Over the last 15 years, I've driven past this old house, which is less than a mile from mine, thousands of times. And often, I've imagined the estate sale that I might attend there someday.
On Saturday, I finally got inside and, luckily, the wait was worth it. It was one of those years-of-accumulation sales and there were vintage treasures in several of my favorite categories.
Including:
Tablecloths for almost every season. I found one with bells, ornaments and holly for Christmas; a yellow one with dogwoods for spring; and a vibrant floral one for summer.
Christmas decorations, including some small red bottle brush wreaths attached to foil bells and beads, plus three circa-WWII Shiny Brite striped ornaments.
More vintage Christmas, including the first spun head of 2011, but who's keeping count, right Barb?
And let's take a closer look at those teeny-tiny ornaments in the box. They look like miniature baskets and aren't more than an inch high.
And what else?
Vintage wrapping paper, a beautiful old ledger and alphabet cards.
Plus a bunch of old plays, which I found in the attic and gave to my thespian daughters.
But the find of the day (and no doubt one of my top 10 finds for 2011) was this:
They're aqua and they're spectacular! Metal canisters that are pure 1950s, right down to the last bit of sugar that was still inside.
I love them but I'm trying not to get get too attached. Before the end of the week, I'm forcing myself to put them on Etsy. Got to pay for those second-semester books, you know.
What a great sale, Linda! Love all your finds, especially the fabulously retro canisters. Great start to the new year!
Posted by: Gina @ Vintage Junk in My Trunk | January 17, 2011 at 06:21 AM
there are a a lot of house I keep my eye on hoping for a good estate sale someday....glad this house lived up to your hopes!
fun finds -always a sucker for wrapping paper!!
Posted by: laurie magpie ethel | January 17, 2011 at 09:04 PM
lovely finds... especially the canisters--that color is perfect. Love it all!
Posted by: mary | January 20, 2011 at 08:40 AM
Absolutely love the old paper, especially the plays and the ledgers. We just got back from Atlanta ... a long way from Los Gatos ... and brought back three superb antique leather bound books and a bunch of old ledgers. Can't wait to play with them. Thanks for sharing. Bob & Susan
Posted by: Bob | January 20, 2011 at 11:25 AM