San Jose Flea Market
We flew into Sacramento a couple of days before New Year’s Eve. While we wanted to originally stay in Sacramento it was difficult last minute for us to find the right AirBnB so we decided to venture to San Jose. I’m still pretty new to exploring a lot of California. Outside of flying through LA I’ve never really spent time in the Southern half of the state. I am growing to love the laid back lifestyle California offers and Northern California is no different. San Jose is just south of San Francisco and is such a beautiful city. Although it’s close to San Francisco you don’t have to drive up and down those crazy steep hills!
The San Francisco Flea Market wasn’t a planned trip. We were actually headed out of San Jose one evening when we stumbled upon this fun little spot. We easily spotted it as we were on one of the main roads and knew we had to stop. Just a note, you do have to pay for parking, but it’s well worth it if you are looking to do some shopping! Situated right in the center of the flea market is a food court like area and outdoor play area for kiddos. I loved the carousel! It was almost like being at a state fair! There are food carts, an ice cream shop and other places to grab a bite to eat situated among the many vendors! Although I was sticking to coffee, the others in our group grabbed a beer for a stroll along the isles.
For today I wore a red belted coat, white jeans, boots and a fun red beret. I love wearing berets. They offer a unique flair instead of a traditional beanie or hat. I purchased this one from Amazon and found a few similar options here, here and here (all of which are under $15!) One of the best Winter color combinations in my book includes white and red. So I didn’t look like an candy cane I added details of grey and black to offset the brighter colors.
I ended up picking up two pom pom fleece lined beanies but was pretty impressed with the selection of things to buy at the flea market. If it wasn’t thirty degrees I probably would have ended up getting some new summer shoes but that particular day it just didn’t seem so practical. I love markets! When we lived in Asia as a kid we would venture to East Gate for the Korean markets. I remember it being so much fun every time we went scouring various vendors and picking up clothing, gift items and household goods. In Asia you will find a shoe store next to a vendor who sells hog heads. It was a lot like that at the San Jose Flea Market. There was a candy vendor next to someone selling luggage.
Over the past few weeks I’ve made a major shift in what I eat to include going grain-free. As I’ve mentioned her on the blog I am anxiety prone. Not just a little anxiety, I’ve been diagnosed with full blown panic disorder. These days I rarely get a panic attack, however that is only due to a consistent self-care regimen, therapy and lots of rest. I also practice mindfulness which has made a huge impact on how I process information and worry less. Practicing joy is another intentional element in my life and as we’ve had shorter days I find myself inside more than ever and with that came baking! Baking has been a pastime of mine over the years beginning with vacations at my grandma’s house when I was little. I loved spending hours with her making our family banana bread, cookies and cream puffs. While some of the other kiddos in the family were impatient at a young age, I found I got more attention from her if I baked and therefore spent tons of time doing so. Before you knew it I picked up a lot of information and realized just how much I absolutely love baking!