Profit!

Hey, remember when I trash picked a Steiff bear? Finally sold him for $100. Why, if I do this every day, I'd have a career going!

8th Annual Trash Pick

It was another gorgeous day. Due to multiple kid activities, I was only able to go pick for about two hours. Enough time to fill the minivan, not enough stuff to cause a divorce. Success!

So, I don't think I've mentioned this before, and I'm not usually one of those wacky "energy in the universe goes where it is called" (or whatever. I can't even fake this.) but every year I think of a few things I'd like to find, and I'm generally pretty happy with how it turns out. One year it was benches. I got several. This year I went with picture frames, large planters, and limestone slabs for the garden. Hey, two outta three. I'll take it.

Not shown: items for possible entries for the annual book club white elephant gift (and ooooh I got some doozies), ugly ornaments for that party, and two very nice hardback books that I gave my dad. They looked unread, marked as $35 each. One was Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The other one was Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham.

Oh, I also re-curbed a whole box of Easter decorations that I decided I didn't want after all. They were gone within the hour.

I stopped by my friend's house. She couldn't come with this year. Due to kid activities, what a coincidence. These are the items I wanted to leave on her porch as a surprise, but darn it, she was home. Beautiful objects d'art and some 3 lb weights (little joke from last year).

Three planters. The turquoise one is pottery, but the others are plastic.

Giant pile of cloth diapers. Now, I know it's treading the line on what's socially acceptable to trash pick. They were clean and ready to sell! There were 24 in the bag, along with extra inserts and 2.5 packages of disposable diapers. What kind of world do we live in where it's acceptable to throw out cloth diapers? Shame on you, person who couldn't be bothered to Freecycle them.

Cool wooden cabinet, wooden Easter musical box (works!) and hand towels, 1.5 boxes of small canning jars, a smiley face mug, a cool light fixture cover, and two Christmas ornaments.

A piglet, a couple books, a couple plates, two hanging vases, a lazy susan, and two cool Christmas plaques. 

To think on the way to trash picking I was going to buy a picture frame! It is to laugh. That whole box is full of frames. All with actual family photos. Extra style points to the freaks posing with guns. Crystal candle holder in the front.

Two nice jars, two pool cues, some cloth napkins, a book, a decorative plate, a vase, a tabletop fountain that sort of works. Needs a little work.

Some fabric I want to do crafts with, three new holiday pillows that I will use as inserts to more attractive covers, and Ye Olde Holiday Ribbon. I haven't bought gift wrap in years.

Two more books, a buttload of Christmas crap. Some hidden because there may be an Ugly Ornament winner in my future after all. Holiday hand towels.

And since I didn't have a real friend to pick with this year, I found one and installed him permanently on my dash. Please give a warm welcome to Froggy Dash. He's my buddy.

Ugly Ornament Party - 2015

Oh, how we love ugly ornaments! Oh, how difficult it is (much more than you might think) to find a real contender! Sure, the stores are full of normal ugly, but the truly awful are very rare. I would know, because I look for them all year. You'd think garage sales would be full of them. But no.

Updated to add a link to this related Cracked article. I don't care what anyone says: I sort of like #3.



Here's what I brought to the table: Christmas Herpes. So named because, as we know, "Glitter is the herpes of the crafting world." I trashpicked it, naturally, so no backstory on why anyone would glue a bunch of pine cones together and then cover it in holographic glitter. What the photo doesn't show is how heavy this monstrosity is. Truly a fail. Extra points for also, again, failing to be ugly enough to garner very many votes. I'll never win my own party, sniff sniff.

For the others, let's go in reverse order. First, some bad honorable mentions: Little Drummer Boy and Leder-HORSE-n (obviously pandering to the German unicorn vote, that one).



We can all agree, no?, that they are unfortunate. But not bad enough, sorry. 

Next, the one I voted for. I love it! It's "A Very Troll-y Christmas." I believe there's some sort of troll movie coming out, so points for relevance. Also, it's a nice riff on the Easter Egg craft thing, as it's the same shape as those traditional sugary Easter delights. It only lost by a vote or two. 



And lastly, the winner, which is worse in person than what you see here, aptly named "Orange You Glad This isn't Your Ornament?" It's half a painted coconut with weird seed pods stuck on it. Except the one on top apparently wasn't glued enough, as it didn't make it to my house.



And there you have it. Another ugly ornament party in the record books. Hope you enjoyed this installment of "oh, yeah, I have a blog, oops, forgot."


We're just going to move forward and ignore the fact that this update is super late, kthanksbye.

I (heart) Trash - 7th Annual Trash Pick

To think it’s been so many years of joyful trashpicking already. New partner in crime this year, the lovely Kim, who was super accommodating and fun! She says she had a blast. Her haul included some wicker furniture, a cool Paris painting, a super-excellent old metal "potting soil" box, and some other stuff. I forget.

The annual purple parade that our town throws every spring was almost upon us, so I had purple on the brain. First up, purple curtains and a purple floral sheet, both of which I used as tablecloths. Was festive! Those are both on a dark stool that I haven’t quite found a home for yet.

Here we have a medley of lovely objects. Starting clockwise from the owl, one of those garden owls that are supposed to scare off rodents and birds. Doesn’t work for crap, but regularly scares the crap out of me, as I round the corner of the garage. I’m high-strung, apparently.

Bag of new wrapping stuff, including patterned tape (fun! Would never buy, but will use!), fancy ribbons, gift bag, nice holiday card.

Funny story about the hand weights. I like to set expectations a little before starting. “What do you hope to find this year? What is your quest?” I told Kim I was looking for some 5 pound weights (and purple stuff for our upcoming purple party). She was extremely impressed when I spotted these at 75 meters, athletically leaping out of the minivan with a joyful cry of “5 pound weights!!” She didn’t really know what was happening until she saw my score. Five pound weights. Boo-yah. Also, 8 pound weights, but I already had a set of those.

Handy bin, rustic ornamental birdhouse, dove, and sign (close-up below). Also a box of seashells, which might go to an art project. If not, I know an art teacher or two.

Various baskets, a PURPLE party-lite vase/candleholder. A vase with the $59.99 price tag still on the bottom.

Pottery barn rug, currently in the room where I work. It’s very nice. Washed it down with the hose in the driveway first.

Cow shaped blackboard. Metal serving dish.

Detailed view

Two gold cherubs, which I will use with Christmas lights on the porch this winter. A bag of mostly Gap clothing, some of which I kept, some went to charity. A rug that we couldn’t save. Someone else took it from our curb. Hope they had better luck.

Different view, including a stack of books.

Two of Kim’s things: old book and Yankee Candles, new in box. Small plates, being used as saucers under some houseplants now. Gift bag.

Better shot of the rugs, both good and bad

Sixth Annual Trash Pick

OMG. The trash pick. I thought it was going to be a total wash, as the weather was 39 degrees and raining. Boo hiss. I missed last year’s -- wah wah oh the humanity. So, I steeled myself, dressed in about a dozen layers, and waded into the fray. More or less. You know, because I have to Rescue the Goods from Landfill.

Before I start, though, the best near-miss was a gorgeous antiquey-looking globe on a floor stand. Timing is everything in this game. The woman who got it was jumping up and down in glee. I congratulated her. It was fabulous. Shortly thereafter, I saw an SUV with someone standing very far out of the sunroof. That’s not safe, I said to myself, before realizing that it was a Justin Bieber cutout. I laughed, but it looked like an accident waiting to happen. Which really is part of trash pick night. The driving? Not safe. Everyone is casing the curb, and you have to be careful both when hopping out of the minivan to check a pile and just generally when trying to decide whether to turn or go straight at the next intersection.

Here in the first photo, we see a lovely oval planter that I hoped would fit in the oval basket next to it (from a different house) but it didn’t. The heartbreak of trashpicking. Between them, webbed swimming gloves. Then 3 new water bottles, a cashmere scarf, a funky fleece hat, a super cool aluminum Christmas tree, and a planter. And a desktop skeeball game, which proved very popular with the kids.

As always, one of the first finds is the best, with a concrete hedgehog. Ain’t he a beaut. Also a basket that I selected partially for the $29.95 price tag still attached. I find the rabbit Beanie baby, cast iron chick, and brass watering can cute.

Not the book haul of past years (I blame the rain), but some excellent titles. And a puzzle and 3 sets of goggles. And a red Coach belt.

(Don’t mind the garage wall.) OK, let’s talk about the oak Crate and Barrel wine rack. I confess that friends gave us first dibs before throwing it to the curb. The crazy lamp on the left was Boo’s pick – she’s wanted that style of lamp for years. In true good neighbor fashion, people had covered it in a clear plastic bag to protect it from the elements. The strange bowl-on-a-stick makes a fine fern holder, according to the nice woman who had just placed it on the curb. Next to it is a hydrangea, a wastebasket holding a Build A Bear bunny, 4 wide-mouthed canning jars, a candlestick, a picture frame, two watering cans for the school garden, and a (international sign of hospitality) wooden pineapple puzzle. On the wine rack are two small rugs that pretty much didn’t touch the ground as they were put to the curb. I was right there. (I ran them through the wash today and they are lovely. Don't worry; I used the delicate setting.) And on them are two pairs of Justice jeans, a hot item for the tweenie set.

This tub I grabbed as seen, with some bats, skates, a few other sports items, and a giant spider for Halloween fun.

Some candle stuff. A cool leaf dish.

OK, and I’ve saved the best items for last. This Steiff bear, paper tag still attached, was in a garbage bag. Now, I know it sounds crazy, but when I picked up the bag, I knew something good was inside. There were some other stuffed animals, Gund and stuff. But I had this weird vibe, and I was right. Steiff goes for some big bucks, so he came home with me.

And lastly. An Eileen Fisher 100% cashmere sweater. Yup. Not pictured: two black cashmere sweaters and a handmade Irish sweater size XXL that I hope Oma will find a good home for. Many knitters are willing to unravel and reuse quality wool. But this one? This one is mine. I washed it, and it fits perfectly!

Here are the two planters and hydrangea after fixing them up.

View from a blog

Gosh, it's been an age. Hello!

We had a fire in the chiminea the other night. I sat there quite awhile, as you can see. 

Trash picked items: hurricane lamp, sundial, candlesticks, and the lovely fern in the back.

Touring the estate

When we stroll around our garden, we like to call it "touring the estate." Aren't we fancy? Sometimes we wear hats and sip fancy drinks, too. I'd like to take you on a short virtual tour today. Last year N ripped out the strange half-wall on the side of our old wooden front stairs. We immediately received a code violation notice from the village. So he applied for a permit and that shut them up. Here it is, over a year later, and he just finished the last finishing touch, which is the lattice under the stairs. (The permit was closed last year.) 

Also of interest in the photo is the giant coffee cup planter on the platform. I love it an unreasonable amount. 

I'm going to pretend this is a magazine article, and include notes on where to purchase the items shown.

Deck and railing: Azek

Hostas and front planter: trashpicked


See those porch windows above? They are the windows shown below. This is most of our collection of birdhouses. 

Birdhouses and rocking chair: Nearly all of them from garage sales
Bench: trashpicked


Last year we added another small raised bed. At left rhubarb, moved from a too-shady spot. Front is onions and peppers. In the cold frame, two tomatoes (one Brandywine, one sweet 100 cherry). Between them is a potato that just showed up. That's known as a "volunteer."

Rhubarb: Chivilo Family
Onion sets and tomato plants: Sneed's
Pepper plants: Long Family
Big Honkin' tomato cages: Menard's


And my old bean area (see the last photo) was becoming shadier year by year, plus I was really sick of climbing a ladder every day to harvest them. So N had to build another bed. Hmm. Seems like we're averaging one new bed a year. Interesting. 


The beans are blooming, so we should be eating them soon.

Trellis and magnolia tree: Schwarz Nursery
Bean seeds: Duffin Family

Fifth Annual Trash Pick

So, I flew solo for the big trash pick this year. The girls joined me for a few houses, on my way to dropping them off at my parents' house. (See previous years here.) This meant I could crank Yo La Tengo the whole time. So I did. Sets the mood, it does.

First up, a medley of items. Had my usual partner-in-trash been with me (she had an important softball game to watch), we would have been wearing these festive green hats. Top left, laptop bag, plastic storage container with flag paperweight, tie-dyed sheet, stationery and handwriting paper. On the right, two new Whole Paycheck reusable bags. Aren't they adorable? So me! I don't actually shop there, but I do recommend their bags. Knock down a hippie and steal theirs or something.

This is some gooood stuff right here. The Pottery Barn rug and vanity came straight out of a house and into my minivan. Much more from Nice Family (NF) below. We almost bought a cornhole game like this one last year. They are $100. So are rainbarrels, at least. Those big plastic containers will be used to grow potatoes next year.


You can see last year's very disappointing brussel sprouts blooming in the back there. 

Here's the sporting equipment section. New gardening gloves, too. The drill is from NF. Snowboard from my parents' neighbors. Also scored another pink flamingo. It matches the one from last year. The pair bonding was so strong that I was used as a tool to bring them back together. They are crafty animals, those plastic flamingos.


The kids have been playing catch with N ever since we got this stuff. I love trash. *happy sigh*

That's N mowing in the background. Left to right, a broken globe, which was almost immediately replaced by a beautiful $3 garage sale globe. This one was just to remind me that I wanted one for Nea. It's in a purple bike basket, to match my new purple bike (purchased last year for the triathlon), hand mirror and glasses in front. Why do people throw out glasses? You can donate them anywhere. People need glasses.


Next part, front to back, Easy to Bake Oven from NF, with mixes. I'm selling that. What a hunk of junk. A painted mirror, which I gave to a friend's mom. It's perfect for her summer house, and she loves it. New in box (NIB) clock, organizers. NIB flag and NIB hurricane lamp. Someone was throwing out wedding presents. (No, really.) Then one of my very favorite items -- old and sturdy gumball machine! Ooooh! And an assortment of purses. One of them is Tommy Hilfiger. I forget which one.

This is my OTHER favorite part. I should have counted how many beautiful books I started out with. I already swapped/gave away/sold a big stack. Some were in better shape than the same ones on my shelf. There were several book club picks! You can't see them all here. There are more in the box and the bag. Some in new condition. Poor little books. Unloved until now.

Another huge score from NF, a Dragonflies brand winter jacket with hood. As she handed it to me, she plucked off a sock. She'd just taken it out of the dryer. Nea loves it and wore it home. In the background, part of the swing we trashpicked a few years ago.

And lastly, I watched a guy lovingly put a newspaper-wrapped bundle on the curb. I swung back around and got it. What could it be? The suspense was killing me. So here we have it. Your moment on the Internet, old-timey people! Bet you didn't see that coming. It was probably 16x20 inches, and we couldn't rescue it from the broken glass it was stuck to. The frame is nice, though. We kept that. 


In conclusion, it was a sunny day. Ideal for picking trash. I love trash.

Fourth Annual Trash Pick

This year was a little sparse in comparison to some other years, but I can't complain. It's free, after all. 

Booster seat, lemon twist type toy. Papa Skateboard, Mama Skateboard, and Baby Skateboard. Old-timey playpen that I will use with some chickenwire for our hypothetical guinea pig, should we ever acquire one. We keep talking about it, but nothing ever happens. Three pretty china plates, a "suction cup it to your window" bird feeder, and Keen shoes, new with price tag ($29.90 at Nordstrom Rack).

Seven sample upholstery fabric books (for crafts), magazines (also for crafts), a bag of board books (will give to our old preschool).

Double jogging stroller (lending to a friend), tile address sign (will take apart for trivets), plastic flamingo (score!).

Basket with decorative grapevine balls, 12 new-in-box wire baskets (probably will give to Girl Scout troop), planter, cool old three-drawer thingie, plant stand, old toolbox (cool!), three square plastic planters (maybe for Garden Club), concrete planter (already being used).

Cute wee bunny, games, toy microphone for speech therapist, snorkel gear, find-the-Santa book. In background, large glass container for terrarium I hope to make.

Candlesticks, very nice plastic storage box, another stack of magazines, frame, little silver heart-shaped boxes (with lucky pennies and a little note from Grandma. A bit sad, really.), and a treasure trove of keepsakes from my high school Alma Mater, including keychains, cheerleading trophies, etc.