Hot Child (goes garage sale shopping) in the City!

Whew... it's hot out there! Welcome to summertime in Chicago!  It's that fabulous time of year where I trade in my jeans for maxi skirts and consume insane amounts of ice cream in an attempt to cool down.

Warmer weather also allows me to indulge in another treat, garage sale shopping!  HOORAY!  What, you may ask, is so exciting about rummaging through other people's crap?  I will tell you... BARGAINS, BITCHES!  A lot of people just do not know the value of the crap stuff piling up in their basements. But I do!!!  One man's trash is surely going to be my treasure.  Let's go shopping!

I will start by saying that normally my family participates in the yearly neighborhood garage sale, however, this year we were given such short notice that we decided to skip it.  That's fine by me... PEOPLE ARE CHEAP!  Moving on...

This year I decided to go out early on the first day of the weekend sales.  Friday morning before work I headed out with cash in my pocket and hunger in my eye.  I need goods, man.  Vintage finds to flip on eBay.  The search was on! 

The first few houses were a total waste of time.  Baby clothes will not sell nor will cookbooks.  A lady desperately tried to talk me into buying her Def Leppard cassette collection but I just couldn't do it.  Vintage yes, but not what I was looking for.

Garage-sale-ing by foot was proving slow so I went home, grabbed the car and went back out.  A car is a good idea because on a hot day like yesterday I was able to stay nicely cool while doing slow drive-bys.  I could also cover a lot more area and in the event that I found a larger item, like a piece of furniture, I could throw it in the back - not on my back. 
Moral of the story... BRING YOUR CAR.

Blah, blah, blah, Karla... what did you buy?  Okay.  Here's a run down of what I found. 
Fun shi... stuff.

Item #1 D-O-G-G. $5.00 
I bought a dog. Haha, not a real dog.  A dog statue for the patio.  It's cute and heavy.  Those things can go for well over $20 at a home goods store.  Ruff!

 

BEWARE OF DOG

Item #2 Picture Frames. 2 for $10.00
My sister likes picture frames.  These frames were super heavy and each had an interesting design.  I knew she would want to spray paint them immediately. 
I also talked them down from $10 each to $5.  BOOM!

 PAINT IT BLACK!

Item #3 Vintage Trunk $20.00
This is why you bring the car!  The gentleman selling the trunk was one of those people who goes to estate sales and buys the whole thing out.  Cool, huh?  He must've had like 15 trunks!  These easily could sell for $75.00 each elsewhere.  I was in need of a table for my fan / cool drink so this is so perfect!  And he gave me the keys too.  Awesome find!

 STORAGE WITH STYLE

Item #4 Rock and Roll Heaven $25.00
On the next stop I found not one, but TWO GUITARS.  I don't need them - but my friend does.  They need a little tlc and some strings (which I got... FOR FREE) The guitars... $12.50 each.  Say what??? SUCH AN AMAZING DEAL!  I even found the electric one on ebay for $175.00.  That's 14 times more than what I paid!

 HELLO, I'M JOHNNY CASH.

 I CALL THIS ONE "MARTY MCFLY"

SAME ONE ON EBAY!!!  CRAZY

 

Item #5 Collectible Phone $10.00
I only picked this up because it reminded me of the television show, Doctor Who.  I don't even watch DW, but I figured some nerd out there would want to buy this phone because it reminded them of their favorite show.  Who knew?  It's collectible!  People are getting $100 easily for them.  And now, mine too is listed for $100.00.  Ridiculous!

HELLO?  WHO'S CALLING?  NERDS.

Total spent $70.00

I feel good about my purchases.  Some I've kept, some I've gifted and the rest will hopefully make me some money.  SO GET OUT THERE!  GO SHOPPING!  Don't be afraid to buy something weird.  Haggle for the best price too and don't forget your car. 

RESALE FAILURE, Easy as Pie!

Remember my fight with Vaunte? My MANGUE YELLOW BALENCIAGA was returned to me by the company after they deemed it unsellable. Well... I called shenanigans and decided to put it up for sale again. I wasn't going to let a little dirt stop me!

This time I used eBay. I know,  I know, I'm obsessed with the site.  I never want to go the eBay route when it comes to B-bags but I know that an eBay listing allows for incredible exposure.  Let's try...

FAIL! BIG. EFFING. FAIL.  WHY KARLA, WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF?

GUESS WHAT'S BACK!

I'm trying to remain positive about selling to idiots people on eBay but it's so difficult. Oh, so difficult.

Long story short... the "buyer" bought the now infamous dirty yellow handbag for a very reasonable amount.  Buyer receives the bag, complains about the dirt, wants a discount... HELL NO!  Send. It. Back. Bitch.

This bag needs a passport!  I guess it's not meant to be sold.  You and me bag... forever.  I'll never let go!

Feeling frustrated, I grab my fabulous yet dirty purse and go to the grocery store.  I need to bake something!  Baking is a hobby that I enjoy.  It takes precision and patience but the results are often super delicious and most important... I find it relaxing.

Summertime in the city calls for fruit pie.  I want to kick it up a notch so I'll throw some red wine in with the blueberries.  And some cherries. Yes. Wine and fruit pie makin' time... let's drink bake!

A GLASS ALMOST AS BIG AS THE BOTTLE!

Baking is just what I need to forget about all of the resale nonsense.  I can feel all of the stress melting away.  A little of this, some more of that (Wine, of course.  Oooh and ice cream!) and BOOM!  Done.  Both pretty and incredibly tasty.  Success!  Stress?  What stress?  Pie.  Yummm!