Every May and October my mom and I wake up at the ass crack of dawn to head to the Lodi Street Faire. Why so early? To get first dibs on all the goods, of course! In May I wrote a post with 10 tips about shopping at these kinds of things (Tip #10: Get there early).

You can find the aforementioned post here.

We ended up getting there around 7 am (an hour later than we would’ve liked), but I still managed to score a bunch of awesome swag. My first find was a vintage Wicket coin bank (I love Ewoks, and my dog looks like one — I had to have it). The vendor originally asked for $10, then I asked if she’d take $8, and she was like, “Well, I originally wanted $15 for it… blah blah,” but then she went ahead and gave it to me for $8. LE WOOT! <– Tip #2: Don’t be afraid to negotiate.

Seriously, it doesn’t hurt to try and bargain with vendors. I have weird social anxiety issues, so I always had a problem doing this — my mom still has to encourage me to ask if they’ll lower the price. *nervous laughter* I think I’m getting a bit better at it though! And a lot of vendors are usually willing to negotiate the prices of their merchandise with shoppers.

Other items I scored:

• Snake bracelet (marked at $16, I asked for $10, but the lowest they’d go was $12)
• Nefertiti necklace ($5 — it kind of reminds me of my Mona Lisa necklace)
• Enamel horse pendant w/chain (marked at $32.50, I asked the vendor if they’d take it for $25 and I ended up getting it for $27 something because they added tax… weird)
• Japanese lion musical pendant ($10 — it winds up in the back and plays music!)
• Not pictured, but my mom and I also split on a box full of silk bow ties ($20)

It was nice and cold this morning and a cool breeze came in around 8, but by 11 the sun was blaring. Can’t the Central Valley just have real Fall weather already? I’m ready to wear cardigans, scarves, and boots ALL DAY LONG. I’ve been ready since Winter ended! D:

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outfit details:

• scarf: Missoni for Target
• cardigan: Mossimo (Target)
• camisole: Xhiliration (Target)
• belt: some Target brand… I love Target, okay? Sheesh.
• jeggings: H&M
• boots: Madden Girl
• purse: Cynthia Rowley