My husband once teased me for buying a small enameled egg at a flea market, but he was in for a surprise. I have always loved visiting flea markets, drawn to the idea of sifting through other people’s discarded items to find hidden treasures. This passion started when I was eleven, spending summers with my grandmother in New England. We would explore every flea market and street fair we could find, searching for what she called “preloved jewels”.
Even as a mother and grandmother now, nothing excites me more than rummaging through various stalls, hoping to find something special among the ordinary. My husband, Sam, is a kind and hardworking man, but he doesn’t understand my obsession. He often refers to my finds as “hoarder junk”, which sometimes causes tension between us. Despite his criticisms, I have no intention of giving up my weekend adventures with a budget of $20, determined to uncover a hidden gem.
Recently, Sam surprised me by asking to join me on one of my trips. It all started a month ago when I visited a nearby town’s street fair. I felt a thrill of excitement as I approached a modest display of knickknacks. Among the items was a small porcelain and enamel egg, roughly the size of a real egg. It wasn’t particularly beautiful, but I was drawn to it.
When I asked the seller how much it cost, he said $25. I gasped dramatically and offered him $5. After some back-and-forth, I convinced him to sell it to me for $10, and I felt a sense of victory as I tucked it away. After browsing a bit more, I headed home with my treasure in hand.
When I got home, I greeted Sam, who was skeptical about my find. He turned the egg over in his hands and discovered it was labeled “Made in Hong Kong”. He laughed and said I had been tricked. I felt a wave of disappointment but insisted that I liked it and heard something shifting inside.
With a quick motion, Sam pried the egg open, revealing a tiny bundle of red silk. As I carefully unwrapped it, I discovered a stunning pair of earrings nestled within. Although I initially thought they were just good fakes, Sam was convinced they were real diamonds after testing them with his breath, which didn’t fog up the clear center stone.
Excited, Sam suggested we take the earrings to a jeweler for appraisal. Despite my concern about the cost, we went to the mall, and the jeweler confirmed that they were indeed diamonds set in 18-carat white gold, possibly worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. My head spun when he said they could be valued at around three million dollars at auction.
Incredibly, the earrings sold for three million! We now have a lovely nest egg in the bank, and the porcelain egg proudly sits on the mantel of our new home. Sam, once a skeptic, has become an enthusiastic flea market companion, joining me in the hunt for more treasures. We may not have found that Van Gogh yet, but we remain hopeful!
This story teaches us that one person’s trash can truly become another’s treasure. It also reminds us to respect and support each other’s interests—Sam’s mockery of my hobby turned into appreciation when we discovered the earrings together.
I Am Just a Straight, Happily Married Guy Who Loves Wearing High Heels and Skirts as My Daily Wardrobe
High heels were first made for men and they started wearing them back in the 10th century, historians say. In our era, some men have gone back to wearing high heels, and heels on men have even worked their way into pop-culture. Recently, a 61-year-old engineer from Germany, Mark Bryan, started wearing high heels with skirts to his office and as his normal everyday outfits. His looks give people a push to ditch stereotypes and to never be afraid to wear whatever they want.
Here at Bright Side, we did love the looks that Mark shows off on his page, and we’d love for you to find out more about this man and his story.
Heels and skirts are more than just fashion attributes for this man.
Mark Bryan, a robotics engineer and a father-of-3, is an ordinary man at first glance. He’s normally busy with his work and family duties. But recently, he’s created a stir on the internet and created a following of about 200,000 on Instagram by sharing his exquisite looks, which are far from the ordinary “dad stuff.”
He started to radically change his wardrobe habits 4 years ago. His daily outfits now consist of red pumps, plaid miniskirts, and suede boots, which Bryan combines with midi and mini pencil skirts. While sharing his daily looks, he speaks out about how his clothing preferences are just as normal as anything else that he does.
His outfits make him feel empowered and more confident.
He prefers skirts to dresses, because, as he says, skirts allow him to combine looks and make them masculine-looking above the waist and neutrally-gendered below the waist. To him, it’s all about clothes having no gender. He said that with ordinary “male” trousers, people don’t really have many options for outfit variety, but with skirts, there are a wide range of colors and styles, and this is what makes him feel good about himself when wearing his outfits.
His wife and kids share his views and mission.
When he first spoke to his children about his outfits, he tried to explain to them that there’s nothing sexual in his way of building up his daily wardrobe and that it’s not about their dad being gay. His daughter is now one of his most devoted fans and she dreams of being able to borrow some pairs of her dad’s shoes.
His wife has always been supportive and she’s even helped him choose his outfits. As he says, his current style is inspired by Meghan Markle’s Rachel.
Mark has quickly learned how to deal with the public response.
He has experienced a lot of harsh comments and negativity about his fashion experiments. However, a lot of men at work and in public places confess that Mark is a normal guy, who’s able to carry on a really manly conversation and who acts masculine. If people start asking him about his sexuality, he always asks them if they’d be this interested in it if he wore pants. Though these questions can make him short-tempered, in the long run, he confesses that people around don’t really care that much about other people’s outfits.
Do you have favorite outfits that you would wear no matter what other people think or say?
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