Stuff

There’s a chain of stores in Belgium and France called Troc—literally, “stuff.” It’s second hand tables, couches, mirrors, art, school maps, sideboards, bedroom sets, and … well… stuff.

A year ago I visited this shop with friends and found the perfect gigantic antiqued mirror with a gray hand-carved frame. These huge rectangular mirrors are often built into the mantelpieces of fireplaces. The price was good, the delivery fee was fine, but I hesitated because I wasn’t sure whether I should add a carved cabinet piece to my order. I waffled too long and we ran out of time. It was already gone when my friend went back the next morning. Ah, the rare regret of not buying something. I’ve been looking for a similar mirror ever since (and annoyed every time I see similar ones leaning against the wall in Anthropologie ads).

Today, Isaac’s basketball game was just 10 minutes away, so we stopped by. Chris wants a gigantic wardrobe, but none of the ones we saw today spoke to him. I wanted a hand carved sideboard of some sort. None spoke to me either. However, I bought several things I often end up buying, kind of like when I need to buy pants (difficult) I end up buying shoes (easy!). Here’s what I got: a painting of boats, of course, an antique school map, of course, and a big mirror! It’s not as big as the one I was trying to buy from someone online that required hiring an external elevator to get it downstairs, which is probably for the best. Future movers, you’re welcome.

“I’m squished!” complained the kids.

“Sorry you’re being smushed by all the cool stuff we got,” I said.

“But it’s not cool,” said Isaac. “That’s the point.”

So after all this time in Europe, my kids still don’t know anything. Sad.

I googled the artists name when we got home. Usually this results in nothing, but this time I got a hit! The artist is a fairly proficient painter of the sea. Perfect for the Sea Wall or Sea Shelf.