California. Rose Bowl Flea Market

It takes some planning, but I always try to schedule my visits to California to coincide with the Rose Bowl Flea Market. This trip was no exception. Tyson was kind enough to drive his mother to Pasadena where we met our good friend Jared.

(You may recognize Jared from HGTV's Rate my Space and Summer Showdown.) Jared is a carpenter, furniture designer, craftsman, and TV personality. He is one of the few on TV today that actually knows what he is talking about! Check out his website at www.jaredwalkerdostie.com  FYI, he is a really nice guy and cute too!

I am a coffee drinker. I thought everyone drank coffee. So how is it that my kids don't have coffee, sugar, or butter in the house? Since staying with Taylor and Tyson, I have learned how to love olive oil, eat my Wheaties without sugar, but I just can't replace my coffee with green tea. Not just yet, anyway. I made Tyson stop at a Starbucks on the way to the flea market and I must say I had never patronized a Starbucks in a laundromat. Weird but cool!

I've seen a lot of shoe forms in my day, never quite this pointy!  Ouch, those shoes must hurt!

Shower anyone?

I found it really hard to restrain myself from buying.  I don't really need a miter saw, but this one was really cool!

The vendor told me this is a popper.  It was a bar game played in the 30's.  I've never seen one!

My design tastes have reverted back to my years growing up in the 50s and the 60s. My mom was very contemporary in her decorating, and our home was considered far-out by most of my friends. We actually had a twine ball light fixture in my living room, and modern egg shaped chairs at our kitchen table. The Rose Bowl boasts a large selection of modern furniture and accessories. This fountain was just out of the box. I tried to convince Tyson to buy it for his room, but he wasn't feelin' it.

I was drawn to a booth with loads of industrial and architectural items. Oddly enough, it was a vendor I used to purchase from in Minnesota, Olde Good Things. They travel the country setting up at flea markets and have a store in LA. I hope to check it out while I'm here. Check out www.oldegoodthings.com or their online store, www.ogtstore.com

Wish I needed a light fixture.  Beaters are the best.

Eric and Daniela have the most beautiful linens I ever seen. I was excited to see them at the Rose Bowl. I first met them at the Santa Monica Flea Market and we featured their pillows in the JunkMarket Style Magazine. I hadn't seen them in years, and reminded them how we met. Daniela was so sweet when she told me that while we featured her product on a full page in our magazine, we neglected to give her credit. I felt awful! It was a slip-up during production, and I never realized what had happend. She had the photo of her pillows and the cover of the magazine on display in her booth, with out a credit. I said I was sorry over and over until I sounded like a broken record and said I would try to make it up to her. So help me out and spread the word about her fabulous product! www.euro-linens.com

I thought my good friend Tim would like the Star Wars curtains, or is it Star Trek, Tim?  I always get them confused!

My big purchase of the day...a dated nail from a telephone pole. These nails were used to mark railroad ties and telephone poles with the year they were installed. The vendor had quite the collection. (His dad worked for the phone company.) His collection range from the early 1900s to 1972. I bought the year I was born in, 53. I paid $2.

I extended my trip to spend some more time with Taylor working on the online store, since she wasn't up to speed last week. We will be visiting one of my favorite military surplus sources www.majorsurplus.com tomorrow. I can't wait! I have never been to the store...just to their website.

TV. My meetings went well. More to do. I know TV is a hard nut to crack...particularly when you're over 50.  That's all for now!

Peace,

Ki