Brooklyn Flea

Last weekend my friend Brianna was in town. She had been to New York many times, so there wasn't much on the agenda which was kind of nice (for me at least, I hope you had fun, Brianna!). On Saturday we slept in a bit, had brunch in Brooklyn Heights and leisurely made our way over to the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene.

I had been to the flea once before, earlier this year in the Williamsburg Savings Bank, but I had never been to the outdoor market. The Fort Greene location is actually directly across the street from the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, where I had just seen Cat Power a few nights before. I hadn't been terribly impressed with the winter flea, but for some reason I enjoyed the outdoor version much more. It was a beautiful day, which probably didn't hurt, and there were some great things to look at. I can be kind of a price snob when it comes to flea markets since I spent 27 years getting used to Ohio prices, but I was surprised to find that most of the vintage goods were quite reasonable. It was fun to be back amongst vintage treasures again, which is something I definitely miss about my previous life running Blue Carrot Shop. I'd love to open a real-life shop one day, or maybe I'll even become a vendor at the Flea.

There were a lot of goodies that I wanted, of course, but the one thing I decided I couldn't live without was a collection of vintage, plastic holly garland. I adore vintage Christmas decorations and I couldn't pass up the holly when I found out it was only $5. I got an entire bag full, and while it needs a little repair work, there is more than enough to make a big impact in my tiny apartment.

There are quite a few food vendors at the Flea too, and even the fact that we had just eaten didn't stop us from checking out the goodies. I got a cup of hot chocolate from Whimsy & Spice, which was a mix of their Early Grey and Chili flavors. Even with the mix it was still a bit spicy for my tastes, but still delicious. We were just about to leave when we walked down an aisle we had somehow missed and stumbled on the Dough donut booth. I had heard good things about their donuts, and when I saw that they had a lemon poppy flavored one I caved. It was a little stale feeling, texture-wise, but the lemon flavor was amazing. I might have to actually go to their shop and try another to see if maybe the one I had was just not at peak freshness. I think I still prefer Doughnut Plant, however, and my mouth still waters every time I think about the last donut I ate there.

Fort Greene is such a beautiful neighborhood and I'm so glad I got to see the outdoor flea before it moves inside to a new location for the winter. There's only one more outdoor weekend left this season, so if you see that super awesome taxidermy fox, tell him I'll be back for him one day.