A few random thoughts and updates

I went nine days without antique shopping. That is my longest streak since...the start of Barn Chic perhaps? I was happy to break that streak today, and I found some good stuff and saw some fine sights along the way. My favorite picture of today is this cotton field just before the combine (is that what you call a cotton tractor?) came through to harvest it. Heck, I don't know if harvest is the right term; I grew up surrounded by corn and beans, but I have never lived close to cotton (or so I thought). This picture was taken just east of San Marcos, so I guess Alabama was right - those fertile fields are never far away.

Since tomorrow is the first day of school in Texas, lots of kids will be climbing the steps of the school bus tomorrow morning. You will see lots of yellow dogs out and about, but sadly you will not see the Cool Bus around here anymore. You can read more about the Cool Bus here.

Despite all of you who wrote me saying I should buy the bus, it already had a new owner. I know this because I called to inquire about it. Yes, I was curious. I wonder if all the PR I gave it on my blog led to the new owner? I mean, I do have 16 followers. I should get a finder's fee or at least a free ride on the bus.     

So the story behind the bus is that this guy bought it and ripped out all the seats. He then installed bunk beds, which were bolted to the walls and floor as well as attached as hanging beds that could be dropped down from the ceiling. His plan was to take his buddies skiing and it would be their mobile camper. Interesting plan. Not really sure what happened to the plan, but the bus sold to a man in San Francisco. How the bus was getting from here to San Fran is beyond me. Imagine the gas bill on that. 

Another random picture to share with you today:

I recognized this little lady from the second I spotted her neck. I used to work with a lot of her friends. See that little heart? That's the late 90's signature symbol of the store now obsessed with the word 'pink' : Victoria's Secret. I will confess that I worked there throughout a good chunk of my college years. Speaking of chunking, I spent countless hours 'chunking' underwear excuse me, panties there. Since it is impractical to fold each one, the sizes would all chunk together to look neat. I would get all OCD about making the tables look perfect. This retail gig started as a side job in Georgetown when I was making zero money interning in Washington, D.C. one summer (shout out to my roomies Karen and Brooke with whom I also worked), and then I continued the job in my hometown over breaks and in Nashville while at college. I waited on farmers, country singers, and even cross dressers throughout my years there. Working at Victoria's Secret made for some good stories to say the least. Thanks to Glenn and Joe at Curious Boys for the little trip down memory lane (and for all the new goods I found today!). 

In one of my most recent posts, I wrote about my attempt to strip the pink paint from my front door.

Sorry V.S., but pink just isn't my color. However, its removal from my front door wasn't going all that well due to all the molding. Thanks to a suggestion by my great dad, a wire brush helped scrap the paint off all the nooks and crannies.

A lot of sweat later (thankfully no blood or tears...yet), I am happy to announce that I am about 1/4 of the way done. Doesn't it look better already?

May you all have a smooth back to school transition (or traffic pattern for any one not directly connected to school). Remember to watch out for all the kiddos getting on their Cool Bus!

Have a chic week!

~Sarah

My kind of museum

What a great summer it has been! I am officially back to work tomorrow, and I have to say I am very much looking forward to the new school year (as is my bank account). I have missed the kids, my co-workers, and even my true sense of purpose over the summer. But I had to spend my last weekday of summer doing what I do best - small town shopping!

I needed to go west to take my fury feline Tom for his quarterly haircut, so I justified going even further west into the beautiful Texas Hill Country from there since I was already headed in that direction. I went to Fredericksburg and made a very quick stop at Trade Days. I got hot and hungry so I went into town for lunch; I never made it back out to Trade Days as I got distracted by perhaps the most unbelievable home furnishing store I have ever stepped foot in. 

I have read several blogs about Carol Hicks Bolton Antiquities warehouse shop and knew this place would be good, but I was truly blown away. I am nearly speechless about the store. There are few words I could use to accurately capture this experience, and while I did take tons of photos, I am certain they don't do the place justice, especially since I was using the camera on my phone. 

After entering the 14,000 square foot museum of international treasures, I stood paralyzed trying to figure out where to look first. From the windows to the walls (anyone know that song? I couldn't resist - I have maturity of my middle school students!), the decor is breathtaking. It is the perfect mix of French countryside, industrial charm, whimsical romance, classy taxidermy, and historical curations (is that a word?).  

In the midst of my gawking at the entrance, I was warmly welcomed by Tim Bolton. He made sure I had a flyer on their upcoming trips to Provence - could you imagine?! Nine glorious days in France shopping the markets with the most talented of designers. Sigh. Maybe one day. 

One of the first displays that I focused on was this great school house vignette.  

 

 

That is one ferocious rug. 

 

 

 

 

 

I am a fan of this stuffed parrot. 

 

 

These book shelves were impressively massive! 

Countless law bookcases. 

 

 

We have a bike rack at school but none of the kids have bikes quite like these!

My favorite formerly animate object in the store.  

 A perfectly worn in chair. So inviting!

I was awestruck by this warehouse and want to also share Curious Detail's blog post because her pictures are so good and give you more perspective on the enormity of shop's beauty.  

Tim was so good at checking back with me. I probably insulted him when I said that the store was like a giant Anthropology filled with just home goods, but he smiled and shared a story of seeing buyers for Anthro on his trips to Europe... so I guess my comment wasn't too far off. This store was better than any home furnishings store - more eclectic and original than anything you would ever see in Anthropology, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, or the like. There are no reproductions here - just classic pieces woven together with designer touches awaiting a new home to live on their legacy. This was my kind of museum. On my way out I thanked Tim and told him they need to charge admission! 

I will leave you with a picture of my favorite non-human animate being in my house, Tom, sporting his stylish new Lion/Line Cut. He is definitely the king of this castle.  

Have a chic week!

~Sarah    

A week of firsts

My last week of summer has been filled with several firsts. I guess I am a procrastinator and I am working well under the pressure as I try to attack all the remaining items on my summer to-do list (except that whole 'lesson planning' thing... hopefully procrastination is on my side with this one as well next week).

Here are some firsts for this week:

-I used my power drill and kinda like it. Actually I really like it.

-I drilled a hole through metal, which I honestly didn't even know I could do with just a power drill.

-I broke a drill bit.

-I thought to myself, "I really need a work bench." And, "The lighting in this garage is not good."

-I bought a vice.

-The said vice was completely covered in grease when I opened it and I got a non-cooking grease stain on my shorts.

-I "tamped" the fabric in attempt to loosen the stain.

-I spray painted a protective coating over rusty farm implements.

-I pruned [plants]. Maybe I am my mother's daughter after all!

-I am stripping pink paint off my front door. Wish I could say I am done with this but I have several hours (or days) of work still ahead of me. And then I suppose I have to stain it?

-I redeemed a coupon for housecleaning and a man showed up to clean my house - and did a great job. Not that I was doubting him, but still.

-I inadvertently ordered a "New" Mexican martini at Chuy's when intending to get the 'old' Mexican martini. The 'new' version is infused with green chili peppers - it came with lots of spices in it and I thought there was no way I would like it. Turns out I loved it - the mix of spicy with sweet was great!

What would have made this week of firsts even better is if I was drinking the martini while the man was cleaning my house...

I will leave you with my before picture of my front door. I sure hope I can provide an after picture with the door a shade of wood rather than mauve in the near future.

Have a chic rest of the week!

~Sarah

Handmade vintage comes to Barn Chic!

Aren't these little coin purses adorable? There are six sweet little coin purses sprinkled throughout the Barn Chic Antiques booth at the Austin Antique Mall, and all were handmade by a new friend of mine, Caitlin. Caitlin just went full time with her new business Rally Made; she is a very talented seamstress putting her creative talents to use, transforming vintage fabrics into beautiful bags, purses, pillows, and more. She has a great start on her Etsy business and has pictures for her listings that look as good as all the pro-Etsyers out there...and this is only her first full month in! I am now featuring her coin purses in my booth, but Caitlin is so talented and makes much more than just small purses - recycle bin liners, tote bags, e-reader cases, and full size purses complete with leather straps. Once I saw that she uses feed sacks to create some of her handmade goodies, I asked her to make my cherished Funk's seed sack into a pillow - but then she suggested that it might look great as a tote, and now I can't wait to see it!  

 

This purse is made from her grandmother's vintage hankie. 

 

 

 

 

I just love these little purses and they look great throughout the booth...
but even better in your handbag!

I spent a good couple of hours at the booth today rearranging and adding some new finds - here is how it looked this morning; I'm not sure how it looks right now as I sold a few of my screens today -yay! 

 

 

 

 

 

This shelf features two of my newest treasures that I bought from Janet yesterday at the Citywide Garage Sale!

 

 

Have a chic week!

~Sarah