Estate Sale-ing And Armchair Thrifting

I'm having lunch today with my sister-in-law.

We haven't yet decided where to go to eat,

but we know where we'll go after we eat.

Thank you, Phyllis, for this most excellent idea.

There's an estate sale today in beautiful, nearby Mendham.

An 1806 farmhouse on 5 acres.

It was recently sold, just under a million,

which is a bargain for this Mendham neighborhood.

Annual taxes: $26-thousand-plus.  Gotta love New Jersey.

 Since they are selling off the fireplace mantelpieces, I very much

fear that this lovely old house is going to be pulled down.

I hope not; I'll keep an eye on it.

So, some of the items being sold,

in pictures from the estate sale listing:

 Gorgeous kidney-shaped desk, above.  Want.

Oddball coffee table?  Is that a giant ash tray in the middle?
Don't want.  Or maybe, I do ....

Oh, my.  This desk.  I've never seen one like it in "real life."

Want.  Does anyone know what style this is?  Adams?

And ... look at that flooring.

World's oldest living Christmas tree stand.

Pass.

And who does not love hairy paw feet?

And gorgeous wide plank floors?

 Then , there are pants.

(I think my Dad had those same madras patchwork that are in the middle.)

And more of the wardrobe of the 96-year old doctor who owned the house.

I'm thinking that's a genuine Burberry scarf,

and not a cheap knockoff like we bought in London.

Cobra candlesticks.  Might want.  I'm thinking, Christmas grab bag....

It's my Uncle Louie!

If you are interested, you can check out this estate sale for yourself,

in person or online ... where there are more than 400 pictures!
So many, many, many beautiful pieces of furniture.
Plus books, china, lamps ... you have to look!

Click here for the estatesales.net listing.

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Meanwhile, I am still armchair thrifting with North Jersey Craigslist.

This time: chairs for our oak table in the conservatory,

and more dining room chairs (Anne took some to DC).

Among the contenders for the dining room are these, below.
All of these chairs come in multiples, all are bargains:

And for the conservatory?
There are these to consider.  Also in at least sets of 4,
and ... yes, bargains.  Craigslist in North Jersey do beat all.
Seek and ye shall find.

I had to include this ... a stunning Frenchy DR table and chairs.  8 chairs.  So beautiful, but not really what I want for
That Old House.... but the whole shebang is $200.  For that table, and those chairs.  Holy smokes.

This one comes with the table.  Gorgeous table -- what patina!

Oh whose grandma didn't have some of these chairs, below?
Heck, Howard and I had some of these chairs, years ago!  (Lost in a flood.)

Well... lots to ponder, and I have not yet checked today's new listings!

Happy hunting, whatever you are looking for.
Have a splendid weekend! -- Cass

Link Parties

Miss Mustard Seed has Furniture Feature Friday -- Click here!

At My Romantic Home, it's Show And Tell Friday.  Click here!

Feathered Nest Friday makes its home at French Country Cottage.  Click here!

The Charm of Home features Home Sweet Home on Fridays.  Click here!

Craigslist And Estate Sales Are My Friends

Yes, indeed they are.

I needed to refresh the stock at my antiques booth,

so a couple of weekends ago, my daughter Anne and I hit up several house sales,

and picked up a washstand, ca. 1870, from a Craigslist posting.

(The washstand in our sunroom, awaiting
its beauty treatment.  The top drawer is out.)

We stuffed the minivan; Anne has excellent packing skills.

But we had to pass up an Eastlake bed.  That was painful.

A very BIG Eastlake bed, it was in excellent, gorgeous condition, 

with rails, and already converted to queen size.  I know!

Why didn't we take it?  

I negotiated the price from $275 to $100 

-- it was the last day of the sale, and I was buying other things -- 

but when I stood next to the bed, and realized that it was taller than I, 

and certainly wider than 48" . . . I knew I couldn't fit it into the minivan.

Dang.

But we got an adorable old cherry one-drawer stand, with uber-patina.

And an antique repair to its top.  

(Please excuse the sneakers, dog toy, and vacuum in the picture.

Real life is messy sometimes.  Or, always.)

Not a very professional fix-it job, and it may win the prize for 

most nails used in any furniture repair ever, but I just love it.

It cracks me up.  It would have given my father fits.

Also in our house sale haul, a wonderful old chestnut drop leaf table, 

with three original leaves.  A rare bird, indeed.

The picking gods were with us that day.  It has not just 3 leaves,

but a holder to keep them protected.  I never saw one of those before.

It's possible I have lead a sheltered life.

Haha ... those are Howard's feet on the left; we were in the parking lot behind the shop, 

delivering these things to the booth this past Sunday.  

I have shrunk my booth down to 1/2 its former size, 

so it was a tight fit to get the new things tucked in.  But we did.

The rustic little one-drawer stand sold today, one day after its arrival.

And someone put a "hold" on the drop leaf table.

Yup, house sales are my friends.

And ... I just noticed my giant handbag on the drop leaf table.  Well, at least I didn't leave it there.

The house sale also netted us a nice sturdy country Windsor chair,

and a sweet pine desk/vanity/hall table that needs a teensy bit of TLC

before it's ready for its closeup, Mr. DeMille.

Sunday was such a lovely day.

Maybe Howard and I should have had lunch al fresco in the parking lot!

Side note:  A couple of days after I got the washstand from a home in Chatham, NJ, I got an email from the owner; she had found the bail of one of the brasses in her garage.  Did I want it?  Yes!  I was ready to hunt for a replacement.  Instead ... this lovely lady mailed it to me.  I know people worry about Craigslist dealings, but so far I have only met the very best people in my Craigslist purchases, or sales.  Even the hermits.  :-)

And it isn't much of a collage/mosaic that I've done, but even so ... 

I'm hitching it to Mary's Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.

Confession:  It's been SO LONG since I've done a blog party linkup that I forgot how.

True.

A mind really is a terrible thing to waste, isn't it?  See you soon! 

-- Cass

The TBDBT List, and Too Much of a Good Thing

Now, I am not complaining.

But . . . 
I am getting a little tired of living
in the midst of a roadside flea market. 

This situation is entirely my own fault.

I'm pretty good at finding lovely old bits of furniture and smalls

at auctions, estate sales, thrift shops, and on Craigslist.
Sometimes, too good.

 Oddball, orphaned tables, chairs, chests, rockers, and beds,

along with clocks and china and mirrors and artwork,

are squatting all over the house.  Not even paying rent.

Sofas?  We have three needing new homes!

I'm covered in sadness.

No, I am not.  You catch me fibbing.

I'm covered in thankfulness.

How lucky, how amazing, to have the problem of abundance.

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Although speaking of abundance,
Thanksgiving is a terrifying mere 34 days away.

I can't put a big table full of relatives in the dining room

if I still have it full of these interlopers.

 Time to get serious.

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It's time for the annual T.B.D.B.T. List,

or,

the To Be Done By Thanksgiving List.

I have been making one of these monsters for years.  And years.

"Wishes" about sums up the TBDBT.

My list is probably quite similar to the one penned by the hardy

souls who landed at Plymouth Rock back in 16-something-or-other.

1)  Don't thee die.

2)   Make thee friends with the locals.

3)  Invite thy new friends in for a nice cuppa.

4)  (Should be #2-1/2) Build thee a house to invite them into.

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Okay, so my TBDBT Lists are a little less ambitious than this,

although one year I included "Build A Garage," but crossed it out

before my husband could see it and get his hopes up.

2010 - Howard & Turkey Shirt

2011 - Howard & Turkey Shirt

I am way, way behind this year.

August and September were not my most productive months,

so I have streamlined my list.

Here it is, the slimmed-down 2012

To Be Done By Thanksgiving List.

1.  Send the orphaned furniture on its way, even if that means to a storage unit.

2.  Finish sewing the new draperies for the dining room, with the fabric bought during the TBDBT craze of 2010.  (Not fibbing.)

3.  Install the rest of the matchstick blinds in the Study, which includes trimming 4 of them.  

4.  Call Dave the Plumber and say Yes to a new upstairs bathtub, and also a new powder room faucet.  Ask him if a food disposal is possible in the kitchen.  Or, just outright buy his 4 kids all their Christmas presents, and his wife a nice warm mink.

5.  Touch up paint - kitchen, study, upstairs hall bath.

6.  Relax and realize that Thanksgiving will come, regardless of whether there are new draperies in the dining room, and everyone will be gently stuffed with good food.  Which brings me to my last make-sure-to-do point:

7)  Don't poison anyone.

A beautiful turkey with a cleverly disguised
ICBM strapped to its back.
The Commies will never see this one coming!
(A little joke there for us Cold War kids.)

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Adorable graphics courtesy of Karen, The Graphics Fairy.  Visit her amazing blog here!

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Link Parties!

At My Romantic Home, it's Show And Tell Friday.  Click here!

Feathered Nest Friday makes its home at French Country Cottage.  Click here!

The Charm of Home features Home Sweet Home on Fridays.  Click here!

It's Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground.  Click here!

Miss Mustard Seed hosts the Furniture Friday Feature.  It's a must visit -- Click here!

We may or may not head East to the beach house.
I'm thinking That Old House is insisting we stay home,
and tend to her needs.  She's such a boss.  -- Cass