Archive * No. 005: Estate Sales and Airport Cocktails

This issue features an estate sale haul, a lampshade makeover, and a look at Joshua Tree’s iconic airport bar.

May 06, 2025

✦ A Joshua Tree Estate Sale

We spent the weekend away at our homestead in Joshua Tree. I plan to talk more about our property out there in future newsletters, but this weekend we stumbled upon a really good estate sale. I love an estate sale. Especially a borderline hoarder estate sale.

When I first moved to California, I used to find some really great ones in Laguna Beach. But in recent years, I’ve found the ones around us in OC and San Diego just aren’t as good as they used to be. Prices have gone up now that people can Google image search every vintage item, and you have to battle lines of resellers to get the good stuff.

You know an estate sale is good when nothing has a price tag. That means everything is for sale and everything is negotiable. You can usually walk away with a really good deal.

I love a dirty estate sale. Not like super gross, but the kind where you’re gonna have to dig and not be afraid of a little dust and grunge. When I take it home everything will be cleaned. But a dirty estate sale is where I thrive. I love the hunt.

This one had a mix of everything, with a very 70s-country, Wild West vibe. I loved seeing all the things this couple had collected. The house went on forever and had so much character. We bought some random home items and somehow got everything for only $40, which felt like a steal. The Penguin ice bucket was worth that alone, and we picked up some fun little vintage pieces for the house.

IN THE WORKS

✦ Lampshade!

The fabric arrived, and I finally got around to finishing this project. Brad gave me a hand with the sewing (thanks Brad), and I’m so happy with how it turned out. She’s super cute, and I feel like the color tone works so well with the art and other pieces in the space!

I love it. Also - yes, I could have hand sewed the base instead of hot gluing. But that would have taken forever. It looks good and glue was so much easier.

HOUSE SPECIALS

✦ The Copper Room

Spotlighting one of my favorite restaurants in Joshua Tree: The Copper Room. It’s a little airport bar and restaurant connected to the Yucca Valley Airport, a small single runway airstrip for private planes and specialty flights. The Copper Room first opened in 1957, built by Dr. John Bendall, a local doctor and pilot. Over the years it became a popular hangout, drawing in Rat Pack-era figures like Jimmy Van Heusen, who was the honorary mayor of Yucca Valley and a close friend of Sinatra. Pilots used to radio in their dinner and drink orders before landing, and in the 70s, Gram Parsons was known to stop by. The space went through a few different names over the years, but was recently restored and renamed back to The Copper Room.

The food here is really good, but the bar is hands-down our favorite in Joshua Tree. It’s original, overlooking the runway and desert skyline. You can watch the sunset, and if you’re lucky, see a plane come in. Their cocktail menu is a throwback to the drinks you’d find in the 1950s, but with a modern twist.

There’s just something so cool about an airport bar in the middle of the desert.

The interior feels like a step back in time, but a little more elevated. Big, comfy leather booths fill the dark dining room that feels cozy and nostalgic. If you’re ever in town, I definitely recommend stopping in for a drink.

NOTES TO SELF

If you were not ready, you would not have the opportunity.

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