If loving a good yard sale is wrong, I don't want to be right!! & how I met a really neat couple!!

Hi everyone, 
It's a really lovely Saturday afternoon here.  It's supposed to be around 90 Fahrenheit today. That's hot..well, for Oregon it is!!  I have the windows open and the lights turned off. It keeps things cool, while still being able to catch the breeze, when it comes...all that without having to run the air conditioner :) :) It's fabulous.

Oh I went yards sale/garage sale shopping again today.  I'm always on the lookout for useful, beautiful, vintage things that will fit into my decorating style...and when possible, also be very useful. I think I did very well today.

I also met a really beautiful married couple today. I'll talk about them later in this blog.  I purchased some very lovely things at their home today!!!  This first photo that you see was of this really tall rose bush at the entrance to the married couples driveway...I'll call them the beautiful couple, because that is what they truly are...and I'll tell you why later!!! Talk about how I felt super-blessed today!!! Anyway, these roses were huge and so bright!!!  This was their actual color. I didn't do any editing whatsoever...

This photo of the beautiful couples rose bush was actually taken as I was leaving the yard sale!!! Isn't it gorgeous??!!  It's breathtaking!!!

The following photos are what I collected at 3 different yard sales that I went to today. I'll use some of these items to decorate my room, the stairway, and the kitchen!!!

The photo below shows treasures that I found at three different yard sales:

The "beautiful couple" yard sale I found the following:
$1.00 for the 7-UP Bottling Co. wooden carrying crate!!! That will be perfect for some of my really tall craft books and such..plus I love the vintage look. It adds character and style.  In my eyes, it's got a story somewhere and it'll add some beautiful usefulness to my room!!! The husband was very sweet.  I saw this against the wall in their garage and just had to ask!!!  The wife was awesome,too...she greeted me when I walked up and was telling me some really neat stories.  The husband talked to my dad and that was such a blessing... The people running the other yard sales I went to were nice...but by far this couple knew how to reach out and talk to people!!!

Nice yard sale on a cul-de-sac:

$2 - the set of three green latch/hook lids with wooden spoons.  I just wanted the small one...for coffee...not realizing that all three were just $2...I thought that was the price for the tall one. So I snapped it up!!! It'll look great in the kitchen and be a nice addition for flower or some sugar,too!!! If you know of any other uses for those cannisters, please let me know!!!

$2 - for the light peach/orange colored end table. I like the color as it is...but I may sand it and repaint it!!! it's wonderful...and will be the perfect place to put my yarn and crochet thread.

At much smaller yard sale on the same street:
$1 - for antique, vintage toaster!!!! Yep, this thing sits on the stove and the heat toasts the bread. It still works. just needs a little cleaning!!!!  This reminds me of my grandmother. I have a memory of her showing me one of these. My dad says she never had one..but the jury is still out!!!


Spent only $6 for all of these items....God bless the people who were generous with their pricing!!!  These things are all useful!!!

Now here are some of the other items I found that I couldn't fit on the end table :) :) :)...mainly for the purposes of photographing everything together!!! Here's what else I found...
At the nice yard sale on the cul-de-sac...
$2 - for four antique silver spoons.  I thought these would make good soup spoons to use at home..and I can use my cheap stuff for guests if I ever have a patio party!!! They're old and need some serious cleaning...but that should be easy enough, right? Right!! Anyone have any simple recipes for cleaning silver? This couple had quite a few antique silver butter forks, baby spoons, normal spoons etc..yes, it was the real deal...I could tell by looking at it..None of those were steel...all silver!!!

FREE for the "Apples 4 Sale" wall hanging, with the two extra apples!!! Beautiful, country, rustic...yep, definitely for me :) :) Originally $0.50..but because I took the end table, cannisters and 4 spoons, he threw those in for free.  Very sweet couple as well...

At the beautiful couple's yard sale this is also what I found..
$2 - for the beautifully framed photos of the roses. at least I think they're roses...but they're beautiful pink and that'll fit into my decor!!!
$1 - for the cute country/romantic/vintage framed poem on the right!!! This will also fit fight into my decorating of my room!!!
$1 - for a genuine waffle/pie iron from Jøtul,NORWAY.  This was definitely the real deal...very heavy...If anyone knows exactly if it's a pancake iron or waffle iron, please let me know. The beautiful couple was curious as well...and I said I wasn't for certain..but that I'd seen lots of these when I lived in Bergen, Norway for a year. Help a friend out and tell me what you know, so I can go back and tell them :) :) :)


For all of these items I spent a total of $6

The following two photos are close-ups of the waffle/pancake iron from Norway.  I thought if I showed you some up-close detail, you could tell me some more about it...or if you have one in your home!!!  I'd love to hear your stories. Cast iron...real, good cast iron is not always easy to find. So if you do see good cast iron at a yard sale...definitely consider buying it!!!

NOTE ADDED LATER TODAY AT 2:44 p.m. - I posted a link to my blog on my FAcebook page asking about this piece..It's an antique Jøtul krumkake iron. Krumkake is a Norwegian rolled cookie...click here for some info about this tasty treat ..and there's a wooden roller that helps shape it into a cone. Here's an exact look-a-like I found on eBay. Click here

I lived in Bergen, Norway for a year...and they make some delicious pancakes...really skinny ones..and all sorts of other yummy goodies.  So this made me miss Norway, but also made me smile, too!!!

Isn't that detail amazing?  It's so pretty!!!

Below are close-ups of the two framed pictures that I purchased. There were quite a few others from the same artist who did the photos of the pink flowers.  It was hard not to buy the others...because they were outstanding.  However, these in particular really made my day and they're pink :) :) I also loved the framed photo with the lace..that will look nice in my room, too!!! Remember, I love anything that looks vintage, romantic, country, Victorian, rustic, feminine, frilly...or any combination of those :)

So let me tell you about the "beautiful couple"...and give you a piece of wisdom,too.  My dad and I actually drove past their yard sale initially because it was set back away from the drive-way. It was actually in their garage and at first I didn't think they'd have anything I could use in my home. However, again, on the way home, I told dad..."I think we really need to stop here. We HAVE to stop here."...No joke...I really felt the impulse to stop here and at least check it out. Sometimes the diamonds aren't always out in plain site..you have to search for the real gems.  It's work...but it's worth it...for yard sale treasures that you'll love and for finding out super cool things about people that live in your community!!!

Oh my...I found these great items which will be loved much in my home :) :)  I found out the couple was the one I had read about awhile back in the newspaper...They go down to one of our local parks here in town and make sandwiches for the homeless people there. They feed them some good food, where these "beautiful people" might not otherwise even see a meal that day...to be quite honest.  When I heard that, I got all excited...because I remember reading about that couple. My dad remembered that too. We both cried and were so touched...and we don't call those people "homeless"...but "beautiful people"..because I truly believe that's how God sees them as beautiful and precious in His Sight...and we should view them that way, too!!

In any case, this couple just goes down there and helps with the resources they have. They do it because they can!!!! We often talk about giving a cup of cold water in Jesus name..in this case, it's a yummy peanut butter & jelly sandwich and I think something to drink,too...:) :) :) That's showing the love of Jesus in a practical way!!!!

Through the course of conversation, she told me that her husband has to go to the hospital for some medical treatments. I won't share the details here because it's private..unless she says it's okay..then I'll leave a note later tonight!!...In any case, the yard sale was to raise gas money, because they'll need to make a few trips and gas, well, it's expensive!!!!  All of the items they were selling were donated.

The wife told me that it was really packed at 8:15 a.m. this morning. Wow...I'm so glad that I was able to find what I did.  Well, when she told me why they were having the yard sale and how they obtained these great items to sell...I asked if I could bring her some things?  yes... :) :) So cool.  I have some things that I was just going to donate to Goodwill. However, she can sell them to someone who'll want them...and earn more money to pay for gas and whatever else is needed. 

I'll tell you, I really came out more blessed today. If I hadn't stopped at that yard sale that I initially wrote off...I wouldn't have found these things to make my home beautiful/hospitable. More importantly,  I wouldn't have met this beautiful couple.  They were definitely the real treasures.....true diamonds in the rough!!!!  I'm going to see about taking some stuff over tomorrow morning!!!

I'm got photographs for my knitting project going.  I didn't have my dad to help me this time, so I don't have shots of how to cast-on or joining the knitting in the round.  I'll have to save that for another project. I'll see if I can find some on-line links to help you, especially if you don't know how to cast-on a knitting needle.

Have a lovely weekend.  I appreciate your visits and most especially when you leave comments!!!! That's the news from Oregon today.  Love, hugs and greetings, Heather :) :) :)