Signs of Spring

The season is definitely beginning to change here in Kansas.  Our grass is turning green, the tulips have popped up, and we've had several very warm days lately.  Those things are great and all, but my favorite sign of spring is... GARAGE SALES!!!  I just love them.  You never know what little gem you'll find hiding in a pile of some other person's trash.  I blame (or give credit to, however you see it) my garage sale obsession on my Mom.  We used to circle the garage sales in the paper that looked good, and then head out around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday to start looking for deals.  And even before that, my older sisters and I would ride our bikes around the neighborhood with whatever spare change we had to look for things at garage sales.  I specifically remember a pair of black, patent leather shoes with big ribbon laces that Mary brought home from a sale once.  At the time, I thought they were pretty cool, and probably even wore them a time or two.

I no longer look for cool shoes at garage sales, but I do look for household items that I might need.  Joe and I have found some pretty good things at sales around here.  We've picked up a kitchen table, extension ladder, and wheel barrow to name a few of the big items.  And I've bought various odds and ends as well.  I found that there were a few garage sales right in our area this weekend, so we decided to hit the road this morning to see what we could find.  There ended up being even more garage sales than what I'd found online, so we stopped at those too.  Here's what we come home with today after spending a total of $9.

- Trivial Pursuit $0.50
- Adverteasing $0.50
- Unopened wrapping paper $1
- Roll of valentine's cellophane $1
- 3 Wilton heart pans $2
- 2 "treat boxes" $1
- Reed & Barton silverplate and enamel bowl $3

My favorite item was definitely the little silver and green bowl.  I'd seen one just like it on a blog that a lady found for $1 at a thrift store and then polished it up.  So when I saw that this one said Reed & Barton on the bottom, I knew that it was silver and could be restored to look much nicer than its current state.  The price was marked has $4, but I talked her down to $3, ha!  I need to work on my haggling skills...  Here's how the bowl looked when we got it.

And here's how it looked after a little silver polish.

I love it!

I looked at the price of a new bowl that is just silver plate with no enamel and they sell for $75.  There are some silver and enamel ones on E-bay that sell for anywhere from $10 to $25.  So I'm happy with the deal we got.  I'm looking forward to even more garage sales coming up and I'll let you know if we find anything really good, but don't worry, I won't bore you with all the little stuff.  Just wanted to let you know that garage sale season is in full swing and to keep your eyes out for some treasures.  Happy Spring!