Why I Oughta...

Over the years, I've written a few times about the Chicago Athletic Association . It is NOW (or...I suppose when I say "now", I really mean pre-COVID because I haven't been anywhere near the CAA for a couple of years) a hip, boutique hotel with a great rooftop bar (Cindy's) and a cool lobby-adjacent bar and gameroom . But, that's the place's second life. The first life was as the real-deal Chicago Athletic Association. A membership-based club like the Union League or University Club. Old-school. It also was the place where my oldest sister was married. All the way back when I was in high school. I also was invited to have a few lunches there from Tom Roeser back in the aughts. Was always a lot of fun to hear Tom tell stories. Years after that, the club failed.  I think the membership aged out, the value of the real estate was too high and they couldn't make it work.  But, it was always a place that was on my radar.  And, because it was around

I bought this Men's Valet from an Estate Sale in Elmhurst about five years ago for like $5.  It was cheap and I bought it on a whim.  It has sat in our closet since we moved in, but I never really *used* it like it was supposed to be used.  It is a really adorable piece of furniture, isn't it?  I mean, who wouldn't want a valet?  And look at those lines? Recently, Nat moved it out of our closet and it ended up in the garage.  So, off it went to Craigslist to find a happy home.  And sure, enough, it didn't last long.  Someone came and picked it up.   I took these photos out on the driveway before we parted ways. So, I'm filing this one under 'one that got away', but this time it was on purpose.  I sold it.  For a profit, too! Did I adore this thing?  Yeah.  But, say it with me : It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them. Take a look at the valet features, though.  Tray for a nice watch or your wallet or change or

I've posted about a bunch of the [ vintage glasses ] that I've picked up at garage sales and such over the years here on the blog.  I've bought many of them because they were the same glasses that I had when I was kid and they reminded me of a time in my life.  Others, like this Chippette's one are something from Nat's childhood .  At the Twin Lakes Estate Sale that I've posted about a bunch recently, I came across this set of vintage glasses that includes a couple of the Carebear ones from Pizza Hut, a Pac-Man one, a Looney Toons one and in the back the "I hate music" ones are from the Smurfs.  You can see the price tags that they were asking $3 a piece for these on Friday.  I went back on Saturday and they were gone.  I've bought a couple of these Carebear ones, but I don't seem to have posted about them here on the blog.  One of them, the Babe dropped and broke.  But, I know I have one of them in the cupboards somewhere.  I'll

I went to the Estate Sale that I've posted about recently on a Friday morning and took some photos of things that I've posted about here on the blog.  All of them, I was at least *comfortable* with passing on after saying my mantra to myself.  But there was one item that I wondered if I should go back for:  this Disneyland vintage felt pennant from Walt Disney productions.  After showing it around to Nat and her family, it seemed like I was drawn to this.  You can see that they were asking $5 for it on Friday - which I think (for me at least) is too much.  But, I went back Saturday knowing that they'd have 50% off of everything and more willing to deal.  The pennant was still there.  Marked down that 50%.  But, I offered $1 and they took it.  And now this vintage pennant from (what I think is) the 1960's is hanging in some of the blank space of my Disney pin boards hung in the garage .  I just tacked it up there for now to keep it from getting creased and folded,

There's a few more post-worthy items that I came across at the big Estate Sale up in Twin Lakes including this Millers Falls plane.  My brother-in-law has a few vintage tools and a couple of nice planes, so whenever I come across one, I usually check it out.  Normally, if they're Stanley and less than $5, I will grab them. This one is from Millers Falls - which I had not come across before - and they were asking $12.  So, needless to say, this one didn't come home with me. As for Millers Falls, turns out, they were trying to make planes that were *different* than Stanley.  And that red background - behind the work mark - was part of their key difference.  From this "Old Tools Heaven" post : When the Millers Falls Company introduced its new line of hand planes in 1929, it needed a way to differentiate its products from others already on the market. The identity problem was compounded by the fact that all of the new models were knock-offs of existing Stanle

After having posted a bunch of items that I passed on (or 'got away') at a recent Estate Sale, I figured I'd post some of the items that we *actually* bought - starting with this cast iron toy.  The King of the Ball Tossers tagged along with me to the sale and he asked if he could have a little bit of 'pocket money'.  Sure, I said.  He naturally gravitated towards the toys and found this vintage cast iron horse and buggy "fresh milk" delivery wagon.  It is three-piece with the horse/harness, the delivery wagon and the driver being independent pieces that each latch to each other.  We picked it up and they were asking three dollars.  I coached The KotBT to go up to the Estate Sale host and say:  "What's the best you can do on this toy?"  Of course, the guys were warm-hearted and smiled when he opened the negotiations.  He quickly waved his one dollar bill and the guy said:  'for you....I'll take it'.  And that's how we we

Continuing the series of items that 'got away' from a recent Estate Sale up in Wisconsin.  First there was the telephone chair .  Then Da original Mare primary poster .  Then the Snoopy bank from my childhood.  Today, it is this set of beautiful Christmas ornaments.  I've bought plenty of vintage glass Christmas ornaments from Estate Sales and Garage Sales over the years.  But they were almost always a deal.  Like $1 a piece.  As you can see in the photo above, this sale had a heckuva collection.  Some really nice ornaments.  But they were asking $5 a piece for each of them.  Too rich for me.  I took this photo on Friday and knowing that they cut the prices on Saturday, I went back.  And all of these were gone.  At 50% off, they're closer to being the right price for me.  But alas, they weren't meant to be.  Seems that how I value these is off from the market?  Good data point for when I come across more ornaments in the future.  Seems that $2.50 is the po

Another day, another post of an Estate Sale item that got away.  This one, too, is from the Twin Lakes Estate Sale that I visited a few weeks ago.  First, I shared the photo of a telephone desk .  Then the Mayor Daley (first one) Primary campaign poster . Today, is this glass Snoopy bank.  It has a slot at the top for coins.  You can see in the background that this guy was a Peanuts collector.  He had a bunch of Peanuts stuff, but none of it was of interest to me except for this bank.  I have posted another Snoopy item that I picked up at a Goodwill - a Snoopy political glass . Why this bank?  Because we had one of these in my house when I was a kid.  I remember it well and remember that it didn't have a hole on the bottom to let any of they money out.  The only way to get dough out of this thing was to smash it.  One of my sisters used this and she stuck dollar bills in it, which gummed up everything even worse.  With the slot and *just* coins in there, you could kind of ti

Yesterday, I posted a photo of the telephone desk that "got away" from an Estate Sale in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin and mentioned that there were a few other items that I came across that I had to resist a pretty strong urge to buy.  The first one of these items that got away (hence the OTGA mention in the post title) is this "Good for Chicago" re-elect Mayor Richard J. Daley primary poster. Based on this story , this appears to be from Da Mare's 1975 primary where he trounced a 34-year-old Alderman named William Singer, a prosecutor named Edward Hanrahan and a black State Senator named Richard newhouse.  There was a smattering of political memorabilia at the Estate Sale with most of it being from Chicago politics, so I'm assuming that the family moved from Chicago at some point to the lake house in Twin Lakes.  Remember:   It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them.

For the past few years, I've been on the hunt for a telephone desk.  For those of you who aren't familiar with these telephone desks, you can see an example of one above.  Telephone desks come in various shapes and sizes, but the basics are a bench or chair with a small desk attached to them.  The most popular ones today seem to be mid-century modern ones with peg legs and sleek (at least more sleek than this example above) lines.  I came across this one at an Estate Sale up in Twin Lakes Wisconsin but as you can see from the title of this post, this one is marked as 'one that got away'.  They were asking $25, but I took this photo on Saturday, so it was 50% off.  $12.50 for a telephone desk is a fine deal, but since this isn't exactly what I've been looking for, I remembered my collecting mantra , breathed deeply and said to myself: It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them. I'd say that this is the third or fourth

I've written a few times about the Chicago Athletic Association here in Chicago over the years .  It is a place that holds a special meaning in my my life as it was where my oldest sister was married back in the early 1990's.  It has since been reborn as an uber-hip hotel with a cool rooftop bar (Cindy's).  I've been there for both drinks with friends and also work meetings/events .  On a couple of occasions, I've come across artifacts from the CAA at stores and estate sales.  Nat and I have bought a few serving pieces for my sister and her husband and given them as Christmas/birthday gifts over the years.  The CAA has a wide variety of serving pieces and dishes that have been sold/taken that have shown up in the market online, too.  This is a silver spoon from Reed and Barton that I when I saw it, I knew that I had to buy it.  When you pick it up, you notice that it is old.  It is tarnished and just feels old.  It is heavy yet delicate.  A look at the end

About three years ago, we stopped at an Estate Sale at this beautiful white house on York Street in Elmhurst, just south of St. Charles.  After looking around, we were told that the house is the old "Hill Cottage Tavern" that was once located on Cottage Hill Avenue but was - at some point - moved to it's current location .  The house was up for sale and if not for the location, would have been SUPER hard for us to pass up . We bought a few things at the Estate Sale, but one of them is this plate that you see above.  We bought it and then 2+ years ago, it went into storage only to be unwrapped and discovered as we unpacked our stuff at our #NewOldFarmhouse. On the back of the plate are the details:  it was made by the York State Bank and Trust Company and this plate was made for their 55th year.  They made 1000 of them and this one is #538. Once we saw it unwrapped, Nat knew immediately what we needed to do.  She quickly came to the conclusion that this plate

In the basement of an Estate Sale in Elmhurst,  I came across this vintage lighted menorah amongst the pile of old Christmas and Halloween stuff.  I picked it up, took this photo, then set it down.  I didn't buy it, so I'm filing this under [ One that got away ], but now that I've gotten around to posting this, I'm kind of regretful for passing on it.  Those of you who know what has happened/been discovered in my Mom's family over the past year probably have a little smile on your face.  I can only imagine whipping it out at the holidays this year to uproarious laughter. Thus, part of me is regretful and part of me is remembering my collecting treasures mantra .  Say it with me: It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them.

I've posted quite a few times about the various brass 'critters' that I've bought at garage sales, antique malls, estate sales, etc over the years.  The most recent was t his little Fox letter holder from an Estate Sale in Downers Grove .  This weekend I stopped at a few Estate Sales including one in a giant house in Oak Brook.  Amongst that massive amounts of stuff (and the biggest crowd I've ever seen at an Estate Sale), was this giant brass deer.  Laying down, it was at least 3 feet tall including the antlers. I snapped a photo and sent it to Nat.  But, the timing is the thing for us.  We're this/close to having a new place to live where we'll be reunited with our stuff from storage.  We don't quite know where things can go/live and that's a big part of buying something like this, right?  Picturing where it could go in your house? Alas, this one is being filed away in the [ one that got away ] category.  Hopefully another buyer fell in love an

Pay no attention to the various bag chairs and blankets and strollers and softball gear in the trunk of the minivan in the photo above.  There are two things in this photo that I'd like you to focus on.  First, the big, box from Da-Lite that includes a Slide and Movie Screen on a tripod.  Second, the angel topiary frame laying on it's back below the box.  Both of these items were scored at an Elmhurst Estate Sale recently when I was out with the kids on a Saturday morning.  The screen was just $2 and is in perfect shape.  You pull it out of the box, flip down the tripod and yank up the screen.  It isn't HUGE, but I think measures 48" tall by 48" wide.  And it is a silver screen - which, evidently is 'made for color'.  Kinda love that. This thing was made for home use and was probably meant for people to show off a slideshows of their vacation when that was a thing.  For us?  It will probably replace the bedsheet and become our outdoor screen in the ne

A few weeks back, I stopped at an Estate Sale in south Elmhurst and came across a house that was basically frozen in the 60's and 70's.  They had a lot of interesting furnishings and built-ins, but nothing seemed like a fit for us until I wandered into an upstairs bedroom and saw this lamp.  It is a tall, floorstanding lamp that has a wood (teak, maybe?) base that is made up of three 'prongs' with a bronze/gold rod running up the middle.  The shade, as you can see, has a butterfly scene on it, but it is totally replaceable and appeared to be a standard-size shade that you could easily buy today.  I really liked the base and how the legs give that Mid-Century/Danish/rocket-age look to it.  I also love how the teak blows through the top of the shade. This was a deal, I think based on this one listing I found that shows a pair of companion table lamps that were listed for $625 for the pair.  They'd be a great grouping put together, right? Here's a screensho

Earlier this week, I posted a photo of a felt Christmas mouse ornament from an Estate Sale, but it wasn't the only Christmas item that I came home with that day: I also got this Santa.  He's all gangly and has wire 'pose-able' limbs with a cute wooden face.  And those eyelashes, right?  There's a pretty strong legacy in the vintage Christmas world it seems to have a strong eyelash game.   Here's an angel ornament with some serious eyelashes .   Then there is this deer with major eyelashes .  And this pair of ornaments with strong lashes, too . This Santa has a weird belt that you can see up higher than his waist.  It isn't connected anywhere and is bigger - around - than the white band at his waist.  In our new place, I'm sure we'll find a place for him come November.

A few weekends back I stopped at a few Estate Sales both in Elmhurst and in Downers Grove including one at this really neat house that was built in the early 1910's for some wealthy family as their 'country house' - at least that's what the folks running the sale said.   Here's the property listing of the house that, unfortunately, I'm thinking someone will buy for the land and tear the place down.  Like a lot of older houses, the layout isn't what works for families today, but the land?  My gawd.  Not just a lot of it.  But lots of mature trees, different elevations.  Really, really great. Inside the house, there were lots of treasures, but just one came home with me:  this brass fox 'letter rack'.  Hard to tell from this angle/photo, but between the fox and the fence is a gap that allows you to stand up/hold mail/cards.  Check out t his Etsy listing that has some photos of a similar piece that show how envelopes stand up in there.  Kinda coo

I gawked at this kitchen table and chair set at an estate sale a few weeks back in Elmhurst.  Such a neat set, right?  Look at those chairs and the legs on them?  I think if you were a serious buyer and had a home for this, it was going to be yours for a great price.  The chairs needed to be refreshed, but the tabletop was just fine.  I thought about buying it for like 10 seconds and then realized that: 1.  we don't have a place to live that is our own right now. 2.  we don't need a set like this. 3.  I'm not the guy who makes home furnishing decisions in our house. So...say it with me folks: It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them.

Over the weekend, we packed the kids into the minivan and drove around Hinsdale looking at some houses/house features as we work to finalize our own house.  We saw some pretty beautiful places, but we also came across an Estate Sale.  Which.....I couldn't *not* go in, right?  It was a nice, old house on the outside, so my hunch was that there'd be some gems inside. After waiting for my number to be called (yeah...it was one of those Estate Sales.  Where they had you pull a ticket like you do when you're waiting at the deli counter.), I got in and poked around.  Nothing.  At least for us.  So, I went outside to the garage and discovered something!  They had a few cases of vintage 3 1/4" glass ornaments in their original boxes.  That's the side of the box above and the top of the box below.  They say "American Made" from Coby Glass Products.  If you poke around on the web , it turns out that Coby likely didn't make these, they were using Corning bl