Highs and lows of junking

Today I took my second trip over to Warrenton to shop Antique Week. It is unbelievable how different the shopping conditions were today compared to last week - yesterday's buckets of much needed rain brought cooler temperatures and lots of mud! I swapped my sunglasses and Cougar visor for rain boots and a hooded jacket and enjoyed shopping in weather that actually felt like fall! 

Since the show was officially open, I hit several of the fields that weren't open last week. Some of my favorite vendors are in the Zapp Hall area. One of the most widely known vendors here is none other than the Junk Gypsy team. I always visit them, but there was additional anticipation this time since I spent half of my summer watching episode after episode (on repeat) of their decorating adventures on HGTV. I love their creative displays and I was also hoping to maybe catch a glimpse of a celebrity!

Here are a few of my favorite J.G. displays at previous shows:

Back to today: I walk up to see Amie, Jolie, Phillip, and Archie all standing there in the tent. I did a good job of keeping my composure, and I even went up to Archie to ask her if they minded if I took pictures of their displays. Her response, "Girl, you take all the pictures you want!" Awesome. (Disclaimer: forgot my camera today and had to use my phone's camera.) 

 

 

 

 

I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked because I was too busy deciding which t-shirt to buy. There are so many good ones! I loved this one:

But I ended up going with this bright one:

I went to check out at the cash wrap and Amie & Jolie's dad Phillip rang up the shirt. I enjoyed talking with him briefly; at one point when struggling with the credit card machine, he laughed and mentioned that he was supposed to be retired. Then the one and only Jolie came up to finish my transaction! Again, I did a good job of hiding my intense excitement as she described the best way to cut out the neck of the shirt to make it look like the one on the mannequin (wish I had taken a picture of how it looked on the display!). She then showed me how just this morning she cut the neck off of her shirt and just pulled on it to make it more stretchy and roll a bit. From my 3 minute interactions with three of the Junk Gypsy family members, I can tell you they are genuinely sweet and down to earth! Shopping there was definitely a high point of the day. 

So the low point came at the end of the day, after I had already made it back to Austin. I needed to get to the antique mall to drop off a new piece (straight from the fields to the booth!) and pay my rent for October. I arrive at about 5:40, which gave me twenty minutes to drop in the new little table and olive bucket, as well as turn in the rent check. When I got to my space, I saw that the piece I sold yesterday was still sitting there - which meant I needed to move several things around to make room to get the cabinet out. I cleared a path and a few of the gentlemen lifted it up and out; I then quickly tried to put the space back together. I knew it was after 6 and I was rushing. I finished up, grabbed my bags, and as I was walking up the aisle, all the lights went off. I get to the front door and see that it is chained shut with a padlock. Um.....ok. Guess they don't go out this way to lock up. 

I walk toward the back but need to get my phone out to light the way. I say, "Patrick?" Nothing. Now I am starting to panic just a bit. I get to the back door (where I have never been before), only to find it also padlocked. Like a prisoner, I look through the bars on the door to see Patrick halfway across the parking lot. I pound on the door, but nothing. There were people in the parking lot talking, but they couldn't see or hear me either. I was locked in! The children's book Corduroy came to mind and I thought about all the fun that the teddy bear would have in this store. 

That moment was the low point of the day. I didn't have any of the employees cell phone numbers, and I didn't even know any of their last names! I tried to stay calm and headed back to the office to see if I could find any numbers. I walk in, and the alarm goes off. I feel like a complete burglar! The phone starts to ring and I assume it is the alarm company, and I attempted to answer it, but there was no one on the line when I picked up. I found a list of every vendors' name/number, but again, without knowing a last name, I had nearly 200 names to go through in hopes to find the owner! 

More panic. I call Andrew and tell him I am locked in. I sit down at the desk and as I am talking to him, I see a rolodex. There on top was a laminated card with all the employees' cell numbers. Relief! I hang up with him to call them, and finally get ahold of Fredi. I feel terrible that she had to leave dinner with a friend to come let me out! 

Funny text conversation between my friend Jenny and me while I was locked in:

Wish I could have let her in to shop!

Have a chic week!

~Sarah