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November 15, 2012

Summer and fall 2012’s best vintage yard sale finds

Snow has fallen once more here on the tawny, sage brush covered hills of Penticton, the scorching heat and idyllic beauty of fall now just wonderful memories. We were blessed to experience an immensely lovely start of autumn, with this September being one of the most gorgeous (and sunshine filled) I can ever recall experiencing throughout my life. As a result of the ongoing sunshine, yard sale season remained in full swing well into October, and in turn I got out on as many weekends as my health would permit.

Each week my mom and I would say something to each other along the lines of, "Well, this could be the last garage sale day of the year", but then the weather would remain pleasant for another week and we'd be up and at 'em first thing in the morning the following Saturday.

All good things must come to an end at some point though, and snow is usually the quickest way to quash yard sales up here in Canada, so when the first flakes began tumbling down in late October, we knew the year really had to come to end (baring any indoor swap meets/church bazaars that may transpire between now and next spring).

I had mixed luck on the vintage front over the summer and fall of 2012. Some weekends yielded up little to nothing, while at others I had to refrain for the sake of my budget from purchasing everything that caught my eye. Though (save for the pieces in this post) I didn't spy any mid-century clothing or accessories at any of the dozens of sales we hit over the past few months, there were some fantastic vintage (and antique) treasures to be had amongst the endless piles of outgrown children's clothes, 70s microwave cookery books, and board games with half their pieces missing.

Much as with the lovely vintage pieces we unearthed last spring, now that the last of the autumn yard sales is behind us - and before the rush of the Christmas season gets completely under way - I wanted to share my favourite finds from the past few months with all of you. I hope you'll enjoy seeing this fun array of vintage pieces as much as I loved finding them.


 British Columbia a Centennial Anthology book from 1957, vintage history book


British Columbia a Centennial Anthology ~ $0.25: I have a major passion for Canadian history and Canadiana, and should either one happen to overlap with my passion for the past, all the better! This book, which was printed in 1957 to mark B.C.’s first centennial, is a good side tome dedicated to the history of the province’s early years, and is made all the more wonderful by the fact that it was written fifty-five years ago, when the memory of the 1800s was still alive in some peoples’ memories.



Vintage Edwardian Camp Fire Girls books

The Campfire Girls On The Farm & On The March books ~ $4.00 for the pair: My mom spotted these two books while we were at an excellent (perhaps, in terms of the sheer number of pre-1960s items, the best of the season) yard sale in September and brought them to my attention right away, as I collect some types of Girl Guide and Girl Scout memorabilia. Though these are in fact Camp Fire Girls (not Girl Guide or Scout) books, their charming covers, age (they’re both from 1914), and subject matter instantly made me fall for them (and now I can say that I have my first Camp Fire Girls items).



Vintage 1950s Christmas recipe booklets books

Trio of vintage Christmas recipe booklets ~ free: Every now and then while at a yard sale, someone will give you something for free, either as a gift with purchase or simply because you expressed interest in it. The later was the case for these three charming mid-century Christmas cookery booklets, which came from a friendly elderly gentleman early in the summer.



Vintage Aunt Martha's hot iron on transfers 3275 Nursery Rhymes

Aunt Martha’s Hot Iron Transfers 3275 Nursery Rhymes ~ $0.10: I've always enjoyed stitchery, but haven’t done very much of it in the past few years. Perhaps with the cold weather and indoor hibernation season upon us now, I’ll bust out the embroidery floss again and try making some of these cute nursery rhyme themed stitcheries this winter.



Retro vintage collection of thread and sewing notions


Storage container full of thread and a few sewing notions ~ $5.00: Though the green plastic storage container itself is broken and falling apart (I had to give its contents a new home), it was the wealth of thread inside that I bought it for. The threads here date, I believe, from the 1960s to 90s, with most being on the older side of that time frame. There’s easily thirty spools, many of which haven’t been used much, if  at all, and which I can put to use on all manner of paper and fabric craft projects.



Thread spool holder upright organizer sewing



Plastic thread holder racks ~ $1.00 for the pair: Remember the new home I mentioned giving the all that great thread pictured above? Well these racks (which aren’t vintage, but they do have a nice classic look to them), which – no joke – I found on the very same day a couple of hours after I scored the thread at a different yard sale – is it. Talk about serendipitous second hand shopping!



Framed print of Thomas Gainsborough's Georgiana Cavendish Duchess of Devonshire

Framed print of Thomas Gainsborough's Georgiana Cavendish Duchess of Devonshire ~ $2.00: I have a deeply rooted fondness for all things Georgian era, very much including the resplendent art that was created at the time, so when I spotted this little print of one of Gainsborough’s best known works, I knew it was destined to come home and hang on our living room wall.



Beautiful floral pattern cloisonne vintage bell ornament Christmas decoration

Decorative floral pattern cloisonné bell ~ $1.00: Though there’s nothing to instantly distinguish it as being vintage, in person this bell has a very classic feel and slight patina to it that make me feel it may be a few decades old. No matter its age though, I think it’s absolutely beautiful and will be including it as part of my holiday decor every year now.



An adorable vintage unicorn storage container



Adorable unicorn decorative container ~ $0.50: Much as with the bell above, there isn’t any marking, stickers, production dates, etc on this super cute unicorn box, but it has a somewhat vintage look and feel to it (the eyes, especially remind me of oodles of vintage animal figures from the 40s and 50s I’ve seen over the years). The glue around the pink feathers has yellowed a lot with age, but other than that it’s in very good shape, and even if it’s not vintage, I love it dearly.


Cute vintage plastic shunk tiny figurine toy kitsch



Tiny vintage skunk figurine ~ $0.25: Speaking of darling animals, how cute is wee little skunk that I found hiding in a box of old, dirty tools, of all places? Completely cute, if you ask me, which is why I had to rescue it and bring it home to live with me in my craft room.



Cute vintage plastic fawn deer figurine, kitsch



Vintage plastic fawn figurine ~ $0.10: At the same yard that the skunk came from, in a different mixed box, I spotted this precious little plastic deer poking its big ears and pretty blue outs at me. The paint is a bit chipped, but the piece is still in sound shape over all, and for a mere dime, how could I pass it up?



Vintage rubber Christmas reindeer decorations, cute kitsch



Pair of vintage rubber reindeer decorations ~ $0.50 for both: I love (!) vintage Christmas decorations, but own very few, so I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for more while out shopping and yard saling. These two deer were the only ones I found all summer (and fall) long, but that’s ok, they’re cute as a button and a great start for my budding vintage Christmas decor collection.



Vintage pink mother and baby elephant chain figurines photo mosaic

Vintage pink mother and baby elephant chain figurines ~ $3.00: If we were dishing out an award for the cutest yard sale find of the past few months, I think we’d have to bestow it on this terrifically darling pair of pink pachyderm. Found at a garage sale just a couple of houses down from an address I lived at for a few years as a youngster, this wonderfully kitschy piece stands out as one of my all-time favourite yard sale finds.



Tiny vintage Victorian Southern belle figurine, aqua dress and hat, kitsch

Tiny vintage Victorian Southern belle figurine ~ $0.10:  This little lass is so small, fitting easily into the palm of my hand. She’s very sweet and I just love the mint green hue of her lovely dress. She’s not marked, but I can’t help wondering if she was perhaps a free prize that came inside of the box of some product at one point, as her diminutive size really gives off a vibe of such.



Vintage blue floral teacup and saucer



Blue, white and black floral print teacup and saucer ~ $2.00: I’ve been on the hunt for some lovely vintage (or vintage appropriate) teacups and saucers to start a collection of all yard sale season long, but it wasn’t until a sale in October that I finally found two (the second one is pictured below) beautiful cups, in good shape (aka, un-chipped and complete with their matching saucers). I adore the unexpected hues and serene floral design of this charming set, don’t you? (If anyone should happen to know the pattern name, which is not indicated on the cup or saucer, of this pattern, please let me know.)



Vintage Royal Albert blue and white daisy teacup and saucer

Royal Albert aqua and white daisy teacup and saucer ~$2.00: Though the maker (Royal Albert) is indicated on the bottom of this set, the pattern name is not. If you happen to know, please share the name in the comments on this post. I love this cheerful, springtime perfect pattern and have already enjoyed several lovely cups of peppermint tea in over the past few weeks.



Vintage Pyrex glass hexagonal bottle

Vintage Pyrex glass baby bottle ~ $0.25: I’m always on the hunt for vintage Pyrex pieces while out yard saling (and thrifting), but I’m usually thinking about mixing boxes and casserole dishes, not baby bottles! I love a unique item though, so as soon as I saw this classic hexagon shaped Pyrex bottle, I pounced on it right away and am now using it as a bud vase.



Canadian vintage red rose tea tin (front)



Vintage Red Rose Tea tin ~ $3.50: Founded in 1894 in New Brunswick, the Red Rose Tea company is one of Canada’s oldest beverage company’s, so when I spotted this wonderful metal tin, I knew it had the potential to be quite old. There’s no date on it, and the paper label is a bit worn/beat up in some spots, but despite its delicate nature (the label’s, that is), it’s still is fairly good shape for something that I’d tentatively peg to be from the 1900s-1930s. It’s a nice sized rectangular tin that’s still in good shape inside, so I put it to use as a storage container (for scraps of lace) in my craft room.



Vintage spice tins (Nabob, Jameson, Empress)

Vintage Nabob, Jameson’s, and Empress spice tins ~ $3.50 for all five: At the very same yard sale when the Red Rose Tea tin came from, I found this little collection of vintage spice tins. Some still feel like they have spices in them, but of course I’ll just be using them as decorative pieces! (Ooooh, the Nabob ones all have recipes on the back, so I was thinking it would be fun to do a vintage recipe post featuring them in the future.)



Vintage Edwardian Pepsi Cola oval serving tray_image 1

Metal Edwardian Pepsi Cola serving tray ~ $5.00: I contemplated doing a post unto itself for this tray, but was so eager to share it with you, that I didn’t want to put off doing so any longer. As you can see, this tray is clearly damaged. It’s been bent in the middle, the paint is chipping, and it has definite signs of wear, however, it’s gorgeous and it comes with an interesting backstory.

According to the man that I purchased it from (who also happened to be the seller of the Red Rose Tea tin, the vintage spice tins, the Campfire Girls books, and the woven purse in this post), this vintage tray was purchased by a chap he knew at an auction some thirty years ago. That fellow, the seller told me, paid $650.00 for it at the time (and indeed, there is a faded old handwritten price tag on the back of it still with that price on it). I don’t know why, but the man didn’t take it with him that day, instead he arranged to have it shipped to him in the mail. En route however, it was damaged quite badly (“bent in half” was how the seller described it) and arrived in much the same state you see it in today.

The buyer filed a claim with the postal service got his money back, but for a long time he couldn’t bear to part with the tray, so he held onto it for many years before passing it along to his friend, the current seller, who he knew had a passion for antique and vintage collectibles. It was from that man that I bought this tray, with its gorgeous art nouveau design, getting the price down $2.00 from the $7.00 sticker price he’d been asking for it originally.

I know there are tons of fakes and reproductions when it comes to vintage Coke and Pepsi collectibles, but there’s virtually no doubt in my mind that this metal serving tray is from the Edwardian era. The construction, aged metal, design, even the paint texture all feel old to me. And so while this tray isn’t in perfect shape, and it certainly met with a tragic accident thanks to the postal system at one point, I’m grateful that both men held onto it and that it now gets to live the next leg of its life nestled – and much loved –  amongst other antique and vintage pieces at my house.


Vintage Dean Martain Everybody Loves Somebody record

Dean Martin Everybody Loves Somebody record ~ $0.50: As all my fellow yard sale goers know, there’s no shortage of old records out there, but these days it’s getting harder and harder to find ones from great classic artists for good prices. I love buying vintage records, but am very selective with what I purchase, and try to find ones from artists that I truly love and know I’ll play often. There’s no question that Dino falls into that category.



Vintage Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits record

Frank Sinatra’s Greatest Hits ~ $0.75: Much like Dean, Ol’ Blue Eyes is another much loved vintage singer whose records I’m always on the prowl for. This best of compilation has a number of his top hits on it, and has already been in heavy rotation since I got it in July.



Vintage The Sound of Music soundtrack record

The Sound of Music soundtrack record ~ $0.50: The Sound of Music is my second favourite musical film of all-time (Grease takes top billing), and its soundtrack was amongst the first CD’s that I remember owning as a youngster, so there was no way I could pass up this great 1960s record.



Vintage Ward Allen Presents Maple Leaf Hoedown record, vintage Canadiana

Ward Allen Presents Maple Leaf Hoedown Volume II ~ $0.50: At the risk of contradicting what I said above about trying to stick with buying records from artists I know and adore, sometimes you spot something that is so cool and kitschy that you simply must add it to your collection even though you’ve never heard of the artist before. Loving all things vintage and Canadian as I do, there was no way I could leave this fun, toe-tapping record behind (and I’m so glad I didn’t, because it’s really lovely actually and filled with beautiful fiddle playing that reminds me so much of my late maternal grandfather who was an excellent fiddler).



Vintage Dennis Day Sings Christmas is for the Family record

Dennis Day Sings Christmas is for the Family record ~ $0.50: Much as with yesteryear holiday decorations, I have a passion for vintage Christmas music and am trying to build up my collection of it this year (and beyond). I love the expressions on the (large!) family’s faces on the cover of this record, plus the fact that it had an introduction from Jack Benny.



Vintage Christmas Songs and Carols Favourites record

Christmas Songs and Carols 24 Favourites ~ gift: My sweet mom picked up this record for me one Saturday when I wasn’t feeling well enough to hit the yard sale circuit myself, as she knew I was on the hunt for vintage Christmas albums. The charming cover art alone is worth buying it for, and the songs themselves are all timeless classics, so I’m really glad she snapped it up.



Three vintage bangle bracelets (black, orange, purple)

Black, purple, and orange bangle bracelets ~ $0.50 for all three: While I don’t think any of these bracelets is particularly old (the wavy purple one feels the oldest to me), they definitely have a classic, vintage appropriate vibe and were such a good deal, I just add to buy them to add to buy ever-expanding bangle collection.



Vintage woven straw purse with bamboo handles

Vintage woven handbag with bamboo handles ~ $1.00: This cute little woven bag is in a great shape (both inside and out), and the bamboo handles are so, so fun and wonderfully tiki party appropriate. The seller was asking $2.00, but I talked him down to a dollar and am thrilled to finally have a bamboo handle purse to use all summer long.



Vintage tooled leather western horse handbag purse

Vintage tooled leather western horse and Maya calendar handbag ~ $15.00: This purse was definitely the priciest single purchase I made at a yard sale all summer and fall long, but it was more than worth it. The seller turned out to a friendly, lovely young woman who buys and sells vintage items in the neighbouring town of Summerland, especially home decor pieces, and we ended up chatting for a good ten minutes or more. She told me about some of her vintage interests and I chatted about my blog and lifelong love of vintage fashion. I had a blast meeting her and really hope our paths get to cross again sometime.


♥ ♥ ♥



The wintry weather usually digs in hard and fast, remaining in place until March, or some years, even April, around these parts, so in all likelihood that's when yard sale season will pick up once more. It will be tough to go without hitting the streets, classified ads and map in hand, bright and early on the weekends for the next few months, but I like to think that I can use this time to start stashing away my spare change for next spring.

That way, when the proverbial trumpet is blown again to announce the start of 2013's yard sale season, I'll be especially ready - coins a jingling in my pocket - to begin the endlessly appealing hunt for vintage treasures once more. I can hardly wait!

56 comments:

  1. Oohhhh, the figurines are SO cute! I <3 the skunk :)

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  2. Great finds, Jessica! Especially the X-mas Recipe Books and the bamboo bag!!

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  3. Love the red rose tea tin and the pyrex bottle and teacups! I didn't go to one garage sale this summer:( I always meant to be somehow didn't make it. Great finds!!

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  4. First of all you and your mom sound adorable together! How nice you get to do something like that together!! Now on to your finds! I think my favorite are the pink elephants! They are just so unique and terribly adorable! Everything you found was in awesome condition too! Thank you for sharing your goodies!! xox

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    1. Thank you very much, sweet Bunny. I so wish you lived nearby and could come along with us on our early morning yard saling adventures. I adore the pink elephants, too - they're one of my favourite items of all time that I've ever picked up from a garage sale.

      ♥ Jessica

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  5. Wow! What great finds. That leather bag is great and so are all of your figurines. We have a lot of garage/yard sales in our area but I never got out because I never have cash on me. There's an actual garage season out here. People go crazy for garage sales.

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    1. Thank you, sweet gal. There's quite a crowd around these parts, too, though I suspect it pales compared to that in lots of areas of the States (or some of the bigger Canadian cities). There's a few people that you see every week, such as an ex-neighbour of mine (when I was a kid) who makes a living buying and reselling items from yard sales and the like, as well a fellow who runs a local second hand book shop, but there's often new faces, too, which I think comes in part from that fact that Penticton is a massive tourist town and some of the people hitting yard sales during the summer months are not actually locals. Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be that many people who are intentionally hunting down vintage pieces like I am (knock wood!), which I think accounts for the very decent luck I had on that front this year.

      Hope you're able to get to some great sales next season!
      ♥ Jessica

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  6. What wonderful finds! I have an old Campfire Girls handbook from 1925 that I picked up in an antiques shop. Paging through it, I was impressed that so many of the recommended projects for girls fit right in with today's movement toward being self-sufficient and prepared for disaster: outdoor living, first aid, homemaking, caring for children and the elderly, raising farm animals, sewing, woodcraft. Thanks, Jessica.

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    1. Hi Jenny, thank you very much for your lovely comment. I completely agree about the common sense advice and knowledge that's to be found in vintage Campfire Girl and Girl Guide/Scout books being applicable to today's world, too. I was a Girl Guide for years as a youngster and rarely doesn't a week go past that I don't utilize one of the timeless skills I learned while in uniform.

      ♥ Jessica

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  7. There are so many treasures, I'm not sure which to remark upon first! I love all the Christmas items you scored; Christmas being my favourite holiday bar none. The Pyrex baby bottle is a neat and unusual find. I, too, collect vintage Pyrex and have never found one of those. :)

    Probably the most interesting to me is the portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire (whom I have read about after seeing the movie "The Duchess"). She was quite a fascinating character with a secretly sad life.

    One of these days I'll get along to posting some of my summer thrifting finds!

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  8. Great finds live the Georgiana print and coke tray!

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  9. Okay, I think I need that portrait of Duchess Georgiana!! She's just so cool! What lucky finds for you. I know those tooled purses go for quite a pretty penny. Maybe we need to go yard saleing together? I find great buys for people and apparently you do too!

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    1. That would be an absolutely blast, Sean! I so wish we lived nearby and could meet up bright and early on Saturday mornings to scour high and low for vintage treasures together.

      ♥ Jessica

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  10. Such lovely finds you've made. I'm a sucker for old records so they're my favourite. But I also love the wooden handbags, so cute!

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  11. I love your record album, Christmas Songs and Carols 24 Favourites, especially for the cover art work. My Mom has a couple that I've told her she MUST give them to me before she ever gives them away.
    Be careful with your new stash of threads. I used to buy those too but found out the 100% cottons would dry out and break from age. So test each one by pulling on them to see if they break. But those little wooden spools are so sweet, they're hard to pass up.
    Loved reading about your vintage shopping!
    Val

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    1. Hi Val, thank you very much for your comment and great tip. I'm by no means a thread expert (I use it for paper crafts much more than garment making, as I'm not a veteran seamstress at all) and really appreciate your advice. Even if all the thread was a write off, I completely agree, the wooden spools are soooo darling and worth the few dollars I paid just for those (I can always wrap other things like embroidery floss or baker's twine around them, too).

      ♥ Jessica

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  12. Thank you for sharing your wonderful treasures, isn't it fun to scout out such things. I love the tooled bag though, what a gem

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  13. I have a delightful piece with that exact same pepsi lady on it! (http://star-spangledheart.blogspot.com/2011/06/pepsi-delicious-healthful.html) I'm pretty sure mine is a 70s throw back piece but I still love it! You've got some great finds! :)

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    1. That's so cool, hon, thank you very much for sharing that link and your lovely Pepsi treasure. I wonder if that beautiful Edwardian lass was painted after a real person or if she was merely an artist's creation? Whatever the case, she certainly was pretty and it's very neat to know that she appeared on multiple Pepsi products over the years.

      ♥ Jessica

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  14. How great and fun to see all these treasures!! I love the story about the Coke tray. So interesting! It is amazing how much the price for vintage goods can be... a very large spectrum. I think the weirdest thing I saw sold was $460 for a cardboard box that once housed baseball posters...crazy!!!

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  15. What a lot of treasures. I especially envy you the records. I always listen to vinyl LP's, but it is very rare I find vinyl from the fifties in Denmark. I've started following your blog and also added it to Bloglovin, since I'm a huge lover of vintage style too.

    And thank you so much for following my humble Danish blog. In case you don't read my comment to you, I also write to you here: I also have an English version of my blog, they are parallel, I suppose you read English better than Danish :)

    http://gt-sanne2.blogspot.dk/

    I have just posted some scans for a Danish magazine from 1952, you can enjoy although you don't understand the text.

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  16. My My, quiet a seasonal haul! It appears we have the same Dino and Sinatra records! I've been hunting "Bobby Darin" and "Ray Charles" here of late. The opening swell of music from "Everybody Loves somebody" is enought to keep the winter blues away.

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  17. wow jessica, what a cornucopia of vintage delights! i especially love those spice tins, and that fawn just stole my heart. wonderful story about the pepsi-cola tray too.

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  18. I am DYING over the Elephant duo...DYING!! And the Mexican tooled leather purse was a steal dear Jessica. An easy $60 worth in any vintage opinion. xx

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  19. Wow! You truly found some great finds during your vintage garage day shopping. My favorites would have to be the tea cups, the painting, the bell (yes, it's very ornate and beautiful), and the vintage figurines.

    I hope you are enjoying your snow. We don't get snow where I live, and I am perfectly content with that. We get rain and chilled cold weather. That's good enough for me. :)

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  20. So many fabulous finds, and what a fun post! I love that you post the pictures, but also talk about what drew you to a particular item!

    I'm frankly a little envious of all your amazing figurines. As I scrolled down, these increasingly adorable little animal people kept appearing and my jealous kept growing. That deer and those elephants have especially stolen my heart and I can't believe your amazing Duchess find! So wonderful!

    I remember that my dad used to bring me home those little unicorns, so I think it might be from the 80s, but I hope you'll love it just the same! It brought back all kinds of good memories to see it!

    I hope you get just as lucky with some fantastic little church bazaars!

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    1. You're such a sweetheart, thank you very much, my dear. I love all the little critters, too - I think I might have to open a miniature zoo in my craft room at this rate! :)

      How sweet that your dad used to bring you home unicorn items. There's a good chance this little trinket box is from the 80s, yet, I can't quite shake the feeling that it's older (something about the eyes and the way the glue around the feathers has yellowed feels more mid-century to me, but I wouldn't put a bet down on it either way). No matter its age, I love it dearly and have it perched on my bedside table to hold bobby pins in at the moment.

      Thank you for the good luck wishes and again for your lovely comment.

      ♥ Jessica

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  21. These are some wonderful finds! Its a good thing that we aren't shopping the same sales or else we'd probably be fighting over things! I think I would have bought just about all of these if I had seen them. Those pink elephants melt my heart...I cant believe how cute they are!!

    xoxo,
    tina

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  22. p.s my husband bought me that same pyrex baby bottle about a month ago, and i too use it to hold buds and sprigs!

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    1. How wonderfully lovely! It's cool that you're using yours as a bud vase, too. Great minds, eh? :)

      Thank you very much for all of your great comments, sweet dear, I sincerely appreciate each and every one of them.

      ♥ Jessica

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  23. I love the leather horse bag! Its just gorgeous. Of course, I grew up as a horse loving weekend farm girl!

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  24. Your posts are amazing!! Love your finds and the teacup is so adorable! Would love to drink tea from that!

    xx TraN
    http://www.sevenoutfits.blogg.no

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  25. Wow! What wonderful finds! And now I'm really feeling my age to see so many things from my childhood--I loved figurines, particularly poodles with tiny chains and puppies, elephants, elegant ladies, etc. As for the records, we still listen to them and love the sound of any Christmas LP. You definitely have a great eye for treasure! This is a really fun post!

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  26. I cannot begin to tell you how much I envy your elephants! I have a little elephant collection that continues to grow. I'm with you on the Sinatra love. I have several records of his as well.

    Seeing this post makes me want to share some of my vintage/antique things - my mother and I can't resist an antique store, so I have fallen in love with (and taken home) many pretty little objects over the years.

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  27. Wow, Jessica, you got some awesome treasures in your garage sale-ing! I love to garage sale, but I didn't even hit a single one this year.


    As a collector of teacups, I LOVE the ones you found, especially that Royal Albert one. My belief is that one can never have too many teacups. Tea just seems to taste better and feel more relaxing when it is sipped from a beautiful teacup instead of a mug.

    As you know, I adore Frank Sinatra, and I absolutely love that album. I also am coming to love Dino quite a bit, though he will never replace Frank as my favorite singer. Even if I found those terrific records at a yard sale or thrift store, it would do me no good, since I have long been without a record player. While I clung tightly to CD's for years, my kids eventually convinced me to take the plunge into the world of MP3 players. Let me tell you, while downloading an album (or song) to my player is convenient and requires no storage space in my house, it is not the same as holding an album or CD (with its booklet of lyrics) in your hand.

    My grandmother had that Sound of Music album. I listened to it quite often when I was at her house.

    Finally, I LOVE the little elephants. They are completely and totally adorable. I recall that I had a set of figurines (dogs, I think) connected with those little chains. That must have been a fad of the 1960's.

    Well, have a wonderful day. I'll be responding to your email as soon as I can.

    Love,
    Patti

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  28. My heart jumped with joy when i saw the christmas record cover. It´s so perfect, I´d frame it! I also very much love the Gainsborough print and the handbags :)

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  29. These vintage items are wonderful! I love yard sales, it is so thrilling to find all types of great collectibles of the past. I have found some of my favorite Elvis and Johnny Cash records at yard sales, as well as some of my favorite furniture!

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  30. such fabulous finds ... the horse bag is awesome ... and the picture of the duchess of devonshire ...

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  31. The skunk! And the deer! And the elephants! Oh the elephants!!! What a wonderful little menagerie. :) I'm also very jealous of your Camp Fire Girls books and that leather handbag. Very nice finds!

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  32. Oh my I cannot believe your luck! Those animal figurines are just adorable and what a bargain everything is! I swear you have the best yard sale karma :D

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    1. Thank you very much, honey. I like to think I make at least a bit of my own luck on the yard sale front, as I have no qualms with sorting through countless piles of items that I'm not interested in to ferret out the hidden vintage treasures. Then I bargain on just about everything to get the price down as low as possible. Still, I rather like your idea that maybe I have a bit of yard sale karma on my side. I sure hope so! :)

      ♥ Jessica

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  33. Hello dear Jessica,

    I love your tea cups! I keep looking for such a deal - I know I will find mine one of these days. I especially love the blue cup and saucer!!!!

    I also really love your vintage recipe booklets. The old record albums are wonderful, as well. We like to collect old records. I love records more than other music forms.

    Happy Saturday!
    :) Hope

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  34. Dearest Jessica, I am so glad you found so many treasures amongst the rubble of the yard sales. I much prefer older things than new, and no what a bummer it can be somedays- when you have very little to show for all your sifting through the rubbish. I am especially in love with the Xmas cookbooks and old records. I grew up listening to old crooners....and now they form the basis of my Christmas music collection. So sorry that you'll have no more yard sales for a while..... you might have to spend a little more time on etsy? But that can be sooooo dangerously expensive

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    1. Thank you very much, dear lady. There is so much to be said for the thrill of the hunt when yard saling indeed. I was so pleased with how things went this year and am so eager for the next season to begin. It is, however, nice to have my Saturdays free to do various things again for a while though - such as more time for writing blog posts, doing crafts, hanging with Tony, and visiting family.

      Etsy (and eBay - my online Achilles' heel! ;) ) can be so risky for the wallet, I completely agree (especially since, over all, prices have really, really shot up on both over the past two to three years), but that rarely stops me from at least window shopping and wish list making :)

      Thank you again, both for this and your other lovely comment, today. I really appreciate them and hope that you have a marvelous weekend.

      ♥ Jessica

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  35. Love the framed portrait. Do you think you get great deals because you are so finely turned out, vintage - fashion - wise?
    Kathleen

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    1. Great question, Kathleen. Honestly, I don't think most people may much attention to my vintage garb in the midst of the busy atmosphere that is most garage sales. Occasionally it may have helped (and once in a blue moon I'll mention that I wear vintage all the time, sleep/eat/breath vintage, etc if it's relevant to a conversation I'm having with a seller), but more of it has to do with shrewd bargaining and years upon years (I've been yard saling since I was a child) of hunting for bargains and have no qualms with walking away from something if the seller won't come even close to what I'd be willing to pay for it. You never know though, what goes on in people's minds, so it's possible that my vintage outfits may have helped in that regard more often then I've been aware of. Either, way wearing vintage certainly can't hurt things! :)

      ♥ Jessica

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  36. Be still my heart! Your blog is wonderful. We share a similar sensibility toward both fashion and decorative objects. I love this post.

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  37. I wrote a post just like this earlier, here you can see my flea market treasures:
    http://gt-sanne2.blogspot.dk/2012/10/the-last-flea-market.html
    Wishing you a lovely weekend, dear. :)

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  38. Wow, such lovely finds! You certainly have more talent at yard sale shopping than I have. I never find such great stuff. The little unicorn container is adorable.

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  39. Don't you love yard sales? It is so much fun to look for vintage treasures for just a few cents or dollars! I love your animal figurines, Christmas cookbooks and the Pepsi tray. It may be damaged, but I think I would rather have an authentic Edwardian serving tray with some damage than a repo in mint condition! Thank you for the wonderful post Jessica! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  40. OOooooOoooooOOOOOoohhh! A Dennis Day record! :D I love the picture of Jack on the front. I'm a huge fan of the Jack Benny radio show, and the Dennis Day show was swell, too. I would love to go record-sailing sometime-- I'm on the lookout for all Ken Carson records I can find. I know they're out there somewhere. :D People called him "Better than Sinatra", and I quite agree! But as of yet, I've not found any of his records at thrift stores around here, though I see them for exorbitant prices on Ebay. *sighs* I just love records......so much better than those inpersonal MP3s and things they have now, though those are a bit more practical. ;)

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    1. Hi Dolly, I've always been a big Jack Benny fan, too. When I was a little girl my parents had several different cassette tapes of classic (30s & 40s) radio shows, amongst which were great old Jack Benny programs. I can't even begin to count how many times I feel asleep listening to Jack and Rochester on my little red cassette walk-man.

      I haven't come across any Ken Carson records lately, but if I spy any in the future for a good deal, I'll be sure to pick them up for you, dear gal.

      ♥ Jessica

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  41. LOVE the tooled bag. So chic!

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  42. Thank you so much for your wonderful and delightful trip down Memory lane...I too LOVE what you have found and get such a thrill out of finding and rescuing "Treasures" LOVED your little Pink Elephant too...Keep up your great work
    Hugs...Joannee

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    1. My pleasure, Joanee, many sweet thanks in turn for your lovely comment. I'm so happy to know you enjoyed a wonderful stroll down memory lane.


      Big hugs to you as well,
      ♥ Jessica

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  43. Amazing vintage finds! <3 the moma and baby pink ele! So sweet!
    Have a great holiday wknd!
    xoxo Carly @swtvintagelove.blogspot.com

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