Dime Store Chic

Estate Sale Adventures: The Secret Attic

Hello, My Friends!~~~

This past weekend began with an interesting estate sale in Northern Virginia. The home, located in a cul-de-sac, was a nice sized two story Colonial.

It looked promising and the folks running the sale promised a house FULL! But I know from experience that an advertised promise like that often doesn't pan out. I'm not a pessimist, it's just what happens from time to time in estate sale world.

One of the shoppers gave out numbers and when the guy running the sale invited us in, the system went out the window and everyone stormed the door. He counted up to 20 and said everyone else would have to wait, problem was I was number 14. I showed him my number and he let me in. I really blame the idiot shoppers, who for a moment turned into petulant children, who decided they did not have to wait their turn in line.

Once inside I surveyed the rooms.

Hmm...not as packed as I would have liked and actually some of the prices were a bit out of whack. I poked around top and bottom and found some reasonably priced vintage goods to fill my bag. I walked through the house several times and then I saw it, a door in the small hallway, just opened a few inches wide. It wasn't opened before and actually looked like a closet door (which I should have opened in the first place, because as long as there isn't a sign that tells me otherwise, any door is fair game for opening). This particular door wasn't a closet door, but a door to a hidden attic.

Some of the goods in the other parts of the house had obvioulsy come from this walk-in attic but there were still treasures to be discovered up in the dark and dusty confines.

The light came from a single light bulb and this narrow window on one end of the attic. I looked all over in every dark recess using the pocket flashlight I carry. I found out long ago that a flashlight can be an estate sale shopper's best friend.

The other end of the attic was a bit more foreboding and would require crawling.

I explored mostly with the beam of my flashlight and found nothing up there that would be worth crawling deeper into the gloom.

The attic was pretty much mine alone as I had closed the door leaving an inch crack, thinking charitably that I was keeping the air conditioning in the rest of the house. OK, I confess that I was being greedy and wanted a few minutes of alone time in the attic. Most of the vintage goods I purchased were from the attic and the fellow running the sale gave me a good price since the goods were pretty dusty and needed a good cleaning. I, also, was dusty and needed a good cleaning.

So, next time you are at an estate sale, remember to open any door that isn't marked "do not open", "private", etc. You may just find a hidden attic. Bring your flashlight and tuck that door closed behind you. You want to keep the rest of the house air conditioned, you know.~~~XXOO, Beth

The New Arrival!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

No, not THAT arrival, you know, the one across The Pond, but a big arrival practically in my backyard!...Remember last week when I told you about this beauty we saw at the US Botanic Gardens conservatory?

The Titan Arum, aka "The Corpse Flower"! On Sunday July 14th this big bad boy was about 6 feet tall and not yet blooming.

Well...I went back this Monday morning to the conservatory, located at the foot of Capitol Hill, and joined the crush of folks to see what a difference a week makes.

Let me get closer to show you what the Big Boy has done since I saw him last time...

...Ta da!!!! Look at that bloom!

The Titan Arum is now about 9 feet tall and for a day or two, but no more, is abloom with a flower that should stink like rotting flesh. Apparently I didn't get there at the height of stinkiness as I smelt nothing awry.

Here is a close up. The ruffled burgundy and pale green bloom is about 4-1/2 feet tall on its own.

Just look at the ribbing on the underside of that flower. So amazingly gorgeous!

Here is a bulb of the same type of plant, about the size of a large coconut.

Such fun for a Monday morning in Washington, DC! If you want to see the Titan Arum in real time, please go the US Botanic Garden website for a live streaming video!

The arrival of the bloom trumped the excitement of another arrival across The Pond, at least for a little while...Thanks for stopping by!~~XXOO, Beth

Estate Sale Adventures: A Slippery Slope

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Despite the extremly sultry weather that has descended here in the Washington DC area, on Friday I headed out to a sale near our home that began at 10. Of course when you arrive over an hour early like I did, there is plenty of time to poke around the yard which I did in ernest, especially the back yard.

In back there was a huge pile of boxes, most of them empty, but some of them stuffed with old magazines and catalogs. IMHO, that is GOLD! I gathered up an armload of the magazines and catalogs to put in the back of my car, and to tell the fellow running the sale what I had done in case they weren't exactly trash. I have found in my estate sale adventures that sometimes what looks like an obvious trash pile outside is actually for sale--true! It's always good to ask. Anyhoo, I had my pile of paper goods in one arm and headed down the small slope of grass to the driveway. The dew dampened grass proved to be the best impromptu slip n' slide ever! I landed squarely on the softest part of my rear and then flopped hard to my back--all the while the paper goods were tucked against my body. No one saw my graceful move, so I gathered my wind snd my wits, brushed off the grass sticking to my rear, and walked to my car. No harm done. Or so I thought, but to that later.

I returned to the line and drank down a bottle of water. With much gratitude from all of us waiting to get inside and out of the heat, the fellow running the sale opened up a half hour early. I love that!

This is where I headed first, the basement, which wasn't hard to do as this is what I saw when I walked in the front door. Let's see what kind of sale this will be, shall we?

Oh my! It's a digger sale! And dig and dig I did! There was no air conditioning in the house save for two window units upstairs, so the basement got warm rather quickly with everyone having a dig-fest! I filled two bags quickly with mostly craft supplies, and dashed to the upstairs.

More digging! Crazy fun if you don't mind coming out sweaty and dusty, which I don't! There were three small rooms upstairs with lots of boxes of things to treasure hunt through.

I know this isn't an exciting picture but I took it as I stood in front of the air conditioner and savored the coolness. An oasis which I claimed for a few minutes.

I filled several bags with fun vintage craft goods and more vintage goodness, much of which I have listed in Dime Store Chic. After I got home I showered and took some pain reliver as I discovered that I pulled an arm muscle pretty bad. Funny is, I didn't really pay attention to the pain as I was digging in the estate sale. Too much fun! Oh, and the things I took to the car after my spill down the slipepry slope? The guy running the sale gave them to me. Well, worth the pain. Mostly.~~~XXOO, Beth

Something Stinky This Way Comes

Hello, My Friends!~~

Yesterday we hopped across the Potomac to the National Botanic Gardens Conservatory in the shadow of this familiar building...

...to see what is commonly known as the corpse flower. What??? Yes, the corpse flower or scinetifically the Amorphophallus titanum. Check this out...

This big bad boy stands about 6 feet tall. It was supposed to ahve opened by now but the curator told us that it is in fact heightening and apparently "very happy where it is."

Too bad it wasn't open as we were looking forward to inhaling its frgrance which is compared to that of rotting flesh. Nice. Flies pollinate this guy and of course flies are attracted to any nasty odor in the area.

The US Botanic garden has a live camera on this plant so you can view the ufurling of the flower from the unstinky confines of your home. Here is the link: http://usbg.gov/return-titan

After seeing Mr. Soon-To-Be-Stinky we headed next door to the National Museum of the American Indian.

This gorgeous museum is the newest building on the Mall with the other famous Smithsonian museums. In addition to the fabulous atrifacts and displays of the culture of the Native peoples, the best cafeteria style restaurant food in the area is right here! From Buffalo chili to Navajo fry bread, something tasty for everyone!

Since we had such a great free parking space we decided to play tourist and walk next door to the Air and Space Museum which was overrun with an invasion of Boy Scouts! We strolled to some of the spaces in the museum that are less popular as everyone wants to see the rockets and such, including this piece of a 747 that is bolted to the wall.

That's not something you see everyday. But neither is this...

This is the very first airplane that actually flew in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, NC by the Wright Brothers. The canvas is new but the structure is the real thing. Now how very cool is that? And in case you didn't know, all of the museums in the Smithsonian colllective are FREE. Now that is VERY cool!

And if you were wondering, and I know you probably weren't but in case you are, I have been to some fab estate sales and will be finishing listing new goods in Dime Store Chic today! I have listed a whole batch of delightful vintage goodies already so if you have a minute please check them out. And don't forget to check the live camera and see Mr. Stinky open his flower!~~~XXOO, Beth

 

An Evening With Sir Paul!

Hello, My Friends!~~~

Here in Washington, DC the rain clouds parted over Nationals Park just in time for the eagerly anticipated Paul McCartney concert! Hubby and me, knowing Nationals Park very well from all of those baseball games we attended, parked nearby (for $40--yikes!) and headed to the gates only to be stopped by this:

We are just steps away from the opening of this not very used gate and you may see the side of the stage through the fence (the big grey structure). We stood for over 30 minutes listening to a "bonus" show of the sound check which included songs Paul and his band did not perform during the concert including "Penny Lane". How cool was that?

We finally were let in where I raced for my favorite vegetarian food stand at the park and picked up a vegetable wrap, all warm and tasty, and a big lemonade. Hubby and I found a picnic table way up higher, higher than our seats, and enjoyed a nice meal as we watched the rest of the 45,000 enter the park.

All of these folks came in through the center field gate which was so much more crowded than our "sneaky" left field entrance.

Here is what our ballpark looked like transformed into what we just knew was going to be one heck of a great show!

The age demographic of the attendees must have mostly been over 40. Hubby and me, in our early (VERY) early 50's felt like the youngsters at the show. I mean the songs we were anxious to hear is the music of our lives! I was just hoping that Sir Paul would roll out my favorite "Helter Skelter", which is actually my favorite to try on Beatles Rock Band on expert level...but I digress...

Even the fence hiding a vacant lot was festooned in McCartney!

OK, to our seats and on with the show!

Before Sir Paul took the stage, the huge screens bracketing the stage showed a fabulous scrolling montage of his life from young Quarryman, to The Beatles, Wings, and beyond.

Oh yes! Paul and bandmates stepped right up to the mikes and began what was to be a 3 hour show full of the fabulous music catalog that only a legend can produce in solo and with a little help from his friends. The fact that the show opened with "Eight Days a Week" nearly had me swooning over the plexiglas railing on our front row balcony seats!

And the zoom on my wee Canon camera was not too shabby either for such a tiny camera (and a steady hand). Just look at Paul with his Hofner! I did not scream. I wanted to, but I did not scream.

Paul sat down at this piano right from the prop department of "Magical Mystery Tour" and sang some not so well-known Beatles hits like "Your Mother Should Know" and "From the Benefit of Mr. Kite."

And then he did "Live and Let Die"...

Holy mackerel! Nationals Park had never seen such excitement since the Nationals made the play-offs last year!

And this was the end of the song! Oh my!!!!! Fireworks smoke settled into the stadium and all around us like a lasting hazy groove! Everyone was on their feet! And the excitement wave rolled on to the sing-a-long of "Hey Jude." But Paul was not done and he and bandmates stepped back out for two encores!

Paul waved the USA flag, one fellow carried the Union Jack, and another waved the Washington DC flag!

Paul took center stage and his acoustic guitar and wooed us with the ever thoughtful "Yesterday."

Then....

..."Helter Skelter"! Never has a song about a roller coaster relationship struck such a hard rocking cord! Love, love, love it!

The show ended shortly before mid-night with more explosions, smoke, and flutter-fetti that covered all corners of the stadium! I have been to many shows and this one is now firmly embedded in my top three favorites! Thank you Sir Paul and fabulous band for sharing your talent! Cheers!~~~XXOO, Beth

PS: I just saw that THIS post is NUMBER 800! Yeah yeah yeah!