Round Top Ain't For Sissies

On Friday I had the pleasure of going to the place where people of all ages

(okay, middle aged-women and gay men primarily)

go to find priceless artifacts

 (in reality quasi-desirable junk of all shapes and sizes)

for low prices:

(not low enough) 

 

ROUND TOP.

 

If you are unfamiliar with what it is, it's basically a bi-annual antique/junk extravaganza held in various barns and fields along a country road in and around a tiny, barely on a map town named Round Top. Vendors come from all states to hock their goods, and I use that term loosely. We saw everything from velvet paintings, to old saddles, to salvaged industrial lighting to row boats to stuffed armadillos (I only saw one this year, so make that singular).

 

This time, I was joined by my lovely and talented interior designer pal Kate Duckworth of Maison Market. We left the babies with those deemed responsible (husbands) and headed out into the wild blue yonder (wait- is that the sky?) in her big ol' Texas truck. After making a pit-stop for donuts of course.

 

It was a lot of fun until we ran out of money, and that happened too quick.  I didn't take "artsy" pictures because I didn't want to haul around my ginormous camera, but here are a couple shots with the iPhone. If you like anything -no seriously- ANYTHING, then you should go to Round Top this spring. Because I guarantee that you will find it.

With sequins.

And rust.

Sitting next to a statue of the Virgin Mary made out of bottle caps.

 

 

 

In the end, here's how I did.

Bought:

Eames era fiberglass shell chair $20

white metal stool $20

vintage oil painting of two dudes in the wilderness: $40 (ouch)

two red buckets $10

delicious chopped BBQ beef sammy $7.00

Almost Bought and Didn't and Kind Of Regretting:

Catalina Island and Long Beach pennants

additional Eames chair in white

ten inch industrial wooden spools

metal marquee letters

Glad I Didn't Buy:

stuffed armadillo

stuffed crocodile

Injuries:

three fire ant bites

blisters from stiff unworn low top Converse

Garden Ridge Opened/There Goes My Budget

At some point last year, I sent up a little prayer asking God to help me be a better steward of my money. He listened, and shorty thereafter Garden Ridge went up in flames.

Temple of holiday decor, flameless candles, glass jars, cheap art, fake plants, pottery, an entire "Seen on TV!" section, obscure and random packaged foods from abroad, tiny little chotchkies. POOF! Up in smoke.

Apparently it was arson, but I'm not claiming any part of that. It happened while I was at Chuy's eating delicious enchiladas with that addictive tomatillo sauce. I saw the smoke, and hoped that it was nearby WalMart on fire and not Garden Ridge, because let's face it, this is Texas and there's a WalMart at every highway exit. But the nearest Garden Ridge is not near enough for me to even know where it is.

But hold on friends (insert trumpet fanfare here). Garden Ridge has re-opened! Wooooo!

I went the other night to check it out, and other than their decision to skip fall decor and go straight to Christmas, I was not disappointed.

Hello, nineteen aisles of cheap plastic Christmas bulbs! Good to see you, entire wall of doormats! I nodded to the eight rows of lamps and shades as I walked down to the reproduction vintage furniture quadrant. Greetings, fake factory cart coffee table! It was great. They even had a whole section of hospital scrubs, which has never made sense to me. But they were there, animal print and all!

And just before I left empty handed, (this was reconnaissance only) I spotted the one item that really epitomizes (1) Garden Ridge, and (2) Texas, the ten foot tall inflatable patriotic Marine Santa.

Welcome back Santa, and Semper Fi.