Cool Stuff: Flea Market Holidayana

We headed out bright and early yesterday morning to brave the arctic cold at the Alameda Antiques and Collectibles Faire, which we'd missed the last couple of months. I'm telling you, there's nothing that gets me going like a hot gyro and a bunch of weird old stuff at 7:30 in the morning.

The vendors there had dusted off their vintage holiday goodies, which added a festive touch to the freezing affair.

A few things that caught my eye:

I was so tempted by the assorted elves and gnomes on display.

Mary and her homey, St. Nick

Is it just me, or do life-sized plastic Santas kind of freak you out, too?

I snagged a bunch of vintage glass ornaments for a quarter to a buck apiece. I love how they look massed in a bowl or other vessel.

The vendor wanted $300 for the aluminum tree on the right. It was totally minty and came with a working color wheel, but I just got a similar tree and color wheel on eBay for about a quarter of that price -- including shipping.

Nick and I always joke about creating a menagerie out of cement animals in our front yard. Somehow, though, I suspect our neighbors would be less than thrilled.

After the flea market, we bopped over the bridge for a quick lunch South of Market before hitting the Art Deco & Modernism Sale -- which, truth be told, was a bit of a snoozer. Still, it's always a kick to see the sharp men in their spats and fedoras and the glamorous women in their Forties finery. Those people are just living a whole art deco life -- it's like anything after 1950 simply never happened for them. (Come to think of it, maybe blanking out the last 50 years or so of history isn't such a terrible idea.)

All in all, a lovely day.