Vintage Austin

We may have downsized, but we still managed to end up without enough furniture to put stuff on. So on Saturday, Jon and I started to make the rounds of local furniture stores. Interest piqued by advertisements (and with a list of 7 establishments on Burnet Road alone), we began our search for all things groovy at the vintage and consignment shops nearby.

Groovy, indeed. We began at Room Service Vintage and Hog Wild Texas. Room Service had an impressive collection of glassware sets and a really great long macrame lamp - wired with a single lightbulb, this was probably the day's most notable fire hazard. There were also a lot of 8 track tapes and Atari cartridges, including a copy of Pac-Man sealed in plastic with the instruction booklet. Too bad all we have is our old Sega Genesis console.

Just next door to these establishments is the radical bookstore Monkeywrench Books. Monkeywrench has a thought-provoking and varied stock, and best yet, it's staffed by unintentionally hilarious earnest young men (sample discussion topic - the "Oprah Effect" on presidential candidates).

Hog Wild Texas reputedly has one of the largest vintage toy selections in the United States. We spent some time trying to figure out which version of the Han Solo figurine is hanging from the light fixture in our closet. Could it really be worth $50? Equally impressive at Hog Wild was the lunchbox display. Hardy Boys, Happy Days and the Hair Bear Bunch - it was all there. (Not to mention Space 1999 and Adam 12).

After visits to a few more places, including the Austin Antique Mall and the furniture consignment stores Austin Home Collection and It's New to Me, we ended our day successfully at Urban Living. We brought home a brand-new console table on major sale that definitely qualified as groovy - metal legs, veneered wood top.

Sunday was spent on far less acquisitive pursuits, with a walk along the shores of Lady Bird Lake and a run in Zilker Park for Lester.