Flea Market Finds

Going back to my Long Beach garage sale roots, I decided to check out the Pasadena Flea Market at The Rose Bowl last week. If you're looking for an exhausting day filled with entertaining people watching (including a few celebs) and some vintage furniture where you will have to barter your way down to something halfway reasonable, then this is the place to be! 

I loved these pre-wired lanterns, but the guy wanted $75 and I was over it being at a loss as to where the heck I would put them... Yet another reason why I need a big house. 

Gorgeous fuschia fabric. I would make the wood part a bright color to modernize it! Lime green, bright orange? Ideas?

Beautiful entry table! Difficult to see the gorgeous detail in the bright sunlight, but once again worth every penny it would have cost me! The guy was willing to bargain too!

Beautiful trunk asking for $100 and I couldn't justify it. :(

This beaut would have taken a bit of work, but where do you find those kind of lines anymore! #Obsessed.

In my world, this would be painted hot pink instead of gold. It's a jewelry tree, but I love its simplicity and Asian inspiration. 

Ok. This was my favorite and last find. I was inspired a la this photo that I would like to recreate in my beach house remodel. 

5 Quick tips:

1. Bring lots of cash! Some places take Debit/Credit, but don't bank on it. If you have to pull out cash, you'll be charged a crazy service fee!

2. Look for the places that are a little more rough around the edges. Here you will find the better deals. If you are immediately drawn to the perfectly manicured spaces, prepare to pay a pretty penny for your pretty finds. 

3. Wear comfy shoes and arrive early! The shopping is massive and you will not get to very many places if you show up between 11am and noon! They close at 3pm and some shut down by 2pm!

4. Eyeball your faves and head back right before they close. Vendors will tend to decrease their prices towards the end of the day because they don't want to haul it back! 

5. Get a large Bud Light while you're there and make the shopping more casual while opening up your purse strings a bit. Or better yet, smuggle in a few in a large purse and save some $$$ for shopping like Bre and me below!

HOW TO: Be a Best Friend in Social Media

Let’s break this down. So when you were in elementary school and they were teaching you all about reading and learning new words, you could take an obscure phrase that you didn’t understand and break it down make sense. Right? So let’s take the phrase “social media” and break it down. You are using new media to create social interactions.  Let’s dive into this a little more…

Have you seen a company enter into the realm of social media and only promote themselves and their products? It’s like meeting someone new and having them enter a room to only talk about the latest happenings in their own life. BORING. Or that one friend that everyone has who never asks you questions and only cares to talk all about their drama. Does anyone particularly like that person? The answer: No. At the end of the day, most people like to talk about themselves. It’s a fact of life that people like the company of that generous friend who allows you to talk about things happening in your life. 

The idea behind social media is to be the fun and generous friend. Be the one who is constantly providing useful information and engaging with your followers. You have to spend a good amount of time to foster new relationships in real life and in the social media realm, so if you plan to exist on social media, know that you must commit to be successful!

Be an individual and show your personality! Obviously you need to remain polite to respect your company’s reputation, but make sure you come off as an actual human being! Have fun with it because it’s all about being social!

Just a tip of what NOT to do:

As I’m writing this, I read a tweet saying, “[We’re] simply the best.” Can I just say ICK! Who wants to read that? Bragging is so unattractive especially when it is blatant.  So take a cue from this tweeter and be engaging, fun and humble! Be your reader's best friend!