You ain't much if you ain't Dutch

Holland was well represented at this weekend's garage sales. I bought this tile from a woman whose father was Dutch (from Friesland)...

Botanic thrift store print

What's a garage sale junkie to do on a Tuesday? Luckily there's a thrift store near to where I work that helps to tide me over until Friday's sales. Today I found a few good things there. Haven't photographed them all (don't want to give away my wardrobe secrets!).

I love this print. And the fake fruit livens up one of the glass cake stands
that lives on top of my kitchen cabinets. One of these is made of wood.
Print cost $3. The fruit was a quarter each.

This Brag Book must be from the 1970's. It fits square photos. Would be perfect for Instagram photos! It's cute.  And it was only a quarter. Too bad I can't rotate photos once they're uploaded, square or not square.

A full view of this botanic print. From the "gardiner of Kensington."

Bags and scarves

Found this 100% silk, Italian scarf a few weeks ago at an antique mall. $8.

There are never many sales on Sundays here; today there were five. And I found this brand new Vera Bradley bag at the first sale I stopped. It was my only purchase of the morning. But it sure made my day at a mere $4.

 Found this Italian-made-in-China bag  :-) at a sale yesterday. $1.
I like the style and look of it. Doesn't matter that it's a fake. It's fun.

No use crying over spilled coffee

We spent a fun four hours this Saturday morning, my friend and I. She bought more than I did this time around. Dishes, purse, classroom stuff, puzzles, vases... I got lots of small stuff and these are the highlights:

This tray was hidden under a load of stuff that was for sale, but luckily I spotted it. They sold it to me for a quarter. I wasn't wearing my reading glasses, so I was pleasantly surprised when I came home and my husband asks me: "Did you buy it because it was made in Holland?" And low and behold it says "Daher Decorated Ware Made in Holland on the back. When I first spotted the tray, it reminded me of Pip Studio Design in Amsterdam. Here's their website http://www.pipstudio.com/en

Cute cat stuff for my cat loving aunt, whom I will see soon as I'm going to Holland in October.

And two more much-needed teapots for the annual high tea fundraiser that I help host. And a cute mug. Speaking of mugs, I spotted an interesting one at a sale, picked it up, turned it over to see the mark... and spilled all the coffee in it on other items that were for sale and myself. Luckily the coffee was cold and the lady thought it was hilarious, so we laughed it off. Has this ever happened to you?

Vera and Bauer

 Total spent on Friday: $23.50

 I wasn't going to get the trifle bowl, but my friend thought it was a good idea. Now I'm happy that I got it. Love the Black Americana tea towels.

 A deep dish by Bauer (maybe it came with a matching flowerpot at some point).
Easy as pie tea towel.

 I have a hard time not buying counted cross stitchery. Someone put a lot of time in making them, and the person selling them doesn't appreciate that.

 My first Vera scarf! Not my colors, so I won't keep it.

 We renovated our bathroom at the beginning of summer. And the new, modern, bathroom seems to attract Hummel-like figurines. These are by Daisy 1972.

We got the pictures below at an estate sale two months ago.
Mind you, I never liked Hummel before. Ever.

These scarves came in the same lot as the Vera scarf.
Unfortunately, they are all ugly. The red, green and white one would look good on Wilma Flintstone, my friend said. And I agree. It's a dinosaur.

I almost forgot this smiling guy: my first Japanese Lusterware find. Unfortunately the ear was broken and glued back together again.

A little more thrifting on Saturday

Our cats loved us when we brought home this whatever it is that we paid $4 for with the cats in mind. New with tags from Worldmarket.

Ice bucket from The Bon Marche for $1. Bottle of Champagne not included, alas.
And an oil and vinegar set from France for $2.

 Hand painted, bien sur.

 No more pesky salesmen at our door! $2

After our neighborhoods garage sales, we went to the Vintage Flea Market

at a local park. Very pretty display of knick knacks. $0. Didn't buy a thing. 

 

Friday thrifting

What $26 bought this Friday.

The pepper and salt shaker are unmarked. I think they are made of teak wood. The lady who sold them to me for $1.50 told me "they were old." Any ideas?

 Sadler teapot that belonged to the seller's grandmother. $5

 Sugar bowl and creamer. Made in China. $3. Perfect companions for my English Crown Dorset teapot, don't you think?

 Could not resist the kitchen utensil ornaments.

Chanel and more farm animals

Last Saturday was the annual garage sale of the 55+ community in town. Since none of my garage sale buddies were available, I went by myself. Got there at 8 a.m. with my extra hot, double shot latte in hand and had a delightful morning going from garage to garage on foot, in glorious, sunny fall weather. The decision to walk was a good one: I couldn't buy any heavy items such as dishes. And I got some exercise that way too. Four hours of shopping resulted in 4 nice shrink wrapped prints (that I should have photographed before gifting them to my friend for her b-day-- and that had the $35 price stickers still on the back) and all the stuff in the picture above (Did you find the Dutch connection? It's tiny). Total damage in dollars was less than $25.

 I don't understand why people get rid of luxury soap. Don't they take showers?? I was happy to find these Crabtree & Evelyn soaps that are made in Switzerland and the Monticello soaps. I love soaps. The candle holders are made in West-Germany by Funny Design. I love anything German. The boxed greeting cards were fifty cents.

 Another thing I love is pewter. And pewter pitchers in particular. This one cost me $5. It was priced at $10, but I always try to get stuff for half... They owners had a Post-It note on it saying: made in Mexico. But the stamp on the bottom of the pitcher clearly states Made in the USA. Not that it matters to me either way, but I just thought it was odd. The toad stool pepper and salt shaker have no brand but reminded me of Germany and German Christmas decor, so that's why I had to have them. They cost a dime. The Vera Bradley children's purse was too cute to pass up. I'm a big Vera B. fan.
This scarf was priced at $20. I looked it over and could not find any label on it. It feels like polyester, though it's soft and pliable. I talked them down to $10. They, too, didn't know if it was a true Chanel. All the owner could remember was that she bought it in Europe, possibly England. Does anybody have tips for me to find out if this may be authentic? Whether it's Chanel or a rip-off I like it either way and will wear it lots.

Boe!

Dutch cows say boe (pronounced "boo.") And I was saying "boo" quite a bit this morning when I didn't find anything. At first. Sale after sale of crappy stuff and an overpriced estate sale where moldy odor greeted shoppers in the driveway and most everybody left empty handed. Ironic, then, that my first purchase of the day was ... a cow. A German cow no less. Made in China for Schleich. Who knows what this cow says? I have a soft spot for anything German, and I have a friend who collects cows, so I brought him her home.

Three hours of shopping and about $20 later, this is what else I brought home:

The day ended on a lucky note: right before 4 p.m. on my way back from the hairdresser, I shopped one sale and bought five miniature books in a slipcase. The subject was world religion. I just had a hunch that it might be worth more than the one dollar I paid for it. And, sure enough, it's selling on Amazon for $34. I got lucky twice this week in the book department.

Curious what tomorrow's sales will bring. No more boe please.

Practical stuff

Thursday's sale yielded a glass cake stand, a Margaret Furlong Christmas ornament and Belgian pan by Boch in the Boerenbont pattern. That will have to do for the Dutch connection this week. I associate Boerenbont (Farmer's Bold??) with the Netherlands, not Belgium. Total spent: $4

Friday's sales didn't do much for me, though I'm happy with this bread box and the over-sized Pier 1 basket. Total spent $3.

A bit of Provence and Germany: French pottery, two stainless steel Rosle utensils, a Williams Sonoma pasta bowl that depicts European olives, and an Italian soap dish...

... to put my precious bars of Le Petit Marseillais soap in.

American Practical. The creamer is from Casual China by Russel Wright.

My share of the you-ladies-pay-me-$25-and-carry-out-anything-you-like-including-the-furniture Moving Sale. Split three-ways this was "legal robbery" as my daughter put it.

This basket of counted cross stitch patterns, embroidery floss, fabric, and pinking shears will go to the Women's Fellowship of my church who will turn it all into small treasures that they will sell at their Christmas Bazaar.

Now we'll have to have a fondue party sometime soon.