June 22, 2010

The Coffee Table's Near Death Experience

I am officially in purge mode. A few weeks ago, I made the commitment to get rid of all of the things in my house that haven't been used in a year.

Under this rule, I am allowed to keep my deep fryer, snow cone maker, and disco roller skates.

Under this same rule, I must part with my South Beach Diet cookbooks, 3/4 of the shoes in my closet, and the entire contents of my living room.

Every day for the past week, I've entertained a steady stream of new friends that I've met on Craigslist. A college student from Temple hauled away my husband's desk; a grad student from Penn bought our basement sofa. My living room furniture went to an older couple with a beach house in New Jersey.

I was fine with selling the living room set--which included an antique pine coffee table--to the couple until they announced their plans to defile it.

"This is perfect," the woman told me as she examined the table. "We'll just cut the legs off and paint it white," she told her husband.

"Nope," I said, pulling the table out of the room. "You can't have it now."

The woman looked genuinely confused when I told her that I consider antiques to be living pieces of history.

I feel that it is necessary to mention at this point that I am the granddaughter of an antique clock restorer.

"How would you like it if someone cut your legs off at the knees?" I asked her.

The woman said that that was something that she probably would not like very much at all.

"If you are going to sell something, you can't dictate what people do with it," my husband told me when he got home from work.

Surprisingly, the living room set is still in our living room.



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My sister's wedding recently was featured on RUFFLED. Check it out!

27 comments

Kelly said...

Wow! You mean business. Good luck finding a happy buyer who will treat your coffee table with the respect and coasters it deserves.

Laurie said...

The wedding story was WONDERFUL! My wedding was WAY traditional, in every way, which made it even MORE fun to read about someone's wedding that was so different- I loved reading about all the details and how they came to be.

Connie said...

Maybe you need someone with several children to buy your coffee table. You KNOW it will be well taken care of!

Love the wedding pictures. You really did need a vintage dress! Looks like it would have been numerous funs!

Amie said...

Amazing wedding. It looks awesome.

Emily Heizer Photography said...

I can't even freaking believe it! She got on RUFFLED?! :-O I am so jealous! The writer of Ruffled requested one of my weddings once and was going to do a full feature on it, but by the time I had the images ready for her, she was like, uhhhh, thanks, I'll see if I have time to put up an image in an inspiration post. :( The wedding was last August and I"ve never seen it on there.

I am so jealous! Although, I am being published in Latino Bride and Groom next month so I probably shouldn't whine so much. But I want to be on a blog!!!

PS: I would have taken back the coffee table too!

Anonymous said...

Garage sale lady offered to buy my first born's crib bunting for fifty cents cuz her roommate's dog needed a new bed. Bah!

Amanda said...

@meanestmom
Thanks SO much for the mention!

@Emily,

Our sincerest apologies for not having been able to post that wedding. I try my best to publish all posts in a timely manner, but due to the massive amount of submissions I receive, that sometimes is not possible. I'm thankful for all submissions, it's just that there is not enough time in the day for me to get all of them up on the blog. If I think I won't be able to get to a certain submission soon enough, I like to give the photographers a heads up so they can get their work published/featured on another blog or publication sooner rather than later. I hope you understand. I enjoy your work and do hope you will submit again.

Donna said...

Gorgeous wedding!!! You were right where I grew up (off GW Parkway)! That temple area in MV is gorgeous!

Gina said...

I am SO excited to read all of your moving posts. I have moved 6 times in 7 years of marriage, and since I have a plethora of experience, I obviously hate moving. You put such a funny spin on everything, I cannot wait to read about all the moving adventures!

No pressure.

adhocmom said...

I fully support your decision to purge all items South Beach related. And I too would keep the roller skates. You sound like a woman who has her priorities in order!

Unknown said...

My dad is the same way! He had an old Mercedes he was selling and whenever a women would show up to look at it he asked, "Are you buying this for your husband?"
"No, I am going to drive it."
He would snatch the keys away with a "This is a man's car. No woman can drive it right."
Really, Dad??
Sidenote: I did drive it once and stalled it out in the middle of the freeway.

Unknown said...

HAHA, I'm sure the coffee table felt loved!

Karen Mortensen said...

Oh my. I went to a garage sale once and was going to buy some lego type blocks and an oler lady came out and wouldn't let me buy them.

Heather said...

That lady must have been quite shocked.
Purging is always a good idea.
I hope someone will come by the set who deserves it!!

Kim Ginsberg said...

What did this woman want to do with a coffee table with no legs? I think you have every right to know what people are doing with the stuff you're selling. My friends were ready to sign papers on their house sale, when the buyer let slip that they were going to tear down the house, and re-build. My friend got up from the table and walked away from the sale. Your stuff is your stuff - you want to know it's going to someone who will love it too! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, my heart is all aflutter thinking about purging my stuff when I get home from this ultra-mega-super-3-week road trip! I had started before I left, but now as I am headed back home for the last week of the trip, my eyes are on the prize of a minimalist, clutter-free condo, which is ready for renovation and decoration soon! Yay!

My parents gave me a deep appreciation for antiques too, but when it means I get something outta my life that I'm done using, I say they can do what they want with it! I value the space just a touch more than I value the antiques.

Cat said...

I completely agree! While I like the look of an old home's woodwork painted white, I would never ever be the one to do it!

Paula said...

We are purging, too. My husband is deployed so his stuff is going first! The Goodwill donation guy is my new best friend and IKEA will have a good third quarter when we replace all of the stuff we're getting rid of. I ♥ IKEA.

Valerie S said...

Oh my gosh. YOu weren't kidding. She did use whales at her wedding! And it worked! What a beautiful bride. I love, love, love her dress.

Tiffany said...

Great story! Come visit us at The Power of Moms. A great place for mothers worldwide to connect.

vanilla said...

I have great respect for your respect of old things. Sometimes, though, one just has to let go and hope for the best.

Andi said...

I would love the coffee table and promise not to defile it. How much?? Email me please. :)

W. Ork said...

Everyday when I check websites to see what is there to know, numbers keep increasing. 25 houses destroyed. 50 houses destroyed. Today: 100 houses destroyed, widespread destruction. The building where my dad kept an office for over 10 years now has no roof, has two inches of water where the carpeting used to be.

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