Sandy's NYC Tunic

Now -- MORE THAN EVER -- it's important to look back on the times we were able to travel. And be grateful. And enjoy those memories. Time spent with friends and family...

Oh -- how lucky we were, eh?

And -- how we took it all for granted!!

More than anything, I need to believe IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN ONE DAY.

But, until then -- I find it very comforting to talk about those Good Old Days...and to bask in the glory of  ''THANK GOD WE DID WHAT WE DID WHEN WE DID IT"...

One of my favorite trips to New York City was with my friend Sandy in 2009.  (along with Evie and Carol). That's when I started calling them the MDF...

Sandy, at Ellen's Stardust Diner!!  Nobody has more fun than this woman...

I had this wonderful dress (size small)

It was a nice french terry fabri -- and the embroidered words were PERFECT.

Although I loved this jacket -- I haven't worn it in 5 years...so I decided it could be sacrificed to create a pocket for Sandy's new NYC tunic.

And the third design element would be this knit dress -- which I could use to make side gussets.

The pocket had to include the Phantom of the Opera (the show we saw.)

I opened up both sides of the dress to add a gusset

My initial plan was to leave it sleeveless.

When Sandy tried it on, the neck was too tight, and she HAD TO HAVE SLEEVES.

So, I cut down the neckline (using more of the striped dress) and added sleeves.

 

I hope whenever Sandy has occasion to wear it, she is snapped back to that wonderful trip...we walked for miles...Macy's, Rockefeller Plaza, Tavern on the Green, Central Park, Phantom of the Opera, Times Square, the Staten Island Ferry...oh, yeah...it's good to have these memories.

And I hope I never take travel and friends for granted.  We were so lucky...

My Last Post-50th Anniversary Party

On Tuesday, November 3 -- of course -- I MUST GO VOTE.  No matter how it comes out -- I am grateful to live in a country where all citizens have the right to vote. 

It was a beautiful morning in Princeton, Iowa. I can't imagine any polling place in America has a more stunning view....the Mississippi River...

So many changes this year, eh? Facemasks, socially distanced lines...gallons of hand sanitizer, constant cleaning, wiping...

I am pleasantly surprised by how quickly we (most of us) have adapted to these new safety measures.  After voting, I had my usual TMBC to look forward to. (we're still doing our Breakfast Restaurant TOUR)...

To get my mind off the contentious election -- I decided to plan a PARTY for that night.  I invited my sisters, Ronda and Deena -- and my SIL, Jeanne -- over for an early supper.  And I instructed them all to BRING THEIR WEDDING ALBUMS.  (3 of us have already made 50...Deena has 5 years to go).

I put the gold sequin tablecloth on the table for ONE LAST HURRAH...and we pot-lucked the meal.  I made chicken and noodles, Deena brought homemade rolls, Jeanne delivered her famous Green Salad (which is pistachio pudding, and it explains why everybody in Iowa is fat)...and Ronda, of course, brought an apple pie.

We had such a good time, I forgot to take pictures!!

Except for this one crappy selfie...

You just have to take my word for it. The meal was DELICIOUS...and looking at each other's wedding albums was a completely shocking activity. I saw pictures of myself, at age 20, that I never knew existed. WHAT A HOOT...

MY EXTRAORDINARY SHEET SCORE...!!

When I got home, I could hardly wait to see WHAT WAS IN THOSE BOXES...!!

It was a mixed bag....but after an hour of sorting -- here's the final count:

8 sets of Microfiber Queen sheets. (they immediately went to the Goodwill).

6 sets of EXTRAORDINARY cotton sheet sets, complete with pillowcases (only one missing).

Duvet Cover

2 Queen Bed covers (summer weight)

8 random cotton pillowcases, two flannel Christmas pillowcases...

Navy blue striped set. I had to look up the Brookline sheets...here's their very interesting website https://www.brooklinen.com/pages/about-sheets

Lilly will someday enjoy this beautiful monogrammed sheet set.

I got the set of Brookline sheets, AND a Navy Blue duvet cover.  They were all in original folded condition.

A beautiful set of tan striped sheets.  I washed them, hung them out on the line --  and put them on my bed the very next day.  I am SO HAPPY...

The "L" monogrammed sheet set is from Mark and Graham. It's Italian hemstitched, trimmed with grossgrain...Yikes...

These are the six sheet sets I am keeping....the aqua set came from Nieman-Marcus...

Two flannel Christmas cases...

The gray "Lorraine" sheet set was also in ORIGINAL FOLDED condition.  Never used, never washed. Also by Ralph Lauren.  SUCH BEAUTIFUL cotton...

My BIG BUY...

As wonderfully organized as this auction was -- they made very little effort to pair up the bed linens.

They were all stuffed into cardboard boxes...some with the matching pillowcases...others, not so much. The boxes were so tightly packed, I couldn't tell what size the sheets were, or even if they were cotton or polyester. ugh.

 There were six boxes of bed sheets sitting together.

 One box held an EXTRAORDINARY SET of bold flowered sheets by Ralph Lauren.

 

 

 

When the auctioneers finally got to this table...they placed the six boxes in a row and announced they were selling it "Choice".  That means you pay one price per box -- and you can take as many boxes as you like. 

The first time around, about four bidders excitedly bid up to $85....YIKES. I was dismayed, to say the least...

It was no surprise when the winning bidder picked the brand-new brightly flowered Ralph Lauren box of sheets...
 

Jana said, "Let's go again"...and I immediately bid $5.   She was calling for a $10 bid -- but there was nothing but crickets. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I was holding my breath...when she asked for a $7.50 bid...more crickets...

The auction had been going on for several hours, and Jana was apparently not in the mood to beg the crowd for a bid. She said, "SOLD"...

When she asked me how many boxes I wanted -- OF COURSE I SAID I'LL TAKE THEM ALL..!!

At this point, I honestly had NO IDEA what I bought for my $25 ...

But these boxes were HEAVY...and Bert had to bring the Jeep around so we could load up our treasure...

The Lorraine Lynch Auction

I hope this link works...it's a listing of what was at this auction.  AND YOU CANNOT BELIEVE IT...

 https://stenzelauction.hibid.com/catalog/241214/lorraine-lynch-trust-and-others/

Bert and I got there about 30 minutes before the sale started. The very first thing to go was two racks of coats...leather, fur, fake fur, real mink, many size 2X -- and, like so many things at this auction -- about 80% of them still had the TAGS on them.  The real furs went for over $200...so did the brand new Lands End puffy coat...(price tag: $450)...

Jana (auctioneer)

If Lorraine liked something, she bought three or four of the thing (or maybe a dozen)

Her initial or monogram was on EVERYTHING.

Everybody was wearing masks, and more or less following the arrows (showing which way to traffic up and down the aisles). 

 

In the main selling room, where the "primo" stuff was -- there were very few chairs...couples sat together, but otherwise, everybody was 6' apart. 

I have always known you learn a lot about a person when you attend their estate sale.  

 

Lorraine Lynch was rich....she loved to shop, and she had dogs.  Yellow labs.  She watched too much television (6 huge smart tvs), she almost never cooked (complete sets of pans from Cuisinart, Caphalon and Rachel Ray -- all of them like new).   She had a passion for wine (wine glasses, bottles of wine, wine refrigerators, wine holders,wine plaques, etc.).  She was short (7 identical step-stools with the handle on the side)....and overweight (8 different scales -- three tall ones, like you find at the YMCA)....

 

Besides the MacKenzie Childs stuff (which was everywhere -- what's shown online is only about 1/4 of what was actually being sold). she LOVED Vera Bradley.  There were at least 20 various purses, billfolds, totebags, luggage tags, passport holders, etc. -- as well as three different sets of luggage -- all still in plastic.  

 

There were at least ten laptop computers -- along with 14 Apple Pens (still in the boxes).  

 

Lorraine LOVED,LOVED,LOVED her own name,as she had it monogrammed on EVERYTHING. Towels, sheets, totebags, purses, luggage...

The auctioneer said she had an elevator in her house, and, even more remarkable -- a swimming pool in her basement.

UNBELIEVABLE...

There were three huge rooms at the auction house -- all filled TO THE BRIM.  They started right at 10:00, and there were always two rings going.  At Noon, they went outside to sell the two cars.  At one point, I said to Jana..."Lorraine Lynch should've had her own zipcode."

If you look at the Auction site -- Lot 41C was a "MacKenzie Childs Bauble Lamp". It was brand new, in the box -- all the baubles wrapped separately in their MacKenzie Childs tissue paper...carefully placed in the box, with all the little cardboard dividers. here's a picture of what the lamp looks like after assembly...

I have NO IDEA what it would cost new -- but I'm pretty sure $200 was a bargain...

Bert got a whole flat of leather purses for $10 -- and she was thrilled. (she has a booth at an antique mall.)

My first purchase was a dog rug (more about that later)...but my BIG SCORE OF THE DAY WAS -- OF COURSE -- WAIT FOR IT...DRUMROLL....

QUEEN SIZE SHEETS. 

I'm telling you -- if bidding at an auction was an Olympic Event, I'd be a gold-medal winner...

The #2 Lorraine Lynch AUCTION

 Last month, I blogged about my dream Dolce and Gabanna refrigerator ($50,000 new) -- which was being auctioned off in Cambridge, Illinois. (it sold for $1650, but I managed to NOT buy it).

Well, last weekend, there was ANOTHER big auction for the Lorraine Lynch Estate. I decided to attend this one in person (it's not even an hour away)...because...well, just because I could...

I met my old auction buddy Bert for breakfast (we were overdue for a catch-up visit) -- and OFF WE WENT.

OMG...OMG...OMG...OMG...

So --WHO WAS Lorraine Lynch? 

And how much did stuff go for? 

WHAT DID I BUY? 

More importantly -- SHOULD I BE HAVING MY OWN AUCTION?

Halloween and Candy...

Halloween is SUCH A BIG DEAL for kids. It has obviously surpassed Christmas as the #1 Children's Favorite Holiday.

And I get it. What's not to love?

They get to dress up, pretend they're a Superhero or a Princess....they get to walk around AT NIGHT....and visit houses they would NEVER BE ALLOWED to go to at any other time... Some of them even have parents who dress up as well...and they go to actual parties -- with games and activities...all JUST FOR FUN. There's no deep meaning or religious element....it's all about PLAYING...and PRETENDING...

And then -- well -- THERE'S ALL THAT CANDY...!!

Just DECIDING on a costume takes an entire delightful month or so...

Did you know they have costumes that blow up?

I thought this little girl was a unicorn -- but she corrected me. She was  a "Uni-Lama"

Warren LOVED the scary clown that lights up!

When you look at it from a kid's point of view -- Halloween is a much more straight-forward, enjoyable holiday.

Honestly -- so many other major holidays are confusing to kids.  Take Easter, for example.  Is it about Jesus dying on the cross?  And then rising up from the dead?  Or is it about the Easter Bunny?

And don't even get me started on Christmas.  Is it about Jesus' birthday?  Or is it about a big guy named Santa Claus who brings presents?

How is a kid supposed to make sense of all that?

 I'm just saying...Halloween has been gaining ground ever since I was a kid.  

And I think the ghoul gang is winning...