Garage Sale Season Has Begun!

This weekend turned out to be a picker's dream! Friday night my husband and I drove up to Highland Park, IL for their annual "Spring Clean-Up" to see if we could find anything sitting curb-side for the taking. The spring clean-up is an annual opportunity for the residents of Highland Park to put out their "big" items of trash (furniture, lumber, old carpeting, etc.)  out on the curb, and the cit would come around Saturday morning to pick it all up for free. This is not an advertised event... in fact- the city actually does not like having people like my husband and I driving around the neighborhood looking for items to garbage pick... but we still went anyways! This was my first time going, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. It wasn't all that exciting by the time my husband and I arrived on the streets at about 8:30pm. From the information I have gathered from other pickers like myself, the best time to go is during the day! Now I know for next year! :) Even though everything was pretty picked over, we still found two items that I was pretty excited about!

The first was this practically new baby bouncer! With Baby P. on the way, I'm always looking for a good deal on baby items. I'm thinking I might even leave this at Grandma's house for Baby P. to play with there. It is in perfect condition, and I just had to give it a good scrub down to make sure it is nice and clean.

The second item we picked up is this fabulous old headboard. I had absolutely no idea where I was going to put it, I knew it needed tons of work, but I could see the potential! I am pretty sure it's an antique three quarter size headboard. The notches where you attach the side rails look like the old kind from the 1860s. I only know this because we actually have a three quarter size bed in one of our guestrooms and it was a pain in the butt to find the side rails to put it all together! Since there was not a foot board to go with this, I'm not going to worry about finding side rails for the frame. If I end up using it as a headboard, I'll have to mount it to the wall. I definitely want to give it a good coat of paint (color undecided) and then we'll see if I find a spot for it! I could possibly turn it into a bench for the front door, but since it's such old wood I'm not convinced it will stand up to a ton of weight. Maybe I will just have to save it for Baby P... :)

Saturday and Sunday was the Village of Mount Prospect Garage Sale Weekend! I actually forgot about this lovely event, and was reminded of it Friday afternoon on my way home from work. I couldn't figure out why there were so many garage sales up and down the streets leading up to my house, and then it hit me! How could I forget!? I woke up bright and early the next two mornings and hit the sales! Of all the garage sales I went to, I only ended up spending three bucks on one item. This awesome dresser/buffet! Can you believe it! THREE DOLLARS! I had to take it home with me and re-purpose it. I was praying my husband wouldn't have a heart attack when he saw yet another piece of furniture in our garage.... thank goodness we have such a large garage! :) It looks absolutely gaudy, but I know once it gets a good coat of paint (possibly white, with gold handles) then it will look amazing! We have no where to put this piece, so this will have to go in the resell pile!

All in all, it was an awesome weekend! The weather was gorgeous, I got a nice tan in the process, and I am very pleased with the items I ended up with! I am so pumped that garage sale season has begun! Happy picking!