VaudeEstateLaphant

Just another snowy Saturday. This weekend I went and played at the Brown Elephant - love doing that!
Also went to an Estate Sale in Albany park - I would mention the estate sale group...but they really weren't on their game at the sale. They really looked like they didn't want to be there. Nevertheless, we got some great things. Logan got a meat grinder and a canning thing that helps to make jam. I got a plastic santa.

Also went to the first clothing swap of the year at Vaudezilla! This is a great event, if you are in the Chicago area. Not only do folks bring street clothes, but also burlesque wear...as Vaudezilla is a burlesque troup and studio. If you are a dancer or performer, this a great chance to trade off costumes that you no longer use for some new shiny ones. I got a sweater, some frames...and other awesome things that are not G rated. Oh, I also found a Bozo costume.

Short and sweet on my findings:

Vaudezilla Studios - a nice studio!

Findings from the Brown Elephant, Clothing Swap and Estate Sale

*The cups on the right - tons of cups for the CHILI COOKOFF!!*

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Last week I got some great feedback on dumpster diving. My good buddy, Elisabeth, shared this flickr site with me, called perfectly good. Excellent photos of what one person has found in Chicago's dumpsters. Check it out!

Dumpster Diving, Trees and The Creepy Estate Sale

Tonight, I was supposed to be taking pictures at a Nine Inch Nails Burlesque show...but mother nature decided to turn the weather dumb so here I am catching up on the blogs! (Abuttonblog post coming soon).

For some odd reason, Chicago is having a pattern of a really really cold Mondays then warming up to having a pretty nice Saturday. Last Saturday, when it was 40 degrees and sunny, I went alley picking. Got a hold of this pretty nice table.

The table was purple and from Ikea. It's now in several pieces in my craft closet and will probably be turned into purple free market boxes. (Created by one of the best builders in the world, Logan!).

A question I want to throw out - I don't really know anything about Dumpster Diving in Chicago. I'm not a huge fan of dumpster diving for food - although high five to the freegans who can. I do love a good deal on a piece of furniture that comes from a trashcan though. Are there any groups out there? You can leave the comments in the comments section, or email me at design2513@gmail.com.

Now, one very sad thing that I saw a lot of while alley picking were abandoned Christmas Trees. Guys...I saw this on December 28th! Jesus was just born at this point for Christ sakes! (see what I did there?).

The last bit of my tree, now my stair area smells like Christmas

Do you go camping? Do you have a garden that likes acidic soil? Do you like the smell of Christmas to last and have some fancy bowls that need to have something in them? Re-purpose the tree!

I live in Chicago proper and even I had enough room to take my tree outside and cut it with a basic hand saw. Took an hour to take apart. (It was a 4 footer...give yourself more time for a bigger tree)
Here's what you can do with your tree:
Trunk: Camping/Fire logs
Branches: Good smelling kindling
Branches: Good smelling decor for the next month.
Branches: Potpurri, I think?
Branches: throw them out on your garden during the winter to make your dirt more acidic.

Logs, good smelling stuff and garden improvement stuff - buy a tree for you holiday season and get all that for free!

Update: Or you can take your tree here and save some birds: http://www.christmastree.org/dnn/AllAboutTrees/HowtoRecycle/RecyclingIL.aspx

And finally, let's talk about the creepy estate sale I went to today. When it comes to estatesales.net, I tend to trust the sales on the site. Today I went to a sale that I should have trusted my gut and not gone - even though I got some cute things for $5.

The person running it was nice and he was a legit estate vendor. The sale itself was in a busy part of Lincoln Park. And the stuff was pretty awesome. However, he didn't know what to do with himself and just hung out about 10 feet away while I was looking around - I was the only one there. He also said I could check out the artwork in the garage...and there were no signs going to the garage. Again, he was legit but it still felt weird. I got my stuff and quickly left - but not without him trying to sell me other things before going. Creeppy!!

This is as good time to add an article about yard sale safety. As the article points out, there's a 99 percent chance you won't have any issues. But the reality is that you are going to a strangers house and buying their stuff off of their property. It's always good to keep your wits about you and be smart when you shop. Check out this great article I found here:  http://fleamarket.about.com/od/insidershoppingtips/qt/yardsaleshoppingsafety.htm

That's about it for now. Oh, Geaux Saints!

The Estate Sale Before Work at Lakeshore

I love estate sales that happen to be a half a mile away from where I work. Such a good way to start your day! (The best part of wakin up is spending moooonnneeyyy). The sale was located in one of the fancy condos on Lakeshore. The condo was so pretty and had a great view of the half frozen lake. I very silly enough did not get picture of the view. I did though get a picture of the EPIC KITCHEN. 

My semi-smart phone can't do the kitchen justice. It must have been installed in the 1960s and no one must of used it except to clean since then as it was perfect. (keep in the mind, the mess is due to the estate sale) Not a stain anywhere, and the stove and oven still worked! The women who lived there, based on the photos and certificates that were being sold, was a photographer in WW2. In short, the person who once lived at this Lakeshore condo was epic. Happy trails to the wonderful person I wish I knew. 

Of course I bought things - a box of thread where every piece of thread was saved (!), needles in an old chewing tobacco tin, stir sticks, measuring pieces, tape (cause why not) a very pretty blue necklace, and a piece of wood with a mushroom painted in it. Jolly good time! I wish every work day could start off with an estate sale.

 

This sale was hosted by The Ageless Treasure - real nice folks who told me everything they knew about the place. Keep up with them at theagelesstreasure.com. They seem to have sales in Chicago and Indiana all the time.

And if you like estate sales in general - get on the mailing list at estatesales.net. 

(I'm not sponsored by anyone, I just like spreading good deals around). 

Happy Saturday. 

My First Really Really Free Market

Before

We came, we saw, we took stuff home for free. Last Saturday was my first Really Really Free Market. Also happened to be the first day this winter season where it snowed all day. But we had 11 dedicated folks show up get some awesome great stuff. I want to thank everyone who came and everyone who wanted to come, but had to do the holiday thing or were totally not coming out to due to snow.

Just a quick recap:
Lots of clothes, lots and lots of clothes
Random computer things
Dishes, yay!
Snow, lots of snow outside
Matt L. wearing a way to small t-shirt and looking...good! ya!

Excited for the Spring edition!

Own a piece of CTA History!

I'm about to bid on things that I don't need, and you should too!

Very short post. mmm...CTA stuff...

http://ricklevin.com/Auctions/Online-Auctions.aspx

Pledging my love once again to the Brown Elephant

So, I work at Howard Brown Health Center, pretty awesome clinic. Their feeder thrift store is The Brown Elephant - which is the best the thrift store in Chicago...pretty much the US as far as I'm concerned. Boutique finds at good prices. You can get the basic things - shirts, shoes and what have you - for $6. But they also have pop up shops every so often that showcases vintage items for prices better than any vintage shop would have.

Went there today for a project I'm working on at work...had to shop and found this tacky little number for my office-ubicle. (The red and white tree). Also found some cute little white ornament balls...or Yrsno as Ikea calls them. 

Short and sweet today!

The trip to get Beer!

For Thanksgiving this year, we headed out to New Glarus, WI to get the best beer ever that has the same name as it's town. Two cases, three fruit beers and apple ales for $95...not bad!

Before that, we bought a giant tent and stayed over night in Madison and...of all things...we went suburban shopping. 

Suburban shopping is when one goes out to the super centers and malls. I rarely do this anymore as there aren't really any of these in Chicago - or at least near me. And I don't shop full price or new stuff usually.

So when we do this...it's kindof a big and silly deal for us. 

That's the tent we got from Craigslist for Logan's show in January called Show Party (you should come!). Horrible pic, but the gent who was selling the tent is a huge flea market and auction buff. Love when I make second hand connections.

Now, sometimes I can't find the right thing at my local thrift store. Sometimes I actually have spend more at a consignment shop. Enter Plato's Closet - 5 minutes from our hotel. 

*Disclaimer...In case it's not obvious yet...* I'm a thrift store snob. If it's more than $6, it better a really good item. Some folks (Logan) call that cheap. I call it Snobby! 

I'll be real honest here...the Plato's Closet in Lincoln Park - the closest one to me - is not good. The stuff is decent, but they over price everything. Not a huge fan. The Plato's Closet in Madison though, very nice. Great items, great price ranges. Got a shirt and shoes for $10. And everyone was super nice, even though it was 8pm on Black Friday.  

Ok...Claire's is not a thrift store...and I am no longer a teenager. But let me tell you, that $10 for 10 items sale that they have during major holidays - don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about - is an epic sale. I've been doing this sale every time I've stepped into a mall since I was 15.  I bought $142 worth of pieces for $18.25 (I bought some special items too).

Oh, that Nikon Bag...not a thrift store buy either :). Used my savings from Claire's on a Gary Fong Diffuser. Happy Birthday to ME!

In route to New Glarus, the next day, we stopped off at a Savers. I did a little research before going in. Apparently it's a for-profit thrift store chain that helps out local non-profits in their area. Cute!

At first glace, Savers doesn't look like a great store. The plates and knick knacks are over priced and there's not much to look at.

But then I went to the clothes section. Lots of great work clothes from $3 to $8 - and the higher end pieces were from higher end designers. I got three new shirts for $15. Logan got two shirts and a new set of Keens (worn maybe once?) for $45. 

All in all, twas a good trip! Now to prepare for going to back to work on Monday...I can do this!