Estate Sale Finds...

Went to a pretty decent estate sale today! Not as good as some of the ones in the past, but I did manage a real score: a 1957 SIGNED Hollycraft hinged rhinestone bracelet for $20! Apparently, the hinged bracelets are very rare, and retail for $275-$475. Mine is missing a few rhinestones on the underside, but it's hardly noticeable, and I LOVE it! Soooooo shiiiiiiny...

I also got two magazines from 1948 (LIFE and POST) for $3 each. On the back of one of the magazines was an ad for Lucky Strike cigarettes! I couldn't help thinking of Mad Men when I saw it.

One has a fascinating (and scary) article about "fogging" with DDT! It has a picture of a woman eating, and another of children playing, in the "fog." Reminds me of a chapter in Bill Bryson's book, "The Thunderbolt Kid."
I'm the sure the bald eagles are thrilled.

Other items I picked up: a bag of vintage buttons for $2, some lovely old fabric with a garden theme print, several yards of pretty lace edging, a music box, a lovely candy dish, and a vintage white half slip (I have one in black, but have been looking for one in white for ages!!).

All in all, a pretty awesome sale!

A Good Weekend For Vintage

This weekend was like getting free wishes from a magic genie (at least as far as scoring amazing vintage clothing is concerned)! After a morning appointment on Saturday, Ryan and I headed out in the early afternoon to hit a few yard sales and just get out of the house. We stopped by a "vintage and retro yard sale" in Medford, and I purchased the five most lovely 1950's dresses for a grand total of $8! One is even a gorgeous tea-length simple white wedding gown!! It's plain enough to be worn as a "tea party" dress (or even to wear while serving guest breakfasts!). I was quite thrilled at my finds! All of the dresses (except the wedding) require some minor sewing alterations due to loose buttons or slightly larger sizes, but at roughly $1 a piece, I'm not complaining!

On Sunday, Ryan and I did an early morning hay run, and then decided to check out the final day on a 5-generation local pioneer family estate sale.

Here I am, about to leave for the estate sale, dressed head-to-toe in thrifted vintage, and wearing one of the dresses I purchased for $1 the day before.

The estate sale was largely cleaned out, but there were still many fascinating pieces of history! Old photos, books, a Victorian mourning brooch (and OMG - if I'd had the $70 to buy it, you can believe that piece would have come home with me!!), lots of hats (nothing to tempt my discerning tastes however...*sigh*...), and...(drum roll please)...Two absolutely AMAZING pieces of vintage clothing history!!!!

I found two breathtakingly beautiful 1930's dresses. One is a larger-sized light green knitted number with hand-beading around the collar. I believe it's a bit younger than the next dress, and may be closer to 1940s.

However, my true find - and the absolutely most amazing score I have ever made to date - was the stunning purple 1930s dress with a tag from the Fashion Originators Guild! If you are not familiar with this group, here's a brief blurb:

"Fashion Originators Guild was founded by a group of designers who, in trying to prevent copy cats and knockoffs, banded together to create the guild. High end designers used this label during the years of 1932-1941 until it was banned by the US Supreme Court as unconstitutional in 1941."

So not only does this make my dress truly rare and unique, but it also gives me a very small timeline with regard to era. In further researching the label on the Vintage Fashion Guild's website, I can see that it must date from about the mid-to-late 1930s.

WHAT A SCORE!!!

Both dresses were dirty, so I gently handwashed them and laid them in the bath tub for air drying. I am dying to try the purple one on, but must wait. Alas...

More pictures to come once the dresses are ready for modeling! :)

B&B Guests & Farm Estate Sales -
What a Weekend!
This past weekend, we had a 2-night reservation for our larger guest room. The lovely ladies who stayed with us had won a free nights' stay coupon from the 2010 Oregon Cheese Festival Silent Auction (our coupon was part of a larger gift basket up for auction). So they experienced all that our wonderful B&B has to offer at half price! The first morning, we treated them to fresh honey-raspberry-cornmeal muffins (made using our own berries and cornmeal!) as an appetizer. For the main course, they had homemade cherry-fennel granola with yogurt, followed by individual heirloom melon cups with raspberries and mint! On morning #2, there was my own personal recipe flax bread (when drizzled in fresh honey, it tastes like CAKE!), followed by healthy blueberry breakfast cakes (flavored with orange juice and lemon verbena), and a final course of lemony quinoa with maple-sauteed apples. YUM-MY! The guests seemed to have a great time, and enjoyed the farm tour, as well as all of their free botanical bath samples!

This weekend was also when a L-A-R-G-E Farm Estate Sale was being held over in Talent. Ryan and I managed to sneak out on Saturday and visit it. There were so many amazing items for sale! I only had a few dollars with me, but I did manage to pick up a beautiful mink stole and a set of circa 1910-1915 silver spoons and forks (very art deco and GORGEOUS!!). The silverware was 10 cents each - talk about hog heaven! On Sunday, the B&B guests thankfully left early, allowing the whole family to head back down to the estate sale. Sunday was half off at the sale, and we all knew that we needed to go early! On Saturday, I had seen the most BEAUTIFUL double tea set of hand-painted Japanese china. The original price was $35 (way out of my price range), but on Sunday it was only $17.50! We arrived at the sale, and I raced into the room with the tea sets, just barely beating another lady who wanted them. HA! It pays to be small and swift! I hovered over them protectively while Ryan grabbed a box and newspaper to wrap all the pieces up in. Then we browsed some more! All in all, besides the tea set, I managed to grab an $8 oil lamp, an old Liniment bottle for my collection, and a set of lovely linen tea napkins, embroidered with blue flowers. I was quite pleased with the haul-away!

In some ways, however, estate sales always make me sad. It's like watching a flock of vultures (and yes, I know I am included in this statement) descend upon someone's private and cherished possessions. I guess it hits home because I know that someday, somewhere, this is what will become of my own home & possessions. I am a woman whose only family is either estranged or elderly, with no siblings or children...I suppose it's easier to bear because I am still young...Anywho, I don't want to get all melancholy on everybody, so I will quit that train of thought right there.

On a happier note, I am really (REALLY) looking forward to my mini-vacation with Ryan this weekend! For the first time in THREE YEARS, we are getting off of the farm! Things have been so financially tight since we moved here that we have been unable to finance a vacation until now (honestly, we still can't really afford to go, but we decided - sanity-wise - we couldn't afford NOT to go!). We decided to head over to the coast because I have been longing to visit Shore Acres after reading "A Gathering of Finches." Ryan and I plan to spend lots of time beach combing, hiking, and sleeping. It's going to be awesome! And we were truly blessed to have some lovely friends willing to farm sit for us (thank you, Steve & Cenya!!) in exchange for quality time with Gloria. *laughing* Well, okay, a nice house to stay in, a fridge stocked with goodies (both solid AND liquid!), and some thank-you gifts...

We really need this vacation! Ryan's been overloaded at his outside job, and with the last two weekends booked at the B&B, I have basically been working non-stop for three weeks straight. Not to mention that yesterday we also had to do a hay run...We are both EXHAUSTED and desperately in need of some R&R!