If you follow me on Instagram (cookbookaholic), then you’ll remember the image I took of a Bob Timberlake Pie Safe during Easter. It’s been a fixture at one of the hotels we visit and I have loved it from the first time I saw it. Ever since, I’ve always wanted to get my own.
The only thing stopping me? The price. And probably the small square footage in my house. It’s pretty cramped in here.
It has the look of an antique pie safe but it’s built more as a bookshelf. I thought it would make a great home for some of my cookbooks. But, it wasn’t cheap and funds have always been tight at my house. If I was going to get one on my budget, I’d have to find it at a yard sale, estate sale or on Craigslist.
Sure, a thought did cross my mind….I could’ve tried to lift it from the hotel, but I’m sure a security camera would’ve captured it all on tape. Plus, no one from my church would’ve helped me get it in the back of my car. (side eye to you, Brad)
Over the years, I’ve kept up the vigil by doing searches in the furniture section of Craigslist. I’ve seen some very expensive pie safes listed. But I’ve never been able to find that Bob Timberlake pie safe. It was an expensive piece of furniture—some may even consider it heirloom worthy. This search may turn out to be a lengthy, decades-long quest.
Almost every week, when I do a Craigslist search for garage sales, I also do a quick search for pie safes just to see if I could ever come across someone trying to unload one. It’s been a long dry spell. The search results show the short list of familiar descriptions—all showing up in purple, noting that I’ve already clicked on them.
During this latest search, a couple of new listings showed up. One had a description with “decorative tin inserts.” I clicked on it and saw a beautiful pie safe. Then, as I looked more closely at the punched tin decoration, it looked very familiar. But the listing doesn’t mention anything about Bob Timberlake. Checking back to my Instagram photo, I compared the front panel design. This could finally be the moment…
A closer look at the info shows that the listing is 45 days old. 45 days? I’ve done the pie safe search within the past month, so why didn’t I see it before now? There’s another note that says the listing has been updated more recently—so whatever adjustments were made helped it to pop up during my search. The price tag was also a bit out of my reach, but let’s see if it’s still for sale.
After 45 days, I’m running a good chance that it’s already been snapped up by someone else. I responded to the listing and asked if it was still for sale and if there was any manufacturer info on the safe.
Within a short while, I get a response. It’s still for sale and the piece was made by Lexington. Still no mention of Bob Timberlake. The description mentions that the pie safe comes “as is,” so I reply and ask if it’s in good shape. The response: it’s all good.
My last concern is the price. I reply that the asking price is outside of my budget and offer a lower number. Not an insulting lower number, but a fair one. The email comes back: “that’s fine…can you pick it up tomorrow?”
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyyyy gooooossshhhhhhhhhhhhh!
It’s almost mine.
I get the seller’s address and map it out. It’s less than 5 miles away.
Now to break the news to the guy that’s going to help me move it: the hubby.
I had already casually mentioned that I had a line on a really nice pie safe. Now I had to tell him that, not only had I committed to buy it—but that it needed to be moved. So, when I brought up the pie safe again, I said, “Remember the pie safe I’ve been looking at online? I think it’s the Bob Timberlake.”
“Oh, really? You’ve been looking for that a long time.”
The next day after church and lunch, we emailed that we were on our way. The neighborhood was very upscale. The driveway was very steep and the stairs were plenty, inside and out. The pie safe was up on the second floor in the hallway.
The lady selling the pie safe, June, was very nice. She and her partner had recently moved into the neighborhood and were looking to downsize. The pie safe was on the list of things that they were willing to let go. They had originally purchased it sixteen years ago in Atlanta and it had been a beloved part of their home together. They told me at Christmas, they would open up the pie safe’s door and display a collection of decorative bowls.
When I approached it, I opened up the top right drawer and saw the logo confirming it is the Bob Timberlake piece. It’s really here in front of me! I’m simultaneously shocked and relieved that I’ve finally found it. I think about it being listed and sitting there on craigslist for 45 days and then silently give a little prayer of thanks for keeping it there until I found it.
We check the rest of it out and it’s in almost pristine condition. There’s only a slight dent in the bottom shelf, but other than that, it looks showroom perfect.
I just need to pay for it and get it moved into the car.
Hubby and I get it down the stairs from the second to the ground floor. I guess I looked unhelpful or just plain sad because I was replaced in the moving process! The pie safe made it safely down the front steps to the car—which was probably the most crucial part of the journey. We got it into the car and off we went to the storage unit.
Ladies and Gentlemen, a quest that has been almost ten years long…the Bob Timberlake Pie Safe.
Now, to pay off a ton of credit card debt, find a house that can hold all the cookbooks and properly display this gorgeous pie safe. Talk about a quest—and it’ll probably take another ten years to get anywhere close to that!