I bought a sweater today

It was 101 this afternoon. In the shade. It was too hot to even go swimming. I'm not complaining - this summer has been mild for TX standards. But instead of enjoying any outside activities, I made the short drive up I-35 to Georgetown, TX and visited the relatively new and completely adorable boutique, Blends. The shop is located at 4320 Williams Drive, about three miles west of I-35. You'll know you're there when you see the old Studebaker out front! 

Though Georgetown is but 30 miles from where we live in Austin, I thought I would never get there. Gotta love I-35 between Austin and Dallas; interstate and feeder road in full-on parking lot mode. 

Finally, I arrive and am greeted by a fence full of white bicycles and my favorite word ever, SALE!

This store could not be cuter and the owners could not be nicer. I got there just after 4:00 and left at 5:30 - and they close at 5:00. Can you believe that I spent at least 45 minutes just chatting? Me neither. :) I never do that! I so enjoyed talking shop with Diane and Roger; check out this great article about the couple and the store's start. 

I first remember meeting Diane about five years ago when I first attended the Fredericksburg Trade Days with my sister. I bought this little vintage pillow from Diane way back then. 

I also bought this awesome mercury glass vase (which I dropped and broke the top of):

They work nicely together in our guest bedroom 

(which will never ever be a man cave, ahem). 

I have since seen Diane's sweet stuff at Gatherings in Georgetown, as well as at Zapp Hall during Antique Week. Their furniture is pretty amazing and I fell in love with this 100 year old cabinet at Warrenton this spring:

When I heard they had a shop, I knew it had to be good! That it is; the pictures I took don't come close to capturing the charm of this boutique.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't even notice the furniture out front until I was leaving! Guess I will have to go back soon to visit again.

It is always an extra special treat to find clothing or accessories when out junking in small towns - I honestly forget about how many little boutiques carry fun garments and jewels. But this shop takes the cake when it comes to attire - Diane is a walking model for her style and I couldn't resist the sale rack to see if I could take some style home with me. I did indeed find two great pieces. I love the uniqueness of boutique wearables and fondly remember the trips where I found them each time I wear them.

I hope I can remember this trip by the time I get to wear the sweater that I bought today. Who in Texas buys a sweater in July?! Since this is really only a half sweater, I anticipate having a reason to wear it sometime in November. 

Huge thanks to Diane and Roger for being so hospitable today - and for having exactly what I needed to make some vintage crafts. What a great trip it was. 

Have a chic week,

~Sarah

Friday Fun in Fredericksburg

Last week was great - it started out on vacation with Andrew to celebrate our anniversary and ended with big sales at the booth. And throw in a fun trip to Fredericksburg to do a little shopping and chatting and it was complete! 

I don't often make it over to Fredericksburg Trade Days, but when I do, it is either over 100 degrees or below 40. You can guess which end of the spectrum Friday fell on. I will take hot over cold any day - though I was pretty worn out at the end of the day I must admit.

I got a late start on my trip west because I needed to take some pieces to the mall to replace the great chippy white cabinet base that sold on Thursday. Go figure, the trunk I took was too wide for the hole left by the cabinet, so I had to rearrange one half of the booth. And when you have only 77 square feet in which to work, rearranging gets tricky. I pinned myself in the corner at one point and had to climb onto the furniture to get out. Maybe one day I will use that measuring tape I carry around with me and actually plan. Doubt it.

Finally got out of the mall at noon. I got to Trade Days just as it really started to heat up. Again, good planning on my part! But at least it wasn't too crowded; I found some great stuff and truly enjoyed talking to lots of sweet vendors.   

Cactus Man has what I need - plants that love the heat, tolerate the drought, and won't get eaten by the deer. But my one question is - how do you put them in the ground without getting a million needles in you? Do gloves alone work?

From cacti to characters, Fredericksburg has it all! Look closely and you can see lots of doll heads too.

One of my first stops was into this cute little house to actually meet in person Betsy and her sister Elaine from Sisters' Treasures. They have an amazing collection of vintage clothing, outdoor furniture, and tons of other goodies. I am kicking myself for not buying one of those cute blue shutters out front.

 

It is always so fun to meet in person someone you feel like you already know - Betsy and I have been reading and commenting on one another's blogs for months now. I know I have shopped their space in Warrenton too. I had a great time talking with her, Elaine, and then Theresa from Garden Antqs Vintage walked in. So fun to be surrounded by so much talent.

 Sadly, I didn't get any other pictures - I was too busy talking and my hands started filling up with purchases. I got some light bulbs from Theresa, a set of old silverplated flatware, and a divine chippy white bead-board backed doorless cabinet that will be perfect for displaying small finds at the booth. Thankfully I didn't have to carry the cabinet around (btw, thank you Betsy for helping us load the cabinet!). I found this great piece from "Old Gold," the business run by Megan's (from Salvaged) mom Patty. I loved talking with her and look forward to getting to see her at Rusted Gingham's Barn Sale in November. I am sad that I missed seeing both Megan and Tracy, but I am sure our paths will cross soon! And now that I know so many talented people are routinely at Trade Days, I will have to go more often. 

Since I was in Fredericksburg, I just had to pay my first visit to the new boutique, Smitten. I was so excited to finally get there and couldn't wait to see all the great vignettes and merchandise by talented designers including Anne Lorys of Fiona and Twig. As I drove into town from the Trade Days grounds, I wondered if I would just run into it on the main drag of town. I did not. I pull over, try to locate the address, get on facebook, and finally find the address. But my iPhone has no idea that E. Auguste is a real street; my phone's little blue dot/red dot application failed me this time as it took me to August E.'s restaurant. I tried calling Smitten, but got the recording....what was I going to do?! It was almost 4:30 and the shop closed at 5. 

I finally stumbled into Smitten as I was driving down Washington. In case you have a chance to go, it is south of the main street across from the Inn on Barons Creek just off Washington. I was so relieved I was there and still had some time to gawk and shop. This place is truly wonderful and each little room of the house has its own style and flair. I wish I could have captured it better, but I am a) not a good photographer and b) the lighting from all the windows just really wasn't working to my advantage (but what an awesome backdrop those windows were!)...however, Tracy from Rusted Gingham also was there this weekend and has some great pictures from her visit, so be sure to check out her site.  

 

 

 

 

 

This little room smelled like heaven - lavender was everywhere!



The next few pictures are from Anne's space.  

 

 

A perfectly peely, chippy table.

 

It was definitely a fun Friday. I will close this (yet again) long post with some pictures of my space with the newly crammed merchandise. 

 

 

 

As always, thanks for reading.

Have a chic week!

~Sarah

Mailbox love

One of my most favorite items I sold was a beat up rusty old mail box. It was actually the mailbox we had when I was growing up, and the thing got beat with a baseball bat by some up-to-no-good teenagers more than a few times. There isn't much to do in a small town, but we did have a summer league. Perhaps they considered this batting practice?

Rather than replace the mailbox each time this happened, my parents were smart enough to just hammer out the dent and keep using it. So it had some extra charm and patina from years of weathering and abuse. I brought it to TX last summer after a drive home and sold it within a month to some very sweet vendors in the mall who were going to use it to display pumpkins for the fall.  

 

Since selling that mailbox, I have sold two others. They make great umbrella stands for an entryway, and one of my friends used a smaller rusty white one I had for her sister's wedding - guests placed cards inside of it. Great idea! 

The location of my parents' mailbox moved several years back from off the blacktop road to just down their lane. This is when they parted with the beat up box and opted for a nice black mailbox to match the neighbor's. 

Lovely landscaping by my talented gardening mother.  

She also had this mailbox at home...hum, this might have to make it home with me next time I drive!

When I was in IL visiting earlier this summer, I noticed our other neighbor's mailbox had uniquely weathered. I told my mom I was half-tempted to go offer to buy them a new mailbox so I could take theirs. 

 Marbled weathering - love it!

I hadn't even arrived in Austin yet when my mom texted to say that the mailbox was no longer in its unique state. The neighbor's daughter had just put a fresh coat of paint on it. 

It does look nice now.

 

Guess I would call this a  missed opportunity.

Have a chic week!

~Sarah