Tank top, shorts and flip-flops–in March?

March 16, 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Though I have a good number of photos to share today, I ran out of steam after taking only about 70% of the “new” items donated this week.  It was late and I was hot and tired.  That’s not unusual on Thursdays when I have to get everything priced prior to the store opening the next day (store hours: Fridays from 1 to 8 and Saturdays 9 to 4) except for the “hot” part.  In. March.

Before I get to crabbin’ about the weather and write “I hate warm weather” as my Facebook status (which my daughter told me someone did) – I actually love these mild days with lots of sunshine – but I’m somewhat less thrilled after a rather sleepless night under a down comforter.  Kicked it off and I was cold.  Pulled it back up – and you guessed it – too hot. 

With the old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me” ringing in my ears – last night I removed our comforter and replaced it with a gorgeous quilt my sister made (and what we use in warmer weather).  We were off to a good start but by 2:00 a.m. I was cold.  Tried to remove the quilt and return the comforter but my husband was fine and didn’t want me to.  Pulled the comforter sorta over my side of the bed OVER the quilt and – oops – too hot.

At this point, I won’t bore you with any more of my blanket shenanigans but will leave it that I’m not my usual bright eyed and bushy tailed shelf.  I actually feel a little like growling.  Oh, not at you.  At life.  You ever feel that way?

Thankfully, my growl quickly turns to an exclamation of excitement when I think about all the fabulous furniture currently available for purchase!  Truly epic this week.  Let’s take a look (remember, pooped out and only took photos of about 70% of the new-to-us items):

beautiful leather/pleather (everything you touch when you’re sitting in the chair is leather – the rest is pleather) wingback/recliner in excellent condition priced $235

blue/green/tan/cream plaid on this nice sofa (though does show wear) for $85

sweet tile top table with four chairs priced $175

amazing, retro two piece sectional in excellent condition priced $245; yellow vinyl stool is $15; coffee table $65

Room and Board like-new chair for $375

unbelievably gorgeous vintage sofa in excellent condition in this fabric that has different color threads running through it (it seems to shimmer in a beautiful way) priced $395 (you won’t walk into anyone else’s home and see an identical couch!)

purple sofa priced $50

here’s another plaid sofa – this time blue and yellow – by Ethan Allen in like-new condition (manufacturer tags are still attached) priced $345

over-sized chair and ottoman – in a lovely springy green color – priced $135 (ottoman needs to be spot-cleaned and there are some fabric pulls in the chair)

American Drew rolling buffet – priced $135

neat-o retro chair priced $75

rattan sofa priced $135; rattan ottoman $45; rattan rocker chair $65 and there are two of them – all pieces in excellent condition

really cool Henredon chair on casters with this amazing design on the back panel – we got three of them that roll (but two are missing their casters) and one slightly different that doesn’t roll and wasn’t designed to roll – rolling chair w/casters and different non-rolling chair are both priced $55 each; rolling chairs missing their casters are priced $45 each

here’s another living room set that is in excellent condition – sofa is priced $165; matching loveseat for $135

trying to show you this neat dining table that’s either black or very dark brown (come on – give me a break, you know how bad the lighting is in the store!) priced $145; chairs around it are from the Hampton Inn and the armless ones are price $20 each (we also have the same chair with arms and they’re priced $25 each)

comfy sofa priced $85; Lane coffee table is $45; loveseat is $65

four rolling upholstered dining chairs are priced $125 for the set

super cool Drexel dresser/secretary priced $125

First thing I did this morning was check online to see how long the warm weather is staying around – and it’s here for another week or so.  Wanna bet that I will have just figured out the right combination of blankets/quilts/comforters that ensures a wonderful night’s rest when it gets cold again?

And that, dear reader, is part of the “fun” that comes with living in Illinois!  Grrrr.

Tuesday's customer inspiration - Caroline's rocking rocker!

Caroline's no stranger to either Jubilee Furniture or Tuesday customer inspiration (see for yourself here) so I wasn't surprised when her most recent purchase from the store was tweaked in such a way that made it seriously fun.  Here's her email:

Hi Susan!  Had to send you pictures of my recent acquisition.  I fell in love with this beautiful double wide rocker the moment I saw it on your blog online and when I came in the next day it was still there!  I only changed the cushion fabric to make it more "me."  

It's such a blessing to have a place to buy furniture at reasonable prices and it's a bonus knowing the proceeds go to such a great cause.

Thanks for all your hard work and for your blog that makes shopping fun for the rest of us!

Blessings - Caroline

I LOVE the zebra print with the classic mission style rocker which makes for such an unexpected and fresh pairing!  I got a chuckle out of seeing the Jubilee Furniture pink sold tag in the before photo!  Oh, Caroline - you do know how much I want to live in your home, right?

In case you aren't familiar with the "great cause" Caroline mentioned in her email let me fill you in.  Jubilee Furniture's proceeds are helping to support the programs and services offered through Outreach Community Ministries.  Outreach's mission is to restore hope and provide opportunities to those most in need in DuPage County.

Thank you so much for letting us see how you dialed up the "WOW" on your double rocker, Caroline!

With tons of donation pickups this week - you'll want to head back here Friday morning to get a glimpse of some of the new-to-us stuff the guys are picking up.  My goal is to have my Friday posts ready for your viewing pleasure by 9:00 a.m.!  I've been told by a number of people that if you're a "follower" you aren't getting notification of my posts until much later in the day.  I don't know why and if I need to do something on my end - I can't figure out what (and if you know what I should do, please tell me!).

Take care, dear reader!

If two heads are better than one…

March 9, 2012 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Since I got a mixed response to last week’s post asking if you preferred the larger slide show option versus my usual line of individual photos and because I still can’t figure out how to add captions to the slide show – I’ll continue doing both.  For those of you who like the slide show better – I’m sorry but you’ll have to scroll down and find the matching photo to learn the price and read my description of the item.  If you like the original format – just skip the album at the top of the post (though the album is showing different photos from the first few photos – trust me – they’re the same, just in a different order).

I very much appreciated everyone’s kind comments especially about my “quirky” unrelated-to-almost-anything opening paragraphs of each Friday post.  Thank you.  This email from Loretta sums up what I’m trying to achieve both on the blog and in the store:

My husband & I unreservedly prefer the original format. Your flavorful commentary lends a sense of humanity & community to the inventory. "Inventory" can be found anywhere--not so for the communal camaraderie we experience both in the brick 'n' mortar and in your blog. That's why we're regulars at both places. Best--Phil & Loretta

Trying to turn a stop at a used furniture store located in a poorly lite cold/hot (depending on the season) warehouse into something you look forward to doing every couple of week (or weekly! :-) is exactly what I’m hoping to achieve.

Why?  Because I genuinely like people.  I’m interested in who you are and what you do.  I think you’re wonderful!  I also like knowing my hard work is helping those most in need in DuPage County through your purchases (proceeds of what we sell are helping to support the programs and services offered through Outreach Community Ministries). 

What’s “new” this week, you ask?  Excellent question.  Let’s take a look at some of the things donated:

eggplant color sofa and matching chair – both have issues with piping cord coming through – sofa is priced $85; chair $55

amazing, wonderful trunk – not old but looks it yet has a great feature like safety hinges – priced $195

super nice, Broyhill green corduroy sofa with fabulous nail head trim priced $165

this is a way cool tweed chair and ottoman – couple of issues: one button came off (donor provided the button) and donor had a cat – there isn’t tons of cat hair but a little – priced $185 for both pieces

gorgeous wood and wrought iron end table for $125

denim slip covered sofa for $45

sweet love seat priced $75; matching chair for $40

blue leather recliner priced $95 (has an unusual smell)

amazing brass umbrella stand priced $125

sweet and fun ice cream table with two chairs (table top needs some minor re-finishing) priced $145 for the set

wonderful old teacher’s desk w/Plexiglas protector – priced $135

lovely mission style entertainment center for $155

super wonderful red micro-suede FIVE piece sectional (in other words it comes apart into a lot of nice smaller size pieces) – one piece is a recliner and then one a chaise – priced $235

set of four rolling chairs priced $125 for all; they’re gathered around one of the Hampton Inn tables which are priced $30 each

as I was walking up and down Office Furniture Land looking for un-priced furniture – I came across this amazing, retro laminate desk with all these fantastic curved lines and couldn’t believe the guys dropped it in a line of fine – but functional – pieces!  It’s unbelievably wonderful!  I couldn’t find any brand name – but Barry, Uncle Mikey or Tom (all regular customers and my go-to people for vintage furniture information) could probably identify it – I priced it $145.  How did I do, guys?  Can you identify the designer from my photos?

 

very nice Kimball two drawer lateral file cabinet priced $145

this is a really interesting (in a good way) piece – it’s a four drawer dresser, the top drawer opens down and it’s where you might stash a DVD player and then on top is a TV stand that you can pull out and adjust for your viewing pleasure.  Lots of sweet storage plus a spot for your TV – not too shabby!  Priced $85

two very nice four drawer black dressers priced $50 each

Remember, we’re open today (Friday) from 1 to 8 and tomorrow (Saturday) from 9 to 4!

I hope you, dear reader, can stop in!  I’d really love to see you again or meet you for the very first time!

Blessings.