last weekend, while my mamallama was in town, we spent a lovely afternoon wandering the chelsea flea market. and oh, flea markets. shall i wax poetic?
when we lived in idaho there was a little antique mall down the way that i stalked like a crazy person. i mean, i was there every weekend. me and my icy cold mcdonald's diet coke, we spent hours at that place. i knew the layout by heart and could spot new pieces from the front door. occasionally the owner would set things aside for me that she knew i would like. we were broker than humpty dumpty and the hunt for inexpensive things i could love forever was seriously addicting. i tried to be careful and passed up on so many amazing things in the process... what i did buy at that antique mall always gave me such anxiety. after all this time, i wish i could go back to my old self and tell her "buy MORE!" because without exception, every piece that i brought home was a total treasure. and SO inexpensive. i'm talking perfect-condition clothing from the 1930s at $4 a pop ... a wagon wheel toddler bed with wooden steer horns at the foot from the 1950s for $50 (oh huck! you need that wagon wheel toddler bed!) ... and those same cathrineholm enamel bowls i passed up over and over are going for six times as much out here! old natalie, quit dinking around and just buy that stuff. crap.
vintage regret is the worst kind of regret, write that on my tombstone.
thrifting out here is all fun and games till you see the prices, yeeeouch. i was a good girl this weekend and left everything behind for future thrifters with bigger pockets. am i turning over a new leaf? is this the end of my thrifting era? i even passed on that buck trophy who i was certain was named harold, and why don't husbands feel as strongly about buck trophies named harold as their wives do? such a mystery.
on our way home we happened to walk through the craziest street fair we've ever seen. it was a little bit alarming. and though we were too late for fried oreos (seriously the greatest things ever), we were not too late for miniature sweet potato pies, so now i'm going to put in some photos and call it a day.
this stall had the greatest collection of vintage children's toys, i was dying to bring some home for huck.
p.s. a really flea market in manhattan for perusing
is the chelsea antiques garage,
25th street between 6th and 7th avenue
no, not boring! i loved this post! thrifting is my favorite. oh, how i long to thrift every single day with unlimited money. i'd thrift before real shopping, yes i would. it definitely brings the worst regret of all. lovely photos. xo
ReplyDeleteSuch a great post! I really love flea markets.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you say this post is boring because right before you wrote that I was thinking, "I love this post, I'm so interested and hanging on every word."
ReplyDeleteI love old crap too. But maybe not those old freaky mannequin heads which I assume were used for styling at a beauty school.
Oh my! Huck looks super cute today!!
ReplyDeleteI'm dying to go to some antique stores here in Scotland. They have big antique fairs too. Loads of people bring their stuff and sell it on an old estate. I bet I could finally decorate my flat!
Maybe next week, we're going to a kilt run this weekend and my 16 month old just got his very own kilt! Woo hoo!
Great post! I live in Utah and you are tempting me to drive to Idaho one of these weekends... I can never find anything at the DI.
ReplyDeleteboring schmoring this post is NOT! i'm a flea market/antiquing addict myself and i know that feeling of not-buying remorse oh so well. last fall i saw two smallish framed drawings of two 1920s flapper girls.. the colors were so perfect and the portraits were of the side profile of their faces.. at $30, i thought i'd just have to pass on them and keep looking. i never went back to that booth and i so regret it :( your photos are great, my dear. hope you enjoyed your time with your mama
ReplyDeleteDoes that painting of the dog seriously say Peter!? Oh Natalie!
ReplyDeleteThose dolls heads are the creepiest things ever - not even you can make those anything other than deeply terrifying. But those antique watches??? Get one. Get two...I think they're you.
ReplyDeleteThey're me, basically, and in my absence, I'd love you to buy one!
Umm the picture of the open casket is creepy, as are the doll heads! Ick! That said, I love thrifting. I'm from a small towns NF our antique/thrift stores are dirt cheap. I am always wishing they were closer so that I could constantly stalk the new arrivals. Now that I live in a big city, the prices for vintage are outrageous!! Even Craigslist is a bunch of overpriced trash. Yuck.
ReplyDeletei cannot fathom why you didn't buy all those doll heads. I mean, c'mon!
ReplyDeleteHello! $10 doll heads?! Ha! I love thrifting. I've got to do it more often. Oh and yard sale-ing! Love that too!
ReplyDeleteI would have HAD to buy that picture of the lady in the casket! And then framed it!
ReplyDeletethose photos of Huck are the cutest baby pictures I think I've ever seen! Does he hold Brandon's ears while he rides on his shoulders?! CAAAA-UTE!
ReplyDeleteI love thrifting. I'm a recent convert because other peoples stuff used to freak me out. But now I love the thrifting. Although I have to drive quite a distance to get to the big antique store and The Hubs does not share the love of this.
ReplyDeletewww.accidentallybeautiful.com
oh wow, who wouldn't want to shop this! all of these images are absolutely beautiful! you capture the city beautifully!
ReplyDeleteand that little antique mall in idaho sounds like a dream!!!
xo TJ
Looks like a terrific adventure!!! I know what you mean about thrifting in the truest sense of the word, too. It's so wonderfully exciting! My absolute favorite junk shop find is this exquisite old antique desk dating from the very late 19th/early 20th centuries. It was apparently an estate sale piece that the shop owner's wife picked up...and then sold to me for a fantastic price. Best of luck in your own future antiquing expeditions! (Oh yes: and I *totally* agree that that deer's name is Harold - he really looks like one!)
ReplyDeleteOh, I am slightly creeped out by the doll heads and dancer, although in a can't look away kinda way. =)
ReplyDeleteAloha,
Nicole
localsugarhawaii.com
I have to say that I LOVED that you called your mom "mamallama" - that's my nickname for my mom too. :)
ReplyDeletethrifting rocks. hands down...
ReplyDeleteIt cracked me up that on the picture where you say the store has the best kids toys, two of the most prominent items are large metal scissors and a crucifix. Those were my favorite toys as a kid. :) haha!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy I found your blog! Such a refreshing read and Huck is just a heartbreaker! x
ReplyDeleteAny hints as to where the antique mall in Idaho is? For those of us stuck in this abysmal wasteland.
ReplyDeleteThere are some advantages to living on the palouse. Not many...but some.
ReplyDeletesoooo, i live in idaho. mind spilling the beans on your favorite little antique shop?
ReplyDeletejust commenting to join the resounding 'not-a-boring-post-at-all-i-loved-it' chorus!
ReplyDeleteI don't know you personally but I totally wish I did. We'd be friends. I'm a stalker and I am telling you that we'd be friends. Love your wit. And your style. :) Wanted to share your words with my readers today. You're just funny!
ReplyDeletehttp://theproperpinwheel.com/2012/06/fresh-find-friday-37/
Oh but Natalie! The creepy doll heads and the Wanda necklace. How could you not?
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and you.
you look like olive oyl from 'popeye' in those pictures!
ReplyDeletep.s. i google-image searched 'olive oyl' and found this blog post about shoes designed to look like dolls and well, i couldn't not share http://www.shoeko.com/tag/olive-oyl maybe it will inspire a babble post (would YOU wear shoes that look like doll's heads?, DIY cartoon head heels, etc.)
Oh, wow, thanks for the tip! Thrifting (especially when it concerns fascinating, pretty, and/or old things) is one of my favorite pastimes, but I didn't have the insider's scoop on a NYC thrift destination. I'll be making a visit at the Antique Garage next time I'm in town.
ReplyDelete