When we headed out to Colorado, Adam and I took on this new attitude...we've been all about doing things we've never (or rarely) done before. So far, we've racked up quite a list, including but not limited to:
- Eating outdoors on a restaurant patio
- Hiking in the mountains
- Moving across the country (or at least the middle of it)
- Adding running to my walks because I don't care if I see anyone (I won't know them anyway!)
- Stepping out of my comfort zone to make tons of phone calls (it's a little thing, but it's big to me)
- Sitting outside in our backyard in the evening playing and watching the sun go down
- Going for long walks as a family and panicking when one child steps into oncoming traffic (oddly, we haven't gone since that happened...)
There are more but I can't think of them. My point is, we've been saying a lot of "This is Colorado Courtney now..." as if that's instantly supposed to make me bolder and braver. Or at least more willing to walk outside the house...
I've never been to a street market. I've been to a flea market once and made my best friend Mindy do all the talking. (I got a great (GREAT) old typewriter and then couldn't find a place for it in my house. I gave it to my mom and now secretly want it to be my Christmas present.
But it really does look far better in her home than it would in mine.
Anyway. My friend Jeanne told me about this street fair and I knew I wanted to go...
While we were there, we ran into Shamanie, Jeanne's neighbor and friend and someone I think I would love to hang out with. Yes, we're holding that freshly made kettle corn that is the perfect blend of salty and sweet, though I confess it's those super sweet kernels that keep me going back for more...that and our freshly squeeze lemonade made the perfect mid-morning snack.
The street market was new to me, and I truly was just browsing since I'm in a rental and don't want to decorate this house so much as deal with it...
But I was inspired.
Inspired by old windows with chippy paint...
Salvaged wood creations like this adorable house...
And stacks of artwork to whet your creative appetite...
It filled up my creative tank, just being there, seeing the mesh of colors and the way people turned their creative energy into something tangible like a pillow or an apron or a quilt.
The very first booth we went in held the best treasure. Buried on a quilt rack, I found this:
Frayed edges, soft, worn fabric, delightfully lightweight with colors that made me gasp.
I knew it would be too much money.
In true Illinois-Courtney fashion, I had Jeanne ask the woman for the price. When she told us it was $40, we both gasped and Jeanne said "If you don't get it, I'm going to."
I knew it was a good deal, and while I really wasn't in the market for a new quilt, I couldn't pass it up. It made me so happy.
I now use it every single night as the Colorado air turns from toasty warm to breezy cool. With the windows open I can put on a sweatshirt and curl up underneath this happy blanket and read or have a couch date with Adam. It was definitely a good buy. Now I want more of them. I'd like to start a collection. Not necessarily big heavy quilts, but light, worn ones like mine.
And while I can't be certain where this quilt came from, I like to imagine its frayed edges and torn lining mean it has a history. A story. Perhaps quilted by a new grandmother or passed down when its creator moved from this life into the next.
Regardless, I am so happy I bought it. And so happy I went to the street market.
This month there's one here in Fort Collins and I've already got it on my calendar! Sometimes, I'm finding, doing things I've never done before is absolutely the best idea in the world.
Especially if I get to go with these girls...
