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Thursday, September 20, 2012

Move over Madea!

I've done it now.
I've officially moved up the ranks from a run-of-the-mill junk collector
 to a full-fledged roadside scavenger.

(Google Images)

It all began innocently enough with an evening bike ride to a nearby mine pit
 when out of the blue it appeared.  A threefer!
The second one I've seen in less than 6 months.  What are the odds?!

(three' fer:   3 pieces of free junk in the same place)

We inched our bikes close enough for me to smell inspect the
curbside inhabitants.  Na.  Too stinky.  Too heavy.  Too much work.  I'll pass.

Well, night after night they sat there on that lonely corner taunting me
until I could take it no more!!!   I informed my moving partner that the time had
come to save them from their final resting place at the city landfill.

That's when my voice of reason (Bill) kicked in.
"What is the matter with you?!  You can't just take that stuff! 
 You have to knock on their door and ask if it's free for the taking. 
 And furthermore, I want no part of it.
You could be arrested!"



Now, as much as I love Madea,
(Tyler Perry surely modeled her
character after my Baba.)
I wasn't too keen on
becoming her cellmate.

And I didn't want my name
in the Police Report section
of our small town newspaper, either.




Dejected, I pedaled my bike home.
But I couldn't forget about that junk.  They haunted my dreams and every waking moment.
I had to have them!!!

While the voice of reason was golfing, I hopped in my car and drove
the now familiar route to the treasures.  Heart pounding, I got out, walked right up
to the metal gate and .......woah!
That heavy duty chain attached to the steps and the big
dog dish next to it did NOT belong to Toto!



what to do.....what to do.....

I spotted a neighbor across the street and walked over
 to get the skinny on the junk.

"Oh, yeah, you can take that stuff.  She puts the garbage she
doesn't want to haul to the dump out by the street."

Bingo!

I hefted that junk into my car, buckled my dirty self in, and peeled cautiously drove home
while checking for the po po in my rearview mirror.

 I suppose you want to see what I found. 
 All righty.

After all this time, this is what I conjured up in my mind.


Time for a reality check.  Here's what I brought home.



Now before you start shaking your head, use your imagination!


I found this picture on our daughter Julie's Pinterest board.
Can you see it?  Can I transform my piece of junk into something like this for Mack?
(Quit rolling your eyes, Jeremy.)
Am I up to the challenge?
It remains to be seen.

Remember, this was a threefer.  The next 2 items are a matched set.


The larger of the two kitchen cabinets.


One of the drawers needs to be glued, but other than
that (and the smell), it's in pretty good condition.
Porcelain top with one little blemish in front, original hardware,
vintage cookie cutters in the drawers.  Not bad.
I saw a spiffed up version at Junk Bonanza for $160!


Its smaller sister.
  If you like chippy white paint
with green underneath, feast your eyes on this....

Yup, that's the original paint color peeking out from behind the peeling
white paint.  The missing glass knobs are still in the drawers.
And not a syringe or tourniquet to be found!

You may be wondering what I'm going to do with these two cabinets.
I have absolutely no idea!
I may be opening my "Stinky Sister" shop sooner than planned.

Thanks for stopping by to read the latest adventure in the life of
Stinky Vickie.

34 comments:

  1. Doesn't your Voice of Reason know that you look great in orange??

    Well done... I love each and every one. Great little cabinets (of course I can't smell them). I can totally see a little grocery store set up on the shelves or even store display for one of the Stinky Sister outlets... it WILL be a chain, right?

    Nice job on the threefer. Can't top that... at least while My Voice of Reason is standing watch.

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  2. Hey, I think those are great treasures and I can see why they haunted you in your sleep!

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  3. Stinky Vickie! You are so funny...I would have been haunted by them, too! Great finds!!

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  4. So jealous!! (in the good way, of course) I would have pedaled home immediately and returned with the car (or a u-haul). Such great scores! *sigh*

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  5. Wow, Mom! Great finds! Mack likey!!!! Looks like something right out of a Restoration Hardware catalog!!!

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  6. Oh my! What great finds!!! I love the green peeking through the white cabinet. I can't wait to see what you do with all the fabulous pieces.

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  7. Awesome and I would have helped you confiscate those items, especially the stinky cabinet. Can't wait to see what you do with these items.

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  8. Woo-hoo...lucky you!! So glad you went back for them :) Laurel

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  9. Wow, what super finds. I wish more people would toss stuff our around here.

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  10. You're so funny Vickie! Oh, how free junk always seem to haunt us after we drive by. Glad you plucked up the nerve to go back for the amazing 3-fer!

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  11. So glad your voice of reason went golfing, my is usually off reading a book ... I think they are all great, and the post was hilarious!! Thanks for sharing!

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  12. Super great finds and they were free! I love the chippy peely paint look. I bet a good waxing will bring the beauty out for sure, and the other piece would be to die for with the wheels. I think they are wonderful. Let us know how you deal with the smell. A good scrubbing with TSP maybe?

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  13. You are a mess...LOL! GREAT finds!!

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  14. I live in MN too, but I never see stuff like that in my neighborhood! I love all three of them, but especially the shelves...

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  15. You go girl!!!!! I would have snatched that up too.And would not have asked LOL!
    xx
    Anne

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  16. Great finds! Oh, you made me laugh a lot! I undestand you so much...
    I'll be waiting for the makeover.
    Love that old green paint.
    Besos, Silvina

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  17. LOl, never hesitate. We know you can turn those stinky things around. Looking forward to seeing what you do with them.

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  18. Vickie, AMAZING finds for free!! You go girl. I know the end result will be fabulous!
    Mary Alice

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  19. As a fellow curbside shopper, I salute you! I can't believe they lasted that long on the curb...don't people in your town know good stuff when it appears like that??

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  20. Awesome finds and who cares if they are a little bit smelly? They are way cool!

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  21. What a score!! I'm so jealous! :)
    Susan

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  22. What a great post!! (I love Madea.) I know, without a doubt, that you can re-create that child's piece. And those little white cabinets ... I'm so jealous. You have the best junkin' luck of anyone I know. I wish you lived closer so I could go junkin' with you and hope that your luck rubs off on me. While we're doing that, our hubbies can go golfing together. :)

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  23. Vickie, you crazy woman...I'm glad the po po didn't spoil your fun!
    That first piece is so cute...I can definitely see something magical there.
    Loving that green/white peeling paint on the others.
    That voice of reason can really take the fun out of an adventure sometimes...thank goodness, mine travels! hahaha

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  24. Oh you are so brave! But you were so right to pick up that shelf! The rest looks like real work to me, and that's the part that scares the dickens out of me... Loved your feature at Debra's too!

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  25. You are so funny!!!
    I'll be first in line for the grand opening!!

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  26. OMG! I can just see you riding by that stuff and slowing down to get a better look. It' obvious why you were interested in it though. It all has great potential! I especially liked the first piece you found. It's very industrial.

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  27. Vickie, I have no doubt that you will turn that into something fabulous! I have dragged my hubby along for my trash picking too, he used to resist until be started to see the afters. But he likes I better when no one can see him! Laura

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  28. love your haul!and yes I can see the vision...the cabinets...O curious to see if this is original milk paint...I picked up a dresser and after I painted with Annie Old White. I went to distress...O my heavens what is this green tint...and so I went a little deeper...a hard finish of a fresh sprint green, I distressed heavy on the top, the mirror frame and the knobs...I hope you are as lucky

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  29. LOL, girl it's a good thing I wasn't around, you would have had to wrestle me for that great stuff. Then we both would have ended up like Madea LOL.

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  30. I love it, I love it, I love it! You are right...you HAD to have it. I would have (and have) done the same thing! Oh the haunting! That is the most fabulous junk. Seriously. It's amazing and the cabinets are going to be so cool, and that shelf thing is perfect as it is. It's good to have a "voice of reason" though, because if not, that stuff in your garage would also be all over your house. Don't ask how I know this. My voice of reason will be home soon, but a tad too late this time. Let's just say the walls are closing in.
    Liz

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  31. I broke out in a sweat just reading this and then to see those treasure OMG! You so scored. I am so excited for you. Love it all just the way it is!

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  32. Ha, ha, ha. I think you would look so good in one of those orange jail jumpsuits, and really it would make such a good blog post. You could give us the skinny on the joint. Oh well, I love your junk. The first piece is my absolute favorite, and I would have done the same thing, but maybe hauled it in my daughter's car if it was too stinky. Baa haa.

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  33. What a totally fun post! You did fab, so glad you went back while Mr. Ranger was out and about...I signed up to follow you. Have a great week.

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  34. I know this is an old post, but I just found your blog and I lovelovelove it and have spent the weekend reading through all the old posts.

    And let me just say that I would gladly have risked prison for these three things....especially that shelf, which I think is perfect just the way it is and would happily put in my living room rust and all. :)

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