2013 Yard Sale Season Off to Great Start! LOOT...

Two Saturdays ago I officially started 2013 Yard Sale Season. But I just couldn't get moving. It was a lazy morning. At the same time I could hear the yard sales calling me. Finally, just before 10:00, all three of my girls and I finally headed out. I made sure the stroller was out of the trunk....to leave room for...well....to leave room. Just in case. And I threw together a cooler bag with some snacks and drinks to hold us over till lunch.

My target sale list for the day was short and scattered. I got a gut feeling about which direction I should head in first - towards a sale that didn't start till 10:00. I figured I'd get first dibs on something. After driving 20 minutes to arrive at my destination, I was deflated to see NOTHING. I double checked my research. Crap! It was scheduled for Sunday, not Saturday. 0 for 1. But my gut feeling wasn't all wrong - it had us heading in the right direction. There was one yard sale and one estate sale on my list another 15 minutes down the highway. Hmmm...what the heck! Why not? It was a beautiful day to be out and about and I had absolutely nothing else on my docket for the day.

At this point my kids were already bored with this first yard sale adventure of the season. My oldest wasn't even feeling very well, so despite what I said about only letting my kids watch DVDs on long road trips, I popped in a borrowed "Spy Kids" DVD and they pepped right up.

So we finally pulled up at destination #2. My oldest two piled out with me while the "baby" stayed sleeping in the van. I barely stepped onto the lawn before I was deflated again. TOTALLY LAME!! I managed to score a game of Boggle for $2 (because the Boggle Jr. I picked up last year certainly isn't cutting it anymore). Oh, and a baggie of fudge and peanut butter blossoms from their bake sale for another $1. But in my mind - considering how long we had driven to get there, we were now 0 for 2. And after sampling the home made goodies nasties, my feelings were double confirmed. And off we went toward the estate sale five minutes away.

And oh-me-my did the estate sale redeemed the day!! With 2/3 of the kids still glued to their movie and 1/3 of the kids still sleeping, what's a mom to do?? Can't take 3 bulls into a china shop. And trust me, this sale ended up being practically that. I took advantage of my van's technology, here's what this mom did. I parked right in front of the little ranch house that was right on the quiet, dead-end, street. I explained to the older two what I was doing. Then I kept their movie playing. I got out and locked the doors behind me. And I went inside - always able to see my van from the windows.

  ~> I think I've given this disclaimer before but I'm feeling compelled to share it again. I would NEVER, EVER, not for ANY kind of potential treasure, leave my kids in the vehicle - even locked - out of my view. EVER! <~

So where was I? Oh yes, I went inside. And oh my!!. My favorite kind of estate sale. Some really old person must have kicked the bucket and left a lifetime of collectibles behind. The company running the sale had things priced to go. So it was like antique shop merchandise at yard sale prices. I hit a little jackpot:

I couldn't pass up another Scrabble game for $1:

I can use the wooden letters and trays for stuff like this again or for these other inspirations like these(pics link to sources):

display ledges

food labels

gift tags

custom crossword art

I've lost track of how many total Scrabble games I've picked up at yard sales. I might be a little obsessed.) But they will not be wasted.

A few months ago I mentioned that we moved and the first room I plan to finish redecorating is my oldest daughters' shared bedroom. In case you missed it - our "new" house is where my husband lived the second half of his childhood. What's now my girls' bedroom used to be their dad's bedroom in high school. Back in the day, my hubby's parents let him pick out his carpet color and he chose black. It's still black.  Replacing this is VERY low on our list of priorities. In other words, its probably never going to happen! So I'm working with it. At this point, I just have a vision. I even have a Pinterest board titled "How to decorate a girls bedroom with a black carpet." :) I know exactly what fabrics I want to use for window treatments and bedding accents (OOOOh! I just discovered these happen to be 50% off right now! Must go use my gift card, pronto!)

I hate myself for giving in to chevron. Swore I wouldn't do it.

 

 

I'm still playing around with furniture placement and I have a long list of furniture repainting projects that I need to start cranking out now that the weather is warming up. I'm also still pulling together the artwork I want to hang in there. Here are a few inspirations that pull together the elements of black and vintage that could work in a girls bedroom:

If I wait much longer to realize my vision, my oldest just might stage a revolt. She's already talking typical seven-year old foolishness like wanting to paint all the walls bright pink and she's already got her eye on these sheer panels in bright pink with silver sparkly flowers from WalMart. Yeah...NOT HAPPENING!! (Does that make me a horrible mother?) I think I can still get away with convincing her of my plan. And just in case not, I'm seriously considering just surprising them with a newly decorated room one day....see how that flies.

So - about that collection of artwork for this pending girls bedroom makeover. I found a few goodies that were exactly the type of thing I had been thinking of to pull off a touch of vintage.

Because I'm a sucker for silhouettes, I figured this proper lady would fit into the mix. (She hasn't been  cleaned yet and that's not even close to what I paid for her.) Oh, and dear daughter approved.

It helps that owls are kind of the rage right now, but with the pink blossoms, black oval frame and the $2 price tag, I could NOT leave this behind. And again, dear daughter approved.

Now this next little gem was a total score. As in, this alone redeemed the day.  I've been drooling over the likes of these in antique shops for a few years now. Cheapest I've seen them is $40 and there is no way in heck I'd spend that on something like this. I always say, "Good things come to those who wait." And I proved that true again. $6 for this lovely, lacy, little lady on a black matte in a dark grey frame. Dear daughter agreed - just lovely.

This pair of horse and buggy silhouettes was $5 but I actually only picked them up for the frames. I love how round and chunky they are and the hoops for hanging at the top. They can be painted to better coordinate with the fabric and the art replaced with something else - maybe a creative initial for each girl?

There was one more find that I was psyched to stumble across at this sale. It was something I've been on the lookout for since last year when I found one and wanted it, only to learn that another shopper had already set it aside. (That's the WORST!) This time, it was MINE!

It's vintage.

It's colorful.

It's something to do.

To me, its an icon of summer (though we've already christened it in spring).

Think grass.

Any guesses?

I'll disclose next time. (Only because I forgot to take pictures yet.)

Anyone else hit up their first yard sale of spring? Anyone getting lucky at estate sales?
What'd ya get?