Today was one of those perfect summer days in Holland: breezy, dry, sunny and clear. Compared with some of the more gray and polluted days in China, the sky was shockingly and amazingly blue. I couldn't stop looking at it.
We rose early, packed our lunches and drove about 30 minutes to the Allegan county fairgrounds where we joined other dealers, collectors, families and their dogs in the search for trendy decorations, shabby-chic cottage furnishings, useful nick-knacks and interesting junk. Picture the largest garage sale you have ever seen selling only old stuff, throw in some rednecks, artists, farmers, eccentrics, newlyweds, yuppies and a few carnies and you can accurately picture the Allegan antique market. It's really quite entertaining.
I usually don't buy anything but it is fun to look at what people are selling and for how much. I especially like to look at the old furniture, bottles and dishes. I don't really enjoy bargaining, but if you like to wheel and deal then this is the place for you. Today, however, I found 10 old cobalt blue juice glasses for $20 but the guy gave them to me for $5. I am absolutely in love with them. Then my mom and I found an old baby blue Schwinn bike that I instantly knew I had to have for putzing around the neighborhood and riding to the lake. After taking it on a few test rides my mom and I decided to share it - it needs some work but it's super cute! We started at $45 and only got it down to $40.
After loading up our purchases in the car we enjoyed a nice picnic in the shade of the goat barn. The strawberry lemonade, kielbasa, fruit, raw veggies and homemade brownies were delicious and were scarfed down quickly before the flies from said goat barn could get too obnoxious.
As soon as I got home I took a picture of the bike and decided to shoot some pictures of the house and yard as well since so many people in China wanted to see what it looked like. Sorry I didn't get any pics of the antique fair itself - I guess you'll just have to pay a little visit to Allegan and see for yourself. Maybe if you're lucky you can picnic with us in the goat barn.
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