Kirstie Alley's Garage Sale & My Top Yard Sale Buys

Plastic fruit, a rooster, and a dining room chair. Those were a few of the items at the curb side market when Kirstie Alley --Jenny Craig Diet queen and actress -- recently held a garage sale at her LA home, according to reports and photos in at least three magazines. Check out this Kirstie Alley photo from a link to Us magazine.

She also sold: a huge sculpture of french fries, silver tone bar stools and a spotted dog statue.

I didn't make the coast-to-coast trek to her yard sale, but I've found great stuff at other sales.:

Here's a list of my Top 5 Finds

1. Little Space Aliens:

A bucket of little rubber action figures for about $2 on Pine Tree Drive—near a fabulous golf course-- on Miami Beach. This great find came in especially handy when my house was hit by the chicken pox. While sick, my oldest son (about 4 years old at the time) played with the space aliens for hours. And the little rubber toys held up well in the bath tub.

2. Zeniga suit.

A beautiful Italian wool suit (typically sells for $1,200) for my husband for $15. On a little island across from the Port of Miami, my husband and I pulled into a garage sale that was winding down. During a friendly chat, the garage sale operator sized up my husband, then ran into his home and pulled out the Zeniga suit—which happens to be my husband’s favorite suit label.

3. Little Tikes Car:

List price: about $60. Gently used model at garage sale: $5. the Little Tikes Car -- hard plastic vehicle in primary colors, is the hottest selling car in world (Really!!). We had wanted one for our children for some time and were elated to find this toy car at a garage sale. Yard sales are great places for picking up children’s toys—especially durable plastic items from Fisher Price and Little Tikes.

4. First Edition Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Long before the Hobbits hit the big screen, we stumbled across a first edition, boxed set of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by Tolkien for $10 at a yard sale. Avi was a big fan of the series and I quickly became enamored with the Middle Earth tale. Our version includes a super pull out map and the author’s annotated notes about the text.

5. My Blue Suit:

Two-piece light wool suit, with an A-line skirt: $20. The suit belonged to an older woman, who — I believe — had Alzheimer’s or some illness that demanded 24/7 care. The contents of her Miami Beach home were sold through her daughter. As a tiny woman, I have trouble finding clothes that fit. So I was amazed when I tried on the suit jacket—over my clothes on the front yard of the home. The suit was tailor-made for me. No alterations necessary!