spoils of sale

 

 did you guys know there's a yard sale section on craigslist? recently, craigslist has been my main hub for internet time wasting. i can scroll through that business for hours. i typically stick to the same categories: apartments, motorcycles (sorry mom!), gardening, free stuff, furniture. but occasionally i branch out. 

hence, the discovery of the yard sale section. 

and further hence, the discovery of the most stylish yard sale ever. 

these two lady gal pals apparently host seasonal yard sales where they cull all their beautiful, yet somehow unwanted things and sell them for stupid cheap. this also all takes place in one of their gorgeously decorated homes (blue walls! built in book cases! vintage black printed couch!) and they're wearing matching aprons. so. cute. 

i could have just gone in and done a sweeping motion with my hand and roared, "I'LL TAKE THE LOT!" but i was a poor more discerning shopper, and instead selected a few items to add to my collection: 3 books, 2 bird ceramic wine stoppers, camel tea pot, and 3 rolls of unopened decadent wallpaper. what am i going to do with wallpaper as a 20-something renter? probably just droll all over it. which might ruin it. but, for $3 a roll (compared to the original $30) i think it's worth it. one day, i will be a person who can wallpaper a room. one day.

treasures

i like seeing a lot of good stuff in one place. like a bunch of babies crawling around in a little pig pen. or a stack of pies. or a drawer full of colorful socks.

most recently, it's been a van full of furniture. finally being able to use all the furniture i've been hoarding in my grandpa's basement feels wonderful. and there's something nice about glancing over my shoulder on the drive home to see a van packed to the top with beautiful thrifted finds. this sounds insanely materialistic. but whatever. i'll own up to it. i'm a stuff person. i'm sentimental about things and attach meaning to them. i like things to be aesthetically pleasing or functional or ideally, both. i like the little life i've created and built up over time. everything feels cozy and familiar and very 'me'. you should come visit sometime.

the find of a lifetime

 
 let me set the scene: saturday morning. sitting at the island in the kitchen. it's only like eight am which classifies as early for a saturday. i'm scanning the newspaper, looking for things that are easy to read. (not a good thing to do, but let's keep this post honest) things that are totally easy to read and very similar to shopping? classifieds. the original craigslist. yard sale section is my main game. i'm scoping, but not serious. i have plans to hang with my mom at the flea market - my morning is already mapped out and looks pretty sweet. BUT THEN - amid the listings for strollers and used blinds, it caught my eye. GLOBE BAR.

i know what a globe bar is. i have seen two of them. in antique stores. for stupid amounts of money. money that is over half of my weekly paycheck. so i left them, sadly, with a vow to find one, someday, in the future, when i am a millionare.

and then i saw that paper. i didn't want to get my hopes up. maybe it was just a stupid small thing or a towel bar that had a map on it. i don't know what i thought it could be, but i was fairly certain it wasn't going to be the ultra rare globe bar.

 
my mom and i decided to do a drive by just to see if it was worth stopping. and as we rolled by the address listed, there it was. at the bottom of the driveway. in all it's globe bar glory. i immediately hopped out of the car and raced towards it. a middle aged man seemed to be going to towards it but i doubled my step and beat him to the punch. dude said "fifty bucks" and i said "SOLD!". didn't even tr to haggle it was worth every penny. made in spain in the 1970's by prison inmates. freaking beautiful. so in love. 

color coded

i have a strange habit of accidentally buying things of a similar color palette when i'm thrifting. it's totally accidental, but inevitably when i get to the car and peek in the bag at my purchases, i notice a prevailing color scheme. coral and turquoise happened at salvation army and marshall's last week. red, white, and black was a result of more salvation army and goodwill. wood has always been my thrifitng go-to.

are you digging on any specific color schemes? do you gravitate towards certain shades? what's your deal?

let's not forget about the weirdness

 

did i mention that sometimes while scouring the shelves at thrift stores, you stumble on some amazingly weird stuff? stuff like this little inexplicable beauty? that's another perk to hitting the thrift circuit. 

how i thrift

 

i thrift on the regular. it's an addiction. i love the hunt- sifting through racks of clothing, honing my eye for neat housewares among the half-burnt candles and mugs that say 'florida'. it's way more rewarding to find a three dollar dress among the racks then to waltz into kohls and pay twenty bucks for something tons of other people have. (not to knock on kohls because, seriously, they've been killing it recently. lauren conrads line is out of control in the best possible way.) 

i consider myself a semi-pro thrifter or at the very least and seriously experienced vet on the central pa thrift scene, and i therefore feel qualified to dish out my thrifting tips: 

1. know what you're looking for. this could manifest itself in a lot of different ways. know what colors you're into, what types of fabric you like (pass on the poly-knits for this lady), and what styles you're into. i'll typically approach a row by going to the colors i want, then doing a feel test - literally running my hand along the clothes to see if anything catches my eye. or hand. you know what i mean. i also like to have a clear inspiration for what i'm shopping for. if i pick up an item, i think does this look like something that would be in the wardrobe of the pushing daisies cast? would anthropologie stock this? could i wear this to a summer party in new england circa 1970? that helps me to weed out anything i might just be attracted to because of the price tag and focus on building a cohesive wardrobe.
2. check for pit stains. maybe tiffany gave this tank top to goodwill because she sweat a little too much on the dance floor. check the pits before moving to the register.
3. think about what you already have. can you wear this top with bottom already in your wardrobe? or do you have to buy something else to go along with it? make sure it works.
4. totally inspect furniture. are there springs hanging out under the couch? is the fabric itchy? weird stains on the flip side of the cushions? do a little detective work.
5. if it makes your heart leap, buy it. it's not going to be there tomorrow and then you'll have heartbreaking dreams about that beautiful red vinyl top table with chrome details you left behind because you weren't sure about the logistics of getting it home. just buy it.

what are your personal rules for thrifting?

dream couch

 

  i saw it from across the room and suddenly every love song i had ever heard made sense to me. this couch was one hundred percent love at first sight, especially when i discovered it was fifty percent off the already bargain price. the west shore salvation army always has glorious furniture pics - i've had to physically restrain myself on multiple occasions. if i gave in and bought ever piece of furniture that caught my eye, i would have enough to furnish a large country manor. that blue chair in the picture? i would have snatched that up. the orange chair? would have also been coming home with mama. (thankfully, my friend mercedes snatched it up a few short days after i was there.) but i have restraint. i'm a reasonable person. i have held back many times in the past and suppressed my urge to splurge.

but this was a dream couch. it has weird birds on it! and the colors! it's not some brown and orange floral number that are a dime a dozen at my regular thrift haunts. it's the dream couch. so i took it home and now it will rest in my future living room. as soon as i secure a future place to live. that might be an important first step.