Exploring the NC Flea Market

There is an extraordinary flea market held every weekend at the Fairgrounds in Raleigh. Vendors, antique dealers and junk peddlers from all over the country come to sell their wares at the outdoor venue. We've been going to the flea market periodically for years. The ornate iron pieces framing a large picture in our kitchen came from a woman who calls herself the "Iron Maiden" and travels all over country rescuing gorgeous iron from deteriorating old buildings. We've purchased bamboo wind chimes, bits of jewelry, skeleton keys, old postcards, stained glass and, my favorite find, the elusive monkey coconut.

Last weekend, we visited the flea market again. My husband found an antique chef's tasting spoon, I found an adorable miniature porcelain doggie and, after careful consideration of many tables, my daughter decided on an antique tin ray gun (just like the movies!) It was amusing to listen to the conversations among the vendors: one asked another to look for a certain type of knife with a particular stamp on it, one called to a rather large man named "Tiny" and said he saw a friend of his at a show in Texas, yet another couple argued over the purchase of an antique toy ("I told you not to spend that much on it - we'll never sell the dang thing.")

My husband bought some of his favorite boiled peanuts to eat while we wandered. I prefer the fresh popcorn and my daughter likes the whole pickles. This time, the woman at the counter called her the "Pickle Princess."

Wandering around in the brisk January air and searching for unusual trinkets is such a relaxing Sunday activity. The NC Flea Market is a gem its own!

View more photos of flea market treasures at Sunniviews.

Monkey Coconut Embellished

I thought I'd share my new monkey coconut that my sweet husband gave me for Christmas. I don't know why the monkey coconut is my new obsession. Perhaps it's because they are just downright silly. But, anything that brings a smile is fine with me.

My former monkey coconut (see Fun at the State Fair and Mystery Solved for the full story of this little guy) has a new home in New York with my sister. She loved him so much that I just had to send him to her for Christmas. His new name is Mr. Jingles!

The coconut that my husband bought was a little bland, so I decided to spruce him up. Actually, I just wanted to figure out a unique way to get the words "HAVE FUN" on him, since he apparently missed out on that little important addition. I got out the paints and things took off from there. I think the addition of the flower and flag is key!

My friend at work and I have also acquired a new monkey coconut. One of our colleagues took a cruise to the Bahamas over the holidays (lucky-duck!) She was telling us how appalled she was on the return home after viewing a receipt that she actually spent $22.00 on a drink. We said, "$22.00 - what kind of drink was it!?!" She said it was a pina colada that came in this ridiculous coconut thing. We looked at each other in excitement and asked "Did it have a monkey face on it?? Did it say HAVE FUN??" She said, yeah - it's even a bank! After we explained our monkey coconut obsession, she passed along the prized coconut with great ceremony. He also needs a little sprucing up, so I'll post more photos later.

What fun the monkey coconuts are! I've named this one Sunni-san - mascot of Sunnispace!

Mystery of the Monkey Coconut Solved

I have cracked the mystery of the monkey coconut! As you may have read on my State Fair entry, I purchased a scrumptious pina colada in a monkey coconut that can be used as a bank once you're finished with the drink. Everyone who has seen the monkey coconut has fallen in love with it and it now seconds as a sort of Budda in my office. Whenever we get frustrated or stressed out, we rub monkey coconuts head gently and chant, "oh, Have-Fun-Monkey-Coconut, give us patience!". MC also keeps my Zeldaloo's Mermaid company - this lovely little treasure I purchased at an etsy.com fair while visiting New York.

So, my sister saw a picture of monkey coconut and was dying to have her own. What a great Christmas gift it would make! I started searching the internet and found a few on ebay but they were way too pricey. I thought about calling the fair organizers and seeing if I could get a hold of the people who ran the booth. Then I had an even more brilliant idea and called the 800 number printed on the bottom of my treasured little coconut!

As it turns out, the monkey coconut can be purchased from Topshelf Marketing, a Drinkware Catalog. But you can't buy just one. Oh no, minimum purchase is 36 MC's for $4.50 each. I tried to think of 36 people in my life who might actually want a Have Fun Monkey Coconut for Christmas. Then I wondered if anyone might want to go in on a purchase with me. Since I had trouble with that, I wondered if I could resell them on ebay for a profit. Honestly, they appear to be a hot ticket item.

So, as I continue to debate the purchase of the monkey coconut, take a gander for yourself - here is the link. And if anyone out there has any other connections to reasonably priced monkey coconuts, I'd be grateful for the info!

Fun at the State Fair

A few weeks ago the North Carolina State Fair came to town! It was so much fun - I absolutely love the fair. There is such an air of excitement and fascination that no matter how crowded or hot it gets, I always find something interesting around every corner.

This year was no different. One of my favorite things were the larger-than-life farm animals that were painted by local high school art classes. They were really creative, beautifully designed and extremely colorful. They reminded me of the art projects held by large cities like the Cow Parade and our own Raleigh Red Wolf Ramble.

In the agriculture building, we saw the largest pumpkin, a record breaker in NC this year at over 1,100 pounds, which was pretty surprising considering the drought. They also had a booth where you could milk a cow! Quite an experience for my daughter! The most hilarious thing was when a mama pig started to feed her piglets. I heard this squealing and laughing coming from a distant cage. I managed to get a video of one little piggy struggling against his siblings for a little lunch. Too funny!

We headed to the Village of Yesteryear and watched a real potter spin the wheel and create a beautiful vase. My daughter also decorated and stuffed her own doll which they sew together with a foot-pedal sewing machine (one of our favorite places, she now has three dolls!) I also enjoy wandering through the garden competition booths. This year they had one based on Alice in Wonderland with a purple planter called "Tea Thyme" containing flourishing thyme and teapots, two colorful Mad Hatter chairs on either side and stacks of teacups in the back. So cute!

Another treasure I found was the "Have Fun" monkey coconut. It came with a refreshing pina colada and a straw practically the size of my daughter. The best thing about the monkey coconut is that it can be used as a bank once you're finished. In my office, we decided that the monkey coconut would do better as a shrine to having fun and staying positive. So, the monkey coconut keeps my etsy.com mermaid company.

I also love all the fun food, but I can't have too much. Last year I tried a fried snickers bar and it just about did me in! Holy heart-attack on a stick, batman! I shied away from the breakfast on a fork and the BBQ sundae and decided on some fresh fried fish, which was scrumptious - along with my monkey coconut pina colada, of course, and we shared a little funnel cake!

And, my absolute favorite thing that I save until just before we leave, a relaxing ride on the ferris wheel! Just delightful!