I Saw the Sign.

I left my house around 9 this morning, cruisin for garage sales like I do, when all of a sudden I saw ESTATE SALE in bold sharpie on neon pink posterboard. That was probably the sharpest u-turn I've ever made. When I got to the house I realized it was one street over from my grandma's (I call her Lela PS), so I sped over there and jumped up and down like a lunatic on the front porch til she opened the door.  She grabbed her purse. "But I can't go looking like THIS," she said, referencing her faded Astros tee and cotton cut-off shorts. "This is what I CLEAN in." (She was saying all of this in Spanish, mind you). I just laughed, gesturing to my wild morning hair and sloppy tank/shorts ensemble. And off we went, around the corner to a boarded up house with more pink neon signs (at least 6 of them, swear) screaming ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK... I've never seen that at an estate sale before? Or anywhere really, save a haunted house ads (because I don't actually GO to those...anyway). The house itself wasn't particularly daunting, just...there. On the street. In a decent neighborhood with semi-manicured lawns. I had momentary visions of quarantine plastic set up inside...but why would they be having an esta... ? Ahem. After perusing the driveway's offerings we ventured inside.  

Not exactly Pyrex, but still fun florally metal containers that stack inside of themselves like Matryoshka dolls!

I felt pretty courageous stepping through that door, I won't lie. Enter at my own risk? YOU'D BETTER BELIEVE. Estate sales are my heaven aka totally worth the risk. 

What risk, exactly? Could've fooled me. Just a house of people haggling over things with pricetags. So much vintage though! I could've died. Lela commented that house smelled really nice, and only then did I realize that she was, in fact, right! No weird antique-y/moldy/dusty/awkward/gloomy/second-hand smell. Just… air (that we were breathing at our own risk, apparently. I'm sorry, it just cracks me up). As a frequenter of these sales, garage, thrift, and otherwise, you come to expect/build an immunity to ‘the smell’. So the lack of one was a nice change of pace, I guess? I was too busy scanning each table, shelf, and counter to notice.

APRONS!

And so we browsed. We ooh-ed and aah-ed. Our eyes darted every which way in search of all things floral and Pyrex (we’re on a level, she and I). We watched a woman escort her children out of the house after one of the sale hosts yelled, “NO KIDS ALLOWED INSIDE!” (um, why so serious?). People fought over items, who saw it first, complaints of “I left my items RIGHT HERE and now they are GONE” were frequently heard upstairs and down.

SMILING ORANGES APRON! A few of them wink. This is my favorite. 

Oh honey, should’ve read the sign. Or the ten of them posted haphazardly around the house. NO ITEM IS YOURS UNTIL YOU HAVE PAID FOR IT. Is that the adult version of finders keepers?

Always with the floral bedsheets. This is my version of going to the fabric store when I'm broke (which is most of the time)

I have to say this is the most lively/interesting estate sale I’ve ever been to. Probably the most fun as well, because of the spontaneity of it all with my Lela by my side. Fearless thrifters, braving big houses and the obnoxious cashier who basically spent the whole time yelling about things.

Haha.

The good news: we scored pretty big today, despite being short on cash.

Even better news: the sale continues tomorrow at 8am and everything left is HALF OFF. I had my eye on a certain Pyrex dish, a set of vintage Good Housekeeping books (I think it was GH? Something like that. They were so cool), and the mess of overpriced jewelry on the driveway. Here’s hoping at least one of the three is still there tomorrow! Lela and Jska, GOIN TO THA ‘STATE SALE: ROUND II.

Napkins with colorful prints...dreaming up all of their crafty uses as I type!

How’s your weekend going? Did you score big at a sale today? After this morning’s thrills and an afternoon of erranding and chore catchup, I’m ready for a self-care Saturday night. Movies, painting, maybe crochet a stitch or two. Tonight is mine, and I am happy. What creative projects are you working on?

Dresses about 5x my size but beautifully printed and begging to be altered. Hello lovelies! 

PS tomorrow I have some pretty exciting news to share, sooo…you know. Be there or be square….AT YOUR OWN RISK! (I really wish I would’ve had a camera so I could show you how ridiculous those posters looked. Maybe I can sneak a few tomorrow!)