my cousin and ventured out the rose bowl flea market in pasadena today. a must-do for LA residents. I honestly don't know why it took so long for me to make it over there. I realized it's only about 15 minutes from fiance's apt! It only occurs on the second sunday of the month. Last time she went was august and it was miserably hot. we figured "hey january sounds good right?". but then again this is southern california...so it was still warm. 70s with cloud cover...so just be prepared with light layers and sunscreen (i failed on the latter). also bring: CA$H, lots of water, snacks/lunch (that parm soft pretzel and and frozen lemonade really hit the spot but totally not worth the $10 i paid for the meal...fail.) and comfortable shoes! there's a LOT of walking.

there's also great deals to be had. especially if you're a haggler (my mom is pro but i don't seem to have inherited that gene...). 2 dresses, 3 cashmere sweaters ($5 each!), a silk blouse, rings and 2 vintage coats for less than $80. that was a good day for me!

patience is also required. time to really look through boxes and bins and booths and racks. there's great furniture deals if you're prepared to cart that stuff away. boxes and boxes of records (of course the one that i actually wanted ended up only being the album cover with no record). so much jewelry! there were some fantastic sellers with racks upon racks of vintage clothing. we saw tons of leather goods: jackets, belts, purses and shoes. also lots of fur coats.

usually i get too overwhelmed by huge places like fairs and ikea and costco...but antique shops and flea markets have a special place in my heart. probably the result of my parents dragging me through them throughout my childhood. it's a way to purchase your own piece of history, and i plan to seek them out wherever i go in the world. i still miss cambridge's open air market.