Buying on a whim should be called “Instant Clarity”

A few weekends ago, Jake and I decided to do one of our favourite “non-lazy” time wasting activities. We went antiquing.

Yes, we are THAT couple. The kind that looks 25 years old but is probably closer to 70ish on the inside. We’ll often go to different antique stores, spend an hour or two, and buy absolutely nothing. Or, if we do miraculously purchase something, it will be for a gift.

This is the tea set I bought as a wedding present for my friend three years ago. 

Teapot, four cups and saucers, cream and sugar bowl WITH the dish for them and it all cost me $80. 

(I  priced it all out online and it comes to $320, plus taxes, and shipping)

That’s why we went out this particular time. It was a drizzly spring day and we had every intention of staying inside to curl up on the couch and watch a movie. But then panic set in when I realized we had a wedding to go to the next weekend and I hadn't even started putting together the gift I wanted to make (more on that later).

So we donned our rubber boots and headed out to our favourite place to go, The Aberfoyle Antique Market. 

If you’re a local, like old things, and have never been to this market then you are missing out. My favourite days to go are their Saturday Spring and Fall shows (that’s when the market grounds are absolutely PACKED with vendors), but otherwise they are open every Sunday from April to October. This market is so much fun to go to because there is such a wealth of variety in the things that vendors sell. Plus the open air atmosphere also ensures that you don’t get that “musty” smell that a lot of other antique places retain.

Photo Credit

I have made some pretty amazing buys from this market over the years such as a china tea set for my friend’s wedding gift and a crystal decanter set for her husband. I found my own china dinnerware there and my grandma bought that for me as a gift for my own wedding, and my mom even got me a really cool set of espresso cups and saucers. Last Fall I snagged a couple of different glass vials and then made homemade flavour extracts to give as gifts for Christmas.

These are the flavour extracts I kept for myself. 

From the back left: Orange, Peppermint, Vanilla Bean, and Lemon

This time I was looking for a box. Two boxes actually. For two separate weddings.

Even though we were on a mission, we still took the time to browse as lazily as our hour and a half before close would allow. 

Jake got distracted by a box of old hand tools and while he was busy looking through a selection of drills my eyes landed on... it. (I don't know if you have ever experienced the "it" moment before while shopping, but I assure you it is not something to be ignored.) This time, my "it" happened to be a dirty, brass quilt rack. And with instant clarity I knew I wanted it, NEEDED it.

I hesitantly asked for the price, expecting the worst but instead having brilliant luck. It was listed at $25!! A mere $25!! But then we were able to knock the price down even further to $20 when Jake decided to buy his drill (I have no idea what he's done with that by the way. I don't think I've seen it since...)

I was elated. Especially because I had recently learned that the reason all of my brand new jeans were shrinking was because of our older style of dryer. Now, I can handle my pants getting a little tighter in the gut, what I can't deal with is loss of length. I had just purchased two new pairs of pants and was determined that they never go in the dryer to avoid the whole "flood pants" trend. So with one look at this tarnished old quilt rack I knew that I had found my solution to drying my jeans without having to buy one of those ugly wire racks.

What's the fun in drying clothes on this thing?! 

Of course, I was not aware that I would be starting a blog so I never bothered to take any pictures of the quilt rack before I cleaned it up, but my next post will explain how I did just that. 

Have you ever had an "it" moment before? Leave a comment and tell me about it!