Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Springtime, and the pickin' is easy...


It was a long, cold winter here in Rochester. Too cold for thrifting, too cold for antiquing, and---woe is me!---far, far, too cold to cruise for curbside treasure along the snowy streets of my newly chosen hometown. Sure, there were the occasional desperate forays to the (very) local charity shop, and the rare dumpster drive-by, just to stave off the pangs of emptiness, but I was jonesin' for a yard sale (multi-family! huge!) or a big, fascinating pile of 'one man's trash' to comb for treasure.

Spring has sprung here in the Flower City, and in the wake of the tulips, the rejects, the castoffs, and the glorious
garbage have blossomed. And the yard sales! Plentiful and cheap, and everywhere you look! Every trip to the grocery, each commute to work, has become a bonanza. The back of my van is never empty, and the cockles of my thrifty little heart are warm.

For ages now, I've been a hoarder of vintage sewing notions. You see, I have had Great Intentions of learning to sew. (I even have Two! Vintage! Sewing Machines!) Naturally, I have amassed a vast array of vintage thread and notions, so as to be prepared for the day when the Sewing commenced.

The Sewing Day arrived recently, and with it, the shattering of my thrifty bubble: thread has a shelf life. Vintage thread is quite nearly as useful as, say, vintage lettuce. And so, my quandary:
What to do with my carefully acquired bounty of splendid spools?

Yesterday, while driving my brood to the library, we hit the mother lode. A bag of fabric from JoAnn's, complete with the receipt. Two dozen cloth diapers, still in the bag from the service. Beads. An ironing board. A sled. And finally...a long, wooden frame.

Don't you love it when all of the pieces come together?

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

New York City Flea Market Guide

I wanted to post a follow up to my post back in October 2006 about my trip to New York City to visit with friends and hit some flea markets (click here to read that post). I have received lots of emails and comments asking for more details about the flea markets I went to, so I thought I would share with everyone!

We started out at the Hells kitchen Flea Market (and the Cupcake Garden is right around the corner - - and serves coffee and breakfast goodies and is tres cute). We had planned to get to this flea market early Saturday morning, but, do to a late night, we did not get there until a little after 9am which was perfect because it seemed like a lot of the vendors were just finishing setting up. This market is where I got the letterpress blocks and a bunch of great pieces of vintage jewelry. Also, there was a man who had gobs and gobs of vintage ribbon including my favorite, vintage velvet ribbon in every color imaginable! I think I walked away with about 10 different colors, and the more you buy the better the deal!


Me at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market

Once we had out fill at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market, we hoped on the $1 shuttle to the Antique Garage (which is in Chelsea, I believe - if you go to the Hell's Kitchen link above, click on the 'Antiques Garage' tab to read more about it) and THAT is where I found the wonderful old photo album. The man I purchased it from had tons of albums and photos and wonderful old frames. This flea market, like the name implies, is inside a garage, so if the weather is not great you may want to go straight there.

I hope this helps - I highly recommend heading to these flea markets next time you are in New York City!

Saturday, May 19, 2007

mikasa



head over to
apron thrift girl to see more about these adorable mikasa finds!

Thursday, May 10, 2007

whale that's swell

maditi finds the most extraordinary flea market treasures like this sweet danish whale. you can see more of her talent for not only seeing goodies and bringing them home with her, but photographing them as well! get a cup of your favorite drink and sit down a while to see all her flea market finds right here. (i think what you see would make a marvelous coffee table book, don't you?)

flashbacks from france

i know corey is contributer here, but stopping at her own blog this morning i was so touched by her writing, not to mention this decorating perfection i'm sure to recreate in my own home that i had to share with you. any artwork would be stunning propped up on the wall on a garden planter, but something about a frameless oil painting like this has me dreaming of the french countryside.

p.s. see more of her flea market finds here!

Saturday, May 05, 2007

thumbtacks from a garage sale

ohh hillary, your garage sales are like no other. :D