Old Friends, New Faces

hey y'all,

for the few of you who actually follow my blog (and for those who lurk ... you know who you are!), y'all know my posting is, at best, erratic. i try, i really do, at least once a week to report on my latest junking finds if nothing else. but hey, sometimes life gets in the way.

i'm happy to report that my eye infection (see gory details in previous post if you dare) is all better. thanks for all the kind words, good thoughts and prayers. i appreciate them all v. much!

now that the blahblahdiddyblahblah is out of the way, i wanted to share some thoughts with you about junking (or for those of you with sensitive sensibilities ... collecting vintage treasures).

i love just about anything that's old. that doesn't mean i want to collect it, but i certainly appreciate it. because i have the romantic notion that everything has a story. a history. and if i can extract even a tiny bit of information from a seller about an item, i do it.

while rummaging through a goodwill bargain barn bin the other day, i uncovered this little beauty. not that it's a good idea to judge a book by its cover, but just LOOK at this sweetie pie:

i probably won't ever read this oldie, and that's okay. but just take a look-see inside and see how precious it is.



yes, this chapter title was my iNsPiRaTiOn for today's post. old friends, new faces. that's exactly how i feel about junking. it's like collecting old friends. the faces may be new to me, but they feel so familiar to my soul. there's a palpable, kindred spirit when i'm surrounded by antiques.

when i find the perfect treasure, it's like an old friend who's been waiting to be rediscovered ... and allowed to enter my heart and home. case(s) in point:

i defy anyone to say this precious lil baby girl doesn't belong to me. just look at her! she's got a blonde ponytail, for pete's sake! i didn't care one whit that the clock didn't work. i fell in love the moment i saw her. and she's soooo thrilled to be in my home, among my other pretty vintage clocks.

this gorgeous treasure is brand new, to me. found at the lampasas city-wide yard sale last weekend. how sweet, how delicate, how delightful! notice the little blingy inside the flowers!

okay, okay. ugh, right? not v. pretty. but but but but ... it's old and has special sentimental significance for me. for those who don't recognize what it is ... it's an old telephone stand that was inserted into a wall in the house, usually in the hallway. my childhood home had one and there's no telling how many hours i stood there talking to friends (and boyfriends)! no privacy whatsoever. loooong before the days of cell phones, texting and the interwebs. one house, one family, one phone. in the center of the house. ack!!!

i've seen these occasionally at my junking haunts but was never willing to pay the price. this one was all of $3. sold! to the crazy lady driving the junk-filled, over-loaded camry!

i know what y'all are thinking. yes, i do. what in THE hell is she going to do with that thing?! the answer is: i. don't. know. but i had to have it. it spoke to me. it needed a loving home. one thing's for sure: i'll be sanding off that awful finish and repainting it. would look cute on a wall with some vintage gewgaws, whatnots or tchatchkes, no? also, i could hunt down a vintage/retro telephone for it!

here's an extra sweet picture i stumbled across ... where, i don't remember. probably the barn. i meant to paint the frame, but got distracted.

and here's an awesome find, at only $4. a vintage tole tray. i have several but none in this shape (round) or with the scroll-work border. gorgeous!

hello. my name is terrylee and i'm a vintage salt and pepper shaker hoarder (hello terrylee!). seriously, i do collect them ... but they have to be pretty, like these. soooo frickin' sweet.

see the two lil green and pink ones? those are my newest old friends.

so darling. so small!!

two of these precious babes are recent finds. you might recall a recent blog about them (thanks again elisabeth!). the baby on the far right is mine from childhood. i believe we got her in germany when i was five. they all fit in the lil blue crib nicely, don't you think? they have lots of fun together when i'm not around. heh heh

i know nothing about this piece except that i got her for $1.50 at a marble falls thrift shop last summer. vintage? no. fun? yes!! big ol' white straw top hat with a pink feather boa! woohoo!!

and this. well, this is something else. what would possess a person to purchase such a thing?! i don't know. but i have an affinity for dress forms and the like. imagine my shock when i spotted this beauty ... in, of all places ... the goodwill bargain barn!! there she was, just lying there all forlorn, with that hangdog expression on her ... er ... well, she was definitely down in the mouth (that is, if she'd had one). "somebody notice me! pick me up and take me home! put some clothes on me!" okay, lest y'all think i'm totally insane, she didn't really say that. not the part about putting clothes on her, anyway. i think she likes being naked ... such an exhibitionist.

maybe, just maybe, if i had that 6 inch waist, i might go around naked too. geez. what real woman has a waist like that?!

i like those crazy arms too! they're all bendy and twisty. can't wait to figure out what the hell i'm gonna do with her! someone told me to decoupage her. another suggested i paint her and add bling. my hubby just wants me to hide her.

a fun and funky chest of drawers, an unexpected find at a yard sale. wasn't in the market for one, but c'mon people! it's pink and turquoise (my two fave colors!) and it has fuzzy fru fru on the knobs (that's what she said ... sorry, couldn't resist). it was screaming my name so i had to get her. at $8, not a bad deal!

a homer laughlin bowl in mint condition, picked at a yard sale for $3. it was meant to be mine ... all mine! :)

okay. that is all. new friends, old friends and kindred spirits ... i wish you all peace and happy junking this weekend.

love and hugs,
terrylee