Country Living Luck at the Fair

Just finished reading the issue I got at the fair. Such inspiration in this magazine!

I think I have finally recovered from last weekend's Country Living Fair in Austin. I had the great fortune of helping with Karen Germany's booth, Vintage Designs. I wrote about her space in a post last weekend, but today I wanted to share some other spaces that I enjoyed visiting at the fair. 

The early-bird shoppers weren't too big a flock on Saturday morning, so I ran over to the show barn to do some browsing. It was a little after 9:30 when I looked out to see this crowd lining up to enter the show at 10:00am. I knew my time away from the booth was ticking....

So what did I buy first? Cookies! The BEST.COOKIES.EVER. I couldn't believe it when I walked up to this bakery stand to see the same orange shopping bag that my sister sent my birthday gift in...it was indeed the same bakery from Arthur, IL, which is about an hour from where we grew up (and very close to my sister who lives in Champaign). I was mesmerized by all the delectable delights The Homestead Bakery had - cinnamon rolls, pumpkin bread, rhubarb nut bread, and ...pumpkin cookies. I bought a tray for Brent and the girls at the booth, and the cookies were gone before 10am. Which was a good thing, since there wasn't a second to eat them after that! 

I cannot begin to tell you how amazing these cookies were. I went back the next day to get another tray and I wasn't surprised that they were sold out. But, the rhubarb nut bread and the banana bread were equally as yummy. If you are ever in the area, you must take some baked goods home! I really enjoyed talking with them and it felt nice to have a little hometown connection. 

I spent so much time talking at the bakery that I needed to get going back to the arena before the crowds came in. I had a few minutes to spare so I ran over to The Red Door Antiques. I had browsed the space on Friday and wanted to get some fun green vintage bingo cards. I got a few pictures of Tricia's space, but so wished I had gotten a shot of the hundreds of flashcards she had for sale. 

 

Sunday started out pretty slow again, so I snuck out for more shopping and browsing. 

It wouldn't be a fair in Texas if there weren't longhorns and a cowboy scooping poop!

Hook 'em, Horns!

How cute are these kids?! I really like this picture of the goats. I would love to have one for my side yard - not a picture, but a real goat. Wonder what the neighbors would think....I have investigated enough to know that having one goat would not violate any city ordinance. Two might.

Didn't make it any further than this to investigate these trailers, but that pink bike sure looks fun!


Now to one of my most FAVORITE designers/decorators of all time - House Wren. What a beautiful blend of industrial, farmhouse, vintage garden, and every other style that is chic! I will let the pictures do the talking for Nancy and Mike's space. 

One quick story - I asked Mike how he got the light bulbs to be shaded out on the end. I liked that you weren't blinded when looking at the cool repurposed fixture he created and that the light was reflected back to the wall. He started telling me about how he took the light bulb and dipped it in a bucket of mercury...and I was all, "Really? Wow," buying every word of it. Then he started laughing. Turns out he got the bulbs at a hardware store. Whew, I am relieved I don't have to inhale toxic poison  to get stylish light bulbs. 

 

Yay 4-H!

My iPhone camera doesn't do this vendor's display justice. The vintage travel trailer was decked out with beautiful fabric and floral arrangements. I asked the owner if I could take some pictures of her space to share on my blog, and she was so generous that gave me a copy of her hardback book, "Southern Wedding Flowers." WOW! Thank you so much, Mardee! Your displays are gorgeous and I love the book. Check out pictures of her arrangements at Mardee's Blooming Branches.

If I hadn't already gotten married (twice, to the same guy), 

I would definitely call on Mardee to design my wedding flowers and decor! 

Next up is this great cowgirl boots booth. This space was dangerous!!!! I managed to get out of there without buying a pair of boots, but I did find a fun scarf to take home from The Velvet Road.

Country Living had several decorated tables with comfortable seating set up for fair patrons to rest their feet. The tablescapes were great! 

 I love the moss-covered roosters.
It's not quite a big metal chicken, but nonetheless I got a chuckle thinking of one.
.

Speaking of seating, take a look at the chairs below. 

This was the Happy Chair booth, and after seeing Shawna's great work on these happy chairs, 

I realized my chairs must be pretty depressed. 

Check out that lamp shade frame covered in ties! I tell you these people at the CL Fair are creative!

I love the vintage industrial laundry basket filled with pillows too.

I first saw this fancy lady at the Junk Salvation Show, but I didn't realize she was the owner of the amazing Vintage sign until after she commented on my post this week! Here is Julie from Vintage Soul TX. We had a great time talking shop and I look forward to seeing more of her bright, bold, and blingy style at future shows.  

There are still a few more pictures of the Country Living Fair that I have to share, but I will have to post one final CL Fair write up in the next few days. 

For now, I will close with a few of my CL Fair purchases. 

I FINALLY got an olive bucket! I nearly attacked the vendor who had it and almost bought both of the buckets she had, but I maintained a tad bit of self-control. I was too caught up with my new purchase that I didn't think to ask her for her card. She was from Georgia and was super sweet. I love my new bucket!

The sign is a gift from my soon-to-be married friend Aden, whose sure-to-be gorgeous wedding is in Point Clear, AL next weekend. Can't wait for her to be Mrs. Wright - she definitely found her Mr. Right! 

Another souvenir I brought home from the show was this snazzy Country Living t-shirt.

Looks innocent enough, right?

If I wear my hair up, you can see the rest of the wording on the back...

Guess it isn't a wear to school t-shirt, but I do believe that I got VERY lucky at the 2012 Austin Country Living Fair. I had a blast, met lots of wonderful people, found some new old stuff, and even have some new readers! Thank you all for reading this blog and giving me a reason to write!

Have a chic week,

~Sarah