Warrenton in Review, Part 1....

Dumb blonde confession right up front:
About 60 miles down the road, I realize that yes,
I've brought my fancy schmancy digital camera, but that no,
I've left the rechargeable batteries at home. Just great.
So we picked up a couple of disposable cameras at H.E.B.
(to you non-Texans, that'd be the greatest grocery store chain on God's green earth),
and I vowed to just make do.

Here's the skinny if you're new to all this talk of Warrenton... here and here.

My booth space opens up in just 6 days, and this was only a one day trip.
The mission at hand was to cover as much acreage as possible
and score some really good deals to stock my booth.

Mission accomplished on both counts!

My wonderful workhorse of a huband gallantly pushed my
Wonder Wheeler all day long, made numerous trips to the car
to unload treasures, all the while remaining good natured and tireless.
Methinks he's a keeper. Oh, and it's his birthday today! Happy Birthday, Sweetheart!

There's so much to share, so let's just get to it.

Oh, and if I post a pic and don't credit you or your shop,
please, please forgive me! I can match most of the pics with the right dealer,
but hey, I'm the idjit that forgot the batteries, remember?

First up, here's a pic of me and the oh-so-fab Theresa of Garden Antqs Vintage.

She's set up right outside Zapp Hall, and for my money, 

she has some of the very best merchandise I saw all day. 

She is an absolute master with display and setting up vignettes. 

I'm only sorry that my accursed $5 camera didn't capture all the shots 

I snapped. I did manage to get a nifty shot of one of her girls, though....

Theresa was there with her husband Cruz, 

and I was instantly met with warm hugs of recognition. Good people.

I was fortunate enough to get to meet several other blogging buddies, 

each one just as nice and genuine as I'd imagined.

Between Royer's Cafe and Zapp Hall, 

Mindy from Primitiques 'n Poetry is set up.

Isn't she just the cutest little thing?

She's another master artiste from my must-go-see destination shop,
Winnie and Tulula's. This is her first trip to the big show,
but you'd never know it from a quick tour of her tent. Wow....

Girl's got mad skills.

I purchased this sweet little silver vase and platter from Miss Mindy...

She and her boyfriend David, who endeared himself to me 

always and forever when he gave me a furniture painting tutorial, are a great team. 

He's a pro-photog, so check her blog for more pics. 

He was snapping away, and it's a safe bet that his shots look better than mine.

Just to the left of Zapp Hall and within shouting distance of Theresa's tent 

is the awesomely awesome Troy from Junk Exchange.

 I think I remember him telling me this was his first trip to Warrenton, 

but I'm sure it won't be his last. His tent was always packed, 

and he and his partner Rod make you feel at home the moment you meet them.  

Look at the pretties I acquired from Mr. Rash...

Look at that darling nightstand! And ya know what else? 

He has some of the best prices I came across.

Ironstone I scored from Troy. My momentary nemesis Theresa 

was scoping out the Ironstone while I was there. 

I put her in a headlock and walked away with the spoils. 

(kidding, of course. Theresa is a doll).

Random Warrenton Awesomeness...

Right about now, I need to head outside and start cleaning some junk.
Booth opens up in T-minus 6 days,
and I bought a ridiculous amount of stuff.

I have way more pictures to share than I have time,
so please pop in all this next week for LOTS more pics
from my all-too-short day at Warrenton, and for the scoop on Debbie, Cat Daddy, and lots more!

One more thing, if you like my apron, please visit my friend Bunnie at
Apron Unlimited. She made mine, and it got raves in Warrenton.
She'll be more than happy to make you one, too.
~ Anne

Rate My Junk, Tuesday Edition.....

Welcome one and all to the decidedly
white trash version of HGTV's  Rate My Space!

This is a follow-up to yesterdays post wherein I bragged shamelessly
about all the swell swag I confiscated for my booth.

Ready for some more gloating AND the opportunity
to tell me just exactly what you think of my finds without impunity??

Alrighty then, let's get goin'!

First up:

Awesomely creepy little girl doll! Not creepy enough, you say?

Hmmmm, okay, tough audience....

Here's some of her kin just down the way:

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

You know the whole decorating-with -creepy-doll-heads thing 

we've all been doing forever?

Ever wonder what happened to the rest of said dolly?

Well, wonder no longer! 

Fiona and Twig considers it our civic duty to answer these 

vexing questions which keep you awake at night. Here they be!

Oh my stars, you guys would've gone into an apoplectic fit 

if you'd toured this fab Field of Junk Dreams with me yesterday!

Where oh where to begin?

Feast your eyes....

What the hey??!!

Stroller for 4?

Kiddie-park ride?

No child restraints/seatbelts?

Wheeeee!!!!!

In keeping with our slightly macabre kiddie theme, 

walk another row over and you are met with this:

Do you have to ask twice if I'm going back for this???

And just in time for Halloween, too.

I'm wondering if the genteel locals are going to "get" my 

Curious Sofa-esque Halloween vignette?

Round the corner and all of this 

is pretty much ripe for the taking (dirt, dirt cheap prices!):

I'm in serious love with the garden lounger and birdcage.

As per yesterdays post, I'm breaking up my plentious finds 

from this weekend into several posts, but here's something 

on the more kid-friendly end of the spectrum.

Look y'all, it's Muff's Toybox!!!

Beats me who "Muff" is, but Aunt Jane and Uncle Scottie 

sure did think he was swell...

If I divulged just how cheaply I procured this toy box, 

you might just have to resort to calling me naughty names, 

so let's just say it was decidedly non-spendy and leave it at that.

Coming up on my next edition of Rate My Junk:

Life, Death and a Foe Defeated.

Clear as mud?

Good. I loves me a cliffhanger.  ;-)

'Night All,

Anne

Thrift Store Bonanza....or how my dog offered himself up for the greater good

I don't know about you, but at the tippy-top
of my list of things I don't want to hear at 6am Monday morning is this:

"Honey, you're gonna have to take the dog in to the vet...he had an encounter with a porcupine."

Oh no he di'int.

Hubby would've been more than happy to take him in 

as he has done before, but he was due at school bright and early (physics teacher), 

plus I was off work today. Fair enough. Still, it sucked. 

I had been up until 2am working on the booth and the blog, 

and I had serious brain fuzz going on. You want me to do whaaaaa? 

Handsome husband bid me farewell, and off I went into town.

Got to the vet's office at 8am sharp and dropped off our boy Havok,
who actually came out pretty well, all things considered.
He only had about a dozen quills, which is not bad at all,
if you know how bad it can be. No? You say you don't?
Google "pit bull vs porcupine", but only if you have a strong constitution.

Dropped the dog off with time to kill, 

so I did what any good junker would do: I hit the thrift stores. Yeah, baby!

First up was my fave consignment store 

where I unearthed this sign that I had somehow, 

inconceivably, missed on all my prior visits.

Could you not just DIE?

This baby is gonna (now and forever) have a "NFS" tag on it! 

It's big, about 3 1/2 feet tall and 2 1/2 feet wide. 

I plan on lugging this puppy with me wherever I hang my proverbial shingle.

As if that weren't fab enough, I hit the junking lotto 

with a series of finds that were only $1 each.

The bell: $1

The silver serving pieces: Two for $1

The hatbox? A DOLLAR! I mean, look at those colors! 

How could a day so wrong turn out so, so right???

Bless Havok's heart, had he not taken one for Team Fiona & Twig, 

who knows where these gems might've ended up?

Still no call from the vet, so I ran a few blocks over to Salvation Army. 

Now I usually can't find anything there of interest, 

but the junking gods tossed me a bone (sorry, more bad dog puns) 

and revealed more swell loot and swag.

Badminton rackets, 99¢ each.

Since I've been wigging about wall decor for my booth,
I saw some primo potential in these.

Sconces. Going, going, gone for a George Washington each. I may paint these.

Nifty wicker thingamajigger. What do you s'pose it was?
Check out the pocket sized Flemish art I scored, too.

Sweet little bird (quail?) on silver serving tray.
Second verse, same as the first....a buck.

An interesting bit of framed ephemera....
a speech Herbert Hoover gave to Wilmington College in 1948.

Large wicker basket for $3.

Best of all....a puppy healed and whole again? PRICELESS.

Happy Monday, Y'all!

~ Anne

Introductions are in order....

I've never truly felt that I had a junking day
where the junk gods were smiling upon me. 
My junker GPS always seems to direct me towards
the overpriced or the not-quite-right.
Oh sure, I've had days where I've found remarkable treasures,
but never at such a steal that I was positively giddy with delight. Until today.

Meet Jules....

As I muster up courage to move forward with my plans
to get a store space/booth, priority number one has been
trying to build up my inventory. I've been in search of
vignette backgrounds and display objects,
but I absolutely refuse to pay upwards of $50 for
chippy old screen doors and windows.
I mean, I know that things like that are pretty much a staple in vintage shops, but still....

Today is proof positive that the very best finds
are often stumbled upon purely by accident.

Discouraged from finding nothing of interest at several thrift stores,
I took a turn off the beaten path and found
a store I never even knew existed...it was the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store,
and it promises to be a never ending source of junky goodness for the forseeable future!

Row after row of chippy doors, windows, shutters, plumbing. And all for next to nothing!

I spied this huge rustic window screen lounging against a far wall
and almost keeled over when I viewed the price tag:
THREE DOLLARS!!!!

I was pricing these just last week in the antique malls,
and it was impossible to find any for less than $30.
Score one for the virtue of patience, something I'm not commonly known for.

The next row over, I came across these chippy white window screens for $6. Double score!!

These babies will be the perfect backdrop 

for some killer vignettes I have in mind.

But back to Jules.

It's a male form, but I'm sorta thinking I'm gonna 

androgynize (is that a word?) him up a bit. 

Add some pearls, some vintage millinery. He'll look dashing.

True, I've primarily been searching for female dress forms, 

but hey, for $20, I'll take a fella home with me instead, no problem! 

Uhhh, wait, that didn't come out right....  ;-)

The staff at the store said that in all their years of operation,
this was the first time they had acquired dress forms.
Turns out a lady who runs an antique shop
about 30 miles up the road was clearing out her garage
and donated about 20 to the shop....on the very same day I stumbled upon
this trove of treasures...purely by accident.

Or was it? I'm thinking that maybe those benevolent junk gods
were actually trying to quell my fears and guided my path
to this newfound nirvana. You know, to assure me that my
junking radar is spot-on and to embolden me to press on with plans for my shop.

Welcome home, Jules!

BIG sale tomorrow, decisions, decisions...

There's going to be a huge blowout sale
at one of my favorite shops tomorrow....
they're celebrating their 2nd anniversary, and EVERYTHING
is going to be 50% off. I snapped a few pics today,
and thought I'd solicit a little input as to what you think I should adopt and bring home.

This beauty is $90, tomorrow will be $45...

I fell in love with this sweet little pink metal stool. It will be $17.50....

This little gem has potential, don't you think?
$40 if I get there early enough.

This Windsor chair needs a little TLC, yes? $18 and it's mine...

Darling pair of metal chairs....$12 for the pair.

If you were accompanying me, what would you fight me for?
That's the junkers litmus test, right? Awaiting your replies.....sale starts at 9am sharp!