Hooked on the OG Flea

Saturday was a big, fun day filled with yard sales throughout town and the giant flea market. And I'm hooked on the Ocean Grove Flea Market! (Hop over to Hooked on Houses to see what everyone else is hooked on.)

We started out pretty early, fueled by Dunkin' Donuts coffee and pocketfuls of dollar bills. (Wait a minute...we sound like go-go dancers... .) My friend Jim "I'm-not-buying-anything-I-just-sold-my-house-and-everything's-in-storage-don't-need-anything" made it about 500 yards from my front door before making his first purchase of the day. When your name is Jim, and you love kitsch, and there's 11 of these sitting at a yard sale for 10 cents each...

...it's hard to walk away. The conversation with the owner went something like, "Jim -- can I call you Jim? -- I need to buy these from you like I need a hole in the head." And, into the box they went.

Across the street from the Jims, Karen found this great little silverplate bowl in perfect condition for $2.

Then we passed this note, one of many found on furniture pieces on someone's curb:

As my neighbor said, "Only in Ocean Grove." And if I was in the market for a set of four ladder back chairs, I would have totally tucked $40 into the window of the Mazda.

After yard saling we worked our way to the flea, and the nice weather made it hard to concentrate...on anything other than the interesting clothing people choose to wear in public when it's hot out. Wowza. But we were able to focus long enough to spy this fabulous outdoor dining set, solid as a rock and marked $145 for the set:

It was already sold or it would have been a shore house contender for sure. At the same booth (a good one!) my friend Karen picked up this vintage swine sign for her kitchen for $25:

Mister "I'm not buying..." Jim picked up a pair of very cool lamps for only $5 each. I forgot to take pictures, but they are sort of mini milk cans with great typography on them (one with a "1" and the other with a "3") and since we're hooked on fonts, that was good enough.

He also scored this amazing tin sign for $60 (marked $85. I really need to learn how to bargain...). It's big (maybe four feet long?) and beautiful. And we had to Google to see where the village was (central Pennsylvania, fyi).

He also picked up this bribe pin for the realtor helping him find a new condo. For 50 cents, I think it was money well spent.

I picked up three cookie cutters for 50 cents each that will be crafted into Christmas ornaments:

I was convinced not to buy this desk and chair for the guest bedroom (everyone thinks we should stick with a pew or some sort of similar bench for the The Napoleon Room). It was marked $195 for the set but "very negotiable" (that's code for "please buy this so I don't have to schlep it home!").

And I was tempted by this fabulous red bike, but with three vintage bicycles in the basement (five bikes total), I think it's best just lusting from afar. (And how did I miss the Jesus paint-by-numbers in the background until I saw this photo? Whoa.)

And I didn't have a place for this beautiful piece ($300) but I sure did love it...

Then there were the, um, unique items. Like Eleanor in oil ($250)...

...and this meticulously crafted needlepoint (had it been less than $15 I think Jim and I may have arm wrestled for it) with its meticulously crafted message:

I went home a little sad that I only managed to grab three cookie cutters. I mean, come on! I'm better than that. So...I went back in later in the day.

I found this pair of glass candlesticks for $4. I've been looking for something unique to use with two clear glass hurricanes. Black glass...so cool! Until the woman I bought them from said, as I was paying her, "Isn't the purple glass stunning?" Purple? Oops. But they are very dark...even out in the sun:

Then a set of six Wm. Rogers fancy forks ($10). I guess good things come in sixes; I bought a set of six knives earlier this year and a set of six spoons just a few weeks back at the Avon townwide yard sale. "Shore house, party of six!"

Look at the detail on the back:

We've also been looking for an inexpensive quilt rack. Two of our bedrooms have no closets so a compact clothing/towel/whatever rack is something we've been on the hunt for. How I missed this in the morning ($15) I have no idea! Just glad it was still there waiting for me in the afternoon.

It cleaned up great, and of course I think it's also the perfect display piece for my Labor of Love:

And last but not least, I picked up postcards from a lovely woman in town who's cleaning out her Bed & Breakfast. I bought some odds and ends from her last week (and come to think of it...what did I do with the pictures of that stuff?! Hmmm...), so she let me have these cards for 50 cents each. Most are super old, and that scallop-edged one is fabric and hand painted. I'll tuck these into gifts. So much nicer (and eco-friendly!) than your typical Hallmark (with apologies to Hallmark).

She also had a VERY old dress form that she said I could have for $20. I passed, mostly thinking that the purchase would put the man of the shore house over the top. "But...you don't SEW." I'm still having non-buyers' remorse over that one.

But there will always be more sales around the corner.