Estate Sale Finds

A few weeks ago I attended an interesting estate sale. The home, in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago, was built in 1920 and was home to multiple generations of the same family. The gentleman that passed was a retired Lutheran minister who was one of the creators of Uncle Mistletoe - a tradition at Marshall Fields in Chicago and a local children's program. The Uncle Mistletoe above has been on my tree for the past 20 years. 

This picture peaked my curiosity for the sale along with this one: 

Oh my! Be still my heart! Look at those incredible German rabbit candy containers! I wanted them all! Or at least one :)

When I went to the sale, I realized the house was tiny so only a few people could be inside. There were at least 25 people ahead of me, so I left :(  Late in the afternoon of the last day, I found myself back in the neighborhood, so I thought I would try again. 

Of course all of the items in the first two photos sold in the first half hour of the sale, but I did manage to find a few little treasures...

There was an entire bedroom filled with antique toys. The gentleman working the room told me that the minister didn't collect toys, these were all his toys from his childhood and they were very well cared for.

This little box with its winter scene caught my eye.

I opened it up and found this!

Snow White and the 7 dwarfs are now part of my Christmas decorations. 

This sweet little velvet tabby kitten came home with me along with 

the teeniest tiniest jointed teddy bear that I ever did see.

His mohair is so worn and well loved :)

Other little treasures found:

This little box will be a pincushion someday and I loved the graphics on this matchbox.

And since I love all things Abraham Lincoln, this coin came home with me as well.  

And finally a single button shoe. Not sure what happened to its mate, but it looked awful lonely.

When at several estate sales, I met a lovely woman named Wanda. Wanda and I have the exact same taste in antiques. I try to go whenever she has a booth at a show as I know that I will find treasures. Last weekend she had a garage sale and I found these:

A wonderful salt box.

A wooden folk art bird who will live in my garden next summer.

This great green bucket 

Some vintage red velvet, a Ball freezer jar, a clock bank and several tin items.

With my new finds I added some greens and lights and came up with this:

Of course, I should have been preparing for Christmas, but sometimes you just need to take a break :)

"The wolf will live with the lamb,

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together;

and a little child will lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear,

their young will lie down together,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the cobra’s den,

and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all my holy mountain,

for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea."

~Isaiah 11:6-9

Blessings, Patti