The past week has been a complete whirlwind! School has been out for a week, and on top of adjusting to a new routine and schedule with kids home all day, I’ve had three full painting workshops, a regular schedule to keep at the store and a mini-getaway with my husband for our anniversary. The getaway was the best part! My hubby surprised me with a night on the town in Beverly Hills. I was begging to load up the truck with nasty looking furniture so we could drive it around Rodeo Dr. and Beverly Blvd just cuz that’s more my style. 🙂 Wouldn’t that have been a kick? 

As planned, I climbed through the attic and pulled out my wedding dress over the weekend to see if I could get it on and zipped up. There was a big hole in the front of it on the outer layer of tulle despite being all boxed up. Oh well. I got into a squabbling match with my husband trying to get it on…it went something like, (him) “There is no way this is going to zip up.” (me) “YES IT WILL…YOU’RE JUST NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH!!!” 

 

Anyway, after our weekend in a different world (cuz if you’ve ever been to Beverly Hills you might as well vacation in a different world), I’ve spent every day in the store prepping for workshops, keeping up with the furniture inventory and training interns. It seems like this week, more than ever I was having conversations with customers that went something like, “how do you ever get rid of anything?” 

The truth of the matter is…I don’t. There are a lot of things that I come across with the intent of selling, but just can’t part with it right away. These are some of my favorites at home…

I got this California Date box at a yard sale for $1. It was filled with cassette tapes, and in order to get the box I had to take all of the tapes. Originally, I brought it to the store and snuck it behind some other stuff so no one would see it. Every time someone touched it or even looked at it I’d get a little heated. So, after a week or two I finally pulled it off the shelves and took it home. 

I think these are milk glass. These came from a yard sale just a few weeks ago. I paid $10 for the whole set and was stoked about it because I’ve been on the hunt for a vintage feeling salt and pepper shaker and a new sugar bowl. The shaker was a bonus because it is kid friendly…perfect for a sprinkle of sugar on our morning oatmeal that even my three year old can handle. 

This past November, I bought a set of locker baskets on etsy to store our Christmas CD’s and DVD’s for the holiday season. The plan was to sell them once Christmas was over and the movies went back in storage. But, I love the versatility of them. Right now, they are a focal point above my fireplace along with a bunch of other oddities that I’ve kept over the years. I think I have a collection of about ten locker baskets in and around the house right now. 

The cast iron cookware crate was a yard sale find for $10. and the box beneath it was $2 and is an old file cabinet drawer. Both of those were in the shop for a bit of time, but I finally brought them home and set them up as a side table in my family room. The antique alarm clock works and was supposed to be for store inventory…but…you know how it goes…

Ahhh…that awesome, chippy lamp! I’d say it was supposed to come to the store, but I don’t think I really ever intended to sell it. I got it at Lucketts? or maybe Chartreuse and Co. in Virginia on a picking adventure with one of my best friends. It works and is ideal for my husband while he teaches piano lessons. It wasn’t a screamin’ deal, but at $36 it wasn’t too over-the-top expensive to buy. 

The large antique glass window was from a yard sale just down the street from my house. I walked it home and propped it behind the table against the wall to get it out of the way until I could get it to the shop. Well, it’s been there for a while now. 

I got the two teeny tiny kids chairs at the Irvine Antique Market this past spring. My kids love them…and I love having grown up looking furniture for the little ones. Eventually, they will get sold once my little scrappers outgrow them. 

And, to this day, my most favorite find is the church pew. It was a screamin’ deal at a yard sale. I paid just $75 and love it as much as its original owner. You can read about when I first bought it here. 

That’s just some of the cool stuff I’ve kept over the years. More recently, I bought an antique buffet and secretary that involved lots of re-arranging to keep. But, that’s a post for another day!