LIFE AT THE COTTAGE

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Come Flea With Me



If the thought of spending the day sorting through mounds of treasure–both old and new–sets your heart aflutter, have I got the perfect place for you!

The Raleigh Flea Market at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds is just such a place.  Being part community yard sale, part flea market, and part antiques and collectibles show ensures that there is something for everyone.


When visiting this particular flea market, I head straight for the yard sale section–at the very back of the complex.


 Seldom am I disappointed with the goods offered there, and I seem to always find a treasure or two–usually at give-away prices.


Not only do you find the typical yard sale fare–books, videos, clothing, and household goods–but often you'll find fabulous vintage and antique items stashed among them.


Once I have thoroughly scoured that section, I make my way to the flea market area.


Once again, think typical flea market–fresh fruit and vegetables, flowers, etc.  Then throw in beautiful jewelry, linens, and scads of vintage items to complete the picture.


When I am convinced that I have left no stone unturned in these two areas, I then venture over to the area always overflowing with wonderful antiques and collectibles.


The treasures here abound!  So why save this section to visit last?  While bargains can be had here, they are not as readily available–as is true in the other two areas.


If you are a scanner–as is my Yankee–you are apt to miss some of the most delightful goodies.


For example, a quick glance at this booth–while walking by–would not have uncovered the true treasures hidden within.


While the old storage chests were cool enough, they were not for sale.


Going in for a closer look revealed that the real goods were tucked inside.


Being the button junkie that I am, I could have spent an entire day just rummaging through these wonderful chests of glistening vintage and antique buttons.



Though it is one of my traits that drives the Yankee crazy, I think it pays to be a "detail" person.

After all, beauty is in the detail, right?!

Let's see if the Coloradolady's guests will enjoy these vintage thingies as much as you and I.


And we'll also visit Tales from Bloggeritaville while we're at it for





32 comments:

  1. What a wonderful market - I'd be in heaven!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. My goodness....I could have done some serious damage here!! How FUN!! I was eyeing all the vintage dishes and plates....have a great VTT!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wish I could come to Raleigh and go to the big flea market with you!! Sounds like a great time to me!!! I want all that white wicker and the buttons too! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks like a great market. I tend to spend almost all my time looking through postcards so I miss most other things.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, what a wonderful Flea. Is it once a year or open once a month? We have the Burlington Flea and Antique Market in Burlington, Ky every third weekend from May to October and the Tri-State Antique Market in Lawrenceburg, Ind. the first weekend of each month for the same duration. We usually try to hit them twice a season.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh wow this looks like too much fun! Happy VTT!

    Jocelyn
    http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. My heart is just beating fast looking at all the wonderful treasures to be had!! Thanks for sharing about the Raleigh Flea Market.
    Ann
    @
    The Tattered Tassel

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks like a great place to visit!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I could certainly have a great time checking this out, Liz! On my own though; hubby would never be that patient. You are absolutely right about looking carefully at the wares. Sometimes even in a retail store, for whatever reason, some of the best items are tucked away out of sight.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love flea markets, and wish that was going on when we where there. We have a few here and there over in my neck of the woods, but nothing to talk about. Thanks for stopping over. We are close to Charlotte NC....I truly do love the Carolinas.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh my, oh my! What a lovely place to spend the day!
    Thanks for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. That was fun. I'll have to take a second look at everything! Since I couldn't be there in person, the next best thing is virtual shopping at the flea while in my jammies with a hot cup of tea. Thanks for the fun tour!!

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

    ReplyDelete
  13. Looks like my kind of place! I'm looking forward to the first big flea market of the season here on Memorial Day weekend. So many treasures just waiting to be found!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Huh. My local flea is filled with... fleas. Mostly.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh, thanks for the tour...what a lovely day you must have had!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love shows like that! Wish I lived closer!~Patti

    ReplyDelete
  17. Good Morning! Oh boy could I have fun there...wish we had things like that closer to us but that's what happens when you move to the country. That's ok though...I still have garage sales to visit if I feel like heading into town or the city. Thanks for sharing your day with us! Maura:)

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a great place to visit. I would have had a field day at this flea market. Regardless, I enjoyed seeing it through your lens.

    ReplyDelete
  19. What treasures are to be found here.. I saw so many things I would have wanted to grab, but the buttons....ahhhh,those beautiful buttons.
    *sighs...if it's a button, I love it. Happy VTT.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I had been dying to go there for years and finally made it late last spring. It wasn't as crowded as it was in your pictures and I didn't come home with many treasures (perhaps it was an off day) but I really enjoyed looking around. I would love to make it back there one day.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thank you for the tour of that wonderful flea market! I love that it has a yard sale section and a farmer's market alongside. Now I'm itching to go, hope there's one this weekend! :)

    Happy VTT!
    Sally

    ReplyDelete
  22. What a WONDERFUL market. Wish we had something like that here. Thanks for taking us along :)

    Blessings!
    Gail

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love the Raleigh Flea Market! My family goes at least two weekends out of the month. I have many great finds from there and most are reasonably priced

    ReplyDelete
  24. This looks like a great market. Would love to visit some day.
    Debby

    ReplyDelete
  25. OOhh! I love a good Flea Market! and I could of gone through that button bin all day!

    ReplyDelete
  26. This makes me want to go to the flea market real bad! The last three Sundays have either been rainy or too cold. But I did so well at garage sales today, that it would be almost naughty to go to the flea too!
    Happy VTT!
    Carol

    ReplyDelete
  27. We don't have many great flea markets like this around here so thank you so much for sharing your trip to this fabulous flea market with us!!

    I love it and wish i could go!! Boo Hoo!
    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  28. Oh lookie! Our Flea Market! I haven't been there for quite awhile. You've got me wanting to get out there!

    I live in Raleigh!

    Deborah in North Carolina

    ReplyDelete
  29. Wow!, wish we had that kind of good available at our flea markets here! Of course, I'd be broke! I'd go crazy for the buttons and vintage linens!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Oh I love the Raleigh Flea Market, while there I also stop inside and get my favorite teas as the tea store there.

    Hugs!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh my goodness I have been at your site for a good 1 1/2 hrs. and enjoyed every minute of my visit. You are so inspiring with your creative talent and appreciation for beauty in the small things in life making them into delights for the eye. Thank you sincerely for the creative journey.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to comment.