A Few Local Finds

I picked up a few local finds this week. First, I have to say that I am a big believer in the local library. Each spring the public library has a book sale. They get rid of the old to make way for the new. And, boy, does the public benefit while helping out the library. I spent $24  and came away with 18 audio books and twelve paperbacks. The audio books were $1 each and the paperbacks were $0.50. That should feed my need for reading material for a while. Why so many audio books? I listen to them on the way to and from work, and on long roadtrips by myself. Audio books are stress relievers on the way to work, and keep me alert on long trips. (Be prepared to fight the crowds and bring your own bags or boxes for your purchases.)

18 audio books and 12 paperbacks - $24

After the stop at the library, I decided to hit a few favorite stops and try out a new one. Relatively new, Heron House is located on Hwy 90 in an old pharmacy location. As soon as you step through the door, you are asked to stow purses, diaper bags, ect. in a locker with a key. You keep the key with you as you browse around the store. The store is arranged in little vignettes. As you wander through the store, you are gently guided through the aisles from the beginning to the end so that you don't miss anything. The items are a little more high end than I usually look for but if you need a whole set of bedroom furniture or a sofa and matching chair, you won't have any trouble finding it here. These items are in great shape and are ready for living - no refinishing needed.

On to America's Thrift Store in Tillman's Corner. My daughter was just telling me that it is just "so tacky" that she doesn't have a sugar bowl to match her Blue Heaven dinnerware. Lo and behold - a sugar and creamer (minus the lid) for $1.49 in America's Thrift! (Don't tell Buster but I stole a lid from his yellow sugar bowl. It fits perfectly!) I don't usually get that lucky to find something that I need when I need it. Next, I came across a bread plate in a mid-century pattern that I love.

The Blue Heaven sugar and creamer - $1.49. The "borrowed" lid fits just right.

Mid-Century pattern (Taylorstone Cathay) bread plate - $0.50

I have to run in Goodwill when I am out this way. I happened to arrive as they were putting furniture on the floor. I spied a small dresser that didn't even have a price yet. The young man rolling it into place said he would send someone right out. The man came out and eye-balled it, and said, "Mmmm, it needs a little work. How about $15.99?" Oh, my gosh! How did I get that lucky??? A new finish and a little loving care, and it will be as good as new - or even better than new! It is a nice solid piece. This little dresser is definitely my find for the week. I love Goodwill!

The missing knob was in the drawer - $15.99

One more stop - a new consignment shop in midtown - Divine Consignment, an electic shop with lots of furniture and housewares. My favorite was the vintage linens. Anyone with vintage dinnerware needs a few vintage linens to show them off. These linens were in near perfect condition. I picked up two cherry blossom napkins to go with my daughter's cherry blossom plates. She will be pleased and surprised. I know I will make repeat visits to this store.

Two cherry blossom napkins - $5

All in all, today was a successful day of thrifting! I may not have been on the backroads, and Buster wasn't with me, but it was relaxing wandering around town and browsing at my leisure.

Spring in the South

Spring is short in the deep south. We usually see a week of beautiful weather and it is gone. This year we have had an extra long stretch of spring temperatures. These mild temps are perfect for treasure hunting and poking through the flea markets that dot the southern landscape.

On a Saturday morning in April, we headed north on I-65. We soon left the interstate for better hunting grounds - the backroads. We took W-158 and then N-45 to Citronelle. We stopped at Citronelle Furniture and Appliance. It was closed! Buster says this little gem has tons of dinnerware and I was looking forward to perusing the patterns. Oh, well. Maybe another day.

Next, we went to little tiny Toxey on Hwy17. We stopped at Nelson's Fabric and Variety Store. This place was a goldmine. As long as you do not mind tightly packed aisles that you might have to turn sideways to squeeze through, you could spend hours and still not see everything! Linens, and quilts, and dinnerware, and the list goes on and on. I found some Russel Wright salad plates for a dollar a piece, a green glass salad plate, and an oval platter and cup - also green. Do you think maybe I like green?

Six Russel Wright bread plates - Iroquois Casual in ripe apricot - $1 ea

Green glass bread plate - 50 cents

Granada oval platter - $2

Granada coffee cup - 50 cents

We were getting hungry and there wasn't much to choose from. We stopped at Hardee's in Butler and had tacos. A word of advice - if you want good tacos, go to a taco place. Buster did enjoy his chocolate milk shake.

We started toward Linden on E-10. We found a new place to stop. In what looked like a converted service station was a pleasant little shop called Scavenger's. It is only open on Saturdays. Minette Henson, the owner, had arranged antique and vintage items on large open shelves around the edge and down the middle of the shop. No squeezing down these aisles! The items were a priced for a variety of budgets, from odds and ends to the serious collector. I found a cute little round green planter, a yellow teapot, and two figurines. I don't usually go for figurines but they look right at home with the green and yellow that I love. I would be interested to know more about the figurines - I am thinking they are from the 1940's but they are in perfect shape so they could be reproductions. They have no markings so if anyone has a clue as to their origins, please let me know in comments.

Round green planter - USA - $4

Yellow teapot - no markings - $5

Two green and yellow figurines - no markings - $4 for both

Well, for some reason, we didn't find a lot of places open today but we did end up with a few finds. And most of all, it was a great day for a ride - On the Backroads with Buster.

Quick Trip Through Baldwin County

The trip started out as a quick trip to a new vegetable stand but the day was mild and the perfect day to put down the top on the BMW. We don't get many of those since this far south we get three months of winter, a week of fall, a week of spring and all the rest is summer. It quickly gets too hot for daytime rides with the top down. And some of you know how painful that sunburn to the part of your hair or the tops of your ears hurts!

With the top down and my freshly fixed hair now crammed into a ball cap, we began a ride in the country. Of course, when we ride, we can't resist stopping at an interesting place or two. There are many over-priced antique stores in Baldwin County but we did find a couple of bargains.

Ballerina Ware, berry bowl in burgundy, only 50 cents

We stopped in thrift store but I was astounded at the antique store prices! They had a cute little cat teapot and creamer. It was $60 for the teapot and $35 for the creamer! I thought that a little high for a thrift store! Needless to say, the teapot and creamer stayed behind.

On to the next stop! Buster is always looking for plant stands. He scooped this one up for $5.


metal plant stand, $5

with plant at the near end of the bench



The day wasn't much for finds but it was wonderful for a ride, On the Backroads with Buster. 

Go West!

We decided to shake it up a bit. We usually head north when we take off on a trip so we jumped on I-10 and headed west. Buster had heard of a flea market just off the interstate reported to be the biggest in Mississippi. We thought we would go check it out.

After an hour and a half, we left the interstate and immediately saw the signs for the flea market. The surroundings were very pleasant - trees, benches on the front walkways, and canvases at the back of each booth to block the sun. We started down the first aisle.

My first find was a Russel Wright coffee cup in blue. (Iroquois Casual)

A bargain at $1!

Soon I came across a whole bag of red buttons for $2 to add to my craft room. Buttons are so expensive that when I come across a good buy, I snatch them up.

Next, Buster came across his find for the day - two little individual creamers. Remember when your mom and dad ordered coffee in a restaurant and the creamer came in little individual servings? My mom didn't use cream and always let me drink it. Funny how the little things are special memories now.

Hall individual creamers, brown with white interior

One more fun find - a green and yellow platter to add to my plate wall in the bathroom. Yellow chrysanthemums on a white background - I don't have a clue to the pattern but it will look beautiful with my other yellow and green plates. Also, the platter was only $1! I don't think I have ever paid a dollar for a platter in perfect condition.

We headed out of the flea market and stopped at the vegetable booth on the way out. The vegetables were no special deal so we got back on the road.

We took a right and started for the beach road. We had not been on the beach road since Hurricane Katrina and didn't expect to see much of anything. We were pleasantly surprised to see more houses than we had imagined would be there. We stopped at an ice cream shop with a little girl's birthday party happened to be in progress. As we enjoyed our ice cream, another little girl came through the door about fifteen or twenty minutes later. She put one hand on her hip and looked at her mom and said, "oh, great, we are late" before marching back to the party. It was just so unexpected, and she looked about fifteen at that moment instead of five!

We stopped at a thrift store. Buster had just asked me if Daisy Dot Dinnerware had saucers. We didn't have any and had never seen any on the road. I really didn't know if any had ever been made. I was shocked to see one right as I walked into the store. For some reason, the store separated the saucers from the cups. I walked to the back of the store and spotted the matching cup. I thought it odd that there was only one cup and one saucer but I was happy to find something that I hadn't found before.

Daisy Dot, Marcrest, cup and saucer

We hit a number of different little shops but you don't find many bargains on the beach road. Time to head for home and the end of another adventure, On the Backroads with Buster.