ws sample sale: the loot

I wish there was a sample sale every weekend! I'd be broke, but boy would that make Saturday's fun. I didn't have to take anyone down or resort to violence. As a matter of fact, everyone was very nice and helpful - maybe a little cracked out on shopping adrenaline but hey, who's judging :). My neighbors in line before the event began were recent transplants like myself. As we waited for the starting gun to go off (no not really) we chummily shared apartment hunt war stories and speculated about what awaited us behind the big door. 

As I look over my loot, I know I didn't walk away with everything I had hoped but what I did get freakin' rocks. I spent $185 for this haul (except for a couple of items that my sister picked up in her bag). It includes a leather and chrome coffee table, (count them) 5 lamps, pewter tray, couple vases/bowls, a sheet set, and some other odds and ends. Oh, and don't forget the snowman cake pan - guess what my next baking project is?! 

As for the event itself: Judging from my sister's comments the turn out was high and she had never, ever seen the tables of odds and ends as cleared out as they were today. People were literally sifting through rubble at the end. That should tell you something about how lucky I feel to have gotten what I did - especially since I was #934 of just over 1000 shoppers. All the really awesome stuff sold before I even got inside.

As I hoped, I did make it through 3 purchase rounds but ended up filling only 1 bag full of stuff in the first round, using the remaining two rounds to ultimately buy up more lamps (there were a lot of lamps this time). Suzanne pointed me towards the coffee table I ended up with (Thanks sis!). 

ROOKIE TIP: All the lamps shades are taken off the lamps and placed in boxes outside the exhibition hall, usually near the main entrance. Anyone can grab whatever shades they want before the shopping even begins - whether they buy a lamp or not - so arrive early and hit the lamp shades first thing, before you even check in.