Dig This Treasure!

Today I was cleaning out my own ebay world, all in preparation for Sarah’s and my garage sale happening June 8th.  Last year’s garage sale was a huge success, so I am busy pulling every last piece of junk out of my house to sell this year.

My “ebay world” (in our basement) is full of things that didn’t sell on ebay and things I never got around to selling on ebay.

You might notice an Effanbee doll, I think I bought at this sale.  I never sold it on ebay because I noticed its wig was falling off, and so I tried to super glue it back on, but then the glue ate part of the hair.  Oy.

There’s also this stupid Teddy Ruxpin caterpillar friend I bought at a weird consignment shop I made Sarah stop at.  I don’t know if we ever wrote about it, but basically I thought I could resell this thing.  Except that he is missing an important cable cord that lets him speak with Teddy Ruxpin.  UGH.

And then there is Mrs. Beasley.  I DEFINITELY could have resold her, but remember that little hair bonnet I made for her?  Since her hair was all sticking up and mangled?  Well, it didn’t work.  Into the garage sale she goes.

OK, so on to the real point of this entry and the TTFYHO (Things That Freak Your Husband Out).  So I’m packing up all these items, and I see these legs sticking out of one of my cupboards.

AND THEN I REMEMBERED.  I bought these insanely creepy clown dolls at a sale and ended up never listing them on ebay.  I just forgot about them.  I think I hid them away because of how terrifying they are, and then let them slip from memory.

This isn’t the first time that one of us has freaked our husband out by buying something clown-related.  However, this is the first time that one of us went to extra lengths to make sure that our husband was TO THE MAX creeped out.

Here’s what happened:

A few months ago, Zach bought a security camera because there had been some break-ins in our neighborhood.  Well, that’s part of the reason.  We were also generally curious to spy on the neighbors, mailman, general street traffic, etc.  

The camera works by turning on when it senses motion.  It then snaps a series of photos and emails them to Zach.  Every morning when he would check his email, it was the same old thing: cars driving by, a stray cat walking by, or just the wind setting the darn thing off.  

Until I decided to creep outside one night…

And that’s how Zach died.  He opened his email, saw this pic, screamed, and died. The End.

-Erin

Update from Sarah: I just wanted to add that Erin is incapable of saying “Teddy Ruxpin.” She kept saying “Teddy Rupskin” the day she bought that dumb caterpillar, even after I tried to help her pronounce it correctly. We were both LOLin’. 

It’s been a while since we’ve had something to feature on Things That Freak Your Husband Out! I’m happy to report that I’ve broken the dry spell!

On Friday, Erin and I stopped by a sale that somehow wasn’t on our list, but was literally down the same street as another sale that WAS on our list. I realized as soon as we entered the house that the reason it wasn’t on our list was because it was being run by a company that overcharges for absolute junk. Anyway, we were there, so we figured we might as well look around.

When I entered the house, I saw this sculpture right away and really liked it because a) it’s from the 1970s and b) that guy looks like a mini hipster.

It’s fairly large. Just to give you some perspective, my cat is a big boy–15 lbs.

This little man was made by a guy named Dave Grossman who seems to have made a lot of figures like this in the late 1960s and early 1970s. And thanks to Google, it appears that I could have found a sculpture of his that is way creepier. Like this:

I also found some pics of some other cute ones, though. Such as these hipster little boy brothers: 

Or this lil’ gal gettin’ her fitness on! 

Judging by this other listings on eBay, these may or may not be garden sculptures. If they are, I’m cool with it, because I also have a collection of those (which I’m sure shocks all of you readers.) 

For the record, Erin supported this purchase and also thought it was cute.

Adam’s only words were, “That is going to come to life and kill us while we’re sleeping.” Guess he’s not a fan. 

-Sarah

I mentioned yesterday that I’d be saving a few of my favorites from the Canadian auction to be featured on a rainy day. It’s not rainy but it’s frigid, so that works. 

At one point during the auction, they did a “choice out” of a bunch of different Jesus-y items. This might be obvious but when they say they’re going to choice out a bunch of stuff, it means they’re taking things that are similar and letting people bid on their choice among those things. They do this on jewelry a lot of the time. People often end up taking a bunch of the items, or all of them. For example, those tapestries Erin won were things she was the high bidder on a “choice out” auction. She paid $15 for each of the ones she chose. I’m explaining this because I didn’t quite understand it the first time I was at an auction. Then again, as Erin often points out to you all, I’m pretty slow. 

Anyway, as far as religious themed stuff goes, I’m not normally super into it, but I spotted an amazing vintage Virgin Mary plaque among the others. It looked like something that you would find in Lafayette’s apartment on True Blood. Here’s Lafayette:

Here’s Lafayette’s apartment: 

 Here is my plaque: 

She would fit right in in that Virgin Mary shrine on the back wall. 

The style that this statue/plaque was made in was really familiar to me but for the life of me, I could not put a name to it. After some brief searching around, Erin and I got to the bottom of it. 

It seems like Erin’s consultation of this new search service, goodle, is what worked so well for us in solving the mystery.

Ok, all kidding aside, this is an “Immaculate Heart of Mary” statue. We tried googling things like “Mexican Virgin Mary” and “Our Lady of Guadalupe” and finally I said something like, “but what’s the virgin mary called with the HEART?!” I consulted Google and Erin consulted Goodle and we hit the jackpot. 

Anyway, needless to say, Adam does not like this statue. I think this is because our house is not decorated like Lafayette’s apartment (YET!) This wasn’t a surprise for me. After I won it (for a mere $5!), I sat back down in my seat and Erin and I kept commenting on how awesome it was. Then we both looked at each other and said, “it can be a thing that freaks your husband out." 

-Sarah

I’ve mentioned my love for vintage wrapping paper a few times in the past. My collection is pretty impressive, and I’ve had lots of sellers ask me what I do with it when I buy it. Isn’t that a dumb question? I use it, of course!

I don’t just like cute wrapping paper–I like weird wrapping paper too. 

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I have a habit and history of freaking my husband out with some of my estate sale finds. Normally this is not intentional, but it was my husband’s birthday this past Saturday, so I had the opportunity (responsibility, really) to pull out some of my best stock and get a good reaction. This is what I chose. 

I was SO excited to give Adam some presents wrapped in this stuff. Naked baby dolls. Baby dolls buried under toy trucks. Fake mice. Stuffed monkeys. Toy soldiers. Can’t get much weirder. And it’s an actual photograph printed on the paper. Totally amazing. 

Maybe I have high expectations but I was SO disappointed when I gave Adam his gifts and he didn’t even give the paper a second glance! He just ripped them open! I guess I have to find something even creepier for next year. 

OR, it’s possible that we’re just swapping roles. This is what was inside one of the packages (he asked for it, and please note that he is 33 years old): 

Who’s freaky now?

-Sarah

It’s been a while since one of us has found a Thing That Freaks Your Husband Out (TTFYHO). Luckily, I broke that dry spell last Friday. The first house we hit up was the home of a retired party store owner, so there was a lot of “party paraphernalia” there. One of these pieces was Beefy:

Beefy is in inflatable dog, flexing his muscles and licking his lips. He cost $1. I know nothing else about him. When I found him, I was delighted. I immediately called Erin into the room and she snapped this picture. Even though I look pale and sickly, I’m willing to share this picture as proof of my delight:

Now, not only did we find this one Beefy, but we found two others that were identical and not inflated.

Of course, I bought all three–Christmas is coming! Duh!

Just like there were three Beefys, there were three best parts of this find:

1. Actually finding Beefy, which we’ve covered.
2. Going to Target the next day with Adam, forgetting Beefy was in the hatch, and watching his reaction when he went to put our bags in the back of the car.
3. Finding this picture of Beefy a few days later:

I had also (obviously) found some old family photos at this sale. I shoved them all in a box and had the chance to start looking through them the other night. Adam was working late, and when he got home, I was so excited to show him this picture. Not only is Beefy taking a ride on that trailer, but a real dog is too!

-Sarah

Update from Erin: Sarah’s nickname in high school was “Beefy.”

Also, that real dog riding on the trailer is so Romney-esque, I lol’d.  Did this dog ride like that for 12 hours too?

I rejoiced today when I realized that I purchased something that I could feature in “Things That Freak Your Husband Out.” It’s been so long. 

The other night, I was scrolling through the sales for the week and I thought I spied a stuffed animal deer head on the wall in one of the pictures. I couldn’t find the picture that I thought I’d seen when I tried to go back and find it. I figured I just looked at whatever it was wrong/was hallucinating. When I arrived at this sale, the stuffed deer head was the first thing I spotted, and I got SO excited when I saw that it was marked $10. I don’t care what you say–that’s a steal. It was also hand made by some company in Vermont. 

Here it is in my back seat.

(Also, FYI, yes those are cupcakes that he’s guarding.) 

And here he is, watching over the library in our home: 

I replaced this horrifying painting that Adam loooooves (it’s actually sort of cute, but this looks way better) with the deer.

Adam has been watching Batman movies at the theater since 6 p.m. so I don’t feel too guilty.

-Sarah 

This installment of Things That Freak Your Husband Out features these two little dudes:

They’re so cute!

I’m sad that Adam does not approve, but I can understand why. They look like they’ve had a little too much Christmas eggnog or wacky tabbacky. Anyway, I told Adam I’m selling them on etsy or eBay but I think they might just get “lost” in our spare bedroom and reappear next Christmas. They were each $3. Or two for $3. I can’t remember. Either way, good deal.

If you missed the other installments of Things That Freak Your Husband Out, you can find them here, here, here, and here. 

-Sarah

OK, so I finally did it.  I bought something so wacked out that it qualified for a Things That Freak Your Husband Out (TTFYHO) post.  I don’t even know what I was thinking…

I found this bag of random vintage Santas in someone’s garage.  I remember when I first started sale-ing that someone told me vintage X-MAS stuff was super collectible.  I suppose this is probably true if you find such things ANYWHERE OTHER THAN SOMEONE’S FILTHY GARAGE.

I got the whole bag for $2 and figured at least one would be valuable.  (I’m talking like $8 valuable.)  I figured I could clean these guys off with a lint roller or whatever and they would be good as new.

Not true.  They are gross.  I threw them in the garbage, which is probably to the delight of Zach.

I did particularly like this guy though.  He is obviously keeping a real secretive secret.  Maybe he will share his little secret with all of his garbage friends.  Or maybe he will be their SECRET SANTA.  Ahahahahaha.

P.S. My what big hands you have.

-Erin

In this edition of Things That Freak Your Husband Out, take a look at my new buddy!

Isn’t he a beaut?

Ok, I loved this dog from the moment I saw him in that crowded, dirty sale last Friday. First, I love dogs. Second, this dog looks sort of real–and he’s smiling. Third, he’s a great color. Fourth, he was marked $6–a true bargain.

At first I left him there because I thought, “Adam will kill me.” But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that he really needed a better home and it was worth the risk. Erin also encouraged the purchase.

He was sitting on a table with a bunch of junk, including a sealed ‘80s porno (VHS) that a dad kept trying to cover with other items to keep his son from seeing it (I forgot to tell you about that, Erin). Anyway, that’s no life for a beautiful dog like him. So I saved him.

-Sarah

Update from Erin: I don’t recall “encouraging” the purchase. In fact, I recall telling Sarah to NOT buy the dog, but instead go take a photo of it so people could see an example of the junk she tries to buy.

Update from Sarah: You said, “You need to either go take a picture of it for the blog, or buy it.” If that’s not encouraging, what is?

For older editions of TTFYHO, look no further than here and here. 

Oftentimes, when I return home from a day of treasure hunting with Erin, Adam is appalled by what I have purchased. Sometimes these appalling items are for my own personal collection. Other times, they are items that I have purchased with the hope of resale. Sometimes I trick him and tell him that an item is something I love, but really it’s something I’m intending to sell. Here’s the best example of this: 

Isn’t this clown great? It’s so scary, and so old. I purchased it for $15. I haven’t determined if it’s worth anything yet, though. In the meantime, I want to keep making Adam think I love it. 

-Sarah

Update from Erin: This segment of the blog will contain more items from Sarah than from me.  First, she buys more things than me, so based on math the odds are that her husband will be freaked by an item.  Second, she blatantly buys things that will freak out her husband, so again, the odds are in her favor.  That said, I LOVE this clown.  

Update from Sarah: I think I have found my buyer…