Inspired by Hoarding

Ya ever watch the show Hoarders...Buried Alive? I recently have caught a few episodes and while half the time it can leave me feeling a bit depressed the rest of the time I have the urge to run around throwing things away.

A couple weeks ago (after watching one of the above mentioned episodes) I came to terms with the fact that I really have too much stuff packed into the much smaller space I moved into last year. It's not that I'm really attached to this stuff (I know you're thinking I'm in denial) but I just have been so overwhelmed to go through it all and make decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of. So this past weekend I decided to buckle down and just do it... one corner down...

Three more corners and two more rooms to go...I still have sooooo much stuff!!! I hear "Garage Sale" in my near future.

Yard Sale Bug

Actually I'm currently sick at home with another kind of 'bug' (stops to blow nose) but deep down the real bug I've got is to get out there and find a good garage/yard sale, estate sale or flea market find! Anyone, else got the Yard Sale bug?

Garage Sale Success

Instead of having a sale the week or so ago that I had planned I became overwhelmed and then postponed it to this past weekend. I'm actually quite glad I did as it gave me another week to purge through closets and even pushed my mom and dad to go through some of their long neglected cubbies of stuff. It eneded up making for a pretty large garage sale and we were all very satisfied with the amount stuff we sold.

You can't tell how much stuff is here based on this picture but it was dripping items all the way out into the driveway.

Of all the items that sold at the garage though I was suprised that not a single person was interested in this darling antique cane back couch of my moms. Wishing I had a space for it myself...anyone interested? :0)

It was also gorgeous both Friday and Saturday and it felt so good to be outside without a jacket. I half wished I was out hitting up the garage sales myself. In fact within moments of closing my garage sale on Saturday I found the most awesome cabinet on Craigslist that I went to get and also plan on taking to the Funky Junk Sisters show...stay tuned.

Off to Jury Duty tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Friday Flea Market

Prepping for a garage sale this afternoon and maybe Saturday so I only have a few moments but I wanted to take a moment to pop into blog land and say hello!

A lot is on my plate this next month including moving (will share more about that later), prepping for the Funky Junk Sisters Show, Jury Duty (oh joy!) and looking for a secondary income (hopefully just part-time for now). Will share more on all of the above but at the moment I just wanted to update you on Friday Flea Market as some of you may be wondering where it's been. The Friday Flea Market has changed some of their criteria so I will not be posting new items here each Friday. I am still part of Friday Flea Market but will now just be posting my items in my Etsy store which you are always welcome to stop by and browse!

Back to the garage for me! Happy weekend to you!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Have you missed me? Ok so maybe it's not been that long but it has been over a week since my last post. Since starting my blog last year I do believe this is the longest I've gone without at least writing a little something.

It's not that I've been intentionally neglecting my blog but the way it is with life busyness can seem to eb and flow. Sometimes I've got all the time in the world and then sometimes I barely have a moment to breath.

Just this past week I've been cleaning out the garage in order to make room for the things I've been purchasing in preperation for the Funky Junk Sisters show this June. I've picked up a lot of fun things this past few weeks that I will give you a peek of later.

With all the items I needed to clean out I considered a garage sale but decided I might not have enough to make it worth my time. I decided to post a few things on Craigslist to see if that might work and it turned out pretty good!

The first items that went were some cool old windows and a farm style rocking chair...

then an old leather travelers bag...

next was a french provincial etagere and a primitive potting bench...

and last but not least my huge antique armoire.

Some of you may remember my previous post about this piece and the story of how I accquired it. I actually had great plans for this piece but knew how valuable the space was that it was taking up so I had to let it go. I think I actually breathed a sigh of relief when it left and am now loving all the extra room I have for new finds. On to better (but hopefully not bigger) things!

Before I get too eager in my purchases though I have a number of things to purge...slowly but surely!

Favorite Find Friday

Once I again I am late in posting my Favorite Find Friday and I'm going to have to blame it on my new Twitter account! While I love blogging I was quickly sucked in to the Twitter world...I guess you could say I became twitterpated...hee hee!

Ok enough about that now on to my finds! My mom and I headed out yesterday morning to a couple thrift stores that ended up being closed and then decided to try a sale we had seen on Craigslist that sounded promising. We don't give up that easily when out!

We were very excited to see all the cute things this gal had for sale. She herself owns an online store and does some holiday shows throughout the area. I tried hard to google her store when I got home but to no avail...anyone know of Holly's Prim Fixins? Anyway, my mom and I found some great things (one we fought over and she won...darn that guilty feeling!) two of which I'll share with you.

Neither of them are truly vintage, in fact they were brand new, but they fit the vintage farmhouse style I have going so I decided I had to have them. First off is this cute framed coffee sign that was only $5!

And then I had to have this little sign for only 50 cents...it just made me smile. I have so been there before!

Hope you all were able to find some fun things this weekend!

Now that I've shared my finds I might just sneak back to Twitter...hee hee...somebody please pull the plug on my computer!

Calendar of Antique/Vintage/Handmade Shows in the Pacific NW

There are so many wonderful antique, vintage and flea market shows going on in the NW this year that I decided to compile them all in one place and share them with you. I browse around often looking for events and shows so just this month I've run across the 4 Friends Sale featuring Queen of Tarte, Molly Mo, Aunties & Vintage Trifles on March 21st, also the same weekend March 19th - 21st is the Lynden Craft & Antique Show full of more than 100 vendors selling handcrafted gifts, home decor and vintage treasures, and last but not least is the Sand Point Antique & Design Market March 29th.

Of course there are the many weekly flea markets and local farmers markets that are always fun to attend. The garage sale, yard sale season is also fast approaching and Craigslist (if you are not in the greater Seattle area then you will need to change the location on the aforementioned link) is a great place to check for those. Don't check too early though as people seem to post at the last minute even up until late the night before.

So now to my calendar...here is an active example:




Feel free to browse around and click on an event for more info. I update this calendar on a regular basis and will post it on my blog at least once a month. Follow my blog for updates or send me an email address and I can add you to my guest list so you can receive notifications of calendar events.

Do you know of any other events, shows, sales I have missed? Let me know and I will add it to the list. If you are going to be at a specific show let me know that too and I can leave a link to your blog or website on the listing. You can also log in to my calendar with your google account and add your own comments about any given event.

Happy Bargain Hunting!!!

Dual Purpose Dining Table

I never look at things in a conventional way so when deciding on the right desk to desk to put in my new office I dug out an antique dining table that had been sitting in the garage since last summer. My dad actually picked this table up at a garage sale for me for $15...bargain hunting obviously runs in the family. I loved it but didn't have a use for it at the time.

After a couple quick coats of pinkish paint (my own mixture of mistinted paints...I love those!!!) it was ready for use. However, it was a bit smaller then I wanted but luckily I had hung on to a large piece of glass I found at Pottery Barn during their annual University Village Sidewalk Sale for a mere $5. (The U Village sale is a must visit... I haven't been able to find the 2009 dates yet but it is typically in mid-late June) Actually, if you want to get technical the glass was free as it also came with 2 other pieces intended for side tables that I sold at a past garage sale for $5. Anyway, the glass was the perfect fit and I now have a new desk for less then $25!!! That includes the piece of wrapping paper I placed under the glass for another pop of color.

The best part of this desk (table) is that it has four extra leaves and even another set of legs for the center which make for a super long table just perfect for the occasional large gathering...got to love dual purpose pieces!!!

Early Spring Cleaning

With only a few days with no rain in the forecast and even the sun peeking out from behind the clouds most people ventured out to enjoy the weather this weekend. I on the other hand planned a garage sale. I just couldn't wait to get rid of some of the items from my office purge and I had a number of other items sitting around that just needed to go. It was time for an early spring cleaning!!!

Of course a garage sale is always a decent amount of work but oddly enough I actually enjoy all aspects of planning a garage sale...the set up and display, the tagging, the bartering, the interaction with a variety of people, even the packing up the leftovers and dropping them off at a local thrift store. Am I crazy? Perhaps. But if this is crazy I'm enjoying it!

I knew it was a bit early for garage sale season but I also knew that die hard thrifters, not unlike myself, would be glad for the opportunity to shop for some bargains. I was not expecting to make a lot of cash but was more then pleased to clean out items that I no longer needed. It really was not the type of annual garage sale that I usual have though as I never made it through all my antiques and collectibles...hmmm...now I'm thinking about a fancy "antique sale". Now that would be really fun!!!