Without fail I find the greatest items when I least expect it. To say last Wednesday started out rough is an understatement. It began bright and early when my sweet baby who normally sleeps until 8am woke up at 630am. Once I calmed him down with a bottle, I moved on to cleaning up the cat throw up scattered around my kitchen. Then I made myself some munch needed coffee which I spilled all over the counter.
The rest of the morning went similarly: I broke a glass, my normally sweet baby was uber cranky, and my dog was acting like he was on speed. It was the kind of morning that made me want to throw myself off the roof. Actually that probably would have been a failure too. My building only has 4 floors, and I would most likely just break all my limbs.
In the afternoon, I decided to go on a walk in hopes of bringing some peace and calm to my life. Low and behold I ended up walking to my favorite Salvation Army in Uptown. What can I say, my feet just take me there.
I planned on doing a quick lap to see if anything caught my eye. This is one of the tricks of thrifting – you gotta go often even if it’s just a walk through (I found our first Louis Vuitton this way!) Anywho, during my brisk lap around the store, a special sale was announced – 50% off all furniture and 75% off if you take it immediately. I’m 100% powerless for a deal this good.
I headed to the furniture section which was crammed and over flowing – thus the clearance sale. I immediately spotted this a side table with TONS of character. It was marked $30, $7.50 with the sale, so basically free. I knew I wanted it, but how was I going to get it home? I just had my stroller, and I was already at capacity with my diaper bag and some groceries. While strategizing, I also spotted a thick glass top side table that was in great shape. So two tables, and no means to carry them even a few feet let alone half a mile home.
Luckily my business partner and bestie, Helen, was finishing up a meeting and on her way to my house to work on a upcoming THS event. I knew she would be clutch because a) I like to get her opinion before I commit to a purchase, and b) her car would be most necessary. I texted her that I was at Salvation baby sitting two tables that I wanted. She said she would be there asap. True friend.
About this time, Maxwell decided he was over shopping and started getting very angry. I decided to buy the first table and head home. I texted Helen than I had to abort, and she said she would swing by and scoop the table for me.
I strapped Maxwell in the bjorn and headed home. Instead of feeling content, I could only think about the glass table – the one that I didn’t buy. The saying about nothing haunts us like the things we don’t buy is very true in my world. Should I have gotten that table instead? Do I need both? I called Helen. She was at salvation scooping the original table. I told her about the glass table which she inspected and adamantly approved of. She purchased it, also for $7.50, and loaded up both tables in her car – BP (business partner) of the year.
I felt a sense of relief knowing I had secured both tables for a total of $14. I was almost home fantasizing about where I would put them and how I would decorate them when I spotted a bunch of furniture next to a dumpster. Hold the phone.
The only thing better than basically free furniture is actually free furniture. One chair really caught my eye. It had the lines and look I have been searching for. The fabric was in terrible shape, but it would be easy to recover. I tried to drag it a few feet whilst wearing my baby in a bjorn, and pushing my stroller filled with groceries. Not gonna happen.
I called Helen, and let me tell you, it is so great and probably necessary to be in business with someone as insane as I am. She didn’t say ‘haven’t you purchased enough furniture for one day?’ or ‘let it go, Katie’. She said ‘where is it?’ I gave her an approximate location and walked home.
Even though I knew she would be loading it into her car within 30 minutes, I was haunted by he thought of someone else nabbing it. This is Chicago after all. Once home, I gave my lil guy a bottle and thankfully he fell asleep immeadiately. Once safely in his crib, I literally ran down the block and hauled my chair home as fast as I could. It was beyond disgusting, so I set it on the back porch and covered it with a grill cover. The chair is a project and a post for another day.
About this time Helen arrived with my tables. After a thorough cleaning I started trying them in different spots. One ended up in the back living room and one in the front. They are PERFECT. Well worth the price and effort.
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