Pyrex score twice in one week!

Last week at Savers I scored four pink pyrex bowls. I just happened to be standing where the carts stopped before being put out on the shelves. I wasn't being a shark either! I got the flamingo (plain pink, shown in the photo) and the daisy pattern (already sold one) which is also pink. Rarely will you find the tops with the bottoms, so it's pretty hard to find the tops. Anyone who deals in pyrex is always looking for those. 

There is a Salvation Army store close to my storage unit down in Gilroy. It's on the very edge of town so doesn't get much traffic. Which also means they don't get any of the good stuff either. I had some donations riding around in the back of my car, so I stopped by. 

The Salvation Army stores around here aren't very good, so I don't go out of my way to shop there. This store is so far off the beaten path that the donation drop off guys where very happy to see me. I think I was the first and maybe only person they would see all day! 

Since I was there I went in but didn't think I would find anything.  I really don't like the layout of this store as all the houseware are on rounds and not in straight aisles. No way to speed to shop and very hard to see everything.

I was super surprised to find two pyrex lids (the only ones there) in the sizes I needed. From the date stamps they were just put out It was a unicorn moment for sure. Finding the lids means I can triple my price on my pyrex bowls. What a score!

Somethings just say buy me.

Sometimes things just speak to me, not that I hear voices or anything like that. :) Hopefully you know what I mean. 

From the first day I saw this piece I liked it. It's not practical nor does it have any resale value, but I liked it. Everyday for a week when I went in to Goodwill store I looked for it. I know at some point if it doesn't sell, it will go to the bins (last stop for unsold items) and more than likely into the landfill. It had been at the store for almost 3 weeks (there are date stamps on everything) so the clock was ticking. It was $7.49, which is a little high for something I won't be able to flip. I finally gave in and purchased it. It's hand painted and made in Portugal. I'm thinking when I finally find a place to call home, I start a collection. :) 

Found a sterling silver piece

As a picker (reseller) I always go into a thrift store will high hopes of finding something great! Sometimes I even get a cart thinking I may be able to fill it up but most of the time I leave empty handed. There are some Goodwill stores that I've never found anything. These are stores where you won't find any pickers hanging around. Where does the good stuff go at these stores? On Tuesdays it's senior discount day and at Savers that's 30%, which means the store is packed with sharks. That is what I call pickers who stand around the back door waiting for the carts to come out so they can jump on the new stuff first. It's like Black Friday every Tuesday and it's that crazy. 

I had to drop off a couple of boxes of donations (rubber stamps that I can't sell off on WhatNot) at the Goodwill store on my way home. Yesterday I got lucky and found this vase on a fresh cart (hadn't been put on the shelf yet) with a sterling silver .925  mark on the base. I was a little surprised the back room missed the marking. Now I just have to decide if I should sell it as is or scrap it for the silver value. What would you do?

Binge Watching - Portrait Artist of the Year

up coming whatnot auction 

Does anyone else love finding a  good TV show to binge watch? I've been process over a thousand stamps to sell on WhatNot and finding something to play in the background really helps pass the time. I love the TV show called "Portrait Artist of the Year" from England. It amazing what the artists can create in just 4 hours but the best part is how each painting style is so different. 

As far as me finding a decent place to rent, it's been one step forward and two steps back. :(  I found a place Saratoga that had everything I was looking for. The current tenant decided he needed more time to move out even thou he already has another place. I thought I was going to be able to move in the first of the month. Where I'm staying at now, I have to out by the 5th, so the timing was good. Because of the delay, I'm renting the Carmel House (at full vacation rental rate - ouch) until December. Since I can't be 100% sure this guy is going to move out any time soon, I'm still going to look for a place to call home. 

Pork Belly Nacho

Pork Belly Nachos

I made the drive up to Berkley to pick up the last of my whatnot boxes (things I won) and mail. I was moving around so much, my older sister let me use her address as my home base. It's surprising how much mail you get when you move! 

One of my cousin drove up with me since she also had to pick up some toys my daughter left for her grand son. 

We went out for lunch and it's always a challenge if there be something on the menu (other than a salad) gluten free. The restaurant is a hamburger/bar/night club type of place. I was surprised to see this upscale version of nachos on the menu. the pork belly was the star of the dish and it was very good. Not the healthiest thing to eat but it was so tasty and just the right amount.  Who said gluten free was boring!

Field trip to the Legion of Honor - Guo Pei

the gold dress took 50,000 hours to make!

Yesterday I went to the Legion of Honor to see the fashion designer Guo Pei's collection. If you know me, I'm not a fashion person at all!  I do appreciate the artistic talent it takes think of these creations and to be able to sew them! The embroidery work (all hand done) was very impressive and really the show stoppers.  Her more avant guard collection was turn obis (the belt used to hold kimonos closed) inside out and show the messy but colorful back. I have to say I've never looked at the back side of an obi before. 

What I really liked at the LH was the chandelier (1700's) in one of the other displays. The crystals are made for sold quartz crystals (rocks) the size of a softball. I can't even imagine how they managed to make the crystals back in the 1700's!

We had perfect weather and even better found parking right in front of the museum!  

Memories

Does anyone else check out their Facebook memories? I know I look at mine to see if there will be pics of Annie. It's been over a year and a half but I still miss her everyday.

Finally got my taxes done and with the sale of my last rental property in TX, had a massive tax bill, over 50K!  That really hurts the pocket book for sure!  I'm just happy I don't have my taxes hanging over my head, at least not until next year. :)  I'm so thankful for T and G at Cottage Crafts for hooking me up with the tax person who was willing to take me on as a last minute client!  

So in my search for a place to call home, I think I found a place. Just waiting for background check to be done and hopefully the current tenant will move out as scheduled. There's a little drama with that situation. Annie would have loved it and she would have added an extra layer of security. Fingers crossed everything goes as planned! 

A few months back when I was in Hawaii I found this brown spotted cow fabric. If you've been following my blog you know that was my mom's lucky charm. It always makes me think of my mom and makes me smile. I really want to have a baby quilt made with this fabric and have been searching for the companion fabric to go along with it. I think I may have it all dialed in now as far as fabric goes. Just have to settle on what the pattern will be. 

Things are looking up on finding a place to call home. I'll checking out two place this week that have everything on my check list. fingers crossed one of them will work out!

Stress eating

So what do you eat when you're stressed? It was a very stressful day yesterday and I was feeling sorry for my self. I thought I would go to the Mexican restaurant down the street and get the pulled pork with cheese (Mulitas at La Corona Taqueria) between homemade corn tortillas.  It's very very good! But instead I went to the Japanese grocery store which was closer because I just didn't want to walk that extra block. Yes pity party going on here! Went for the comfort food of spicy tuna roll and Japanese fried chicken. To add an extra punch to everything I made a batch of strong wasabi to dip everything in. Nothing clears your head faster than a big shot of wasabi! I had my usual smoothie to round everything out, 

I know today will be a better day for sure, it just has to be!

Eleven pound Irish crystal vase

On the same day I found my first swung vase, I found this massive eleven pound  24% lead crystal vase at Savers. If you follow my blog you know I talk about not finding much there and the prices are always too high. I now carry a small bag of donations so if I stop by, I can get the 20% coupon, every little bit helps! When I spotted this vase I thought it had to be damaged because it was still there. Yes, it was very dirty and not as sparkly as it is now. It was priced at $7 so I had to believe it was damaged somewhere. I checked this vase several times and couldn't find any wrong with it. At check out I paid $5 for this amazing vase!

I've been a little depressed in not finding a place to call home yet and my deadline is fast approaching!  Please send positive house hunting vibes my way!

My first Swung vase found in the wild.

Today on my way to the post office, I popped into the Goodwill that on the way.  It's so rare for me to find anything, I don't even get a shopping cart. 

I was checking out the new stuff on the cart and I didn't even notice this swung (that's how it's spelled) vase that was right in front of me the whole time. I was so busy looking at all the broken figurines I totally over looked this blue vase. These vases are super hot in the auction world and I can't believe I found one in the wild!

Gut feelings

Yesterday I went to look at a ADU in Sunnyvale that was up to rent. It had almost everything on my check list. It was a new unit that was at one time part of the main house.  It had a washer and dryer, small kitchen and in a reasonable safe area but I just couldn't say yes. I just don't know why but I just couldn't. My gut just told me as perfect as it seemed, not to say yes. I felt sick that I didn't say yes when I got in the car but my gut just told me no. Ever have that gut reaction to something?

Please put out some positive vibes for me and hopefully I find something before my time runs out. 

The dutch cookie jar in the picture (I'm getting better at taking picture before they go out in my booth)  I found at one of the GoodWill stores last week. Vintage for sure and will look nice with the few Dutch pieces I have left in my booth. It's not something I can sell on WhatNot as it's too big to ship and not worry about breaking.  I have another auction this morning (rubber stamps)  and then off to search for more treasures and hopefully finding a place to call home. 

My whatnot set up for now

This is my Whatnot auction set up for now. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done! Easy to set up and take down. I hope when I get my own place, I'll be able to set a permanent filming area. My ring light wobbles a bit so I have to figure out how to keep that from happening. What I would really like is a packing station. I spend a lot of time running back and forth to the garage to get boxes and wrapping paper. Since I'm an everything seller, I never know what size box I'll need so I keep different sizes handy. I'm getting much better at cutting down the boxes to make it fit whatever I'm shipping. Slowly narrowing down my box inventory. 

Fingers crossed that I find a place to call home soon. Looking at a few places this weekend - send good vibes my way!

Brown spotted cow

From a Whatnot auction 

If you've been following my blog you know that my mom's lucky charm was a brown spotted cow. I know it sounds weird but it's true. When ever she'd dream of a brown spotted cow when she was gambling in Reno or Las Vegas, she would win big. It became a family joke to buy her cows when she was planning a trip.  So now when I see one up for auction I usual get it just because it reminds me of my mom and it makes me smile! 

Stitch Up - New store in Morgan Hill

"Stitch Up" is a new store down in Morgan Hill. There aren't too many needlepoint stores in the Bay Area so it's so nice there is a place you can get your stitching fix! Some of my antique furniture (which is on loan) fits perfectly into store. My 8 foot bench is the makes a wonderful display for all the pillows. I'm just thrilled that it's out of the storage unit and back into being put to use! If you're into the stitching arts, you should plan to stop on by. Right off the freeway and plenty of parking!

18525 Sutter Road

Morgan Hill CA 

Biggest WhatNot auction to date 2022

I've really been trying to do auctions every week to keep my channel active. I keep them short (about an hour long) so that means I only have about 30-40 for sale. I don't sell a lot so it goes by fast. For my next auction, I'm selling off all the unmounted stamps and dies I've had in the ZZ booth at Cottage Crafts. Never realized how much I had in the booth until I gathered everything up! I'm guessing this auction will be a few hour long because I have over 80 items listed! Most of the items came from a huge lot I picked up at Goodwill a few years  ago but I'm still amazed at how much I still have in storage!

Today I'll be down in Gilroy today moving my printer's cabinet to the new needlepoint store in Morgan Hill. It's so nice to get my cabinet out of storage and back in uses. Now I can't remember if I emptied all the drawers!

Where the good stuff goes

There is a local thrifting YouTuber (golden state picker) that I occasionally watch who also shops at the Savers store here in San Jose.  He shows many times in his videos some amazing stuff he finds. I wasn't sure how he was finding them because when I shop at Savers there's nothing on the shelves. Yesterday I saw him and a gang of his friends all hanging out in the kid's section at the back of the store. I was in  plush toys section, which also happens to be right next to the doorway the carts come out of with all new inventory.  A cart came out (stopped right next to me) and they swarmed before it even got a foot out of the doorway. Now this is a very common thing  that resellers do and it doesn't seem to bug the staff.  After getting stuck in the swarm, I understand how he's able to get to the good stuff before it even hits the floor. The resellers are just lined up waiting for the  new carts. 

What I find interesting he is has never said in any of his videos this is his strategy in getting to the good stuff first. 

Oxford Gargoyles

It's been slim picking at the thrift stores and yes I know I whine about this a lot. I found these weird wall hanging called Oxford Gargoyles. I thought they're funny but because of the weight not sure they will sell well on WhatNot. The  shipping will be pretty high. I squeezed in an auction this morning because I won't be able to do any this weekend. A big city wide marathon is happening and I can't park my car anywhere close to the condo I'm at. Hope they sell!

Another whirlwind month

It's been another whirlwind month! I started my whatnot auction and it's starting to get easier. My mornings are now spent running an auction and then heading out to the pst office. Do my sourcing and stopping by Cottage Crafts on my way home.

I finally had time to drive down to my storage unit in Gilroy and get things organized. It's a much bigger unit than I really need now but they only have big outdoor ones. I do like that I can drive up to my unit but it does get a fair amount of dust plus it's south facing so gets super hot if the sun is out, which is all the time.  Since I was down there I had lunch with an old card making friend who lives in Gilroy.   She's really into needlepoint (I know nothing about needlepoint) and she's helping out at a new store opening up in Morgan Hill. Sorry I didn't get the name of the store, but I will! While I was at the shop visiting my friends, I asked if Kay (the shop owner)  if she wanted to borrow my printer's cabinet I have in storage.  I saw that she was using a big map file cabinet to store some thread and reminded me of my printer's cabinet. Then it lead to the eight foot pine bench I got for my daughter a while back. The bench would be a great way to display all the finished pillows the store has. One of my other oak cabinets will also be going over to the store.  I'm just thrilled my furniture is getting out of the hot storage unit and shown some love again.

It took five times by myself getting that bench into my car! Definitely got my work out that day! The soft opening is this Friday so I really wanted to get the bench into the store. The other cabinets will have to be moved by the professionals.

On top of all that I'm still in search of a place to call home. The clock is ticking as I have to find some place by next month. My stress level is a little high right now!