Junky Junk and Holy Junk

There was only one estate sale listed on Friday. It started at 9:00. I went at 11:00 to make sure I missed all the dealer fist fights. It was a good day.

Let's begin with the secular....

Hoot owl cutting board

6 Cheery 1980's Santa glasses, unsullied by dishwasher detergent.

Now, let's move on to the divine...

Lovely St. Anthony print, with Lilies & bagels (?!)

Religious pamplets...I'm working on committing "Our Moral Life" to memory.

A little something for my garden, and eventually, my grave. My husband has strict instructions. My headstone will read: "She was sometimes a headache, but she was never a bore."
This was the best thing, hands down.

A tiny white vase stuffed with beaded flowers. I adore beaded flowers. Look at the leaves! Price...

And a hearty Congratulations to Beth of Parsimonia: Second Hand with Style. Beth won the coveted Blue Ribbon Blogger Award from Country Living magazine. Her blog is funny and a feast for the eyes! Thanks to all of you for rooting for One Gal's Trash, and especially for following the ramblings of a crazy lady in Portland, Oregon.

xoxoxo

Pam

A Month from Today!

Dear One Gal's Trashy Pals,

I'm so excited! One Gal's Trash is partnering up with Maria from collage to host the junk show of the summer. It will be an afternoon of junking under the trees by the Little Red Shed at McMenamins Edgefield. A true Smorgasbord of Vintage Wares! We'll be junking into the evening...live music by ROOTDOWN starts at 6PM. All of Edgefield's pubs and restaurants will be open for the event. Rain or Shine and FREE to the public. Won't you join us?

Please take a minute to visit our Facebook page and "Like" us. Thanks!

If you would like to be a vendor at the Fest!, you still have time to let us know...Check out our Vendor Application here.

Thanks and xoxoxo!
Pam

Random Things I Love About Portland - Su Casa

This looks like a run-of-the-mill grocery store...right?

But look what happens when you walk in the door...Color, texture, a party!

Su Casa has everything. You could live there. There's a full service restaurant with authentic Mexican food...and a Mariachi band on weekends.

Fabulous pastries for 59 cents.

I passed on the fried pig skins...

but I bought ceviche...$5 a pound. I made fish tacos...Muy bueno.

The store also has a travel agent so you can book your next trip to Guadalajara.

And an office where you can pay your bills.

And a store within the store where you can buy a party dress or a cowboy hat.

Can't wait for my next adventure...Maybe I'll even try the fried pork skins!?! Maybe not.

P.S. for Portland peeps....There's a Su Casa on SE 161st and Stark and in one downtown Hillsboro.

The Humming Clock

I recently wrote a post about updates on our hut in Rockaway Beach. Many of you asked for more details on this clock...which used to grace the walls of the FBI branch office in Portland, Oregon.

When our friend Dave...

...was growing up in Portland, his dad, Paul, worked for the F.B.I. Paul was a radio technician and was responsible for ~ among other cool sounding duties ~ tracking Morse code communications for the bureau. After 35 years as a G-man, he retired and was given this clock as a parting gift.

Fast forward a few decades...Dave's sister, Kathy, decided to have a garage sale to get rid of the stuff that belonged to Mom and Dad. Kathy invited me to come over and have first crack at the bounty. The first thing I saw was the clock in the garage with a $5 price tag on it. (Uh....Hello!!!) I made absolutey sure that no one in the family wanted it, then squealed "OOOoooo, THAT is coming home with me!" As a bonus, it makes a soothing humming noise while keeping perfect time. It's fabulous in the hut.

Random Things I Love About Portland - Tamale Gals

Here in Portland, we have a roaming hot tamale sales force. And when I say hot, I mean hot. Every morning, somebody, somewhere cooks handmade tamales. Then these gals hit the road, keeping their delicious cargo hot and fresh in a cooler. (Shouldn't it be called a "warmer"?) They can be found in neighborhoods and on streets with small businesses, calling out "Tamales...five dollars...tamales..." You want chicken, pork or vegetarian? Cause these ladies have 'em all. Six tamales for 5 bucks.

Cheap and yummy. Just like me.

Portland's Twilight Rummage Sale

I have heard about this sale for years, but have never gone before. Something about being on a Saturday night that just throws me. That's right, once a month, from 4-8 PM, there's a rummage held at the Eagle Lodge in SE Portland. From the outside, it may not look like much.

But it was fabulous!

It's the kind of sale where you can belly up to the bar and have a cocktail while you shop...

where you can paw through a bin of $1 bling...

and where the lady selling vintage ephemera likes to talk with her hands.

It's the kind of sale where there is a sombrero made from soda can pop tops...

and an eagle fashioned out of rhinestone jewelry.

There were vintage buttons everywhere...

and lots of other delicious junky junk.

I'll show you what I brought home on my next post.

Random things I love about Portland - Chapter 2

Emma and I were on the way to the bead store (for me) and Helen Bernhardt's bakery (for her) when a large group of bikers rode up alongside the Dodge. We knew something was up...since most of them were wearing ~ not Columbia fleece ~ but tweed and peacoats. Since I am, after all, me, I rolled down the window and hollered "What are you kids doing?"

One of these friendly folks told me it was the first annual Portland Tweed Ride.

Intrepid Portlanders dressed up in their finest British duds and rode to Laurelhurst Park for a civilized picnic. I assume this involved cucumber sandwiches, lemon curd and tea. I am so going next year and I'll be riding Audrey. (Seen below last spring against a backdrop of Hydrangeas).


P.S. Do you love skeleton keys? Scroll on down passed Lorena Bobbitt's coffee cup post for more details on a skeleton key givaway...Come on...It's a gift to all my peeps in honor of my 50th birthday!

Portland at Twilight from the Marquam Bridge at 45 MPH

Tutti Fruittis and a Happy Ending

It's Thursday, which can only mean that it's Vintage Thingies Thursday at Colorado Lady , where lots of junky peeps highlight their various collections. It's fun and free, which is always a good price.


Here at OGT, I thought it might be fun to tell you a story about a crafting project using vintage materials:

I made these rings and hairclips a few months ago out of old buttons and vintage fruit trims I found on the floor at an estate sale.

I listed them in my Etsy shop, but didn't sell any. Not one. However, I am my mother's daughter and do not give up easily. I took them to Frock boutique on NE Alberta to sell on consignment. Yesterday, an envelope from Frock arrived in the mail. I thought, "Ooooo Goody, maybe one of my hairclips sold!" I thought the check would be for $6, give or take. But look!

Whoo Hooo! I have some cash for junking this weekend!

The Bins

Have I told you about The Bins? It's the place where stuff goes after it hasn't sold in the Goodwill retail stores and before it goes to the dump. It's a sort of junk purgatory, if you will.

You literally paw through the goods which are in large blue bins; hence the name.

There are bins of books...I have found some fab vintage children's books here.

Furniture, electronics, sports equipment and "art". I normally don't visit this section. Anything bigger than a bread box shuts me right down.

Smalls...my personal favorite. I have found many treasures in these babies over the years.

Clothes (and bad 80's angel crafts) I used to look in here until I once found a pair of used men's briefs. Uhhh, no thanks!

Except for the big stuff, everything is sold by weight. It's set up so you can roll your shopping cart right onto a big scale on the floor by the checkout. Please don't tell Child Services Division, but I used to bring my daughter here when she was a baby. I must have ruined her; now when I junk, she refuses to even get out of the car.

And then a lightbulb went off over my head...

Need a light?
Sunlan is a shop on N. Mississippi in Portland. It's hard to read, but under the shop name it says "LIGHTBULB PLAYROOM". I love that.

This picture makes me think of a stage production. Including the orchestra.

Couldn't you just spend all day in here?