The One That Got Away

 Now that JC has been out of the house for three years, it's time to change his furniture. I had a four piece mid century modern (modular set in his room that just wasn't functional anymore. It consisted of  2 large dressers a desk and a corner piece for a total of 9 large drawers and 4 small drawers. Most of the drawers contained the contents of JC's youth that he no longer even cares about. One drawer was dedicated to various electronics, cords, computer innards from his experiments? Three more drawers contain miscellaneous socks, belts, shorts and t-shirtsand sweaters that he will probably never wear again. I think I've been keeping them in case when he comes home to visit if he needs extra clothes, they are there. Space is ALWAYS an issue for me as I am a certified shopaholic and I have much more stuff than I have room for so storing my stuff is always a problem. I had these low pieces in JC's room and what I need in there is some type of shelf space. My glassware collection has been cluttering up the tops of the dressers for months. It's unkempt and it's driving me crazy. Plus, when JC came home to visit over New Year's I had nowhere to put it all and JC has been known to break things just by looking at them. I considered building shelf units to place on top of the dressers but that would not have the effect I was going for. the desk and the smaller drawers were obsolete so it was time for them to go. That space can be better served by a different config of furniture. I decided two large chests of drawers would work nicely. Back on January 4th the wheels began turning when I spotted the perfect dresser at this Antique Mall that I frequent. It measured 41x20x a whopping 57 inches high! With seven drawers! It was pricey at $278 and I just knew that if I brought it home that my husband was not going to be thrilled because our garage was already  overflowing with antique shop bargains/projects waiting for me to find homes for them. The week of my birthday was almost Kismet. I had extra birfday money burning a hole in my pocket. My parents who have a ginormous garage (to store the old furniture until I can sell it on craigslist) had just left town. R had gone out of town (so I could buy it, bring it home and set it up and he couldn't say no).  I had from Tuesday until Friday to make all my dreams come true.  What happened next was the tragedy... and the comedy. I also wanted to get to the seafood store to get lobster to make my annual Birthday feast of Lobster roll. I decided to do lunch on Tuesday and to go to the antique store on Wednesday. That dresser had been there for a few months and I didn't figure it was going anywhere. One day won't make a difference. Oh, but it did. On Wednesday afternoon, I went over to the antique mall and made  a beeline for the booth only to find a big red SOLD tag on the dresser. Someone had come in that very morning to buy it. 
@!$%&@#!  It was just not meant to be. I really have to learn to trust my instincts and not let others influence me to pass up an item that I know is awesome. I can remember all the things I passed on and regretted later. Like the pair of 1920's lilac colored velvet slipper chairs for $20 a piece. The Danish Modern dining room table and 8 chairs in perfect condition for $200 at the Goodwill. The half dozen Nell Cole Graves  green-blue pottery  for under $50 at the yard sale in Lexington. The box of skeleton keys for $10. I could go on. Moreover, my husband should trust my instincts. The moral of the story is: She who hesitates is lost. I am beginning to see that that price tag of $278 was probable well worth it for a piece that was already painted the exact color that I wanted it to be. I continued my search which led me to find two other dressers that were better suited to my project as they were similar in size and shape but they would both have to be painted. And that is a tale for another day.