Flea Market Adventures

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by Brandi Herrera Pfrehm
Sept. 11, 2008

I am a junkie. That’s right; addicted.

Right now, I’m going through withdrawals. Haven’t had my fix this week. The dusty remnants of the last time hang in my nostrils—I can’t control the twitching anticipation of my next hit. I fidget and toss around in my bed and try to make myself fall asleep.

My name is Brandi Herrera Pfrehm: I am addicted to The Salvation Army.

And Goodwill.

And Saint Vincent de Paul.

Bargain Boutique.

The Orange Peel.

And the holy grail of all thrift stores, NUTS.

Neat Used Things for Sale? Dear God, yes there are. And they’re located right here on Millsaps Ave.

Do I need one more mismatched china saucer or ceramic sugar and creamer set? Not exactly. Is it necessary for me to purchase another coffee mug or chipped vase, cardigan with missing buttons or old lady scarf with a horse motif? I’m going to wager at “no.” But it sure is a hell of a lot of FUN!

And because I tend on obsessively organized, my wild imagination is always up to concocting some alternative [read: Type A] use for such commonplace items. I’m big on utilizing things in ways they were never intended, especially for the purpose of obsessive organization.

Tea cups as jewelry storage, a juice pitcher to corral kitchen utensils, Asian sauce ramekins cradle votives, a ceramic sugar container perfectly houses Q-Tips and cotton balls, and a flowerpot’s perfect for headbands. The list could go on and on, because let’s face it- there are infinite possibilities for that battered old bookshelf. It just needs a little love!

So go ahead and feel good about purchasing a cracked glass baking dish. You might never make a batch of brownies with it, but it would work really well to hold magazines and remotes on the coffee table.

Just one word of caution: if you come upon a gem, snatch it up NOW. Leave the store to “think on it” and I promise you, it will be gone when you return. I learned this lesson the hard way last month when I passed up a really sweet 1960s wood laminate side table. In a delusional state of price consciousness (it was a whole $12), I went home to mull it over. And now it’s sitting in some wise—and very stylish—person’s living room. No, not mine. Bah Humbug.

 
posted by on 09/11/08 at 02:48 PM. [printer-friendly version]