today my parents and i went to two new flea markets we had never been to before. one in connellsville, and one on the way back from connellsville. i am not too good with directions or towns, so i can't say exactly where it was. i think maybe coraopolis. it's interesting how different flea markets can be. the first one we went to was at an old drive in theater. it really was mostly junk. people had extremely cheap items, most under $3.00. some lady even shouted out anything on her table was free because she didn't want to pack it all back up. people had items thrown in the dirt and really didn't seem to care about the value or condition of what they had. my dad found quite a few cheap cans and tins that he will surely sell on ebay & make a nice profit from. my mom and i got 4 zucchinis for $1.00(more about what became of mine in a future post). good deal! i found a little bird candle for 25 cents, and then found what turns out to be one of my favorite finds in a long time...
it's a little wooden thread spool holder! it can sit like a bleacher on a table, or it can fold flat & hang on a wall, which is what i will end up doing. it has a nice wood flower inlay on top. i think it has a lot of character, and it's also quite useful. a great find! it came with all the thread too, and a thimble. all for the bargain price of $4.oo. not bad. i also found a cook book for sam with lots of simple game recipes. we left the first flea market & rushed over to the next. sellers at flea markets tend to pack up and leave relatively early - around 11:00 or noon. we have the theory that the earlier you get there, the better "junk" you'll find. we aren't crazy enough to wake up at 5:00 am though, so we usually get there around 8:00-10:00. however, there are some advantages to arriving late; sellers that don't want to pack up all of their items are more likely to give you a better deal, just so they don't have to deal with packing it all up again. this was the case when we arrived at our next stop. 
my mom and i have sort of an obsession with "rescuing" discounted plants that are dying or are just done blooming for the season. we check out all of the lowes around (fyi - lowes sells discounted plants in the back of their greenhouse area. you can get 6 packs of flowers for as little as 10 cents! most of the time the plants just need a little water & to get into the ground) for cheap plants that need a home. so, when the first seller at this particular flea market had a huge lot with tons of plants, we went running toward them. the seller had ridiculous deals on perennials from this year that had already bloomed, but will come back bigger and better next year & for years to come. they typically cost $4.00-$6.00 per plant. on a good discount day at lowes you can get them for $1.00-$3.00 each. this seller had flats of 15 plants for $5.00. that's about 30 cents per plant! crazy! so of course, my mom and i began picking out our favorites. we shared one flat, deciding 15 was more than enough, seeing as we are both running out of room for flowers. 
i picked up this unique little strawberry planter that is shaped like an envelope (weird) for $1.00, and this old wooden tool box that i plan on lining & filling with flowers for $5.00. my dad got a few more cans & some other random things. my mom, who is better at resisting the urge to buy things she doesn't need (and keep me from buying way too much junk), just got the flowers & zucchini.all in all, it was a fun day. it's nice to hear stories from my mom and dad about items they remember having or seeing when he was small. i think i spent $12.00 total for all these treasures! it's fun because most of these items are things you can't just go out to the store and find any day. the excitement of finding a good deal on a unique item keeps me going back for more. if you haven't been to a flea market before, summer is the perfect time to find one near by and get out there! happy junking!
No comments:
Post a Comment