Hello, my darling friends! When last we spoke, I was making plans to hit up the Springfield Antique Show & Flea Market, located in the armpit bucolic, southwestern portion of Ohio. (Little known fact: Springfield was named the, "unhappiest city in America", in 2011. Don't believe me? Here ya go!) And so, on one of the hottest, and most allergy-laden days of May thus far, that's exactly what my boyfriend and I did.
We arrived at the fairgrounds quite a bit later than we had originally anticipated...due to the fact that the turnout was HUGE, and the one lone, retired, 90-plus-year-old-sheriff was a little slow moving in the directing of traffic off of Interstate 70.
After begrudgingly handing over our $24.00 (What the hell!!! It was $10.00 only two years ago!!!) entrance fee, we were shown our parking space by a scowling, older gentleman who had more sweat stains than he did teeth.
Upon vacating the car, and walking the mile and a half through tall grass and biting, winged critters, our noses were met with the smell of yummy, fried goodness. Ahhhhh....funnel cakes! Things were looking up!
I will forewarn you, some of the photos I took didn't turn out too hot. I apologize for that. I also apologize for the "guest appearances" made by some people who have no business being photographed. Ever. I tried to crop out as many as I could, but you will notice the occasional creepy bare foot, and/or a grimace or two. (The facial expression, not the beloved McDonald's character.)
One thing I did notice this year was the overabundance of crafting items. In all of my years of attending this thing, I have NEVER seen so many flash cards, Scrabble tiles, bingo cards, typewriter keys, metal letters, and vintage milk tabs. They were in almost every single "shop" and, although lovely to look at, were outrageously priced. It just goes to show you how hot crafting has become...again.
Lunch time. Seriously, the best brat in the U.S...Schmidt's! I was MORE than ecstatic to see that Schmidt's had set up shop at the flea market. If you find yourself in Columbus, Ohio, and you're craving brats, or even a half-pound "Jumbo Cream Puff" (yes...that is a real thing), this is the place you'll want to hit up. I would recommend the actual restaurant, though. Unless you enjoy standing in line for 30 minutes at local fairs and festivals. It's THAT popular. We opted for their regular brat, with sauerkraut. But, although delicious looking, we passed on the half-pound cream puff. There's something not right about ordering anything with cream in it, in 90 degree heat..ya know?
One of our fellow Schmidt's fans, enjoying the sun in her "Tangerine Tango" tutu.
The next photo is one of the last few pics I took. Although the furniture was pretty cool, especially that old pie safe, my stomach was not prepared for his display of alligator purses. Now, when I say "alligator purse" most of you will think of alligator skin. Okay, keep thinking that...but add a head, feet, and a tail. It was an actual alligator, molded into a purse shape. Yes, I have seen them before, but not immediately after ingesting a brat as big as my head. 'Nuff said
Of course, no trip to the flea market would be complete without a funnel cake. So, on our way out, we just had to stop and, well, our conversation went something like this, "Wait...what...what does that sign say? Is that for real? Do you think that maybe they hung that as a joke? Oh dear, I don't think they did, cause they don't look like the joking types. In fact, they look downright sweaty, angry, and not very good-humored, AT ALL. Should we even get a funnel cake? Well, maybe they got a deal on the sign cause it's missing a letter. I mean, an IMPORTANT letter, but maybe they thought it was funny....???"
As it turns out, the allure of the funnel cake won out over our safety, and off we went with our paper-plate-covered, plastic-bag-melting, blob of powdered-sugar-covered, fried dough. Yum.
As for the goodies we brought home, aside from heartburn and a thin layer of grease, I managed to pick up a couple of sweet little embroidered pillowcases, some heart-shaped glass ashtrays for my earrings, a bright orange and gold planter, and a fabulous stack of children's books. All in all, a pretty good haul for less than $30.00!
Okay, my darlings, I hope this post gave you a few chuckles. Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit, and I hope you have a fab-u-lous week!
Much love to you all,
xoxoxoDeirdre

