Bird-in-Hand, Blue Ball and Super Guys

Last Friday was my take-off-from-work-and-try-out-my-new-minivan day. And it was fabulous! I first went to Shupp's Grove in Adamstown, PA for a few hours. And then I headed north to Renninger's in Kutztown to meet the lovely Sue from Vintage Rescue Squad. (And then we had a few beers here, if you need to know the post-junking details.)

Doesn't every flea market have a "linens lady" who seems to have lots of good cheap linens. Shupp's Grove has one of those ladies. I think she steals them from the washline at old folks' homes. This quilt was ten dollars. It is not in perfect condition, but it is definitely usable and beautiful. The bottom line is that it has no brown stains.

One vendor had a ten dollar table, but gave this chalkboard to me (the bigger one) for five dollars. I didn't even ask for a lower price. I just looked at it for a minute, and then she walked over and said that she would go lower. Ummm....okay. She was selling the chalk line-maker thingy and the penmanship book separately, so I snatched them up, too.

A husband and wife team was selling a huge array of new old stock. Or is it old new stock? I don't know - my head hurts. It is new, unused stuff from old stores. There were sanitary napkin disposal bags, aspirin tins, matchbooks, price tags, donut boxes (sans the donuts). And lots and lots of notebooks, composition books and writing tablets from the 1940s and 50s. That's what I bought.

The Lucky Star notebooks are known for the prizes that you can win if you send in your proof-of-purchase (the star on the cover).

Unfortunately, you have to do A LOT of notebook-buying in order to earn a prize. If you send in 25 stars, you get eight photos of movie stars. Fifty stars gets you a fountain pen. Wow.

I found a stack of circus signs from one of the regulars at Shupp's:

This corner shelf is rockin' some nice curves. Those scallops along the bottom are cool, but the back of the shelf is hiding the best part...

The shelf was made from an old "Leather" sign. I wish the wording was on the front of the shelf, but most people probably wouldn't like it that way. It is sitting on an aluminum Goodform chair that I found at Renninger's.

I usually prefer older typewriters, but I loved the mint green keys on this Hermes 8 Typewriter. This is the same model that was owned by Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. That one sold at auction for $25,000 last year.

We are having a big Holiday Open House at the Brandywine View Antiques on November 6th & 7th, and I've been on the lookout for vintage Christmas trees. I never see them at flea markets or yard sales. Until I hit Renninger's! Yay!

It is a four-foot high Silver Glow aluminum tree. The vendor took 15 minutes to take it all apart and put each branch into its sleeve.  I can't wait to put it back together again.

I've been buying lots and lots of folding rulers in the past few weeks. I love how each one has a different color painted on the top. I think it was Michele from Perch Home who first showed me how to fold them into stars. I'll be decorating our space at Brandywine View with lots of stars this holiday season.

This yellow & aqua stool is probably going into my kids' bathroom. It is a nice match for the rug that I recently bought from Garnet Hill. Not only is the rug the perfect size for our bathroom, but it has my "signature colors" - aqua and lime green. It costs way more than I would normally pay for a bathroom rug, but I found myself staring at it every time we'd get a new issue of the Garnet Hill catalog. Yes, I was obsessed with a rug that will end up covered in pee and pink toothpaste. Oh, well.

I scored this set of five books by Madeline Brandeis and Bernadine Bailey, each featuring a different child from a European country. They were published between 1929 and 1935.

These cubbies are the dirty, vintage version of Ikea's Expedit shelf series. But - the lucky person who buys this from me won't have to spend three hours putting it together!

Remember my blog post that had a crude reference to Intercourse on a pillow in the title? That's the post where I mentioned some funny town names. Well, I found a bunch of cardboard signs with a few strange Pennsylvania towns at Shupp's Grove. Alas, there was no Intercourse. And you know what happens when there is no Intercourse? Yes - Blue Ball. Or Bird-in-Hand. I guess it just depends on your mood.

I only get to shop with Sue a few times a year (if I'm lucky). We had already planned to do a swap of something that each of us liked on the other's blog. She wanted my wooden Underwood Typewriter box. And I wanted her Basketball poster for my kids' playroom. Perfect. But Sue always throws something extra in the mix.

I did think it was a little odd when I read the box that she handed to me in the parking lot. "A Gift for a Super Guy". Ummm...when last I checked...

This is way better than any of the purchases I made that day.

I know!! Now my peter heater has a cock sock companion! They are certain to be lifelong friends. But - I am a little concerned that my old peter heater might be a tad envious of his more - ahem - patriotic friend.

Comments

[Wanda @ Just Vintage]

That Sue's a good'en, isn't she?

The chalk line drawer? I have had one for years and years and years... and years.... and... years... and never could figure out what it was or what to do with it. Now I wonder if I finally ditched it or if I can run across it in a box some day and say, "Aha!"

[bogglemama.com]

Thanks, Colleen, for giving your old mother a rip-roaring, belly bouncing, kick-start to her Saturday morning. You are too funny !

[Lisa]

Oh Colleen, I can always count on you for good goods and good laughs. Loved this post. So glad you had fun with Sue. I'm sure the two of you together can do some serious shopping damage. Have a great weekend!

Lisa

[Kim Campbell]

ROFLMAO! I bought one of those for my college boyfriend one year! lolol!

[Sadie at Serendipity]

Sanitary napkin bags - only you! Teehee!! A cock sock/peter heater must be a Southern thing - I've never found one locally....or they all may be in use!

[Erin]

so funny! love the white shelf with the leather sign and the peter heater for the well-endowed.

[Sherry]

Hi Colleen.....The chalk-line-maker thingy is to used to draw the 5 lines for music notes. It sure brought back memories of grammar school music class when things were much more low-tech and a lot of young girls took piano lessons.

[Lexi Bridges]

I am dying over this post! WOW--those are finds I would only dream of finding locally...especially that vintage cubby unit!!! I have been wanting the Ikea version for my crafty space, but the one you found really is SO much better!!

[grasshopper]

Snissy says you are a power shopper. Great haul - I wish I could have joined you. But this is a business inquiry. How much are you planning to sell the brushed steel chair for? And are you going to reupholster or leave as is? I bought the same chair many moons ago and haven't put it out yet. Thanks!

[Santa Claus]

Wooow... less than 100 comments!!... I have to take advantage of this and write my comment on your web site... ok... what should I write??... mmm, I don't think my criminal history would help me gain your sympathy, uh?? haha... in any case, I just want you to know that I believe you're a terrific blogger and writer... so, thanks for that.. now I know I'm not a robot. well, this post is gettin' too long to be read, so i'll stop now...

[Randi]

Hey Col - I don't want to sound like a complete freak or in any way disrespectful of the Super Guy's naturally curly chest hair, fantastic taste in both plaid jackets and knitted goods, and - um - remarkable assets....but am I the only one who thinks it's a little Dawn of the Dead that his legs end in fluttery ripped pants with no feet? I'm thinking that may just outweigh the oversized peter and manly square chin in the attractiveness department. I'm just sayin'.