Resale sundae

The glasses sitting upside down in the cupboard.

I love resale shops, estate sales, garage sales, Goodwill, Craigslist etc. When I look around my house and my closet, large amounts of what I see came from these sources — not junk, mind you, but genuine finds of great stuff. I like both saving money, and recycling. Plus, adding previously well-loved pieces to my household makes me feel like I'm part of a continuum. I hope the things I no longer need or want find their way into the hands of someone who cares for them as much as I did. At this point, having been collecting for so long, I'm pretty discriminating, and buy very little of what I see, because I don't have much room to add possessions. Still, that doesn't keep me from 'looking', and selecting a few things here and there.

There's one phenomenon that strikes me as humorous — and potentially dangerous for a restrained collector — and it happens whenever I see something that I covetously desired at an earlier time in my life, but no longer need or want. I'll see the object, experience the thrill of a great find, then suddenly remind myself I no longer want it — like a round oak table, for example. There was a time in my life when I coveted an antique round oak dining table, but was foiled in my desire by parents who moved to another state, and wanted me to take their beloved mahogany dining table because it wouldn't fit into their new condo. I didn't want it, but we actually drove it 900 miles in a U-haul to our house, to make my parents happy. And dragged it along every time we moved, except the last time to Seattle. I no longer want a round oak table, but every so often when I see a particularly fetching one, there's a moment when I forget.

They are cute, aren't they?

This is what must have happened when I was in a resale shop last year, and spied a set of fluted sundae glasses. "Oh, I've always wanted a set of these," I thought. "Wouldn't it be fun to serve ice cream sundaes in 'real' sundae glasses." The size was just perfect, too — petite. Never mind that I never serve ice cream sundaes, and have never actually been in a situation where I wished I had sundae glasses. Still, they had been on my wish list at one time. But I came to my senses, and left the shop without them. The shop's sales support cancer research (good reason to buy stuff, right?), and a friend of mine was managing the shop at the time, and I mentioned to her my misplaced desire for the glasses. Every time I saw her I asked if they were still there.

One day I walked into the shop, and the glasses were on the reduced rack, having been there such a long time, because, obviously, no one needs sundae glasses. The price was so low I finally succumbed and bought them — and my friend wrapped them up and gave them to me as a gift. I had a high, empty cupboard shelf in the kitchen, and the glasses fit in perfectly. And they sat there.

Until now. I finally served ice cream sundaes at a family dinner! Layers of dairy-free ice cream, fresh sliced strawberries, and chocolate ganache. Oo la la!

Are you a resale shopper? Do you strictly limit what you buy? Do you have moments where you stop yourself before buying a coveted item?