Heidi Waited Patiently…

Heidi Med-VapeNot so long ago, I came to own this cute little Block Pottery vase/figurine. “Heidi” was a remnant of an estate sale I worked in Coral Gables; her former caretakers were a judge and his wife. I would guess that Heidi hung out in their kitchen for decades, based on the condition her paint is in. She was covered in grease.

Heidi is part of a series of these kind of vases offered by Block. I’ve also seen “Daisy” and some other various forms.

Heidi sat on a shelf in my living room for several weeks. Many times I wondered what her purpose in my home could possibly be; Heidi had seen better days and could no longer rest on her looks alone. She needed a function.

Enter my nicotine addiction. I gave up smoking in November and recently I was feeling “the urge” so my husband hooked me up with a friend of his who sells electronic cigarettes. Med-Vape, located in The Native Village in Hollywood, FL, offers all kinds of vaping gear, including the implements and liquids to fill them. The upside to vaping is that you can do it anywhere. The downside is that you can’t just set the vaping pen up to rest. It’s kind of tall, so it tips easy. You can’t lay it down either, because it could roll onto the floor.

It didn’t occur to me immediately. But Heidi eventually earned a place on my nightstand. She’s pretty enough to warrant the placement on my side of the bed, but not so pretty that she outshines my other junk. And she holds my vaping pen with such style.

Trawling for Treasures in Coral Gables

One recent Saturday in Coral Gables found me at a garage sale close to the University of Miami campus. The sale was being run by two sisters in their 80s, and one of their daughters. The women were Southern and had all of the charm you would expect. From what I gathered, their husbands had passed, as they were selling men’s clothes along with their colorful clothing, various furniture and other fabulous items. I bought a few things and returned the next day to check it out again. On the second day, I grabbed up some fabulous designer clothes (one of the sisters was quite the entertainer in her day) and various items. As I was leaving, one of the sisters directed me to a couple of wood balusters. “My husband and I bought these over 50 years ago when they were tearing down an old mansion in Charlotte,” she explained. “We planned to make them into lamps and he even sanded them down to get them ready…” she trailed off.
The home she was talking about was the Edward Dilworth Latta mansion which was demolished in 1965. These heart pine balusters are bulky, heavy and pretty fabulous in their simplicity. She was worried that no one would take them and strongly suggested I fulfill their plan to make them into lamps. I couldn’t guarantee I would, naturally, but I’m a sucker for provenance and after agreeing on a price I brought them home. I reached out to an architectural salvage company in Charlotte later that week but they were not interested. So the question becomes, “What do I do with them now?”

Edward Dilworth Latta Mansion Balusters

Edward Dilworth Latta Mansion Balusters

Edward Dilworth Latta Mansion

Edward Dilworth Latta Mansion

Goldberg Surfside Estate Art

In March, I went to an estate sale in Surfside, where I bought a (baby) painting and two (dog) charcoals signed by Goldberg. I think the artist was a family member. The estate was left to charity, so there was no family to collect these works. Along with the pieces, I also got a family photo album that gave them at least a little provenance (one or more articles in the album mentioned the Goldberg name).
I think they’re cute and figure they must have been important to someone to have been kept for so long. One of these days I’ll figure out where to display them.

Poor baby

Poor baby

Puppies 01

Puppies 01

Puppies 02

Puppies 02

Weekends Find Me Finding Weekend Finds

I like to share info about them because, well, I like to brag. I also get frustrated when there’s no information on the web about my treasures. I mean, really? NO ONE else has ever come across a Gold Medal Room Divider before? It can’t have been the ONLY one EVER made! So I share. And hope.

Gold Medal Folding Furniture Co., Racine, Wis.

Gold Medal Folding Furniture Co., Racine, Wis.