Grand Re-Opening of Jen's Amazing Garage Sale Finds

One thing I've discovered in going to garages sales over years is that the more eclectic and edgier neighborhoods yield the best finds. So, you can imagine my absolute glee when I stumbled upon a garage sale this morning on Carey Place in Gatewood, an historic neighborhood in Oklahoma City. Carey Place is arguably the most unique residential street in all of Oklahoma City. (More on Carey Place at the end of this post.)

Today's Finds

WHAT: Spools of thread

PAID: $5

WHERE: 18th Street, Mesta Park, Oklahoma City

I thought I could use them for a neat display on a shelf or in a basket.

My children can also hurl them at me and each other. ;)

I can use them to teach Sully his colors.

Here we have taupe, dark maize, buttercup, ecru, tan. hahaha!

Pink! Reds! Purples!

WHAT: Construction Paper (a little faded)

PAID: $1

WHERE: Carey Place, Oklahoma City

I love bringing treasures home for everyone. This was for Sully.

He used blunt scissors and cut pieces up all morning.

Very cheap entertainment and the fine-motor skills get sharpened. Yippee!

WHAT: $200 Nativity Set from Neiman Marcus

PAID: $20

WHERE: Carey Place on Gatewood, Oklahoma City

I now have three Nativaties - one for each of my precious chidren.

WHAT: Carved teak wood knife and case from Vietnam

PAID: $4

WHERE: 18th Street, Mesta Park, Oklahoma City

More About Carey Place

Carey Place is two blocks long and features just 36 historic homes. the street was originally designed for a high-speed electric interurban railway line. When I was a student at Southern Nazarene University in the mid to late 80s, my friends and I loved to go to Carey Place for a scare. It was only about five miles from our college in Bethany, but it seemed like an entire other universe. The streets of Gatewood were very sketchy then, and the tragic story associated with Carey Place scared us all half to death. I hate to even repeat it because it's so grim. Suffice to say, the two main characters in the drama were a murderer and a ghost.

One Halloween night, my friends and I piled into someone's car and drove to Carey Place. I am certain that a girl suggested this - probably so she'd have a good reason to grab the arm of her crush and shiver next to him with afright. (Chicks are so weird, me included.) I think it was Joanna who totally freaked out at the site of dangling chains from a broken swing blowing in the wind. Indeed, Carey Place was a very eerie place back then. People still walk the narrow lane every Halloween.

Many years ago, the Oklahoma Gazette, OKC's leading alternative newspaper, wrote a wonderful article about Carey Place. The article provided proof, more or less, than the ghost story of Carey Place was little more than an urban legend. (Thank goodness.)

Gatewood has always held great charm for me, and has enjoyed broader revitalization over the last five to 10 years.