Dig This Treasure!

On Sunday morning, while Sarah was busy finding treasures at Comic Con, I was driving home from a Relay for Life event.  I saw a sign that said “Estate Sale” and another that said “Antique Barn Sale”, and even though I was exhausted from the relay, I decided to stop.  Well, first I chanted “SECRET SALE SECRET SALE,” and then I stopped.

The sale was pretty much all garbage, including this stuffed bear who mysteriously has no ears.  There weren’t even remnants of once-existent ears.  Just absolutely NO ears on this bear.  YOLO.

I am now noticing that this bear also has a mom haircut.  Actually, it kind of looks like Ellen DeGeneres.

Bellen BearGeneres.

Ok, so I am only telling you about this sale because I did pretty much the best thing ever at it.  I was so delusional from fatigue that after looking in one of the rooms, I walked out of it and turned off the light switch.  Just out of habit.  Everyone in the room starting yelling, “HEY!”  I turned the light back on, saying nothing (like a creep), and left.

Sowwie!

So after that sale dud, I followed an endless number of signs to the “barn sale.”  I must have drove at least 3 miles following little tiny signs posted to random trees.  I’ll applaud whoever put up the 800 signs every 10 feet for this sale though, because the number of streets I had to turn on was astounding.  

Finally, in the middle of a neighborhood, I saw this:

A weird little barn oasis in the middle of a bunch of houses!

The littlest chairs! You can’t really tell, but these were each less than a foot off the ground.

You all know I’ve been wanting some locker baskets for awhile now.  But why, why, why are they so pricey!  

Everything at this sale actually was pricey.  So I didn’t buy anything.  However, I did see my SECOND giant wasp nest for sale!

I’ll tread lightly here because the last time I talked about people selling wasp nests, we got our first ever negative comment on the blog!  

-Erin

Dig This Treasure is hosting our very first prize giveaway!  Thanks to all of you readers, Dig This Treasure is a totally hoppin’ internet place to be!   

Remember Beefy?  Well, Erin just re-discovered him during her tour of eBay world last Friday. Now you too can own your very own Beefy!  For free!  Just for enjoying this blog.  

DTT is giving away TWO of these Beefys, one to a Tumblr follower and one to a reader on digthistreasure.com.

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-Erin and Sarah

A few weeks ago, Adam and I were driving home and as we turned into our neighborhood, we saw the sign advertising our annual neighborhood garage sale. It was about two weeks away, and Adam suggested I participate. I reminded him that Erin and I were already planning to hold a sale this summer during her neighborhood sale (just like last year!) but Adam wasn’t having it. He convinced me that it made sense to try to get rid of some stuff first, and then take the remains to Erin’s sale in June. Conveniently, Adam was going to be out of town for work during our neighborhood sale, so I enlisted my parents (my dad, specifically) to help, because trying to do a garage sale on your own is the worst.

You’ll remember that Erin and I converted my mom Cindy into an estate sale junkie last summer, so she has her own hoard of leftovers waiting to be resold. Like Adam, my dad was thrilled for the opportunity to purge their house of some of the garbage my mom has brought home with her, so we both got to work! 

For example, my mom had quite the selection of vintage Jell-O molds to offer our shoppers! Looks like she had some fun buying these early on and then realized that they’re not that re-sellable, even though Erin seemed to think so at some point. By mid morning on Friday, the sale was jumpin’ (Erin would not approve of that messy table of clothes): 

For this sale, I focused on purging clothes rather than leftover treasures, and that worked out in my favor. Around noon, I found myself surrounded by a swarm of teenaged girls, all from the same family (I swear to god this mom could have given Michelle Duggar a run for her money), and all eager to buy my sh*t! I think my dad was a little overwhelmed (not that I can blame him) because at one point I saw that there were other people (not part of the Duggar fam) ready to pay, and I had to shout, “Dad! These people want to give you money!" 

By the end of the day, our sale was totally picked over, and we were pumped! 

Those tables were stuffed to the gills when we had started! 

Erin stopped by at the end of the first day and I enlisted her help in gathering more goods for the next day. I allowed her to step foot in eBay World, our spare bedroom that is currently used as a warehouse for all of the goods I have purchased at sales to resell or eventually display. I have never seen such a shocked look on someone’s face when she stepped foot inside the room. She begged me to allow her to take a picture, but I wouldn’t let her! But I will show you something else: 

This is a sign for eBay world that one of my nieces made for me last summer. Erin saw this in eBay world and started dying laughing because SHE THOUGHT I MADE IT FOR MYSELF. 

Anyway, she was very helpful in giving me some tough love on what I need to get rid of. Many of these items were things that you’ve seen before. It hurts my soul to admit that she was right about the fact that I should NOT have bought some of these items. With one exception: 

I bought this Murano style glass fruit at the Windsor auction we attended a few times, and Erin is the person who told me to buy it! She actually told me to keep bidding! I ended up paying something obscene like $25 for it! Sold it for $5. 

Now here are some purchases she was right about: 

This bird without a name has a long backstory that I won’t bore you with. Bottom line is that I found it at the sale where Erin wanted some overpriced moccasins for her unborn baby. Erin pleaded with me to not buy this bird. I thought it looked pretty cool, though! Erin insisted it was a seagull but I still disagree. Seagulls aren’t black underneath. They’re dirty and grey. But it’s possible that NEITHER of us is able to properly identify a common animal. 

This kitty has been hanging out in eBay world for quite some time. I found her last spring. I have no idea what I was thinking and I’m sure Erin tried to talk me out of it at the time. 

If this little buddy looks familiar to you, it’s because you’ve seen him before. I thought Adam would be tickled by the fact that there was a lamp with a little Adam and Max on it. But he wasn’t impressed. Erin actually spotted this lamp at that really weird sale we went to a few months ago, and it was priced at $2.50 so I couldn’t pass it up. And she didn’t talk me out of it. 

You might remember these little buddies because I found them at that sale where we got SUPER scolded by a crazy woman. 

Both Erin and I thought this Immaculate Heart of Mary plaque was awesome, but in the end, it just freaked Adam out too much. 

These Muffy and Hoppy dolls aren’t actually things that Erin told me not to purchase–they’re things that Erin loves (just like Beanie Babies), and I’m surprised she didn’t try to steal them when she was over on Friday. Anyway, you’ll remember that I bought a boatload of these at an auction last winter, and these are the little dudes that didn’t sell on eBay. Turns out nobody wanted them in the garage sale either, so I’ll have to put my thinkin’ cap on. 

On Saturday, people must have been in the mood to chillax, because for the first two hours, this is what our list of profits looked like:

The weather was great and people straggled by, but most seemed interested in the free box near the curb and disinterested in walking up my driveway into the garage itself. Speaking of the free box, I put this guy in there because I just couldn’t imagine asking someone to give me money for him. 

My dad warned that the other occupants of the free box might catch hepatitis from him. Of course, someone quickly snatched him up!

In the end, even though Saturday was slow, my dad and I each made about $250 and had lots of fun people watching! 

There are still quite a few items leftover for Erin’s sale, not to mention all the crap I haven’t even gone through in my house yet. Here’s a picture of the state of my garage this evening, three days after our garage sale: 

All in all, a successful garage sale! I can’t wait for round two! 

-Sarah

Update from Erin: I have never seen a more seagull-looking stuffed animal seagull in my life.  In fact, Zach just confirmed that this is a seagull.  At one point, Sarah tried to say this was a goose.  Look at that neck!  That ain’t no goose.  What I do know FOR SURE is that Sarah should not have bought this.

And I’ll admit that I was wrong about that glass fruit.  To be fair, I bought some teeny tiny glass pumpkins around Halloween on ebay and they were like $10 each.  So I thought for sure she could sell that fruit.  Whoops!

As for ebay world, Jeez Louise.  I really should have snuck a photo of the place.  At this point, I’m pretty much entirely convinced that Sarah goes home after a long day of sale-ing, puts her purchases in ebay world, and then sentences them to a life of quiet solitude and uninterrupted slumber.  I suggested she get one of those locks with the skeleton key so that she can lock all the purchases in there like Jane Eyre or something.

Ok ok, so I’m exaggerating a bit.  And really, I’m cool with ebay world because it means we get to keep sale-ing each week!  

First of all, HOLY SH*T.  Thanks to all of the new followers and to the Tumblr staff for featuring us.  We are glad that you are all here and hope you enjoy our adventures!  If you do, then like us on Facebook.  And if you don’t, well then, don’t.  

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Last Friday, Erin and I had a lot of sales on our list of prospects. There were actually quite a few near her house, but only one looked good. Erin really wanted to go because she spotted a Selmer saxophone in the pictures online. If you remember, we once saw a Selmer sax sell at auction for over $6,000, so I can see why she was excited. 

When we arrived, however, the Selmer was gone. The guy running the sale said it went for $3,000 and the guy who bought it was first in line, waiting at 5 a.m. 

There were some other instruments but none that seemed as valuable, I don’t think. So Erin passed on the rest. 

This house was a typical “old person” house with not a lot of fabulous things, but some treasures here and there. I came away with a few of my own to both resell and keep. To keep, I found this cute strawberry bowl (my kitchen is green and red) for two bucks.  

To sell, I found this adorable Holt Howard kitty pin box with a tape measure for a tongue! 

I only bought this because it was $1 and super adorable, and I had never seen anything like it. I didn’t know that Holt Howard was a collectible brand but it appears that it really is! 

The thing that I have is from his “cozy cats” line, but it looks like what sells best are his “pixieware” pieces, like the one above. Here’s a closer look at the pixieware: 

Pretty cute! I can see why people collect these things. But they’re probably Erin’s worst nightmare because they’re so Mid Century/Retro looking. 

Next up on our list was a sale in Dearborn that looked pretty good. I found some old Christmas cards right away, and Erin prevented me from buying this shirt: 

I told her that it was so cute because it looked like something an elementary school art teacher would wear but she reminded me that that isn’t what I do for a living. 

Erin spotted this portrait of me wearing my brown wig…

Right after that, she found that picture of herself that we posted on Friday. 

I discovered these cool antique weights, but they had them marked $40 for the set: 

I found some cool old records, including Disney’s Peter and the Wolf, which terrified me as a child. One of my earliest memories is of climbing out of my crib because the shotgun sounds on the record scared the sh*t out of me (I think my parents must have been listening to it with my brother, who is 5 years older than me.) 

After we left this sale, it was lunch time, and Erin surprised me by having a craving for Mexican food. Let me tell you, ever since Erin’s had morning sickness, our food options on our adventures have been greatly limited. Normally, she only wants to eat somewhere if it has “family dining” in the name. We had some delicious food at Frida in downtown Dearborn, and then treated ourselves to some Yogurt Town. Here’s an action shot of me, delightfully planning my yogurt creation: 

It did not disappoint. 

Next up was a sale in Wyandotte, and on the way there were found ourselves at a completely different sale, which was where I found that Dave Grossman statue that Adam hates. To give you an idea of how these people overprice things, check out these book prices: 

I’m not sure where a Reader’s Digest book is worth $15, but it’s not in this galaxy. 

In the end, I also found some cute Christmas items at this sale, including a few knee hugger type guys, and a brand new vintage Holly Hobbie apron! 

For the record, the woman tried to charge me $5 for each of those knee huggers. It didn’t work. 

The last sale we hit was a doozie. These people had priced everything in the house as if it was a brand new item at a store, at 100% retail. They had a bunch of Jim Shore stuff that is Erin’s jam and not mine, but I did buy this beagle ornament because it was pretty cute. 

Here’s a shot of all of it: 

Nice stuff for sure, but not worth buying at an estate sale at its original retail price! 

The only other thing I found here was a Zingerman’s book that was in great shape.

When I brought it up the lady looked super annoyed and/or confused. I said, “It’s supposed to be a dollar.” She said she knew, and then it occurred to me that she was probably upset because she thought she could get more than a dollar for it. COME ON! 

-Sarah

Update from Erin: At the first sale, they were trying to sell opened food products, which is always so strange to me.  I’ve come all the way to this estate sale, and ah yes, wonderful, a half used bag of sugar!  Also, don’t any of you DARE touch the cake pop mix because it clearly belongs to Martina.

Look at that!  THE SPAGHETTI BOX IS TAPED SHUT.  

Anyway, at least there were some cute, non-edible items at the sale.

I found these little moccasins.  One day I will force my baby to wear them, but for now I will just stare at them in admiration.

I also found this little trinket tray for $2.  I gave it to Zach’s mom as part of her Mother’s Day present because she loves all things Mexico.  This is from Juarez.

The second sale was kind of grody.  I didn’t buy anything.  You know what was NOT grody though?  Yogurttown.  I give a full endorsement to Yogurttown in Dearborn, MI.  Hear that Yogurttown?  If you are reading, I want some free froyo.  And a t-shirt.  Preferably one that says froYOLO.

After our froyo excursion, we hit a secret sale that happened to be really overpriced.  I saw this rubber face reindeer as soon as we walked in:

Now, I previously sold a similar one of these guys on ebay for a hefty profit.  I asked the guy how much this one was, and he started talking about how they are selling on ebay for $75, and how he’s not really sure, and on and on.  

I wanted to say to him, “Are we on ebay right now?  Is this ebay?”  Seriously, we hear this all the time… “Well on ebay that’s sellin’ for blah and blah.”  Cool.  THEN SELL IT ON EBAY.  I would have no problem if people running estate sales pulled the best stuff ahead of time and sold it on ebay for the best price.  But once an item is in a sale, let’s be realistic.  

In the end, we settled on $15 for this guy.  And yes, I will be selling him on ebay.

Here is something I didn’t buy.  Mostly because it has wings on the FRONT of its body, and a soulless face.

I wish I could have bought some of the Jim Shore stuff at the last sale, but it was all priced sooo high.  I’m talking $25-$50 per piece. Here is one piece I took notice of.  It appears to be Santa praying over the body of a dead child.  Am I right?  The child has a halo!  Not Jim’s best work…

I did enjoy shopping this sale though because it was one of those times where peeking into someone’s house turns out super interesting.  Usually we see messy hoarders, but this was the complete opposite.  This person was so neat and clean that they kept all of the tags and plastic on the house lamps!

Two Saturdays ago, I noticed a listing on Auction Zip for a “Farm Fest” in Ann Arbor.  Here’s the flyer:

Community garage sale, you say?  Flea Market?  And an auction?  Sign me up!  The cherry on top was the petting farm.  If I didn’t find any treasures to buy, at least I could pet a sheep or something!

I arrived to Ann Arbor pretty early because the auction was happening first.  When I walked into the auction barn, things were already in action.

People were buying these giant Barbies for $60 each.  

In fact, Barbies were the hot commodity.  There were hundreds of them, all being sold in giant box lots.  A box of about 7-10 sealed Barbies would sell for $100.  I was clearly in the company of some Barbie-loving high rollers.

Some of the other goods included Care Bears, Cabbage Patch dolls, Madame Alexanders, and Littlest Pet Shop Critters.

Did this all come out of one house?  Please tell me this didn’t all come out of one house.  

Anyway, so I’m looking through the aisles of goods, and…what’s this?  A WHOLE BOX OF SASHA DOLLS?!  Someone pinch me. 

Sarah and I had a frantic text exchange about these dolls.  You would have thought we were setting up a drug deal.

I was so nervous waiting for these dolls to go up for auction.  Sarah and I want these so badly!  You’ve all had to read about our Sasha doll obsession a few times now.  And yet, these dolls keep eluding us!  We especially wanted two of the dolls at this particular auction because they looked like us:

Here is mine:

And here is Sarah’s:

Oh whoops, sorry.  That’s another doll that looked like Sarah.  Ok, here is the Sasha doll that looked like Sarah:

So how did things turn out?  Well, terrible actually.  Heartbreakingly terrible.  When the auctioneer got to the box of Sasha dolls, he decided to sell them as a lot!  He really should have separated them out.  I bet they would have gotten at least $100 per doll.  

The whole box sold to a phone bidder for over $500.  I couldn’t justify spending that much on a giant box of dolls, even if I could have sold them all on ebay.  Imagine my husband’s face had I purchased these.  Sarah, however, thought I was a fool for not splurging on them.

After that devastating loss, I headed over to the “community garage sale” and “flea market.”

It was disappointing to say the least.  

I was definitely striking out.  At least there were some animals awaiting me.  I set out to find the petting farm area.  On the way, I watched some guys pull tractors across a field of dirt.

Here’s my tractor:

Just kidding.  I don’t have a tractor.

So as it turns out, the “petting farm” was just false advertising.  The cow buddy above was the only animal at the place.  Whomp whomp.

Despite the letdowns, I actually did have fun at the Farm Fest.  It was a beautiful day outside.  And I did end up with one treasure…some vinegar fries and root beer!

-Erin

As planned, after the secret doll auction last week, we headed over to the Michigan Modernism Expo.  Sarah already regaled us with a new obsession she cultivated at the expo, but this entry will share all of the other goods we saw.

I’ll be honest and say that I’m really not into modernism.  That said, there were some pieces that really caught my eye.  The more rustic pieces in particular were interesting to me.

These are old pommel horses.  Not very practical, but very cool!

If I remember correctly, this woodcarving was by Leon Kroll, who was mostly a painter but dabbled in sculpture apparently.  I loved this so much, but alas, it was $500.

I would put both of these in my house, and I would display them side-by-side as you see here:

I also loved this, but wasn’t sure what need I have for a REALLY EXPENSIVE shopping cart:

In fact, “really expensive” seemed to be the trend of the expo.  I kind of expected this, but figured there would be at least some affordable jewelry or smalls.  Not so much.

Even this thing was like $600:

Doesn’t that look like something I would make fun of Sarah for buying at an estate sale?

Now this is the kind of stuff we came to the expo for:

To me, this is a museum piece.  And it was cool to look at pieces like this in person.  I have to hand it to the exhibitors here, they really did haul in their best stuff.

Here is Sarah (napping?) in a chair.  We call this a “statement piece." 

Another statement piece:

Ok, one more.  This little turtle was the best. Both Sarah and I saw this and were all, "Look at that turtle!”  I love his dumb little face.  I would totally buy this if I was rich:

-Erin

Update from Sarah: I’ll admit it, I didn’t want to go to this thing because I knew it was going to be expensive. Admission itself was $10 but we got in for free because “we’re both students.” Thankfully we both look younger than we are. I think I actually have the same disease as Benjamin Button. Anyway, once I knew I could go for free, I was game. 

Right away, we saw those Charlie Harper prints, and they were also selling Charlie Harper decorative tiles. Even though Erin is the Bunny Master, I also am fond of rabbits and bought this cool tile: 

There was a lot of neat stuff to look at, but like Erin said, sort of disappointing that there wasn’t much to purchase in our price range. I did find a cool vintage shirt for $15, but besides that, pickins were slim. 

At one point, I went to find a bathroom indoors and found myself following a woman with a newborn baby in a 1950s Saks Fifth Avenue stroller. Really? You need your baby to ride in style? 

If Erin does something like this to her child, I’ll walk about 10 feet behind her when we go out together. 

After I got out of the bathroom, I was able to capture the buggy so y'all know I’m not makin’ this up. 

I want to say I’d be less judgmental of this if the poor thing wasn’t screaming the whole time but really, regardless of how happy the baby is in that thing, it still looks ridiculous. 

Here are some other cool things I saw that I’ll never be able to afford: 

I don’t even really like peanuts… I just loved that watch! 

And finally, here are some things of questionable “modern” creation that were for sale:

I will say, however, that that’s exactly what I look like when Erin and I watch scary movies together, so mad props to the artist!  

On Saturday, Sarah and I had big plans to attend the Michigan Modernism Expo, but on the way there we saw a sign that said “AUCTION TODAY.” Sarah turned her car around so fast that I assumed we were driving on two wheels momentarily.

It turns out that the auction was already in progress, and had been for about an hour. This was slightly devastating because everything left at the auction looked really good, so I assume the items we missed were also really good.

The auction was nearly all dolls, which was fine with us. Last time we went to a doll auction, Sarah cleaned up. And twice I have had crazy luck with dolls. First with a lot of dolls that included a German “dream baby” and the second time with an Arranbee doll with Armand Marseille head that I sold for $250.

Both of us blew our lids with excitement when we saw this Sasha doll still in the box. Since we learned about these dolls, we have both wanted one. Remember my fantasy about buying a mini ipad and moccasin boots for the Sasha doll version of me?

This was a “Sasha baby” and not really a “Sasha doll,” but you’ve got to start somewhere right? Because I am such a good friend, it was decided that Sarah would get to bid on this. Unfortunately it sold for like $90, and she didn’t get it :(

We also zeroed in on some Storybook Nancy Ann dolls. Somehow Sarah caught on to these being potentially valuable, and I started researching on my phone to confirm that.

So it turns out that some Nancy Ann dolls ARE mega valuable.

And others, not so much.

I figured out that the bisque dolls in general were the more collectible. The later plastic versions seemed pretty worthless. And it was important that all of the limbs be jointed. Other than that, it seemed like a crapshoot.

Only one of the Nancy Ann dolls at this auction was bisque and jointed, so I took a chance on her. And it seems like my dumb doll luck may have struck again.

Apparently silver shoes on a Nancy Ann doll are very rare. In addition, she has what are called “molded socks.” See those bumps above her ankles? Most of the dolls were smooth, but some had these socks, which were often painted white. In some dolls, like mine, the sock marks are there, but the white socks never got painted on.

Of course, I didn’t know any of this, but when I listed her on ebay, a kind Nancy Ann fan messaged me to tell me all about her. So cool!

I should mention one non-doll item at this auction that sold for some mega bucks. It was this weird mirror sculpture thing. I took a photo of it when we first got to the auction thinking it would make a good “hard to resist” item.

Well, the joke was on me, because this thing was made by Curtis Jere, the moniker of two famous mid century artists. It ended up selling for $700!!

You know what didn’t sell for $700? This box of doll heads:

[Editor’s Note: Sarah ended up buying these!]

-Erin

At the Plymouth auction this week, things felt very garage sale-esque.  That’s not to say I didn’t see anything worth buying, there just weren’t any $200 Art Ross pucks or $400 cast iron banks for sale dirt cheap.

This cigar box had some human hair braids in it, which is NOT CREEPY AT ALL.  I’m shocked that these weren’t mixed in with some women’s underwear and random drivers’ licenses…you know, because that is how serial killers normally store their HUMAN HAIR BRAIDS.

Speaking of creepy, this container had a tiny alien fetus inside:

It was marked “Area 51” on top and was obviously a souvenir from there.  Lemme tell ya, people were going nuts over this alien.  I sat in my seat and just watched as each person would pick this up, look at it for a good 10 seconds, and then look frantically around the room for their loved ones.  They would then mouth to them, “Did you see this thing?!”  It was such a hit.  I got a really good kick out of how much everyone was amazed by this.  It sold for like $20.

I also cracked up over this gigantic walking stick/staff.  It was hardcore Gandalf style.  Zach for weeks now has been talking about buying a walking stick because “it’s cool,” even though he doesn’t really walk anywhere.  He talked about this nonstop, and I would get really worked up over how embarrassed I would be if he started walking with a walking stick.  I was literally begging him not to buy one online.  A few days ago, he finally revealed that it was all an elaborate charade just to get my goat.  And got my goat he did.

I just realized that there actually was one high priced item at the auction.  This turkey platter sold for $300!  I was going to bid on it, but when it passed $30, I was like nevermind.

The platter was flow blue and made by Ridgways of England.  From what I have read online, it was probably from the 1920s or so.  I’m really curious if this was worth the $300 price it sold for, or actually more.  I can’t find anything comparable on ebay.  Anyway, it is always a shock when things sell for lots of money at the Plymouth auction, so everyone clapped when the platter sold.

I was waiting on an old cast iron mailbox to go up on the block.  In the meantime, I bought the following:

A nice giant rug that George and Milo were so kind to model for me.  I’m not sure if this rug is Native American or Mexican, but I sure do love it.  I got it for $5!  It reminds me of the rugs/table runners I bought at auction in Canada.

I also got these Santa sticker things.  I say “stickers” because that seems to be the only reasonable purpose for these.  Maybe I should say “stamps” because it appears that you lick the back of these and stick them on things.  I am planning to frame the whole sheet as is and hang it up at Christmas.

The last thing to note is that Timmy and Joan came to the auction, and they bought a Herman Miller office chair for like $30.  Sold new, the chair is over $500.  FTW!  They were so pumped over this purchase that it kind of made them auction tyrants.  They thought they owned the place.  When I was being outbid on a cast iron mailbox, they started yelling at me, “KEEP GOING!  KEEP BIDDING!  WE’LL GIVE YOU THE MONEY!  DON’T LOSE.”  It was hilarious.  I listened to them for a minute and then bowed out of the bidding because it was up to $75…for a mailbox!  Insanity.  There are tons on ebay for $30-$40.

-Erin

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. 

When I was a child, I was obsessed with a clip on Sesame Street about a girl who brings her llama to the dentist. Anyone remember it? I wanted a llama so bad, but my mom told me I could not have one. (I also could not have any other pets because my brother is allergic to any animal that has fur, hair, or feathers.) I cried and cried when she told me this. I cried a lot as a child. I absolutely do not cry a lot as an adult. Not at all.

So imagine my delight when I found my very own llama at a sale a few Fridays ago!

He’s adorable and handmade and is made with real fur! He actually came with a dorky outfit, but I immediately removed it (leftover habit from childhood–I hated when stuffed animals came with clothes.) I also did some research and this is indeed a llama and not an alpaca, which is very similar.

I was also lucky enough to find a cool vintage book about llamas!

Someone in that house was my soulmate, that’s for sure!

-Sarah