The Texas Antique Weekend

  I'm sure most of ya'll have already read all about the wonders of the Warrenton Antique Festival over at Miss Betty Crafter's blog (make sure you stop by and enter her contest to win a super cute squirrel planter). This was my first time attending and it was such a dream come true, I had to go twice! I went opening week with Mike and then back a week later with Betty and our friend Cassie.

  Before we arrived in the Warrenton/Round Top area we had to take a small dirt road out to the middle of nowhere. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty sure Leatherface was waiting just around the bend.

  Once we arrived safely at our desitination I was overcome with some of the most beautiful vintage treasures my eyes could behold! The picture doesn't do this television justice, since there were lots of items piled in front of it, but it sat on a neat rolling stand. I can just imagine it in a turquoise kitchen!

  My little brother came for a visit a few weeks ago, and even though he's only 13 he loves the show 'American Pickers' and has developed a picking habit of his own when it comes to vintage signs & Coca Cola memorabilia. I had to snap a pic to share the massive haul they had at this booth.

  I, on the other hand, have a soft place in my heart for black Americana from the early/mid 1900s, and there was a ton of it at various booths. Check out this "Little Black Sambo" board game; they only had the cover of the box but the graphics are the most adorable thing!

 I have no idea what the 'Scairy Baby Hotel' is, but it certainly compliments the nearby Texas Chainsaw Massacre dirt road and gave me the creeps.

  And of course I fell in love with this pink Shasta trailer; it wasn't for sale but that didn't stop me from wishing I could take it home!

I almost swerved off the road when I saw this blow mold city but somehow managed to park safely before totally freaking out. Can I take them all home? Please??

   I did bring home two blow molds to start my collection. An adorable blue eyed Santa that Betty found for me and an overly happy and almost creepy Easter bunny.

  Next I died and went to Pyrex heaven. I seriously felt a few heart palpitations and got a little  teary eyed at this beautiful sight. I could of stayed here all day talking to the cute little old lady who was selling these. She spoke about them like they were her babies and with good reason.

  This was only a small portion of the Pyrex she had at her booth and there were several booths nearby with impressive collections as well. If I was a millionaire I would of bought it all! Sadly that's not the case but I still feel like I brought home a good haul. The best deal of the day was the 50 cents I paid for the mug.

  The goal of the first trip was to come home with an amazing planter and towards the end of the day I did just that! I had Mike do my bargaining for me and he was able to get this planter stand for $35. A trip to the nursery is in order to fill it with all kinds of lovely greenery.

  Speaking of plants, I also picked up this cute butterfly planter and a wonderful turquoise plant stand with my very last $20. 

  After Cassie picked up a gorgeous Bakelite orange fruit necklace and Betty her leaf necklace, I was yearning for a Bakelite necklace of my own.  I confessed to the ladies (who are both pretty serious collectors) that I didn't own any Bakelite, and we decided I had to remedy that pronto. I was skeptical on this necklace but after the dealer offered me the deal of a lifetime, I just couldn't say no. I'm so glad I decided to get it, since I've worn it nearly every day since!

  I just couldn't pass by this little deer bookend, he looks just like Bambi and looks perfect on our built in bookshelves in the family room.

  Of course I left a few things behind that I really wish I could have brought home, like this gorgeous laquered coffee table which would have looked absolutely perfect in our family room. (I'm still kicking myself for not buying it!)

  Aren't these puppies just the cutest thing you've ever seen!? They look just like my lemon beagle, Chase, who we adopted when he was 8 months old, so we never got to see him this tiny and adorable!

   And lastly comes our big splurge of the trip, a new patio set! I have been on the hunt for a patio set for a while now and when I saw this one I just knew we had to make it ours. We picked up the 3 chairs, love seat and side table from a dealer on the first trip and I found the matching table on my return trip. They were all pretty scratched up and rusty but after a coat of spray paint it is looking as good as new! We've got the chairs and small table painted so far; the love seat and dining table are on the to-do list for the next few days.

  I also have a few other recent finds to share but that will have to wait for next time... until then, happy hunting!

 

Thrifty Shopping

   Now that the holidays are long gone I was hoping to get plenty of new projects done, but thanks to my work schedule I have been using most of my spare time for some much needed R&R. Since the house is at a comfortable place our project list has been put on the back burner and I am in need of some serious motivation to get back in work mode! We had been working on the bathroom and got the majority of our new wallpaper up before our housewarming party a few weekends ago. We saved the easiest/hardest part for last,  the easiest because it's the smallest area with no obstacles to cut around. Hardest because it's over the tub and our step stool won't fit and I am not tall enough to reach! Sounds like the boyfriend needs to come to the rescue (wink wink). I promise to get back to work soon & post before and after bathroom pictures before long. But for now I will take the easy way out and post about some of my newest finds.

   We went to a great estate sale a few weeks ago down in San Antonio. Unfortunately we hit quite a bit of traffic and got to the sale a half hour after it opened, so we missed out on a few treasures I was hoping to nab.  We were able to pick up a few things for our back yard, like this bird bath; which is one of the reasons I went to this sale. It didn't have a price tag so I stood  by to claim it while Mike went to ask about the price. Luckily it was very affordable so we were able to take it home, which was quite a feat since this baby was heavy! 

Isn't this squirrel just adorable?!

 

  We also picked up a set of fantastic folding patio chairs. They had a set of 8 at the sale, but 4 had already been claimed. At only $6 a piece I couldn't pass up the remaining 4 chairs. They are in beautiful shape and look great on our patio, now I just need a table to go with them! 

  On the way back to Austin we stopped by New Braunfels for a yummy German lunch of schnitzel and to hit up yet another estate sale. This one was mostly a bust, but I did find a piece of snowflake Pyrex for only a few dollars. It had a few stains, but once I got it home and gave it a good scrub most of them came off, yay!

   I've been itching to start a Pyrex collection, but for now I will take it slow picking up a piece here or  there when I find them. I've been stalking the local thrift stores since other bloggers have had luck finding Pyrex there for cheap. It must be my luck or the fact that Austin thrift stores get picked over very quickly, but I haven't had any success in the Pyrex department. However, I did pick up a few things on my last thrifting trip.

  This piece brought me back to my childhood of Orlando vacations visiting my Grandpa who had one of these in the playroom he had set up for the grandchildren. It is in amazing shape considering it is a kids toy, and for $1.99 I simply couldn't resist!

 

  I started collecting souvenir spoons in high school but had completely forgotten about it in recent years. When I found this America shaped spoon display at Goodwill I knew I had to renew my collecting fervor. Most of my spoons were lost to my parent's attic or trashbin when I moved out of the house, but I was able to find a few spoons I picked up in Europe several years ago. Of course my European souvenir spoons don't exactly go with the whole 'American' theme, but I'll just ignore that detail.  

  I picked up the chalkware ladybugs at a local antique shop and the spice rack was an Etsy purchase. The spice rack was new old stock, still in the original box and never used! I didn't think the label stickers would still be sticky, but they were! Unfortunately, out of all the stickers provided it did not have a 'Basil' label. I thought that was odd since basil is one of the most widely used spices in modern kitchens. Maybe basil wasn't as popular in the 70's?

 

  

   We also got a new address plate from Crestview Doors, doesn't it look great?

I guess I haven't been completely lazy, since I've done a bit of gardening. The spring flowers look beautiful! Pictures of the bathroom and new flowerbeds soon, for now here's a daffodil from my new garden.

I also have a shopping question for all of you out there in blog land: What kind of camera do you prefer to use for your digital blog photos? I've been using a mix of my iPhone and my 9 year old Olympus digital camera. After admiring the quality of photos on many of the blogs out there I have been itching to get a new camera, any suggestions?

I Love Lamp!

   Saturday morning I attended the Austin City Wide Garage Sale. Despite the name it's not much of a typical garage sale, more like a weekend long make-shift antique mall. I've been a few times over the years and it can be hit or miss, but I have found a few gems. The first garage sale I visited I found this killer Vargas print my mother in-law had custom framed for me and which now permanently resides above my bed.

   Since it is Labor Day weekend and therefore estate sales were slim pickings I decided to hit up the City Wide instead. As I first entered the door I noticed a table with a large collection of Tickled Pink dinnerware I was instantly drawn to, but I had to pull myself away by reminding myself that pink dishes would clash with my red kitchenware. It took a while for the 'no' to sink into my head while I admired it, but somehow I finally pried myself away. Good thing I did because shortly after I found a great Pyrex dish in the 'friendship' pattern that would go perfectly in my kitchen! Naturally it came home with me.

   A little while later I found a booth with some amazing mid century pieces. The mister was eyeing a Sears Silvertone record player.. but I was obsessed with a 50's pink lamp with a fiberglass shade. I was instantly in love, but it took some convincing to get Mike on board. He's usually very tolerant of my adoration of all things girly pink and has actually agreed to let me paint and one day even possibly re-tile our master bathroom in pink! But once I told him I would like to put the lamp in our formal living room; which will be his 'Record Room' (his equivalent of a man cave), it took some finesse to get him to come around. I was in love and wasn't leaving without it!

   Once I got this baby back to the apartment I realized we really have nowhere to display it until we move in to the house. I'm starting to get embarrassed to even have anyone enter our apartment since I've been acquiring so much stuff for the house that every available space is being occupied with my most recent finds.

   Since I promised a post about some of my new goodies I decided to share a few more lamps I recently picked up. I keep buying lamps and then feel guilty because I have 2 perfectly wonderful matching sets already hiding in the back of our closet (not vintage but new lamps inspired by mid century design). I guess I have a lamp obsession and didn't even realize it!

  I'll start off with this great light my generous stepmother salvaged from a neighbor who was remodeling her 1970's home. She sent me photos asking if I wanted it since she knew it was my style and I pretty much freaked out at how wonderful it was! This lamp will look positively perfect in the breakfast nook of our house. There's also a great chandelier she salvaged but it didn't photograph as well, so you'll just have to wait to see it once we have it installed in our dining room.

   The next one I bought when visiting Jacksonville back in July. I found a great antique mall I had never been to and this wonderful lamp was waiting there specially for me. I actually left the shop without it because I wasn't sure how I would get it to Texas. After dreaming all day and night about it I headed back to the shop the very next morning to make it mine. I was so nervous sending it in the mail, but I packed it with an entire bag of packing peanuts and wrote "FRAGILE" all over the box. Thankfully it arrived safe and sound!

    This last lamp I found hiding in the garage of a marvelous estate sale last weekend. I was one of the first people in line to get in the house and I left with a car full of treasures. I had been scoping out all the rooms in the house and making a huge hold pile when I finally made it into the garage about 20 minutes after first stepping foot in the house. I somehow even walked right past this baby when entering the garage and then noticed it from across the room. I made a mad dash for it, took 2 glances and told the friendly employee stationed at the door that it was mine! The top of it is pretty rusty and the plug had to be replaced, but it works great and is very bright. Just what we will need in our living room since there are no ceiling light fixtures.

   Well that's all of my lamps for now.. at this rate I am sure I will add another one to my collection soon enough!