Igloo
Two weeks ago, Sarah emailed me a link to a sale that looked pretty crazy. The house was packed and it seemed as though the homeowner had several different collections going on. More importantly though, like I said, it looked packed! I started having flashbacks to Best Sale Ever.
When we arrived at the house, things were indeed packed inside.
The collections here included stuffed animals (Steiff mostly), dolls, fossils, dinosaur-related things, mini decanter bottles, Native American crafts, and porcelain miniatures.
Sarah focused in on the Steiff animals first, and boy were they cute. The prices were probably fair, but higher than we wanted to spend. The guy running the sale told us though that if we bought a lot of stuff, he would give us a great deal.
Steiffs above, and below are some cats riding in a car:
I quickly focused in on all of the Native American items in the house. I found a small collection of birchbark and porcupine quill boxes. Lots of tribes made boxes like these, so I am not sure whom these are from. My hope is that these were originally from Michigan, and possibly Anishinabek.
The one I wanted was almost $50, so I told myself that if I didn’t buy anything else, then I would get it. And I would also see if I could get it for around $35 or $40.
I carried this little guy around for about a minute before I put it back. I don’t really have a good use for him, he’s just cute:
I think the sled might have been Native American made, and then someone just stuck the dog on there.
There was TONS of Native American stuff I wanted, and it started to become clear that I would have to find just one favorite item and buy that. I liked these dolls, but most were priced around $60.
And I loved these little kids’ seal fur boots, but they were $25 I think. SPOILER ALERT: I’m pregnant!! So I seriously considered buying these and making my child wear them. Then I started to worry that seal fur might be itchy.
Ok, so what was the one high-priced Native American craft that I settled on buying? This adorable sculpture:
It’s an igloo (obviously) and when you open it up, these little guys are inside cutting up a seal:
It was marked $25, but I got it for $20. I also bought two other things. The first is a cast of a dinosaur egg fossil. I bought it for my friend Jenna who has a dino-loving son. I used to work at a museum that had a similar cast and kids would go wild for it. Imagine a baby dinosaur coming out of this thing!
I also bought this bag of Christmas ornaments. They are little fruits and very adorable. The bag has never been opened, so they are also really clean. $5 for all of them.
All in all, a fun sale. Sarah bought lots of things, so I’ll let her tell you all about it.
-Erin
Update from Sarah: I was a little worried when we first arrived because things seemed to be priced relatively high. But the seller was willing to negotiate, so that was nice. This sale was especially fun because there was a combo of both cool things to buy and look at, as well as insane things to laugh at.
For example, check out this senior picture of seals:
Or how about a DIY lingerie book?
Speaking of Erin being pregnant (!!!!!), I found this rare photograph of her baby in the womb:
I did find some treasures at this sale. Here is photographic evidence of me obtaining said treasures:
I just recently realized that in almost every picture of me on this blog, I have sunglasses on my head. WTF.
Anyway, there were some cool old books at this sale. I got really excited when I found the first of these two, and then MEGA excited when I found the second:
Children’s books about our parents, Cindy and Timmy, both of whom have been featured on this blog!
I also found these amazing travel journals that I will write about another day, because there are some amazing quotes inside:
Here are some other adorable things I purchased:
Look at that little French guy!!! He’s so small and cute! Oui Oui!
I also found some adorable old postcards of cats being naughty. This one is what it looks like every time I arrive on Friday to pick Erin up. I’m always looking for num nums and she never has any for me.
I went back the next day of the sale and bought one of the Steiffs that were left–the Bassett!
I got him for $15 and he sells for about $50 or more, so I’m not sure if I’ll keep him or sell him. The second day of the sale is also when I purchased my very own llama, which I wrote about yesterday.
I also found this very scientific drawing.
When I went back the second day, I was really hoping that this weird thing was still there, but it was gone. :(
I don’t know why I didn’t buy it the first day we were there. It’s a little creature made out of fur and a hoof. I don’t normally like anything made out of animals but this thing was just so weird and different. I’m sure Adam is counting his blessings as he reads this.
NSFW
We mentioned that our adventures two Fridays ago did not end with our stop at Crocker Blvd. Resale. Rather, we had one more very important stop to make. Gibraltar Trade Center! This Friday happened to be Gibraltar’s “Garage Sale Extravaganza.” And what an extravaganza it was.
We blew past all of the normal vendor booths on our way into the Center (more on those later). We even blew past these inflatable water balls that you climb inside of and roll around in. I momentarily considered forcing Sarah to try these out with me, but then I started getting worried that I would pop my inflatable ball, which would be MEGA embarrassing.
When we got to the garage sale area, we were greeted with tables and tables full of treasures (and garbage).
That lady is SO on to us.
This was a booth where some white people sold Native American goods. Each Dreamcatcher came with a special extra treat:
How much do I have to spend to supersize my “reading” to the non-mini size?
All jokes aside, there were some nice booths here. It felt like a huge estate sale–the good and the bad all in one place. I bought a ticket stub from the opening game at Ford Field and an old Briggs Stadium ticket. I paid a mere $6 total. Sarah bought a lot more than me, so I’ll let her show all of that off.
My only other purchase was some handmade Easter candy. This part gets a little NSFW so heads up people! While looking at the available candy, Sarah noticed a sign that said “Adult Novelty Candy–Ask to See.” Of course we asked to see. And of course we bought some.
That rabbit’s sitting on a barrel and has a giant wigglywob. Zach and I still have not eaten this because it creeps us out so bad. I suggested we break off the wigglywob and then eat it, but this still hasn’t happened.
Eventually, Sarah and I left the Extravaganza and got some ice cream at the upscale dining establishment in the heart of the Center.
Mad props to the head chef here because that ice cream was hella good.
From the looks of this photo, Sarah got beer flavored ice cream. I got Superman. Also, here is a close up of that booth behind her:
Idk which of these is my favorite sticker, but probably any of the ones that include the phrase “Ditch the B*tch.”
Anyway, here are some T-Rex heads mounted on a board so you can fool everyone into thinking that you done shot yourself a dinosaur:
I would like to know the rules on hunting baby T-Rexs though, because, like deer, I don’t think you are supposed to kill the babies.
We searched high and low for the wrestling area before we saw that helpful signage hovering in the sky like the Batman symbol.
This person was selling various “oddities,” which I think is becoming a more mainstream thing to do.
I kind of think the truck decals were scarier…and those inflatable water balls.
-Erin
Update from Sarah: You know how you know when you have a world class blog? When your co-blogger’s entry makes you laugh so hard you start crying. I don’t know WHAT kind of face that is that I’m making with the ice cream but it is truly great.
Ok, so right when we walked in, I saw this.
As we all know, a wall of books often excites me. But before I could even start browsing, I saw this sign:
Can someone answer this for me?: In what world is the going rate $18 for a used Dean Koontz hardcover from 1989?
Moving on… the next thing that caught my eye was a wall of iPhone covers being sold by a teenaged Juggalo. He ended up selling me one for $5 and it’s super cute!
The only problem with that little bear is that his big squishy body sometimes rubs against the phone and accidentally flips the ringer on. Very convenient for quiet concerts and movie theaters.
Before I go on to what I did buy, let me show you a few more things that I did not buy:
I’m no expert but I believe that is an assault rifle hanging from the ceiling.
Anyway, when we first walked into the garage sale area, I saw a long line of boxes of records, which of course caught my eye. Right away I found Endless Summer and a bunch of ‘80s records that seemed really awesome at the time but in retrospect really aren’t that exciting. But the guy who sold them to me was nice and only charged me $5 for 8 records. Whee!
I also scored this cool cast iron trolly for $10.
It looks big here but it’s tiny.
The best thing I found, though, was this adorable sterling charm. It’s got inlaid stone so Erin thinks it could be Zuni. I paid $20 which was totally reasonable to me!
It’s a little bigger than the size of a quarter. I’m not even an owl person… I just think it’s adorable.
Like Erin, I also bought my husband some sexy chocolates, and like Erin and Zach, Adam and I cannot bring ourselves to eat them. One of Adam’s is the absolute worst:
Part of me still can’t believe I bought this.
All in all, though, we had a fabulous day! Things are finally improving!
Open for Bidding
After my solo auction excursion, I convinced Sarah to go to another auction with me the following the day. I had auction fever for sure.
This auction was in Romulus, so Sarah met me there. I had arrived first and scoped out the goods, and was pretty excited about most of the stuff there. Everything was high quality. I saw a bunch of old greeting cards that I figured Sarah would like, and a bunch of old chocolate molds for me.
There was also a separate doll auction going on in another room that I figured Sarah might like. Boy did she ever. I think she stayed in that doll room nearly the whole night. Every time I came to check on her, she was drowning further and further in a sea of dolls she had purchased.
That furry beast on the top of the heap looks like this up close:
Sarah paid money for that, in case you are all wondering. It came in a lot with a bunch of other animals, but this kitty was by far the best.
I bought many things at this auction but nothing that I really really wanted. Most of the stuff I bought was super cheap, and I decided to just take a risk on reselling it. This sale had some old paper mache Halloween decorations I wanted REALLY BAD, but like last time, they sold for a crazy high price. I was so disappointed. A lot of two pumpkins sold to this guy for $220 and I wanted to walk up to him and tell him that 1. they aren’t even worth that! and 2. my Halloween was now ruined.
There he is all smug with his pumpkins. I should say MY pumpkins. My stolen pumpkins. Also, someone is going to step on those as they are so carelessly placed on the floor. If I had those pumpkins, I would have gone to the doll auction and bid on a $400 antique doll cradle to carry my pumpkins in. That’s how much I love those pumpkins.
Whew, anyway…speaking of the doll auction, I did buy some dolls. I got a lot of 3 for $10 and a Madame Alexander baby doll for $10. The latter turned out to be my best score, as I sold it for $56.
I also bought an old print of a natural history museum to hang in our house. I used to work at a museum like this in Ann Arbor and got to teach kids about dinosaurs. This print reminded me of that and was just too darn cool not to buy.
I definitely overpaid for this ($40) but I love it so much that I will accept that hard truth. At some point, a dude came over to me and said, “You know that’s the Louvre in France, it’s a famous museum.” I politely thanked him for the knowledge, but will say now that that is a bold faced lie. No dinosaurs up in the Louvre y'all. The print also says Hunterian Museum, which wikipedia says is in Scotland.
I’ll let Sarah talk about how much she loves auctions now, but before I do, here is my favorite part of the night. Near the end of the auction, the auctioneers do a sort of speed round in which they break off into little clusters around different tables and sell the stuff on each one at a very rapid pace. Sarah was bidding on a bunch of cards and valentines during one of these rounds, and as soon as she started to, this older woman behind her let out a yelp similar to that of a trapped animal. A sort of singular moan/howl of true sadness.
I think this lady thought she was going to be the only person interested in these items, so when Sarah bid, she was obviously distraught. Every time the bid went up, she would repeat the same moany “NOOOOO.” I felt bad for her in a way, because I had been sad about my pumpkins…but at the same time, the whole thing was absurd and hilarious. Listen people, auctions are like the end of “Old Yeller”…heartbreaking but necessary.
-Erin
Update from Sarah: I won a SH*TLOAD of dolls at this auction, and it was SO FUN! HOWEVER, Erin failed to mention that at least four dolls in that doll pileup were hers.
I think Erin is an auction addict now, but I understand why. It’s like going to an estate sale but more exciting in some ways, because you don’t really know how much you might end up paying for something you want. There’s more mystery involved. Also the whole thing was mysterious for me because Erin invited me about 5 minutes after I got out of work, so I had no idea what would be there, and I definitely did not know that all those dolls would be there! The only real downside about auctions in general seems to be the sadness that happens when you don’t win something you really want–like the pumpkins.
The only complaint I have is that the food was not good. Erin had tempted me before by telling me that the auction she normally goes to with Zach in Plymouth has a huge food bar with french fries (I don’t know about you but that’s enough to entice me), but at this auction, I had a hot dog that was so bad that I threw it away after one bite. An occurrence that is unprecedented in the history of my life.
Before I talk about what I won, let me say that half the fun of going to this thing was the people watching and also seeing some of the insane things in that doll room. Erin said the stuff was all high quality but I mean, you saw that stuffed cat. And here’s another doll we didn’t win:
I don’t know if the previous owner was trying to make a statement (The Bluest Eye?…) or was just blind, but that is one crazy looking doll that I would not describe as “high quality."
Unlike Erin, I ended up winning everything I wanted, and that stuff fell into two categories: dolls and stuffed animals, and ephemera. I haven’t even really sorted through the valentines and postcards that I won, but so far the dolls are doing well:
I think I paid $30 total for those three dolls (plus some), so I’ve definitely made a profit. There are many more where those came from. Here are two terrifying ones that I have on eBay right now:
When I saw that paraplegic doll it made me feel weird and sad inside. I ended up getting her because she came with that first doll (the antique Horsman doll) and when they brought her over to me I felt so genuinely creeped out. Erin wanted me to just throw her out but I feel like maybe some doll collector will give her a new pair of legs. Or who knows? Maybe you’ll see her zoomin’ around some day like Oscar Pistorius!