As promised, and then re-promised, today I shall share with you what we bought at the Rose Bowl Flea Market on Sunday. See that Uncle Sam’s Register Bank above? My brothers, sister, and I all had banks just like that when we were kids, each a different color. I think mine was pink and I have no idea what happened to them. I’ve been searching for one for about a year. I’ve been on eBay and bid on them until they get up into the $40+ range, then I bail out. Come to think about it, I’m not sure why I keep bailing out of bids because eBay is there for you to buy items, so why would you get this close and then just forget it? Well, I should ask myself because this is what I keep doing.

I’d never seen the cute little leather-covered book banks before but fell in love as soon as I spotted them. One has the White House on it and the other has an Islam hat and is marked San Francisco, June 1922. I did a little research on these banks and found THIS uber-cool website that shows advertisements for these and a large variety of vintage and antique banks.

At the same booth where I found Uncle Sam’s bank, I found this vintage Stag Horn Handle Meat Carving Set with Sharpener. I especially like the little lever used to hold the fork up off the table and the intricate decorative metal embellishments.

[Read more →]

Finally, the day has come to show you our purchases from the Rose Bowl Flea Market! At the top is my pièce de résistance – a gorgeous wood and cane chair painted white, distressed, and then reupholstered in burlap and vintage grain sacks. Oh, I can not begin to tell you how gorgeous it is – the pictures do not do it justice! I adore the “125 LBS” on the back of the chair. It makes me wish I could just place it right in the center of a room and put it on a spinning platform.

If you’ve ever been to my house, you may be thinking, “What room is that chair sitting in? I don’t remember any room in Linda’s house looking like that.”  You are right, this is Sheila’s living room at her cottage on Coronado Island in San Diego, California. Before I can share with you any of the other wonderful finds we bought, I just have to share with you the “story” of our trip. The trials, tribulations, and the seriously sheer stupidity on our part while planning our big shopping spree!  Honestly, what good is a trip without a story attached?

[Read more →]

The Rose Bowl Flea Market was on Sunday, but Sheila and I arrived in Los Angeles early Saturday morning. Our first order of business was to go directly to Big Daddy’s Antiques Warehouse. If you recall, I found out about Big Daddy’s from Vignette Design and it was the first booth Marissa, Dave, and I visited last month at the Alameda Point Antiques Faire.

Big Daddy’s not only participated in the Rose Bowl and Alameda markets, but they also have warehouses in both San Francisco and Los Angeles.  You may also remember that I was coveting the Turkish olive baskets in Alameda and then found one back home in Arizona. Well, the same baskets line the steps up to the front door of the LA warehouse. I took that as an excellent sign that there were more good things to come!

[Read more →]

There is a VERY good reason I did not post over the weekend… I was in Pasadena, California at the Rose Bowl Flea Market with my girlfriend, Sheila. Boy, did we have a fun and fruitful adventure!

It was a gorgeous Southern California day and we took full advantage of it. We arrived at about 7 AM and didn’t leave the market until well after 2 PM.

[Read more →]

Oh the things I would have bought this past Sunday at the Alameda Point Antiques Faire … IF only I had a big truck to drive it all home in! But, alas, I had but one suitcase – and a dinky carry-on at that. That sort of size limit turns you into a very discerning buyer!  Here is what I came home with…

A couple of lovely vintage skeleton keys.

A pair of outboard motor cuff links. The one on the left still has the little propeller that spins  The cost of these cuties? A whopping $1.00!  They are to be a future gift for a very good friend with a motorboat.

[Read more →]

I really don’t need an excuse to visit my daughter, Marissa, in San Francisco. I’d be happy to go anytime and as often as she’d have me.

But this visit was scheduled around the once monthly Alameda Point Antiques Faire held across the bay and over the Oakland-Bay Bridge on Navy Way in Alameda.  The first Sunday of each month brings more than 800 vendors and over 10,000 shoppers to the huge sale.  I first learned of the Faire through my favorite blog, Vignette Design. Interior designer and blogger extraordinaire, Delores, loves the Faire and has written of it often. Her favorite vendor is Big Daddy’s Antiques, so naturally that would be our first stop.

crated demijohn, industrial cart, and so much more!

I was beside myself with anticipation when we arrived at about 7:30 AM (the gates open at 6:00).  We made a beeline for the Big Daddy booths in aisles J & K. (the aisles run from A – Z).  I was delighted by every item in the Big Daddy booth, but also heartsick that there was not even one thing that was small enough to fit in my suitcase. The photo above and the next 7 photos were taken in the Big Daddy booths.

[Read more →]