Freedom!

Today I had my tag sale, I had so much to sell, lots given to me by others that I never got around to restoring and many small odds and ends too. And this is only a fraction of it as I forgot to take photos in the morning. I wish I had arranged everything nicely as I wanted to but honestly, I slept from 3:30-5:30 am last night and so I'm not running on much fuel today. But hey, my sale was a hit - half was sold by the time these photos were taken! And now that I'm finished, I have maybe 1/4 of what you see left so I may sell them online or maybe just donate to the humane society of New Hampshire. I certainly do not want to have another tag sale -- it's tiring! But I had fun, I met a product designer, and interior designer, an art therapist who reads my blog (Hi Bev!!) and a bunch of other really great people including a lady from Canada who went nuts for my vintage stuff. It feels good to say goodbye to these things, my furniture indoors is all nearly sold and then I will give 75% of my clothing to charity.

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At that point, I should have about 40 boxes between my husband and I of personal belongings to ship by boat to London, then transported by truck to Germany. I can't wait to be on the other side of the pond and begin my life. Thankfully, I had 4 of my girlfriends stop by to help me set up today, and several friends stopped by over the course of the morning and afternoon to visit with me. It was really nice. Seeing people I care for made this whole transition less lonely.
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yard4

But there's a small problem. And dear readers, I'm not sure at all how I managed to be so absent-minded, but I forgot to tell MY MOTHER about my sale today. MY OWN MOTHER. Oh dear. She lives in Boston and all I can tell you is that I am not sure how in the world to get around this. I could never lie about it, but MY MOM? How does someone forget their mother? Especially my mother who is nuts about interior decorating stuff and vases for all her floral arrangements. Oh, whoa is me. I am SO not the perfect daughter. Imagine a dog house. Now imagine me it in. Oh yes.
yard3

But the sale was great and now I must go out of town for a few days and then I'll be back on Monday. How is your weekend? What are you doing? (images: holly becker for haus maus)

Comments

TERI REES WANG said…
Damn!...that is a mighty fine rug you have there. Wish I was there, too.
Desiree said…
Oh wow, I wish there were yardsales like yours around here -- fabulous stuff!
Elissa said…
Wow, that looks like a fantastic sale! Better than any of the ones I went to this morning here on Long Island. They are tiring aren't they? I need to have one but I think we'll wait until next year. Good luck with your move!
Shawnna said…
Damn. I'm in Boston and if I weren't moving to Europe, too, I would have come to snag some of your stuff. Glad you had great success! I had my tag/yard sale last weekend and I agree it is very tiring. Took a 3 hour nap directly after it and still slept normally that night.
harmonyfrance said…
Oh my. Was it hard to give up so many beautiful things Holly? I'm downsizing myself right now. I'm moving into a nicer apartment, but with a little less room. So I have to purge furniture, clothes, etc. I'm finding it really difficult. Some of these things I've been holding onto for over 10 years. It seems so freeing though. Good for you!
-Harmony
Anonymous said…
Hi,

In the 3rd picture of your tag sale, there is a chair. I have the same chair in my home... I rescued it from a sad ending on garbage day in my neighbourhood!

I'd imagined/guessed it might be danish... but I could be making that up. Do you know anything about it that you could tell me? (ie how old it is, where it's from, etc...)

I wish I lived somewhere closeby that I could have snapped yours up also - my reading nook would have room for 2!

Thanks... and btw, I adore your blog. Thanks for the peek into your life!

Katy
Victoria Klein said…
How fantastic it is to hear that you tag sale went so well. Just looking at the pictures, I will wallow in the fact that I wasn't there - so many amazing things I'd get on the spot! If you do decide to sell anything online, do let me know. :D
Candied Fabrics said…
Looks like lots of folks are purging right now! I'm going thru LOTS of books and purging, then moving ehm all downstairs to set up a media wall! Yay!
Katherine said…
Wow, I wish sales like that were more common in Scotland (I suppose we have the weather problem). Must be very liberating to sell your stuff like that. I'm spending the weekend getting more stuff - our wedding presents just arrived!
I_am_Tulsa said…
That's a yard sale?! More like a "very cute store"!
I envy everyone who was able to go!

...ah, the things we don't tell our mothers! LOL
Juliette said…
You made me remember our tag sale when we left Boston for Germany. It was pouring rain, so we had to move everything into the house! It was a zoo and a half, but we sold 90% and actually tons of friends showed up to buy most of it. The rest of our friends were there helping us out. Fun, but tiring. I donated a ton of clothes too, but moving our bedroom this weekend my husband said I needed to do it again... =)

yep, i would be in the dog house too if i forgot to tell my mom! my dad even gives me crap to this day about selling my iron and not giving it to him. ha!
Unknown said…
LOL, I am sure she will forgive you.......eventually!
I am glad the sale went well.
Stacy said…
I agree - I wish there were garage sales like yours around here! Though I would be broke buying everything! :)
wow, the sale looks like it was incredible! those who were able to attend are very lucky! any chance that the brown-and-white rug didn't go and you'd be willing to sell it to a floridian girl? ;)

when i moved, back in april, i threw away/donated about 75 percent of the stuff i'd accumulated in my old apartment--it was so freeing. simplicity--and simplyfing--is liberating, for sure.

so excited about these next steps in your life, holly! :)
Sophie said…
If I was your Mom I would be mighty upset to have missed out because I would have bought half your things. And I would be pouting for the next week ;-)
Hope your mother is is more forgiving!
Traveling Mama said…
I have never been to a tag sale like yours either- you had some seriously awesome stuff to sell! Hopefully your Mom will be very understanding, but you may have to name your firstborn after her. :-)
We escaped the 110 degree heat in our city and headed to the mountains. It hailed. yes. Hailed. I didn't even know it hailed in Morocco. It does!
SimplyGrove said…
What a great sale!!! I love yard sales and I love Decor8 so the 2 put together would be a bit like earthly heaven:)
FEDERICA said…
I wish I were here!
Unknown said…
I wish I could have bought half the things you sale, but unfortunately I live in the side of the ocean you are moving to.
All things look lovely.
About forgetting your mum...it is quite normal, just because you have lots of thing in mind. She would buy half of the things. But she would forgive you, she is your mum and she knows that a big change you are in.
Good luck with your move! And enjoy in this side.
Kimberly Julie said…
Doesn't it feel great to simplify your life by taking a whole new perspective on what you "need"?? I am moving to the Virgin Islands next month with only three suitcases... It has definitely been a process to emotional detach myself from my material possessions (which is totally pathetic but true). I absolutely cannot wait though.
Melissa A said…
It does feel good to empty ourselves of some of our stuff doesn't it. I wish I could have attend your tag sale. Just from what I see you have some pretty cool stuff that I know I would like. I have been cleaning out stuff as well because we are going to be putting our house on the market. Sometimes I just want to get rid of it all and be a world traveler or a gypsy for awhile. I'd like to have a taste of something new. Sounds like you have some very lovely friends who are going to probably miss you very much.
DawnMarie said…
Darn it! I was just weeding on Saturday. I would have certainly postponed that to take a ride. Do you have anything left? I see so many things in these pictures I would have loved. Darn it. I am so mad at myself that I missed it. I am not even sure where in NH you are but I would have found you. My parents are in Atkinson and my sister is in Derry. So I am familiar with some areas.
alix said…
WOw this looks like an amazing sale!! Did you price everything beforehand? (i'm asking selfishly because we need to have a sale and I'm overwhelmed by the process...).

Hee, i can't believe you forgot to mention to your mom the sale! I'm sure she'll forgive you. Maybe you can round up a little box of vases or things you think she'd like and spin it as "Oh i got rid of some furniture and little doo dads....I pulled some things I thought you might like!" (little white lies are ok, i think! especially when they're the spoon full of sugar that helps the medicine go down!)
Danielle said…
What a lovely looking 'garage sale' as we say here in Australia...much prettier than most of the ones I come across! I was in Melbourne for the weekend visiting friends and came across the Melbourne Design Market - so much great design. It was in a underground carpark so felt like some sort of secret society sale!
kristina said…
pics make me wish i could have been there, i love that set of blue china :) --- good luck sorting things out with your mom :)
Awesome stuff! I wish I would have been there. Best of luck to you in Germany. I LOVE it there!!
Julia said…
Oh my God! You sold your Nymolles' faience dishes. And those Ikea cans with the coffee factory design (I've been after them for a while, they're impossible to find). Oh God! Oh God!

Too bad I live in Minneapolis, I would have bought it all and packed all the way back here. But I hope they have new happy owners and you feel lighter now (and some cash never comes amiss, does it?).
GiDu said…
What an awesome sale!! I wish I lived nearby I could have purchased some of your lovely items! Congrats.
enna said…
I definitely would have bought those apple glass dishes!! too bad I couldn't be there.

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