Do you see what I see? Estate sale goodies...

I am so annoyed my camera decided to run out of juice when I was still high on thrifting adrenaline...

I got so many bits and bobbins, trim, and vintage rick rack! And an embroidery plaque (still to be photographed...), a very cool plastic tray, and Christmas goodies...all for $4. Doesn't get better than that!

Still sick, but I've got thrifting to cure me.

Is it bad when I call out sick from work (because I am) and instead of sleeping I Google Maps all of the Goodwills in Queens?

Meanwhile, I really shouldn't leave my bed but the only view is my cluttered room and the junk I already have in it:
I spy with my little thrifty eye: 3 metal floral frogs, folding ruler, air mail envelopes, building blocks, vintage children's books, a Love is...1970s glass, Fiesta flatware (in the flower pot that looks like a giant white pencil cup), some old stamp books...this is just the 1.5'x1.5' table directly in my line of sight. Help.

Some finds at an Upper West Side estate sale below. I haven't been to too many estate sales (I think mostly because the city is filled with so many new people, and the Rockefellers and whatnot don't advertise their estate sales on Craigslist), but I feel a little weird digging around through a family estate, especially when it's not a company running the sale.

This one was ran by I think the son of the woman who owned the apartment. He seemed younger than me, and I'm 25. I thought it was an incredibly sad situation and felt uncomfortable until he told his friend who was helping him that "the dog paintings in the hallway were appraised for 3 thou each." Then...I stopped feeling bad. I don't know. How do you feel about such scenarios? Onto the finds:

First Estate Sale Adventure of 09

The holidays and the cold had been preventing me from going on my usual Sunday thrift shopping. NYCers: Housing Works' 50% off sale this week.

Yesterday was a question of either cleaning up my apartment or taking 2 trains and a bus to an estate sale in Rosedale, Queens. Guess which one I picked...lalala.

Turns out the F was running local, so I got to take that to Parsons Blvd (um, I didn't realize quite how far away that was) to catch the Q43. The long-ish rides, for me, are a way to catch up on reading or NPR, or Rachel Maddow podcasts. I listened to her '2008 Awards for Excellence in Areas TBD', which included "News Event Most Suited to be a Musical" (the Spitzer situation won).

I finally reach the stop for the estate sale, and the thrifting adrenaline starts pumping. I walk in and am immediately scared - some glass vases, picture frames and ugly dolls are in the front living room. However! Turns out there is "something in every room, including the basement." SCORE.

The house was really lovely and made me yearn for a house with space (read: not an apartment in Astoria.) There was some beautiful furniture - sewing cabinet, chest of drawers, scrolly desk - and I wish I had the means (car, storage space) to take, restore, and resell that kind of stuff, but not right now. I did a lot of looking, but in the end, not too much buying.

$7.00 for everything in the photo, including unused Japanese salad servers and S&P shakers, some Shiny Brites, an old nut chopper (teehee), and an atlas from 1940 with some great colored maps.

A decent start to my 2009 thrift shopping, and I'm already checking ads on Craigslist for next weekend.