TREASURE HUNTING ...ON THE YARD SALE TRAIL

            Yard sale season officially begins mid-April...this is mid-April. The season of my favorite sport...yard sailing has officially begun!!!  The weekend started out with a town-wide yard sale that was only a few towns away. We drove up and down the streets, where I met an old friend at one of the sales who I haven't seen in many years. Short of picking up 3 paperback novels and updated information about af-ore mentioned friend and her family, I was unimpressed with the yard sales. We had one stop left to make...an estate sale.

            Turned out, this was the house 

Not very large, however, I thought it would be perfect for a Pink Saturday post...I had no idea.

Inside the house I found 

quite a bit of pink furniture...beautiful pink furniture, and very high end. That sofa is upholstered in silk that has pleated folds in it very much like Fortuny fabric. I headed toward the bedrooms because it was still pretty crowded and found multiple walk-in closets filled with...

the most stunning vintage clothing, linens, furs and shoes. And, most of the clothing was pink.

and so were the shoes! These closets were beautifully organized and decorated.

The night gowns were for the most part pink, although I was starting to see bits of blue peeping through.

When I came upon this gold lame and lace brocade set, I realized that most of the clothing was custom made.

The fabrics used, and the fur coats were so stunning...

they were all so beautiful, feminine, luxurious, and I felt grateful for having this opportunity to see a very unique personality emerge in such an unexpected way. Estate sales often show a little bit of the former owners character, but at this sale, the lady of the house clearly loved being a female. She was not shy about her love of the color pink either. The mink stole in the previous mosaic had a price of 90.00 on it. While I was editing the pictures that I took, I kept thinking that it would make a beautiful pillow for the sofa. Have you ever seen a mink pillow before? Do you think it can be done? Being a person who doesn't necessarily condone using animals for their fur, would it be wrong to re-purpose a mink stole? I may have to go back to that house this morning and see if it is still there.

 

There was also a large collection of dolls up for sale, and an adorable collection of Piano Babies.

Even much of the handmade doll clothes was pink. Much of the linens were pink and some of the bed linens were very high end. 

I couldn't help but wonder if the man of the house insisted that the set of blue towels were slipped in for him. I wondered if he loved pink as much as his wife did.

 

I hope that you enjoyed seeing pictures from a most extraordinary collection. It honestly was a pleasure to walk around this house filled with the most unique decor. It reminded me that one of the pleasures in life is taking the opportunity to do things on your own terms and in your own way. The little pink house was a true work of art. 

This post is being linked to The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays, Little Red House for Mosaic Monday, Smiling Sally for Blue Monday (there are little snippets of blue), and Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday.

♥, Susan

 
 

Comments

[Louise]

Oh my Susan. It sure looks like you hit the jackpot with this one. We don't have many estate sales here in PA. But, we do have estate auctions which are fun too! Long Island was a great place to ferret out estate auctions and I hadn't thought about how much I missed them until just now!

Love the vintage clothes and the Piano Babies (I too use to collect them:)

Thank you so much for sharing...

[eileen]

Susan, looks like the whole house is perfect for Pink Saturday. I do not believe I have ever seen so much pink. The Piano Babies are my favorite. Do people still wear mink coats? Lovely post and photos, thanks for sharing. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.

[oceanbreezesandcountrysneezes.blogspot.com]

I think you have to have a lot of personality to live in a pink house! I would say the lady of this home was most likely a woman who was comfortable with herself. She was obviously very feminine. What a treat to walk through her home.

I think her husband was from the school of "happy wife, happy life." He must have adored her too. One can only hope that they are reunited ~ where ever that may be.

I think it's fine to repurpose the stole as it's vintage. I've seen mink pillows and I think they are lovely. Hope you went back to get it!

Have a great week!

Mary

[Melody]

OMG, what a great place!! Ya shoulda called and sent a few pics..ya know what I look for..I'da paid ya back! LOL Yes Mink makes great pillows. The lining can be the back of the pillow and fill with poly-fil.

[Pat@Back Porch Musings]

Susan thanks so much for sharing this. What an amazing collection!

[Lavender Dreams]

All of the doll clothes would have gotten my attention! WOW! Love that teddy bear, too! Happy Mosaic Monday!

[Pat in New York]

What a beautiful home filled with eclectic collectibles, Susan! Estate sales always make me sad, but it's nice to think of her well loved belongings going on to make others happy.

[Snap]

Perfect Pink! What a collection the owner of the little pink house had ... the dolls and the clothes. Oh, My! What an adventure you had!

[Lavender Cottage]

That was some sale, collections of things for everyone!

[Jann Olson]

Susan, you certainly can tell that this lady had taste. Thanks for the tour. I enjoyed it immensely. I had a baby shower to attend yesterday. On my was I passed as least 10 yard sale signs. So sad that I didn't have time to stop. Maybe next weekend.
Hugs,
Jann

[dotsie (aka podso)]

What an amazing house and sale ... good thing you didn't quit before this one! Thanks for all the photos ... she loved pink, that's for sure. Not many people paint their house pink, do they. Great post!

[JillB]

What a wonderful collection!

[Linda]

I never would have guessed what was inside this house! I am feeling a little sad about it--such a great collection and now it will be divided. Wouldn't you love to see some photos of this obviously very active woman in some of those amazing outfits? They look very expensive. I think the mink pillow would be ok--I know what you mean though. It's already a stole... You should link this to Pink Saturday!!! Linda

[Pondside]

What a treat that must have been! I'd have loved to be there with you, but really appreciated the photos you took. The clothes say so much about the owner, and yes, I think it is safe to say that she thoroughly enjoyed her femininity!

[Jenna Ericson]

Wow, this sounds like quite the magical sale to go to!

[Mary]

What a fashion plate this homeowner was! I'm a big fan of re-purposing! I vote yes to the pillow :)

[Valerie]

What a fascinating place to see. She really did love the colour pink in all things. Makes you want to know more about that person. A very interesting post. V

[Pie]

These are all beautiful. Did you get a lot? I could stay there for hours browsing and taking photos like you did. :)

Happy Blue Monday.

I played too. Mine are here and here.

[susan ericson]

I bought a few books at the sale...nothing else. The fur stole was gone when I went back. I felt so fortunate to have seen the collection and that I was given permission to take the pictures though.

[Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions]

How lovely, Susan! I love that last furniture piece in your collage with the shelves. I'd use the fur for pillows. After all, it was probably made so many years ago; it's not like you commissioned it.

[Sally]

Her husband was obviously a tolerant man. Thanks for sharing your blues.

Happy Blue Monday, Susan.

[Diann @ The Thrifty Groove]

Wow, who would have thought all that would have been in that sale! Happy Blue Monday!

[Leah H.]

Wow, so much stuffs:)

Visiting for BM- hope you can stop by:)

http://dsahmblogs.com/2012/04/nail-file.html

[Carol @ Always Thyme to Cook]

What a fun way to spend the day. I love your sport, such interesting things and fun collections!

[mary]

Enjoyed seeing this wonderful collection of pink! It makes me wish that I would have met this woman-what beautiful style she had!

[Teresa]

That is a lot of pink. Amazing to think all of that was tucked into that house. I love some of those vintage clothes.

[Karen]

Oh wow! I would have gone crazy there! I love vintage clothing

[Connie]

I love estate sales and you certainly found a treasure in this one. I can read your appreciation along with every picture. It makes you long to know more of the lady's life story. Wish I had been there.

[gena]

Oh my what an amazing find that sale was! I would have loved some of that clothes to make a quilt - can you imagine how sumptuous?!?

Thanks for sharing!

gena

[shelia]

What wonderful things! What a wonderful eventful like she must have lived!
Thanks for popping in to see me.
be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

[Ingmarie We/Refugium]

Thanks for the tour. I enjoyed it very much. Have a nice week.

[Sallie (FullTime-Life)]

Too much too pink for me, but as you say, a great example of not being afraid to do your own thing.

[jeanne, backyard neighbor]

Hi Susan, thank you so much for your very lovely comment about our anniversary. We have been blessed with a happy life that requires two people and a bunch of children to keep it that way. HA! We had a wonderful celebration.

Too bad the yard sales were a disappointment. However, I agree, the pink house was a stunning adventure. Such lovely things in that sale. I love every pink bit of it. It is a peek into what must have been a wonderful life.

Wishing you sunny days Susan.
Hugs, Jeanne

[QMM]

I agree with Cathy above about the mink coat. My eyes popped out when I opened your post. I have never been to an estate sale and always wondered out it worked. Maybe some of that was stated by the organizers. Whatever it is amazing.
QMM

[georgiapeachez]

The best estate sales I ever attended were in NJ, but none were as fabulous as this!

[The Tablescaper]

What a treat. You never would have guessed of the treasure behind the front of the house.

Great to have you be a part of Seasonal Sundays. Be sure to visit my most recent post to learn about my GIVEAWAY.

- The Tablescaper

[LL]

Hi I'm sorry for the delay in my response. My son had an accident, which has pretty much consumed my every waking moment. Slow but sure he's getting up and about. Thx so much for sharing. I'm glad I was not there. I would be in the poor house after buying everything in sight. Hope your wekk has stayed in the pink.

LL

[Jessica Cassidy]

I love the BLUE chandeliers, they are beautiful :-) Dropping by from BM

[rochambeau]

Oh how I live through you right now Susan! What fun!
Thanks for dropping by!! It was lovely to feel your presence.
xox
Constance

[Sweet Posy Dreams]

Oh what a wonderful estate sale! Your blog is really nice. Liked the visit to Calgo Garden also.

[hollister uk sale]

LOVELY THINGS HERE. A PEACE ENVIRONMENT .