass shades.

What is that dresser doing on your bed?  Well, I am a dumb-ass and I forgot to shoot it outside before I carried it up a billion flights in the summer heat.  So, I threw it on the bed and took a picture.  This is a very Arne Vodder-like dresser and I love it.  It is going to look lovely in my bedroom once I clean and re-arrange it.  Right now, it just has small metal nubs for feet.  I think that there used to be legs that screwed onto these, but I am not sure.  I was hoping someone might see this and tell me.  If I cannot find the proper legs I may just replace them with the standard med-century tapered leg.  Oh yeah, $30.

Ladies, why so sad?

Now that I am posting this, I realize I should have put a size reference in the frame.  Well, these are actually two rather large watercolor portraits.  They are very nice studies, but the women seem sort of dejected.  I was originally attracted to the portraits, but I also realized that these are some really nice large wood frames.  These ladies should be rejoicing because this sale marks the beginning of the rummage sale season.

Reunited, and it feels so good

     I may be strange due to the fact that I can name almost every camera I have used in my life and also tell you when I used it.  The very first camera I ever used is that Kodak Brownie in the masthead.  I used it in my very first photography course when I was 7 years old.  I can remember so many details from that class because I was so excited.  I knew at an early age that I wanted to be a photographer.  The class was in the summer.  I guess that we were told to use a Brownie because it would be easier to handle for little hands.  Also, the film was larger for when we had to develop and print the images.  Anyway, my next camera was a Minolta Hi-matic 7s which I was given when I was in the seventh grade.  When I got to high school I was given a Minolta SRT-201.  I really liked this camera.  I kept it for many years.  All through high school and college.  In grad school my work was more in medium format so my 35mm cameras took a back seat.  A guy I went to school with had an extra Minolta X-700 at the time and wanted to trade it for my SRT-201.  I traded it away.  Many years later I began to think of that camera that got away.  I felt a slight twinge when reminded of how it was the perfect weight for me.  I could hear the smooth sound of its shutter...  Flash forward to last week.  I was shopping around and there was a complete SRT-201 kit.  It was stretching its arms toward me while running across a sunny field carpeted with flowers.  I am happy to tell you that we are once again reunited and the world seems right once again.

Roadshow in my head

I went to a few sales this weekend.  On Saturday I went to one I had never been to before.  It had actually started the night before with an extra entrance fee, but since I had never been before I just waited until the next morning to shop.  I almost never go into the "Treasure Room" or the "French Room" at a sale because they are usually more than I like to spend and much of the merchandise is too "fussy" for my taste.  There is also usually a long line and wait to get in.  Since this particular sale was not very crowded and there was no line to get into the "Treasure Room", I went in.  Not too much there.   Ornate dishes, crystal, etc.  My eyes glanced around the room and I spotted something from afar.  As I walked closer I was in disbelief.  It was like I was on my own "Antiques Roadshow" in my head.  You know, the Keno brothers were on the other side of the room...   Anyway, it was a Charley Harper serigraph.  I never thought I would have the pleasure of owning my own Charley Harper.  In fact, I was pretty damned excited when Borders was closing and I found a copy of the Todd Oldham book at a discounted price.  I am easy to please.  I could not believe that it had not been purchased the evening before.

I am now the very proud owner of a "Round Robin" serigraph.

Getting warmer...

I found another Quistgaard pepper mill in a haystack.

Dreamin'

"Why?" you ask. Oh, I don't know. I thought I had a good reason. You must know that I am highly suggestible. I can get suckered into a lot of things. You know, "all the cool kids are doin' it". It all started when Emily Henderson posted this on her blog. I thought it was fun, but was not going to join in. I became even more intimidated when people started to build replicas of mid-century homes all on their own. I can't do that. I will only go so far. Then I saw this at a sale the other day. A nice, simple A-frame which could house all of the wonderful mid-century vintage pieces that could never fit into my real home. I would have to do it on a major budget in order to justify my participation. Starting with this house. It was marked $8. You should know by now that I was not paying that. I waited until I thought the half-price sale would start. I made it just in time. The frenzy had started and it was still there. Even better is that it had previously been marked down to $6 for some reason. So, I scored it for $3. My nice, big, empty abode. I am going to pimp this thing out. You wait and see. My sister is worried that I will turn into the "miniature killer" that was on "C.S.I".

Hidden Treasure...Spring Project

This is one of my hidden treasures. She is a vintage Honda Passport C70 motor scooter. I bought her about 15 years ago, had her brought up to riding condition and she has been hidden away for many years stored at my Mom's house because I have no place to store her where I currently live. I recently decided that enough is enough. Since my bathroom was my fall project, she will be my next big project in the spring. I have found someone who has agreed to work on her until she is in running order. I visited yesterday and decided to take a picture of her among the drop cloths and paint cans in the garage. Soon...soon we will be out on the open road again. Would you believe me if I told you that I found her all those years ago at a rummage sale? It's true.

Schwag

I think I forgot to post a few weeks ago regarding some great finds at three rummage sales. This pendant light was one of them. I would like to hang it in my living room, but I am undecided. There seems to be some sort of unwritten law against swags in livingrooms. I will have to wait to decide. I also found an incredibly cool table that I will have to share at a later date. I am deciding where it will go and how I can possibly get it to go on wheels. At one of these sales I walked into a furniture tent to behold about 200 - 300 Eames shell chairs stacked in rows. Unbelievable. They were about $10 each I think. One person had purchased all of them. Quite the find.

Saturday

This picture pretty much sums up my Saturday. I went early to one of my old stand-by annual rummage sales only to fins a sea of people waiting in line. They gave become overcrowded since the days have been moved to Saturday from Thursday mornings. I don't like it. Anyway, I only spent $5. I bought 4 items. Total. That was it. After the sale I stopped at a nearby farmer's market. I am always sucked in by things I have never prepared. I am sucked even further if said item is super-sized. Can you believe that kohlrabi? In order to give you some scale I made my Mom sit in the picture.

This was my only little gem of a find today. Vintage red leather suitcase with a nice old gold monogram. This is definitely going with me on my next overnight road trip.

I consoled myself with a raspberry paczki and it was good. I love that Chicago has the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw. Now, what to do with that kohlrabi?

Don't Get Me Started

Sometimes I wish you could put Jeannie back into that bottle. It seems like ever since that toilet leaked and I replaced it my brain has been on a rampage when it comes to decorating changes. Everything was so calm there for a little while. I have decided that I should start going to smaller rummage sales that are unknown to me. I am used to waiting in line with hundreds of people, so maybe a little change might be needed. On Friday I went to a sale I had never been to. I arrived 5 minutes before it opened and there was nobody there. Let me tell you that this never happens. A minute or so later 2 women arrived. By the time I got out to get in line and they opened up for business there were only 5 of us there. Never underestimate what you might be able to find. I found this great bench for $10. I did not really need it, but I could not pass it up and the wheels started turning in my head. In my brain I was rotating furniture all over my house until I figured out exactly where I plan to place it. Now I will have to do all of this planning, moving and redecorating I never planned on. All because of one little leak.

It is in perfect condition though.

The Right Tool for the Job

Don't you love it when you have the right tool for the job and it makes everything go so much smoother? There are so many ways that this discussion could go wrong if you were to go solely on the visual. For oh so many years I have wanted this spice rack from D&D. I admit that it is not very practical, but it just looks so cool. Imagine my surprise when I found this one unmarked at that sale a few weeks ago.

I inquired about the price and the woman said that she would check. Well, they had another spice rack (not anything like this) and it was marked $4 so I could have it for the same price. Um...OK!

It was pretty dusty and a little bit rusty. How was I going to clean this thing? Enter the tool at the top of the post. For some reason, My Mom has various test tube brushes under the sink to clean out bottles. I initially tried a more triangular shaped brush, but it did not get the basin at the tip of the tube. The one above is the clear winner. You see, it has that soft cotton string-like mop at the end that easily cleans the end of the tube. Genius. Also, a little SOS on the rack to minimize that rust.

Ta-dah!

It looks pretty good. Now all I have to do is stock up on some brand new spices and herbs.

Heat Stroke

I have not been posted for awhile because I am just coming out of my daze. I will be the first person to complain about any type of heat when there is any. I hate it. So, it will not surprise you that I have been bitching non-stop for over two weeks now. It has simply been unlivable around here. Trust me, nobody wants to live around me either. Even with the air conditioning, it has not been pretty awful. I have found that people (not just me) are super irritable as well. So, what I am about to describe simply defies logic. If I was asked to walk across the room to go and get something ( say, a glass of ice water ) I whined about it. But, tell me there is a rummage sale and I was out the door. That is correct. It seems I will do anything for some good vintage schwag. A few weeks ago, on the hottest day of the year so far, I got into an even hotter car and drove to a sale. I want you to know that when I got into that car at 8:30 in the morning the thermometer already read 90 degrees. Upon my return at 11:00 a.m. it read 100. I am not talking about the heat index which is the actual "feels like" temperature. That was around 110 degrees that day. I am not exaggerating. I am irritated just typing it. The good news is that it was worth every sweaty miserable moment. AND in all of that hear I did not even want to do physical harm to a single innocent bystander because it was not even crowded. Nobody was elbowing me to get at that used crappy stockpot or stretched out old bra.
This is the first item I purchased.

Yes, it is a real Noguchi lamp. 6 bucks. What heat?

The hits kept on coming. I found a pair of these.

Dansk glass carafes with teak stoppers designed by Gunnar Cyren.

I am just giving you the highlights to rationalize my behavior. I did find lots of stuff for great prices and not all of it was vintage. I must admit that I got a complete Magic Bullet for $7. Hey, sometimes stupid stuff makes me happy. I admit it. I will have to share some of the other items in later posts as they need to be cleaned, etc.

Oh yeah, and a pair of vintage Chanel for $7. It was a good day...even though I looked like a drowned rat that could snap at any moment.

Undecided

I picked up this rather large painting a few weeks back. It is about the width of my fireplace. I am still undecided about it.

Can you hear the angels singing?

I can. I was at a rummage sale at the church I attended as a child. I never go to the rummage sale there. Now I see that this might have been a mistake. I was in the kitchenware section when I saw it. Unfortunately, some woman had her mitts on it as she sifter through the pile. I watched. I waited. She put it down and I pounced.

Isn't she something in all of her Cathrine Holm beauty? Perfect condition and a stand to boot.

Three bucks. There go those angels again.

While at a thrift store this weekend I snagged another Jens Quistgaard piece for two bucks.