I always enjoy looking in cooking stores. I can get sucked right into a Williams-Sonoma or Sur la Table in a heartbeat. Walking through the store my mind wanders thinking of all the wonderful things I could make if I only had one of these, or this, or that. Holding the beautiful shiny new objects in my hands I get all excited…..until I see the price and realize that I might only use the item one time. I mean how often am I really going to bake a vertical lasagna, or would I actually use a fifty-dollar 3″ le creuset pan? Being somewhat practical I seldom leave the store with anything other than ideas.

But I have found a solution for my desire to collect kitchen gadgets. Thrift stores, flea markets, and yard sales. I never know when or where I might find something, but the search is fun and the rewards great. For the past several weeks my sister has been staying with us lending a hand with the elderly parents. She and I both enjoy junk shopping, so to get a bit of an escape from dealing with real life situations, we have sought refuge at a few of the local thrift stores, and the findings have been tremendous.

Located at 21 South Broadway is the Denver Goodwill, or what I refer to as the Macy’s of thrift stores. This beautiful brick building was originally the JC Penney department store. Grand and glorious this building now contains some of the best finds around.

So if you’re the kind of person that enjoys a treasure hunt, appreciates finding bargains, and likes to recycle then check out your local thrift stores. You will be supporting a good cause, and you just never know what you might find.

With the warm weather arriving early this year, my yard is crying for some attention.  As I witness the plants jumping out of the ground a month early, I see all kind of things that really should be taken care of. The perennials that I intended to move last year, the grass that would be much easier to dig out of the flower bed now than later, and the reminders of the past winter that quietly beg for mercy. So many projects that someone really should do something about. So what did this someone decide to do?……………. Go to the flea market.

The Mile High Flea Marketplace is 80 acres of everything you can imagine. A year-round farmers market, shops with new and used merchandise, delicious food, and some of the most amazing people watching in the region. The weekends are and extra special treat. People show up in droves attempting to sell their strange assortments of trinkets and treasures they have hoarded in their basements, garages and attics. It is probably the most “crap-tastic” yard sale anywhere to be found. You really can see it all, and you just never know what you might find!

I particularly enjoy strolling around enjoying an icy cold Chelada while scouring the stands for fantastic prices on produce. I find this so much more fun than pulling weeds. The yard can simply wait.