Almost time for flea.o.logy. . .



 It's been a long, looonngg winter. . . . . .  You know, I think the true definition of winter is "no yard sales, no flea markets, no street fairs, not much fun."  Well,  maybe there were a few good times, but yard sale/flea market season just makes everything more fun, don't you think?!   And - just a few more days 'til flea.o.logy, the much-awaited flea market at my friend P aula's Payson home.  We're up to 16 vendors now. . . be there this Saturday at 8:00 at Paula's, 218 Main Street on the Main Street into town, if you just hang a Louie off the exit into Payson you won't miss it, I promise.  Here's a few more photos of what I'll have there. . . hope to see you Saturday!



I've been "Sorry!" and dabbled at "Scrabble,"
but have you been big on "Dig?











Red. . . my favorite
vintage color!



Remember "Pink Elephants" from the movie Dumbo??

Pretty vintage dresses. . .





See you at 8 am sharp on Saturday!



Heaven, I'm in Heaven. . . .

Make that suitcase heaven, and board game heaven, and . . . . . . . . . oh what a fabulous sale I went to today!  A-One Estate Sales put on a bang-up estate sale in the Millcreek Area and I hadn't been there for five seconds when I saw my first find - matching royal blue vintage suitcases!  Want to see more of them?  I'll have them for sale at flea.o.logy on Saturday April 30th. . . see the blog link at the side! 

Here's a few more items I found. . .

More pics coming soon. . . .

What a great weekend for picking!



Just some of the weekends treasures
on my new shabby shelf. . .



Ooh, how I love to go picking!  No, it's not just garage sale-ing anymore, but picking.  Is that thanks to American Pickers, that great American Trend that turned junk collecting into a socially acceptable way of life?  Oh thank heavens for them, if indeed they are the ones at "fault". . . .

In any case, had fun on Friday with my friend Paula picking at estate sales and at the local thrift store that some call "The Boutique" (although I still just call it the D.I.).  Then headed down south to my friend Jennifer's neighbor, Brandon, who always has amazing stuff, for a little picking through his sTuFt garage, which yielded an amazing shabby shelf, some aprons, Pyrex, lovely little watercolors, a charming peachish/coralish light cover that my friend can use at her friend's outdoor wedding, a few linens, a pair of awesome 50's pink lampshades, and some of my beloved enamel. 

Then this morning my sweetheart and I hit the D.I. close to opening time and hit the jackpot - two carts full of treasures to bring to flea.o.logy in a few weeks and to Treasures next week!  Books, retro kitchen goodies, an old chair, quilting magazines, a vintage paper cutter (although that's for me to keep, sorry fellow collectors!), odds, ends, and some useful string. . . yup, friends, I even collect string.  Hmm, can you figure why my therapist might see this as a problem behavior?. . .

Aren't these lovely treasures? 

I wonder what next week's pickin' will bring. . . .

Next best thing to buying second hand. . . is selling!

As I mentioned, my new "career" is that of antiques dealer.  I say that with a grain of salt because I feel much more comfortable with the official title of "second-hand seller" or, perhaps better yet, "junk collector and redistributor," since I don't think of myself as much of an expert on antiques.  I simply know what I like, which is what appeals to my senses or my sense of humor.  Like "Mr. Idaho" in the picture at right.  Found it at a "hoarder's" yard sale and sold it to a fellow junk collector and redistributor whose sense of humor over the rusty can of potato flakes matched mine. 

No matter whether antiques dealer or second-hand seller, I was incredibly fortunate last November to be accepted into Acorn's Antique Show and Sale, regarded by many as Utah's best event of the kind.  I packed up scores - if not hundreds - of my best sEcoNd haNd sTufT to display there, and, with my sweet, supportive husband, made the trek up to Ogden, not knowing what fate would await us.  We were given a booth with fantastic exposure and got great support from other dealers as well as customers.  It was a success!

Then, in February, luck shined on us again when my dear friend Michael of Now & Again Eclectic Consignment in Salt Lake put in a good word for me with show owner Heidi - and the next day I got a second invitation to join the Acorn Show.  Our booth was packed all day on Saturday (not so on Sunday due to a major snowstorm, rats!) and Fred and I left Sunday night feeling successful again.

Before leaving, though, Heidi invited me to come back again for the show in May - Saturday and Sunday the 21st and 22nd to be exact - and I'm thrilled!  So excited, in fact, I wanted to share with you some photos of our booth from the Acorn Show in February.  This will give you an idea of what I sell. . . and, as a heads up, I'm saving some of my best stuff for Acorn in May!  Hope you'll come. . .

Always bring my sweetheart to the sales. . .







. . . and he brings me!



my very favorite second-hand stuff. . .

Some of my favorite second hand stuff once belonged to my dear grandmother, mom to my mom.  Here is a story I wrote a few years ago for the blog of the consignment shop I worked for at that time. . . I share it now rather than write something new because I don't think I could tell the story any better by redoing it.  Hope you agree. . . .

When Grandma got older, she started giving her life's "things" to her descendents. She wasn't going to need them much for much longer. A sophisticated lady, she had many lovely things to offer us grandchildren.

. . . I was one of her's and Granddaddy's favorites, so I was pretty lucky to get first dibs. So many choices. . . jewelry, figurines, paintings. Nope, silly me, I went for the soap saver (an old metal kitchen utensil, like a little cage that you put slivers of soap in. Not very valuable). Always wish I had gotten the dachsund paper holder (long silly looking ceramic dog with a springy thing in the middle). I did take a few Royal Doulton because it made her happy. And I begged for the dishes.Not the china --- the dishes. The Johnson Bros. Windsor Ware, Garden Bouquet pattern, service for a family gathering with chips in at least a third of them. Why did I want the dishes? Because I knew that every time I would use them I would remember my grandparents. Thanksgiving dinners of years past would flood my mind on days when the kids were acting way too much like kids, and all of a sudden things would seem better.

Nowadays, having Cream of Wheat in a Garden Bouquet bowl transports me back to a pea green Michigan dining room on a crisp and sunny fall morning, watching my granddaddy eat his bowl of Cream of Wheat with his large, loving, little-bit hairy hands. Those breakfasts were special to we two. . . oh how I loved him. I adore these old, chippy dishes for all the joyful memories they have given me. . . and how grateful I am that they now grace my own cupboards.

what IS it about second hand? . . .

It all started when I was about 13.  Same age as my sweet Sarah is.  Our neighbors a few houses up - the Birminghams (classy name, don't you think?) - were having a yard sale.  Now, we had had yard sales before, always selling our not-used-within-the-last-twelve-months-stuff. . . but, we never went to yard sales.  We always bought new. 

So, I sauntered up the street with a few dollars in my pocket and discovered a new guilty pleasure, The Garage Sale.  Their garage was filled with their own not-used-within-the-last-twelve-months-stuff, from which I chose a set of four John Wagner & Sons 7/8 oz. metal tea canisters - Darjeeling, English Breakfast, Formosa Oolong and Rare Mandarin.  They would be perfect to house my safety pins, rubber bands and other office essentials.  I still have the little canisters, and they still house the same items they did some 40 years ago.

Thus began my fascination with second-hand stuff.  It was useful, inexpensive, and fun.  It was exciting to find something I loved with "a history" for a fraction of the cost of something new.  And, with the 1970's mentality of self-expression and rebellion, it was a way for me to quietly rebel against my upbringing of buying everything brand new, sanitary and perfect.  I could save money and become my own person.  I remember in college buying a craftsman-style solid wood desk from the local thrift store for about $10. . . probably could sell it now for about $200.  But back then it was simply useful, inexpensive, and fun.


These days, I find it hard to buy anything new or shop in "regular" stores.  Second-hand is such a great way of life.  It's "green."  It's thrifty.  It's artistic.  And it's fun.  That's what I like best about second-hand, that it's fun.  Hope you'll check back to have fun with me. . . .