Out with the old, in with the older — Eastlake bookcase & a video.
Even though I know that the budget is run by a sock puppet government with no real power… for some reason, rather than getting on with the overthrow, I’ve just paced back and forth in front of the embassy, muttering to myself and shaking my fists.
YOU CANNOT STOP ME FROM ACQUIRING MY THINGS.
Additionally, Paul has taken a bizarre and inflexible stance on a technicality: stating that there is no way to acquire outside funding to apply to the Craigslist Discretionary Fund (CDF).
This offends my sense of reason and acceptable-world-operation-protocol.
For weeks, I have been mulling over this affront and reminding myself that when God closes a door, he opens a window… Or at the very least gives you a small package of explosives and a crowbar.
And eventually, it came to me:
What if I sold something that I BOUGHT on Craigslist?
If it came OUT, of the realm of the CDF… MUST it then not REVERT to the realm of the CDF? Anything less would offend the laws of physics and realm-jumping!
I love science!
I went and presented my findings to Paul. He considered my Nobel Prize application, finally decreeing that indeed: I had contributed greatly to the advancement of humanity.
I think his exact words were— congratulations. If there is a loophole, you will find it.
I already sold the auction bookcase. (It sold for twice what I paid, so the auction olympics were not for nothing.) I was sad to see it go! But after measuring every spare nook in the house, I could not find another spot for it.
Plus, I JUST finished reading Stuff – compulsive hoarding and the meaning of things. (I enjoy any kind of memoir or documentation about the multitude of things that are wrong with me.) And I felt like I had a little bit of clarity that I should seize.
The clarity went like this:
It’s just STUFF… You can get rid of it.
Also, don’t worry! Soon there will be MORE STUFF.
Even if you cannot relate to an attachment to things, the Stuff book is worth reading just for the fascinating description of the Collyer twins– enormously wealthy brothers in 1890 New York City— who filled their magnificent 4-story brownstone mansion with trash. They died inside, barricaded in debris.
In just the first two days alone, the city removed 19 TONS of garbage… They had to start on the very top floor because the trash underneath was supporting the trash above.
And now I am compelled to continue the unexpected book-club-for-hoarders element of this post: I also enjoyed Kimberly Rae Miller’s account of growing up with parents who were hoarders. She writes very subtly about the experience, and without the rage that I would be flinging around if that were MY childhood.
Anyway. This is our back bedroom. The recessed area is next to a double-door closet we put in… the original closets in an old house like ours are suitable for about one pair of shoes and a handkerchief.
I replaced two smaller bookcases… this one fit all the books from both, with a shelf to spare. PLUS, it fits the space SO PERFECTLY. It’s much wider and a little taller than what I had there previously.
The old bookcases said– yeah, sure, I can hold your books… This one says BEHOLD, I am at BOOKCASE of seriousness and magnitude.
Now! I made you a video! Is it as exciting as the bed video? No. Is it more interesting than whatever you are SUPPOSED to be doing? Possibly.
April 1, 2015 @ 3:41 pm
Lucky me, I already had a bowl of popcorn and I didn’t even know we were going to have a movie! I wish you lived near me … not on the same street of course. Because as a lifestyle blogger, you are required to be much more awesome than everyone else and I don’t think my ego could handle it. But nearby is good because I could shove stuff out of my garage directly into your waiting car.
April 1, 2015 @ 3:50 pm
Victoria, you should totally start an antiques business! There’s no fighting it. When one has a Gift, one must Use It.
April 1, 2015 @ 4:09 pm
Your posts are brilliant VEB and so are you. Thanks for making me laugh!
April 1, 2015 @ 4:15 pm
Okay here’s an antidote to read so you won’t feel so much angst about acquiring more stuff:
Never Stop to Think… Do I Have a Place for This? by Mary Randolph Carter
I love your writing!
April 1, 2015 @ 6:29 pm
In great need of inspiration and a break from research for copywriting, I ventured over to your blog in the hope of new entry relief. Thank you for this timely post, and the video that has energized me to continue my (unrelated research) quest. Lovely bookcase, BTW. Cheers, Ardith
April 2, 2015 @ 12:52 am
That’s a gorgeous bookcase, and you’ve styled it perfectly. Maybe you SHOULD go into the antique business! I have several family Eastlake pieces, myself, so I’m a fan. Also, as I was watching your video, my husband recognized Liberace from the next room!
April 2, 2015 @ 8:38 am
Its a win win.
April 2, 2015 @ 9:23 am
You & Paul are cute as pie. The bookcase is very nice as well.
April 2, 2015 @ 2:35 pm
Have you considered resting this bookcase on counters in your new kitchen to use as your upper cabinets? I have 2 extremely similar China cabinets original to my 1904 house that we are using as the cabinets flanking the cooking alcove. They’ll rest on the counters and go to the ceiling and still have about ten inches of counters in front.
Maybe could work for your kitchen of utter fanciness??
April 2, 2015 @ 4:08 pm
Clap!Clap!Clap!Clap!Clap!Clap! Bravo!!!
April 2, 2015 @ 5:02 pm
Great upgrade! LOVE the new cabinet! Also, on the vid, would you happen to know the name of the song?
April 3, 2015 @ 8:51 am
It’s Liberace’s version of “Third Man Theme.”
http://amzn.to/1CjMo1O
This is the one song my dad remembers how to play on the piano. My brothers and I think of it as “dad’s” song… It is the happiest music I know!
April 3, 2015 @ 8:27 am
Very entertaining!
April 3, 2015 @ 11:02 am
I loved the video! I just have to say that 1) That bookcase is a great Craigslist find! 2) Your cat is adorable. 3) You and your husband did a stellar job getting the bookcase from point ‘A’ to point ‘B!’ Y’all are awesome! Great post!
April 3, 2015 @ 1:00 pm
Great bookcase. You must have an accomplice, otherwise who took the video? Know it wasn’t Elvis the cat, because the cat is in the video too – love the cat. Thanks for the laugh today. Keep shopping.
April 5, 2015 @ 12:15 pm
3 bills for an original 1880s bookcase that nice was a steal. Congratulations!
April 5, 2015 @ 7:10 pm
I found your excellent blog late one night…and I love your crazy self. I am a designer, old now, and can relate to some of your ideas. It is wonderful to see someone so engaged with their life – and Paul is really a find. Keep writing!
April 5, 2015 @ 7:21 pm
Victoria,
Love your latest video! Music is apropos, too. 🙂
I love that your videos have a lovely turn-of-the-last-century quality to them; the Mary Pickford/Lady Mary Crawley hat doesn’t hurt, either! Elvis is sweet in his cameo, and the other kitty and dog are sweet,too.
Glad you found another wonderful, better bookcase. Happy Easter to you and Paul!
April 6, 2015 @ 12:26 pm
You’re astonishingly strong, little one. That must be a dominant gene in hoarders, yes?
April 8, 2015 @ 3:15 pm
Hey, I am supposed to be working, not watching videos. The least I could be doing is cleaning and purging so I can fit more old furniture in the house!
And where do you find such good prices? They do not exist in Seattle, even on Craigslist here.
April 24, 2015 @ 9:10 am
I just discovered you through Pinterest. Very amusing! Love your antiques. Sounds like me many years ago, before the grandparents and parents died and left me all their stuff and it wasn’t so fun anymore. Now I have a 4200sf, 1862 farmhouse full of stuff, and it is a struggle to decide what to keep and what to toss. Our rule now is one thing in, one thing out. Be extremely picky, even if it is free. I too have found some amazing stuff at thrifts, I am not much of a craigslister. Looking forward to reading back in your blog!