Garage sale mania!

Springtime in Chicago means a lot of things (baseball season, street festivals, rediscovering your will to live), but my favorite, aside from outside drinking, would have to be garage sales.

I was up bright and early to make sure I got to a sale I saw on Craigslist right when it started up at 9 a.m. It was ok; I got a vintage camera and some linen tea towels for $10. But around the corner--lo and behold--another sale. At this one, I scored a big woven basket with leather handles for $4. At the third sale just down the block, the sellers clued me in, handing me a map of about 30 sales going on in Roscoe Village.

It's a pretty family-oriented neighborhood, so a lot of people were hawking baby clothes and kids toys, but I found some real gems.

I got these vintage planters for free (on of them is McCoy!)...


For buying this awesome (working!)Bakelite radio...



...and this big fella, the piece de resistance...


Please allow me to introduce you to Luther, the panther planter lantern. All he needed was a shine and a brand-new lightbulb.

Marc was skeptical at first, but I think they'll learn to love each other.