The Barn Sale Was a BLAST!

We knew this was gonna be a hum-dinger of a day so we borrowed my friend's husband truck so we could be sure and buy all we saw that we wanted....no matter what size!  How's THIS for a Texas Sized Truck!?!?!?!  The Barn Sale was about a 2.5 hour drive from Houston so it was nice to cruise down the highway in this "Cowboy Limousine." 

It was a beautiful day for a Barn Sale.  It had been raining in Houston when we first started the trip but the weather was moving East and by the time we arrived.......Cool breezes and blue skies!

This is the first booth we  saw and it didn't disappoint.  There were lots of architectural antiques, which I LOVE!!!

I didn't know what these were or what they were made of  (the tall color tube-like things) but when I saw them in last year's  Barn Chicks post I knew I had to have one.  Turns out they are chicken feeders....who knew...well, probably YOU, but I'm a Small Town girl, not a country girl and I didn't know what they were.  I bought the purple one on the very far left (just behind the shopper), and my friend Tyra bought one too!   We wanted a chicken coop too (is that what you call it?) but didn't get one this year. 

And just to PROVE we were at a Barn Sale.....check out these HUMONGOUS cows that were lounging about just next to the sale

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And speaking of lounging....how about this cute little cowpoke!  He was enjoying a bit of sunshine (and Cheeto's) while his family ran the hot chocolate stand.

This booth has beautiful, antique Christmas tree ornaments just like my Grandmother had on their tree.  We loved the way she decorated her booth and marketed her wares with the beautifully, chippy windows!

Suzanne, the Barn Chick who threw this shin-dig introduced me to her sweet husband and told me he cleans out his barn for her once a year so she can have the barn sale.  This is the third year she's done it.  So, just to prove the sale was in a barn, I took a picture of the hay bales. The hay seems to be a good back drop for this vendors rustic Christmas decorations.  Don't you think?

This is precious Savannah.....she's been working for many, many weeks on her pretty beaded jewelry.  She has quite the eye and probably will become a jewelry designer or maybe a cowgirl, and most likely a blogger! 

And this is darling Rachel.  She has the sweetest personality and lots of creative ideas.  No doubt she will be a big success in whatever she does in life. 
Tyra purchased this old washtub made of metal.  We are thinking it's going to be perfect on her back porch as a soft drink/beer/ice holder, especially during the warms months (and in Texas that about 10 months out of the year)!  There are plugs in both sides so it will be easy to drain. 

As we were leaving the Barn Sale and telling the Barn Chicks how much we enjoyed it....I saw this cute little cow-poke walking in with his daddy and just had to get his picture.  Isn't he precious? 

After the barn sale, but before we hit up the local antique shops, we needed to re-fuel.  We were told this was a wonderful local place to get lunch and it was true!  So, we went through the cafeteria type line and ordered up the sampler platter which had a bit of everything.....brisket, chicken, ribs, sausage, potato salad, beans, cole slaw, bread, pickles....but hey, we didn't get dessert.  We are trying to watch our figures...LOL!   

All in all, it was a great day to get out of the city, meet some sweet fellow blogging friends, buy some cool stuff and enjoy the weather!  I am NO LONGER A BARN SALE VIRGIN!

Check in next time to see what else we bought!  

 

I'm Finally Going to a Barn Sale!!!

WOOOOHOOOO.....I'm going to my first Barn Sale on Saturday!!  Maybe some of  you have been to one, but I only started hearing about Barn Sales after I joined the blogging world.  For a while I thought they were only held "up north"....but much to my surprise I started reading about one from a fellow blogger....Suzanne at Barn Chicks. 

Ya'll should REALLY "friend" her on Facebook .  I "Borrowed" these pictures from Facebook just to show why I'm SO excited....I hope you Barn Chicks don't mind.They are promising lots of vendors featuring vintage, antique, unique, funky, local, handmade, remade, or otherwise-made stuff. Get your Christmas shopping done early!
 These are pictures from last year but it's giving me a good idea of what a treat I'm in for.  So, if you are in the Central/South Texas area on Saturday, you should try and come.  Pictured below is Suzanne and her amazing photographer friend, Tracy.  I'm hoping I get to meet them both because it's so cool to meet a fellow blogger in person, don't you think?

 We are getting an early start so we can be there when it starts....9:00 a.m. (we have about a 2.5 hour drive)   We're gonna go as we like to call it ...."Ugly Early".  That means no makeup, most likely a cap over the hair, plain tee-shirt/jeans,etc. etc.  I usually say I'm going Ugly Early and then still throw on a little makeup--I just can't help myself...LOL!

My friend, Tyra (above right) and I plan on hitting the Barn Sale first and then venturing 12 miles down the road to Gonzales.  I've heard for years about a really cool architectural antique store there.  Does anybody have any suggestions on places to go near or in Gonzales?   And of course, check back with me.....because as usual, I'll be taking lots of pictures so I can share my fun adventures with YOU!

Colorful Weekend In Houston!

The beautiful day beckoned me to leave work early on Friday!! Just looking out my office window at the downtown skyline made me smile!  It's too beautiful a day to be stuck indoors. 

Looking out the other window and it was confirmed.  I'm definitely leaving a lunch and NOT coming back!  I love this view from my office.  See those church steeples in the middle right....so pretty!  You can tell that our fall leaves haven't turned colors yet.  That probably won't happen until December.

 We celebrated my friend Rayma's birthday by gathering at her cute little bungalow and toasting a glass of red wine to the birthday girl.  That's Rayma on the right looking festive in her orange jacket. 
 This is the house next door to Rayma.  I loved their decorations too!

 Next stop was the Houston Zoo.  It's a gorgeous zoo, full of big oak trees and and tonight; 50 of the best restaurants in Houston.  They brought little sample dishes for us to try and many gave us coupons for dinners at the restaurants. 

 We also got two tickets for wine and beer with our entry fee but more could be purchased!  And we DID!  I was a little disappointed because it seems most of the animals were already tucked in and ready for a good nights sleep.  We DID get to see two elephant moms and their cute "little" babies.  One baby is named Baylor and the other is Tupelo.   Rayma was on elephant watch a lot of the summer. She's a zoo volunteer so she would get to the zoo at pre-dawn hours and sit with the mother elephant and monitor her progress.  Pretty cool gig!!

The next morning my craft group and I meet up in Sugar Land (a Houston Suburb) and went to the British Festival.  Here we are with a super sweet Bobby! 

Here is a booth with ALL things Lavender.  Even the Christmas tree!  I got some bath fizzies there and I'm sure they are going to be decadently wonderful!

 And her are some Scottish dancers.......doing their "thing" in their pretty kilts.

 And the Bagpipes and drums sounded great too. 

 We had a sample of this plum pudding and it was good.  It was served warmed with a butter brandy sauce that was quite stout but delicious. 

 A little tea room was set up instead of the usual burger and hotdog lunch.  We were served hot tea (Typhoo brand)...have you had it?  We even went along with the group and added cream to our hot tea.  I think I'm a convert!

 We each got a little bit different plate, but all have 3 finger sandwiches, a savory meat pie, a scone with clotted cream and jam and loads of sweets.  It doesn't look like a lot but we were stuffed and felt so royal.

 Outside we couldn't resist stopping by the small car show.  My friend Fredna, particularly liked this green car. 

And me....well, I bought the red one.  Yeah, right.....just dreaming but I think I could look pretty cool driving the sunny streets of Houston for the weekend!

It was definitely a colorful and fun weekend.  Hope you had a great one too!!!!