Flea Market Madness

My parents were so hardcore about our trips to the Flea Market when I was a child that we would go every single weekend to sniff out the deals. We would go to church on Sunday morning and take a change of clothes with us to change into after church. We would get better prices if we didn't show up at the Flea Market looking our Sunday best. Looking back on the weekly tradition, I can now applaud my Mom for being such an amazing strategist.

Let me tell you though, I didn't enjoy these trips to the Flea Market. I wanted to go to the mall instead. I felt embarrassed to be shopping for second hand items. There was only one thing that made it worth my time. My father would give me $1 and I would buy these "Pop Pop Snappers" and chase my dad around the isles throwing delicious little bags of annoyance at his feet. He would get so mad at me as they would pop around him. It was awesome.


Anyhoo...now as an adult, I can admit that I love going to the Flea Market. I am obsessed with all things vintage. I love the smell of an old dusty attic as I rummage through some old Ladie's junk. I love the thrill of finding something gloriously old and then haggling down the price.

We went to the ever so lovely J and J Flea Market over the holiday weekend. This place is a redneck paradise but if you take the time to hunt, you can find some fantastic treasures. I scouted out a few really cool vintage finds.

I found these cute Blossom snack sets that I'm going to give to my sister-in-law for Christmas. They are so retro that I fantasize about throwing a luncheon in honor of these dishes before I give them to her. I'd serve little finger sandwiches and float around the house in a vintage apron. I got two boxes full of these plates and cups for $10. SCORE!

I also found this dreamy 1939 Ship Menu that I'm going to give to my husband for Christmas. The scan does not do it justice. When Roger was a child, he had this fantastically flamboyant Uncle that would take him to Antique Malls. I believe that by spending countless hours surrounded by Antiques at such a young age, my husband grew up to become what I like to call a Renaissance Man. He has impeccable taste in art, furniture, nick knacks, and anything else you may find that is old and dusty. When I saw this menu I found it to be terribly romantic. I think that he will perch it proudly on our wall.

My heart almost skipped a beat when I saw two packs of this vintage "Mr. Holiday" wrapping paper. It was still in the original Hallmark packaging and is dated 1965. Pretty swank, huh?

I collect old magazines. It's so much fun to read the articles and look at the ads. I usually try to only by magazines from the 1950's (hands down my favorite era...hence all of the scanned 50's images on my Blog) but I just couldn't pass up this August 1935 American Magazine. I should have several hours worth of scanning ahead of me from the amazing ads in this issue.

So, there you have it. I'd say that it was a banner day at ye olde Flea Market.
I know that I must make my parents proud!