Friday I found the best kind of estate sale of all - an elderly lady with great taste, artistic talent, and a lot of traveling under her belt who is moving from a large house into a small apartment. For $16 I got a tablecloth with handmade battenburg lace, one of those really old fashioned sturdy wooden spoons (extra-long handle all the better for stirring bread with), a large framed print of Young Girl Reading (the frame was worth ten times the price I paid, at least) and an assortment of vintage pins and necklaces. And a box that contained Spanish Toilet Soap back in the 1930s, but now had three sticks of chalk, a keyring, some pencil lead, and a thumbtack. (Discarded everything, kept the box in all its gorgeous red-and-black art deco glory.)

What I wanted and did not buy was the set of three stained glass window rubbings. Back when she lived in England, some churches would allow people to come in and make rubbings of the windows. These were beautiful - charcoal on art paper, very lovely and medieval. But not lovely enough for me to drop $150 on the set ... alas.

But I'm very happy with my Young Girl Reading, which is destined for my library one day.

I went garage-sale hunting for about an hour before work this morning. (Yes. I actually Got Up Early!) In the back seat of my car I currently have a silver necklace that is tarnished but will be beautiful again with a little polishing, three books, two pairs of shoes, a purse, and a dress that may or may not fit, but only cost a quarter. All this for less then four dollars. This is why I LOVE to go to garage sales!

One of the shoes is a pair of black zip-up ankle boots. Only with two inch heels, instead of the four inch ones I have at home and love but feel stupid wearing. *grins at Kristin*