Love it or Leave it

I thought it was about time I popped back in to say hi! It's no surprise that I've been letting this little blog of mine fall by the wayside...again. Most of the time I think "no one wants to read about my boring little life," but to be completely honest, I'm not really doing this for anyone else except me. I have never admitted to being a "writer" but I find it therapeutic. Growing up I have always kept a journal of some sort starting with my Hello Kitty diary in 3rd grade. :) It's fun to go back and read years later, just like I do with this blog. I started this blog right before Buie and I were married and this summer we will celebrate 7 years of marriage together. It's hard to believe 7 years has already gone by. In some ways it has been some of the best years but also some of the hardest years of my life. Most of the real intimate personal stuff I don't write about here on my blog, mainly because I don't want the whole world knowing about it. But the small stuff like gardening and our animals and our home, the everyday stuff...I still want to remember all of that stuff. So here I am again.

In January I wrote about simplifying and I have really been trying to do that this year. If you know me then you know I come with a lot of stuff. ha. It sounds weird to say because I don't consider myself to be materialistic. I don't have to have stuff to make me happy. However, I am one of those inherently messy people. I think it comes naturally though if that makes any difference at all. I can remember going to visit my great grandmother, Margie, who we called "NaNa" and her place being filled with stuff. She had plants everywhere, stacks of magazines from years past that she had "plans" to do something with, unfinished ceramic projects. I remember she always had to clean a place off for us to sit down. :) Isn't it funny the little things you remember. My mom always said I have a lot of NaNa in me. We are both artists. We are both messy and creative and not at all organized. We both save every little thing to remember an event by. (I don't really do this anymore but I used to in junior high and high school.) We both have hoarding tendencies and I have a garage full of stuff to prove it. When my NaNa passed away, I felt such a connection to her that I felt like I must keep her stuff. I couldn't stand for it to go to charity. Through out the years, I would eventually lose all of my grandparents and each time, I felt like I had to hoard their belongings to keep a part of them with me. There are so many pieces that are so special to me that I would never in a million years get rid of and I am so thankful that they are in our home.

this is my MeMe's couch that is in our breakfast nook. I love this couch so much and remember spending many Christmases with all of my cousins all piled up on this couch opening presents. 

this was my MeMe's hutch that was in her kitchen that now stores our cookbooks and some of my china. 

this loveseat belonged to my Grandmother on my dad's side. It was in their Master Bedroom for as long as I remember. It is now in our living room and serves as a good cat napping bench. :)

I also have several boxes of just random trinkets and nicknacks that I have no emotional attachment to, other than I know they belonged to my grandparent. It has been somewhat therapeutic, to go through those boxes and find a special place in my home for those pieces that I do want to keep and let go of the things that I am not keeping.

On top of going through my grandparents memorabilia, I have kept so much stuff from college that I have now sold or given away. It feels good to clean out closets and purge! I highly recommend it! Is my garage clean yet? Well, heck no but I'm still working on it. :) My motto has been if I don't LOVE it then LEAVE it. I either sell it or give it away to someone who I know would appreciate it or box it up and give it to charity. Also, I'm not just keeping things for no reason anymore. I'm getting to old for trinkets. ha! It has to serve a purpose in my house. :)

Conquering Canton.

Can we just talk about how much I love the Canton First Monday flea market for just one second. Nevermind the blister that I still have on my left toe or the soreness that I still feel four days later. It was all worth it.

What is Canton First Monday? Well, it's only the oldest, largest continually operating outdoor flea market in the United States.   It takes place the weekend before the first Monday of the month. If you love vintage, antiques, dirt, a little rust and a whole lot of history, then Canton is the place for you. The first time I went I was completely overwhelmed. I didn't know where to go, what to think or what to buy. I've been quite a few times now and each time I go, I learn a little more. I can still get lost in a heart beat. I depend on my mom mainly to keep me straight but also my trusty map.

This past weekend my mom and I went one more time just for the day and had a great day! The weather was absolutely beautiful! It was about 75 degrees that afternoon. I had a list in my hand, my mother by my side and new tennis shoes on my feet which proved to be a poor decision in the end.

I go to Canton mostly to go prop shopping for my photography business. I have found tricycles, wagons, child's rocking chairs, vintage ABC blocks, hand sewn quilts, lace bonnets for my newborn shoots, vintage handkerchiefs...and the list goes on and on. Sure you can find all of these things on ebay or etsy but will you be able to bargain the price or meet the people who own the shops? Probably not. And in Canton you don't have to pay for shipping! I have found some pretty amazing deals by simply asking. It never hurts to be nice, too. :) 

Before you load up and head to one the largest flea markets in the US, there are a few things that I think you should know:

1. Have a plan in mind. Even just a rough idea is nice. For instance, this past Saturday I knew I was looking for props and a few decor items for our bedroom. I had about three places I knew I wanted to go to and we marked them on our map. The rest of the afternoon we spent wandering around the open air area hunting for props. 

2. Wear comfortable shoes. I thought I was doing that this time but the shoes I put on I had really only worked out in a few times. They were still fairly new. Even though they were tennis shoes, they were not broken in. And my dogs were barking by 3pm. It is not important to look cute at Canton. It is not a fashion show, people. Wear the most comfortable shoes you own and NOT NEW ONES. 

3. Bring cash. Some of the boutiques in the pavilion will have a credit card machine but the internet connection is unreliable so sometimes they cannot run CCs. Have plenty of cash and lower bills. Not just $100 bills. And just to be nice, please don't offer someone a $100 bill at 8am when they first open and ask for change. Chances are they won't be happy with you. :)

4. Rent or buy a cart. They have little carts, or buggies as some people call them, for rent or for sale for pretty cheap. I think they are $10 for the day or $40 to purchase. Obviously if you plan on coming more than once, you should just go ahead and by one. Oh, and get one with the swiveling wheels. You can thank me later. They are pretty hard to navigate otherwise. 

5. Go ahead and leave your kids and dogs at home. I see people at Canton trying to make the most of the weekend or the day, however long they are there for, with their children and failing miserably. It's hot. It's crowded. Your kid probably thrives on a schedule. He's cranky because it's time for bottle and you can't get to it in time because it's underneath everything in your cart or there's nowhere even halfway private to breastfeed. I don't have children so I get that I might be making some moms mad and I'm sorry, but wouldn't you enjoy yourself more if you didn't have to worry about when to feed, when to wipe and dear Lord, what in the world do you do if you kid just has a full on melt down. I mean, you came all that way, and what do you do, turn around and go home? Just get a sitter or your mom or husband to watch them. You'll enjoy yourself more, I promise. Oh and the dog thing. Just don't. I mean, I'm obsessed with my dogs but I don't bring them shopping. Would Lady look cute sitting in a wagon being pulled around Canton all day. Of course! But it's just not practical. And where are you going to put all of your purchases, if your buggy has a big dog bed in it? So fight the urge, if just for one day. (Of course this is just a suggestion based on my personal observation. If you're feeling brave then by all means, ignore me.)

6. Bring a map. Print one off the internet and bring it with you. You'll need it. Oh and pay attention to where you park, you'll want to get back to your car eventually. 

7. The buddy system. If you go on a girls weekend and bring several friends with you, don't expect to all shop together. It's difficult to all stick together in this place. So pair off based on what part of Canton you want to conquer. Believe me, it'll be way easier than playing the 'shop and wait' game. You don't want to stand around and wait on 6 of your friends while they look at stuff you're not in the least bit interested in. 

8. Have a meeting point.  If you are with several people and are not shopping together, then have a meeting point and time to meet. Usually whoever I'm with, we'll plan to meet for lunch. We'll regroup, talk about how the morning went, any great purchases we found, then we'll go load up our car. With our buggies freshly unloaded, our stomach full and energy levels back up, we'll go back out for Round #2. We'll settle on a departure time and plan on meeting at a certain place (usually it's the car). We'll load up again, then go eat dinner. 

That's a good start at least to conquering Canton. There is no way to possibly conquer all of Canton in one day but you can surely try!

 Conner & Scooter enjoying my vintage lawn furniture I picked up this past weekend in Canton.