It Was a Baking Kind of Day....

Today was a baking kind of day.  The weather was chilly and slightly misting outside.  I spent some time visiting thrift stores, but just wanted to get home to bake.  That happens to me when the weather starts to get chilly.

At Autumn Drive in Woodstock a couple of weeks ago, I picked up butternut squash.  I have this wonderful recipe for a squash bread that I love to make in small bread pans so that I can freeze them. I baked the squash yesterday and scooped the flesh out.  I like to do this the day before to save time on the day of baking.  I made six mini loaves and we already finished one during dinner. Technically, the recipe states to cut it the next day after being in the refrigerator overnight, but we couldn't wait.  It was delicious!  Good thing I have more of the squash frozen.

Yesterday at the last outdoor Woodstock Farmer's Market for the season, I bought apples from Royal Oak Orchard.  I have been craving Pita with apples that my Baba made often.  It is usually in the fall that I start to crave it.  I used 6 different kinds of apples in it and it is the most delicious Pita with apples that I have ever made.  (I ate way too much of it).

I did have my garage sale on Friday.  The weather was a little chilly and it misted a few times, but the people still came.  It was the most profitable one I have had in a while.  Last year at this same time of year when I had one, it was a bust.  I'm so glad this year was better.  I even had a really nice person come back on Saturday to buy something that she passed up.  I still had it so we were all happy.  I donated everything else to Savers in Crystal Lake.  Once I put it in the garage sale pile, it doesn't come back into my house.  I took it over right away after boxing it up so my garage was cleaned out and my car could go back in.  The other good thing with donating it is that all of my garage sales have different items.  It's not the same stuff all the time.  People like that.  Especially since I sometimes have 2 garage sales in a season like I did this year.  I also price my items somewhat inexpensively because my goal is to get rid of it.  Some things are priced higher, but that's not my norm.  I want to make money and move it.  Since I was having a one day sale, my goal was to move it.  I'm so glad the bigger items did sell early on.  I actually had a really good time and met some really nice people.

There are a few estate sales listed for tomorrow.  I need to replenish!

Happy treasure hunting!

Still Finding Sales....

There are still so many wonderful sales going on.  This past weekend was Autumn Drive in Woodstock.  That was so much fun!  This year the weather was perfect for a fall day in the country.  I got to spend it with my cousin as our yearly ritual.  Finding a few treasures makes it even better.

My family and I spent this past weekend in Ft. Wayne Indiana for a Pokemon Regional Tournament. As we were driving home on Sunday, we drove past a sign for a vintage resale shop.  I did a quick u-turn and found Spill the Milk at 3152 W. Morthland Drive in Valparaiso Indiana.  It was a fun stop. They have been open for 1 year and have a really nice mix of items.  They are having their Christmas Holiday Market on Nov 21-22 from 9-4pm.

I have been monitoring the weather for this week so I can have a garage sale on Friday.  It feels like I just had one.  I brought home a lot of garden items from the store and will put them into the sale.  I just wanted to clean out my space at the store to make room for the holidays.  Not to mention that I needed to clean out some things from my house too.  I started organizing and setting up today. Tomorrow will be the busiest day for setting up.  I like to have things ready way ahead of time.  So, as I was bringing stuff home, I decided to keep a really rusty base.  I just love the patina and look.  It looks really nice in front of my garage with a metal pumpkin on it.

There is a rummage sale on Thursday at the 1st Congregational Church on Pierson Street in Crystal Lake starting at 9am.  Keep looking for those garage sales and estate sales.  Since the weather has been so nice, garage sales are still going on.  

Happy treasure hunting!

So Much To Tell......

So many things to blog about.  I don't even know where to begin.

I went to visit my new favorite stores in Dekalb this past week.  I have been looking for a wire basket (I love wire baskets) to hold some crochet blankets.  They are too nice to hide away in the linen closet, but a regular basket wouldn't do.  I wanted to be able to see them.  So, I found a bicycle basket at My Favorite Things for $14.  I took the hardware off it and it now holds the blankets.

The stores in the downtown area are having their Christmas Open House (I know, it's almost here) Hometown Holidays on November 6 from 5-10pm.  My favorite dealer in My Favorite Things is having an open house at the Gittleson's Farm at 2903 McGirr Road in Steward on Nov 18 from 3:30-6:30pm and Nov 19 from 8:30-3:30pm.  It sounds like it will be so much fun. I definitely have this one on my calendar.   www.facebook.com/TheJoyfulJunkers.

I went to Nellie's Barn Sale in Roscoe on Friday.  I didn't know what to expect, but quickly found out how exciting it was.  It was super busy and hard to find parking.  I used the boy scout area that you had to pay to park in.  It was close enough to the sale.  There was a nice variety of vendors and people were buying.

 I bought a wonderful necklace from Miss Magpie's Reliquary which is in Vintage Bliss in Beloit Wisconsin.  (another of the stops on my bucket list)  They have a great selection of jewelry.  I was super happy with my purchase.

I saw a few people that I knew, even my neighbor who was honking at me as I walked back to my car.  The next sale is Christmas at the Farm on Nov 6 in the evening and Nov 7 during the day at Meyer's Tails Up Farm 5390 Irene Road in Belvidere Illinois.  I think my neighbor Jan and I will go together to this one.  https://www.facebook.com/NelliesBarnSale/

Not to mention that I stopped at soooo many garage and estate sales these past few days.  A rummage sale too where I found some vintage Christmas.  (No one but me looked at it.  I couldn't believe it). By tomorrow I will be so tired.  (Even a soccer game thrown in there and getting the boys ready for their homecoming dance).

Oct 16-18 is Autumn Drive in Woodstock.  https://www.facebook.com/autumndrive  This is another fabulous way to spend the day.  I'll be there!

Happy treasure hunting!

Another Weekend of Sales

What a fun weekend I had!!!! It started off on Friday with my friend Cecilia and I going out for the day to treasure hunt.  We try to go out frequently since we have such fun treasure hunting together. We bounce ideas off of each other.  The best part is that we don't often fight over the same item.  I say not often because we kind of did this time.  We take turns though on who gets what.

We started off going to the Methodist Church rummage sale in Barrington.  We were there for a few hours at least.  The car was pretty full at that point but since we just started, we had to keep going. We continued on to more garage sales and a few estate sales so the car just kept getting fuller and fuller.  We even made use of the back seat.

Sunday was the final Cedarburg flea market for the season.  That one is always my favorite because of the fall theme in most booths.  It was pretty crisp (we needed gloves), but it was really enjoyable. It was definitely a vintage tablecloth and jewelry day.  I came home with 10 tablecloths.  I found one with a Paris theme.  I was so excited.  I had always wanted one and couldn't believe it was only $1.  It has some stains on it, but I'm soaking it right now.  This is definitely one for my collection.

Today a group of us Master Gardeners put the Harvard Community Garden to rest for another season. We harvested the remaining vegetables and pulled all of the plants and irrigation.  It's always sad to me when the gardening season comes to an end even though I enjoy the fall and the cooler weather. Now I need to put my own garden/yard to rest.

Friday is a rummage sale at 8am at the Lutheran Church in McHenry on Route 120.  Nellie's Barn Sale Vintage Extravaganza is on Oct 9-10 from 10-4 at 10985 Main Street in Roscoe IL.  There is a $3 admission fee.  There is supposed to be a flea market on Saturday Oct 10 in Capron on Rte 173 and 4th Street.

Enjoy this cooler sweater weather.  Happy treasure hunting!