We didn’t hit any sales last weekend, but the Saturday before that we made the rounds … if you can even use that term for the slim pickin’s on a gray day in early spring.

The first one was in our neighborhood. There were no signs, so we doublechecked the address, then walked around the house, eventually finding two priced pieces of furniture in the driveway. Maybe the rest was inside? We knocked and asked the guy, “Is this your whole sale?” “Oh, no! There’s a lawnmower, too.” I do not understand people.

Next we debated whether it was really wise to go back for round three of the hoarder estate sale that was apparently taking months to unravel. Part one was mostly ancient appliances and kitchen gadgets, part two was plush toys, cat items and just a handful of vintage clothes. Eventually coming to peace with the fact that we’re clearly deranged, we got there right at ten. This time there was no wait to get in. (Maybe everyone except us had wised up.) By now, the sale included the patio, kitchen, AND one small room where new treasures had recently been unearthed.

We all sort of fell in love with this wacky storage box, but not enough to actually bring it home.

We also passed on Style Studs.

All of us bought a couple of items, but nothing that exciting … I guess the archaeological excavation is still ongoing, with more rooms yet to be revealed, but I think at this point we might actually have had our fill.

Driving away, Karl recognized a sign for a different estate sale. He’d been there a few weeks earlier and they had mentioned they would be having another sale soon. The signs were clearly not rained on, meaning they had just been put up in the last day or two, and he said it had been really good, so we went to check it out. It was a pretty unique sale — lots of amazing Italian designer furniture, but they pretty much knew what they had and prices were not cheap (though still probably a good deal for what you were getting). There were also some Asian antiques and a ton of classy books that had clearly already been picked through pretty heavily, but still seemed like they might turn up some gem if you looked hard enough. I didn’t find anything I had to have, but Meghan got a couple of pieces of clothing and a great tote bag. Then I heard her discussing something with the sellers — some kind of black plastic office shelf? They told her it was $15 and I could tell she was happy about the price … though she was concerned that she might get served with divorce papers if she brought anything that large into her house. Karl and I went to take a look and we both thought it was fantastic. I felt like I had seen the thing before in design magazines. (Later, we determined that it was a Vitra Uten.Silo.) Right as Meghan was getting ready to pay she said, “Okay, if I don’t get this will one of you buy it?” It was too good to leave behind! I jumped at the chance. It needed some cleaning and has its share of scratches and scuffs, but for fifteen bucks it is pretty freakin’ cool.

Onward across town to an estate sale that sounded decent. The first thing we found was this mug with a brass-knuckle-shaped handle. I sort of regret not purchasing it.

There wasn’t much upstairs, so we descended into the basement. Built-in bars are always cool.

This one was still stocked! Well, kind of.

We laughed about these cocktail mixes.

I had to pass (remembering some previous ancient drink mixes that I had sent on a quick trip through the yard sale catch and release program) but I was sort of glad that Meghan couldn’t resist the box of Instant Pussycat mix. I mean, come on — the glass has a tail!

We made our way into the rest of the basement. It seemed like an odd choice to hang this color-it-in pseudo-black-velvet art on this shiny insulated corner, but what do I know.

The only other decoration in this room was a paint-by-number with two ballerinas. Someone got a little wild with the faces.

I went back up and took one last look around, but didn’t buy anything — not even these wacky paper napkins.

The sale wasn’t that great, but on the bright side there was a rummage sale at a middle school close by.

Late in the day, but at the very least they’d probably have some baked goods, right? Well, not only that, but students were playing live jazz music while people shopped. This was the best rummage sale soundtrack I could possibly imagine. Here’s a bit of half-assed video just for a small taste of how cool it was.

I didn’t buy anything (other than baked goods!), but it was a great way to end the day.