Round Top Rowdiness

Last Saturday's endurance shopping excursion to Round Top, in particular Marburger Farms, was exhausting but worth every minute. I've finally recovered.

Our biggest concern of the morning, arriving shortly after the gates opened, was whether or not we would able to cover the enormous amount of stuff crammed into 11 tents in the next seven hours. It would take commitment, dedication, and no lolly-gagging.

Yeah, right. Me not lolly-gag as I shop? Ha. Especially when I am with my two girlfriends. I kept repeating to my self, "focus, focus." Luckily both of my girlfriends are moms and were able to drag me on to the next great booth when it was time to move on. This was the last day of the show (it started on Tuesday) and the dealers would be leaving as soon as the gates were closed. Ugh.

I'm not sure why I ever doubted our ability in covering the entire place. We fought hard and did it with nearly 45 minutes to spare. This would truly be Josh's worst nightmare...7 hours of shopping!

It helped that I came prepared with a list of items that I've been looking for lately. I had tried to comparatively price stuff online to find out the going rates of things, but to be honest, in the moment if it felt right and the dealer was willing to negotiate and I loved it...I was taking it home.

The first item I was hunting for...seltzer bottles.

I found these 3 guys at two separate dealers. At the end of the day the dealers were willing to cut prices significantly so that they wouldn't have to take things home with them. I particularly love the center bottle with the old wire netting.

They look perfect in their new home...on the kitchen hutch.


Mere was hunting for a sunburst mirror. It was shocking to see the prices of some of the antique sunburst mirrors throughout the tents. To say that these are hot right now is an understatement. They varied in price from $30 to $5000...most being WAY above our price range (which was very close to the $30 rather than the $5000).

Mere's new fab sunburst mirror

We all purchased quite a few art pieces for our homes. Meredith and Hannah both found some amazing prints and etchings for their art collections. I found 2 etchings for my dining room that are over 200 years old.

The treasures from the day...if only we would have had a Uhaul.

Soon this guy, a 200+ year old etching, will be hanging in our dining room.
The picture does not do it justice, of course.

Mere picked up these awesome prints that were
once used to teach children lessons on character. There was a set of about 20 of them.
These would be awesome in any playroom.

Hannah picked up these awesome aviary prints for her family room redo.
So soft and beautiful.

I've been in LOVE with the use of locker baskets on
shelves for books, movies, magazines, etc. I had to have these!
The dealer had stacks and stacks of them.
I think I'm regretting not purchasing more of them.

Where to put them? Where to put them?
Josh's vote...not in the middle of the living room floor like they are now. Ooops.

Of course, we did have to refuel in the middle of the day.
Texas Twisters and burgers helped revive us.

My big splurge of the trip was a lamp for our living room. I've been searching and searching for the right one.

A little secret...buying lamps completely intimidates me! Lighting in a room is like jewelry on a woman. It can make or break a look. Finally, I made a decision and purchased this one from a shop out of Birmingham, AL.

It sits perfectly next to the couch.
The burlap shade and distressed urn blend into the room,
not standing out too much but not blending completely away either.

I'm really happy with it.
It casts the perfect amount of light.
And thankfully Josh liked it too!

Hannah picked up a small oriental throw rug for her husband's office.
Great deal and a piece she'll have for a long time.
Choosing between the hundreds and hundreds of rugs that were for sale was tough.

Our final purchase for the day, and maybe the most extravagant,
a chocolate chip Royer's Round Top Cafe pie.
If you know Royer's then you know why we bought the entire pie rather than just a piece.

Marburger Farms and Round Top, in general, were an awesome adventure for us all. It was definitely a day filled with fantastic shopping, an awesome time with friends, and an opportunity to see and learn about all sorts of beautiful and crazy items from the past. I adored it all.

This semi-annual show will be held once again in the Spring of 2011.

I'm already planning for that one. I need to prepare. I have big decisions to make...a truck from Uhaul, Ryder or Budget?

Decisions. Decisions.