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Introducing my luggage inspired dresser

This vintage 4 drawer dresser has been completely made over to look like stacked vintage luggage. It has good bones and is constructed of solid wood. The drawers are in great shape and there is no sticking when opening and closing them.

The frame has been roughly sanded and stained in a dark walnut color and each drawer front has been decorated with authentic vintage luggage and trunk pieces.

The top drawer has been painted a creamy white, distressed and then given an antique glaze. It is made to look like two separate suitcases and either handle pulls the whole drawer open. Two metal American Tourister labels were salvaged and attached to the top right side.

An old trunk handle and rusty latches have been added to the stained second drawer. The black plastic handle pulls the drawer open and an old Delta Airlines paper tag was saved for charm. The metal latch on the left works and actually unclips! The missing metal latch on the right adds to its true vintage appeal.

Plaid brown vinyl from a soft sided suitcase has been added to the front of drawer number three and the gold clips on either side open and close. The brown leather handle pulls this drawer open.

Drawer number four has been stained in a light oak color. There are two buckle straps on either side and the coordinating handle in the middle opens the drawer.

Each drawer has been lined with map paper to go with the traveling theme.

It was a lot of fun putting this piece together and I am already on the lookout for another dresser and old worn out luggage!

Jayme

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Happy New Year!

Welcome 2019! It’s 11:35 on January 1, 2019 and my urge to start and finish this blog on this day may or may not come from a new year resolution. So here I am. Starting a new year, reflecting over the day and putting my experiences into words.

We spent New Years Eve at our friends, Daryl and Adina’s house for dinner and a friendly game of poker. Daryl is a fantastic BBQer and never fails to put on a feast for a king’s army. We were treated to piles of BBQ chicken, ribs, macaroni and cheese, baked potatoes and biscuits. His wife, Adina, is from Romania and decided to spend New Years Eve with her Romanian friends in Atlanta for a big ethnic event. She looked beautiful in a ball gown and graced us with her presence before leaving us for the night. The rest of the evening was spent eating and playing poker before a champagne toast at the stroke of 12. It was a phenomenal way to close out 2018.

I spent New Year’s Day putting up some of the leftover Christmas decor. I kept the tree and decorations up a few days longer in the basement to celebrate with my sister, since we couldn’t get together before the holidays. I found some time, once the basement was clear, to finish painting a French Provincial side table that I started last week. It was my first attempt at gold leaf and I am thrilled with the way it turned out.

I consider myself to be pretty superstitious and have adopted the traditional southern New Year’s Day meal. Over the past 23 years of living in the south, I have perfected my menu of honey glaze ham, black eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread. My kids, who normally hate greens, have come to love this meal and rave about my cooking. Black eyed peas are eaten for luck, collard greens are for money and they eat it all. I’m already feeling like the luckiest person alive. Our best friends Lanie and Jason joined us with their 18 month old daughter Jamie and we spent the evening watching Jamie and my 6 month old grand baby, Iris, playing on the living room floor.

I couldn’t ask for a better start to 2019 and I am ready to put some action into finishing a few goals for this year. I WILL start tomorrow with eating better and sticking to my Weight Watcher goals. BRING IT ON!

I’m a bit late with this post, but at least I can say I finished. Good night!

Jayme

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Heirloom Cabinet Rescue

We have lived beside our neighbors for 15 years. Right next door. If you walk out their front door and look to your left, you see our garage. Our garage that is almost always full of furniture and almost never has room for a car. And since we are always home, the garage door is always open. Open for the world to see our messy, messy garage. And yet the mess inside is constantly changing. I’m forever moving the dresser in the front to get to the table in the back and moving the lawn equipment out to get to my stack of boxes, and so on. I have been doing this for 8 of the 15 years we have lived here. So when I received a text from my neighbor asking me if she knew of someone that could help her with an old cabinet, my first thought was hmmm….maybe our garage isn’t as obviously telling as I thought. My second thought was, I do know someone! Me! She explained that she had an old cabinet that was her mothers and remembers it being in her own bedroom at some point. She had started stripping the old green paint off but had gotten to a point where she felt like she was in too deep. Not knowing what I was getting into, I walked over to see the condition of the cabinet. It didn’t look too bad. She had done most of the stripping and just a little paint was left on the doors and the drawer front. Certainly salvageable. I enlisted my hubby to help carry it down the hill to our basement and immediately got to work. I used Back to Nature Multi Strip to finish taking off the paint that was left. This stuff is magic. The container says it takes off 15 layers of paint (naturally) in 30 minutes and boy was it right. I’m not getting paid to say that either. (I can’t figure out how to get companies to sponsor my blogs, but that’s another story.) You’re welcome Sunnyside Corporation. Anyway, I left the stripper on for an hour and it ALL scraped right off. Just look at that paint lift right up! Like pulling up a big chunk of skin when you’re peeling from a sunburn. So satisfying! I let it dry overnight and then got right into sanding it down with my handy dandy orbital palm sander. I did have to use my Dremel on some of the curved and corner pieces, but eventually all the green was gone. She picked Early American Wood Stain by Varathane and once it was down to the bare wood, I started in on the stain. I used a chip brush to get the color on, waited a few minutes and then rubbed it in with a clean cloth. Most of it only needed one coat. I had to lightly sand down the doors a couple times to get the color even, and it still wasn’t perfect, but now I’m sure it was the wood and not just me. I installed some glass knobs that I had laying around, just so that I could see the finished piece. TADA! She loved the glass knobs and wanted to keep them, so I put a layer of Minwax Paste Finishing Wax on the top for extra protection and it was done! Needless to say, she seemed very excited and happy that I could help her out and has already found a place for it. I absolutely love what she’s done with it, but I am totally admiring that little ceramic fruit tree right now! 😉

This is the first piece of furniture that I have stripped that I actually enjoyed. I look forward to using Back to Nature Multi Strip again and maybe I can get them to sponsor me for the next job! Feel free to send me some tips on getting sponsors! 😜

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Out with the old and in with the new

2016 was an exciting year! With the opening of my store, Knicknaques, and the crazy schedule of appraisals, there wasn’t much time to get to all of the projects I have on my list.  So, in 2017, I am vowing to get more custom jobs finished. 


Over the past few months, I have collected an assortment of beauties that I am calling my “Emerald” collection. Somehow I ended up with a stash of green pieces and although they’re lovely in their current condition, I always envision something better. 


I have had this green wing chair sitting in my garage for awhile and we actually use it there. Its also on my list to redo and I’m not sure what we will do without it in the garage. Yes, I do…I will find another chair to fill its place. Duh. Until then, I am going to chalk paint over the green and recover the seat. I’m thinking gray with a stenciled canvas seat…


I found this little cutie at a thrift store. I walked by it several times before decided that it would be adorable sanded down and stained and the top recovered in burlap. Here’s hoping that green paint wants to come off easily. 😬

I love, love, love this sewing chair. 💚 The green vinyl is in excellent condition, although the color is a little outdated. There are so many possibilities with this one! But then again, I may just leave it be. Hmmmm…


This ottoman is a popular size and can be used in any room. As a bench, an ottoman, a footstool or an accent piece. I have already recovered a similar one in a coffee bean sack and it turned out beautiful. I think I want to do something different with this one, I just haven’t decided what yet. 

Come back to see how they all turned out! Feel free to leave me a comment with your suggestion. I love fresh ideas!
Jayme

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Knicknaques Vintage Boutique Est. 2016

The rezone request for 707 S. Broad Street was approved by the Monroe City Council in March of 2016! Little did I know that it was only the first of many hurdles to overcome when opening a business from a home. 

The house is in the historic corridor and no changes can be made to the exterior without acceptance of the Historical Society. Roof, windows, doors, landscaping… everything has to be approved. My biggest priority, however, was the ramp that would need to be built according to ADA standards for handicap accessibility. I couldn’t open without the ramp. Roof, windows and doors would have to wait. I found a builder who claimed to be familiar with ADA standards and could build my ramp. My plans were easily approved by the Historical Society and construction was started. 

The ramp project quickly became my biggest headache. I informed my builder, from the beginning, that if the ramp could not be finished by April 15, then I didn’t even want it to start. The Antiques Capital of Georgia was hosting their yearly spring event and I was on the map of the local antique places to visit. 


My doors would have to be open, or at the very least, have a tent event in the yard. I was promised that the ramp would be finished in the two weeks before the event. At some point during construction, I realized that the quote included a 10′ wide stairway that wasn’t in the initial plan. I had to go back before the Historical Society for approval. Which wasn’t until after the 15th. Which meant my stairway wouldn’t be complete before the spring event. I was promised (again) that a temporary stairway would be installed before opening and they would complete the project after I met with the Historical Society. I lightly breathed a sigh of relief and we went to Florida for spring break.

Upon returning from vacation, a week later, we drove by the house to check on the process. There were 16 posts concreted in the ground and the floor of the ramp, and that was about it. 

It was 5 days before the spring event! There was NO way the ramp, stairway and rails were going to be finished. I was given a long list of excuses about the city requiring more work and material, and it was then I realized their knowledge of ADA standards was much less than they claimed. We started working on the inside of the house, on the off chance that they would finish and also trying to plan for a tent in the yard in case they didn’t. 

Long story short, the temporary stairway was installed and I had to block off the ramp section which wasn’t finished and couldn’t be used. We had the event mostly in the yard, although customers were allowed to walk through and “see” the house. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best “soft opening” we could manage. We had a great day and I framed my first $1 made! It was (almost) official. 


They finished the ramp (after additional cost) and my stairway was approved. I received my Certificate of Occupancy and on April 22, I was officially open! 

My plan is to only be open on the weekends for right now so that I can continue to work on appraisals during the week. I have to pay for the ramp, which ended up costing more than my updated electrical system and total HVAC install combined. 

I am still trying to find my niche in this market and need to focus on advertising. It is more work than I imagined, but we are loving it! My kids (who I rarely saw before) come out to help me on the weekends and my husband and I spend a lot of time together working on the house. It makes my heart happy whether I make a ton of money or not! 

Come by and see us! Knicknaques 707 S. Broad Street, Monroe, GA 30052

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Knicknaques finds a home

Two years ago I started this venture out of a love for taking something old and making it new. It’s been a hobby for me that has paid for itself and my love for vintage has only grown. Although my taste and style may have changed over the years, my passion for mid century has stayed the same.

From the very beginning I had a vision.  It was going to be a step by step process that started in my garage, with some spray paint and a pair of cane back chairs and ends with me opening my own store, Knicknaques Vintage Boutique.

In November of 2013 I opened my Etsy store and realized other people across the country loved vintage and my work. It fueled my fire for more. Pretty soon, I had a garage full of treasures that could fill a store. My ambition to find pieces to work on was much bigger than my time to actually work on them.  The next logical step was to find a booth to rent at an antique mall. It was about as much as paying for a storage unit, only it would be open to the public and also generate sales. Knicknaques opened at Cherry Hill Antique Mall at the Cotton Mill in Monroe, Georgia, in March of 2014.

 I never made rent with my sales.  Hell, I’m not sure if I had more than 3 sales in the entire 4 months I rented there.  I sold on Etsy and Craigslist though. Several times a week I would head up to my booth, pick up a piece and either ship it to places like New Jersey and New York, or I would meet in parking lots in Athens and Stone Mountain to deliver items that were bought through Craigslist.

I decided to try one more antique mall and moved my booth down the street to Pickers Paradise in July of 2014. I did much better there.  Not only did I have enough sales to pay rent, I also got a check! I was slowly finding my niche and learning about important business strategies like inventory, pricing, marketing and branding. I was comfortable with this stage of my Knicknaques business. I stayed at Pickers Paradise and had 4 booths at one point.

In October of 2015 I was asked if I would be interested in running the mall once a month in exchange for rent. I not only reduced my rent but also learned more about the ins and outs of running an antique mall.  I loved it!  A whole day filled with being in an antique mall and being around customers that love the same thing I do.

It was at that point that I realized I wanted my own place and started looking for buildings to either rent or buy. Rent was expensive and would really cut into profit, but what I could afford to buy was a little discouraging, to say the least.  I found an old home in downtown Loganville. It was right off Main Street and near all the other antique, thrift and vintage stores.

Pecan St, Loganville, GA

 

Location was perfect, the house was not. I loved it though. It was a 1 bedroom, 1 bath home built in the 1900’s and was only $17,000! It had beautiful wood floors and tongue and groove walls. It had a gorgeous mantle in the living room and an old wood stove for heat. Unfortunately, it also had asbestos siding and the kitchen area was literally falling off the side of the house. I talked to the city of Loganville about re-zoning to commercial and got quotes for repairs. The process to rezone was going to be fairly simple but the cost to repair was quickly exceeding $50,000. During my decision to make the purchase, the property was put on the blight list. It was deemed dilapidated, unsafe and unsightly.  The owner had 60 days to either renovate the property or have it demolished. All signs pointed to walk away. So I did. Two months later the house was torn down. As sad as it was, it was probably for the best. So I kept looking and found a house to rent in Monroe, next to the post office. It was already commercial and available. It was another home built in the 1900’s, had more than 10 rooms and several fireplaces. But I would have to rely on booth rental income to supplement rent and parking was close to nonexistent, so I moved on.

In December of 2015 I found 707 S. Broad Street in Monroe.

707 S. Broad Steet, Monroe GA

 

Built in 1920, it had 6 rooms, a full bathroom and a half bath. 4 of the rooms had old non working fireplaces with mantles, which were obviously a huge selling point for me.

fireplace in bedroom

 

There was a cute little screened porch off the side and a detached garage. It was within my budget and most importantly, if I stood on the front porch, I could see the antique mall at Walton Mill and the Cotton Mill was 2 blocks down from there.  It was right in the middle of the antique mall area and located on a major highway that ran through town. It was zoned residential and I got friendly with the planning and zoning department for the city of Monroe. They indicated that a rezone to commercial in that area would be beneficial to the city plan and was a fairly simple process. I put a contract on the house and applied for a rezone. If the house couldn’t be re-zoned, then we would just rent it out. It was a win-win situation and so far everything was moving smoothly.

I attended the February Planning and Zoning meeting where my application for rezone was to be discussed. Debbie from the planning and zoning office informed me that my application request was first on the agenda and I would need to speak to the committee. Um, I wasn’t prepared to speak! I went up to the podium and told them who I was and what I wanted to do once the property was rezoned. The city of Monroe is trying to revitalize and grow the antique mall business and fortunately my business venture falls in line with their plans. They approved the rezone and will send their recommendations to the city Council who meets on March 8. One down, one to go. In the meantime, I closed on the house and have the deed in hand. The next two weeks will be spent getting the house ready. Hopefully to run my store, but if the rezone application is denied, it will be ready to rent.

I’ll be back with more of the story after the council meeting. See you soon!

Jayme

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The ABC’S of estate sales

Lately I have been obsessed with estate sales. Garage sales are the best, but they are few and far between in the winter here and my local thrift stores just don’t seem to appeal to my current tastes. I am still buying items to replace inventory that was sold during the Cotton Pickin’ Fair and one particular estate sale I visited this summer, fueled my fire. I spent a little more than usual, but I got some of the coolest stuff! Everything is on sale at Pickers Paradise and will be available at my next festival. Come see what I’ve found!

Step One to a successful estate sale trip is to research your sale. Estatesales.net and many of the estate sale companies post dates, times, maps and more importantly pictures of future sales. You will run across the same companies running these sales and there is a learning curve to figuring out which companies run sales with the type of things you are looking for and also how they price their items. I search estate sales within a 50 mile radius of my home. I generally stay within 20 but will travel further if the sale looks good. I go through all the pictures and pick the ones that have the items that look the most interesting. My obsession is vintage-mostly mid century. If I come across a sale with modern decor or all antiques, I generally skip them.  

Step Two,  get there early on the first day and have a plan. I’ve been third in line at opening and missed out on some items I had my eye on, because I wasn’t the first in the door and I stopped at the entryway instead of going directly to the room I needed to be in. If you’re looking for vintage Pyrex, go straight to the kitchen. Don’t get sidetracked by the pretty silver mid century lamps in the foyer. FOCUS people! Sorry, I still want to kick myself.

Step Three, know your estate sale company and stick to your budget. Know before hand if you are going to pay the marked price or get a better price by haggling- I mean bargaining. This comes from experience of going to multiple sales by the same company. Some will not budge on prices the first day. Some will take whatever they can get. Some have their stuff priced so high, that you want to turn around and walk back out without seeing everything. Most sales are 3 days, which are generally Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If you go the first day you will get the best stuff first. You may pay more for it, but its first come, first serve. Usually the last day is marked 50% off or more, but most of the good stuff is gone by that point. I went to a sale by one of my favorite companies and had my eye on 3 vintage photography light stands. Two were $30 and one was $45. I bought several things on the first day but passed on the light stands. I thought about those lights every minute until I went back on the last day. They were still there and I got all three of them for $45. I use them to spotlight my booths when lighting is low and I love that I got them for a great price!  

Step Four, never go alone. Especially if you deal in larger items (like me). If it’s a good sale and the house is large, bring at least 2 people. I’ve gone to an estate sale alone and found myself in a basement with no one to help me carry out a credenza, a chair and a picture frame. I ended up paying someone to help me, because I was unwilling to leave my purchases there and come back. I have had my purchases resold after I left and came back to pick them up. So, try to take everything with you.  

Step Five, try to bring cash. Cash talks when hounding- I mean bargaining and most companies will charge a fee to use a credit card. Always get a receipt and take your items with you. Some estate sales are run by the family and will only take cash. These are my favorite types of sales. They aren’t run by a company and aren’t out to get the highest price. The family just needs to get everything moved and aren’t as concerned about price as much as getting it all out. 

My final tip is on harassing- I mean bargaining. Make a pile. The more you have, the better the deal. The first one to name a price usually loses. Be the first to ask what is the lowest price they will accept and don’t be the first to say what you are willing to pay. I didn’t follow this advice at my last estate sale and gave a price of $75 for my pile of goodies, while the man was adding it all up. Thank goodness he didn’t hear me and asked if I would do $50 for everything. Hmmmm, ummmmm, well, OK! 

Those are my basics and just my opinions. I would love to hear your ideas, tips and tricks too. Thanks for following me and look for my next post. I have some exciting things coming up and will keep you updated!

Jayme

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Cotton Pickin’ Fair

We had such a great time at our first festival in Monroe this spring that I couldn’t wait to try another one. I searched fall festivals in the Georgia area and the Cotton Pickin’ Fair in Gay, GA came up for October 3rd and 4th. It was my first experience with a juried show and after sending in an application and pictures of our spring festival, we were accepted! Knicknaques was approved for a primo spot in the Warehouse barn. That meant an inside booth and we didn’t have to worry about a tent and the weather. 

I had a short list of things I wanted to finish and the rest of my inventory came from an extra booth I closed at Pickers Paradise. I was doing a pretty good job of keeping it low key and low stress, until about a week before the fair. My appraisal business got busy, cars broke down and Dylan decided that he needed to be picked up everyday from school instead of riding the bus. The tiniest thing threw me in a tizzy. I had chair shelves that wouldn’t hang on the wall, dresser knobs that wouldn’t stay on and burns on my fingers from paper cone wreaths but….it was getting done. The impending hurricane Joaquin was only a blip on my stress inducer. I was going to be inside and not in a tent. How bad could it be?

Wednesday, everything was finished, in my garage and ready to be loaded in the trailer. Only one problem… I’ve never driven a trailer further than the driveway. My sweet husband took time out to show me how to drive the trailer and I was feeling pretty confident. Until I tried to back it uphill into our driveway. Let’s just say I hope I don’t ever run into that problem again. 😁 Thursday evening the trailer was loaded and Friday we were on the way. Tonya’s husband, Todd and Greg were able to come help set up. There are no words for our gratefulness! They carried all our heavy furniture in, Greg unhitched the trailer and even Todd wanted to help “decorate”. Our booth neighbors were friendly and helpful, letting us borrow their ladder and helping to heave a chandelier and a birdcage over the rafters. 

After our muscle left, Tonya and I decided to take a break and go find our accommodations for the night. I found a quaint little place (supposedly somewhere near the fair) called Americus Farms. They have several buildings that they rent out for equestrian events and also for vendors from the fair. It’s like a bed and breakfast, only no one to actually to cook the food, etc.  I had NO information other than an email confirmation. No address, no directions and no phone number. I put the only address I could find from the website in my GPS and we head out. Now Gay, GA is small. Very small and very remote. As we headed up the winding driveway to the farm, I began to get a little nervous that I had no idea where we’re staying and it was going to get dark. We eventually saw a family out walking and asked them if they knew where we could find The Bunkhouse. Katiana knew exactly what we were talking about and said she’d show us how to get there by taking the “shortcut”. About 15 minutes into the “shortcut”, the dirt road started to get muddy and very narrow.  

 We were convinced we had uncovered a secret location and Katiana was going to take us to a secluded location to be tortured or killed, where no one could hear our screams.  Big sighs of relief when we finally pulled up to the building otherwise known as The Bunkhouse.  

 Katiana went on her way and we were left all alone in the middle of nowhere in front of a big brown barn and no idea how to get in. While walking around the building to find some sort of sign pointing us to the entry, we came across this small graveyard with two headstones.  

 Creepy. And way too close to where we are suppose to be sleeping.

After finally just picking a door and entering a stairway, we found our living quarters.  

 A cute little area with a kitchen, dining and living room. 6 locked doors surrounded the big room and we opened door #2 on our key that we found in the mailbox. Our little bedroom had two twin beds and a cruise ship size bathroom.  

  

 
The beds were tiny and Tonya quickly referred to them as our doll beds. The bathroom wasn’t as clean as we would have liked but we had found a place to lay our heads and our doll beds were clean. 

Before returning back to our booth to finish tagging, we made the 8 mile trek to the nearest grocery store, in Woodbury GA. The very same Woodbury in The Walking Dead, which only fueled our fears of being alone at The Bunkhouse. Ghosts and now zombies were surely going to be our demise. We grabbed some food, wine and beer and headed back to the fairgrounds. Tagging took longer than expected and it was dark by the time we made it back to our haunted house with the doll beds. Still with no one around and very little lighting, I went first up the dark stairway, gun in hand. Now I know to shoot a zombie in the head but where do you aim at a ghost? After an “all clear”, we unpacked and while enjoying our dinner, our first roommate showed up. A nice lady named Donna, who was just as freaked out as we were. She was also there for the fair and had a booth selling bottle cap art. Soon, two more couples joined us and we felt more at ease. There’s safety in numbers when fighting off zombies. 

We had a big day ahead of us and getting ready was going to be a long process in the morning, with only one small bathroom. So, we called it a night and fell fast asleep in our doll beds. 

The weather held off and Saturday turned out to be a great day. The sun was out for a little bit and the temperature stayed mostly cool.  Our booth was open and ready for business!

    
   
The crowds were crazy and at times there was a line to get through our booth. I had made my rent back in the first hour! We were able to take quick breaks and enjoy some of the fair food. My favorite, by far, was the bacon fried green tomato sandwich but the sweet potato fried pie and apple dumpling were pretty darn good too!  

 
5 o’clock came quick and our booth was a mess. Large pieces of furniture, baskets, linens and even my chandelier hanging on the front rafter had sold. Recovery would have to happen in the morning and a total makeover was not out of the question. So we left to get some takeout from a nearby restaurant and went straight back to The Bunkhouse. A quick dinner and a glass of wine later, I was sound asleep in my little doll bed. 

Sunday’s weather was a little more wet and crowds were a little slower that morning. That gave us the time we needed to get our booth back in shape. By lunchtime it was getting busier and before we knew it it was time to think about packing up. Greg, Taylor and Dylan came down and were there to help at closing time. I am fairly certain that if I was left to hook up the trailer by myself that we would still be there. The fields where we left the trailer, were not only muddy, but all the trailers that came in after ours were stacked very close together. Maneuvering, even for pros like my husband, proved challenging. Then there was the giant mud pit at the back gate entrance.  

 If you happened to stop in the middle of that? Let’s just say one truck and trailer stuck in that mess would ruin the entire procession of hundreds of vendors trying to get out of there. My hubby did fabulous and soon we were loaded up and on our way! 

This show was another huge success for us and an even greater learning experience. I’m going to practice driving the truck and trailer and do better research on hotel accommodations. 😜

We didn’t have much time to check out the rest of the fair and didn’t get to see much more than what was right around us. The Cotton Pickin’ Fair is huge and draws people from all over. Other vendors told us that a nice fall weekend can bring in more than 30,000 people. It’s a great family event, with even things for kids to do and I strongly recommend going if you get a chance. Knicknaques will be there if we get invited back, but if we aren’t there with our booth, I will definitely be there to enjoy the fair!

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Peaches To The Beaches 

A yard sale from Perry, GA to Brunswick, GA? Ummm..yes, please. Friday the 13th, Saturday the 14th of March and over 200 miles of garage sales! Tonya and I set out for Perry on the 12th so we can get a head start in the morning. We have very few requirements for sleeping quarters on our little adventures. Our trip to New Jersey was budget minded and we have since found we love dinky little motels. As long as they have a front porch and chairs we can bring outside, we are happy. We make a little fun drink and sit outside playing on our iPads. So what if repairs are needed while you are there. We’ve got it covered. Macgyver ain’t got nothing on us! A safety pin will fix a broken toilet! 

  
We started the morning in a little bit of a fog and kinda chilly but quickly warmed up with some coffe and the excitement of our first stops. I was looking for a low dresser to use as a tv stand in my living room and things to sell in the Antiques Capitol of Georgia Festival that was coming up in the next few weeks. It was slow and go for awhile but by lunch I had managed to fill up the bed of the trunk, including my little dresser that I found for $10!  (It’s buried under the tarp, but more on my dresser makeover later.)

After lunch in McRae, the yard sale sites became fewer and fewer. We did come across a big field where many different people had set up tables and decided to stop. I scored a saddle I had been wanting for a long time and even the ditch with water couldn’t stop me from getting it to the truck.

   

 We made it to Brunswick and stayed on beautiful Jekyll Island for the night. We got up the next morning and saw all the neat things Jekyll Island has to offer. Like this beautiful beach with giant driftwood trees and old plantation style homes with art exhibits. 

   
    
    
 The yard sales weren’t as good as the day before so we went back to the motel and hung out on the porch. HAPPY!

All in all it was a great experience and we had a blast! Looking forward to August when we get to do the Longest Yard sale.   Stay tuned! 😉

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Vintage pinch pleat curtains

Four simple words that bring me so much joy. I have two pair in my booth right now and they’re just hung on nails in the wall. 





No rods or hooks-just flat on the wall. My booth is mostly mid-century goods and the panels give just the right touch of retro flair. I’ve been dabbling in different ideas for curtain rods and hope to get my curtains hanging appropriately soon. 

In the meantime, I have been redecorating my living room. I’m tired of my jungle theme. Tired of the giraffe pictures and elephant statues. 

It’s been that way for more than 10 years and time for a change. All the furniture had to come out to refinish the hardwood floors and it was a perfect opportunity to start with a clean slate. My dingy sand colored walls are slowly transforming to a lovely shade of light grey-blue and my mantle now showcases recent vintage finds.  

I’ll have to stick with my brown micro suede sofas and oversized chair and ottoman but they go with the flow, for now. 

I have always done my decorating by picking a focal point and creating from there. So to be honest, the entire inspiration of my redecorated living room comes from a beautiful pair of pinch pleat curtains I found at an estate sale. They were buried in the back of an old barn under piles of old rugs and bedspreads. They were wrinkled, musty smelling and  look more like old sheets than a pair of curtains, but they were perfect to me! I took them home, washed them and hung them on my windows, on my freshly painted wall. It was destiny. Or fate. Or whatever….they were meant for my living room!

 I didn’t want to use the traverse rods with the tracks made for pinch pleats, so I found a way to hang them using the rings with clips. I took the clips off so that the little loop was at the bottom of the ring. Then I used the drapery pins in the pleats and hooked the pin through the loop. Since I have blinds on the window, I won’t be pulling the curtains back and forth, but I can if necessary. Tahdah! 

Now to finish painting my walls and find an old dresser to use as a console for our majestic 65″ TV. I will show you the finished project just as soon as I get it complete. Thanks for following me!