The Norton Simon Museum

Yesterday my friend and I spent our afternoon at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. I've only been there once before, and the space felt much bigger to me than last time. The museum has around 1,000 pieces of art from various time periods on display. There's even a beautiful outdoor sculpture garden complete with a garden cafe. It's really a great place to visit if you're ever in the area!

The Rose Bowl Flea Market

My cousin and I went to the Rose Bowl Flea Market for the very first time yesterday! We saw all sorts of shabby chic furniture, antique collectibles, and unique vintage clothing. I even managed to haggle down the price on a set of photo slides from the 1950's (2 for $3!). While I do admit that the venue was pretty huge, I don't think it was necessarily worth the $8 admission fee. I guess I'm more used to going to flea markets that cost $3 or less. Those admission fees add up haha! Regardless of the price, I'm so glad that we finally got to see and experience the Rose Bowl Flea Market in person!

Here are a few things that I learned from my first trip to the Rose Bowl Flea Market:

+ Parking - When we got to Pasadena (around 9:20am) the line to get into the free parking area was already backed up! I noticed several cars parking on the other side of Seco St. so I decided to do the same! It was totally the right decision because the Rose Bowl was only a short walk away and we didn't have to wait in any lines to get in and out the crowded parking area!

+ Haggling - I read a number of blogs that said that you should always try to haggle and they were right! When I tried to purchase the photo slides, the vendor wanted me to pay $5 while I only wanted to pay $1. We ended up meeting in the middle at $3 which was fine with me!

+ Lunch - If you're extremely frugal like me, then the best thing you can purchase for lunch is a yummy $2 hot dog. There are hot dog stands scattered throughout the flea market. Everything else is about $8-$10 which was just a little too much for me (especially on top of the $8 admission haha). Also, you should definitely eat lunch inside of the stadium. One of the highlights of our trip was sitting in the stands with a view of the entire football field. When will you ever be able to say that you ate lunch inside of the Rose Bowl while it was empty? 

And Then There Were Roses

So guess where I was this past Monday? The Rose Parade in Pasadena! It was so cool to actually see all of the floats up close and in person. I've watched the parade on tv my whole life, but I never thought that I'd actually go one day. The streets were ridiculously crowded, but luckily my friend and I found a secluded spot right behind the crowds and in the shade. It was the perfect location for viewing the parade!