Monday, April 05, 2010

The good, the bad and the ugly. . .

Well I'm back from Round Top, TX having had a ton of fun, not enough time, and many lessons learned! I knew I was only going to have 2 1/2 days (keeping in mind that the various shows go on from the end of March through mid-April) so I planned my trip around the Marburger Farms opening. It seems that is the one show that fit my style to a T. Although I wasn't disappointed, it was not a "resale" show. I purchased a few things for me (and cried over larger things I would have loved for the house) but I couldn't do much buying otherwise. Although the booth displays were amazing and I saw things I will never see again, I am truly a "digger" at heart. I like the rush of finding a diamond in the rough and getting a great deal - whether I'm keeping it or putting it in my booth. Marburger was not the place for that.


The next day I was headed to Warrenton, which we passed on the way in. It looked like my kind of place for sure. But. . . I got impatient and got sucked into various other shows along the way - none of which offered much of what I was looking for (or more specifically, what I could afford)!


Finally on Thursday, my last day, I made it to Warrenton. Wow is all I can say! If you are a flea-marketer at heart this is where you want to be. Acres and Acres of junk - as far as the eye can see. I made a lot of great purchases and only made it through about 2 full isles (and I believe there were at least 100). Photos of some of my finds soon, but for now, here are some photos taken at Marburger . . .



This is the bed and breakfast we stayed at called Lillian Farms . . .



And here I am at a state park in Austin our first day. A bit of a "peace" offering to Jared. . .

And the famous bridge in Austin - everyone waiting for the half-a-million bats to fly out at dusk. . .



What a wonderful trip!! Anyone else go?? If so, what was your favorite find??






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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

love the chandeliers but what was up with all the doll heads? Love your blog, I put you on my side link hope you don't mind.

Paula in Australia said...

Hi Jenni love your blog read it often. Absolutely love the photo the people on the bridge my first thought when it loaded on my screen was it looked like a page of music - the lines of the bridge look like the lines on sheet music and the people look like the notes! Have a great day. Regards Paula

Anonymous said...

wow...that sounded like so much fun. I'm a digger and dealer too. Love to dig and love a deal. I am looking forward to the Nash flear market at your VintageFest. I live in knoxville and I've always awanted to go. I'm as excited about the flea market as I am about taking your classes....The whole trip is going to be SO fun. I can hardly wait!!

Louise

wig4usc said...

I would love to go... and I'm like you. I love to rummage around and find that really special something. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to seeing what you picked up!

marcy said...

Those displays look absolutely lovely!!

fairyrocks said...

Wonderful photo's ....
Doll heads aside, I sort of have this horror facincation thing going on with that one LOL.
Love checking out the markets!!

Erica@ZunkyChic said...

I learned after my first trip to Round Top that Warrenton is the ONLY place to shop! Most of the other shows' dealers shop the Warrenton fields, bring it back to their clump of dirt, and then mark up the price to resell to those people who wouldn't dare step foot on a field in Warrenton. Hope you scored some great finds.

Kimberly Jones said...

I felt the same way about Marberger! But I was glad I saw it and I enjoyed the over the top booth displays. My favorite find (from my only trip there3 years ago!)was a huge collection of vintage trim, literally hundreds of pieces! I am a digger with a budget too, so Warrenton was the place for me as well! Glad you enjoyed the trip!

Nancy Wyatt said...

I went to Warrenton the weekend before Roundtops show and I was so excited at all the digging my hubby and i were able to do! This was my second time going to Warrenton and we plan to make it twice a year! I had heard that at roundtop it was more expensive and not true digging so that is why we chose Warrenton and we were not dissapointed. Would have loved running into you! I have photos on my blog of just a few items we brought home. The prior year I came home with a great buffett for my craft studio and paid $80 for it. You cand find photos of that piece on the flickr link on my sidebar. *hugs from Conroe, TX!
www.lovestocreate.com

Amy said...

VintageFest and moving so soon together - that's quite a lot to have going on! Wishing you peace and happiness through it all. :)

candice said...

We've been to round top the past few times and have loved it but have found along the way through trial and error that best way to do it is to go to the junky fields(warrington) a few weeks before Marburger. That is when they open and many of the dealers at Marburger actually go then and buy stuff for their own booths from the Junk Fields. You can find the best items and prices then. We moved to Texas from Brooklyn a year ago and I've been using Roundtop to replace all the furniture in the house. (it was all ruined in a moving accident.) I have a few photographs on my blog of Round top if you wanted to see them. I know we've only met a few times and CKU's and things but if you need any advice on the shows for next time feel free to email!

Candice Stringham

Anonymous said...

Jenni, I'm just catching up on reading your blog and had to laugh about Round Top. I'm in Franklin, TN and have a best friend in Houston. One February we made the journey to Round Top for the show/sale/whatever they call it. We still laugh about the lack of restrooms and just finding field after field of stuff. I didn't buy a thing since it would have had to come home on Southwest with me, but enjoyed the experience.