Princely Bargains at the Regent Square Neighborhood Yard Sale

I was a baaaaaad blogger.

You know, I fully-intended on this post being one simply brimming with local color. It was going to have atmosphere. A sense of being there. And it would showcase one of my very favorite Pittsburgh events of the year-- the Regent Square Neighborhood Garage Sale.

But a little something ended up getting in my way this year: me.

I was too much in the zone to remember I blogged.

Oh, I started out okay. I put on my favorite pair of walking shoes. Because this event is like marathon thrifting combined with a Stairmaster workout...

You don't just journey around the neighborhood. No, you hike-- up and down stairs, around alleys, and through backyards.

Beginning at 8am, as the sun is just peeping over the treeline, we devotees to other people's junk were making our way through city streets, looking for the tell-tale balloons tied out front, that signaled potential treasures awaiting.

Right away, I came across my first purchase... A McCoy planter...
(It's the one on the left.) The lady hadn't finished putting her items out yet when I spotted it. It's just like a pink one my buddy Josette had gotten me for Christmas one year, which I love. I couldn't resist.

I did, however, resist taking a photo of the lady's tables, all nicely displayed. "Camera? What camera?" I completely forgot I was supposed to be taking pictures! Yup, I just tucked my find in my bag and hastened on to other yards and garages.

At another stop my friend Scoobie, who had joined me for this thrifty extravaganza, had debated on a mission-styled table for her home. At $5, the price was certainly right, but the color wasn't. Could it be adjusted? Would it refinish properly?

By the time we came back around again to take another look, money had changed hands and the table was being loaded into someone else's vehicle. There's not a lot of time for decision-making in the Garage Sale World. Prizes are snapped up by the second.

Like I snapped up this little crystal chandelier-- another $5 purchase.

It's like a little brother to the Shabby Chic one I just hung in my blue room. And now, confident I know how to hang it (since the other one was such a success) I'll find a spot for this at some point. Or perhaps, as so often happens, it will find me.

We moved along toward Braddock Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Regent Square, and the antique shop there, Le Mix, was having a sale. That's where I snagged two pieces of my beloved Anchor Hocking moonstone depression glass...
The goblet in particular was a favorite discovery. I hadn't laid hands on any of those yet in my collection.

By this time, it was 9am, and time for the Mifflin Avenue church rummage sale.
We entered here at the red door, and headed past the bake sale temptations (quickly, quickly, must avoid the desire to buy delicious baked goods I'll wish I didn't have in the house later) and slipped down into the basement...
Scoobie came up with a $4 crystal candelabra with a marble base-- cheaper than thrift store prices!-- as well as a puzzle.

I netted myself this lovely old rose-printed plate...
It's a whiteware piece from Dresden, Ohio, and based on the mark, my whiteware book indicates it's from around 1909 to 1913...
No youngster!

After the rummage sale, we hit the sales on the opposite side of Braddock Avenue, leading Scoobie to a book sale. The girl does love her reading material-- and it really isn't a proper day of shopping unless she's found a book or two. Joyfully, the sale came through for her.

We roamed hither and yon, but it came to be that our luck had pretty well peaked with the book sale. So with aching legs and glee in our hearts, we went to D's Hot Dog Shoppe for a couple of chili cheese dogs, some fries and a moment of rest.

This would be the spot where I'd insert thephotos of lunch I'd taken, if I'd remembered to do that.

Of course, I didn't. I guess you'll just have to trust me it was yummy. :)

I did, however take a photo of some renegade roses, peeping through a neighborhood fence...

Like any good adventure, some of the beauty in it is completely free.

May the week ahead come up roses for you, too, folks. As always, thanks so much for reading, and for being a part of it!