vintage...so adorable

when i was little, we would hit up the swap meet all the time.  i always thought it was great because i could take what bit of fun money and scoop up whatever caught my attention.  there were always toys and books and all sorts of things that a kid would find interesting.

as i got older though, i lost interest in picking through booths of random shit like that.  i'm not really a yard saling, thrift shopping kinda girl.  on occasion, i may find it interesting to hit up antique shops or vintage stores...although it's usually after someone else has invited me to go along.

that's how i ended up at the rose bowl's flea market.  held once a month, i'd always heard about people coming here and finding fun stuff, eating delicious snacks, or just doing some fantastic peoplewatching.  the hub was looking for some interesting pieces to add as decor for the lounge, and so off we went to pasadena on a sunday morning.

and it definitely didn't disappoint.  there was all sorts of random shit on display...basically like one gigantic neighborhood yard sale.  like some old sports promo gear:

want a leather jacket?  $10, and it's all vintage!

the bean stopped to look at every piece of star wars memorabilia she saw.

and she thought this bench using pieces from an old pick-up truck was pretty cool.  actually, i think she was just relieved to be allowed to sit on something.

like i said...super random shit.

you want to have a throne?  or perhaps an actual church pew?

maybe some old combat gear?

there was an assload of old typewriters:

and adding machines:

this thing said it was a typewriter, although i've never seen anything that looks like it before.

and what in the fresh hell is this?  more to the point, how on earth does one use it?

stacks and stacks of old comic books.

the one treasure we did come home with - a vintage girl scout pin.

i wondered what these old ray-bans looked like.  i was afraid to touch it for fear it would crumble to pieces in my hand and i'd be stuck paying for it.

the bean had no idea who this even was.

although we did come across a few disney pieces.

chastity belt, anyone?

i was really afraid we were both going to have nightmares full of chucky.

and as we went through the aisles, we came across this dude who was walking his pig.

this was the one piece that caught the hub's eye - it's from the WWII era, or so the guy said, and had just been professionally framed.  it would have been a cool addition to one of the lounge walls, but at $450 it was a little out of the budget for the day.

this stuff brought back some flashbacks from my childhood.  what kid of the 70s/80s didn't have tupperware growing up?

need a gun?  or a razor?

the other side of the market was devoted to your typical swap meet crap.  there were a few local artists offering their wares, alongside solar panel vendors and lots of booths with cheap plastic crap.  and then the bean had to stop and look at this booth that offered real bugs as decor.  no, thanks.

on our way out, we passed a booth sponsored by mcdonald's where they were offering free samples of their newest breakfast foods.

and that, my friends, is your rose bowl flea market report.  i'm sure there was tons and tons of other stuff i could have shared, but i definitely got my fill of the flea market scene that day.  it was entertaining for sure, but i doubt i'll be back anytime soon.