A Family Outing to the Rose Bowl Flea Market

The Rose Bowl Flea Market offers LA families a fun way to spend a Sunday morning

The saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure" couldn't have felt more accurate on the day we made a trip to the Rose Bowl Flea Market a few Sundays ago.
The truth is, we never intended to visit the flea market.
Paul and I had planned to jog around the Rose Bowl and take turns pushing the kids on their stroller, except, Paul forgot a key adapter and once we arrived, there was no way to connect the seats to the stroller! We were not going to make Benny walk for 3 miles so we walked across the parking lot instead, to check out the ever-so-famous Rose Bowl Flea Market.

Where should I begin?
It was definitely a fun family outing.
For starters, there's a $9 admission fee per person.
My first thought was, geez, eighteen bucks to get through the door, just to shop for old stuff!?
Well, we started by ordering lunch. And of course, we each wanted something different. Good thing there was food for all tastes.

Next, we started walking the dozens of aisles with stuff for sale.
There were many local vendors selling their homemade crafts, which I actually loved.
We tasted and bought a slice of the world's most moist cake, which was delicious.
We saw such things as taxidermy bats, an old carousel horse, Christmas ornaments and bric-a-brac to last a lifetime.

There were some fabulous vintage finds, like glamorous fur coats, authentic bomber jackets, old school mickey phones and decades-old chandeliers.
The kids loved it. Benny had ice cream as he walked and explored junky stuff, like empty Pez containers and asked questions about antique dolls that looked rather creepy.
We bought very little but enjoyed a whole lot, especially because my husband has this ability to make friends and chatted up a storm with several vendors.
Open on the second Sunday of each month, the Rose Bowl flea market has been around for 45 years and features 2,500 vendors every month.

It offers a pretty cool way to spend a Sunday morning in LA County, but be prepared to shell out some cash (an old Ghostbusters pin that Benny liked was offered to us for $50). But it wouldn't be labeled the "shopping place of the stars" for no reason!

Take the Stress out of the Holidays with a Celebrity Cruise!

Here's a stress-free New Year's Eve idea-- head to the ocean!

Ok, so Thanksgiving Day is over. Christmas and New Year's Eve are officially right around the corner!
I didn't have to go through the trouble of prepping, cooking, entertaining and cleaning for yesterday's turkey celebration... My mother-in-law prepared a delicious feast and we enjoyed a great time at her house.
But Christmas will probably be a different story because I do love to host and entertain guests.
And as far as a New Year's Eve celebration-- I'm thinking a top chef dinner overlooking the ocean, a fancy gala event where I can get all dolled up and an awesome concert to end the night. Doesn't that sound great!?

Well, Celebrity Cruises has several holiday cruises with perks and discounts (some that allow you to book into 2018). They start as low as $499 per person but you can book a 7-day Southern Caribbean Cruise or another itinerary sailing over Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's.
By the way, award-winning singer and songwriter Demi Lovato will perform outside Port St. Maarten on December 28, for those guests traveling to the Caribbean!

Fun, right? Also, aboard the cruises some top chefs will be creating unique menus.
I think I need some Vitamin Sea!

Visit Celebrity Cruises for more details or call 1-888-283-6879.


 *This is NOT a sponsored post. I received an email about this promotion and simply wanted to share :)

The Perfect Car Seat for Toby!

New in 2016: Britax presents the Advocate Clicktight, a state-of-the-art addition to its' collection of highly rated & dependable car seats

A few weekends ago, my husband Paul and I had the honor of becoming little Ricky's godparents (story here).

The baptism mass was held at 10am about an hour away from home, in Long Beach, CA. 

Paul and I knew from the get go that we'd have a very busy morning so we split up parental responsibilities in order to make it to the mass on time. 

My tasks were to bathe and dress the boys and get them seated and buckled up for the road trip to Long Beach.

Paul would pick up his suit at the dry cleaners, make breakfast and pack the diaper bag.

Well, I impressed myself because I was able to get everything done, including my own hair and make-up, without Paul reminding me that I "take too long"! We arrived at the church with plenty of time before the baptism mass started.

My fast & efficient morning performance (lol) was due in part to the ease of installing our new car seat, the Britax Advocate Clicktight with Anti-Rebound Bar. I first learned about it here.

It's a big car seat. It's a bit heavy too but it's incredibly easy to install. Once you have it secured in place, this seat does not move. Period. It's also very comfortable. I say this because Toby has fallen asleep every time we've buckled him in (something that didn't quite happen with his old car seat).

Other cool things about the Advocate ClickTight:

3 layers of side impact protection, an impact-absorbing base, steel frame, and an anti-rebound bar for maximum safety.

• The Anti-Rebound Bar (ARB) minimizes forces associated with crashes by stabilizing the car seat when installed rear-facing.
• Rest assured your child’s harness is within range of proper tightness thanks to the Click & Safe Snug Harness Indicator.
• Premium padding and fabrics wrap your child in comfort.

- See more at: https://us.britax.com/car-seats/advocate-clicktight-arb/#sthash.ka0le5N6.dpuf

* It offers 3 layers of side impact protection

* The Anti-Rebound Bar (ARB) minimizes forces associated with crashes by stabilizing the car when installed rear-facing. 

* It has an impact absorbing base which compresses to reduce the rough force of a collision

* Features a 7-position recline which makes for easy angle adjustment

* Proudly engineered, tested and made in the USA

Need I say more? Well, there is plenty more to be said about this car seat! You can read all about it & watch demo videos on the Britax Website.

The Britax Advocate ClicktTight retails for about $439 and it's worth every single penny. 

I'm just thrilled to own this super sturdy and reliable car seat that can be installed so easily. So proud to have my Toby finally enjoy the comfort and ease of a Britax product, just like big brother Benny did.

By the way, the trips to and from the baptism and proceeding reception were very smooth. Conclusion: a comfy car seat means a happy baby.  A safe and sturdy car seat means happy parents. And when baby and parents are happy inside the car, we've reached success. 

Britax ClickTight Knowledge Center

User guides & Instructional Videos

Thank you, Britax!

*This is a sponsored post. I received a Britax ClickTight Advocate Car Seat in exchange for a review on this blog.