Flea Market Finds, a Lesson Learned and a List

We went to the Long Beach Flea Market this weekend.

We went specifically to look for lights for our kitchen.  We have those terrible florescent lights on the ceiling and they have got to go.

As is so often the case when you are looking for something specific, we could not find what we wanted. But we did see a lot of other great stuff.

Like these thermoses.  Aaron has quite the obsession with thermoses.

When you visit the flea market with small children, you can be assured of visits to all the vintage toy booths.  James is developing quite an appreciation for vintage toys.  We're raising that boy right.

I just saw a spread in Ready Made magazine about a couple who collected tin doll houses.  I had never seen them before and thought they were pretty great.
They are.  Here is one I found.  Good thing it was too rickety to be played with, or I would have wanted to bring it home.

It was hard to get a good picture of the inside of each room, but you can kind of see how each one is decorated differently.  Look at the kitchen, bathroom and nursery.  So cute.

I always like to get a vintage gift for my new babies. For $12 this was a good find.
And please don't send me emails about the lead in these blocks and how I should not let my baby play with them.
Don't worry.  They would be for decoration only, not for chewing on.

Here's one of my obsessions.  Don't you love that red orange color?  I think I am ready to expand the typewriter collection in this house.  I'm now on the lookout for #2.

There is furniture too.  Check out this table top.  I love it.

Being married to Aaron has made me notice and appreciate things like this font.  And the rusty, worn wagon it adorns.  And also words like atomic and rockets are a direct Aaron influence.  The man has warped me.

I think everyone should have one of these hooked to their tvs.
Except that most everything you turn on would make the arrow go straight to the red.

This was one of my most favorite finds of the day.
A tin, wind up cuckoo clock.
How very cool is that?

But the coolest find of the day was the vintage, roll up map of California.  
I have wanted one of these maps for ages.  
They are hard to find.
And expensive.
This was one of the best prices I have seen.
And it was beautiful.  The colors were perfect for our house.  
But we waffled.
And when we came back, it was gone.


I almost cried.  I know.
Lame.
I learned my lesson.
If you see something at the flea market that you have wanted forever and it is a good price, just go for it!


Also, make a list.
It can be overwhelming to look through all that stuff and inevitably, you will let things slip by because amidst all that stuff you can't remember the things you are always looking for.
I began composing my list on Sunday afternoon and will keep it in my wallet for when I go estate saling, garage saling or flea marketing.


Here it is thus far:
Molded plastic chairs like this
Vintage pottery for my patio like this
Type writers
Vintage camping equipment
A pole lamp for Aaron like this
Vintage state glasses
Red Bakelite bracelets
Danish Modern wooden candle sticks like this
Melamine dishes, especially for a tea set like this
Vintage rotary phones
And, of course, vintage pull down maps.


I will add to my list as things come to me.
What would be on your list?


Love from,
Greta
PS.  That cuckoo clock is now sitting on my bookshelf giving me quite a bit of pleasure.
My husband surprised me.  He is sweet like that.