Finally, an estate sale worth writing about!

So, it's blisteringly hot around here. I can't remember the last day it was under 100. Perfect estate and yard sale weather! NOT!

But I had a real hankering to find a bargain, and lately the thrifts have been an unqualified bust. And yard sales haven't been much better. But I decided to head out anyway and I'm glad I did!

I found one estate sale advertised about 15 miles from me in an area I haven't been to much. And the ad mentioned Pyrex, so I was definitely going to check it out. As the thermometer reached into the high 90s by 10, I packed the kids into the car and hoped our A/C was working! (It was.)

It was a pleasant and easy drive, and when we got to the sale I was shocked to find that we were the only ones there. With the kids, I don't usually have the ability to get to estate sales early, and I definitely don't want to fight the crowds with them in tow, so I always wait until after the early rush. I'm not sure there was any rush at all with this sale- it seemed like we were the only folks who even knew about it, even though it was well-advertised. I guess the heat was a factor, but it didn't bother us.

First thing I headed for was the Pyrex! I bought the Golden Pine Space Saver, with lid and cradle for $10. I have a rule to just buy any Space Saver I see, especially if it has the lid, and this is a nice one. I can't wait to get out all my Christmas Pyrex and put this one on display! The Pink Daisy 043 is my favorite size Pyrex and I love using them, but this one is so nice I might never use it. The Butterprint 472 casserole is my first of the 470 series. Didn't I just mention in my last post that I needed that, and lo and behold... 

She also had the 471 and 473, but had them marked as a set for $25. That's too steep for me- why this one was priced at only $6 I don't understand, but it's mine. (I would hazard a guess that the lady was looking up prices on the internet and found turquoise Pyrex goes for more; apparently she didn't get to the part where the turq. on white Butterprint goes with the others...) I also left behind a Golden Tulip promo with lid and cradle for $20 and a set of primary bowls (minus the green) for $20. I didn't love the tulip and have an unnumbered primary set, so at those prices they're not a bargain for me.

The rest of the stuff was awesome and great prices: 

These HoJo motel glasses were 25 cents each. If my kids were older I would put these out in my bathroom as everyday drinking glasses ;)

This chalkware planter is huge and also only 25 cents. I know it will sell fast in my booth, and at almost 100% profit. Whooo doesn't love owls! (sorry!)

This quirky Christmas centerpiece was also only 25 cents. Not my style, but again, someone will love it.

These vintage Halloween treat bags were in the FREE pile! There are 25 of them- totally headed to Etsy.

My son took some of his own money and bought this souvenir desk set for $4. He is going to resell it in my Etsy store, so watch for it! He's got a great eye and is very motivated to make some money reselling- I might have some competition in a couple of years if I train him right! I love the Marlin graphics on the flip calendar and the tiny seashells- he picked a great piece.

Vintage wrapping paper for 25 cents a roll. Every time I find some it sells fast.

This lamp was so cool and only $5. The base is handmade but the shade is killer.

And this last find was pure serendipity. For the last few days I had been thinking I should have a mug tree to display some of my vintage mugs near my coffee maker. I hadn't even had time to go out and hunt for it or search Etsy, and one literally fell into my lap. When I asked the guy in the garage of the sale how much he wanted for it, he just gave it to me- said he already rescued it from the trash pile and just wanted someone to have it. It has great patina and I love the orange color. Perfect, and perfect price!

Vintage Souvenirs!

The always fabulous Zootsuitmama posted on some of her travel souvenirs, so I thought I'd pick up on that as well. Since I just listed these in my Etsy store they're all photographed and ready for their close-ups!

These are 1950s/60s souvenir postcard hot pads, made of layers of cardboard with a postcard image on the top. They usually come in sets of three, one large, medium and small. I recently came across two different sets, one of the Wisconsin Dells and the other Tombstone Arizona. Since I've never been to either place I don't really have any reason to keep them, so you can buy them (with your special bloggy friend 25% off discount code: PIT25OFF) from me right now.

The Wisconsin Dells:

Tombstone, Arizona. These would be great Halloween decorations as well!

Love the 'Tombstone Epitaph'!

And the back. These table mats Insure Your Table Finish (even if it's Formica! ;) 

Road Trip: Northlandz Model Trains

As some of you are aware, my family is really into trains. My husband and my son are just nuts about real trains and model trains. Jayson got a Lionel set this past Christmas and plays with it just about every day. We also have a pretty large HO scale layout in our basement which keeps my husband occupied during the winter months, but what he's not likely to tell you is that the trains and accessories that he used to get started first belonged to me.

I got my first train set when I was about 12. I liked the trains and cars OK, but what I really enjoyed was building and painting the buildings and scenery. So it may be a bit surprising that we have never made the short trip to visit Northlandz, the world's largest model train layout.

And you just know that any place that bills itself as 'the world's largest' anything is a natural destination for a vintage- and kitsch-loving gal like myself. I can't believe we had never gone before!

So when Jayson had a cold, rainy day off of school, we took a road trip to Flemington, N.J. and Northlandz.

Northlandz is unique in that, among all the model train layouts I've ever seen, both the trains and scenery are to scale. When I say that, I mean that the distances between buildings, town, and mountains are scaled accurately. There is plenty of room along more than 8 miles of track to get in rivers, gorges, towns, train yards, cities, junkyards, amusment parks, etc. etc.  without them being all on top of each other.

The building is absolutely immense. It's three stories high, with a one mile walkway that circles around 50,000 square feet of indoor display. The tallest mountain is 30 feet high, with 400 bridges (the longest is over 40 feet long), half a million trees, and 4,200 buildings. And it's largely the work of one man, Bruce Williams Zaccagnino, a model train enthusiast, musician and video game developer.

As a matter of fact, on the Monday when we toured the building, Bruce was the only staff member there. A jovial man, he welcomed us to tour the facility, and also ran the gift shop, cooked at the snack stand (fashioned after an old fashioned soda fountain, with really good hot dogs and pizza) and provided the musical accompaniment on the building's three grand theater organs.

Now, of course, it needs to be mentioned that if he was the only staff member there, it wasn't that busy. I guess Mondays during the colder months are not that well-attended, because we saw only about 10 other people there. Also, the building was quite chilly, probably in an attempt to cut heating costs. And there were a couple spots where the roof was leaking onto the walkway. From the outside, the building does not look that well-maintained, either. So definitely call before you're planning a trip to make sure he hasn't cut the open hours back!

But, that said, all things like this have their little quirks, and it was definitely worth the price of admission ($13.75 for adults and $9.75 for kids 2 and up, which can be a bit steep for my 2 yr old). But the kids probably got more excited than the adults, because around every turn my daughter would scream "look at this!"

As an adult, I appreciated the scope of the construction, and the amazing detail. The trains themselves were not that great- most trains were only 5 or 6 cars long, and those cars were mostly "Northlandz" promotions.  But the scenery is simply incredible- have a look at the following photos and also take a look at their website for more. (Apologies for the blurry and overexposed shots- it was hard light to photograph in.)

And they obligatory 'awkward family photo' LOL- my mom was having trouble with my camera. I was going for a 1930s look with vintage wide legged navy pants, a red polka dot blouse that tied at the neck and a cropped white sweater. Believe me when I say it looked better in person than it does here! ;) Kate has on the most adorable cherry print sundress, which of course was totally inappropriate for a day with freezing rain, but hey, when you're 2, you can pull that look off.

Road Trip!

It's hot as hell here in the Northeast. But I hear Hell at least has a dry heat; here it's like a suffocating wet blanket with all the humidity.

So what do you do at home with two little kids when it's too hot to play outside? Find somewhere cool and take a road trip!

And there is nothing cooler this time of year than a cave. Caves have been a top tourist attraction for over a hundred years, and for some reason, they are still some of the kitschiest, most homespun attractions out there. Perfect for a vintage lover with a family, like myself.

Last week we took the kids out to Kutztown, PA to Crystal Cave, where it's always a cool 59 degrees. I totally wanted to just set up camp and live in there, but they wouldn't let me. (Apparently that's not the quite the "attraction" they had in mind...)

It was like 100 degrees out and I am carrying a bag packed with sweaters. Cooooool....

(Why is it so hard to get a good picture of both kids at the same time? LOL- my daughter totally needs a nap in this picture. )

Some photos of the inside. I actually took these pictures myself; I have to say they turned out better than I hoped.

No bats were harmed during the making of this blog post. (There are bats living in the cave, but only a handful and you can't see them on the tour.)

One of the things the cave has added since I remember coming as a kid is a sluice where you can "pan" for gems. You have to buy a bag of gravel in the gift shop, then bring it out and sift through the contents in the water sluice. Inside are an assortment of gemstone chips.

Well, you know me and how cheap I am- I made my kids go through everyone else's gravel that had collected on the bottom. They found some gems anyway and it didn't cost me a thing. Plus they got wet and it was fun!

Hi Dad! LOL