Highland + Baldwin

This sale was nothing short of amazing.

I've been super off my game the past few weeks, getting there super late and all. I was AN HOUR late to this one and waited in the longest line at an Estate Sale ever to get in but good googly moogly it was like I was the first one in. This really nifty little 1920's house was packed to the gills with some seriously good stuff.

Books. Books books books. Huge shelves everywhere. There were even floating shelves around the door jambs with cutouts to accommodate the crown moulding.. I didn't buy a single one but it would have been fun to look HOWEVER it was a Cynthia sale and she's notoriously stingy on her book pricing and I didn't want the hassle. I like overwhelming the ladies with tons of little things that have no prices I usually get a better deal because they want me to get my tiny crap off their table.

And they had tiny crap, but it wasn't crap. Best pick? A hammered pewter bowl with two stag heads soldered to each side. Hunger Games Chic. I don't expect to be the owner for very long on that one.

The KITCHEN. There were enough bowls, plates, trays, tools, vases, and to fill 4 kitchens. I grabbed some odd looking whisks, a brass curry server from India, a hanging fork and spoon duo, some clay cookie decorators in a CUUUUTE vintage print drawstring bag

Can I just tell you about the furniture for a sec? The chairs, the drop leaf tables, the carved spindled side tables and some seriously amazing rugs and throw pillows (amazing fabric patterns). So. GORGEOUS. Tons of character. Great condition and boy did this couple have an eye.  But there was one piece in particular that was just outrageous. It was a dark finish craftsman style corner bench that was slightly austere and rigid but just practically perfect in every way. My heart dropped and sang at the same time as I saw a couple cart it out. It had the coolest bench cushion too a really stripey red one. I wish it well.

The lines were so elegant. The husband made lots of little shelves and cabinets and odd cubbies, even his own rolling music stand.

You won't even buhLIEVE the handmade earrings I picked up at this joint. That's it's own post.

Mom and I decided to hit it again before going to lunch at our favorite Thai place in Pasadena (Saladang Song! Green curry! GO!). My mom is an estate sale noob but she did great, especially since everything was half price by the time we got there.

She got a doubled lapis bead bracelet for $5 (yes you totally read that right) which is hilarious because that was exactly what she was looking for last time we went to rocks and Runes in Burbank and she was ready to drop 10 times more for the same thing. Not only that but she snagged some Oaxacan clay beaded necklaces, one of which had these gorgeous mother-of-pearl round beads (HUGE!) and a couple other neato doodads for beans.

You wanna know how crazy this sale was here's the picture of the line. At 3 PM. Unheard of.

Still reeling. . .

Whatever, Brooklyn. . .

One of my 2 favorite thrift stores is pretty close to my new place but not close enough to be dangerous. Good thing!

So Community Thrift isn't like Goodwill or Salvation Army. It's a for-profit and sometimes those can be a huge let-down. Come to think about it Goodwill has turned out to be way worse as far as high prices and boring selection. They're branding themselves to be more like a Ross or TJMaxx, and Salvation Army has more people weeding out valuables during sorting which means more trash, less treasure.

I digress.

So Community Thrift can sometimes have shockingly high prices ($12 jeans?! $37 embroidered tablecloths?!) But don't be discouraged there is some sweet stuff to be found.

Today? Not so much . . . not much of anything really. The store looked more barren then usual.

Linen rack? Duds. Houseware shelves? Nuthin'. Ladies' long sleeves? Don't even get me started.

As a last resort I flipped through the frames thinking maybe I'd come across a nice shape from decent hard wood, and didn't like any of them.

But!




I found an old original photo from around 1910 and I know SOMEBODY wants it.

Why?

Because a) Everybody is a freaking hipster, b) it's a documented fact that freaking hipsters love old things and Brooklyn and photos (not necessarily in that order) and c) because this is a PHOTO of BROOKLYN taken in OLD TIMES a.k.a. 1910. It's nature. You can't fight it.

It's got a clear shot of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges but the best part I think is the cool painted signage on all the buildings and the smattering of steam clouds coming up from the smoke stacks.




I'm just here to help. Really.

Silverwood + Wildwood

I don't like missing Eagle Rock sales. They're always worth the drive especially if you're early which I wasn't. In fact I was really late to this one...


But the view was nice!


The guy who used to live here was a toy prototype maker. He had LOTS of specialized tools and precision instruments, clothes, glass and kitchenware (full cupboards which sometimes makes me sad because that means it was sudden), the usual world traveler tchotchkes (incense burners, pottery that fits in suitcases, carved this and that), and more books on sexual dysfunction than I knew what to do with. Poor dude.

Walking through, I stopped in my tracks when I saw a doe-eyed girl holding a steel base, rough wood-topped table. I did an immediate about-face, scanned the back yard again and scored the second one for the house.



I like.

One of the things I liked best about the living room was a tangled piece of driftwood hanging from a chain near the fireplace. I had a tumbleweed I found on the train tracks hanging in my studio for a year, but couldn't bring it because it'd take up a fifth of the living room.

He had a soft spot for natural carved and a GRIP of geodes, but alas... As respectful and cheery as I intend be I had a split-second urge to hip-check this tiny woman who snagged the last one. Estate sales can make people very...human.

One tip that came in handy today was a looking for items without price tags. Usually on tagged items usually they've done their homework and you end up paying about as much as you would on ebay. NOT the goal! And for my searching I was rewarded with a free-ish can opener (after finagling open tomatoes with vintage bottle openers left over from the wedding this was something to celebrate) and some other things I'll post to the shop this week :)