So I'm back in Chicago after visiting my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas (where Jade lives). As usual my days were filled with visits to thrift stores and antique malls and we also went to two estate sales and an estate auction. When I'm at home I also like to take some fun/funny photos... the above images were taken in front of a poultry supplies company in Springdale, a town that neighbors Fayetteville and is home to the Tyson chicken company. I'm wearing a 1950s plaid dress that was shortened by a previous owner and a red 'patent leather' purse from The Attic.
My mom and I tested our endurance Monday evening when we decided to attend a living estate auction in Springdale. Jade & I had gone to the preview on Sunday and I saw a few jars of buttons and several sets of salt and pepper shakers that my mom would like (she has over 200 pairs in her collection). When we got to the auction house we were surprised it was packed-- with 100 people who looked to be in their fifties and older, I was by far the youngest person in the room!I'd always avoided going to auctions before, thinking they would be stuffy, overpriced and meant for expensive/rare items like paintings and furniture. Auctions in Arkansas, however, are like estate sales but in auction form. It's very casual and community-oriented, an old woman sold chicken & dumplings and six kinds of homemade cake from a concessions stand in a corner and all the 'regulars' knew each other by name. Most of the lots went for under $10 with many items going for only a dollar or two.
It was fascinating to see what drew the most interest from bidders, battles were fought over boxes of used cleaning supplies (yes, I don't know either), quilts (it is the South and Country chic rules) and 'practical' items like drills, a mini fridge and a coffee maker. Fortunately most of the things I liked were on the low end of the spectrum except for the buttons! There were a lot of button lovers in the crowd so I only got one Mason jar rather than the three I wanted (there were also tins full of buttons that went for more than I was willing to pay!).
I hadn't seen this lamp in the preview but I liked the shape of the base and the materials-- wood and a concrete-like ceramic. I think it's from the late '50s or early '60s? The shade doesn't appear to be original. 
The first purchase of the night, two milkglass custard cups... does anyone know if the yellow and green pieces are also meant for custard/ice cream?
All in all we spent SIX HOURS at the auction. Yes, I'm not sure how we did it either. Of course they decided to sell all the junk before getting to the table with the salt & pepper shakers. It took an hour and a half for them to sell off a table of dirty old towels and bed linens. Some of the stuff they sold should have just been donated to a thrift store! By the time the shakers came up for sale only 15 other people remained, thankfully they didn't go very high so we managed to get all of them. At that point I was just anxious to get out of my folding seat and to pay for our purchases. I felt a little crazy afterwards--- what normal person is at an auction for 6 hours??-- but my mom and I both agreed that we had a lot of fun and found some cheap treasures.
Made in Japan planter... couldn't figure out if it was supposed to be a kitty or a sheep. The planter is from the auction and the '70s music box (it has a little ballerina inside) and boudoir chair (made out of a can) are from the Peace at Home thrift store.
My finds from the Helping Hands thrift store in Bentonville... a little owl soap holder, souvenir creamer from Oregon (I love old souvenir mugs/memorabilia) and two metal plaques probably from the 1970s.
Jade and I went to an estate sale in an upscale subdivision of Springdale... we almost didn't go to it as we were skeptical of finding anything older in such a new home. Fortunately the woman held on to a few of her older things, including two (real) crocodile handbags and a little black wool bag. The little gold box seems to be a very fat owl or some kind of mythical creature.
This wood & painted glass box was propping up a speaker (!) and I dug out some carded buttons and the trim from a sewing basket. The box has a mirror inside so it's probably meant for jewelry.
We also had some luck at a few local garage sales, including one where two girls around our age were selling mainly vintage items. The aurora borealis ring is Sarah Coventry and the ceramic lady appears to be a toothpick holder?
Two mail-order patterns from the vintage garage sale and a heavy old stapler from the estate sale.
A groovy set of salt & pepper shakers and a paper towel and wax paper (?) kitchen holder. The top box looks like it's meant for tissues but why would they be in the kitchen? Thus I think it's meant for wax paper or foil or something similar.
Lots of colour here... an aqua Lustroware juicer, an atomic ashtray and a large orange Fire King soup mug.
A yellow Lustroware pitcher from the Springdale Salvation Army. A set of 1970s Tupperware canisters from the auction, a 1960s handmade vase from a garage sale and a fun alarm clock from The Attic thrift store.
I like that this floral napkin holder has little metal feet. The atomic star glass was originally a peanut butter jar (a larger version of the jelly jar glass most of us know from childhood) and the little doggy is a planter. The napkin holder is from All My Treasures antique mall, the glass from a Tontitown Antique Mall and the planter from The Attic.
An assortment of goodies... Melmac plates & a Petter Cottontail bowl from garage sales. A little Polaroid photo album & souvenir California plate from Helping Hands thrift store. Another set of salt & pepper shakers from the auction.
My mom picked out this cake carrier at a Tontitown flea market. I'm still holding out for a chrome one with a handle and 'cake' across the front. :)
An old wire kitchen utensil (have no idea what you'd use this for) from the auction and a little Cathay creamer from Country Classic antique mall in Tontitown.
A grouping of 'Asian' items... on the left is a lone salt & pepper shaker, she's in rough shape but I brought her home anyways. I love the bookends (the boy is spying on the studious girl!) and the nodding kokeshi doll will join my collection.
Super cheap purses found in the bargain bin at The Attic. The red 'patent leather' (actually vinyl purse) is in perfect condition and I love the color segments on the vinyl '70s purse. I think the horse ceramic is supposed to be an ash tray.I also bought a TON of black & white photographs (mainly snapshots with some school and photobooth photos) and several cooking and home decorating books from the Fayetteville library sale. I'll post those at a later date when I can scan some of the contents.