Shop At Moxie

Goops and How To Be Them

The last time I was in Minneapolis visiting friends we spent a full day going to area estate sales.  Because I was in vacation mode and not my usual fired on all cylinders mode I actually moved slow enough to look at things I generally don't have time for.  In this case books.

I love quirky or beautiful children's books.  It is usually the illustrations that get me but this time it was the title.  I was perusing a bookcase filled with pretty boring looking stuff when all of a sudden the word Goops jumped right out at me.  I was instantly intrigued.  What the heck is a goop.  What kind of cool goopiness have I been missing out on for my whole life.  I knew I liked the book before I even opened it up.  I mean look at them.  They have ginormous round heads and look like they might topple over at any moment.  The goop in the dress looks so ashamed.  I had to find out more.

I cracked open the dusty old book to find it dated back to 1900.  This copy was printed in 1928 and was owned by Amy Sweetser of 4625 Casco Ave.  She had nice penmanship.

I started flipping  pages until I reached the Introduction page.  I wanted to be introduced to the Goops.  I really did.

This is the introduction:

Let me introduce a Race

Void of Beauty and of Grace

Extraordinary Creatures

With a Paucity of Features

Though their Forms are fashioned ill,

They have Manners stranger still;

For in Rudeness they're Precocious,

They're Atrocious, they're Ferocious!

Yet you'll learn, if you are Bright,

Politeness from the Impolite.

When you've finished with the Book,

At your conduct take a look;

Ask yourself, upon the Spot,

Are you Goop, or are you Not?

For, although it's fun to See them

It is terrible to Be them!

The Goops sounded like modern day reality t.v. show stars.  

I read on...

The Goops  they lick their fingers,

And the Goops they lick their knives;

They spill their broth on the tablecloth.......

Oh, they lead disgusting lives!

The Goops they talk while eating, 

And loud and fast they chew;

And that is why I'm glad that I

Am not a Goop----are you?

So as it turns out, these donut headed Goops are naughty little boys and girls that we should learn what not to do from.  And being the daughter of a retired teacher I do love a good lesson when I find it.  

The book is filled with all sorts of fun scenarios of what not to do.  The rhyming and funny little pictures guarantees it to be a hit with the little ones.  I googled and found out that the Goop series has been reprinted and there is even a website dedicated to the goops.  Go here to find out more about the author Gelett Burgess or perhaps  purchase a copy of the book.

To summarize.....I think I know how to be a Goop, but am I any good at not being one.  That's the real question.  I better go read the book again.

So Much Vintage My Head is Spinning

All of these happy vintage finds were delivered to moxie on Saturday. Plus a whole bunch more that Bob loaded up before I had time to snap pictures.  This includes 20 vintage purses, 15 prs of vintage shoes, vintage hats, vintage dresses, a wonderful vintage table, a desk with dainty proportions and girly details,  two alabaster lamps, a steel coffee table with curvy legs, and lots more.  

The goods are rolling in and out regularly.  I am doing my best to find great stuff for you all.  We hope to see you soon.  If you have any questions about the things you see here please don't hesitate to leave a comment, send me an email, call the shops, or just stop in.  We love hearing from you.  

The Cigar Box Said Open Me....

So I did.  Maybe no one else thought to open it or perhaps dozens already had and chose to close it up again.  I will never know if it was a rejected box of tattered paper dolls or a wonderful secret box of dolls just waiting to be discovered.  

I found these at a Chicago estate sale about 4 hours after it had begun.  It was in the garage (which I went into as an afterthought because there is usually nothing for me in garages).   I saw the box sitting on a table and it was closed.  I don't even know why I opened it...but I did.  I was so surprised to find all of these 20's era girls looking up at me.  Every girl and every outfit was handmade out of a pretty fragile paper.  Some were just penciled in designs and some were painted.  All of them were a bit tattered and floppy.  I found myself wondering if some wonderful parent made these for a child or if a talented child made them for herself.  The fact that they remain to this day in the box they've probably been in for decades makes me feel all the more protective of them.  

I have no desire to play with the paper dolls but I do like looking at them.  I brought them home and had the box sitting on the kitchen counter open just like in the photo.   The first thing Bob said when he saw the box was " I know there is no way you are selling those right?"  

He didn't say that because he also thought they were wonderful but because after twenty years with me he knows that I have an addiction to keeping things that really have very little value and almost no purpose.  People ask me all the time if it's hard not to keep everything that I find and truthfully the answer is no.  I sell 99% of my finds.  The stuff I do keep tends to be things that are aesthetically pleasing to me.  If I like looking at it....it stays.  I have more pictures than I have walls.  I collect old cards and wrapping paper because I like the patterns and images.  I only buy old books if the art is wonderful.  I've always said that I couldn't live in a house with no art.  That would make me very sad.  I guess this old cigar box with the tiny ladies and their sweet dresses is art to me.  Thanks for listening.

Aunt Edna's Rejected Mugs

Here's a little story about Aunt Edna and her rejected mugs.

Way back in the 70's Aunt Edna had the good taste to purchase a groovy mod set of Heller Rainbow Maxmugs designed by Massimo Vignelli and gift them to another family member.  The mugs then sat in their original box with the protective paper still wrapped tightly around each mug for the next 30 to 35 years until the day when girl detective Megan sniffed them out of hiding in a musty old Chicago basement during an estate sale.

Obviously the mugs were not a well received gift. Did the recipient tear open their Christmas gift and think..."ahhh shucks, I wanted a macrame plant holder and all I got was these ugly rainbow mugs.  Thanks Aunt Edna, thanks alot."  Or were they thinking..."plastic, eeewww how cheap."  Who knows what they were thinking.  I wish I knew.  I'm kind of obsessed with knowing these things.  And when I don't get to know (which is almost always) I become slightly obsessed with creating different scenarios in my head.  I guess this is why I'm quite good at spending lots of time on my own.  I have a vivid imaginary life going on in my brain almost all the time. 

Well here is what I was thinking when I opened up the box for the first time.  " Oh yea, these are awesome, I love rainbows, I love things that stack, I love mugs, I love rainbow stacking mugs, I love this design, who designed these, Massimo Vignelli designed these, I've heard that name before, he's famous, I like the orange one the best, the yellow one is cool too, I can't believe I found these in this basement, why didn't anyone else buy them, why do I like things that no one else does, how am I going to carry these upstairs...my hands are full, why isn't bob here when I need him, I so excited, I have to pee."  And that was pretty much the first 30 seconds.

Here are the mugs and dear Aunt Edna's card.

 

 

This whole situation begs the question....what is getting gifted these days that we don't fully appreciate but will  be a killer find 30 years from now?  Oh I wish I had a crystal ball.  Ideas anyone?

And just because I like to keep it real....I'm going to confess that I had to fight off the urge to change a letter in the title of this post.  Would have been an attention getting post for sure.  Aunt Edna's rejected Jugs.  There you see...I'm sick and that's just wrong.  I know it.  I'll seek help.

Who is this mystery man with the funny glasses and big hat and what's he doing with my bunnies?

 

Yes, questions like this pop up often in my life.  Strange and unpredictable things happen in my journeys.  Like today.

Bob and I found a tiny little estate sale in an even tinier little house.  It was day two of the sale so we weren't expecting much to be left but it's always fun to look.  The offerings were humble. 

I looked carefully thru the things that others had already passed by in the hopes of finding some overlooked treasure.  On the floor was a small cardboard box with four bunny figurines in it.  From the 70's and goofy.  Perfect for me.  So I grabbed the box and set it up at the counter with our other finds.

Flash forward a few hours and I'm now back at home and Bob is already unpacking our finds for the day so we can get them cleaned and priced and into the stores.  I see Bob taking my bunnies out of the box and setting them on the table and then under the four bunnies pops out my mystery man.  "Is that Ross Perot?" I say.  " Did you buy him?" Bob says.  "How'd he get into my box?" I say, "Can I have him for my car?" Bob says, " No he's mine!" I say.

This back and forth banter continued for too long before I turned him over and found that his neck was stamped with 1964.  That ruled out Ross Perot.  After doing some research I have now found out who he is.  How he came home with me I have no idea.  I'm assuming he's friends with the bunnies.  

 Is there a smarty pants out there who also knows who he is?  The only clue I can give is 1964.  If you can guess who it is ....you'll impress us all.  Leave his name in the comments box.  If no one gets it then I will share his name with you in a couple of days.  That is if you're interested :)

The five of them agreed to step into my studio for a portrait.  Here they are.

Sweet Vintage Paintings & More

will be coming in to moxie with me on Monday morning.  Take a look at just a couple of our new vintage arrivals.

 

 

Also arriving monday....50 vintage dresses.  Have a great week everyone!

Dolls Scare Me

....the way clowns scare other people.  I mean I can barely even look in their direction without feeling a shiver go up my spine.  At estate sales I have seen packs of women come extremely close to full contact wrestling to wrench these porcelain monsters right out of each others hands.  How I've found time to view this while simultaneously shoving delicate vintage ball gowns into big black garbage bags I'll never know.  What I do know is that when I look over in their direction all I see is this.

 

And it scares me....it really does.

Now it's not like I don't like a little pretend something of my own to love.  I'm the girl who spent my first real paycheck to buy a three foot tall stuffed gorilla when I was 15 years old....followed quickly by a pound puppy that I only recently(25 years later) got rid of.  I have an affinity for plush primates. 

Meet my newest friend.  He's french.  His name is Louis.

 

I didn't meet him on eharmony.com...although I think our compatability match would be high.  We serendipitously made acquaintance when I spotted him in an old house sitting on a dusty shelf looking so much more debonair then his surroundings.  I mean a sock monkey who has taken the time to dress himself in a vest, scarf and beret deserves to get himself out of a desperately dirty and lonely situation and see the world. 

So I take him with me on my road trips.  He sits on the dash and keeps me company.  He's so darned cute that my own husband asked if he could ride in his car instead of mine.  I said no.  Then I felt guilty.   And then I said no again.

Fun Vintage Stuff

This weekend Bob and I decided that we had to stay away from work because our personal life was spinning out of control.  No clean laundry, no groceries for 3 weeks, and the weeds were winning that's for sure.  This pretty much always happens to us in July and August.  We are away half of July at gift shows and the three weeks following that are spent receiving and pricing all of the fabulous new finds.  But eventually even I can't stand one more take out meal...and when you are down to the rejected undies at the bottom of the drawer....well, no one likes that!  So stay home we did.

We accomplished a lot.   I think Bob had the weed wacker on for about 6 hours straight and we even had time to pick up some tomatoes and sweet corn out on Sycamore Road.  So all is well in our house again.  Last night I happily found time to get some of the vintage stuff out of my storage unit(my van) and get it ready for the shops.  Yea!

Here are some photos:

I have a whole basket full of old rick rack and seam bindings in super fun colors

A teeny tiny vintage picture

A vintage animal rummy game ---no missing cards!

 

A sweet vintage airplane bank from the late 60's

Vintage Pyrex in great retro patterns

A set of 4 enamel paisley canisters....sweet.

In addition to all of the above, we will be putting out a couple of dozen new vintage clothing items today,   and some fabulous vintage hats will be arriving sometime this week.

I thought I'd end this post and begin this week by sharing a secret photo I snapped of Mr. Bob while he was taking care of his bird bath.  He loves to give his birdy friends fresh water to splash around in every chance he gets.  Gosh he's nice!

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Gorilla Update

I just had to share the happy news....my friend Mr. Gorilla has already found a new home.  The lovely Miss G ( I don't want to reveal her full name without getting permission first) gave us a ring and said "he's mine." 

Now I'm just dying to know Miss G....was it his eyes or his smile that got to you? 

Anyway, I am super happy that he will be on his way to a new home tomorrow.  Happy ending.

You Know The Estate Sale Lady is Thinking "Sucker" When You Check Out With This...

But in my defense....I think it was those big black eyes and the furrowed brows that got to me.  Plus I hadn't eaten breakfast and he was beckoning me with his banana...and he's a bank.  Even the other people at the sale were looking at me like...."ooooo crazy lady" 

But look at him....doesn't he have a look on his face that just screams...."Please take me home, I'm in desperate need of a new home.  I've been sitting in this basement since 1982 and I'm lonely.  I am trying to turn my sadness into a smile just for you.  Can't you see the pain in my eyes.  I'm on the verge of a big ol gorilla cry...but I'm holding on to hope...you look like a nice lady and you look like you might have a soft spot in your heart for well loved goofy relics of the past.  Please lady take me home!"

Jeesh....how could I resist.  And for all of you who are thinking.....Wow...this girl needs help of the professional kind...well get in line.  I'm not crazy,  I'm just special.

This smiley gorilla is 14" tall...and he was born in 1971.