FoodLit

When I acquired the book I Brake for Yard Sales by Lara Spencer, I was excited to work on it for a few reasons.

1) Lara Spencer: I mean come on…she’s amazing. A glamorous tv host who goes yard sale-ing on the weekends?! She’s not afraid to get down and dirty and rummage through piles of whatever to find her prize.

2) I was excited to learn more about the art of bargaining and flea market shopping. I wanted to know where the hot spots were and what to say to the sellers to get the best price.

3) Incorporating the finds into my home once I purchased them. I was intimidated by the thought of reupholstering or painting furniture and making a mess of it.

While working with the lovely Lara I learned a lot of things and so I decided to put all my skills to the test while vacationing down here in Oak Island, North Carolina. I recruited my mother to help and we set off to find the best thrift stores in the area:

First we headed to the Good Buy Thrift Store which wasn’t too true to its name (we didn’t find many good buys).

I briefly considered this yellow chair for $35.

I loved the monogrammed pillow. T for thrifty!

Next we headed off to a store aptly named Thrift Store!

I really wanted this antique 50s stand mixer for $32. But carrying this on the plane would be difficult.

And loved the colorful spine of this microwave cookbook.

But really all I wanted were these Polish dolls!!

Or Chucky’s cousin??

We ended up with this silver platter purchased for $3.99 that my mother will use as a plate under her plants (tip from Martha Stewart).

I Brake for Yard Sales: And Flea Markets, Thrift Shops, Auctions, and the Occasional Dumpster by Lara Spencer, foreword by Kathy Griffin (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2012) is available now where books are sold!

Dervla Kelly is an editor for ABRAMS working on interior design and gardening titles. She spends too much time on Pinterest and blogs at www.blogcurator.blogspot.com. Follow her on Pinterest and Twitter @thecuratorblog.