Say What?!

hey y'all,

haven't felt well lately and so i totally missed out on a great junking weekend because of it (sorry, marta).

but i've been meaning to post this since i saw it a couple of weeks ago. ever been in one of those funky dollar stores where things just. don't. feel. right? you know the ones. you see a product on the shelf and you think you recognize it. but no. on closer inspection, it's some weird knock-off of the brand product.

let's say, just for kicks, you spy a pack of panasonic batteries. but wait. when you pick them up, it actually says penesamig batteries. are the chinese (or choose your favorite foreign country) just slapping a slightly-off label on an inferior product and expecting us to not notice?!

sadly, most of us do notice but are still enticed to buy the inferior knock-off because it's cheap. oh, nevermind it doesn't work or its quality is so poor you end up trashing it. but hey! it was only a dollar!

which brings me actually, to the main point of this post. there's a "dollar" store in this area called "giant dollar store; everything's $1". don't believe me? here's the actual signage:





a few months ago, i was in this particular store for some gawd-awful reason. okay, it might've been the cutesy $1.00 earrings that i'm terribly fond of:

huge, i know. but adorable!

c'mon! pink peace signs?!?! irresistible!

anyhow, i noticed some pink croc-type shoes that i wanted.

"hey, they're only a dollar and they look comfortable," i said to myself (when no one else is around, i tend to self-talk).

but when i was checking out, the foreign-type (not that there's anything wrong with that) man behind the counter said, "deez ah tree dahluhs, oh-kay?"

i replied, "no. that's not okay. i thought everything in your store is a dollar."

"deez ah berry high qualiteee choos," he countered.

"yeah, but the name. of. your. store. is EVERYTHING'S $1!"

"tree dahluhs for choos."

i left him, with his damn $3 croc knock-offs and vowed to never return. also, i whipped out my handy dandy iphone and took the pictures above as evidence. of what, i'm not sure. i guess just to remind myself that i wasn't going crazy. the sign really does say everything's $1!

to those of you who might be thinking that $3 was a good deal, you may be right. but that's not the point. IF you're going to advertise (read sign) that everything's $1, then every. damn. thing. should. be. a. dollar ... or less. not more. arghhh.

btw, i did break my vow. i returned a couple of weeks ago with pal bonnie. yeah, we couldn't resist the new shipment of jewelry we heard had arrived. after choosing a few pairs of earrings, i wandered around while bonnie finished her shopping. that's when i spotted the following. i could scarcely believe my eyes ... which is why i took the picture. no one would've believed me:

anyone need some cotton pads??



let's just take a little closer look, shall we?



after that, all i can say is ... at least the fuxing nob nob cotton pads were only a dollar.

love and hugs,
terry lee

The BIG Show!

hey y'all!

as i'm sitting here this gorgeous sunday morning, with my usual get-me-going cocktail of caffeine and motrin, i find myself still floating around in a dreamy fog of a post-junking high. come on. y'all know what i'm talkin' about.

saturday was an ohmygawd, over-stimulated kind of experience. The Girls and i went to the county-wide garage sale at the expo center in belton. this was the 17th annual sale to benefit the bell county museum.

we've attended in years past and we knew it was huge. over 100 vendors packed the exhibition hall (a HUGE barn-type building with concrete floors ... just awful on your feet and knees and back!) and thousands of junkers just like us. well, not just like us. we're special. heh heh

anyway, aside from the crowds (ack!!) ... oh, and a few cranky vendors ... we did all right. only once or twice did i feel the need to run out to my car for a xanax. but i didn't. mainly because we had to park a mile away. anyhow, i managed the irritating, agitating, always-in-my-personal-space-bubble crowd by keeping myself busy taking pictures, browsing tables from afar and some good old fashioned cussing. always good therapy. cussing, that is.

honestly, i started the day with the notion that i was not going to buy anything at the sale. only look. seriously. i had to clean out my front living room on friday night to make room for the new junk that i knew i'd find at the sale. i got so hot and bothered (not in the good way, either!) that i finally snapped.

"this is ridiculous! i don't have room for any more junk!" i screamed to no one in particular.

that's when i determined that i would. not. buy. anything. at. the. expo. sale!!

so to keep me honest, i shared my resolution with the FAGs on the drive over there.

you could have heard the proverbial pin drop.

"hello?? did y'all hear me??"

nothing. just the sound of silence (but my words like silent raindrops fell).

"i mean it. i'm sick of this! i've got to stop buying so much junk, no matter how much i love it!"

one of them ... i'm not sure which ... muttered a very quiet and drawn-out, "ooo-kaay."

hmmph. those rats didn't believe me. perhaps because of the three of us, i usually buy the most (or biggest pieces) and they get stuck squeezed into the backseat or in the front with crap piled on top of them. yes, i've offered my trunk space for them to lie in, but it's always packed too.

alrighty. back to The Sale.

first booth we looked at had some adorable linens and what-nots. nope. i don't need any more linens or what-nots. the helpful vendor, however, felt the need to inform me that the what-nots i was looking at were only $0.25. ouch! a cute turquoise bunny that doubled as a cotton ball dispenser was only 25 cents?! it'd be a sin not to get it!



i glanced over at bonnie and sure enough, she was watching. busy body. i simply carried on and bought a sweet lil vintage chenille rug from the same lady ... for 50 cents!



at some point, we lost jannetta in the crowd, but bon and i kept a similar pace and path. at the end of the first row of vendors i hit paydirt on all things shabby yet chic. wow. this vendor had the goods! i bought an old, sweet turquoise avon bottle and a gorgeous turquoise table cloth with pink flowers. $2 each.



"that's it, bonnie. i'm not buying any. thing. else! i've gotten a few really cute, inexpensive items and i'm done. stick a fork in me."

she nods and smiles.

we move on.

and then i see this:



and right behind it:



it's an aqua kinda day, what can i say? these are both painted in a pale shade of turquoise/aqua and i love them. and after all, i need a shelf thingy to display all my lovely cups! the vendor and i cut a deal as she slaps a sold sign on both pieces ... and she even babysits my bag of other purchases while we continue to shop. i'm hands-free once again!

by then, the concrete floor had gotten the better of me and so i took a break to people watch while The Others persevered. let me tell you, there were babies everywhere!

on daddy's shoulders

asleep on makeshift beds

baby dolls in vintage sleds

when people watching at an event such as this, there's always plenty of entertainment. these kind folks were dressed up in civil war era costumes. mercy me. having an inquiring mind, i bit.





they were gearing up for and promoting their upcoming battle of temple junction civil war reenactment. click the link to read more about it. if you're into all that.

i asked if they needed a scarlett o'hara-type character, ready to offer my services. i saw one of the ladies shaking her head like i was a nutjob. lookit. I'M not the one in civil war get-up at a garage sale. still, i promised a plug so there it was. do with it what you will.

this is something you see every weekend at garage sales, right?

of course. a deer head sitting in a scooter chair. makes sense to me. poor bambi's grandpa has serious mobility issues. no legs.

uh huh. i want a vintage bedpan. please!!

sign, sign, everywhere a sign. blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind. do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

by the way, long-haired freaky people need not apply. just sayin'.

i'd finally had my fill of freakness and got up to find The Girls. we were getting mighty hungry and tired. and at least one of us was on the cranky side.

as we were loading up the camry with our treasures (yes, mostly mine since i'm a liar and promise-breaker) we ran into none ... other ... than ... dear MARTA, from for the love of junk!

we compared notes on our purchases, snapped some shots of each other and did the best we could to catch up while fighting the wind and crowds. soooo good to see you marta!! thanks for the lovely pink linen you gave me (she bought two of the same ... and gave one to me, a fellow pink-lover).

lovely!



after a minor showdown at the fork in the road, we headed south to salado (instead of north to belton) for lunch. we landed at cowboy's bbq joint.

yum yum!! just remember to ask for the lean beef brisket! killer sour cream and cheese potatoes.

after filling up on bbq, the sides, bread, iced tea and cobbler (peach for me, blackberry for jannetta and bon) with bluebell (what else?!) ice cream on top ... we asked a waitress to take our group photo. this is what happens when i let them stand behind me. juveniles.



we thought we were headed home after lunch, but one cannot be in salado and not do a little shopping. salado market days were in session, so we stopped in and browsed a bit. i found this beautiful metal paris-themed piece for my front room. looks lovely behind the candelabra, no? it's not vintage (have seen these at hob-lob) but still.



old red ice chest in salado. this is like the one my parents had when i was a child ...

and thus concludes the latest of our grand FAG adventures. y'all enjoy spring break and keep your eyes peeled for those bluebonnets!

love and hugs!
terry lee

took a pic of this poster 'cause it caught my attention. when i saw the $1.00 price sticker, i had to bring it home!

Lasses in Lampasas

hey y'all,

am just about recovered from my weekend wildness with the girls. whew! it's a good thing we were snowed in the past couple of days because i didn't feel like getting out anyhow.

speaking of snow, i was going to cram in snow pics in this post but realized that i was overextending myself, so i've made an executive decision to postpone the snow blog till later. for now, suffice it to say ... yeah, yeah, it snowed. about 6 inches in central texas.

but back to last weekend ... we loaded up the camry and headed west to lampasas for a warehouse sale, advertised as (of all things) a huge "WAREHOUSE SALE. SEIZED & FORECLOSURE MERCHANDISE".

we'd been to this one before and though it's a pain in the arse (crowded, irritating people getting in your way, crying babies and the like), they do have some interesting junk if you sift through enough of it.

but before we left the cove, we hit a couple of yard sales. we managed to do some damage at all of them:

a huge junie b. jones display for $0.50! got it for hubby's classroom

precious little yellow cups with a sweet bunny ... all great for upcoming easter

a heavy, marble-based candelabra for $0.50!! plan to paint and add prisms. and candles of course.

and then we were off to the warehouse. as it happens, i only got one thing there, but i was very pleased with my purchase. an old chest/dresser that was marked at $35. i'm not sure why, exactically, that it so desperately wanted to come home with me. but it did. i kept trying to leave it, but it whimpered and whined until i finally asked the lady minding the sale if she'd take less (it's in my blood to at least try for a better bargain).

here it is, at home. my plan is to paint it a vintage-type light green and distress it.

she agreed to sell it for $30. and made it clear to me that it was an excellent deal and that was her lowest offer.

not. a. problem. i was happy at $30, but decided to ask her hubby (who sold us stuff at his last sale at excellent prices ... and i knew that he would undercut his wife's price). i know, i'm bad.

love the sweet feet/legs on it

sure enough, he took the $28 i proffered as he looked over his shoulder to make sure wifey wasn't watching. she was. she stabbed me with an icy glare as we hauled away the chest.

i think this baby's well worth $28 ... and the daggers from the wife/seller.

ANYways, after the warehouse ordeal, we stopped in to a quaint lil thrift shop just off the square. it's some sort of faith-based thrifty place in a sweet old house. if you look long and deep enough, you can usually find some treasures there.

in the kitchen, jannetta spied a box full of vintage dinnerware that she thought i'd like. "but hurry up! there's a lady in there digging through it right now!!"

i nearly tripped over her and everything in between (it's a small, packed with junk, house) to get to the kitchen. sure enough, some woman was hogging up MY dishes. listen people ... it was a vintage SET with turquoise flowers and a splash of pink in the middle. oh yeah. they were MY dishes.



the woman finally removed herself from the area, carrying a serving bowl and multiple plates. ack!!!! later, the young girl working there admitted she shouldn't have split up the set. but she offered to sell me the rest of the set for $6.99.



i was pretty bummed about missing out on the entire set, but her price made me happy enough to agree to purchase the remaining pieces. they are wonderful. absolutely no buyer's remorse with this.



famished from a full morning of junking, we finally stopped for a late lunch at my girls on the square. it's a sweet little locally-owned restaurant that serves up yummy chicken salad sandwiches, soups and the like. the hubby and wife were very gracious hosts and were more than willing to take our official group pic of the day on their staircase. too bad they can't spell.

"restaraunt"?! didn't even notice it until i uploaded the picture. normally, i'm all over misspellings like stink on a dog.

the official group photo, on staircase inside my girls, lampasas, texas.

my girls had this very clever fish tank inside an old TV. cool, eh?

after lunch, we browsed around lampasas (in the camry) and accidentally found this place:



a little shop inside a historic home. love the old homes in lampasas!! we weren't sure if they were open, but jannetta investigated and was finally able to rouse the man inside. bonnie was too full and sleepy to be adventurous, so jannetta and i checked it out. not a lot going on inside, but on the front porch we were greeted by this:

he wouldn't talk to me, but he was very entertaining

jannetta, who's able to squeak and squawk with the animals, made a new friend.

on a final note, i received a surprise box of treasures from my dear pal sue at vintagesue. i can't thank her enough for her thoughtfulness, generosity, kindness, etc. i LOVE my treasures, sue!! thank you SOOO much.

sweet linens and things ... yummy!

an adorable pillow made by sue

y'all stay safe and warm and keep on junkin'!

love and hugs from a white central texas,
terry lee

official ring photo :-)