Like a Band of Gypsies

on the road again
just can't wait to get on the road again.
the life I love is goin' junkin' with my friends
and I can't wait to get on the road again.

hey y'all!

i am deliriously happy to see the holidays go bye-bye. ack!!!!! let's get back to some serious junking!! and where better than the capital of my grrreat state, austin?!

jannetta and bonnie cruised on down in the RV a day ahead of me and i met them at the antiques mall in round rock (just north of austin) on saturday morning.

we hadn't seen each other in a while and had some catching up, as old friends are wont to do. we walked into the mall (it was brrrr outside) and immediately began ooohing and ahhhhing over the pretties at the front of the store. and as it happens, we also started yakking about this and that.

after about 10 minutes of our animated chatting, The Lady Behind the Counter rudely and pointedly interrupted us and asked, "is there anything i can help you with?"

translation: "move along ladies and stop making a scene at the front of my store."

arghhh.

my response: "no thank you, ma'am. we're just browsing. are we bothering you?"

if your mama didn't teach you this, listen up. always put them on the defensive.

it seemed to work. she shut up and we continued our chatter. louder, if that was possible. hmmmph.


like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
we're the best of friends.
insisting that the world keep turning our way ...


we stayed long enough to see that their prices were, well, pricey ... and to make good use of their ladies' room. then we flew the coop and hit the real junkin' trail: austin yard and estate sales.

first stop: a very sweet little vintage house just east of downtown austin. we weren't too sure of the location, but our GPS biatch got us there.

how quaint!! i fell in love with the lil house itself! the sweet young woman (sorry ... i wish i'd gotten her name!) running the sale was selling everything, as she was moving out of the country. sorry again, i didn't get the back story. i was soo overwhelmed with the house and her vintage goodies!

anyway, i walked out with a to. die. for. crocheted vintage tablecloth (was her mama's, whom she called and confirmed it was 80 years old), 26 pieces of gorgeous dolly madison dinnerware (cups, saucers and bread/butter plates) and a sweet pink and brown bowl with candle. not vintage, but cute as hell.

wish i'd taken pics of the house, but alas, i did not. but i did give the young woman my blog information so maybe we'll hear from her again. i told her to watch for her things to show up here. :-) thanks again for the great bargains ... and as i said, they will be loved and well-cared for in my home.

another yard sale, with a totally different vibe was next. i spent $5 there but was agitated during the entire visit. isn't it amazing how sales can differ so greatly ... how the seller sets the tone of the sale?

example: i picked up an old plastic bag with sewing notions and strips of lace inside. i mean, there were many odds and ends in this bag. so many that i was willing to just buy the damn bag so i wouldn't have to sort through it all.

if it had been MY sale, i would've said something like, "take the whole lot for $1. or $2. or whatever."

but nooooooo. this woman had to empty the bag completely and micro-manage the sale by pricing each. individual. piece. and each piece started at $0.25 or $0.50. which doesn't sound like much, but there were probably a hundred different little items in that silly bag! at this rate, i'd be paying her $25 for the bag of sewing notions.

so i stopped her and said i wouldn't get everything in the bag. she started lowering her price/item, but it still felt icky to me so i got the lace and couple of notions that stood out and called it a day at $5.

ugh.

the only saving grace of this sale was that directly across the street the folks had dumped a LOT of crap curbside. so when we were driving away, i pulled up and the girls hopped out and salvaged a little chiminea and a huge, rusty milk can that had been painted with a farm and bluebonnet scene. ??? what the hell i will do with that, i haven't a clue. but you can't just not pick up something like that when it's free.

last stop: the sally store! it was pretty big, for a sal-army thrift store and had an "upscale" feel to it. yikes. nothing worse than a thrift store that thinks it's a dillard's or macy's.

and sure enough, the prices were ridiculous. for a thrift store. but thanks to bonnie's keen eye, i got an awesome vogue poster which you might recognize because it's already on my blog (in the right column). couldn't believe it when i saw her!

i also found a couple of very sweet pillowcases and a pfalzgraff dinner plate to add to my collection. all at half-price. thanks, sally!

by late afternoon i was dragging. the girls headed back to the RV and i hit I35 north to killeen. ahhhhhhh!!!!!! it felt WONDERFUL to be on the road again. i love me some good junkin'!!!

love and hugs,
terry lee
gorgeous sleigh bed at front of store, antiques mall

beautiful rose bowl ... squint and you can see the price. and die.

a lovely vogue poster in the antiques mall ... they were very proud of it too, at $75. little did i know that this was a foreshadowing of my day ...

sweet lil pink/brown bowl with chocolate-ish candle

a compilation: lace bits, odds/ends, an old linseed oil bottle, candle, pfaslzgraff plate, etc.

my dolly madison pieces!

dolly madison cup ... pink rose heaven!!

DM cup and saucer

my pink vogue girl poster!!! $12.99 at the sally! i LOVE her ... so cool with that ciggie!

dolly madison pieces on the vintage table cloth ... how lovely is that?!

vintage table cloth (80 years old) on my table

i adore it!

another view

trash-picked (!!!) huge, old rusty milk can that some soul painted. i love bluebonnets, honestly. i do.

but i believe i'll have to paint over it. but maybe not. it stays outside due to its rusty condition. i'm not fond of tetanus.

trash-picked chiminea. this belongs to bonnie but it came home with me.

on the road again.
just can't wait to get on the road again.
the life I love is goin' junkin' with my friends
and i can't wait to get on the road again.