Opening Day!!!

Ah, I finally feels like spring here. Opening Day has arrived, and I'm not talking baseball.  Here in New England on Boston's North Shore we have a little tradition called Todd's Farm Flea Market.  It opened today, to my surprise... I was thinking it was opening in a few weeks because my brain is still feeling like winter.  Anyways, I discovered this while cooking breakfast and told my kids. Their reaction is even more excited than mine...

Why and how are my kids excited to trudge through fields of mud to look at an endless  mix of great finds and random crap?

Great finds...

Mama likes.

random crap...

This is how, I know their weakness... cars. And at every flea market, junk shop, yard sale or thrift shop there is the occassional toy car.

So I make them work. Earn stars for chores. A star is worth 10 cents. They can cash them in and spend their hard earned coin when they wish, but they have learned they can get a bag full of old cars from the flea market for the same price as one new one from Toys-R-us. 

My older one has also learned charm goes along way and works an occassional freebie or two-for from the sweet old ladies.  Mom gets a clean house and gets to look at junk with out background whining, and kids get a life lesson and some crappy cars. WIN-WIN.

A Very Brady Outing- A Boston Must Do

My family and I hit the SOWA Vintage Market this morning in Boston. Talk about my "happy place"... I love me some vintage and did they ever have it! We picked up a few items.  The boys got some signage. (My husband was a sign maker so he loves collecting it.) We loved the orange 26 (the other side reads 38) from a gas station, and my oldest wanted the danger sign... he is just a little obsessed with cars. Not quite sure yet where any of its going yet...

Mama got some vintage Trifari bling...

My littlest wanted this chair...

He liked that it was small and swiveled, and I was quite impressed with his taste for a three year old, but he lost the argument. Now if he mentioned recovering it in some Trina Turk, I would have considered him highly gifted and bought it for him on the spot.

It was quite cute, but it stayed at the market.

There was so much great stuff to see...

If you are in the neighborhood it is open until 5:00 today.

The orange sign below almost made it home with us for the kitchen...

I really liked the lamp and wooden map...

and this wall sculpture...

They have a large section of painted repurposed furniture...

Oh, and check out this Lucite bench... $100 and its yours.

Don't forget the vintage clothing and baubles (MY fave).

If you are in the Boston area you need to stop in.  Today was a smaller venue, as will be Sunday

April 3rd, but come mid-May to October 31st it will be going full force and will be open Sundays 10-4.

Be sure to say "hello" to my new friends Stephanie Pernice and John Warren, creators of this wonder happening. The Herricks will definitely be back!

Kicking myself

OK, I'm going to shut my yap about Flea Market season right after I finish this post.  Here is what you missed if you didn't get to the annual opening of Todd's Farm Fleamarket in Rowley, MA this Sunday.  We got there late (9:30 because my husband HAD to go running... Geesh!  Where was his head at?)  Here is a sampling of what I wish I bought.  Kick, kick, kick.  I only left with an old globe for $10. (I was feeling cheap at the time, and thought I really couldn't fit another chair into my house.  Where was MY head  at?)

How great are these?  The dealer looked like Santa and wanted $50 for both.  It really was like Christmas.

Loved the yellow bamboo armoire. Already sold by the time I got there.

Great table for $45!  I'm liking the chandy too.

These 60's war-era posters were very cool. Was thinking of framing these for my son's room, but at $75,  cheapness reared its head.  The guy was all set with haggling too.

So wish I bought these 6 chairs, $50 for all, deal of the day.  Would look so great with new fabric, and they were throwing a table in with the deal.

And some more cool chairs and stuff...

Next time, NEXT TIME!

OK, I'm done.