Gas City Flea Market

I have found a new love.

This is even a surprise to me, fitting into the "who would have thought" category of life.

When we first arrived in Indiana, we were living in a rental home that did not have a washer and dryer.  Mark had found a good laundromat in the neighboring small town called Gas City.

Don't you love that city name?

Here are the street signs in Gas City.

I'll have to research the history of this fascinating little town.

Anyway, on the main street of Gas City is the Gas City Flea Market.

It was calling my name, I tell you!

Much to the horror of my children, I insisted we stop in, 'just to check it out' after our first trip to the laundromat.

It was almost as if the angels began singing in my head when we walked through the front door of this place. 

"Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!" 

What an incredible find!

Because we had purged so many things in order to move overseas, and have now returned to America, there are several things that we are missing around our home.  Many problems have been solved at ridiculously low prices at the Gas City Flea Market.

(Can you hear the angelic voices singing?!?  I can!)

To begin, here is the Thomasville, solid mahogany entertainment center which I picked up for $300.  (The thing is an absolute TANK!)

Poor Mark went to pick it up with a truck we borrowed from one of his co-workers and just about died when he discovered how heavy it was!  (Oops, sorry honey!)

Anyway, here it is in the store.

And, here it is in our family room with the TV in it. 

Mark had purchased this TV and it remained boxed up until we moved into our new home.  We had NO IDEA if it would fit into this entertainment center.  As it turns out, it just barely fits.  There's about the space of a human hair between each hinge and the TV.  Ha!  I love it!  It is just so wonderful to be able to close the TV off from everyday living.  I am so thrilled that I found this!

Then, there's our headboard.

We bought the headboard in this next photo at a used furniture store just after we were married.  But, we have wanted to replace it with something better for a long, long time.

Guess what was just sitting in the back of the Gas City Flea Market calling my name?  Yes!  A new headboard.

Here it is in the process of being stripped.

It's a strange angle for a photo, but I refinished this headboard in the garage during those crazy hot days.  We brought it into our living room and had it laying on a big box to finish drying completely.

Here's the finished product!  I paid $39 for the headboard, and nearly that much again on stripping materials, the stain, and the varnish.  Yeah!

Another fabulous find was this crate.  We are big book readers in this family.  We borrow hoards of books about every 5 days at the public library.  We've been looking for an appropriate library bucket for our family room.  But, everything we see in the stores is either too small, too flimsy or too expensive.

But, the Flea Market had the solution!  We bought this crate for $10 and stained it blue.  I love it!  It is just the perfect solution to our book bucket need.

Another day, I found this lovely side table for a mere $19.  After purchasing a light oak furniture pen and fixing the small nicks and such, this table looks fabulous in our living room!  Yeah!

Here's the desk and chair I found, which together cost me $80.  I love it that the desk is small and fits perfectly in the corner of our bedroom.  And, it's solid wood. 

And, Mark needed a stool for playing guitar.  I told him, "We just need to check the Gas City Flea Market."  Sure enough!  They had this fabulous stool (that is just the right height) for $10.  Yeah!

Can you see why I love the Flea Market!?!  We are still looking for some more smaller storage pieces, so I'll definitely still be a regular at this place.

Then, there's the story of Lena's headboard.

The day we were moving into our house, we happened to drive by a small garage sale taking place at a Senior Living Home down the road from our neighborhood.

Sitting out in the sun, was this gorgeous headboard.

We pulled over immediately to check it out.

Sure enough, the headboard was SOLID oak!  It was a little dirty, but evident that it was not damaged in any way.

I asked how much it was, and they said "Would five dollars be too much?"  I was floored!  I handed her $10 because they had explained that the money raised in the garage sale would go to an Alzheimers foundation.  I still felt like I got away with highway robbery.  Who gets a solid oak headboard for $10?

Here's the headboard after attaching Lena's bed to it.

And, this is for you, Mom.  This is the painting that Lena insisted on having over her bed.  :-)

So, I believe I have found my new hobby.  I am loving the garage sales and flea markets in plenty in Indiana.  I can't wait to see what treasures I find next!