Thrift Haul: Finding Toys, Mod, and Kitsch in Sunny South Florida

This weekend I took a trip four hours south to Bradenton and Sarasota, Florida to celebrate my best friend's graduation. Bradenton's Cortez Road is home to a dizzying array of beguiling thrift stops, next time I'll explore and document each one. This weekend's schedule was tight but I managed to explore 10% of the immense Red Barn Flea Market and Plaza and 5% of another thrift shop before rushing to a delicious 10:00AM crepe breakfast celebration! I only explored a tiny section of the huge flea market but I found so much...

I scored two more gorgeous mid century modern vintage ash trays. These would be perfect for Father's Day. I'm willing to let these go as a daily deal for $12.00 each, otherwise they're getting wrapped up into some Father's Day gift baskets!

And I found another dazzling vintage boat plaque! As a lover of all sea-beasts and sea-things my heart sings when I find beautiful vintage boats. This one is for sale for $12.00 if anyone's interested.

I'm also smitten by this Russel Wright set in gray with brown speckles. The bottom reads "Russel Wright MFG. By Steubenville." It's beautiful and I need to sell it and get it out of this house before my clumsy self breaks it!

This vintage wooden Fisher-Price "Choo Choo Train" Toy would make a beautiful statement piece in an office, definitely a great gift for the nostalgic dad.

I'm letting this one go for $8.00...even though I love how it looks on my desk!

Another boy-gift for the nostalgic dad (you'll note historically that I just love guy-stuff) would be this beautiful "Busy Boy" Tool Chest! I love the whimsical typography, illustration, and bold primary color scheme.

I love the writing on the inside. Apparently the old metal tool toys of yore did some expensive damage in the household. If this toy tool box was big enough I'd keep my tools in it, but it's not, so I'm selling this for $8.00.

Of course, I couldn't leave the flea market without more toys. I've mentioned that I hate the smurfs, but this set of original 1980s toys featuring the little blue demons lured me in anyway. Yet again, hopefully another nostalgic fool will scoop them up soon. After a quick hunt, it seems like this set does quite well on eBay!

The texture in the metal and bright red of this little old storage box spoke to me. People at the antique store love practical storage items (Need tips? See: How to Make Over Four Figures Per Month at the Antique Store), so I'm sure it'll go quickly there. I'm selling it for $6.00 online if anyone's interested.

It's pretty nifty on the inside, too! It's a nice little storage box to hold makeup or toiletries in the bathroom.

I'm also selling these sweet floral 1950s-1960s serving trays for $6.00. These are so fun to use for veggies or chips and dip at parties.

And last but not least, I found cute kitschy magnets to make some grab bags with for my antique store booths.

Simply send me an e-mail if you see anything you'd like to buy in these posts. I give you the lowest prices possible when I sell them through the blog, but the prices have to go up once they reach Etsy (still working on launching my own!) or my antique store booth.

I also host super thrifty daily deals on Facebook and Twitter! Deals that can't be beat, I tells ya. And with that, I must rush back to making Father's Day gift baskets and tagging merchandise! 

So Do Tell: What did you find this weekend?
Share a link to you blog in the comments, I'd love to see!

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