Retro Owl Trivets $1 and $2

I was not familiar with the word 'trivet' before I bought these guys.  I sent my best girl a picture of one and she said, "my grandma had that trivet".  I was like "oh, word".

These owls came from two different sales in two different cities and were purchased 5 months apart.  I was not on the hunt for trivets, but I'm glad they appeared.  They liven up my stovetop and act as perfect teapot hot plates for my evening couch-side tea parties.

If you dig 1970's / 1980's retro trivets, there are a boat load on Etsy.

Here's where I found mine.

1. F.B. ROGERS OWL TRIVET 

The larger of my two owl trivets was purchased at the Piedmont Community Church Treasure Sale for $2.  I found out about this sale from a Google Alert. From what I remember, the name "Treasure Sale" was pretty darn accurate. Multiple large rooms were stuffed with items and they were separated by departments so it was easy to navigate. Prices were fair. I bought a wallet and a belt as well.  This is a photo of the room where I found the trivet. FUN!

2. SMALL CAST IRON OWL TRIVET  

I found this little guy a few blocks from my place. The garage sale was awesome, because I got the impression it was the first time they cleaned out their home in 30 years, in other words, COOL OLD STUFF!  Plus, they were eager to sell so items were priced low. It doesn't get much better than that.  

I saw this box from afar and thought "oh boy, oh boy"! There was no price, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I asked the sweet older gentleman running the sale what he wanted for it and his reply was, "What do you want to pay"?  This situation always makes me nervous, because I don't want to offend by lowballing. I honestly didn't want to pay more than $2 so I blurted out $1 and he accepted. 

Do you own a trivet? What kind? 

5 Easy Ways to Find a Sale Near You!

I love a good garage sale, yard sale, tag sale, rummage sale, estate sale...STOOP sale (that's a new one). 

Whatever you choose to call them, awesome sales are everywhere! Back in the day keeping your eyes peeled and driving a car with good breaks and European handling was your best bet for sale searching. Slap on an "I BREAK FOR GARAGE SALES" bumper sticker and you were golden.

Nowadays finding sales is easy (and less likely to cause whiplash). Here's how.

1. BROWSE CRAIGSLIST
If you're not using craigslist to search for sales, you best get on that! You can use filters to check specific neighborhoods and search keywords to find sales relevant to your taste. In the image below I selected neighborhoods nearest to my home and searched keyword 'vintage'. Two matches! Woo Hoo!



















2. SET GOOGLE ALERTS
Google Alerts changed my life. Why take time to search the web when Google will do it for you? All you have to do is set up search queries (keywords, phrases) and Google will e-mail you when they find web pages, articles, blogs, etc that match your search.  Click here for more detail. If you are looking for specific items, Google Alerts are a great option! For example, let's say you are on the hunt for a mid century modern dresser. Create an alert called 'Mid Century Modern Dresser Sale San Francisco'. You may not get an e-mail every day, but when something matches, Google will tell you via e-mail. Below is an example of some of my alerts.

3.  CHECK SALE SITES
There are a number of websites that make it easy to find sales in your local area. All you have to do is enter your zip code. Most have a keyword option too. Here are a few.

• yard sale treasure map
• yard sale search
• gsalr.com

On some sites, like gsalr.com, you can sign up to receive an e-mail when a sale that matches your search criteria emerges.

I think Yard Sale Treasure Map is really cool.  All of the sales appear on Google Maps. Select a few and the site will suggest the best route to vist them all, based on hours of the sale and location.

FYI, many of these sale sites pull data from Craigslist, so no need to look both places.

4. DOWNLOAD MOBILE APPS
A lot of the sale sites (mentioned above) now have mobile apps. They make it super simple to find sales when you are on the go. They pretty much all function the same way; sale locations appear on Google Maps and you can touch the pinpoint to view a description of the sale. Easy and effective! Here are some to check out.

• garage sale rover
• yard sale treasure map
• Garage Sale Finder

5.  GET ON MAILING LISTS
Estate sales are my fave. Most are organized by estate liquidators or companies hired by the home owner or home owner's family. Try identifying these companies in your area and see if they have a mailing list. I was at an estate sale a few weeks ago and the company who organized the sale had a notebook out to collect e-mail addresses. You can bet I added mine!


How do you find sales? Tell me in the comments below. Happy Hunting!

Have I told you lately that I love estate sales?

And then there was that estate sale that made me want to blog again. 

Have I told you lately that I love estate sales? Have I told you there is no other thrifting experience above them? They fill my heart with gladness. They take away all my sadness. They ease my blogging drought, that's what they do.  [rod]

Estate sales can be sad, because nine times out of ten they follow a death. While some may find it morbid to walk through another person's home and buy their stuff after they are gone, I feel otherwise.  I think of it as a way to honor that person, to learn a little bit about the life they lived and give their cherished belongings new life.

With that said, I dedicate this post to a woman whose home was filled with little treasures. From one of her family members I learned that she never married, never had children. She mastered the crafts of crochet and embroidery. There were seriously stacks and stacks of beautiful handmade goodies. There was a box of beautiful squares crocheted for a blanket, but never joined. I was so tempted to buy them all and finish her project.

If I told you about all of the amazing items I saw (antique jewelry, vintage glassware, etc) this post would go on forever. Instead, check out what I bought - 1. mini embroidered hand mirror, 2. pendant necklace with bird, 3. piece of her intricate embroidery, 4. watch. All items, $5!

Do you love estate sales?