March 5, 2015
“Garage saling is like fishing. Sometimes you have to wait a long time before you get a bite.” – My Mom
Scouring a Paris flea market with Grace
Growing up, Thursday mornings were reserved for garage saling. Mom and Grandma loved a good sale, and they weren’t opposed to wading through the junk in order to get there. Oh, and flea markets and thrift shops? Yep, they combed through those too. And, please, don’t get me started on the hours I spent in antique malls. And when auction time rolled around, my dad jumped in on the fun and stood around all day for that perfectly priced box of junk. Sheesh, my parents bought their farmhouse at an auction and at least one car at a garage sale!
I didn’t know just how much antiques were a part of our daily life until I left home and found out that most people spend hundreds of dollars on the stuff we used every day and took for granted. Green enamel lights? Why those have been on our barn, garage and a couple light poles out back for decades. I hardly ever looked at them. Old Ball canning jars that are now the rage? Yep, they’ve been around our house holding odds and ends since I can remember. Galvanized buckets and old baskets? Handy things when you need to carry something. Antique rockers, ice boxes, and rotary phones? Check, check and check. 1930’s double oven and stove? Well, that came with the farmhouse that was bought at the auction, and mom always was (and still is) willing to put up with its quirks just to use it.
Dad gathering his summer cucumbers in and old galvanized bucket
Not only did mom and dad, grandma and grandpa teach me the unspoken beauty of living with vintage things, they taught me that you have to work hard in order to find those treasures. I have had people ask how I find so many cool things at garage sales. What they don’t know is the hours I spent finding nothing. Garage saling is like fishing…
Well, I have decided to turn that garage saling tradition and hobby of mine into a little side business, because isn’t it great to get paid to do what you love to do anyway? So, a year and a half ago, I set up a vintage shop on Etsy called OurVintageBungalow (after the beautiful home I share with My Man who, by the way, lets me drag him on my antiquing treasure hunts).
Little by little, the shop has grown and God has blessed. It’s not like I can quit my day job or anything, but the hobby is more like a small part time job right now. And today, I am celebrating the listing of my 100th item. It would seem more fitting to celebrate a 100th sale, but getting 100 items actually up for sale at the same time was quite the undertaking, so I’m celebrating that for now.
I am doing what I love, and loving what I do. Thanks, mom and dad (and grandma and grandpa) for the vintage life you taught me.
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March 4, 2015
I am itching to get back into garage sales. I actually braved the pre-snow storm weather last week to go to a barn sale (with a bunch of other crazy, garage sale hungry people). Sadly, the sale was a bust. But I happened upon this sign (in an undisclosed location because I’m protective of my treasure hunting sites like that, aka selfish of the treasures found there). I don’t know if I liked the sign or the sale better. Do you think they would mind if I said, “Oh, by the way, can I buy the sign too?” Anyway, it was a bright spot in the midst of my treasure hunting week. I didn’t even mind one bit putting all my bags of newly found goodies down in order to take the picture.
OneDailyBlessing 