An it's-frickin-cold rant & The Brooklyn Flea

I took this photo the other day while shivering on a mound of ice and praying for a supernova to warm my frostbitten body. I wish it captured the total frigidity in which it was taken, but you'll have to trust me on this one: it's cold here, y'all. When I saw this neon sign in Bed-Stuy over the weekend, I just had to laugh. This sandwich shop, cruelly named as it is, serves as a harsh reminder that summer is not in fact endless. In fact, I half believe I will never see it again. It may very well be dead.

Anyway, I hope you'll excuse my it's-frickin-cold rant. I have one about three times a day, as do most New Yorkers in the month of February. New York winters have this way of marring your outlook, forcing you to look at the world through a lens that makes everything seem evil. I heard all kinds of similarly-themed rants about the cold over the last week ranging from "Whygodwhy?!" to "When will death come?" It's normal. Don't worry about us. We'll all be fine.

Still, in the midst of the coldest weekend of the season, I still managed to discover some wonderful things. For one, my sister came into town and we ate our way through all of Brooklyn's best comfort foods. She handled the cold like a pro, by the way. My hubs and I also braved the elements together this weekend all in the name of love! You know, since it was Valentine's Day and all. I wore two pairs of leggings, three pairs of socks, a puffy coat over an oversized sweater over a regular-sized sweater over a dress over a nightgown over a tank top. And still, I was freezing. 

But regardless, to celebrate our love, we pretended it wasn't two degrees outside and ending up doing one of my favorite things...ever. We went to the Brooklyn Flea.

I've certainly mentioned this on the blog before, but it bears repeating: I LOVE rummaging through vintage stuff. I don't know why. I don't know where this desire comes from, but it is very real. I love old clothes, old dishes, old toys, old postcards, old oil paintings of semi-naked ladies, old light fixtures, old EVERYTHING. I love the smells, the textures, the history, the one-of-a-kindness of it all. It's just everything I love.

And guess what the Brooklyn Flea is full of? OLD STUFF. It's a weekly market featuring a mix of vintage finds and some really incredible (but way out of my price range) handmade items from some talented local artisans. The Flea is held in different places in Brooklyn, but for the winter, it's been held at this huge warehouse space in Crown Heights. This was my first time at this particular location, and I was in heaven. 

Usually the flea involves a lot of dreaming and less actual shopping, but this time was different. As Daniel and I wandered around the place entranced by the vastness of it all, we both found ourselves drawn to a piece of furniture. 

Meet Blanche. That's what I named this gorgeous vanity that we stumbled upon. I know you can't tell much from this picture, but she's STUNNING. She's completely adorned in mirrors, she's octagon-shaped, she's super crazy old, and I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. Daniel did too, not because he is into octagonal vanities, but more so because he knew it was exactly the kind of piece that I have been looking for.

He wanted to buy it for me as an early birthday gift, but I had some seriously major buyer's guilt. I'm curious to know if I'm the only person who has this self-proclaimed affliction. Random purchases do not exhilarate me, but rather, they fill me with a sort of inexplicable dread. Is that just me?

We talked it over and decided to take a lap around the flea. If Blanche was still there when we were done, that would be the sign that she was supposed to be a part of our home. We raced around the warehouse, remarking on items here and there while still thinking about our beloved vanity. When we returned, there stood Blanche, unmoved and untouched. It was fate.

A beautiful woman with green hair sold her to us, remarking, "I can't believe no one else has bought this today." Me neither, my green-haired friend. Me neither.*

And now this is what Blanche looks like in our home:

By the way, I realized immediately that it is crazy hard to take a picture of something covered in mirrors. A selfie ended up being the best way to go (pardon my VANITY...GET IT?!):

So anyway, guys, I'm as cold as the day is long, but I've got a gorgeous vanity named Blanche and a wonderful man by my side, so I guess it all evens out.

How was your Valentine's Day weekend?

*It has come to my attention that the beautiful girl with the green hair was actually Courtney Wagner from A&E's Storage Wars. I feel like a fool for not realizing it at the time, but ah! I love this thing even more!