Things I Love: Buying Secondhand Plants

I love plants! I have been doing pretty well keeping them alive lately, which means I want to buy more and more and more.

I found a really cheap way to get plants is to buy them secondhand! Lots of times, you can find plants at yard sales and estate sales if you keep your eyes peeled for them! 

Last year, I bought this tree at a yard sale of a guy who was moving away. He had it for 10 years! I kept it inside this whole past year but it didn't seem very happy, so I moved it outside this spring. I re-potted it a few weeks ago and I'm keeping an eye on it and hoping it flourishes!!


A few weeks ago, I was at a Family Tree Estate Sale and discovered a little plant outside on the covered porch. I brought it in and asked if plants were for sale and Melissa said, "Sure!" I bought it for $2 and she pointed out that it had a tag on it that labeled it as "easy care." Then she said, "It must be easy care because no one has lived here for 2 years!" WOW! It's doing really well after I re-potted it--I'm still looking for a nice vintage planter for it.


Plants are normally out in the yard or on porches at sales, so be sure to look around if you are interested in buying them!

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A Great Saturday For Estate Sales

It feels so awful to say, "I had such a great time at estate sales!" because you have to keep in mind that most often, someone passed away for us to find great things. I love to know, though, that their treasured possessions are living on and going to make someone else happy.

All that to say, I went to two estate sales this weekend and they were great. I drove an hour to Clarksville and was so scared it would be a bust like last weekend. It wasn't. At all. It was great! I found so many great items!

Also, I made new friends! That sounds cheesy, but it's true! At the first sale, I met Krystle of Pura Vida Vintage and it is just so obvious that it was meant to be! She recognized me from mine and my mom's blogs and said hello and we talked and she's opening a vintage store on music row - in a garage that was in the parking lot of my old office at my old job. Crazy! It was so fun talking with her and her amazing daughter. Can't wait to check out her shop once it opens!

After the Clarksville sale, I headed to the Family Tree Estate Sale in Ashland City. I love their sales and I love them! I walked in, said "HEY!" to Melissa, then saw Krystle right behind her! Then turned around and saw Rae! I was on such a high from the good finds and seeing friends!

I was shopping around and started chatting with another shopper who turned out to be Shawna of Sugar Millie. We chatted quite a bit and it was so great to connect with her! I love when dealers are nice and relatable and genuine! There are some older dealers who can be cranky and there are other dealers around my age who are a little cutthroat. I love meeting authentic and kind dealers and connecting with them!

When I was heading out, my friend Val was coming in. The sale was outside of town, but everyone came out to it! It was SUCH a great morning - just what I needed!

Here's a sneak peek of some of my finds... I have photographed them all but there are SO many that I need to find an easy way to share them!

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Private Estate Sale Finds

I mentioned Monday that Brodie let me shop a house he is closing out. (He'll be opening it to the public this weekend - stay tuned for more information on that!)

Here's what I found minus a few larger items that I haven't pulled out of the garage to clean up yet!

This white scale is in the best shape I've seen a scale in! The former owner of the house was a hair stylist, so there were a few wigs and wig holders at the sale. I loved this mannequin head's make up!

I try not to pass up 45/record holders even though I haven't really sold one yet! They're just so cool and funtional... I'm just waiting for the right buyer. :) This cake stand looks like fancy cut crystal, but it was plastic. Perfect for klutzes like me. :)

I like checking out estate fridges for fun magnets and this apple didn't disappoint! I picked up a cast iron skillet for me and Andy - just days before I had told him that I felt like the mark of at true southern lady was having and using cast iron. Because I'm actually a little scared of the work it takes to keep it up and make sure it stays in good shape, I felt that secondhand cast iron was a great choice for me right now. Low investment, low risk!

I love love love this miniature green stapler. I reluctantly put it in my booth but I might have to go rescue it. It's so cute and tiny. The red box is just a fun case, not sure what it was originally used for. This flowered bag was full of knitting materials but you could use it for anything! I really really like it and might have to go rescue IT as well. :)



Cute mustard-y mugs with a faint pattern on them, a Grand Ole Opry House fan (so cool!) and a wire basket. There was such a variety of items at this house and I'm so happy that her items will live on and make other people happy too.

I also picked up a few envelopes of old Opry tickets from the 70s and 80s. We're trying to figure out what to do with them and we need to research and see if there's a comprehensive list of the Opry schedule. (The tickets don't have the artist names on them.) They are so well-designed and each night's ticket is a different color! They're so fun. I will have to do a post on them when we figure out who they are for!

Linking up to: Apron Thrift Girl

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Notes from the past

Our friend Brodie is closing out a house and invited me and a few friends over to shop.

We were all super charmed by the notes that were on TONS of items. I'm not sure why she labeled everything, but I loved reading the notes.

The photos are terrible due to lighting, but here were some of my favorites. I discovered the below one when I picked up the Santa plate and discovered the paper behind it:













Fascinating, don't you think?? We loved finding them all over the house!

Can't wait to show you all the things I picked up from this estate! I love giving items a second life by saving them from the dump!

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Thrift Report: Atomic Sputnik Light

Happy 4th of July! In honor of the holiday, I bring you a light that reminds me of fireworks! :)

When I got to pick at the private estate, I found this amazing light fixture. Brodie had actually texted a photo of it to me weeks before and I excitedly wrote back that I wanted it. He wasn't sure if the family would part with it or not, so when I showed up to shop, I tried not to get my hopes up.

Our contact there called her sister and nieces to make sure they didn't want it. They all said no, but I was still trying to be really cautious. I tend to get my hopes up and then get disappointed, so I was trying very hard to play it cool over this light fixture.

Finally, toward the end of our shopping spree, she asked me if I wanted it. Still not believing I actually got to buy it, I said that I thought so. It finally hit me that I really did get to bring it home and I was so excited to pay for it and cart it off to my car.

Aren't those light bulbs crazy???

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with it. I want to hold onto it because it's amazing but I know that it's in high demand on ebay. I wish I could replace my craft room light fixture with this, but it's a finished attic and the ceilings are way too low. I am toying with the idea of putting it in our dining room, but we would need to update some of the decor. I just found out (3+ years later) that Andy thinks one of the walls I decorated years ago looks like an old lady's house! And not in a cute vintage way! Ha! I knew I didn't love it anymore but he never said he didn't like it! :) My style used to be more "pottery barn" than playful vintage and I've been working on updating the house to reflect that. Guess I have more work to do! :)

Oh and if I kept it, I would just put cool round bulbs in it... The spikey lights are not for me!

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Thrift Report: Picking an Estate

Andy's longtime friends Brodie and Alan are opening a store called Recycled Relix on July 7 in East Nashville. They will be focusing on selling collectibles and vintage pop culture items and things like that. I am so excited for them as they embark on this journey!

Brodie attended a yard sale several months ago and struck up a conversation with the woman running it. She was trying to downsize her father's estate but wasn't sure where to begin, so she started with a yard sale. Fast forward to last Monday when Brodie and I got to go pick through the house and I got to buy from her before she calls in an estate sale company to take care of the rest.

She wasn't ready to get rid of most of the things I was interested in, but I did find a few items! The coolest item is an amazing atomic ceiling light fixture that I have not had a chance to photograph yet. It is incredible, though!

I found the game Finance (extremely similar to Monopoly, but with businesses instead of properties), a cool green pillow, a nice brown leather Samsonite suitcase. I also bought a great green chip & dip set but failed to get a photo before I put it in my booth! You can see elements of it below.

A fondue set, still in the box!

I love anything related to Pride & Prejudice, so I picked up this P&P study guide plus the English version of Cyrano de Bergerac. (I took many, many, many years of French [I minored in it] and always loved watching Gerard Depardieu in Cyrano, so I picked up the book!)

Not too bad! All the items went straight to the booth (minus Cyrano and the light fixture) because my car was beginning to smell like an attic. :)

Did you find goodies last week??

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Thrift Report: Estate Haul

I have not been able to make it out to an estate sale in quite awhile, which is so tough when you know you're missing out on awesome things! I swung by a recent sale and found SO many things. It felt like old times!

I found a vintage Samsonite travel bag - I always try to keep these in stock in the booth because they are such great sellers. My stock was very very low, though! I'm so happy I found this one in such great condition!

Let's take a look at some other items!

A really cute girl's brown dress, some hilarious books including Your Pet's Secret Language and How To Get a Teenage Boy And What To Do WIth Him When You Get Him, chock full of 1960s dating advice. It is CLASSIC! The sale had lots of cute children's clothes and I picked up some pretty adorable shirts and overalls!

Found a cute red and white stripe apron (very candy-striper-esque), some Danskin blue tights still in the package, some really awesome white boots, a jar of appetizer sword pick things, some pretty blue stationery...

Some amazing men's boots, a set of 4 cute glasses in a holder, a word game called Probe, a Snow White book...

A set of National Geographic state brochures and maps, a big baggie of sewing notions (I can never resist vintage sewing notions!), a pretty pink box, and a cute yellow scoop.

It felt so good to be back in the game and scoring deals! I'm excited to stock these items in my booth and refresh it. I barely took anything up there in May, so it will be fun to have some new items! 

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Thrift Report: Estate Scores!

Rae texted me Thursday to let me know that there was an amazing estate sale happening a little bit outside of town. I wasn't sure if I would have time to go, but luckily, I was able to go - about an hour before the sale closed and amazingly, there was still a GREAT selection!

I picked up some fun potholders and a cute pink & white accordion pleated pillow that will all go to the booth. But, two of my favorite finds were a Viewmaster Projector and a white task lamp. The projector was the first item I discovered - apparently, there were a ton of viewmaster slides but a local news anchor bought them just a few hours before me! I'm so glad she didn't see the projector! I LOVE IT. It works and is so, so cute. And the white lamp is in great condition and it also works! I picked up a bag of little figurines that included 2 fawns and a little squirrel that will all go in terrariums or in potted plants. Love this stuff!

They also had a ton of vintage Christmas. I got a LOT - a box full of vintage ornaments and then 2 fun retro Santas.

I am so, so glad I stopped. I also bought some faux bois metal shelves that I'm not quite sure what I'll do with yet!

Funnily enough, I ran into Rae when I was leaving! She has stopped by everyday and said on the first day, it was unbelievable how much great stuff there was. I'm sad that I couldn't make it then, but very happy with my finds!!

What did YOU find this weekend???

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"American Pickers" Style Estate Sale!

WOW! My favorite estate sale company hosted an estate sale to end all estate sales. It was insane! There were vintage cars and RVs everywhere, scattered throughout the property, and sheds filled with parts and junk!


A vintage Mercedes left to rot... can you believe it?


I loved this green drafting table!


So many awesome cars... I just wish they weren't falling apart!


Lots of junk!

I picked up a few things from the inside of the house - I didn't find anything in the sheds outside, unfortunately! Have you ever been to an estate sale like this? I am used to mostly inside sales with items set up in the garage and basement - and I normally love finding items out in the typical "man" spaces. But this sale was sooo different which so much stuff outside and in out-buildings! It was the manliest sale I've been to. I did pick up a few things though, which I posted yesterday.

Estate sales are always an experience! What's the craziest one you've been to??

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Thrift Report: "American Pickers" Style Estate Sale!

You'll see what I mean by "American Pickers Style Estate Sale" tomorrow when I post photos from the estate sale I went to on Saturday. It was crazy. So many items - most of them "manly" and rusty. There were antique cars, a ton of lawn mowers, over 300 clocks, etc. I have a feeling Mike (from "American Pickers") would have had a field day at the sale!

I picked up a few things - below I staged them on the record player display table I picked up at the flea market in October. We put it directly in the garage when we brought it home and I didn't get it out to sell until this weekend - when I sold it to "Evil Mendes" of the Nashville Rollergirls. She and her boyfriend love vintage items and every time we hang out, we always talk vintage shopping. They just picked up a record player and fell in love with the little table for their home! I will hopefully post a photo of the table in their home soon!

On to what I picked up! Four cute Christmas stocking holders, a box of handwritten recipes, a jar of really cute handles and hardware, a vintage atlas, and a leather satchel with 2 enormous and handsome thermoses!

All items, except the recipes, are available in my booth! I'm not sure what to do with the recipes yet - they would be amazing for mixed media art and collages but I'm not very artistic. Any ideas?

What did YOU find this weekend?

Linking up to:

Her Library Adventures
Magpie Mondays
From My Front Porch To Yours
The Pennyworthy Project
Apron Thrift Girl

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Estate sale tips and hints

I'm not a pro yet, but I have learned a few things in the past few weeks that I can share! If I miss anything, please post your tips in the comments!

First: make a plan. If I'm wanting to hit multiple sales in one day, I prioritize based on the area, the items available, and the time the sale starts. I jot down the addresses or save them to my phone and use my GPS to navigate around. Be sure to bring cash!

If you want the best selection, the best thing you can do is to SHOW UP EARLY!

Be there on the first day, at least 20 minutes before the sale opens. You'll stand in line, but you'll get to meet interesting people and find out about other sales and hear what other people are interested in.

See the lady in the bottom corner who has a plastic basket? I didn't think to bring a bag or basket or box to this first sale and I wound up trying to balance everything which is dangerous in a crowded, cluttered estate house. Now I keep a tote bag in my car that I can use for my sales!


Talk to people - they're great resources. Sure, they're kinda like competition but chances are, they're not looking for the same things you are. And be sure to have fun with them!


Expect the unexpected:


This pretty lady was hanging around one of the estate sales I went to. She was friendly and trotted around the crowded house with all of us. You never know who is going to show up or what is going to happen! Be alert! Don't get in people's way. Say "excuse me" and be polite to the older folks and try to even be nice to the rude people. There are plenty of rude people.

Pay attention to the ads and photos posted- if you don't see anything in the photos that looks appealing and the sale is far from your house... you may not want to waste your time on, for example, thousand of rocks:


If there are certain items you're interested in, start noticing where those who run estate sales typically place those items. I tend to like items in garages more than items in dining rooms, for instance. If I'm disappointed in items I find in the house as I do a quick walk-through, I'll tend to bee-line for the garage or basement to see if I have more luck there.

Be on the lookout for items for your friends and family - and ask them to do the same! I came across these cameras and texted a photo to a friend who collects vintage cameras. She wasn't interested but it's nice to scout out for other people. I would be lost without my mom who is always on the lookout for me!


Check estatesales.net for sales in your area and begin to notice the companies that are frequently holding sales. Visit their websites and sign up for their mailing list or follow them on facebook so that you can always be in the know. I really like being able to correspond with and support my favorite estate sale company on Facebook - it helps develop a relationship and it never hurts to be friendly with the folks running the sale! In fact, one of the girls who runs a company with her mom is around my age, lives in my neighborhood, and according to facebook we have 12 friends in common! We just hung out at a neighborhood mixer and I'm really glad I'm making a new friend who shares my passion for vintage!

If you see something you REALLY like or if there is a collection of multiple items that you're interested in, check back after the sale to see if they're still available. I have done this twice so far with great success!

The first time was at an estate sale of an artist whose paintings I really liked but couldn't afford on the first day - plus there were SO many that it was hard to dig through all of them. I bought a few then when the sale was over, they posted on Facebook that they still had items. I went out on the Wednesday following the sale and bought a ton of great things - at a really awesome discount! The second time, I was the first person to an estate sale that boasted on Craigslist that they had over 100 owls. I bought 5 or 6 but when the sale was over, I emailed the address that was used to post the Craigslist posting and she sold me all the leftover owls for a great price!

Each time, the estate sale holder (is there a word for that??) was so happy to get rid of more items and I was so happy to get a discount!

Do you have more tips?? Let us know!

Hair Art

Yesterday, Design*Sponge posted hair-focused artwork by Roxanne Daner who I had never heard of, but I loved the illustrations and found them especially interesting since I also had been drawn to hair-related art lately.

A few weeks ago, I went to an estate sale of a local artist named Juanita Crider. I bought a handful of items, including some of her artwork - 2 in particular were vintage portraits of lovely ladies with beautiful hair.

The first is unmarked - it is signed "Nita Crider '67" but there is no other information on it:



The second is labeled on the back: "Sandra's Coiffure" and it looks like at some point she was selling it for $10. There's no date, unfortunately.



I am especially drawn to the painting of Sandra. I have it resting on our dining room buffet currently while I think I will sell the other painting in my booth. There are only so many portraits of strangers I feel comfortable having around my house and I think I've reached my max with Bartholomew (I'll have to tell you about him sometime) and Sandra. :)

I like to wonder who they are and where they are now. Did Sandra always wear her hair like that or was this a special occasion? If you'd like to dream and wonder along with me, post your theories in the comments!