if you've ever been to the Flamingo Plaza thrift stores, dead smack in the middle of Hialeah la ciudad de progreso, you've experienced the mayhem that is real thrifting (you're also probably mad that your little gem of a garbage bin has been so publicly touted). If you've never been, don't be fooled by these finds and think that thrifting, real thrifting, not like Fly Boutique on Lincoln Road or Miami Twice, is as easy as these pictures make it seem.
Flamingo Plaza, a thrift mini mall right off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd and Le Jeune, hosts big thirft stores with racks and racks of stuff (some might call it junk) right next to a kidney transplant center. A blind man who used to play the accordion now plays a Cassio keyboard outside of Red, White and Blue, the first shop worth visiting if your looking for purses, pants, t-shirts of 90's corporate BBQs, Marlins cowboy hats, army jackets, or 60's Trudy Campbell style dresses. On a good day there are four dollar Balmain purses mismarked next to a twenty dollar faux-Coach.
This particular mission had us hunting for furniture for two little apartments. Before hitting Ikea, where you're always in danger of that distinctly IKEA look, West Elm, Pottery Barn or some other lame chain we thought other peoples castaways (junk) might have a little more "character" (be cheaper). Our finds were inspired; that's not to say it was easy. We bargained, we searched, and then we bargained some more, and here's a little recap of some of our favorite finds, furniture edition:
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| patio bench $15 |
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| tiny shoes $1 |
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| bamboo couch $150 |
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| clever table and chair set $60 |
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| tall back chair $40 |
