Anyone who walks into my apartment will notice a few things right off the bat: I have a lot of books, a lot of plants and a lot of — frogs? Yes, it's true. Since I was about five years old, I've amassed a pretty sizable collection of amphibians, including stuffed animals, candle holders, wind chimes, soap dispensers, book marks, and more. I think the obsession started when I was little and Santa Claus bestowed upon me a tadpole.... His name was Kermit and he eventually grew into an African Water Frog, almost three inches in length.
In recent weeks, however, I've started a new collection (and thus developed a new obsession): giraffes. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why I'm so enamored with these creatures...they are pretty tall. And given my small stature, it's only natural I should be drawn to something so impressively large, but I digress.
It started with a candle holder that I ordered at one of those home shows that are all the rage lately. Think Lia Sophia, but with candles. I spotted the giraffe in the catalog and just had to have it. And when I moved into my new apartment a few weeks ago (with its gloriously bare walls and their endless possibilities), I wanted to come up with some unique, creative ways to fill in the blanks, so to speak. To that end, I visited a local flea market where I found a beautiful wooden magazine rack for my living room, a few iron candle holders, a shelf to display items, a Galileo thermometer (which isn't a thermometer at all, but a barometer) and a wood-carved giraffe. Yesterday, I made another trip to the flea market where I spotted a giraffe print painted on glass with a linen backing. Although I fell in love with it, I decide against buying it... until an hour later when my friend K. texted me a photo of the exact same painting. That, to me, was as good a sign as any that I needed that giraffe, and I braved the cold rain to get it.
Following our jaunt through the flea market, I followed K. to an antique co-op down the street from my house where her father used to have a display before opening his own shop in the next town over. I've lived in this area for six years and not once have I set foot in that place. I didn't get to take a close look around because we arrived just 15 minutes before the store closed, but I have every intention of going back.
The thing about flea markets and antique shops, I'm realizing, is that they have everything you could ever possibly hope to find. One of my friends collects vintage Coca-Cola items and now, wherever I go, I'm on the lookout for something he might be interested in...I feverishly text him photos of my finds with whatever relevant information I can find on them, although usually I find reproductions and he's looking for authentic items. Both K. and my aunt collect owls (which seems like an easier collection than giraffes because I've found hundreds of owls to my two giraffes), so whenever I spot them I have to resist the urge to purchase them for one or the other. I've spent countless hours among the piles of items for sale, searching for that one special piece and have opened my eyes to the treasure trove of shops we have here in Western Massachusetts. It's daunting and exciting at the same time.
At this point in my quest, I'm looking specifically for giraffe-related items (which, believe me, are not as easy to find as one might think), but I'm open to other things...Frogs or books, for instance. Anything to make my new apartment more like a home.
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