View allAll Photos Tagged treasurehunts
A detail of one of the amazing Lego structures in the glasshouse at Wisley Garden. Despite the car park being very full and lots of people about in the gardens, we got straight in to the glasshouse and it’s very worthwhile. No extra charge and exhibition on until 3rd March. Another for the Treasure Hunt -Lego
All of these goodies in this haul photo were from regular sellers. The tots were the first acquisition on Sunday morning. We'd gotten some other L.O.L. Surprise dolls and clothing bits from this same seller earlier in the season. I always scope out her tubs of toys whenever she shows up. I was drawn over by an O.M.G. doll, Miss Royale. I already have her in my collection, but she was a new addition to the table. Lo and behold I found THE His Royal High-Ney in the bin with other small dolls. He has been one of my most wanted tots since I began collecting L.O.L. Surprise back in 2020. Heck, I even scoped him out on eBay back then (since these dolls are sold in surprise packaging you can't just pick the one you want in stores). I also nabbed his corresponding pet, Can Do Kitty, Kansas Q.T., and Splatters. Splatters in another favorite character of mine. I have the original #Hairgoals lady with rooted hair, so I was keen to get my hands on the molded tresses version.
Then of course there are the Kelly dolls. Both Colleen and I were really hoping the "Kelly Lady" would return. She wasn't around last weekend because of the weather, and the Sunday before that she was set up at a doll show. I was concerned that her stash would be depleted after the doll show. But she had SO much wonderful stuff this weekend. In fact, I was massively overwhelmed. There were fashion packs, Barbies, and of course Kelly. This time around, I had my pick of Kelly Club dolls. It was the same deal--$5 each or 5 dolls for $20. I decided to focus on the Kelly dolls rather than getting any of the other stuff, since I don't see them often anymore. Plus, when we'd encountered this woman the for the first time, when her prices were different, I'd regretted leaving some of the Kelly Club people behind...like Veterinarian Jenny. We purchased five dolls on our first go round, surveyed the rest of the flea market, and then went back and bought five more. I honestly don't have a favorite of the Kelly dolls. Some of these are childhood icons, like Prince Tommy. Others are ones I dreamed about owning for ages, like Lemonade Stand Tamika. And some, like Babysitter Keeya were unknown to me, but it was love at first sight! Colleen picked out a few of her favorites, like Gardening Fun Melody, "Sailor" Deidre, and Amusement Park Ryan.
Dolls in photo, top row (from left to right):
-2002 Kelly Club Play Time! Babysitter Keeya
-1999 Kelly Club Lemonade Stand Tamika
-1997 Li'l Friends "Sailor" Deidre
-2000 Kelly Club Amusement Park Chelsie
-1998 Adventures with Li'l Friends Gardening Fun Melody
-2023 Confetti Pop Birthday Sisters! Kansas Q.T.
-2022 Miss Royale Family His Royal High-Ney
-2022 House of Surprises! Art Cart Splatters
Bottom row:
-2000 Kelly Club Amusement Park Ryan
-1999 Kelly Club Pilot Tommy
-1999 Kelly Club Prince Tommy
-2000 Kelly Club Spring Cleaning Jenny
-2001 Kelly Club Career Day! Veterinarian Jenny
-2022 Miss Royale Family Royal Kitty-Cat
-2018 Eye Spy Series "Wave 2" Pets Can Do Kitty
Sunday actually turned out to be a pretty good flea market morning, even though the weather was quite chilly and dreary. Everything you see here came from the elderly couple we normally buy dolls from, except the Cabbie. They must have restocked their stash of dolls, since there were quite a few new faces on Sunday morning. I was especially excited to find two Descendants dolls in the pile. Most of my Descendants dolls have come from these sellers. They always make a point to buy the "weird" looking dolls since they know Colleen and I enjoy them. I'm guessing they find most of their stock at places like the Salvation Army, based on the price stickers we sometimes find on them. Anna and Elsa were both intriguing. Colleen vouched for them too, even though she usually passes over Disney dolls when looking at their booth. I was so excited when I identified them as being from the Birthday Party line. The 2002 Princess Party Disney collection was one of my absolute favorites growing up. It's so cool to see Frozen characters in a birthday theme too! Heidi was at the same booth, but in a different spot. I was actually consulting with the seller about some other dolls she had (she wondered if I knew anything about them), when Colleen spotted Heidi. Dad bought her Fern from this series at KB Toys years ago when we were kids. She played with Fern SO much...well actually she used her stuff all the time. I've always hoped we'd find more dolls in the series that were affordable. We've encountered others at antique stores for too much money. This Heidi was only $6...just what we wanted to pay.
As for the Cabbie, he was located at one of the last booths by the exit. I spotted him on a blanket, but was planning on walking by. Colleen always has to inspect EVERY Cabbage Patch doll thoroughly. She was intrigued by his overalls and newer styling (he's from 1987, so a little newer than most of our collection). When she found out he was only one dollar, she insisted we buy him. The seller told us he had a bunch of Cabbage Patch dolls the weekend before, when he was set up at a different flea market. Someone else bought them all...but he had somehow missed this little guy when setting up before. I'm glad Colleen talked me into getting Patrick, since it's so heartbreaking knowing he was split up from his family by mistake!
Dolls in photo from left to right:
-1987 Cabbage Patch Kids
-2001 When I Dream, I Read Series Heidi
-2014 Birthday Party Elsa
-2014 Birthday Party Anna
-2014 "Coronation" Jane
-2014 "Signature 2 Pack" Mal
Sometimes my sister and I get lucky two weeks in a row at our local flea market. This weekend was definitely one of those lucky days! We scored yet another lot of dollies. But this time, it was predominately clothes. The yellow tub housing the clothes in this picture is actually my doll laundry tub. I thought the clothes would fit in the frame better if they were contained in a tub (that is the same case with the accessories featured here). Plus, I have to wash them all anyways, so it saves me time! The tub is full to the brim with wonderful Barbie clothes. What is shown here is what we will be keeping (we weeded out the cheap clone clothes before taking this picture). I also found three separately sold dollies this weekend. Snow White and Britney were part of a package deal. I wanted Britney, but I couldn't say no to another Snow White doll (Snow is my greatest Disney doll weakness, second only to Aladdin). Wild Wild West Cloe is probably my favorite find of the day (cough cough, raging Bratz addict). One of my favorite regular sellers had Cloe for sale. She somehow knew that we would want Miss Cloe, so she was hoping to see us today!
Dolls in photo from left to right:
-2008 Wild Wild West Cloe
-1999 "You Drive Me Crazy" Britney Spears
-2009 Ballerina Princess Snow White
-1991 Disney Classics Cinderella
-1989 All Stars Teresa
-1990 Wedding Day Midge
Bottom row:
-1983 Great Shape Barbie
-1989 Unicef Barbie
-1989 Dance Magic Barbie
-1990 All American Barbie
-1993 Fountain Mermaid Barbie
So, the package had some kind of map printed on the underside. Other clues led to some coordinates. Gotta wait for the sunrise to beam through this glass and see what happens!!
Today I picked up my new bike after my old trusty one was stolen two weeks ago. We slowly got to know eachother today... Tomorrow its life as my Main Transportation will commence so today we took it easy.
It seems as though as the weather returned, so did all the deals at our local flea market! On Sunday we scored a stash of delightful Monster High and Ever After High dollies. The BItty Bunch House and Bitty Puppy were actually purchased the day before. These were from a local thrift store we popped into on the way home from getting my oil changed. The house was tagged including "two animals." But there must have been some rowdy kids playing with it, because we looked high and low for the two pets. I found Bitty Puppy, but the other creature was never located despite our efforts. I mostly just wanted Bitty Puppy--I got Bitty Froggy for Christmas one year and always imagined having the tea set. I seem to have the best luck finding Bitty Baby items at thrift stores/flea markets!
Cupid, Briar, Madeline, Frankie, and Daniela were all from one seller. They were spread out on the ground, on a blanket, in little lots. Daniela was by herself with the three Liv wigs, bag, and mannequin stand. She's not complete (only one of the wigs is hers), but I've always wanted "1st Edition" Daniela. Originally we weren't going to purchase Madeline and the other Ever After High/Monster High dolls. But Maddie's purse was in a ziploc of extras that came with the girls. I knew she wasn't complete, but I just couldn't resist. We thought about buying Madeline separately, but it made more sense to buy the whole group. Well, that was in theory...you can see they are a moochie bunch what with the missing limbs and nudity! That's alright, I'm always more than happy to rescue dolls in need.
All the other ladies came from the elderly couple we regularly buy things from. I couldn't believe our luck--they finally put out a new stock pile of dollies. For the past few months, we've mostly encountered the same familiar faces over and over again. Since we buy so many dolls from them, we got a deal. We doubled back to get Cleo--in the haste to grab all the cool dolls, I overlooked her. It wasn't until we were almost out of the flea market that it clicked in my head who she must be. They were all incredible finds, but our favorites were Freaky Field Trip Toralei, Dance Class Gift Set Gil, and Die-ner Draculaura. I had been craving more Monster High and Ever After High dolls, so these plastic friends came at the perfect time!
Dolls in photo from left to right:
-2009 "1st Edition" Daniela
-2012 Dance Class Gift Set Gil
-2014 Freaky Field Trip Toralei
-2014 Haunted Getting Ghostly Twyla
-2013 Coffin Bean Twyla
Front row:
-2013 "1st Edition" Briar
-2015 Epic Winter Apple
-2013 "1st Edition Madeline
-2011 Sweet 1600 C.A. Cupid
-2012 Music Festival Venus
-2011 Home Ick Frankie
-2014 Freaky Fusion Recharge Chamber Frankie
-2013 Creepateria Howleen
-2012 Picture Day Abbey
-2012 Die-ner Draculaura
-2013 Frights Camera Action! Black Carpet Cleo
I am so unbelievably grateful we were able to score these American Girl items this Sunday. If you saw my last Treasure Hunt photo from a few weeks back, you'd know we found AG stuff then too. These clothes came from the same seller. She said she would be back (not the next weekend, but the one after). Sadly, when we were in my Jeep heading to the flea market last Sunday, something was amiss. I had a sixth sense that something was very wrong, despite the fact there were no physical signs. After being on the road for a minute, I turned around and headed back home. When I popped my hood open, I saw smoke and smelled gasoline. If I ignored my gut feeling, my Jeep engine could have caught on fire (it was leaking tons of gas). Luckily it was a quick fix--I guess the seals on the fuel injectors needed replacing. But by the time my cousin fixed the issue, the flea market was closed. I wasn't sure if there'd be any goodies left the following Sunday. I was especially hoping to acquire the proper bottoms to Kanani's Beach Outfit and the bikini top to the swimsuit bottoms I accidentally bought the first time.
As you can see, I retrieved both articles of clothing I'd been wanting. The best part, she lowered her prices!!! Each item was only $1. The first pass at her booth we grabbed only $5 worth of items. But after finishing the flea market, we double backed and grabbed $20 more. I was only going to grab $10 of stuff, but rather than have the seller break change, Colleen suggested we just buy ten more items. You can't go wrong for that price. There were other Girl of the Year clothes I must have missed--like Kailey and Mia garments. Colleen decided to snag Molly's Skating Outfit too. We did see this last time, but the stuff was more money (and she has this ensemble already). It's in much better condition than the one she got off eBay years ago. I also snagged Samantha's "Meet" dress for the same reason. My first Sam's dress is raggedy from loads of play, and Bethan wears the one I got with Nellie. So I figured this would be great for either one of my girls. Since the stuff was so cheap, Colleen suggested we buy duplicated Jess clothes too...turns out these are nicer than the ones I had. Jess is one of my favorites (perhaps my secret fave as Colleen always teases), so I love having more for her. I was excited to find Kanani's pajamas this Sunday too! I hope the seller sets up again, and she still has some clothes left...we'd love to grab more. I contemplated whether or not we should buy all of it, but I only had $25 with me. I should also note we saw a soft sculpture Cabbie in the wild too--she was only $50, but I thought the AG clothes were more practical. I also didn't want to spend that much money, since things might be finally picking up this season.
Outfits in photo (from left to right, top row):
-Molly's Skating Outfit
-"Meet" Samantha
-Girl of the Year 2006 "Meet" Jess
-Jess's 2-in-1 Kayaking Outfit
Middle row:
-Kailey's Wetsuit & Bikini
-Girl of the Year 2003 "Meet" Kailey
-Kanani's Pajamas
-Mia's Practice Outfit
-Kanani's Beach Outfit
-Girl of the Year 2008 "Meet" Mia
-Just Like You Snowy Chic Outfit
-My American Girl Sea Breeze Outfit
Bottom row:
-My American Girl Snowflake Pajamas
-My American Girl Cozy Plaid Outfit
-Girl of Today Ruffled Tankini
-Just Like You Star Hoodie Outfit
-American Girl Place Exclusive Doll Swimsuit
We broke our journey south in the delightful medieval town of Chinchòn about 35 miles south-east of Madrid. It’s very popular with day-trippers from Madrid and there were donkey rides for the children on a gorgeous sunny day. Warm in the sun but cool in the shade, people were enjoying lunch or drinks in the sunshine.
On a Brittany Ferry from Portsmouth to Santander, fortunately a very smooth crossing. My monthly topic, Geometry.
1. Day #4395, 2. Day #4437, 3. Day #4473, 4. Day #4499, 5. Day #4525, 6. Day #4554, 7. Day #4570, 8. Day #4614, 9. Day #4628, 10. Day #4683, 11. Day #4693, 12. Day #4722, 13. Day #4706, 14. Day #4452, 15. Day #4660, 16. Day #4500, 17. Day #4651, 18. Day #4645, 19. Day #4724, 20. Day #4697, 21. Day #4686, 22. Day #4692, 23. Day #4572, 24. Day #4640, 25. Day #4439, 26. Day #4730, 27. Day #4685, 28. Day #4731, 29. Day #4715, 30. Day #4551, 31. Day #4440, 32. Day #4401, 33. Day #4684, 34. Day #4680, 35. Day #4665, 36. Day #4632,
37. Day #4735, 38. Day #4714, 39. Day #4646, 40. Day #4588, 41. Day #4571, 42. Day #4399, 43. Day #4594, 44. Day #4605, 45. Day #4623, 46. Day #4740, 47. Day #4648, 48. Day #4707, 49. Day #4649, 50. Day #4643, 51. Day #4723, 52. Day #4663, 53. Day #4746, 54. Day #4607, 55. Day #4650, 56 Day #4642, 57. Day #4747, 58. Day #4524, 59. Day #4589, 60. Day #4739, 61. Day #4709, 62. Day #4728, 63. Day #4719, 64. Day #4599, 65. Day #4608, 66. Day #4578, 67. Day #4672, 68. Day #4621, 69. Day #4562, 70. Day #4634, 71. Day #4612, 72. Day #4585,
It seems like good luck comes in streaks for Colleen and me when it comes to dolls. While we didn't come home with another bin of dollies on Sunday, we did score quite a few beauties. The greatest find of the day was most certainly 2002 Strut It! Sasha!!! You have no idea how long I've wanted this doll, and waited to find her. I've had Strut It! Sasha clothes for several years now, and all the other gals from the line, but Miss Sasha herself always evaded me. She was a bit pricey, but I just couldn't leave her behind, despite how expensive she was. The doll herself is in beautiful shape, plus she was wearing a Slammin' Soccer! Yasmin top which my Yasmin doll has needed for almost six years (I love mating clothes with dolls). The most interesting find of the weekend though had to be the nine Liv wigs. One of them was being worn by Miss Daniela when we spotted a pile of Liv dolls/wigs on a table at the flea market. The seller originally wanted a dollar a piece for one wig or one doll. But since we bought a lot of stuff, we got Daniela and the eight extra wigs for $6! I've already used up all my spare wigs I had on reserve for bald Liv dolls, so I was super happy to get my hands on more. Some of these wigs are really beautiful--my two favorites are the red wig and the black wig. But they will all come in handy sooner or later.
The Dinner Date fashion pack shown here was also a wonderful find. Despite having hoards of Barbie clothes in my collection, I never miss out on an opportunity to get more. It's really important to me to maintain a large stash of extra clothing in order to dress any nude flea market rescues. Besides, dressing dolls is sort of the whole point of collecting them no? Corduroy Cool Barbie has quite the interesting back story. I'll save some of the blather for later, when I retake my picture of all three of my Corduroy Cool Barbies. Growing up, Colleen got one of these brunette Corduroy Cool Barbies for her birthday, and she became one of our favorite dollies to play with/fight over. Therefore, poor Lizzie didn't fare well with age. So we've always been eager to get a nice, mint looking upgrade. This gal, shown here, popped up at our flea market the first week our flea market opened this year. She was $5...so we left her behind, since we wanted to get Glam 'n Groom Barbie. We planned on acquiring Corduroy Cool Barbie the next weekend, but the seller did not return. Both Colleen and I thought we'd never seen this doll again, but lo and behold, she did! It's an amazing feeling when you get a second chance to buy a doll you thought you missed out on. It's even more sweet when the doll is cheaper (she was only $3 this Sunday). We've named her Elizabeth, and she is just as gorgeous as I remember Lizzie being back in the day.
And of course I couldn't forget to mention Alana and Bonita. They were a dollar each from a regular seller (who usually doesn't have dolls). The lady was willing to sell us the entire box of Barbies, but we passed since there was a lot of filler stuff we weren't interested in. Plus there were quite a few Monster/Ever After High dolls who needed limbs, which can get pricey to replace. So I snagged only Bonita and Alana, who were both in top notch condition...well Bonita's hair was a disaster, but she was fully clothed. I never thought I'd be so crazy about the "tacky" Freaky Fusion dolls, but now that I have two (I also have Avea Trotter), I've got to say that I'm addicted. Even though the flea market was also open on Monday, being that it was Memorial Day, we didn't go due to the weather. It was a shame, since it's always fun to get to go two days in a week, but I can't complain what with all the great luck we've been having!
Dolls in photo from left to right:
-2013 Freaky Fusion Hybrids Bonita Femur
-2011 The Little Mermaid 3-Pack Alana
-1999 Corduroy Cool Barbie
-2010 School's Out Daniela
-2002 Strut It! Sasha
1. Day #4752,
2. Day #4788,
3. Day #4830,
4. Day #4866,
5. Day #4899,
6. Day #4930,
7. Day #4961,
8. Day #4992,
9. Day #5014,
10. Day #5049,
11. Day #5071,
12. Day #5092,
13. Day #4908,
14. Day #4996,
15. Day #4974,
16. Day #4754,
17. Day #4983,
18. Day #5072,
19. Day #4750,
20. Day #4775,
21. Day #4822,
22. Day #5013,
23. Day #4781,
24. Day #4759,
25. Day #5090,
26. Day #5022,
27. Day #4796,
28. Day #4995,
29. Day #5012,
30. Day #5089,
31. Day #4897,
32. Day #4769,
33. Day #5018,
34. Day #4785,
35. Day #5087,
36. Day #5096,
37. Day #5097,
38. Day #4951,
39. Day #5086,
40. Day #5085,
41. Day #4845,
42. Day #5020,
43. Day #4853,
44. Day #4807,
45. Day #5027,
46. Day #4863,
47. Day #4849,
48. Day #4975,
49. Day #5000,
50. Day #5033,
51. Day #5084,
52. Day #4937,
53. Day #4907,
54. Day #4867,
55. Day #5063,
56. Day #4989,
57. Day #4962,
58. Day #4955,
59. Day #4991,
60. Day #4893,
61. Day #4851,
62. Day #4828,
63. Day #5107,
64. Day #5103,
65. Day #4861,
66. Day #4762,
67. Day #4960,
68. Day #4771,
69. Day #4757,
70. Day #4758,
71. Day #4768,
72. Day #4772,
73. Day #5062,
74. Day #4800,
75. Day #5101
On Sunday, Colleen and I were lucky enough to go to the flea market again, despite the fact that it was supposed to rain. The weather where I live has been absolutely terrible for two months--constant rain and cloudy weather. I was expecting to wake up on Sunday morning and see rain, but instead it was gloriously sunny! When we first got to the flea market, we found this Liv It's My Nature Maple Lodge. I bought it from the same seller I got all my Liv wigs from and School's Out Daniela, last weekend. She also had a second Maple Lodge, but obviously I only needed the one. It's really well made, and I love how all the cabinets can open! While there were a lot of people set up, there weren't too many dolls, just the typical overpriced ones from the weekly sellers. However, we did find two amazing boxed dolls, which we had somehow overlooked the week before. Colleen saw a bunch of boxed Barbies on a table, which I somehow walked right by. When she saw this African American Baywatch Barbie, she knew I'd want her. Baywatch Barbie was always one of my favorite 90s Barbies--and it took me until I was an adult to finally get my hands on one. Plus, I love collecting the ethnic variations of dolls! I think the reason I had not seen her the weekend before was because the dolls had been placed in large container on the ground. The most expensive ones were in the front, so I didn't continue to search through the dolls, thinking they'd all be pricey. I do remember seeing the name Baywatch Barbie on one of the box tops, but I assumed she was another blonde. While I was surveying the other dolls from this seller, I spotted a rare find--a boxed Kid Kore Katie doll. Kid Kore dolls were an important part of my childhood, and they mean a lot to Colleen especially. The poor dear did not fare well in her box all these years--her face was greasy, and I'm pretty sure her legs were starting to leech, as they were covered in a black powdery residue, that wasn't mold. We may not have come home with a massive lot of dolls, but we did find some amazing treasures!
Dolls in photo from left to right:
-1994 Baywatch Barbie
-1994 "Sailboat" Kid Kore Katie
Decided to go out and try something for Treasure Hunt #65 Play with Scale.
Several things attempted, keeping one as a later 365! Others in comments below...
This haul photo is like a month overdue. It wasn't my intention to postpone uploading it for that long. I wanted to write about all the Kelly dolls first, so this picture wouldn't get buried. But life happened, I got super busy, and I fell majorly behind with doll stuff. This was the second to last weekend we went to the local flea market. It's technically open until sometime in December, but my sister and I usually opt to stop going when the weather gets too cold. It is a primarily outdoor flea market, so less people set up when it's too dreary and chilly.
Needless to say, we made the most of this Sunday. The "Kelly Lady" from weeks prior was there for one last time. She told us that it was her last time bringing the dolls to the flea market. The leftovers that had not sold would go to some sort of estate sale. Each time we'd seen her in the past, I'd buy ten Kelly dolls from her (they were 5 dolls for $20). She did bring in some Barbies, fashion packs, and sister sets the last couple of occasions, that were leftovers from a doll show. But my sister and I agreed it was important to focus on the Kelly dolls. Anyways, this particular day we were given a special deal. Since we were her best customers, she said we could have SIX dolls for $20. I picked out twelve to begin with. We also asked about the price of the Let's Camp Gift Set. I had fragments to this pack for years, but not enough to make a complete one. Colleen and I have always been suckers for sister packs. Since it was the seller's last flea market day, and because much of her stock was gone, we inquired about it. She said we could have it for $20 instead of $30. So off to the ATM I went to procure the funds. While I was getting money, I figured I'd withdraw $40 instead of just $20. The flea market charges a fee for using their ATM. It made more financial since to get $40 since the fee was the same amount regardless of what you took out. I figured I'd pick out another six Kelly dolls for one final hoo-rah! Colleen helped me make the selection for all these tots. It was overwhelming. Despite how many had sold, the woman still had DOZENS of boxed Kelly dolls leftover. In the end, these were the ones we chose. It came down to two Tommy dolls for our final pick--Winter Fun Tommy and Snowman Tommy. As were were deciding which lucky boy would come home with us, the seller said we could have both. The extra guy was a freebie!!! That was so nice of her, and I'm really grateful we didn't have to make that difficult decision. It was by far one of the more expensive weekends of the flea market season. But seriously, I don't think I'll ever get the chance to look at SO many boxed Kelly dolls again, nor buy them for such a great deal.
Dolls in photo:
-2001 Let's Camp! Gift Set Barbie, Stacie, Kelly
-2001 Rapunzel Kelly as the Petal Princess
-2001 Kelly Club All Grown Up Lil' Bride Kelly
-1999 Kelly Club Biker Baby Belinda
-2002 Kelly Club Dream Club Princess Chelsie
-1998 Adventures with Li'l Friends School Time Kayla
-1998 Adventures with Li'l Friends Dress-up Kayla
-2005 Kelly Club Holiday Party Keeya
-1999 Kelly Club Kwanzaa Keeya
-2001 Kelly Club Lots of Secrets Clubhouse! Stargazer Liana
-1998 Adventures with Li'l Friends Flower Girl Maria
-1998 Adventures with Li'l Friends Winter Fun Tommy
-2000 Kelly Club Sailor Tommy
-2001 Kelly Club Lots of Secrets Clubhouse! Detective Tommy
-2002 Kelly Club All Grown Up Lil' Gentleman Tommy
-2001 Kelly Club Snowman Tommy
-2001 Rapunzel Lil' Prince Tommy
-2003 Swan Lake Tommy as Ivan the Porcupine
-2001 Kelly Club Career Day! Miss Nia
-1999 Kelly Club Tennis Desiree
Week two of the flea market season proved to be prosperous! While we didn't come home with as many dollies as we did the first week, we scored lots of clothes! The weather didn't seem like it would be super great, but the two of us were so excited, that Colleen and I decided to venture out to the flea market anyways. We were hoping that the sellers we got "1st Edition" Ghoulia and co from last Sunday would still have Dance Class Lagoona. Lo and behold, she was still available, as we'd hoped. It seemed like all we would find was the solo Monster High doll. But before leaving, Colleen and I wandered into the building at the flea market (something we only do a few times a year). We hadn't been in the building since last year, and figured someone may have finally put new stuff out. At the back of the building, Colleen spotted this vintage case on a shelf in back of a booth. The elderly man selling the case was super nice and told us there were a couple of dolls and some clothes inside. We found SuperStar Ken and Fashion Photo Barbie, as well as a pile of 60s and 70s Barbie/Ken fashions!!! I always love finding bins of clothes (probably even more than the dolls themselves). Plus, I especially enjoy getting really old Barbie items. These clothes were pretty desecrated. Whoever owned them before us took artistic liberties and cut/modified many items. But I was able to save all of it nonetheless (waste not, want not!). The man also threw in all this inflatable furniture from the 70s and a Fashion Greeting Card outfit from the 90s. I had never seen or heard of these inflatable pieces before, so this was a welcomed surprise.
Dolls in photo from left to right:
-2012 Dance Class Lagoona
-1977 Fashion Photo Barbie
-1977 SuperStar Ken
Video:
6 of us set out from Los Angeles, CA for Stateline, NV in the evening of the night before. We stayed in 2 adjoining rooms at Whiskey Pete's. I'd never shared adjoining rooms with friends before. Though we mainly socialized in only one of the rooms, it was nice just to have the freedom to leave the door open and see more space that was ours.
About 15 minutes before midnight, before the official beginning of his birthday, I had my boyfriend pursuade Flip to accompany him downstairs to retrieve items forgotten in the car. While they were gone, Stephanie and I comically rushed to decorate the room in the red streamers that I had brought; red being his favorite color. We managed to adorn the window, the entertainment center, and the archway - and to put a canopy of sorts over his bed. Then we shut off the lights. And waited. Within a minute, he returned and we turned on the lights and yelled "Happy Birthday!" and there was happiness.
After no more than 3 hours of sleep, we woke, ate (I tried a McGriddle for the first time and found it to be acceptable but not particularly special) then headed out to the pre-selected destinations. Where we had to go off-road, which was quite often, we left Alan's car where we safely could and piled into Flip's truck, with Stephanie in the back bouncing around and the driver yelling "Bump!" so she'd know when to hold on tight. We saw many amazing, broken down structures and abandoned homes, a vintage, turquoise bus with shattered windows, lakes of rusted-to-shit cans and bottles full of dead beetles, an array of bones and dried out gourds, and so many appliances that we took apart for their glorious insides, like the circles of rotating numbers from within an antique gas pump, the faceplates from an old stove and from the spedometer on the turquoise bus. Flip also walked away with two gorgeously busted typewriters and a metal, bullet-ridden public phone base. My favorite find was the television that was all shot up and alone by the side of an obscure road. Flip pulled over to obtain its circuit boards for my collection and, in the process, Stephanie noticed 3 massive, awe-inspiring lenses. It wasn't easy but all 3 were extracted - and I was fortunate enough, along with Flip and Steph, to get to keep one (as pictured above) at the end of the day. This item alone made the hunt a vast success, as far as I was concerned.
After exploring the day's last destination, we drove several miles on an uncivilized, dirt road back to asphalt, with joshua trees at our sides and quite possibly one of the most extraordinary and magical sunsets in existence before our lucky eyes. Sometimes it's hard not to believe that the sky is constantly being painted, painted just for me, for us. In that moment, all was right with the world. And it was a very happy birthday, indeed.
*Mind you, treasure to us is junk to most people.
The waiting room at the tiny local health centre. I fell and bashed my arm against a metal door frame in, ironically, a Balance class. Luckily the medic spoke a little English and with the help of my dictionary too, I was referred to the hospital where an x-ray revealed that I had broken the radius just above the wrist joint. Fortunately it was a clean linear break and I am now in plaster and a sling. Photography is going to be tricky.....
This haul consists of two different weekends of flea marketing! Most of the dolls all came from the same seller, despite the fact that we got them on differing days. In fact, the only lady who was not from the same vendor is the Dolls of the World Princess of China Barbie (who is from another regular seller). On the fourth, Colleen decided to investigate a basket of dolls we'd looked through previously at the flea market. She was hoping that the seller had put out more dolls. I was skeptical, but when I saw Colleen waving Ice Champions Vinessa in the air, I knew we'd struck gold. Sleepin' Style Yasmin was wearing parts of Vinessa's outfit, so we planned to buy her too. The seller expressed that he was tired of lugging the dolls back and forth from the flea market, and said we could have all the dolls for cheaper. So the first half of this photo collage features all of those dollies. Although there were a few duplicates, I was pleased by the condition of each doll. They were all well dressed and fairly clean considering they were secondhand. They were definitely worth more money than we paid--most of the time, flea market dolls look a heck of a lot more abused!
As for the dolls on the right side of the collage, they were from the 11th of August. The seller said he'd bring in any dolls he still had the following weekend, so we made sure to check out his booth again. I was delighted when I spotted the President & Vice President Barbie pack, still tied to the card, on the ground. I remember ogling this set in stores, but the one that went on sale didn't have the ethnic variants I liked. I think it's super awesome that each doll (both vice president and president) were available in four variations! Ken and Cozy Cabin Barbie tagged along for the ride. On our way out of the flea market, we snagged Miss Dolls of the World China from an elderly couple we usually get Monster High from. It was a good thing I took the chance to get her that day, because the next time we went to the flea market, we found out that someone had bought almost all this couple's dolls! I have always been an avid admirer/collector of Dolls of the World Barbies, so this lady was a must have for me!
Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vf6LqUYrUw
Dolls in photo from left to right:
-2000s Steffi Love
-2002 City Pretty Barbie
-2003 City Style "Downtown" Barbie
-2003 Cali Girl Barbie
-2004 Fantasy Tales Tea Party Anneliese
-2008 "Toys 'R' Us Gift Set" Princess Genevieve
Bottom row:
-2009 I Can Be...Zoo Doctor Barbie
-2009 A Mermaid Tale (pink swimsuit) Barbie
-2010 She Said Yes! Barbie
-2010 Strollin' Pups Barbie
-2006 Ice Champions Vinessa
-2006 Sleepin' Style Yasmin
Photo on left (from left to right):
-(2015) 2016 President & Vice President Barbie
-2014 Malibu Avenue Ken
-2013 Life in the Dreamhouse Sisters' Cozy Cabin! Barbie
-2001 Dolls of the World the Princess Collection Princess of China Barbie
I'm so excited that the flea market is finally open for the season! This year the yearning to go secondhand shopping was eased by all the luck I had at our local Salvation Army, but that being said, nothing compares to treasure hunting at our favorite haunt, the local flea market. Speaking of the Salvation Army, Miss Posea Reef is actually from the Salvation Army, and not from the flea market. Earlier in the week (on Tuesday to be exact), Colleen and I stopped in at the Salvation Army on our way to Walmart to get some medicine...sadly we were sick the entire week. Since I was feeling terrible, I wasn't able to clean Posea up right away, so I thought I'd include her in this photo. I can't believe how many Monster High dolls are turning up at the Salvation Army.
Onto the flea market goodies. The two times we have been able to go (the first being when I got Ooh la la Dana all by herself, thus no photo), we saw a lot of wonderful dollies, most of whom were marked up in price. I hope that this isn't the trend for this year--$5 used dolls. But on the bright side, I already got THREE Bratz dolls this season, when usually I only find a handful the entire time the flea market is open for the year. Birthday Cloe was my first find of the day and was still boxed. I'm really glad I thought to go over to the table where I saw some brand new dollies (you know EAH and MH dolls that were purchased on clearance at stores), because I was totally not expecting to find a Bratz doll. Then Colleen and I found Glam 'n Groom Barbie in a basket with a bunch of $5 dolls...we really wanted the brunette Corduroy Cool Barbie we saw, but since the dolls were so pricey, we'll have to go back and get her another time. But Barbie was so worth the money--I've been dying to get my hands on more Glam 'n Groom dolls, since I made the mistake of giving away my Christie years ago when I was a kid (I found Teresa boxed two years ago, and now I have Barbie)! Sasha was also hideously overpriced, but I was so stoked to find another Bratz doll. Plus, she is Sasha, who isn't the easy character to find, and I LOVE her ultra curly hair (which turned out to be nylon). The American Girl books were the last thing we spotted on our walk around the flea market. There was also a really cheap Nellie doll at the same table...but since I already have Nellie, and since the dolls this year seem to be more expensive in general, I had to resist the impulse to buy her! Had she been wearing American Girl clothes, I don't know if I could have gone home without her.
Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbuxQmkguVI&feature=youtu.be
Dolls in photo from left to right:
-1999 Glam 'n Groom Barbie
-2007 Birthday "2nd Edition" Cloe
-2007 Pampered Pupz Sasha
-2015 Great Scarrier Reef Down Under Ghouls Posea Reef
Another smelly murex shell (Chicoreus cnissodus) found in the Indian Ocean along India, and the Pacific Ocean along Japan and New Caledonia
(No.: EE.8150)
@mcrmuseum
#NaturesLibrary #treasurehunt #staffquiz
Treasure Hunt 2020 Vision - Completed
1. 014-366 14-01-20 Raindrops on Roses, 2. 016-366 16-01-20 Through the Alley, 3. 018-366 18-01-20 On a Cold & Frosty Morning, 4. 022-366 22-01-20 Not where a net should be, 5. 027-366 27-01-20 Three leopards on a shelf, 6. 030-366 30-01-20 Boots reflected, 7. 035-366 04-02-20 Looking Up ..., 8. 036-366 05-02-20 Three of a kind, 9. 037-366 06-02-20 Pink & Blue, 10. 041-366 10-02-20 Sunset after the storm ..., 11. 042-366 11-02-20 Kiwi, 12. 048-366 17-02-20 After the rain, 13. 051-366 20-02-20 Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, 14. 065-366 05-03-20 Salt, Pepper and Slate, 15. 071-366 11-03-20 Accessorize, 16. 079-366 19-03-20 Bending Forks, 17. 083-366 23-03-20 Rhubarb Tartan, 18. 084-366 24-03-20 Violets, 19. 090-366 30-03-20 Weather Vane, 20. 107-366 16-04-20 High and Dry, 21. 139-366 18-05-20 Shadows on a Fence, 22. 151-366 30-05-20 Zooming, 23. 157-366 05-06-20 A Wide Smile, 24. 163-366 11-06-20 Racing Raindrops, 25. 178-366 26-06-20 Pebble on a Beach, 26. 181-366 29-06-20 Spheres, 27. 167-366 18-06-20 Bloom, 28. 186-366 04-07-20 Pasta Games, 29. 185-366 03-07-20 One Car Two Views, 30. Knives Out
31. 216 03-08-20 The Mud & Pontoon Gang, 32. 270-366 26-09-20 Pom Poms, 33. 267-366 23-09-20 Rotting Apple, 34. 225-366 12-08-20 Rum Rations, 35. 228-366 15-08-20 Sunshine and Sunflower, 36. 282-366 08-10-20 Needle and Thread, 37. 129-366 08-05-20 VE Day 75 Years, 38. 261-366 17-09-20 A Fallen Tree, 39. 287-366 13-10-20 My Window, 40. 292-366 18-10-20 Holly and Ivy, 41. 293-366 19-10-20 Scales on a Blue Monday, 42. 295-366 21-10-20 Slimy and Blue, 43. 296-366 22-10-20 Odd Socks, 44. 298-366 24-10-20 Rose Tinted Glasses, 45. 300-366 26-10-20 Fallen, 46. 302-366 28-10-20 Under the Red Tree, 47. 303-366 29-10-20 The Next Move?, 48. 304-366 30-10-20 Butternut Squash, 49. 306-366 01-11-20 Rainy Day in Clovelly, 50. 312-366 07-11-20 Sun-Dried Tomato Sourdough, 51. 310-366 05-11-20 The Surfer's Dog, 52. 319-366 14-11-20 Lighting the Way, 53. 316-366 11-11-20 Looking Up, 54. 331-366 26-11-20 On the Doorstep, 55. 333-366 28-11-20 Dragon Emerging, 56. 334-366 29-11-20 Ready to Roast, 57. 338-366 03-12-20 Away with the Fairies, 58. 342-366 07-12-20 Raspberry Jelly, 59. 344-366 09-12-20 Memories of Norway, 60. 351-366 16-12-20 Evoking Easter
61. 352-366 17-12-20 Men at Work, 62. 355-366 20-12-20 Beside the Seaside, 63. 362-366 27-12-20 Stilton & Walnuts
completed for the 365/2021 - Expanding Horizons group. :-)
1. January,
2. February,
3. March,
4. April,
5. May,
6. June,
7. July,
8. August,
9. September,
10. October,
11. November,
12. December,
13. Affection,
14. Alter,
15. Bank,
16. Blue Glass,
17. Bridge Over (Troubled) Water,
18. Bud,
19. Cake,
20. Chess,
21. Chips,
22. Collar,
23. Crescent,
24. Crisp,
25. Disposable,
26. Drop,
27. Energy,
28. Expensive,
29. Feathers,
30. Firm,
31. Fold,
32. Future,
33. Goblin(s),
34. Hexagonal,
35. Insect,
36. Jacket,
37. Jigsaw,
38. Kernel,
39. Light Painting,
40. Loaded,
41. Magazine,
42. Milk,
43. Mint,
44. Model,
45. Muffin
46. Nature,
47. Numbers,
48. Open,
49. Opposites,
50. Pen
51. Pom Pom,
52. Poppy,
53. Rock,
54. Ruby,
55. Sci-fi,
56. Screen,
57. Shelter,
58. Skyscraper,
59. Square,
60. Squirrel,
61. Stamp,
62. Tablet,
63. Ties,
64. Tinsel,
65. Tomato,
g6. Tower,
67. Traffic Light,
68. Triangles,
69. Twigs,
70. Underneath
71. Variety,
72. Whiskers,
73. Wires,
74. Wreath,
75. Yarn
♡ Cutie Find ♡
Another cutie on the run!
#cutiefind #roadtrippin #roadtripadventures #treasurehunting #summergames
6 Likes on Instagram
We walked across the valley to the old farmhouse opposite and, to my surprise, the old knife which I photographed last year on 18th January 2018, was still stuck in the gate, rather faded but otherwise unchanged. The yard of the derelict buildings is being used to house kids (baby goats) by the local goatherd who were very pleased to have company.
We struck out at the local thrift store on our way home from an appointment. But since my sister is on summer vacation for a couple weeks (before summer school begins), we decided to hit up Saver's. We don't live super close to any locations, so it is a treat to go. Honestly, the doll prices there are quite absurd. These gals were all $4.49, except Maleficent, who was $5.49. There were tons of dollies in stock, but most were nude and from the past few years (so quite generic and cheaply made). I was excited to see this Beauty and the Beast doll by M.G.A. as they are not all that common. I have the Princess and the Pea and Swan Princess dolls, but no others from this line. It turns out she is wearing Rapunzel's outfit, but she was still a delightful treasure to acquire. Maleficent was the first doll I saw that I wanted to buy. She was kind of pricey, but wearing her shoes and everything. "Maleficent" is one of the few Disney live action movies I truly enjoy, so it made me want her even more. As for Cleo, I actually already have this doll. But my first one was a moochie Salvation Army rescue in 2017...she had no clothes or hands when I bought her! This lady was in great shape, with shoes and even some jewelry (also Scaris Clawdeen's vest)! If the dolls were cheaper, I would have nabbed more, but it adds up quickly. As for the tot, I am a Hello Kitty fanatic. My local Walmart doesn't carry the Hello Kitty and Friends dolls. So when we stopped in at Target on the way home, I couldn't resist getting one of the surprise balls (it was technically "on sale," but only $2 off). I opened it up in the Jeep to see which gal I got. I was kind of bummed she wasn't the Hello Kitty Q.T. doll, but she is SUPER freaking cute, and I'm so glad to have one from this collection.
Dolls in photo (from left to right):
-2007 Storytime Collection Beauty and the Beast
-2014 Dark Beauty Maleficent
-2012 Ghouls Rule Cleo
-2025 Hello Kitty and Friends Sweet My Melody
All 75 hunted down and treasured. ;-)
1. Monthly Project - January, 2. Monthly Project - February, 3. Monthly Project - March, 4. Monthly Project April, 5. Monthly Project - May, 6. Monthly Project - June, 7. Monthly Project - July, 8. Monthly Project - August, 9. Monthly Project - September, 10. Monthly Project - October,
11. Monthly Project - November, 12. Monthly Project - December, 13. Angels, 14. Behind the Scenes, 15. Buckles, 16. Breaking the Rules, 17. Bunting, 18. Celebration, 19. Chairs, 20. Choices,
21. Colored Glass, 22. Doors, 23. Emerging, 24. Eyes, 25. Feathers, 26. Fluffy, 27. Gift Wrapped, 28. High Key, 29. I Made This, 30. In a Line,
31. Inspired by..., 32. Jars, 33. Knots, 34. Laces, 35. Links, 36. Middle of the Road, 37. "My Breakfast", 38. Nails, 39. Ornate, 40. Paper,
41. Post/Mail Box, 42. Quarters, 43. Relaxed, 44. Raindrops, 45. "Shades of Pink", 46. Steps, 47. Tension, 48. Three of a Kind, 49. Umbrella, 50. Visitors
51. Welcoming, 52. Wheels, 53. Night Lights, 54. Strong, 55. Spin, 56. "Friendship, 57. Relic, 58. Boundaries, 59. Stripes, 60. Splash,
61. Lego or Toys, 62. Good Morning, 63. Good Evening, 64. The Moon and Stars, 65. Writing, 66. Musical Instruments, 67. Keyboards, 68. Travel, 69. Buildings and Architecture, 70. Dancing,
71. Graffiti, 72. Mistakes, 73. Distance, 74. Surreal, 75. Benches,
BCC Treasure Hunt Theme 5 (February) Clashing Colours - To some these colour maybe perceived as clashing and there certainly was a time when you would never have worn orange with pink or 'blue and green should never be seen'. But who is to say these colours clash when they are present in nature and work beautifully together.