Our House?

Old is in. Distressed is the new shiny. Nowadays, retail shoppers beyond pickers and junkers appreciate the look of aged, weathered, chipped, and rusty/crusty decor. This is evidenced not only by the vintage vignettes displayed in stores like Anthropologie, but also by the influx of manufactured furniture and accessories designed to look old in stores that sell nothing but new.

Best Antique Mall Around

I can hardly believe that the first of August is next week! How is that possible? Summer clothes are on clearance, patio furniture is gone, and the smell of new school supplies hits teachers like a ton of bricks as they enter Target. But you know where there are deals and new merchandise daily, but without that new plastic smell? At the Austin Antique Mall! 

I often write about places I shop, and I can't remember the last time I showcased my very own mall. I go there often, especially in the summer, but most times I head straight to my booth to do my restocking and rearranging before they close and lock me in (if you haven't seen that post, it is worth the read!).    

Air-conditioned fields of gold at Austin's City-wide

This past weekend was the Citywide Garage Sale in Austin; it was the equivalent of a trip to Warrenton in terms of the quantity of great stuff I got, and even had the added luxury of concrete flooring and air-conditioning! I nearly forgot about the sale, but luckily they send an email the morning of, so I managed to get there by about 9am. Whenever I go, I splurge and spend an extra $5 to enter during the early-bird shopping time, and it is always worth it. This past Saturday was no exception. It was pretty slow until well past 10, and I spent nearly three hours shopping and talking to lots of my favorite vendor friends. 

The first place where I spent quality time was at a booth stuffed to the brim with industrial and old school finds that are literally from an old school. I immediately bought an old locker basket and started talking with the vendor, who was very nice and offered to hold another purchase along with my basket. 

Summer Projects

Since returning from my road trip, I have been relatively productive. There are lots of projects that I don't get to during the chaos of a school year, so I love checking a few things off my list now that it is summer. 

New Orleans, Take II

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July and holiday weekend!

I have several great posts to share, but somehow just can't seem to get them written...I am two weeks behind, but better late than never. I have been home from my road trip for two weeks now, but this post will once again feature some great architecture and design from the old south, New Orleans. It  might sound weird that my road trip to IL from TX led me through New Orleans, but my hometown is just off I-55 in IL, and New Orleans is straight down 55 about 13 hours and then a little east, so I combined two trips into one by coming back to Texas via New Orleans to make a stopover to see good friends Aden & Dan and their sweet new baby boy Britton. He was so excited to see me!

 Isn't he adorable?! 

Aden and Dan are great hosts and took us on a lovely tour of the Garden District in New Orleans. We passed several walking tours, but didn't need to join one as Dan knew so much about the rich (quite literally) history of this beautiful section of the city. I wish I could remember all the facts that he shared, but two weeks have come and gone and I can't remember which celebrities lived where at this point! But we saw the houses of John Goodman, Anne Rice, Sandra Bullock, Nicolas Cage, and the parents of the Peyton and Eli Manning...here are pictures of those homes and more:

 

This one was for sale and only costs a cool $5 million.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love the ornate wrought iron fence - fanciest corn stalks and ears of corn I have ever seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And after that we went to the 'artsy' district and saw this:

before we attempted to get these:

 

But alas, they were already closed.

Hope you had lots of cool summer treats this weekend!

Have a chic week,

~Sarah

Tea Time!

Tomorrow is the first day of July - where has the time gone?! Hope your summer is off to a great start. I am back home from my epic road trip through the mid-south and still have several sets of great pictures to share.

One of my favorite places to go when I am visiting friends and family in my hometown is just about 15 minutes away from where I grew up: LaTeaDa tearoom and gift shop in Clinton, IL. One word sums up this place: YUM! Owned by great friends of our family, this tea room is extra special; I had my bridal shower there, love their food and tea, enjoy shopping at the gift shop, and especially like that it is a small family-owned and family-run business. I try to get there each time I am home. Reservations are definitely needed as the place is packed each day for their lunches, complete with delicious soup/salad/sandwich entrees, heavenly desserts, and tasty teas. Lots of groups from all over Illinois take outings here because it is that good!

 

The old home is in pristine condition and offers the perfect setting to escape an ordinary day.

 

Ambiance is quaint and intimate and all guests are welcomed with a personalized plate!

Their lunches are delicious. I had a seafood salad on mixed greens - I love a salad that uses greens rather than boring iceberg lettuce. I also had their famed "LaTeaDa" tea, which is a special family recipe but I do know there is something citrus-y about it (only because that's how they describe it!). LaTeaDa tea is the only sweet tea I will ever drink; I love sugar in everything but my tea, yet this is the one exception! And of course I had to have one of their homemade desserts - there were about 8 specials that day and I had the carrot cake (so good!), while my mom had keylime pie and my sister had some chocolate chocolate pie. 

Upstairs, there is a gift shop that is filled with small decor items, jewelry, clothing, purses, and other unique gifts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm so glad we had a chance to visit while I was home and I could really go for a glass of LaTeaDa tea after landscaping and scraping paint in 100 degree temps!
It was 108 yesterday in Austin, so I can only imagine what July will bring...

Have a chic week!

~Sarah

Third Sunday Market in Bloomington

What's the best way to recover from a two-day road trip? A trip to the area flea market of course! Despite not arriving to my parent's house until close to 11pm on Saturday, my mom and I got up at the crack of dawn to get some deals at the Third Sunday Market in Bloomington, IL. This event is not to be missed by anyone in Central IL who is hoping for a piece of the past without breaking the bank. For me, this show is right up there with Warrenton as far as quality of merchandise, variety of junk, and great prices are concerned. Definitely a much smaller scale, but there are at least six barns full of goodness plus lots of outside vendors too. And you can't beat the Midwest for farmhouse finds!

I have been lucky enough to be home for the 3rd Sunday Market on many trips home in recent years. Last year, I wanted to plan a trip to coincide with the show, so I checked the website and didn't see the future dates posted yet. I submitted one of those 'contact us' forms to ask when that summer's show dates would be so I could be sure to attend one, and a guy politely wrote me back with the dates of the 3rd Sunday of each month. As I read his response, I realized just how ridiculously dumb my question was. It was one of those moments when I wonder how I can hold a steady job. At any rate, in case you are wondering when the Third Sunday Market is, it is indeed the 3rd Sunday of every month from May to October. So the next one is July 21.  

The order of the pictures for this post is a bit messed up thanks to spotty internet connection in the boonies, but up first are some pictures of a vendor from the rabbit barn. (This market is held at my county fairgrounds, so we call the barns by what animals they house.) I think you will love the look of the vignettes from Mariann of Willows in Dubuque, IA. After seeing her space in the rabbit barn at 3rd Sunday, I can only imagine how gorgeous her goods are at her shop, which is in a beautiful old brick building. 

She had a patriotic theme at the front of her space and those lockers were divine!

Great idea for the 4th of July. 

Her style combined French country, primitive farmhouse, and vintage industrial.
It all blended together so well. 

Her booth was busy! I hope she had a great show.

Here are some other pictures of the fine displays from the rabbit barn:

 This was not in the rabbit barn and should have been in the sheep barn:

This sign is awesome. As a 4-H alumna who showed sheep for 10 years, I certainly love the 4-H symbol and the sheep part, but really, who wouldn't want to be a Hustler?
That term immediately makes me think of Snoop Dogg.
I was a member of the County Capri club.
Capri means 'goat' in Latin. I would rather be a hustler.

Next up was my favorite vendor. I was immediately drawn to this outdoor booth by the vibrant potted plants and bright chippy furniture and veered off my path to the cattle barn to see what this place had to offer. 

Turns out, it is the booth of two friends, one of whom has done only one show prior to this! Shout out to Melinda Hanafin Decker of the La Tea Da Tearoom in Clinton (if you haven't been yet for the chicken salad sandwiches and La Tea Da tea, you must!) and Kelsey Graber Ohnesorge (and her mom Julie Graber) of The Backyard Barn. Their space looked amazing and I spent countless minutes wandering and examining all of their extensive collection of junk. I got several things here and am really impressed with their set-up, as this is only their second or third show. Their booth was packed and it was hard to get pictures without shoppers! I also took these on my second run through their space, and lots had already sold. Hope they had a great show, and I hope they become regulars at markets around the area. 

Kelsey used these at her wedding with Mason jars and fresh flowers!

What I love about shows and shops is the opportunity to use live foliage to add color, texture, and depth to displays. It is amazing how much better junk looks with a few plants! 

Here are some other pictures of the scene at the market:

Ball jars are EVERYWHERE in the Midwest!

Wish this was coming home with me.

Or this.

It was so crowded! I enjoyed running into several people I knew while shopping. 

Hope they found as many great deals as I did!

This is the loot I got from the market:

I made out like a bandit hustler. 

Have a chic week,

~Sarah