Vintage Shop Keeper

Hey all! Hope you are having a great day. Last Friday Mr M had a RDO and gave me an hour or so to myself without the kids. I took off to Balhannah, Oakbank and Woodside (South Australia). Some fantastic retro/vintage/junk shops to see.

I spotted these gorgeous scales (I have a 'thing' for scales) at 'The Boys From The Bush' in Woodside.  Had a sneaky at the price thinking that they would be over the top and out of my budget, but actually got a nice surprise. Since my Birthday is coming up... I just couldn't leave them there could I!!

The glass on them is missing and they are full of dust on the inside but nothing that Mr M's little air compressor can't fix. Maybe one day I will get the glass sorted too.

They are just gorgeous don't you think? Come on, tell me how much you love 'em!

Sherry :)

Gemsen Junk

A week or so ago I had my last all girls day. Master M had his last day at family day care before his carer goes on a three month holiday (he goes there once a week). By the time she is back, I will be back at work as I will have finished my maternity leave. Scary thought!

Decided to take a trip to Murray Bridge (South Australia) as they have some great oppies. Murray Bridge also has my favourite antique shop (which was sadly closed) and a  great kids clothing shop...well did have, I found it deserted. Hmm. Luckily Murray Bridge a couple fantastic junk shops and Gemsen Junk is one of them so was very glad it was open. As it turns out it is open 9am - 5pm 7days a week. Gotta love all week junk shopping!

You are going to have to excuse my photography as I had my 9.5kg,10month old in a sling on the front of me.  I was trying to take photos AND stop her from breaking anything. She has hands the speed of a pick pockets.

When I walked into Gemsen Junk I had to try and contain my excitement. It is HUGE and filled to the brim with STUFF!! The lovely owner seems to be able to pin point any object you may be looking for faster than a speeding bullet. They have my favourites: old kitchen scales - check, Pyrex - check, depression glass - check, kitchenalia - check. There is a stunning range of jewellery but unfortunately she didn't have any glass necklaces as she collects them herself and has over 4000!!! Yes, you heard me correctly, 4000! Wow that must be some collection! Makes my collection of about 15 look a bit pathetic. :)

Took some pics for you as best I could. This entry has taken a long time for some reason due to the pc  running slow and having trouble with the photo editor I am using. Grr. Enjoy! :)

Love these 50s red glass bowls.

These guys made me smile.

Love these old ice chests. When they were clearing my Grandparents place there was one like this out the back. Wish I has asked about it - hmm, hind sight.

Lots of jewellery - this is just a tiny sample.

Love the colours of these vases.

Salter scales of course!

Check out these packed shelves, I mean, where do you start?!

More shelves...

and more.

Some out of focus, bright coloured glass.

Here is a 'boys room' full of old tools.

I must go back there one day without any children and have a really good look around and maybe take some more photos. It's so much fun! I have my eye on some Pyrex and vintage mixing bowls also...

Gemsen Junk
60 Bridge Road
Murray Bridge
South Australia
(08) 8531 3592  

I would lose my head...

I was just trying to put my little girl to bed when I got a phone call from my Sister-In-Law. She had send my husband an SMS and then received a call back from his phone. It wasn't my husband on the other end as she had expected, it was a lady with a croaky voice. This lovely lady told her that a girl (girl - I love that) had left a phone at her garage sale today. Oops. That would be me. I really would lose my head if it wasn't screwed on. Luckily my husband didn't mind fetching it as it was the same sale that I had bought him some X-Box games from. So he is off to the 'garage sale ladies house' (as she called herself) at 8:20pm to pick up his phone and see if there are any other games he might like. Worked out well in the end. Note to self: do not leave personal possessions at garage sales, they may be sold.

Do you remember I wrote a couple posts back that I missed out on a set of red vintage scales at a garage sale? Look what I found at a garage sale today! Very strange that I should come across the exact same set of scales a couple of weeks later. They cost me $10 which is more than the others would have cost, but it's a fair price. At the same sale I also picked up some cupboards for my husbands shed. He is always on the look out for storage and for $40 for two wardrobes they will do the job (once he puts some shelves in them). I almost forgot about the faux tortoise shell knitting needles that I scored. They will likely be sold on as I am not a knitter (unfortunately - I would love to be).

This is one of the things I am yet to show you from last weeks garage sale finds. I picked up this gorgeous dolls house for just $6. It has some sticker residue and needs a bit of a touch up, but I think it's lovely. Now all it needs is some furniture and a family!

My husband has just returned home with four more X-box games. I guess that makes up for me nearly losing his phone. :)

Day at the Port

20c for a weigh in.

Light House Port Adelaide

American (likely) amber 1930's pressed glass dolphin footed bowl.

 

Off to the South Australian Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide yesterday. Port Adelaide was once a bustling commercial and shopping suburb. It is a wonderfully historic place with and abundance of beautiful old stone buildings. It really is a shame that it is no longer what it once was. One of the pubs has a sign celebrating 150 years in 1999 but the windows are now boarded up. So sad. A lot of the shops are empty but I did notice that the two pubs closer to the wharf  have been given a face lift and much more inviting. We ate at the Lighthouse Inn. I remember when my parents went inside there years ago to see if it was suitable for kids - we ended up going to KFC... Now it is looking great. We had pizza and stuffed ourselves silly.

Over the last 15 years I have been expecting ‘The Port’ to become a tourist hub and a popular area to live again but it still has not happened. There are beginnings of it though. It is such a beautiful area (if you ignore the industrial side). Presently the old buildings seem to be wasted but at least they are still there to admire.

The Museum was fascinating. They have a Pirate play area for the kids (which I think maybe just for school holidays) that my son did not want to leave.  Apart from that there were a lot of things for kids to do in the main museum. I really enjoyed viewing the salvaged items from ship wrecks and the stories from those times gone by. It was sad to read the list of deaths on voyage on one of the ships in 1866. Mostly children who had passed away from things like diarrhoea and dysentery, also newborn infants. It made us so grateful for our modern lives.  

Our next stop was a climb up the Lighthouse.  It was quite muggy and claustrophobic but we managed to make it to the top. Was very proud of my unadventurous 3 year old. Great view of Port Adelaide from the top.