Melrose Trading Post

Remember my mission to de-Ikea my apartment? Well, turns out, non-Ikea furniture is expensive. Since I'm not technically employed at the moment, it didn't seem like a good time to be making a major investment in furniture. Enter my new plan - thrift stores and flea markets! Delirious with visions of uncovering hidden gems amidst the junk, I dragged Tom to the Melrose Trading Post.

I had anticipated that more digging would be required, but we found these almost immediately. I almost passed on these guys because I felt like they came too easy, but I have been using empty milk crates as a nightstand for the past month, so we went for it. They are not quite as bright as they look here, but I love the aqua color. Tom negotiated and, $120 later, we have matching bedside tables made of actual, honest-to-goodness wood. They're real grown-up like.

Here are some of the other treasures I found but, sadly, did not purchase...

{lanterns}

{I want the old camera, not the creepy doll.}

{I have no place for this, but I find him strangely appealing.}

{I need to find a reason to buy vintage suitcases.}

{Tom wouldn't let me start a book collection for our currently nonexistent children, but someday...}

{I have no need for this, but isn't it pretty?}

{As soon as I have regular income again, I'm starting a vintage globe collection.}

{I have no idea what one does with other people's old photos, but I loved looking through them.}

{Again, I don't know what I'd do with it, but there's something so cool about it.}

I will be returning to the Melrose Trading Post just as soon as there is a thaw in the spending freeze we have goin' on over here...