estate sale musings

i’ve always enjoyed a thrifting session and have been shopping primarily used and vintage for almost two decades, but i didn’t really learn about the untrammeled joy of the estate sale until i moved to la. there were definitely great ones in austin (old women who die of natural causes in san marcos have the best tableware), but i didn’t know how to find them, and it also started to seem like kind of an exercise in futility to keep buying shit to decorate my apartment with when it became clear not that long into me living there that i would eventually, inevitably be moving to la.

now i live in la (again) with my boyfriend and our dog, and we’re in the process of settling into our first apartment together; i was already living in this 2br with a roommate, but when he moved out in september, rax moved in. we got our puppy frank the month after, and for probably non-dog-unrelated reasons, we’ve been sort of slow to redecorate the apartment—which looked like absolute shit when i lived here without rax, a fact i didn’t have the energy to improve alone—but almost nine months into our living together, stuff is starting to come together.

we have a really comfortable and big couch from fb marketplace that rax and li installed: a nice rug, also from fb marketplace, that frank has only peed on a few times: an amazing coffee table scored from

Priyanka Mattoo

: a big bookshelf jaz and gabe were getting rid of that we’ve already filled with books and some cute shit, including my favorite retro man’s-head-shaped vase i found at dolly python in dallas, our tarot deck, and a weird little gold box reading PETTY CASH that i actually went back to dustbunny vintage in singapore to buy because i couldn’t stop thinking about it: an all-important (to me) tv we got from alana and raffi that hangs in the middle of the beginnings of a gallery wall that we are definitely going to add to (soon). the kitchen’s finally arranged in a way that seems to mostly work, and i feel so lucky that we have a little balcony we can sleepily let frank out onto for a pee in the morning, even though this means it’s kind of always drenched in piss. we have a basket for frank’s toys and i’m on the lookout for more, since i read in how to keep house while drowning that readily accessible baskets are a great adhd cleaning hack. sorry to be the kind of person who says stuff like ‘adhd cleaning hack’, but i’m a messy cancer living with a neat-freak virgo, so it kind of comes with the territory.

when i moved into my austin place, i felt a sudden need to make it all work instantly and spent a lot of time (not to mention money) buying a couch, a coffee table, a tv, random home accessories and tchotchkes, etc. some of them made the move with me to la, but most of them i got rid of during my weeklong packing spiral. i was hoping to sell some stuff, but i ended up taking a lot of it to goodwill, giving some stuff to my neighbors and (in the case of my already broken-in-half bisexual-green velvet couch) just throwing shit out. there’s a few things i miss dearly—a teal, orange-rimmed bowl

maya kosoff

gave me that i used to eat ramen out of and shattered during the move, a ceramic candleholder i can’t find anywhere and must have accidentally donated or thrown out or just left behind, a framed print of ‘50s-era food illustrations from side kitsch vintage whose glass in the car cracked during my drive from texas to california—but mostly, i’m adjusted to my new place and happy with the idea of adding stuff slowly instead of buying a bunch of random shit all at once.

i haven’t bought anything for the house in a while—i hadn’t shopped much at all over the last few months, a streak i broke at my friend jessica’s store proud mary vintage this weekend—but on sunday afternoon, i hopped in my car after pilates and drove to an estate sale my friend

Tierney

had vouched for on instagram. she was right, it turned out: i found a wild little purse, a pink neon ceramic vase, a palm-sized round gold picture frame to put my favorite picture of me and jaz at the peppermill lounge in vegas in, and the tiny vintage italian fruit-patterned side table of my dreams (pic below), all for $67. the very cool sale lady knocked off $20 from my total without me even having to ask, which i adored:

there is, in my estimation, nothing like finding a REALLY GOOD version of something you’ve been hunting for in the wild, which is exactly what draws me to estate sales. my favorite resource for finding them, estatesales.net (which i owe a deep debt of gratitude to li for telling me about) does show merchandise pictures, but you usually have to show up in person to see what’s there for yourself if you want that magical, alchemic “oh my god, this was made for me” moment. the table i found was cute all on its own, but as fate would have it, i had been searching for a tiny (and i do mean tiny) table to put by the couch so i would have a place to put my coffee in the morning besides the couch arm, a habit whose precariousness drives rax crazy. i was worried this table would be TOO small or would cut off access to the blinds/outlet behind the couch, but it’s easy to navigate around and is already proving to be a great place to set my stanley cup (or, as in this pic below, an almost-finished iced tea and a copy of my book that i need to remember to mail out to someone this week):

in the grand scheme of things, is me finding a tiny table (or a vintage bolo tie with a tiny picasso orgy painting on it from operator or a little framed painting of a mussel from the galveston antique warehouse) changing the world, or even contributing to my goal of saving money? no, but also, maybe? it’s definitely not changing the world lol, but i do think making the pursuit of the perfect used/vintage thing into a kind of hobby keeps me from a lot of mindless online, often fast fashion-adjacent shopping that definitely isn’t good for the climate or my budget. i straight-up don’t believe in sustainably changing habits cold turkey, and i know that if i don’t let myself shop at all, i’ll snap and order some $400 simone rocha crocs bullshit in the throes of vape madness one night at 4 am. if i give myself permission to thrift and vintage-crawl regularly, though, i’ll get to do one of my favorite activities without always (or even often) going home with a purchase.

anyway, i think my next project really is going to be tackling more art for the gallery walls that are in progress in our living room. rax and i need to go to the long beach antique market (my favorite in the la area) to scout options, but there’s also some prints online i’d love to frame; as of now, we really only have a bunch of framed photos and paintings of ourselves together hanging up, which is beautiful and romantic but maybe also giving narcissism? hard to say.

currently watching: s2 of real housewives of mormon lives or whatever the fuck it’s called. i don’t like this for myself but it’s going to happen

currently listening to: lou reed

currently cooking: natasha pickowicz’s chocolate and earl grey mousse for dinner tomorrow night with our friend dove, if i have time.

xoxo ily

emma