My buddy Ann ( @magicsummervintage ) and I venture forth every Friday, into Estate Sale Land. We throw ourselves into the breach, between junk and garbage. (In this instance, junk is a good thing. A very good thing.) We pick, we dig, we salvage. We add to our extensive jewelry collections. (Check out her version of the day's events here.)
This past Friday we teamed up to visit two estate sales. The first was run by our very favorite estate sale company in the area. For them, Friday is generally day two of the sale, which means, everything is half off. This company has very simple, well stated rules that they always follow. This, along with their great prices and fun personalities, puts them at the top of our list. Very little angst at these sales.
Numbers on day 2! A very rare occurrence!
We got in very quickly and did the jewelry table first, as always. One of the workers said that she wanted to show me a necklace, because it made her think of me. Apparently she's got my taste down, because I ended up purchasing the vintage pink necklace. (photo farther along)
This was the funky kitchen floor. I love old houses. I feel like we don't have nearly as many fun choices for our modern houses. Check out this crazy thermometer light switch!
I took my time wandering around, there was so much stuff left in the house, even though it was day two. And loads of shoppers. I talked myself out of this beauty. In the same room Ann talked herself into a brass piggy bank.
Vintage Bills cups for the Bills lovers in my life. (insert snarky sports quip here)
I had seen on the sale photos that this sale was stuffed full of 80s items. (Which is the main thing that I sell in my Etsy shop.) So, it was a tinch overwhelming for me when I realized how much of it was still there on day 2. I already have a backlog of items about a year long. That's not an exaggeration. But when I see stuff at a great price I feel like I have to get it. It's living right in that spot between a rock and another rock.
And then Ann walks in with a gigantic Lurky and you know you are toast.
Adorable plushes. The Smurf's shirt says "Happy Birthday".
Gummi Bears, Trolls, Garfield (from the sale before this - but it needed to get a photo, too), and Strawberry Shortcake.
Duck Tales, TMN Turtles, And Mario Christmas tags along with some 1970s Hallmark ornaments. Gawd, I love me some Hallmark.
Golden Guide books and a USA hankie.
Micro Machines, Masters of the Universe, and E.T. All of these items will be for sale in my Etsy shop sometime in the next year and a half. If you'd like pricing on anything before then, please contact me via Instagram @thesnugbungalowshop
These items will find their way to my mom's house in Virginia. Because last week she didn't get enough vintage planters, obviously.
I also picked up two items for myself. This amazing Christmas rug for $1.50!
And these gorgeous ornaments in their gorgeous box. Mint green and pink with stars!
Ann found some awesome vintage beer glasses and a few other tid bits. Not nearly as much as I did. I was basically in panic mode the whole time. Too many things! And Lurky takes up a lot of space, so hauling him around whilst having enough room for other things was tricky. Saying that sale #1 was good is a gross understatement. It was GOOD. The kind of good were you need a cigarette after. Completely satisfying.
This is a photo of us before sale #1. We looked much like this after sale #1. Happy. Hopeful. Get a good look, because it didn't last long.
We wandered up to sale #2 fresh faced and ready for more. Silly, stupid girls. We got there after the start and were surprised that people were still taking numbers and waiting in line outside. We followed suit. There were promising signs on the door "50% off!" Although it took us a minute to see the "some exclusions apply" line underneath. This is not a good thing. Ann was all "Oooohhh! I know you haaaaate thaaaaat!" Yes. Yes I do. Because it generally follows that anything you show interest in purchasing is suddenly one of the excluded items. This makes my Slytherin blood boil. I hate playing games with vendors. Just mark your prices clearly, make it easy to understand, and then let people shop. So we hadn't even gotten into the sale yet and I was annoyed.
Then we got up to the door we were told that we hadn't really needed numbers. THEN WHY DID YOU PUT THEM OUT HERE YOU...#@!*&^%. If I'd have been smart I would have turned us around and just gone home at this point.
We stepped inside and the first room was just LOADED with jewelry. Which was, of course, not part of the 50% off sale. There were tons of tables, each marked with a different price. And it became clear that the people who had marked the jewelry, did not "know" jewelry. I paid $7 for a pair of Laurel Burch earrings, which is a good deal in my estimation. And then there was also a pair on the $2 table. Sigh.
It was also 100 degrees in that house. And we were hemmed in on all side by humanity. In teeny tiny rooms. That were stacked high with many items, not to mention the smell of cat pee and moth balls. A winning potpourri.
Just look at these wonderful photos that I took.....or not. Since I spent my time doing some deep breathing (and regretting every breath) and trying to fend off a claustrophobia attack. At one point a baby started to wail and Ann said in a hushed tone. "This is what hell is like." I dare say, she's not wrong.
We had to battle our way out through the middle of a loud argument between the sales people and a lady with her five children that they asked to leave, a distracted cashier, and a hoard of other very determined shoppers.
At least we made it out of there alive. And with a few jewels. It was sort of like Aladdin trying to escape the Cave of Wonders. I wonder which of us was Aladdin and which was the Genie? Or maybe since I was driving us around, I'm the Rug?
This is how Ann looked/felt after we made our escape. Because, yipes.
This is what I ended up with for the low price of two helpings of annoyance, and one small claustrophobia attack. (Minus the pink necklace which was the piece I told you about from the first sale.)
If the first sale was Heavenly, then the second sale was from that other place with two hockey sticks.
If you need a vintage hit, without all the sweaty angst, check out our Etsy shops:
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