FOMO is real. But I have amazing friends

      Yesterday was a really cool day. The FOMO is alive and well in me, but I did a bunch of stuff that made me incredibly happy and really kept my mind occupied. The first thing was getting out to the Brimfield flea market to see my aunts, Yvonne and Deb. They are two of my favorite people and I don't see them nearly often enough. I didn't tell them I was coming, and haven't been to the flea market in at least a year, so it was a surprise. They both seemed happy to see me, which made me even happier that I had gone.

     These amazing ladies run DebVonVentures and have a tent at the Brimfield flea market every May, July and September. Same spot near the river in Shelton field. They always have a different variety of antiques available and it is always worth  going to see them. Plus, they are completely awesome!

     For anyone that hasn't been to the Brimfield flea market I should tell you that it's big. And saying "big" is really limiting to the actual size of this thing. It is the largest outdoor flea market in the country and covers 12 fields along Main St. in Brimfield, MA. 

    My photos don't even begin to cover the scope of this thing, but this website has a wonderful aerial shot of the market. You can potentially find anything and everything in Brimfield. I went just to see Yvonne and Deb, but I did take a walk a bit through the market. It is am amazing place to get your steps in!

     My plan was not to buy anything at all. I am trying to save money, not spend it. But I am really good at spending money. I didn't really venture into the fields too much, but this boot tent was right by the road. 

    And these boots were completely amazing! I managed to leave them on the shelf and contented myself with posting a picture of them on Facebook. If I didn't have to pay $8 to park on some guy's lawn I might be tempted to go back and get them. There are a lot of enablers on my friends list (I love them so much!)

     In the end I was really good and just bought this cool pair of earrings from some really wonderful ladies I could have talked to all day, and an iced coffee that Yvonne told me was the best coffee ever. With those kind of accolades how could I not try it? I didn't have a ton of time to spend in Brimfield, I got a bit later start than I planned and had to get back in time to get Travis off the bus. But it was a lot of fun in my very short visit. 

     Like every other artist that has ever had anything for sale anywhere, I have been really nervous about Breyerfest sales. I kept having the nagging feeling of "what if no one buys anything". It's also very strange sending off your inventory for someone else to do the work of selling. But I got a message from Jackie that a doll sold within 15 minutes of her arrival in Kentucky. That was wonderful news! Jackie was judging at Breakables and was posting photos of the performance division. So I got my fix of event photos and spotted this lime green western pleasure doll (the one that sold). I asked Jackie if I could steal photos for the blog and she said yes. So I am very excited! I may have something to talk about, even if I am not there!

Photo by Jackie Rossie

     Sometime in the late afternoon I got a message from Heather Malone asking if I take paypal. I replied and then got an email about a sale. It really is super weird sitting at home and having other people sell for you. I have always known that I have amazing friends, but it has become even more clear recently. 

     In the evening I was sitting here, stalking Facebook (which is part of my plan for the entire weekend in case you are wondering) and I got a message from Fabian. He told me there was a line of people waiting to see the dolls! I nearly cried. Not gonna lie, I did tear up a bit for real. He also sent me a photo of the doll drawer so I could see what was left. There is still plenty of variety in room 620 for anyone that needs some dolls!

Photo by Fabian 

     I FaceTimed Fabian and even though the connection was horrible, I got to see him, and Heather, and got to talk for a few minutes. Not the same as being there, but I felt like I was a little bit a part of the action! If only the CHIN had better reception. I woke up this morning to more emails from paypal, which is fantastic in a variety of ways. After working so hard on getting the dolls and things ready, it's great to have some stuff sell. And to see that people are buying stuff is very gratifying as an artist. Now I am even more convinced I need to find a way to attend Breyerfest in person. It has always been on my someday list, but now I am working on math problems and savings plans to make it a reality. It's still not clear when "someday" is, but it will happen!

    Even though I was completely distracted by Facebook when I got home yesterday, I did manage to do a bit of doll work. I got a bunch of work done on the armor that I have in the works. So I now have a few pieces of the very interesting doll either done or close to done. I am still hoping to get a bunch of clothing prepped today, so I can work on putting dolls together at the tag sale tomorrow. I may or may not be able to finish the very interesting doll while I am sitting there. I guess it depends on how many of the pieces I get prepped today. Then I want to bring some doll stuff to Maire's on Sunday. It's going to be a busy weekend! But maybe I won't have too much time to be sad about missing Breyerfest.