If you follow me and my shopping excursions on Instagram, then you know I got into a little flea market shopping this weekend. My friend came to visit me from Connecticut and we hit the Meadowlands Flea Market. Yeah, we could have went to the Brooklyn Flea Market, but I knew we’d find even more one-of-a-kind, wallet-friendly pieces at the Meadowlands.

And I was right!

The Meadowlands Flea Market is open on Saturdays and features tons of vendors selling everything from fruit, cleaning supplies, clothing and antiques. And the food is great. You can’t go wrong with the kabobs, kettle corn or pickles. After chowing down on some food, we checked out a few antiques. We weren’t really looking for anything in particular, but came across pieces we couldn’t resist.

I was obsessed with this stroller. Sure, I had no use for it, but how cute is it?! I didn’t buy it, but the picnic basket is something I scored from another vendor for just $5. We also stumbled upon a basket of Playboy magazines. Normally I’d pass right by, but my friend LaToya has a poster of the cover with Darine Stern in her living room. Her 1971 cover was groundbreaking, as Darine was the first black woman to appear on the cover of Playboy by herself. My friend didn’t feel like digging through the basket, but she asked the vendor if he had the cover…and he did!

Flea Market Tip: If you’re looking for something in particular, just ask! The vendors know their merchandise and can tell you if they’ve got what you want. And they want to make a sale and unload their goods, so they’re going to help you in any way they can, but you have to ask first!

While my friend was elated over her vintage Playboy magazine, I bought a $5 travel case. I’m not sure if I’ll use this to store accessories or makeup, but it will come in great use.

Check out the inside of the picnic basket. The vendor wanted $6, but I asked if she could do $5 and we had a deal. The difference of $1 wasn’t major but I just didn’t want to break a bill and it was toward the end of the day, so I knew she wanted to unload her items and not have to pack everything back up.

I was more than happy with the picnic basket and storage case, but my weekend of flea market finds didn’t stop there. While heading to brunch the next day, we noticed one of my neighbors was having a sidewalk sale. Some of the pieces were weird {a dismembered doll!}, but I gravitated toward a selection of luggage.

I’ve wanted vintage suitcases since forever but at $20+ at some shops, I typically passed them up. But I was able to get these bad boys for $5 each. This is another reason I love smaller flea markets or sidewalk sales. You simply can’t beat the prices! I want to find a few more cases and use them as decoration, but I plan to actually use the smaller one when I travel.