Estate Sale Vacation Days

I took two, half-day vacation days this week. For both days I was up at 5:15am and out the door. I went to two early estate sales and would you believe there are people who park motorhomes outside of the estate sale locations and sign up on waiting lists beginning at 4:30am! {Hats off to any reader who might be one of these dedicated estate sale hunters.}

Although I wasn't the first person in the door, I did find some lovely treasures. My favorite find of the day was this biscuit tin with poppies and plaid. It needs a good cleaning but I love the vintage look. Luckily the inside is clean and the dirt is only on the outside surface.

I also found this green biscuit tin, also very dirty but the pattern is so quaint. Both of these tins need a good, gentle cleaning.

I love old world globes and have a small collection so I was thrilled to find this vintage beauty. I did a little research and believe this to be from the 1950s since it still shows Hawai'i as a territory.

The best deal of the day were these vintage games. I got them at a great price. I bought several more but these were the most valuable.

I also found a handful of mercury glass spikes and a few other Christmas decorations. This will be added to my ongoing collection of spikes. I'm curious about the gold spikes at the top of this picture. They have labels that say "Japan" and they look awfully shiny yet the bead at the very end looks like old Mercury glass.

These are Santa cupcake toppers. I love the three skiing Santas at the bottom.

I found a vintage tablecloth decorated with 19th Century scenery.

I also picked up an odd lot of toys including a vintage, wind-up walking turtle (marked Made in Japan), tin train, old hand-buzzers and a wooden Pinocchio toy.

I also bought three little jars of old buttons. In the first jar there were these strange looking buttons. Take a look at the bugs and worm buttons at the bottom of this photo. When I first saw the worm buttons I stopped to make sure they weren't moving before I touched them. Has anyone seen these before?

I returned to one of the estate sales that I visited during the week and found a few more treasures at half price.

This is a set of three pitchers marked Royal Holland Pewter. I loved the sleek lines. 

I also found this mid-century ceramic piece marked Frankoma. 

It was a great three days of thrifting. 

Happy Mother's Day!

This is linked to:

Apron Thrift Girl, Coastal Charm, Common Ground, Creating a House of Grace, Finding Fabulous,  French Country Cottage, It's a Very Cherry World, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, The Shabby Chic Cottage, The Shabby Nest, The Thrifty Groove, The Thrifty Home and Very Merry Vintage Style