Recent Retro Finds... and My Courtyard!

I haven't been on here for a while but thought it timely to share some of my recent finds :) I randomly saw a garage sale sign when I was driving home from brunch on the weekend and hit the jackpot with cute and cheap retro goodies.

Mushroom cannister trio in perfect condition - $2

Glass flower bowl - 50c

Enamel pot and pan, with handles to be attached, brand new - $5 the set

Ikea floral glasses - $1 for 6

I then splurged and bought this Singer sewing table complete with sewing machine for $150. I love it :) It's pictured here with my retro lamp and some other goodies on it.

 This is my cute succulent collection. The wrought iron wagon is a favourite, it was $25 at a garage sale as part of this years garage sale trail. The wrought iron stand, vintage drawer and the majority of pots (including the big blue strawberry planter) are verge collection freebies!

This is the other side of my courtyard. Again, lots of verge collection finds including the strange fish sculpture and garden gnomes which I spray painted gold. The blue strawberry planter was $8 from a garage sale.

Op Shopping and Garage Sales

Here are the recent buys. I have been to a few garage sales lately and have also stopped into op shops when I have time. I got a little carried away at one of the garage sales (some of the shoes in particular I might not wear...) but hopefully I can resell them for no loss if I so choose.

I absolutely love this vintage hand blown glass vase ($10):

It's pictured next to my milk glass platter which is currently holding a collection of marble and pottery birds (some of which have been chipped by Jack the cat...)

Antique glass (Garage sale in Bayswater)

 This cute little guy was $1, I couldn't resist (Garage sale in Subiaco)

 Bambi / deer wall hanging plate, $4 (Garage sale in Bayswater).

 Shoes!!! $2.50 at Good Sammy's 50% off sale - grey leather heels by Charles and Keith and another synthetic pair which is brand new and perfect for the office.

 Review skirt, a steal at $2!!! Unfortunately it's a size 12 which means it's a little big for me, but I think I can get away with wearing it slightly lower waisted ;) (Good Sammy's)

 Miss Shop skirt, $2 (Good Sammy's)

 Ermis by George Ermis tunic dress with chain detail on sleeves, $15 from Good Sammy's (brand new with tags)

 Brown leather boots from the garage sale, $5 (Garage Sale in Bayswater)

 Cue skirt, $20 (Garage Sale in Bayswater)

 Necklaces for $2 each (Good Sammy's)

Fluro havaianas ($3), Clarks chunky leather heels ($8) and purple and yellow leather heels ($5) - (all Garage Sale in Bayswater)

A Garage Sale on my Street...

On Saturday, I somehow regained my sleeping in mojo. It's very strange - most weekends I wake up at my usual weekday time of 6:30am, and might doze until 7:30am but don't have much luck sleeping past then. Occasionally, as I did on Saturday, I sleep in until midday and then wake up feeling icky from TOO MUCH sleep. Go figure!

Anyway, when I finally emerged from my slumber I drove out of my driveway only to see a garage sale 4 doors down. *Obviously* I had to check it out, and boy do I regret sleeping in! It was fantastic and super cheap, and the owners said they had already sold so much because the buyers started at 6:30am!

Here are the buys:

 A gorgeous lamp, only $20.

Next, a whole selection of funky vintage jumpers for $2 each:

 I absolutely could not go past this bag!

 And even though I don't need it, I couldn't resist the candle holder (pictured in the middle)

The print on this dress is so summery :)

A vintage hat for my next trip to the races (if that ever happens!?)

And finally, my favourite purchase - a carved wooden side table for $20. It looks *perfect* at the top of my stairs!

Garage Sale Trail 2013

Last weekend was the annual Garage Sale Trail. 2013 was the first year this has really taken off in Perth, and I am hopeful that next year will be even bigger and better and that IT issues with the website will be ironed out.

It was basically a Saturday when everyone was encouraged to hold a garage sale, so that shoppers could follow a 'trail' around their area. There was a mind blowing number of sales listed in my area:

Unfortunately I found the website to be difficult to use and the custom map I printed out turned out to be inaccurate, so I was driving around to places where there was supposedly a sale and the map location was dismally incorrect. Luckily, there were enough sales on in the area that I could just cruise around and follow signs that people had put up.

Some of the sales were really overpriced, but most were bargain heaven. I found one in particular which I loved - it was 5 ladies who had come together at one house and the whole backyard was filled with their goodies. They were all self professed 'collectors', and had vintage and unique items galore! I was in heaven!

Here are my purchases :)

KK bag (new) $5 and owl brooch $1:

 

Unusual spice holder $1:

These amazing hand-painted vintage scales are my absolute favourite find:

Vintage jaffle press ($1): 

 
A vintage English chamber pot!? ($5), cute 'washroom' sign for the bathroom door $1, and a cooling rack for my baking $1:

 They threw in this free folk art light switch decoration :):

A designer dress up for Bub who I will soon be visiting in Canberra ($2):

Stylish Geoff Bade cardigan for my grandma ($5):

A 2 level scratching post, in unused condition, for $5! I gifted this to my friend, it's pictured with her gorgeous new kitten on top:

Finally, this cute pot plant tea infuser came brand new in packaging ($1):

The whole haul:

BRING ON THE GARAGE SALE TRAIL 2014! :)

Thrifted Table Centerpiece

I was driving home on a recent Saturday and I saw a Garage Sale sign. This doesn't happen often enough for my liking. I quickly turned into the side street to explore their wares. I came away with this interesting and very large handpainted decorative bowl:

 Titled 'Space Odyssey' and signed 'Lyn '98'. The lady selling it said it's made by a Perth artist, but didn't know anything more about her. Does anyone recognise the style?

Table centerpieces are a personal thing. My Mum hates the bowl, so it looks like it will go into storage until I have a place to display it. This is Mum's current table centerpiece:

Coloured glass vases and silk leaves

Given my love of (and expanding collection of) teapots, I plan to use teapots as centerpieces too. Here are some inspirational ideas:

So easy and yet so effective - this would be perfect for a morning or afternoon tea! Source: Mum of All Trades

Terraniums are en vouge these days, but what about a terranium in a teapot? Source

For a side table - I'm loving this DIY teapot lamp stand. Source

Do you have a table centerpiece? I'd love to hear what yours is, and share ideas!

Linking up with Sophie :)

Popping the Garage Sale Cherry

I have been inspired by some other lovely bloggers to start looking into garage sales - seeing what others have found at such great prices, they seem to be a great alternative to op shopping at actual stores.

There are 2 problems with garage sales:
(1) The early bird catches the worm, and often they finish at midday. I really value my weekend sleep ins and find it extremely hard to wake up early when I know that I don't *have to*.
(2) I find that advertisements are lacking detail about what is on offer, and in Canberra the majority are only advertised in the Saturday paper on the day of the sale. That means that planning ahead is impossible.

Last Saturday I had an early physiotherapy appointment (early on a Saturday actually means 9am...). Afterwards I had a leisurely coffee and cruised around some shops. Then I randomly checked the newspaper, and saw that there was a garage sale right near where I live that was advertising "vintage". By the time I got there it was already 12:30pm, so one would think that I would have missed all the good stuff. But... you just never know, and I found some wonderful items at fantastic prices!!!
 
I have always wanted a wicker suitcase like this one. I'm not yet sure whether I'll use it for decor, as a fashion accessory or as a sewing box (as the previous owner obviously did - there were some needles and thread left inside). The best thing was that it only cost $2:

The inside has this super cute blue plaid material, and it's in perfect condition. I also picked up these 3 necklaces for 50c each:

 

Do I wish I had gotten there earlier? Well yes, I suppose so. I may just have to find a way to get up earlier on weekends and visit some more garage sales...Linking up with Sophie as usual.