My First First Monday Trade Days Adventure & What I Bought

I live a little more than an hour’s drive from this place called Canton, TX.

For those of you not familiar, it’s home to an ENORMOUS (truly not exaggerating this time) flea market/thrifting/craft expo kind of thing. It’s technically called First Monday Trade Days because it happens the weekend before the first Monday of every month.

The fact that I’d never been in the nearly 8 years we’ve lived here is shocking to some people… until I remind them I have small children and few childcare options on the weekend. And then they’re like, ohhhhhhhh…. gotcha. Because a giant NOPE to me taking my kids to this place.

I mean, there are kids there. I wouldn’t say it’s not kid friendly, but it’s not me-with-my-kids friendly. There are few things I’d rather do less than drag my kids through crowds, in wagons even, repeatedly telling them not to touch things, while re-applying sunscreen, and praying they don’t run away and disappear down a long aisle of 1970s dressers, piles of bedsprings, and antique stained glass windows.

But Canton with a friend? And not only a friend, but a seasoned Canton shopper who is decisive and doesn’t dawdle? Dream come true.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Mar 5, 2016 at 11:59am PST

Stephanie Totty and I were made to shop Canton together. We went there on a mission, and we conquered. Behold, my spoils of our victory!

While we walked through the “flea” part of it, I wasn’t too hopeful I’d find anything. But as we turned a corner, there she hung. A little dusty, but still beautiful. This copper hanging light glinted in the sun, and I had to have her.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Mar 5, 2016 at 9:04am PST

She came home with me for only $35, which is approximately $1,000 less than the Pottery Barn light fixture I’d been dreaming of for this space. Dare I say, I love her a whole lot more.

Lighting was on my mind the rest of the day. Our light fixtures in our house are nice, but they aren’t the style I envision. I didn’t intend on coming home with any light fixtures, but it was fate, and I brought home TWO. I found this lovely about an hour after I found the copper light, though I didn’t immediately jump to buy it until I got the OK text from Scott, mostly because he’d have to install it.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on Mar 13, 2016 at 12:10pm PDT

This orb is HUGE, and the scale for our 20 foot tall foyer is perfect. Even better, that lightbulb is massive and looks so cool. I got it from the Twigs Candles booth, and the whole set up- orb, lightbulb, wiring- was only $100 with tax. Which is, again, SO much cheaper than anything I’ve had my eye on for that space.

Since we moved in here,  I’ve had no idea what to do with this massive blank space looking over our living area. I thought for a while that I’d hang a large collection of thrifted mirrors to reflect the floor to ceiling stone fire place on the other side of the room, but couldn’t shake the visions of heavy mirrors falling from 20 feet up and killing someone below. (Hello, my name is Jill, and I take medication for intrusive thoughts and anxiety.)

When I saw these massive stars, I knew I had to have at least one just because I loved them. Within 15 minutes, the booth owners had me talked into buying 3, and I knew exactly where they were going. I love that they are light- both physically and visually. The scale is perfect for the space, without making the room feel top heavy.

For those wondering, we got these at a booth in the Flea/Junk area. Their tent is under a red, white, and blue windsock. Sweetest couple. They are $28 each, or $100 for 4. Naturally, we got 4. 1 for Stephanie, 3 for me.

I got a couple other small things, including a couple burlap coffee bean bags that I’m still trying to figure out what to do with. (Let me know if you have ideas!)

And I came home with a lonnnnnng list of other stuff I want to go back and buy. What I loved is that I could find stuff to upcycle and DIY with, or I could find stuff that’s already done. Give Scott and me a pickup truck, a free Saturday, and $500 and we could do some DAM.AGE. So many awesome bits of wood and randomness that’s just waiting to be turned into something beautiful.

We could also have our pet blessed by Paul the Pet Preacher. So there’s that. And camo. There was a lot of camo. Just a real cornucopia of the American experience. Yup, that’s what I’d call Canton.

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