It's Here, and I'm not There...

Oh, this is bitter-sweet. This weekend marks a very fun time for thrifters and frugal mamas residing in western Europe, specifically the Kaiserslautern area. Once a year, the German American and International Women's Club hosts a very fun thrift event known as the Pfennig Bazaar. The Pfennig Bazaar is so much fun and I was really unfortunate to learn about it only in my last year of living overseas. Basically this women's club collects donated items all year round, then has one big hoopla sale every Spring.

The sale is hosted by Germans and Americans and the funniest part is that the prices and deals you get vary among which nationality you're dealing with. Here's what I mean - I found this adorable hat rack (it's on my kitchen wall now) and I asked an American lady what the price was - she said, "oh, that's an antique - I would say 8 euros". I wasn't happy with paying 8 euros, so I continued to walk around with the hat rack until I found a German lady and asked her what the price would be. She replied, "Oh, that's junky - 3 euros would be fine". SOLD! It's funny how different opinions run on "junk" in Europe. When we were living in Germany, we realized that most of our German neighbors were living in homes that were built in the late 1800's, so they wanted the interior of their homes to look modern, crisp, and new. Thus, what we consider to be a fine worn antique item, is of no use to them - it's merely junk. So goes the saying, one man's trash is another man's treasure!

The bitter end of this is that the sale is going on without me being there - get out your violin, here comes the whining. There is a sweet side though...my bestest bud Angela will be there shopping for me! Woohoo! Go Angela! Don't take their first offer! Shop strong!

If you want the details of attending this event, my fellow thrifter Angela has done an impeccable job of telling you all you need to know on her blog here http://europeanmarketjunkie.blogspot.com

Hope you have a nifty thrifty weekend!
-diane