Antique Shopping at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena is the ultimate shopping experience.
I don’t know about you, but I was raised by a woman who loves to shop. If there were an olympic sport for bargain hunting, my mom would win gold. In fact, her favorite motto is ‘Shop till we drop!’. When it comes to finding that perfect must-have item, there is no trek too far to reach it, especially when it comes at a bargain.
Most of my life I have spent being a bargain shopper, as there is no greater feeling than finding an item you’d love to own at a fraction of the retail cost. This was especially true in college. Every college student is on a budget and I really had to watch my pennies. I lived on my own in an apartment off campus and shared said apartment with a roommate. So among rent, utilities, gas, etc, I had to fit shopping into my budget, as it has always been one of my favorite past times. Now that I’m a married woman, no longer in college, and a business owner, the necessity to bargain shop is far less. Thank God, it’s so much more fun now that I don’t HAVE to do it! haha
So now, I have traded in my desire to keep up with what everyone else has going on, and turned to coveting items no one else has and using them uniquely within my home and wardrobe. This is where my Aunt comes in. About a year ago she introduced me to antiquing. As many of you know, from watching any of the antique shows on television, antique collectors can really be in search of anything as long as it’s relatively old and worth more than what they’re paying for it. Well, my Aunt’s obsession is antique glass and dinner ware. At first I had no real interest in buying old dishes, but the more I learned about the glass, the era it comes from, and how gorgeous the craftsmanship is, I fell in love. Since then we have scoured antique shops all over Southern California in search of unique antique wares.
Among my favorite spots to shop is at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. It takes place the second Sunday of every month, and talk about sensory overload! Vendors bring all their wares to this gigantic lot, and the shopping frenzy begins. So yesterday my Aunt and I went out, braved the heat and got our shopping on! Thousands of people come to this event hoping to find those coveted items at a steal of a price. Now, I never enjoyed haggling, but since I’ve started antiquing I’ve really honed in on how to bargain with dealers, when to take the item, and when to let it go. I’ve also learned that it’s just as much fun to be able to walk around and check things out without making a purchase. Here are some moments I captured that really give you an essence of what this ultimate shopping experience offers! From home goods, to accessories, you can find just about anything. This flea market is definitely something to add to your bucket list!
