i've jumped on the estate sale bandwagon!

Thanks to Maggie, and the comment a reader of ours put on her estate sale post:

DJLeigh said...

Don't forget to check www.estatesales.net. I just started stalking this site last weekend.

the Wonder Women gals discovered a jewel of a sale this weekend. On a last minute decision, we decided to take a little roadtrip early Saturday morning to Newton, IA for a treasure hunt.(Thanks DJLeigh!)


Unfortunately, Rach hasn't been feeling the best (she's been so hard at work baking ya' all!) that she decided it was probably wise of her not to make the trek, so off Maggie and I went.

It actually ended up being a weekend full of some unexpected fun! Maggie and I had been planning on hanging out Friday night anyway, and we ended up hanging out with a dear friend we hadn't seen in a long time that was in town last minute. We also took a surprise trip to Old Navy to pick up some $2 tank tops! Then, due to Brandon being gone on a golfing trip, and Eric working very long hours all weekend due to a tournament, I ended up spending the night at Maggie's so we could sleep in the last minute possible the next morning before heading out on our adventure. It felt like old times! Of course we stayed up waaaay too late talking, but what else would you expect?!

Off we went Saturday morning, but before we could head out we needed a little something from Starbucks to help us wake up! Low and behold, we ran into one of our FAV highschool teachers! Ah, so much fun! She was thrilled we were all still friends and that the three of us were writing a blog together! She was our creative writing teacher :)

Now for the sale we were going to...a little (seriously little--you should've seen how small her clothes/shoes were!), old lady had rooms FULL of all different colors of glassware, knick knacks, furniture, clothing, jewelry, kitchen utensils, fabric, etc. etc!! It was honestly kinda overwhelming! We were a little nervous too because there was going to be a sign up sheet for people to get into the house and we were hoping we could be some of the first to get the best picks...however, when we got there, it ended up being no big deal...there was no sign up sheet (at least none that we saw), and we got right in and stayed as long as we wanted. We actually made two trips through and thank goodness they had boxes there for us to carry all our stuff because we gathered up a TON of good finds! Of course, we had to pick up some stuff for our Rachel too, since we were sad she couldn't join us. Someone at the sale told Maggie and I we were having too much fun as we were expressed excitement over all the treasures we were finding :)

Now, for no further adieu...here are my finds:

Here's the house...isn't it adorable?!

 Here are the items we picked up for Rach. A fun framed mirror she can use for one of her wall collages (and that she could paint), a yellow vase for her new found love for yellow, and a key she could also use for a wall collage (we found the mother load of these keys at the sale and snagged practically all of them...there was only one we didn't take because it had naked angels on it...kinda weird...I think we'll be ok without naked angels on our walls). :) I'm pretty sure when we found the keys is when the lady told us we were having too much fun. We took a picture of me holding them with a surprised face on Maggie's phone and sent it to Rach (we updated her along the way). We were just too happy.

Here is what is supposed to be a yarn/knitting holder-thingie-majig. However, I plan on using it for magazines or something else. The fabric was just too cute!

A lamp I snagged for $5! I will get a different shade for it, but I loved the base!

A fun table that was actually from a set of three. We got all three for a steal and each of us took one. It's stamped from Italy on the bottom! Maggie thinks she will repaint hers...I'm still trying to decide, but I kinda like the look and think I may keep it just "as is".

Here are what I consider my "World Market" finds. Maggie and I both talked about how you really have to look at some items and consider them in a different atmosphere...some things that may be considered "old" looking when compared to the rest of some older items, may look different (like a World Market item) when considered in a different light. She found a neat orange bowl that was like that, and I found the green flower plate in this pic.

 I love this little vase...the size and color of it! You can see the cute little pot in the background too. Both snagged for $1!

 Another cute, green vase!

I saw this candlestick holder in one of the pics for the sale and was so happy it was still there when we arrived. I love the look of it! I have some fun, big flowers planned for the blue vase in the background.

 Some fun frames I will re-paint, a neat gold dish that I plan on making a jewelry dish, and a jewelry box!

  Look at this fun necklace! All jewelry was $.50! I was a little inspired from a new fashion blog I am reading (which I will share about with you on a future post). I thought this looked a little World Market-y as well :)

This necklace has some funky beads on it, and it's tiered like the next necklace pictured....

 Ahhh I loved this find! I think it is so pretty!

 A fun framed mirror that I originally thought I would re-paint, but now the detail is growing on me!

A cute Christmas decoration...I'm a sucker for anything Christmas.

 And last, but definitely not least, the KEYS!

 I love these and can't wait to get a collage of them going on my wall!

So, I think my first estate sale was pretty successful! Stay tuned for Maggie's treasures!!

What's the best treasure you've ever found at an estate/garage sale? Any tips for us beginners?