this is life in austin & aspen

Y’all know that I’ve been spending more time in Aspen, Colorado than … well, anyone had ever imagined from this Austin native. Blame it on the Vermonster. Or blame it on the big-city-feel in a small mountain town, the allure of something new, or the adventurer in me, but I’m now splitting time between Austin and Aspen! this is life in austin will simply join forces with a new this is life in aspen to create one this is life in aaaaaauuuussssspenawesomeness. Each post will be marked Austin: or Aspen: before its title, so if you don’t care about one or the other, just ignore it. Each will OBVIOUSLY still contain my sparkling wit and matchless insight into what to do and what’s hot in BOTH towns. Awesome! [Check out the new header and my sweet photoshop skillz]

The Vermonster’s place is unfurnished, so with the Vermonster in his moniker-state, I was tasked with garage-sale-ing/thrifting furniture and “house stuff” this past weekend. On the list? A dining room table, coffee table, TV stand or entertainment center, bedside tables, and long skinny bookshelves. Given this list in Austin, I’d have no trouble–I know where every Goodwill this side of 35 is, could hit both Savers stores, and shop garage sales in good neighborhoods to boot. But up here in Aspen, do they even have garage sales?

Yes, they do! But you have to hit three towns to strike it rich … I got up at 8am Saturday morning (folks, I don’t even get up this early on WORKDAYS) and hit a few garage sales in Aspen, no good, a couple in nearby Basalt, also no good, and then struck gold in Carbondale: a kitchen table with four chairs AND a bench for only $45! It’s EXACTLY like the one we had growing up, so I bought it immediately, no haggling.

I also stopped into Alexa’s Closet (970-963-0258 / 319 Main St, Carbondale, CO), a great thrift shop for clothes and kitchen supplies and other random awesomeness, but no furniture, and that was my only mission. I will be back.

At the Habitat ReStore, whose address is also in Carbondale (about 30 minutes from Aspen) but is really almost all the way to Glenwood Springs (about 45 minutes from Aspen), everything was 25% off for Mother’s Day, and I snagged a TV stand but wanted to buy more–it just wouldn’t fit!

I hit up Basalt Thrift on the way home, a shop I like a lot that has a nice mix of furniture and clothes, but it didn’t have anything for me this time. It did have a freakin’ sweet freestanding bar, so if anyone is in the market for one of those …

Back in Aspen, I had already hit up Aspen Thrift Store, an interesting place in downtown core Aspen, next to the fire station, and staffed entirely by volunteers. Yelp reviewers LOVE it and rave about the bargains to be found, I was completely and totally unimpressed when I visited a few months ago. This time, however, I bought a great yellow kitchen mat for $3, so that was nice. They have a small selection of furniture. I think the shop is definitely hit or miss, so I need to go more often to find some hits!

I had been to Uptown Exchange (517 E Hopkins) before, but it doesn’t have furniture, so off the list. I hesitated to visit Susie’s Limited (623 E Hopkins), a thrift shop I love for well-organized (if occasionally overpriced) clothes, but had never seen furniture in. Turns out, the furniture portion is behind the first house, and it had a nice selection at decent prices–but this is good stuff, at good prices, not fixer-uppers. Even higher-end and nowhere near fixing up was Aspen Home Consignment (202 E Main) … don’t even go there unless you’re looking for a $900 table. It’s the home store you think of when you think of Aspen.

The options are limited for thrifting in Aspen, but not impossible! I’ve got to hit up Aspen Thrift again tomorrow …