The first big, open field flea market of the summer has come and gone but I'll always remember it because I have these photos to remind me of the things I should have bought.
I only came home with a few things, even though almost everything I see at an antique market, I like. Some pieces I LOVE but I'm able to walk away from them because of my hidden weapon - anxiety.
Do you have any idea how long it would take me to find a place to put the below suitcase in my house for instance? (I love vintage suitcases)
It would take me 5 crying bouts, an anxiety attack, 4 general tantrums and endless scenarios ending with me dropping to the floor in the fetal position - before I even started to rearrange things.
This due in part to the newly arrived pause in my meno. I believe it's official and complete but no one gives you a gold star for such things, they just give you vaginal creams and a pamphlet explaining why you'll never sleep again.
Also, in menopause related news I've suddenly developed sugar cravings. I have NEVER craved desserts or sugar or candy or cookies before. I'd eat them and like some of them but never once in my previous 50 years did I ever wake up to pee and also grab 3 or 4 cookies to eat on the way back to bed.
Last week I woke up in the morning with a half eaten cookie clutched in my hand.
I fell asleep mid cookie eating.
Sleep eating was never listed on the menopause pamphlet.
So I have enough anxiety going on with this whole menopause thing without also adding to it by buying things I don't need.
Just looking at that wicker basket gives me an unpleasant combination of glee and impending diarrhoea feelings.
I also had a difficult time saying no to the chocolate bunny molds even though I don't like anything about Easter except maybe this easter grass.
Blue & White Forever
I kept obsessing over the handless, dark blue, flow blue cup and saucers near the centre bottom of this photo. But I didn't buy them because I have extraordinary restraint and the space related antique anxiety disorder that presents as a trip to the Imodium aisle I mentioned earlier.
Everywhere you look. STUFF.
The VERY difficult thing about one day antique shows is that they're there and then they're gone.
So you have to decide right there on the spot which of these things you truly are going to love once you get it home.
Below you'll see my sister Pink Tool Belt holding a red wagon.
This was the look of genuine joy on her face when she saw this little wagon. She put it down to think about and if it was there when she went back to the booth she would then buy it.
It wasn't, she didn't, she's sad.
The worst part is you really don't know what you're going to regret until you get home.
You dont' know what you're going to regret buying or what you're going to regret NOT buying.
How to make the right decision at antique shows
- Picture it away from the show and alone, in your house. Is it still great?
- Know your prices. If you don't know the value of something check the booth to see if their other prices seem to be in line with current market value. If not - you're item is probably overpriced as well.
- To get a DEAL buy things the seller doesn't specialize in. For instance, I bought a little ironstone vase for $5 once because the booth vendor didn't care about ironstone. They were selling art mainly and just happened to have this one piece of ironstone, so they basically gave it away. From a vendor that specializes in ironstone the vase probably would have been $35.
- Have you ever seen anything like it before? If not, it's worth a second look because chances are you might never see it again.
- Do you have room for it and if not are you willing to get rid of something else to accommodate it? If you don't like it more than what you already own it isn't worth buying.
If you don't mind a little anxiety diarrhea and home rearranging then go nuts. Buy what you want. Like a Noxema sunburn sign.
Or a giant pig. Or a giant weird thing that might be Barney Rubble in the form of an ice cream cone.
Of all the things at the antique show, these are the two things I CANNOT STOP thinking about. Not the two things above, the two pieces of art below.
When I first saw them the words that came out of my mouth in no particular order were:
- omg
- i don't even know what to say
- i mean they're awful
- So, so awful
- I love them
- Why yes, I think you're right, they do appear to be the same person so one must be their drag persona.
I like creepy portraits. I love them in fact. And even though I still can't stop staring at these I feel like they're maybe a bit more than creepy.
I wouldn't trust them to not kill me in my sleep. HAHAHAHAHAHA. I don't sleep.
Continuing on ....
I had no desire to buy any of the ceramic white people cake toppers.
I also don't understand people's obsession with collecting signs, even though they do look fun. I assume they're bought by fancy people who own a garage to hang it in and have a 28' long Buick Riviera to get it home with.
Knobs for grabbing.
Don't ask me, I have no idea what it is.
We're almost at the point of the journey where I show you what I bought.
But first, if you missed the puzzles last week were from the above photo you can still do them here.
So what did I get? With all my whining about not having space, I bought things that stack. 4 restaurant-ware ironstone plates and a mortar and pestle.
And the tiny vase in behind is my $5 ironstone bud vase. It's one of those things that I still love after getting it home.
And the plates are ones diners would have used to serve french fries on. I will do the same with them.
But I guess now I'll also have to use one for cookies.
Anna
The meno gets better. In fact, I feel better now than when I was in that crazy perimenopause. The sugar craving is still there but it’s not as intense.
karen david
I'm so happy to hear about the cookies - i also am sprouting a sweet tooth for the first time in my life post-meno. And tell pink tool belt to keep looking - i have that little wagon and put it under our tree with tiny gifts. I love it and bought it cheap.
Jan in Waterdown
I know i shouldn’t judge, but that couple in the portraits are NOT good lookin’ people…. or maybe just an artist with no talent? Either way, they’d be great to hang in a guest bathroom over the loo.
Robin
OMG 😳 after my hysterectomy I turned into a sugarholic I couldn't understand why I couldn't get enough! Must be a side effect?? Also in reference to your suitcase... I saw in a magazine once where they cut one like that in half long ways and attached it somehow to a wall staggering both pieces for shelving in a stairwell it looked awesome!
Karen
That just led me to thinking that one cut in half lengthwise could be inserted into stair risers as little drawers. ~ karen!
Jody
I don't have FOMO now...but I definitely have F*$%&#@ Missed Out!
Karen
Don't worry, even though it was one of the better Aberfoyle shows i've been to, it's no Christies! ~ karen
Kat
Antique markets are why I tell my husband we need a bigger house than the tiny 1250square foot one we live in now. He’s not buying the idea; a she shed will be the compromise. 😊
Karen
I think it's why people buy cottages and beach houses. Another place to decorate! ~ karen
Deb from Maryland
Great pictures! I'm have the same internal dialog - if one comes in, one will have to to out. Or maybe to another room. And as always, your story telling in on point - both for the Flea and for your meno journey. ;)
Mary W
Now at this point in time, LUBRICATION sign over the bed! That man portrait is the creepiest thing I've ever seen! His head is too big for his body, it is sooooo strange. I just knew when I first saw it, you bought it for halloween.
Another Karen
So now it makes sense, those nights I woke up with chocolate from the York Peppermint Patties melted into my hair. It was menopause that made me eat the chocolate in the middle of the night…
Karen
That makes sense. Mint has a cooling effect. So eating York Peppermint Patties in bed is just common sense body temperature regulation. 🤓 ~ karen!
Kay
Mom keeps them in the fridge. Enhances the mints cooling effect. Not sure if frozen would be better or just hard. Hmm?
The really weird thing is I'd had hot flashes starting about two years after "the cycle" first hit. Now that I'm actually in (early onset) pause of meno, no hot flashes. Its about time! Although I think the idiots are trying to creep back. Hard to tell with out much air conditioning reaching my room. The same idiot thing that brought on the early pause has also caused intestinal ulcers. Ugh. They can cause my guts to heat up like an oven. Seriously, I've nearly burnt my hand on my stomach. It's weird. Too bad I'm not one of those people who is always cold. I'd be plenty warm now! Oy! 🙃P.s. That > is NOT a chocolate kiss emoji! Ew! 💩
Christy
Wait for the salty thing. And then the midnight dance… something sweet then something salty. sweet/salty sweet/salty. W.t.a.f.
Jane
Ooh, that wicker basket! Just love wicker!
Karen
Isn't it a fantastic basket?! ~ karen
Adrienne
Please, oh please do a post dedicated to any and all of your weird meno symptoms so we can all compare notes! I'll start: internal vibrations that make my body feel like there's a tractor running in me. Heartbeat/whoosh in my ear, heart palpitations, irrational anxiety that appears out of nowhere and disappears just as fast. Those are just the odd ones. What the actual eff?
Also, I almost came home with a sexy, busty lady statue/end table situation at Aberfoyle two years ago. She was in a red gown and was gloriously creepy. She was Miss Piggy, but human...and made of ceramic. A conversation starter that my friends with kids would surely insist I cover before a visit, but I wouldn't. The one that got away.
Karen
Will do! ~ karen
Marilyn Meagher
Those pictures were 🤮 and my Achilles heel is the bling ! All of the rhinestones. All of the rhinestones. ALL !
Emie
Just want to comment on the "lubrication" sign, what???? I have so many questions.
Please let Pink Tool Belt know she's got great taste in outfits! The t-shirt with jeans and pearls is spot on!!! Love, Love, Love it!
Linda W
I agree. The pearls were the first thing I noticed lol
Theresa Romatowski
Yes, I said, "Really, pearls to a flea market, why not, they look great. I may wear mine on my next flea market trip." Looking so original. I love the signs too.
Karen
I will let her know. Although she's probably reading these comments so you may have already let her know yourself! ~ karen
Lisa M Herzberger
Love this!! I would also love a DYI water feature article specifically A fountain! I REALLY want one and I don't have hundreds of dollars to spend on one!
Karen
Hi Lisa. You can make a fountain out of almost anything watertight and a pump. I'll add it to my list of potential summer projects. :) ~ karen!
Ellen
The "don't ask" character in the barrel looks remarkably like Bonhomme Carnaval! We spent far too much time in the 70s making paper mache.
Karen
It is possible! I can see it. ~ karen
Valerie
I was gonna say that. You beat me to it!
Kat - the other 1
I think I need that basket holding the creepy teddy bears. And that red barn thing. Somebody seems to have found or stolen Aunt Clara's doorknob collection. I'm sure she's worried. Someone should return those to her. If my husband brought home that giant pig it would have to stay out in the front yard. (Make the neighbors look at it. Ha!) I'd hate it but I've seen worse. If he brought home the ice cream cone guy, one and or both would have to be out in the front yard. On fire. 😁 Good thing I don't have a husband to set on fire. Err, um, I mean to bring home ugly things. Yeah, that's what I meant. Uh huh... Hey, where'd oh get a pamphlet? I think mine got lost in the mail...
Karen
I'm happy for your nonexistent husband's nonexistence!😆 ~ karen!
Dottie Doughet
Pretty cute and you made me laugh out loud.
And, seriously from m my vantage point of 83 years, I like your rules.
I can still remember the pounding in my chest when I saw the cherry wood blind corner cupboard I had traveled from Oregon to Ohio to buy at auction.
Dottie
Karen
It's an exciting feeling! An auction gets my heart pounding even if I'm not bidding on anything.😅 ~ karen!
Mama Toto
"Pause in my meno" !!! You crack me up!
Randy P
I have oft heard that the right time to buy something at a bazaar is the moment you see it..... since if you leave it and then come back it WILL be gone. Oh, and......'find those paintings...........buy those paintings......become one with those paintings.' Your meno will thank you.
Karen
It's a weird relationship between myself and those paintings. Definitely not a healthy relationship but there you have it. It is my lot in life to have unhealthy relationships with inanimate objects. ~ karen!
Robin
Sounds like a fun day. Your poor sister's happy face . . . then your comments about how she didn't get her little wagon. SOOO funny! Those creepy portraits; now I can't stop thinking about them. Were they real people or in someone's imagination? If they were real, I want to know everything about them.
Karen
I'd guess they were real, Robin. I know the vendor gets the majority of his wares in Europe and they would be authentic family portraits from somewhere! eep ~ karen
Dottie Dougher
The truth is, you never will. They teach us that things are fun in this life. Not to worry you haven’t family that will keep them, perhaps they will make someone else muse and smile.
“Vanity of vanities sayeth the preacher, all is vanity. “