Friday, November 17, 2006

my friends,
it has been so long! finally, i am back to share my tag sale tales with you. i've been so pleased with the new writers that have joined us, and i know that you are too. we have quite a comeback!

i'm writing to you from montevideo, uruguay (in case you didn't know about my move, here's more) and though i am so far away from the world of north american thrifting, i am still on the hunt for incredible finds.

a little over a month ago, i had visited this city, to scout it out and see for myself if this was the place to satisfy my wanderlust. i clearly remember walking across the rambla, that long stretch of road that winds around the rio de la plata and snapping a polaroid of this building because its exterior was so beautiful. it looked like a french chateau on the beach! i stood smiling at its presence in front of me as the wind whipped my skirt around my legs and my hair across my face. after all, montevideo was once known as the switzerland of south america and this surely must be evidence of the european influence here. little did i know how much i would love it. a couple weeks ago, i was in the backseat of a realtor's car (we were out house hunting) zipping around the same curve of rambla. i had to know what the place was about. he pointed out it was called "la casa de remates" which roughly translates to the house of knockdown prices. music to my ears! as soon as i found the time, i ventured back to check it out.

furniture was scattered all over the grassy lawn. old tables, chairs and once beautiful things that would be so easy to transform if i wasn't just a visitor here. coming inside to a small hallway opened up to a few spacious rooms with magnificent ceiling heights. i wished i could have seen what this old structure once looked like! collections of dishes were neatly arranged along the base of the stairway in different colors. the walls were unpainted and cold, dark and uncared for. one of the rooms had a stunning wall mirror that would be perfect over a master bed. i couldn't resist mentally decorating with everything i saw.

old paintings and vases a giant old typewriter that would be oh so fun to write with! and then the most beautiful couch straight out of the 18th century. in olive green velvet, i felt luxurious running my hand across the back at its embossed patterns. looks like something for a fancy parlor, surrounded in ivy and women in pretty frocks sippinbg their tea. until i sat on it and felt a large spring bounce under me! some things are just nice to look at. another living room set was covered in soft white cotton, all curved in a feminine shape filled with goose feathers. it was divine to sit on.

the last of just three rooms available to us (the rest were blocked off for some other purpose) held desks, wardrobes out of narnia, heavy tables and multicolored chairs. dangling above them unusual chandeliers and light fixtures hung in a mass like a crystal rainforest. it reminded me of my chandelier that i had just packed up from my dollhouse in virginia. i lingered just long enough to take a few pictures, then we had to be on our way.

sometimes i find myself thinking that i could stay here longer.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow Jenny! What an amazing voyage of discovery! But I don't understand, is the house of knock-down prices now a ramshackle shop? Or is it on the market and just full of old furnishings? Great post!

j. vorwaller said...

it's a south american *thrift store* :) hardly set up like a house at all, though i would have loved to see the rest of the place...the stuff is piled up in every corner...looks just like the ones in the U.S. :)

Lady Prism said...

lovely!