Dig This Treasure!

We’re working on updates from this past weekend, but in the meantime, it’s time for a sexy post, thanks to my husband.  

This morning when I went downstairs to make coffee, I discovered this note that Adam had left me, noting that his letter “got printed”… 

I was still half asleep, but quickly realized that he was not serious. (Or was he?…)

Here’s what the letter says in closer detail: 

I bought a really large lot of vintage Playboy and Penthouse magazines on Thursday, and left the really ragged issues without covers for him to peruse. He’s definitely found some gems in them, but this is the best so far. It’s from the letters page of an issue of Penthouse from the late ‘70s. 

-Sarah 

I can’t believe I have waited this long to blog about one of my absolute favorite treasures…my collection of vintage flatware pins.  The history on these pins is fascinating, and their semi-rarity makes them fun to collect.

Flatware pins, most notably “spoon pins”, became popular in the 1940s and 50s.  The pins appealed to new mothers and brides-to-be, and represented an era of celebrated female domesticity.  Spoon pins were given to future brides when they registered for wedding gifts at a department store.  And many of these brides gave spoon pins as gifts to their bridesmaids.  Knives and forks made their jewelry debut once the spoon pins were well-established in popularity.

I first found out about flatware pins in Bust Magazine, in an article about girly collectibles.  When I saw the pins, I knew that I HAD to have them.

My parents found me a set on ebay (shown above) and surprised me at Christmas.  I later found three more spoon pins at antique shows and estate sales. 

You can come across these pins at sales, although ebay is a sure bet if you are looking for one quickly.  Sometimes, you will be lucky enough to find a pin that is stamped with a flatware company’s name on the back.  These pins were made by flatware companies and given to purchasers of their sets.  I have one pin stamped “Towle” and it is all sterling silver.  Definitely one of my favorites.  I also found this rare horsehead pin and paid a mere $10 for it:

-Erin

This is one of the best things I’ve found recently at a sale. I’ve been looking for one of these for years, but have never found one that looks quite right. My maternal grandma used to wear one of these every day, so it has some real sentimental value to me. She found hers in Greece, I believe, when she traveled there with her sister. My grandpa insisted that she be buried wearing it, so no chance of inheriting it. Also, I think her three children all wanted it–they’d get first dibs anyway. Hers looked a lot like this, but was larger. An evil eye is something that protects you from being cursed by someone.

My grandma was a really superstitious person, and I am certain that that’s why I am so incredibly superstitious (my own mother is as well)… Over the years, I’ve learned tons of weird rituals that you have to do in order to prevent something “bad” from happening. One of the ones that Adam cannot ever seem to remember is that shoes cannot ever be placed on a table. I adhere to this rule very rigidly, and if I realize that I’ve had, say, a box of shoes ready to ship out to someone from eBay on my kitchen table, I sort of freak out a little inside.

Also, if you forget something and have to go back inside the house to get it, you’re supposed to sit down and count to 10. I break this rule all the time because I’m really forgetful.

Anyway, I found this at a sale in a baggie with two other evil eyes that aren’t as cool. I’m planning on trying to sell those. I called my mom right after I found it because I was so excited. Her response could not have been more perfect: “Do you think it’s bad luck to buy someone else’s evil eye? That seems sort of creepy.”

-Sarah

So, Adam loves anything old and mechanical. A few weeks ago when we went to the sale that I’ve deemed the European Delights sale, he left with a pile of stuff, but I didn’t pay much attention. Later that night, I saw him fiddling with this little box. He explained to me that it was a mechanical card shuffler. I nodded and acted interested, but in my head, I was like, “There is no way that’s true. A deck of cards can’t stand up in that thing.” He then tried to put a deck of cards in the box and realized that this was not, in fact, it’s purpose.

The next morning, I came down to make my coffee and found Adam sticking a bunch of toothpicks in the box, trying to see if that was the purpose. Again, it was pretty clear to me that someone would not create an elaborate contraption to dispense toothpicks, but what do I know? Once we recognized that the toothpicks were getting stuck in nooks and crannies in the box, I suggested that that probably wasn’t the purpose either. Adam was real pleased with me pointing out this obvious fact.

Adam was getting more and more irritated with his inability to determine what the box was for, and I kept hearing him mutter, “What the f*ck is this thing FOR?!” under his breath. A few minutes later, I came back into the kitchen and found Adam cutting up paper, rolling it, and sticking the rolls into the box:

Once it worked one time through, he exclaimed, “I’M A GENIUS!” (I didn’t remind him that he’s really not one since he thought it was for shuffling cards first, and clearly cards will not stand up in those dividers.)

Here he is, ecstatic:

What? He doesn’t look that excited to you?

Later that day, Adam told me to go pick up a pack of cigarettes at the store so he could test it out with real ones. If you’re a smoker and you come over our house, we’re ready for ya:

-Sarah

I don’t remember where I picked up this vintage resin bank of a woman relaxing in a bubble bath, but it’s pretty cute isn’t it? What I like most is that the soap is labelled. If I remember correctly, it was obscenely overpriced at $10, but I got it for $8.

It sits on my nightstand and I put any change from my pockets in it each night. Then, once it starts feeling heavy, I empty it, take it to the Coinstar at Meijer, and get an Amazon gift certificate. Then I buy books for my Kindle. TRUE STORY.

Erin, on the other hand, throws pennies in the garbage.

-Sarah

Update from Erin: It’s true. When I’m cleaning and find pennies, I throw them away.

When I expressed interest in buying this liquor cabinet, the look on Sarah’s face was priceless. So it’s a little gaudy, but that is why it is the best liquor cabinet of all time.

The price tag on this puppy was $200 which is crazy because no one could tell if it was even an antique. For all we knew, it was purchased at Pier One like last week. That said, I loved it and wanted it. I eventually haggled down to $150.

The inside of the case has carved slots for bottles. Luckily, this estate sale was selling some various alcohol products from the 60s and 70s. The Chartreuse has some stuff floating in the bottom of it, so I think it might be undrinkable. Zach and I did crack open some port wine from the 60s (marked on the bottle as already aged 30 years) at his recent 30th birthday party. It tasted like the 1930s, which means, delicious.

-Erin

Update from Sarah: Erin failed to mention that this was one of the houses that, if I had a time travelling machine (again, I hate time travel, so this is saying a lot), I would go back and photographically document its contents–it was decorated as if Liberace himself lived there. No joke. Also, this person LOVED opera, and so does Zach, so I refused to let Erin put the liquor cabinet in my car, because I wanted to make her go back the next day so that Zach had a chance to check out the goods. I think they ended up going back and Zach nearly had a panic attack because the house was so overcrowded with opera-and-gaud-loving vultures. Also noteworthy–at this sale, I picked up four small oxidized metal statues of cats playing musical instruments (those could double as a Thing that Freaks Your Husband Out) and a copy of In Defense of Food. Apparently, Liberace is health conscious.

My favorite books when I was very little were these, written and illustrated by Joan Walsh Anglund, and I still own them: 

My copies are falling apart because I read and re-read them so often as a kid. They’re worth a lot of money now, but of course not my copies, because of the condition they’re in, but I wouldn’t sell them anyway. 

Two of my favorite things from sales are also Joan Walsh Anglund items. First, a small vintage doll: 

And also this print that I found in a cracked frame (we obviously reframed it): 

This is such a perfect illustration. Gorgeous colors, and it’s obviously fall. And look at how cute her outfit is. I purchased this about six years ago, but it wasn’t until this past December that I realized the print was part of a twelve print “sampler.” I found a complete set of all of the prints on etsy for about $15. Total steal. Three of the illustrations are Christmas themed. All of them are adorable. 

I would purchase anything of hers at a sale that was reasonably priced and in decent shape. 

This past Christmas, my parents and Adam surprised me with a variety of vintage Joan Walsh Anglund items, including vintage Christmas bulbs and some of her books. Aren’t they the best? 

-Sarah

Ever since I saw this video, I’ve loved finding baby elephant figurines. Elephants are smart, compassionate creatures. And obviously they like having fun. Sounds like me! 

Now, I don’t go crazy with these. I like ones from the ‘50s and '60s that look sort of like cute-ified real animals–not gross Pier One elephants. I only buy the extra cute ones.

Except for the one time I bought this guy…

and Adam asked me, “Why did you buy a statue of a weird, high elephant?!”

Anyway, this one is my all-time fave. He looks just like the baby in the video!

This little guy was in a set with two adults. First, I only want babies. No adults. Second, the set was overpriced. Third, the sale was junky so I just grabbed him and pretended I found him somewhere alone, since the majority of stuff in the house wasn’t priced. No harm, no foul. And I got my baby. 

Finally, this guy was an exception to the no-gold-policy for decorative items (created and enforced by Adam). I made the exception because he’s so cute and happy. So far, Adam hasn’t objected. 

-Sarah

This was one of the other cool things that I found at the sale where I purchased the red knickknack cabinet. I really love vintage cross stitch, and this one combines that charm with bathroom humor, which, if you know me at all, you know I also love.

Next time you’re in our downstairs bathroom, I hope you glance at that and feel anxious about finishing your business. 

-Sarah

I actually found these earrings at an antique show, not an estate sale, but I’m blogging about them because they turned out to be quite the find. I fell in love with them right before my honeymoon and imagined myself running all over Cape Cod as a newlywed in these earrings. They were priced $115 but I negotiated down to $75.

The earrings are marked Erica Courtney on the back, of whom the seller knew nothing about. I started researching her and found out that she is a pretty famous jewelry designer in Beverly Hills. Apparently a lot of celebrities wear her designs.

I was super curious if these earrings I bought were made by the same Erica Courtney I was reading about online. I called her office and left a photo on her facebook page. Her assistant called me back a few days later and told me that these earrings were an early piece by Erica and that they originally retailed for $500. The Facebook photo I posted also received a response:

“Ethnic glam” collection? Holla!

-Erin

Update from Sarah: You paid SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLARS for those things? They look like a pair of boobs or devil eyes. Weirdo.