A Trip to Brooklyn Flea

We hopped the subway to Brooklyn to brave the heat and check out the Flea Market. (Easier said than done - the weekend is when they fix the transit systems, so locals run express, eastern lines go west, and your downtown train will not run at all.)  Jean is holding her $5 red and black walking stick. We learned that they used to be carnival prizes from the 1930s-1950s. It quickly became, in Valerie's eyes, perhaps the most annoying accessory known to man after Jean used it point at things, to gesture wildly, to tap the beat of a Jackson Five song playing over and over in her head. Shortly after our arrival, we ran into Tim John, whose accessory of choice was an antique fan.

Although the weekend subway re-routing complicated our travel to Brooklyn, we took this subway sign as a good omen that our luck was about to change. Even though Valerie pointed out that the Jackson Five member's first name is spelled differently, it didn't prevent the loop playing in Jean's head all day: "A-B-C, it's as easy as 1-2-3 ..."!

On our walk from the subway, we strolled across Atlantic Avenue past the window at Betty Bakery that featured a lineup of beautifully decorated cakes.

We ran into sooooo many stylish women at the flea market. Learning to approach people to ask for photographs is a never ending process.  Sometimes we get up the gumption, and sometimes we don't. And sometimes, even after we've pulled our last ounce of gumption out of our bag of tricks, people turn us down. So we didn't ask everyone we wanted to, but we asked author and consultant Candelaria (click on her name for her website), and wanted to show you her gorgeous mane of gray hair.

On our walk around the area, we passed the Red Star Sandwich Shop and got a huge laugh at the chalkboard outside. Just had to share it with you.

As we headed back to the subway station, we had a great chat with Sharon Williams, who designs and sells jewelry as CEO of Shaz Gallery. Check out how she rocks color in her wardrobe and her accessories.

Then, having taken in our full complement of fun and vitamin D, it was back to business as usual.  When we emerged from the train, we went our separate ways, with Jean packing to go out of town, and Valerie getting her hair sharpened in time for Fashion Week.