My Unplugged Weekend

Last week just seemed endless.  I ended up working long hours and spending way too much time online.  By Friday night, I wanted a break . . . and so I took one.  I unplugged from the Internet for the weekend (computer, phone, and iPad).   I thought this would be difficult, but it wasn't.  It felt great!

During my time offline, I went yard saling, had lunch with a friend, re-read Positively 4th Street (David Hajdu), spent time reading The Supreme Macaroni Company (Adriana Trigiani), watched a great old movie, Cactus Flower (Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman, Goldie Hawn), went antiquing with a friend, cooked, listened to music, watched an episode of Columbo, walked my dogs, wrote poetry, got up on a ladder to find a book of Pablo Neruda poetry, and generally enjoyed living the way I did 20 years or so ago . . . pre-Internet.

I was eager to read emails and Facebook updates from friends this morning, so I missed the immediacy of keeping in touch.  I also missed Google!   I have a beautiful 1950's set of Childcraft encyclopedias here -- not quite the same thing, unless you want to read about the life cycle of bees.

That said, I loved the way that being unplugged forced me to do some different things.  This is something I will do again.  (And I want to find new ways to spend less time online outside of work hours.)

I wanted to share a few antiquing photos with you.  We went to Broad Street Antique Mall in Chamblee.  This is my favorite antique shop in Atlanta.  It is huge!

 I love this hand beaded basket.  It is just amazing!

Look at all this fun vintage dollhouse furniture.  The detailing on these is wonderful.  They look like Renwal.  (Renwal dollhouse furniture has more detail than the more popular Marx, with little doors and drawers that open, etc.).

Exactly my kind of Christmas tree!  So pretty.  This is a vintage tree, and I love the glass ornaments.

This was my favorite item at the mall.  It's an older wood/paste board dollhouse.  I would date it as 1940's (pre-1950's, when dollhouses were tin litho). 

A 1940's Hershey bar dispenser!

New to me -- Frosty Caboose, with icy treats.  We had Raspberry Sorbet, and it was delicious!

So ... how about you?  Have you tried unplugging from the Internet?  If so, what was your experience?  I would love to hear from you in the comments section, below.

Remembering the Lakewood Antiques Show at Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta

I always loved the Lakewood Fairgrounds in Atlanta.  When I was very little, it was the home of the big Southeastern Fair.  The movie Smokey and the Bandit was filmed, in part, there.  (And I was an extra in this movie as a teenager!)  Eventually, Lakewood became the home for the most amazing monthly antique show, familiarly called just "Lakewood" by Atlantans.

Lakewood was more than an antiques show;  it was an event.  I went with friends, ran into other friends, sometimes tailgating so we could spend the whole day there.  The show ran once a month over the weekend, and sometimes we went twice over the same weekend.

I grew up in a family that went antiquing for fun.  At Lakewood I developed an even greater love of antiques and all things vintage.  I started selling vintage books and ephemera because I was so captivated by these things at Lakewood.

This great antiques event closed in 2006, and I still miss it!   I wanted to share a few photos with you that my friend Dave took the weekend of the final fair.  By the way, Dave has an amazing vintage New Orleans photo collection at flickr, and you'll find it here:  imperturbe at flickr.

These photos show the beautiful Spanish style buildings.  These buildings were originally livestock exhibition stalls at the old Southeastern Fair.   Lakewood Fairgrounds was built in 1916.   At the monthly antiques show, the buildings held antique booths, but there were many more booths outdoors on the grounds as well.

Another view of an exhibition hall exterior:

One of my favorite things about Lakewood - Mini Donuts!  (Oh, I am craving them right now!)

Crowds - LOTS of people!

Inside an exhibition hall.  I always loved the variety of booths!

The feeling of anticipation, wondering what treasure awaited next ...

Love the retro signage!

One of my favorite things about Lakewood was dog watching!

Another view inside an exhibition hall.  We had favorite halls, where regular sellers sold, and always allowed extra time at their booths.  My favorite booth (not pictured in these photos) was owned by two older women from the North Georgia mountains.  They sold nothing but vintage children's books and retro toys - all baby boomer vintage.   Their prices were reasonable, and they were very knowledgeable about the books.  I always enjoyed talking with them!

One of my favorite things -- stamped linens and retro kitchenware!

Oooh!!   So cute - love this cheery yellow kitchenware.

And even better, in my kitchen colors - red and white.

Another personal favorite - vintage holiday decorations!  Halloween and Christmas here.  LOVE the aluminum Christmas trees!

Shiny Brites!   My heart skips a beat just seeing this amazing collection.

Mid-Century Modern furniture and lamps:

Anyone remember Gurley candles?  I have loved these since the days of Woolworth dimestore browsing:

Beautiful Napco Christmas figurines.  The Christmas Dachshund is designed to hold holiday treats - so cute!

The little outdoor Food Court:

And we are leaving Lakewood - for the last time.

The thing I loved most about Lakewood was the thrill of the hunt, the amazing treasure that was waiting around the next corner, the bargain, the unique.  This sometimes led to buying unusual vintage items, then getting them home and realizing they weren't something I really wanted to collect.  Post-Lakewood, I do almost all my vintage shopping on  eBay.  The big plus of shopping online is that you can be very focused -- looking for vintage Dachshund postcards or vintage Mermaid decals or "veggie head" salt and pepper shakers.  I sell on eBay, and I love this vintage focus on children's books, cookbooks, and ephemera/cards in my store:  Birdhouse Books on eBay - vintage children's books, cookbooks, and ephemera (Valentines, Christmas, postcards, dogs).

But I still miss the randomness of the vintage treasure hunt ... and of course, I miss those mini donuts too!

Antique Matchbook Collection

My friend Dave, who collects vintage ephemera and photos (his vintage New Orleans flickr page is here) has a knack for finding the most unusual items when we are out yard saling!   On our last yard sale jaunt, he found an AMAZING 1920's - 1940's matchbox collection -- over 600 matchbooks for just $2.00!   The collection includes matchbooks related to:  cars, soft drinks, food, beverages, restaurants, bars, hotels, motels, and stores.  What a great find!  He is keeping the collection, but sent me some photos to post here.  The matchbooks are so fabulous that I wanted to share them with you.

Dog-Gone Cute: Tips for Listing Vintage Dog Ephemera

One of my favorite collecting - and selling - areas is vintage ephemera. I particularly love vintage dog ephemera.

I collect vintage Dachshund ephemera (especially Valentines and Christmas cards) but that is another blog entry - or perhaps a whole separate blog!

I love the cute, often whimsical vintage dog illustrations, of course. But it is also fun to peek into another time and see people with their pets.

My axiom as an eBay seller has always been: if it has a dog, mention the dog. Prominently. In the title and in the description.

I also recommend being as specific as possible -- not just Cute Dog Card, but Cute Poodle Card, or better yet, Cute BLACK STANDARD POODLE Card.

Although I started on line selling vintage children's books (and that will always be my first love), over time I've also come to really enjoy vintage ephemera. I have a big box of it here waiting to be listed (perhaps 400 - 500 pieces). It's a little like a treasure hunt; you never know what goodies you will find!

I certainly hope there are more vintage dogs waiting for me in my ephemera box.

A few of the dog postcards, Valentines and greeting cards I have listed online:

http://search.stores.ebay.com/Birdhouse-Books_dog-cocker-beagle-poodle-puppy-puppies-dogs-card-valentine-postcard_W0QQfcdZ2QQfciZQ2d1QQfclZ3QQfromZR10QQfsnZBirdhouseQ20BooksQQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQsaselZ81052548QQsatitleZQ28dogQ2ccockerQ2cbeagleQ2cpoodleQ2cpuppyQ2cpuppiesQ2cdogsQ29Q20Q28cardQ2cvalentineQ2aQ2cpostcardQ29QQsbrsrtZdQQsofpZ0