My Favorite Things

Last night I went to a friend's house for a themed party. I'm guessing most parties this weekend revolved around Halloween and getting dressed up, but luckily, no costume was needed for a "My Favorite Things" party!

The party crew in our costumes. Most of us are current or former COUGARS, can't you tell?! 

(Though Laura is dressed more like a leopard.) 

It was so truly so much fun, from start to finish with planning what to take, spending time with friends, and now getting to use my new items from friends' collections of their favorite things. If you were like me and hadn't heard of this type of gathering before, here are the details:

-it is based off Oprah's 'favorite things' episode, except real people's parties give out things like coffee rather than say, oh, a car. 

-you think of something you just love and want to share with others, and then you go out and buy 5 of the same thing. 

-you must stay within the price limit! Coupons and discounts allowable to get you to that magic number - our price limit was $8. So the initial cost of the party for us was around $40 (5 gifts at $8 each), and then we all brought a little appetizer or dessert to share. BUT, it was like Christmas in that you get all these fun parting gifts to take with you, you enjoy great laughs with friends, and you get to eat delicious food (from people who actually make the recipes they pin!).

-You can either bag your item(s) individually or bring them all in one bag.

-We had several participants (including me)  bring a 'few' favorite items, as they wanted to get close to the $8 price limit as possible but their 'main' favorite wasn't that much.

My 'favorite thing' is the "Yes to Cucumbers" facial towelettes - I seriously love them! And because they weren't $8, I threw in some tissues & a semi-healthy chocolate chip cookie bar - all great things for traveling.

-Once at the party, you write your name on a five different pieces of paper and put them in a bowl. 

-When the party is ready to get to the presents, we went around in a circle and presented our 'favorite thing(s)' to the group. Everyone ohs and ahs over the others' selections and you create a mental list of whose name you hope to draw. 

-We then passed the bowl around the circle with each of us drawing one name, and the person whose name was drawn would present their gift to the recipient. It really was like Christmas! We did this five times. 

The way we did it was really fun, but we did have a little snafu at the end with Michelle still needing a fifth gift but having already received from the person whose name she drew. We then spent a ridiculous amount of brain power trying to figure out how we could have done it differently to prevent this from happening again! I lost focus somewhere at the end when a conclusion was drawn...our way was just fine! We worked it out and everyone went home happy, full, and with new goodies!  

These are all the things I came home with (except some candy bars, I already ate those).
I also used my French lavender lotion and my dry shampoo!

Then I started thinking, what would be on my list of "favorite things" for vintage and antique goods within that same price limit of $8. Here is what I came up with:

1. Skeleton keys. They are great for decor and jewelry!

2. Several little glass bottles grouped together.  

3. Old paint brushes with lots of former color showing through. 

4. Vintage light bulbs! 

5. Crusty old clocks. 

6. Tarnished silver (not all shown are under $8, but most smaller pieces are)

7. Ironstone dishes (same deal as the silver)

 

With the fall season virtually dead in the retail world, I need to start looking ahead to CHRISTMAS! So I will add to the list:

8. vintage ornaments, especially silver

 

Notice you don't see any silver in my pictures of the booth from last Christmas - that's because I keep every one that I find. Some favorites I just can't part with! 

It has been quite some time since I showed some pictures of  my space at the Austin Antique Mall, so here are some of my 'favorites' from the last month. Notice lots of my favorite things in them!

What are your favorite items under $8? I would love to hear from you!

Have a chic week,

~Sarah

Home for Harvest in the Heartland

The end of September/start of October was a whirlwind! I made three trips to Warrenton/Round Top in two weeks and then flew back home to IL to spend some much needed time with friends and family. What a short yet wonderful weekend it was! The one season that I miss the most is definitely fall; last year I didn't make it home until Thanksgiving so I missed all that is great about fall in the midwest: fields being harvested, crisp air, and colorful trees. I made it a priority to get back home this fall and I am so glad I did! 

Many great fall memories center around a bonfire roasting hot dogs and s'mores. Where I am from, that is called a wieny roast! My parents were gracious hosts to my two best friends and their families. The kids had a lot of fun feeding the sheep in the barn. 

 

How sweet are my nieces and nephews!? They all take after their Aunt Sarah. ;)

Another core component of a wieny roast is the hay rack ride. We improvised this year and did a golf cart ride! Worked well for our small crew. They posed on the straw and then we had to ditch it for our ride.  

 

After kids enjoyed hot dogs and smores, the girls headed into town! What a wonderful time reminiscing with my best friends since grade school. 

On Sunday, my parents and I headed to west toward Macomb to visit my grandmother. The fields of Central IL are dotted with these massive wind turbines. It is crazy how slowly they move considering how windy it is, but I can only imagine how much those blades weigh. 

 

 

That weekend was the first of the Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive, a collection of festivities along a long stretch of roads from west of Peoria to beyond Farmington. There are endless small shows with vendors and tons of yard/barn sales! You better believe we took that route to Grandma's; it was literally over the river and through the woods! With tons of stops along the way...    

 

 

These aren't your ordinary garage sales. These people had great stuff! At the above sale, I found a great old doll with bright green eyes, several tarnished silver dishes, old ammo pellet bags, and a few Ball mason jars. 

This show was on the edge of Farmington and had quite the lunch crowd!

This place had lots of goodies too! I found some more Ball jars, old glass milk jars, and a fun wire basket that I can fill with monkey brains/hedge apples. 

 

Notice all the coats and hoods - there was more than just a chill in the air; it felt downright cold in the 40's.

This barn sale was GREAT! Wish I could have filled a U-haul with all the goodies here.
Instead, I chose between these two chairs. 

 

And I went with this one on the bottom. My aunt saw this and couldn't believe I paid money for it.
I think it is perfectly shabby! It has a great shape and could easily be recovered
(by someone who knows how to do that).

Here are some more great sights from my Midwestern weekend:

And here are some goods I found while there:

Loving the industrial style desk and the two chippy shutters.

This old farm table was a steal! 

It looks like no matter where I go, I can find a deal! Luckily for me, my parents are driving down to Texas in less than two weeks to help me with my first 'real' show, the Rusted Gingham Barn Sale. It is in Gonzalez, TX on November 2 and 3 and it is worth the drive if you are within a few hours. I went as a shopper last year, and it was so much fun that I am going to be a vendor this year! This weekend has been filled with lots of prep work  - I am so anxious and excited to see it all come together, and so very thankful my parents will be there to help! 

It was great to be home even if it was for just 48 hours; I didn't get to see lots of other friends and family members, but I treasure the time I got to spend with those I did see. And I look forward to the next trip back!

Have a chic week,

~Sarah

More Marburger

This is my third and final post about my trip to Marbuger Farm's opening day for the fall show on October 2. There was so much to say and show that it took me three times to fit it all in! Don't miss out on either of the two other posts.

Today I want to showcase some vendors whose spaces I loved and/or whose stuff was particularly memorable.   

This message was a hit! It was as funny as the merchandise was good at the booth of Two Sisters, Echoes, and Kat's Creek Antiques. 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up is the distinctive style from Magnolia Pearl. She designs funky and comfy clothing and her booth was buzzing with patrons trying to get some whimsical and romantic frocks. 

 

Pretty cool exterior of the Magnolia Pearl booth.

Luxurious Louis could be found a few spaces down from Magnolia Pearl. Marco from Branded Luxury Unlimited  had quite the selection of Louis Vuitton. 

For the true fan, how about some clear plastic chairs with Louis covered seats?

 

Travel in style with these trunks.

Gloria Becker of Many Monkeys Later was one of the only vendors who I noticed showcasing holiday merchandise. Her handcrafted Santas were exquisite. 

I really wanted to get this UT one.
Love all the vintage Texas accessories!

I have a little affinity for sock monkeys. (Except when they are on the adult footie pajamas.) 

 

A reminder of my school days: a French horn! I was in our school's band (shout out to all you former Marching Hornets - pretty much everyone at our tiny school was in the band and we put on a killer street show in Christmas parades across Central IL!) and I played the French Horn. Pretty terribly I  might add. We still have it and I told my mom to put it in the backyard over the winter in hopes it will look like this one!

Old carnival ride seats, anyone?

Several of my great finds came from the tent that contained both Wild Weedz and Carla's Town and Country. These ladies had fun decorative accents and the most beautiful dried flowers I have ever seen. 

 

These mailboxes drew me into the South Porch Antiques space. How great is this display?!

Most all of the merchandise here was already tagged 'sold.' Such good stuff!

As I took a closer look of the frame of the booth, I thought it looked familiar.

When I saw this sign, I knew I had seen them somewhere: Country Living Fair in Austin this spring!

The couple travels all the way from New York - that makes for two trips already to Texas this year! Wow.

This space was a girly girl's PINK paradise! Pink was certainly the trendy color this year for the fall show, which I have to admit surprised me. But it sure looks great here at Willow Nest! 

I have shopped with them before at City Wide and they always have great displays. 

Well looky there - more holiday decor...just now noticing the vintage pink ornaments! 

I love her combination of rusty with romantic.

This booth is designed by the talented Judy Hill. I feel badly that I didn't get more pictures and that I didn't have a chance to say hello - there were just WAY too many people shopping around in there! Her space was so inviting and many of her items already had that sold tag too.

Fun animal number prints.

I'd guess they are pretty valuable based on the $1,750 price tag.

The above photos and this one below were part of the Acanthus Studios space. I think their business description on their business card is just perfect: "exotic accents inspired by nature."

Here is a shot of the shoppers and the grounds on Opening Day:

More PINK!

In the sea of business cards I brought home, I think this great display is from Lauri Evans Designs.

Another favorite I recognized from the Country Living Fair in Austin this spring:
Tricia from The Red Door Antiques.

Her business may be named with red, but I was seeing pink here too!

How cool are those brushes all stacked up?!

Great old college sweater.

She finds great vintage signs!

Love the black and white theme on this wall.

In addition to pink, the other color that kept showing up was GREEN...in the way of monkey brains that is! Also known as hedge apples, bodark, bowwood, or bois d'arc, these green grapefruit looking things are from the Osage orange tree. And I LOVE them! My mom even sent me a box of them last fall.
Read more about them here.  

This display is from Leftovers Antiques space. 

While many of my favorites were vendors I have seen before, I did admire for the first time the creations of Selina Vaughan. How funny to be sporting my Funk's Hybrid seed sack tote made by my friend Caitlin and then come across a booth selling a similar concept with the exact same seed sack!

It is strange to be recognizing towns near where I grew up 1,000 miles away on designer purses!

I loved getting to talk with the designer - here Selina is with one of her bags. 

And last but not least - this space was my all time favorite. It caught my eye immediately when I first arrived as I was cutting through the first barn to get to Theresa's building. Marie and Rhonda of 2 Girls Stuff put together a spectacular tablescape. I made the pictures extra large so you can better see the details.

That little piggy went to market and SOLD!

I hope you enjoyed seeing this glimpse into Marburger's fall show...and I hope to see you there at the spring show. Mark your calendars; opening day is Tuesday, April 2! 

Have a chic week,

~Sarah