Magic Summer: That's What She Said: In The Wild

Every week of my magic summer, Sarah of @thesnugbunglow and I head out to estate sales/church sales/neighborhood sales in search of treasures. Some of this is to resell, and some of this is to add to our own sizeable collections (or our friends/ spouses/ whatever). Unless there's a really interesting looking closet in the listing photos, estate sales don't always hold a lot of promise for me, but it's always worth going and I almost always find something worth my time. And every once in a while it's magical.

This week I somehow managed to beat Sarah there and was actually one of the first people there. Not the very first, though. Oh no, this guy was there and I don't know if he was just getting the lay of the land or what, but apparently bushes and various shrubbery were no deterrent to him.

We do see some interesting people at these sales, and we've come to recognize many of them. He's just become crawling-through-the-shrubbery-guy to me.

Nice warm day, with enough sunshine to make me squint and make Sarah (who is clearly smarter than me) wear sunglasses, but you'll note that she is still wearing a sweater. Actually someone colder than me, folks.

I knew this sale wasn't likely to have a ton I wanted, but I saw this and thought of my friend Bart. He's from the land of the Packers and he has some cool vintage stuff in his basement, so I texted him picture of this. Apparently his grandparents had the same rug so he was very excited about it! The sale was already worth the trip!

The only room with a closet had pretty much nothing in it (boo) but it did have this fun wallpaper. An older gentleman in the room looked and it and said "whew! Where do you plug it in?" ahaha!

I was really befuddled by this. It says"keyboard phone" and it didn't have a slide out or anything... where was the keyboard? Are they counting T9?? What on earth??

And then I flipped it over. Oh. THAT kind of keyboard. Which doesn't play or anything, btw.

Sometimes I show my husband some of the pictures before going to a sale. He thought this was really cool. I did not get this for him.

I did get these for him, even though it meant buying the entire box of leftover disposable paper products that we didn't really need. It was $1.50!

Another item that my husband would have absolutely loved, but I did not get, because I do not need that in my house. Bottoms up! (it's a shot glass if that's not clear!)

Rainbows are a promise, Sarah, not suspenders.

I peeked into the garage to see if it looked worth checking out (it rarely is for me, because tools = yawn). This scared the bejeezus out of me.

And speaking of things that scare the bejeezus out of me....

The only thing I bought for myself at this sale. Let me tell you, in a classroom full of teenage boys, a plastic stapler lasts a week. Less, sometimes. It becomes a weapon, a toy, a noisemaker, a fidget spinner, and who knows what else. It does NOT become something that can staple. A sturdy Swingline like this is a thing of the past, and I wanted it. That beauty is going to staple so many papers this year. I feel you, Milton.

We moved on from there to a church sale near my house. Last year the clothing was a bust, but I felt obligated to check it out anyway. So as per usual, I went to the room with clothes while Sarah headed to the main room with pretty much everything else.

This was the first thing I saw upon entering. It's not Hufflepuff, but I took it as a good sign anyway.

I saw these and thought they might interest Sarah. I was right!

I don't know if you can see how great this dress is, but it's all sparkly and the sparkles start more spread out and get more intense further down the dress. I love sparkly things!

And this one is a different type of sparkly but it still counts! Gold shimmer with a pleated skirt... yes please!

She didn't get one of the hats, because, well.... I think you see why.

Then it happened. IT happened. What I've been waiting my whole life for... well, a year, anyway. Since I discovered firsthand the wonder that is Bakelite and have decided to start my own collection. I bought a couple of spacers as starters last fall, and then at my birthday party, my cousin-in-law Dave (to be referred to as Cousin Dave henceforth) gave me two of the most gorgeous Bakelite bangles.

And guys. Not only are they pretty, but they fit perfectly and the famous Bakelite clunk is so much more melodious than the clack of regular plastic bangles. I'm in love. And want a huge collection. Only they're one million dollars each. And let's be real, the thrill of the hunt is half the fun. I don't want to buy Bakelite from a Bakelite seller. I want to find it in the wild! And this has been my mission.

I walked to Sarah who was at the jewelry table, which is where I expected her to be. She handed me this and said "I think it might be."

We pulled out our handy testing kit (OK, I was overexcited and couldn't find mine in my bottomless pit of a purse so we used Sarah's) and..... drumroll please....

Thassright, folks. Tested and confirmed Bakelite. I even redid the test with Simichrome when I got home and it still passed with flying colors. My first Bakelite found in the wild!! For $1!!!!! Fingers crossed that this won't be the last!

I was flying high, and didn't find anything else for myself at the sale, but it didn't matter. I'd found Bakelite! Some interesting highlights, though:

I love mid-century modern stuff, as any sane person dose, and if I had any use for these I'd have gotten them. So pretty!

These are what nightmares are made of.

This is exactly the kind of thing that I want, don't have room for, and shouldn't buy. But oh, a vintage knitting machine! I know some of my knitting friends will think I'm crazy for leaving it behind.

Because why shouldn't a chair have duck feet?

Finally it was time for the important stuff. Brunch at Magnolias!

Until next week, I'll just leave you with this picture of my current Bakelite collection. May you grow and flourish (and add many more colors), little collection!