I love LOVE LOVE the flea market. Fortunately, I live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex, so we have a few options. The one place, I most frequent is the flea market in McKinney -- Third Monday Trade Days.

Third Monday Trade Days is off of 380 in McKinney. It occurs the weekend before the third Monday.

Owned by the folks who own the mega-flea market Canton, this place makes for a fun few hours. I love that not only is it a hop and jump from where we live -- we can get thru the place in a matter of hours (without the kids an hour!). The only cost is $3 to park.

Last weekend, the whole fam headed over. You have your typical unique flea market crowd. You’ll find one of every type. There are all types of things to see and eat. The kids love the animals and the cheap toys. I hate the smelly port-a-potties, but what do you do… you hold it.

My biggest finds were this totally random 70’s mannequin head (her name is Tammi). She maybe weird to some, but to me she was hilarious. For $3 this treasure was mine. Now she freaks me out every morning when I wake up, since she is tenatively living on my dresser.

The other thing I frequent the flea market for is the bargain on jewelry. Let me interject that I love accessories, but I refuse to pay much for them. This last weekend, I found the jewelry lady who had a deal -- choose and 2 items for $5 or 5 items for $10. Check out my stash of bargain jewelery.

This stuff is by no means guaranteed to last -- but for what I would pay for 1 necklace at Target -- I was able to buy 5 pieces.

Here are some great tips to shopping flea markets:

The Travel Channel’s #10 Flea Markets in the world!

Never been to a flea market? You are missing an experience! Don’t forget to haggle on the prices, you can definately save even more by offering a lower price.

Happy Flea Market Shopping!

P.S. RANDOM!

Why are Flea Markets called Flea Markets?

There are a few theories floating around the internet -- here they are:

The origins of the term are disputed but some have observed that buyers and sellers may be as active as for that the original people and goods were infested. According to Word and Phrase Origins, the term was derived from the “Vallie Market” of Manhattan.

The original flea market may be the Marché aux puces (“market with fleas” in French) of Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, in the northern suburbs of Paris. It is a large, long-established outdoor bazaar, one of four in Paris. From the late 17th century, the makeshift open-air market in the town of Saint-Ouen began as temporary stalls and benches among the fields and market gardens where ragpickers exchanged their findings for a small sum. Thank you Wikipedia!