Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: garage sale, garage sale-ing, heads up, Northeast Minneapolis
The sun is quickly setting on this garage sale season, a fact that, quite honestly, makes me very sad. Fortunately, the lovely residents of the Waite Park and Audubon Park neighborhoods in Northeast Minneapolis are squeezing in one more community-wide sale this Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Heading up the organizing committee for this event is my friend Rose, a fellow garage sale-ing addict and vintage lover, who was kind enough to share some insider info about the sale.
Me: Rosie! Tell me why folks should get up early on Saturday and come to these sales?
Rose: With more than 40 households participating, there will definitely be fun bargains for everyone. It’s also the last hurrah for garage sale season! Get out and enjoy the crisp weather and start feathering your nests for winter.
Me: What can people expect to find at this year’s sale?
Rose: Vintage clothing, objet d’art (a.k.a. bric-a-brac), housewares, computer stuff, records, mix tapes, art, house plants, perennials, collectibles, clothing for the whole family, horn of plenty, gadgets, widgets, what-nots and why-nots, fact, fiction, tall tales and short stories, tools, treasures to a two-year old and more. Covet-able items of particular interest include a Formica dining table, vintage clothing for men and women, Heywood Wakefield furniture, antique school desks, an espresso coffee maker, perennials, Mission-style entertainment center.
Me: Sounds awesome! Where can I get a sale directory?
Rose: Directories will be available on Johnson Street at Hazel’s and The Coffeeshop NE, as well as at the Northeast Library, the Eastside Food Co-op and Holy Land. You can also print one from the comfort of your own home. Here’s the link.
Me: Coffee and food make garage sale adventures more fun. Where can I go to get good coffee or brunch?
Rose: If you are heading down Johnson Street, Coffee Shop Northeast is the perfect place to pick up some to-go coffee. Pair it with some donuts from Sarah Jane’s Bakery across the street for the perfect fuel for your early morning shopping. Post-shopping, sit down to a tasty brunch at Hazel’s—I recommend the brisket hash or Ben’s black bean cakes. If you are starting on Central Ave., get your caffeine fix at Diamonds Coffee Shoppe or the Eastside Food Co-op. Enjoy some of the best Thai food in the city at Sen Yai Sen Lek or have an amazing brunch at Chimborazo, an Ecuadorian restaurant. I highly recommend the llapingachos—loveable cheese-filled potato pancakes.
So, there you have it. The perfect Saturday morning agenda. See you there, sweet readers!
xo,
Meghan
P.S. After hitting up the sales, and find yourself still in the mood to thrift, the East Side Thrift Store, the Salvation Army on Central, the Unique on 37th and Hidden Treasures are all nearby. Just in case you were wondering…
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: bargain hunting, garage sale, mighty swell vintage, minneapolis, rummage sale, sale, sidewalk sale
Hi dolls!
One of my tip-top favorite things about Mighty Swell‘s storefront space is our ‘hood. Neighbors stopping in to say “hi” while I’m putzing around the store, knowing the man at the family run hardware store on a first-name basis, having a regular order at the hot dog shop next door—these small interactions in our nook of the community make my heart sing. So, when we learned about the Standish, Ericsson & Corcoran Neighborhood Garage Sale (the largest in the city!) we knew we just had to be a part! So, we’re having a sidewalk sale, TOMORROW from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.!
Rae and I have marked down a hefty amount of vintage merchandise, and we’ve also pillaged through our closets, garages, attics and basements, unearthing all kinds of fun stuff. And everything outside will be priced to GO. After all, we’ve got to make a little room for all the pretty stuff we’ve found for our upcoming summer sale right? (Details on that coming soon, promise!)
Anyway, if you are in the area and want to experience summer bargain hunting at its finest, I highly suggest checking this event out! You can pick up sale maps starting at 8:45 a.m. at the following locations:
Angry Catfish Coffee / 4208 28th Avenue South
Midtown Farmers’ Market / Lake Street & 22nd Avenue
Caribou Coffee / 4745 Cedar Avenue South (Cedar & Minnehaha)
Holiday Station Store / 3550 Cedar Avenue South
And don’t forget to highlight Mighty Swell Vintage when you’re circling the sales you want to hit—we’re at 3109 East 42nd Street. (Or just look for the cute teal open sign, a bunch of balloons and a sidewalk full of stuff!!)
See you there, rain or shine!
xo,
Meghan
I had barely taken 10 steps into the office this morning, when I got accosted by a soon-to-be-ex-co-worker. There was a garage sale happening just a stone’s throw from our office and we needed to go. Right then. (Have I mentioned I have the best co-workers around? Because I do.)
Here’s what I found!
♥ A lovely rag rug in the prettiest pastel shades. I can never have too many of these around my house.
♥ A pretty silver-plated tissue-box cover with a cute basket weave pattern and strawberry detail.
♥ A collection of silly magnets. I’m keeping the daisy hook for myself, and the other sets are getting added to my stash of stuff I collect for Mighty Swell’s grab bags.
♥ A few old Christmas stockings. I’ve been told I like to decorate for the holidays more than the average Jill. I believe this is probably true.
Other finds not pictured…a pajama-soft gray hoodie; a bunch of men’s vintage button downs, including a Western plaid snap-front for my honey; an adorable cropped women’s coat from the ’60s and a really broken-in denim jacket by Lee’s. I’ve been looking for an old cheap one to turn into a vest and think this is the perfect candidate!
Do you have any thrifting or estate sale-ing plans this weekend? If so, I wish you luck!!!
xo,
Meghan
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: doing good, garage sale, heads up, saint paul
Hola!
I’m not surprised I’m posting this heads up a tad late. The past few days have been 100 kinds of tiring, and because of that, many things have taken the back burner. Like writing, sleeping and researching estate & garage sales.
Anyway, I wanted to tell you that a huge, huge rummage sale is taking place over in Saint Paul both this weekend and next.
What You Need to Know
What: Mountain Zion Sisterhood Super Sale
More than 650 families have contributed to this mega-sale, and proceeds raised go towards outstanding nonprofits including Neighborhood House, Jeremiah Project, West 7th Community Center Sponsor-A-Family, Race for the Cure and several more.
The adverts promise housewares, clothing, shoes and accessories for all ages and occasions, collectibles and antiques, jewelry, furniture, books and music, toys and games for all ages, luggage, linens, art, sporting goods, electronics, office supplies and arts and crafts.
So, basically, you name it, they’ve got it.
When: Sunday, August 1, 12- 6 p.m.; Thursday, August 5, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Friday, August 6, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. (1/2 PRICE DAY!); Sunday, August 8, 12-6 p.m. ($5 BAG DAY)
Where: 1300 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul. It’s on Summit between Hamline and Syndicate (Greek to me!).
What’s tempting me the most is the Bag Day on Sunday, August 8th. I love me some bag sale action.
Anyways, that’s all I’ve got for tonight. I’ll leave you with this…
My man surprised me today with pretty roses AND a frosty M&M Blizzard. He’s got a knack for cheering me up, that honey of mine.
Happy weekend!
xo,
Meghan
Hey y’all!
So, one of my top motivations for shopping at thrifts is knowing that the money spent there is going towards something other than padding the pockets of execs at huge, multi-national conglomerates.
The American Refugee Committee”s Community Rummage Sale, happening tomorrow, gives you another opportunity to both shop for quality used goods and support a very, very deserving nonprofit.
What You Need to Know
What: Community Rummage Sale to Benefit Haiti
When: Saturday, July 10, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Aldrich Avenue Presbyterian Church, 3501 Aldrich Ave. S., Minneapolis
Why: Remember this? Uh, yeah, Haiti needs our help people, still. American Refugee Committee responds to disasters (like the quake in Haiti and Hurricane Katrina) quickly, providing help to people when they are most vulnerable and then continuing to provide support (like rebuilding housing, etc.) for months afterwards. You can read all about their awesome work here. I promise once you do, you’ll be motivated to bring a pocket-full of dollars to the sale on Saturday, as I intend to do.
I’ll be hitting it up early, how about you?
xxoo,
Meghan
P.S. I was surprised and flattered to be picked by Sarah Von, the blogger behind Yes and Yes, as one of her favorite blogs in the Twin Cities. You can read the whole interview here.
The beach at Lake Nokomis, circa 1920 (source)
If you’re up for some garage sale-ing tomorrow, the first-ever Nokomis East Neighborhood Garage Sale is going down, and with 84 separate sale locations, it looks pretty rad.
Download a handy map here and the location list, including specifics about what each sales is offering, is right here. The sales are running, rain or shine, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
See you there!
xo,
Meghan
This pic is the only treasure I came home with from this weekend’s Richfield All-City Garage Sale.
(click to enlarge)
Stumbling across a simple little scene like this reminds me of what I love most about thrifting, hunting, sifting, etc.
The beauty is in the search.
xo,
Meghan
Hi!
Just a quick heads up that the Richfield All-City Garage Sale started today and from what I’ve heard, the sales are pretty diverse and the prices are pretty kick ass. The summary of the 102 locations includes plenty of listings for clothing, knick knacks, kitchen items, antiques, plants, furniture and kids stuff.
Some listings that caught my eye…
6814 Oakland Avenue: working 1950s stove
6441 5th Avenue: vintage comic books ($1 off on Saturday), vintage magazines, paperbacks, knick knacks
6829 12th Avenue: proceeds of sale go to breast cancer charity
7226 Russell Avenue: beer collectibles
7012 Newton Avenue: lamps, antiques, Shaker-style desk
6436 Girard Avenue: antique oak dining table with chairs, schoolhouse bookcase, Mexican table with chairs
6933 Russell Avenue: mink coat, spinning fiber, weaving books
7332 Elliott Avenue: lots & lots of books
Find the map and list of addresses (with hours and highlighted items) as well as Richfield Liquor Store coupons (bonus!) here. You can also pick up a paper copy of the map at all four Richfield Liquor Stores.
Squeezing in a couple hours of sale-ing before work tomorrow is just the motivation I need to hit the hay at a decent hour tonight.
See you there?
Meghan
P.S. Please meet my slide-guitar playing crush of the week, Jeremy Spencer (circa 1968). He and the rest of Fleetwood Mac are keeping me company this afternoon.
Yes, I know he’s in a bat-shit crazy cult now, but back in the day, he sure ripped it up.
What is it about the slide guitar that melts me so? Can’t. Get. Enough.
I scored a handful of dresses at the Bryn Mawr Festival of Garage Sales a few weeks back. Most will eventually wind up on Etsy, but this is one I’m a keepin’ for myself. Any dress with pockets is A-OK with me, plus I love the coconut shell buttons at the shoulder. A dress, boots and a bun is pretty much my go-to look for work when I’m running late, as I was the day these were taken. Three steps and I’m out the door. Easy peasy.
Dress: Sears, found at garage sale, $4
Boots: $5, garage sale
Silver & stone cuff: Handmade by my aunt in 1970s
Other silver bracelets: I’ve had since I was a wee one
Silver & opal ring: $15, bought at a jewelry shop in Manitou Springs, Colorado in 2000
Hair bow: Red Velvet Art
Bubble Up soda: Bobby & Steve’s on Washington Avenue
Photo credit: Rachel Anderson
Today was simply gorgeous, wasn’t it? I’m looking forward to a night of unadulterated domesticity. Already since work I’ve busted out a strawberry rhubarb custard pie for my newish neighbors across the street. I’m not the most skilled baker by any means, and this was my very first attempt at a lattice crust. I think it turned out OK…
Also on night’s agenda: cooking up a simple supper of shrimp, rice and veg and then sewing some, writing some and reading some.
Until next time,
Meghan
Hey y’all! Happy Sunday!
So, yesterday morning, Jamie picked me up and we headed over to the Festival of Garage Sales in Bryn Mawr. It was a perfect day for it—sunny, breezy, beautiful. I couldn’t stop swooning over all the gorgeous gardens. There were flowers everywhere! It was heavenly.
Tulips!
Mammoth is the best way to describe this sale. Around every winding corner and down any random alley—there were people, music and of course, lots and lots of great stuff.
Why is sifting through other people's cast-off stuff so fun?
I passed up this little pair of paint-by-numbers. I wasn't feeling the whole coastal thing.
From vinyl to luggage, books to clothes, you could find it all.
I spent around $40 and came home with a boatload of stuff: A handful of vintage dresses that will be up in the Etsy shop later this week, a huge paint-by-number painting, a cooler that’s perfectly sized for day trips, a worn-in pair of cowboy boots and the sweetest pillowcase. Observe…
Can you find the grammar boo boo? Oh how I wish I could stop being an editor for one minute of my life.
It wasn’t until I read the poem carefully that I realized the similarity between it and this gem of a song.
I loved this sweet ruffled blouse so much I wore it to the track that afternoon.
I melt for eyelet trim.
And, because I’m a sucker for anything pink, I had to pick up this pretty little dish. It will be perfect for holding rings and the like. The runner, with a double-punch of pink and eyelet, came home with me too.
Aren't those lil birdies charming?
This sale was definitely a fun event that I will not be missing next year. Did you do any thrifting this weekend? Are you as excited as I am that garage sale season is in full swing?!
Whatever your weekends held, I hope they were wonderful. I’ll be back tomorrow with an exciting little post. Until then…
xo,
Meghan
