Gosh, I’ve had so much to post about this week that I almost forgot to share my finds from the last big neighborhood garage sale of the season, St. Anthony Park.
Last Saturday was a beautiful, sunny fall day. The day started out crisp, but we were able to ditch our sweatshirts by about 10 a.m. as it warmed up.
We were savoring every minute as the garage sale season will really start to dwindle here in Minnesota now that it’s October.
Our first stop of the day was a sale that had lots of great free stuff last year. This year was the same, we had to take a trip to the car to unload our free stuff before going back to look at the priced stuff.
This junkalicious box of nails was the first thing I grabbed from the free pile.
Not only is the box awesome, but I’m always hunting around for nails! You will almost definitely see this box being given a new life down the road though, I’ll find another spot for storing the nails.
One of the things I purchased from the sale was this really cool school cross-guard sign. It’s made out of metal and is quite heavy. I think it would be adorable hanging on the wall over a desk in a kid’s room, don’t you?
I also nabbed a couple more boxes of vintage ornaments. Aren’t these colors just devine?
I purchased this trio of vintage cookbooks because I have a petite antique secretary desk (yet to be painted) and these will be perfect for staging it. When I brought the desk home I tried to sell my sister on the idea of putting it in her kitchen and filling it with cookbooks. She declined, but I still love the idea.
I found several other old books as well, including another old Swedish bible. I love when they have old writing on the flyleaf. This one seems to have been presented to Hilda Johansdotter on the occasion of her confirmation in 1892.
It came with the added bonus of some pressed flowers.
I wonder how old those are?
The binding on the bible has detached on one side and I found this really interesting.
The spine is lined with a … what is that? a bookpage? a flyer of some kind? Since it’s in Swedish, I can’t read what it says. And it’s upside down. Did someone add this at some point to protect the spine of the book? Or did they make books this way? If any of you have seen anything like this before, please let me know in a comment.
Did you notice our Funky Junk signs in that first photo?
The gal who was selling these mentioned that she had been planning to open a shop, but her plans fell through so she was selling off all of her stuff. She had piles of signs made with stencils from Donna at Funky Junk. The Farmhouse sign is for me, and the Bakery sign is for Debbie. It’s going to look cute hung in her kitchen.
Another item I just couldn’t resist was this adorable vintage nursery light switch cover.
Whenever I bring home a really wobbly dresser for Ken to repair, I tell him it’s another humpty dumpty in honor of the first dresser that Ken totally disassembled and put back together again.
I think I might hang onto that photo of the light switch cover to use every time I share another humpty dumpty with you guys!
One last thing I’ll share today is this sweet little dresser.
You aren’t going to believe the price tag on this one. It was FREE!
I know, crazy, right? Near the end of our morning we passed a house with a pile of furniture at the curb. As we were looking it over, the owners came out with another piece of furniture and said “everything is free!” Seriously?
Of course at this point we had limited space in our vehicle, we had room for just one piece. I think I picked the cream of the crop. It has already been over to Ken’s workshop for a few little repairs, I’ve stripped and waxed the top, and last night I painted it. It’s looking pretty amazing so far, so be sure to stay tuned to see how it turns out!
q is for quandie 
That dresser is amazing and free is always a good thing.
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It needed a bit of work, but Ken fixed it up quite handily. I’ll be sharing the ‘after’ next week, so be sure to stay tuned!
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Free? I think you have found the mother load of wonderful things, lucky you! What is so strange is that there are sales where you and the seller have the same tastes and other sales where your tastes are just not simpatico. Sometimes, you don’t even finish walking up the driveway and other sales where I’ve stayed so long I might be invited to lunch.
What great finds, I am jealous, especially for that dresser, I love the hardware.
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My co-worker and I went out at lunch yesterday and ended up at one of those sales where you want to turn around halfway up the driveway. Oh my, it was bad!
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I love the vintage sled! That is super cool. What are you going to do with that?
Vonda
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Well, the guy who sold the sled to me said that it still works great. I don’t actually plan on attempting to slide down any hills on it tho. But wouldn’t it be cute just as an outside decoration for the winter? Maybe filled with evergreens? It would also be the perfect prop for a winter photo shoot with kids. Ultimately, I’ll probably sell it at Reclaiming Beautiful though.
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I grew up in St Anthony Park! I just started following you when you were linked to Miss Mustard Seed and her workshop at Carver Junk Co that I had signed up to attend. I look forward to meeting you that day. Fantastic picking finds at the garage sales!
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And you have the same name as my grandmother Carrie! A good Norwegian name 😉 St Anthony Park is such a lovely historic neighborhood, I bet it was fun to grow up there. Be sure to say hello to me at the workshop!
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My paternal grandmother was 100% Norwegian and my great grandmother was cook to the Lady-In-Waiting of the Queen of Norway! 😊
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Oh my gosh! My grandma Carrie was also 100% Norwegian, but I’m pretty sure she did not know the Queen 😉
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Oh how fun! I love days like that were you just have wonderful “finds”, the last sale I was able to go to was one of those that claimed to be a HUGE SALE but really only had stained Tupperware. I love that nail box, that is sweet!
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Ugh, the dreaded Tupperware garage sale. I’ve been to plenty of those in my day too 😉
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Wow! Great finds and great free stuff. Love that stop sign. That dresser is a great find. Looking forward to seeing it painted.
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The dresser is almost done and it looks amazing (if I do say so myself). I’m looking forward to sharing it with you guys!
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What about the sweet little bikes and the skis and the chairs and the linen and the metal containers? What are your plans for those?
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I’m saving some of these things to take to Reclaiming Beautiful for Christmas, like the little tricycle. There is also a little scooter next to the tricycle that is hardly visible in the photo. The linens you can see hanging out of the dresser are a pair of vintage pillowcases and they are embroidered with horses. I’m debating whether to keep those as a gift for a certain ‘horse’ person we know 😉
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Great Finds as always! Love everything you picked out.
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Thanks Cilla!
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Such great finds! Looking forward to your plans for that “push sled.” This sale is just right down the road from me so you can be sure I will check it out next year!
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Last year it was held mid-September, and this year the last weekend in September. So be sure to keep an eye out for it as they seem to be moving the date around.
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GAH!!!! Serious sale envy over here! The signs, the skis, the bible…I love how the names say whose daughter they are. I am Jon’s Daughter, so Jonsdotter, close to Johansdotter 😉 Cannot even believe that dresser for free. Score!
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The skis were free too Meggan! And you should have seen me hemming and hawing over whether or not to take them. Finally I just said “what the heck, they are free!” I’m debating whether to leave them ‘as is’ or paint them and add some graphics of some kind. What do you think? They are old, but more like ’70’s old’ v. ‘antique old’.
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I see you have a vote to paint the skis, but I would leave them! I love the colors and they do look retro in a cool way!
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Hmmmm. Decisions, decisions.
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Love your finds! It makes me miss my previous home, St. Louis, when you could find great garage sales and free stuff out on the street! I love the dresser and the sled, well all of your treasures. On the skis – I think painting them and adding stencils like the vintage ladders you just did would be great. Perhaps something for a Christmas porch? Looking forward to seeing what you do with all of you finds!
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We must think alike Laura ‘cuz that’s pretty much what I was thinking with those skis. Something similar to the ladders. If I went with something like “Let it Snow” they can be out all winter, or I can go more Christmas-y with “Merry & Bright” or something along those lines.
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How fun garage sales are! Fall is a great time to find great bargains. Why is that? People cleaning out for winter? Maybe. You got some great finds. Can’t wait to see the dresser finished. I am sure it will be fantastic!
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I do think people start ‘nesting’ for winter. I know I do. I’ve got a ‘donate’ box going in my carriage house right now, stuff I need to just get rid of!
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Hey, do I get to go through that donation box before you get rid of it?
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Sure. Although it might be a pretty disappointing experience 😉
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Wow, you hit the jackpot!
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For sure!
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OH. MY.
What a fun day! I love all of your finds…every single one. That school sign…
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I know, right?! That sign is so fun.
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I was wondering if you were going to sell the school stop sign?
>
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Yes, I am. If you’re interested, feel free to send me an email at qisforquandie@gmail.com. Thanks Debbie!
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Quandie! Your love of writing has won out and you’re posting so much more often! (no, I’m not a “stalker” either!) So, here I am in Los Angeles drooling over your your yard sailing opportunities……trying to even IMAGINE stumbling upon an ancient Swedish bible…..ha ha…..not gonna happen. I told my husband that I was tempted to fly to Minnesota and, say, Indiana, and rent a U-Haul and go yard sailing and then drive home……maybe next summer! One question: do you ever see Mr. Q? What with your day job, yard sales, and all that painting? It is said that the busier you are the more you get done?
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Actually, I think there probably are people who do exactly that Connie (the uHaul thing I mean). I once sold a mid-century credenza to a couple that were going to load it up and take it to New York City. I believe I sold it for $425 and they said it was worth much more out there (you can read more about that here). It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that they were snatching up mid-mod pieces all over Minnesota and taking them back to New York. As for Mr. Q, I do get to sleep with him every night, does that count? 😉
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I love seeing your “hauls”. It inspires me to get out and hunt, or get busy and get something done.
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I’m wishing I could keep finding great ‘hauls’, but sadly garage sale season is going to come to a drastic halt here soon and then it will be slim pickins’ all winter 😦
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Wow you are so talented! I love your ideas and try to incorporate some of them into my own finds. By the way the the school police sign you have is used here in the uk at school crossings but we call it A lollipop sign and is used by a man or woman helping children crossing the road. Xx
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Oh, thank you so much Irene! I love that you call that a ‘lollipop sign’, what an appropriate name!
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Do you know of any garage sales going on this weekend ?
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Sadly, no. I think we are past the season for the big neighborhood sales. I see a sprinkling of signs here and there, but that’s about it.
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