Why I Oughta...

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

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

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

Same story as the Disneyland tray from the Wisconsin Antique Mall :  I passed.  But not before picking this thing up, admiring it and giving it quite a bit of thought before, ultimately, putting it down and letting someone else own this. Remember: It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them . But, now, back to this record.  Or ' piece of vinyl ' if you will.    It was released in 1979.  And charted as high as on the Billboard Pop Charts . Here's the track listing: The whole record can be found here on YouTube .  Not so great, if you ask me. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah seems to be the standout.  Here it is: Or Maybe Chim Chim Cher-ee:

Up in Wisconsin, I came across this totally adorable 1 Disneyland "California" tray.  It is about one foot in diameter and super thin with a shallow lip.  Not the kind of lip you normally see on the beer trays like this Schlitzerland one . You can see the price tag on this one:  $18.  And I thought about this thing for a bit, but then I leaned hard on my collecting mantra .  I said it out loud to myself: "It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them."   And after snapping this photo, I put it back for some other collector to pick it up, love it and (hopefully) use it. I'm guessing it is from the 70's, right?  Like the late 70's?  It is in really great condition and *feels* vintage, but isn't *old*. You can click here to see the same photo on Google Photos where you can really zoom in to see all the details.  Go ahead... go over there . Ah, you're back.  Still have that Google Photos tab open?  Gre

Over the years, I've shared my family's experiences at the Walnut Room at Marshall Field's Macy's on State Street in Chicago .  We go every year and have gone since I was just a little guy.  It is something that my Mom organizes and I come to look forward to each season.  I've also chronicled the unfortunate fate of Uncle Mistletoe and Marshall Field's itself . I've also begun to build a document of the annual mugs that are released by the Walnut Room each year at Christmastime. This post has the full reference list that I've built so far.  But, the photo above includes a new one:  1986 featuring Santabear in red outline form 1 .  Or at least that I thought it was Santabear.  But, look at the band on his hat:  Mistletoe.  And if you look closely at the scrawl on the far right you'll see: "Greetings from Mistletoe Bear." What the what?!? Let's go back and look at the history so far on the blog as documented through the glass

Last week, I posted about our trip to the MAGA Antique Mall up in Lake Geneva and how we came across those vintage "Made in Japan" Poinsettia candle holders that we passed on .  Before we were asked to leave by the MAGA guy who runs the place (because...gasp! the boy was playing with some vintage toys!), I spotted this Schlitz glass mug.  They were asking $6 and this thing was H - E - A - V - Y! I've posted a lot over the years about vintage Schlitz stuff , but this mug is a dead ringer for the big Schlitz pitcher that we bought at a flea market last summer .  Seriously... click here for just a second.  And look at the bottom of that pitcher and the bottom of this glass.  Then look at the logo with the thin maroon line around the box.  And the white "The Beer that made Milwaukee Famous" font/mark.   This was totally released at the same time as that pitcher, right?  Had to be part of a set?  Like a tavern would place that pitcher on your table and four of

Up at the Lake Geneva Antique Mall (which...is Trump Country, FYI.  MAGA and all that what-have-yous are involved.  Also, I think it means that Nat might not let us go back.  Also, the fact that the guy asked us to leave because the King of the Ball Tossers was touching toys.  Imagine that!  Toys!), I came across this pair of Poinsettia candle stick holders.  They're marked Napco 1957 on the bottom and have what I assume is a "Made in Japan" sticker that has been smudged pretty harshly. You can see the marks in the photo below. One note:  this did NOT come home with us. I didn't particularly love them.  And we have just gone through a Christmas season where most of our vintage Christmas collection was relegated to an upper shelf in our green room up front where nobody - including me - could see them.  They brought me little joy - and were a pain to unwrap/re-wrap after the season had passed.  Not to mention that Nat had purged about half of the pieces - that

I didn't want to get too far away - calendar-wise - from Halloween before I got around to posting the pics of this pretty awesome vintage McCoy Pottery pumpkin Halloween mug.  Or...at least that's what I thought it was when I came across it the first time.  I saw it, picked it up and immediately turned it over to reveal this mark:  McCoy LTD USA.  Hmmm....McCoy?  But...McCoy LTD? I went to my phone to find out if it was, indeed, the McCoy that we have some pieces of (and my oldest sister Linda collects).  A quick turn to the McCoy Collectors Society page, reveals this subpage all about McCoy Limited .  And if you scroll down, you'll see a pumpkin.  Not this one, but a pumpkin.  And a close read of the copy tells us that this, is, indeed the real deal : Halloween is a favorite holiday of many and is well represented by various sizes of Jack-O-Lantern items. Among these are cups, napkin holder, salt and pepper set, and different shapes, such as different size gh

A few days ago, I posted a photo of some vintage window Christmas candle lights with these sweet orange bulbs that I came across at a church sale in Westmont .  I passed on the candles .  Right next to them (you can actually *see* one of the candles in the photo above) was this sweet flocked Christmas Tree that is adorned with fake poinsettias and this very jolly Santa Claus.  I took this photo and picked up the tree.  Thinking that I really only wanted Santa himself.  Then... I remembered my collecting mantra .  And set it back down on the table.  Hoping another owner came along and put this thing in it's proper place and saving this treasure from the dumpster.

It was just a few days ago that I posted about a vintage plastic Menorah that I came across at an Estate Sale in Elmhurst.  But, today, I'm sharing a photo of another ' one that got away '.  This time, it was at a Church Sale on 55th Street where I found an entire box of these three-candle vintage holiday lights.  With those pretty awesome red/orange flame bulbs.  There must have been ten sets of these in the box and it was a 'name your own price' sale.  But, I leaned on my collecting mantra and passed on them.  Feels like we need to go through a Christmas season before we add more decor for our new place. These things would look awesome perched in the windows of an old house, wouldn't they?  I bet they'd cost a fortune to operate in energy costs, but it would be worth it for a few months, right? Oh, and we have SO.MUCH.STUFF.  We (I) have to stop buying things.  The garage is loaded.  The basement...it is LOADED.  Once we sort things, I think we

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

There I was, minding my own business, driving home when I came across this thing: a converted fridge into a kegerator just sitting on the curb.  Tank, hose, tap.  Everything right there.  Including the - undoubtedly - energy sucking 80's fridge.  There's some ingenuity at work here with the tap coming out the side of the box and the plywood shelf in the bottom to hold up the keg.  I got out, looked the thing over, snapped this photo and thought about trying to figure out how to get it into the van for like 10 seconds.  Texted it to Nat's Dad who said:  "move along".  Good advice in this case, I think.   I drove by a few hours later and someone had stripped the hose, fittings and tap off the fridge, took the tank and left the box.  That was probably the right call.  

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

Over the weekend, I stopped at a few Estate Sales in Elmhurst and while I ended up picking up a few small items, there was one thing that I regret not buying:  this blue McCoy pot.  I snapped a few photos of it and texted them to my oldest sister - who collects McCoy pots.  I set it down and moved on.  I ended up leaving the sale without hearing from her. About 30 minutes later, she texts me back and says she's in love and the price they're asking is 'a steal'.  So, back I go to the sale.  And guess what?  Someone else had snatched up this treasure.  Too bad. I had never come across this size and color of McCoy, so I knew that I should have grabbed it. Would have been a heckuva gift, right?  Oh, well.  As Joe Rhode says : It is enough to enjoy the existence of things without possessing all of them.  I'll post some pics of the items that I *did* end up buying later this week.