Yesterday was the perfect day for a neighborhood garage sale and the stars must have been aligned in my favor because I came home with all of this.
We were in Highland Park, a neighborhood that runs along the side of the Mississippi River in St. Paul. It is full of gorgeous old houses, many with really lovely gardens. I should have brought my camera!
We filled up the truck before noon and then stopped off at Cecil’s Deli for lunch. A true Jewish kosher deli. It took me back to my days of living in Boca Raton, Florida which might have been the last time I enjoyed a legit east coast style Jewish deli. I’m not at all sure what makes them so fabulous. They always have the best pickles, and a fantastic selection of sandwich choices. I had the “Nosher”; turkey, roast beef and swiss on caraway rye. We took away some hamantaschen cookies to nosh on later. Yum!
But … back to the goods.
I found quite a few pieces of pottery.
And I love these old metal glasses. My grandpa used to make us root beer floats in these when I was a kid. I can still remember how cold that metal used to get!
At an estate sale I found not just one, but two fab vintage typewriters.
I’ll confess, I didn’t buy the pair of shutters at a garage sale. I bought them at a cute shop on Grand Avenue. I loved their crackled paint, and I thought they would be perfect for either side of the window in the photo cottage. And look, they are!
I grabbed this pair of vintage sleds because I think they make great decorations at Christmas time.
I’m debating painting on them like I did with this one last year.
What do you think? Would people rather I left them alone? Or added some fun wording?
I also brought home a couple of pieces of furniture that will eventually get a makeover. The little mid-century nightstand is already sanded and ready to be painted, but the former owner gave up before the finish line. I love getting these pieces where someone else has already done the hard part! Unfortunately she misplaced the hardware, so I’m going to have to come up with some great replacement knobs for this one.
So, there you have it. A productive day in Highland Park!
q is for quandie 
Quite a haul! I grew up on those metal glasses brings back memories for me too. Love those typewriters will you keep them or resell? Shutters look great in the photography studio. So what is the cherry/mahogany looking piece? Reminds me of the first tv my folks had. Do you remember when televisions and stereos used come in case goods. Boy howdy has that changed and for the good. And the wagon is a great find I am always looking for a good deal on one.
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Nnk called that piece a ‘server’, which in our neck of the woods is a small sideboard or buffet. Is that a regional thing? Do you call them ‘servers’ in the south? I think it would make a fantastic bar. The bottom (which is just empty, no shelf) could hold the liquor and glasses, and the drawer could contain napkins, corkscrew, etc. As for the typewriters, I am hoping to sell them. They need some cleaning up. I already have a fab vintage typewriter of my own. I do have a niece who keeps saying she wants one just like mine, but I think her parents are hoping I won’t find one!
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Holy Mackerel! You found some great things! I don’t usually go to garage sales because I feel like I’d spend an entire looking and no finding, but you have proved that wrong! Everything you found is certainly what I’d be buying to put in the shop. I never get over loving the vintage ceramic and pottery with their cheerful colors. I’m blogging this week about using even the most drab colored ceramic 1940’s vases. When filled with flowers they come alive. And your aluminum drink set…boy, do I have pleasant memories of holding an ice cold lemonade in a glass like that on a 90 degree summer day.
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I like the neighborhood garage sales because you get so many within the same vicinity. So if even half of them are bad and you buy nothing, you still can end up with a lot of stuff. As proven by Highland Park! I’m looking forward to your post on ‘drab colored’ pottery 😉
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Great treasures-love the typewriter!
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The typewriters definitely need some cleaning up, but the Underwood is pretty fab.
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Oh my! What a bunch of great stuff! As for the sleds, if you already have one that hasn’t been stenciled, then I would go ahead and stencil away. I think everybody needs one authentic looking sled to decorate with. Oh those metal glasses, YIKES! They hurt my teeth just thinking about them, never did like them as a child, but they are great looking! What is the black object behind they sled? That really caught my eye?
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That is a cast iron fireplace grate. It’s kind of fab. I can’t tell if it is old or not. The wheels look old, but the rest of it is in very good shape.
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