A Different Approach to Junking for This Junker

Muse; a woman or a force personified as a woman, who is the source of inspiration for the creative artist.

We have some really lovely guests here at The Rose. As we get to know each better, we keep everyone in our thoughts as we shop. We like to review our requests and what direction we are taking before we hit the road.

On this particular trip, we invited two of our muses to come along. Taylor of the Little Deer Vintage and Roxanne of Tender Turning Quietly. Both of these girls have quite the following on their blogs as well as their stores.

Instead of making them get up for the usual 3 a.m. takeoff when we visit the Rose Bowl, we decided to go to the Melrose Flea Market instead since it has a lot of vintage clothing and accessories (plus a late opening time).

We left at 6 a.m. and made our first (and most important) stop at 6:10 a.m. Yep, they are coffee lovers too! Personally I think it's a prequisite to successful junking. We may have also stopped at one of our favorite spots in Montecito to get a bit of fuel--we indulged in peach french toast and an omelet with goat cheese, asparagus and spinach. This is definitely not normal, but one must show a good time.

Fairfax High also has a flea market every sunday. I find this flea very different from the others we go to. When we need vintage clothing items or boots or accessories, it will usually supply us...although we have been there and we've left empty handed.

Roxanne and Taylor were both excited to find their loot. We seperated off and they worked like pros. They each navigated really fun buys. Since this market is in Hollywood, we all knew a star spotting was very likely. I spied a group of seven girls hustling around this gal, a model maybe? Each of them with cameras and duffle bags--fussing and working quickly to get their shots. It was fun to watch (although I think that 3 or 4 could have handled it).

We shared notes once we found each other and talked about what we saw (cutoffs...too many) and didnt see (affordable art). After one round, we were all way too hot to go another round so we shipped off. After another glass of iced coffee, we made a plan to check out another market on the way home. It's a fairly new one that is in a parking lot off the Topanga Mall and held on the 4th Sunday of the month. I didn't know what to expect. It was really hard to judge this market due to the heat...I seemed to only go into the booths with shade. We thought it was hot in Hollywood, but it was SUPER hot in Topanga! The girls liked this market better--they both found art AND clothes!

It was so fun getting to know these two better! Make sure to check out their blogs (Taylor, Roxanne) and vintage items in their shops (Taylor, Roxanne).

After looking back at the photos, I am so bummed that I forgot to pick up some of the painted tiles (above). They were all so brilliant and this one in particular summarizes what I think of many times. Be nice or leave! Right?