PresentPast Collection

Marburger & Warrenton Vignettes

Isn't this wreath gorgeous? I wanted to buy this in a bad way but knew it would probably get destroyed shipping it home. Maybe I'll have time to make one some day. Loved it!!

Since my days are now running together these photos are all snippets from days 4, 5 and 6. There are so many great vignettes to enjoy from all the shows. I hope they spur some creative energy for you. You know how much I love chairs, aren't these cool?

These chairs were from the Texas Rose Show across the street from the famous Marburger event. If you ever have the chance to visit, you don't want to miss this one. The owner Vickie was full of Texas hospitality and invited us into her home so I could take some photos. I'll have to do another post just on her incredible place. But in the meantime, here are a few her displays at the show.

And I know how much you all love vintage pink prom dresses! There were plenty available to choose from and I found one to bring home. I'll have to take a picture of mine when it arrives.

This display is from Theresa Canto's booth. She had lots of creative touches here. I'm saving most of the photos from her booth for something special but wanted to share her talents with you. Check out her blog for some of her photos too!

I really love the contrast of this rustic barn and dozens upon dozens of crystal chandeliers. This is the epitome of rustic elegance.

Well gals, I have over 1200 shots from my Texas Junkin' trip. Let me know if you're sick of seeing them. I still have pictures of Robin of Magnolia Pearl and her booth, the Country Living editors, our fun night at Royer's Cafe with Deb of Curious Sofa, a trip to Uncommon Objects in Austin, and too many more to count!

I'm back home now and were getting ready to take the boat to Catalina Island tomorrow. It's Spring Break time!

Zapp Hall Blog Party

We started off Day Three of our Texas Junkin' Trip with the Blog Party. Here's my sweet friend Carol and her awesome niece Shelly Sparks. Things wouldn't have been the same without these two gals!

And these blonde beauties I lovingly named the Texas Trio. From the left we have Cindy Richmond, Roxanne Spradlin and Jana Thacker. They came from Abilene to shop the antique shows and it was so much fun meeting them and running into each other while shopping. We got to watch Roxanne test drive the super cool vintage turquoise bike she bought. Their friend Dalia couldn't make it but gets a shout out "Hey Dalia, you've got some great friends"!

This is Theresa Cano, the most wonderful gal in the state of Texas. She is incredibly gracious and made us feel like part of the family from the minute we met her. She had a fabulous booth and I'll share some photos of it in my next post.

This is Debe Leone who came in from Houston to come to the party and do some antiquing. She gave us some tips on a few "can't miss" booths. Another truly delightful Texan I'm so glad I got to meet. Debe doesn't have a blog but perhaps we inspired her to start one? Keep us posted Debe!

Here is the most talented jewelry designer Kim Chiasson and her adorable daughter. Her shadow box necklaces are miniature works of art. Each piece is unlike anything I've seen before, truly unique. My friend Shelly bought one of her necklaces and we were so delighted to meet her at the blog party!

Warrenton veterans Cheryl Schulke and Chris Brown were working on their collaborative zine project featuring highlights of the whole junkin' experience. I'm sure it will be chocked full of cool photos and incredible insight from these two road warriors. Keep an eye on Chris' blog for the upcoming publish date.

We were also joined by two incredible vendors who each have had their share of national attention. Linda Marcov on the left in white and Theresa Smith sitting next to her. You may remember Theresa's beautiful home featured in Country Living magazine, it's just stunning!

And I don't want to leave out the darling Amy Botkin pictured in the red floral top. She's close friends with the Texas Trio and another friendly Texan who stopped by the party before shopping. Thank you all for coming to the Blog Party. It was so much fun getting to know each of you in person. The world of blogging opens up so many doors of opportunity for people all over the world to connect and share in their common interests. And I'm so thankful to have had the chance to visit with each of you!

My next post will be lots of photos from the shows. I can't believe how many I took but I promise they will not disappoint. The booths were fantastic, creative and filled to the brim with vintage goods!

Texas Junkin'n Day Three

Hey everyone, I thought you'd like to see a little more of the Junk Gypsies. Here's the main entrance to their tent.

Here's Mama Gypsie loading new goods. We've seen them buying more inventory around the shows. I'm guessing they are selling like hotcakes.  Here's the tamale shack. Haven't tried them yet but isn't their building hysterical?

There are lots of great old buildings scattered all across these small towns.

I have so much more to share and I think I'm going to have to wait until I get home to give you the full blown stories. We had the Blog Party which was so much fun, are still eating pie and may switch to cake today, and have been spending money like water. See? Lots to share! Thanks so much for coming along with me on this great trip, more to follow! Hugs, Heather

Day Two

Swedish furniture guy, oh my! Really beautiful stuff here. I seriously could load up a freight train with his things.

There are also acres and acres of French finds. Some things were a bit on the spendy side but it didn't stop people from laying down the cash. I've seen one dealer spending thousands everywhere I go. Apparently she's in from Wyoming. Who knew?

Here's a few peeks at the Junk Gypsies spot. Lots of fun funky Texas style here.

Of course, I had to pick myself up a Vagabond pillow. Too cool to pass up! Check back in later! XO, Heather

Texas Junkin' Day One

Howdy Ya'll. I've been going non stop since I landed in Austin. This place is packed! There are tents and dealers as far as I can see. Here's a few shots from Day One. It might be short since I ran my laptop battery down trying to find an internet connection. I promise there will be more in the days ahead, now that I know where I can connect.

Aren't these barstool slipcovers cute? I'd love to have some made in burlap or antique linen. I'll add this to my inspiration to-do list. Oh, and I thought you'd like to know we've been eating a very healthy diet of pie. Pie for breakfast and pie for lunch and yep, there's pie on the dinner menu. But don't worry, they are very small mini pies. Texas mini pies. YUMMY!  I'll check back in soon. I've shot hundreds of photos already. I think I'll edit them at night and try and post lots more in the next day or so.

Oh, and the stories we have already. Unbelieveable. Famous people, crazy people, really nice Texans, ostriches and peacocks! Some wild happenings at Round Top! Chat soon, Heather

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I'm headed to Texas, the big state full of great bbq, boots, cattle and antiques! This is going to be one heck of a girls get away. I'm going to take lots of photos for those of you who will be coming along with us via Blogland. You will be with us in heart and spirit. For those who are attending Round Top & Warrenton we will be meeting on Sunday the 30th around noon at Zapp Hall for a Blog Party. It's going to be very informal, just a bunch of gals taking a break from shopping and/or selling to get to know one another. Hope to see you there!

Romantic Country Office Feature

The latest Romantic Country magazine is out on newsstands now and has a feature article about my home office. It was such a priviledge to be included. I had the best of intentions of photographing my office today to show you some of the changes that have taken place since they shot the original photos but time has escaped me.

You can see that Bella wanted to make sure she was in as many shots as possible. Apparently she loves having her picture taken. Or maybe just wants to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Sweet Girl calls my office Where's Waldo because whenever I ask her to get something for me from the office she says, "I'll never find it, it's like Where's Waldo in there!" But to me it seems so organized. Go figure. I suppose it only needs to be organized for me, others won't understand my madness. I mean, system.

My dear friend and editor Fifi also had me do some photography and styling with this issue and it was terrific working with her and to be included with such a talented group of contributors. I'm looking forward to sharing some of my other works with you very soon.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter holiday weekend. The weather here was just gorgeous and our brunch was delicious. I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked to but this one of The Man and I pretty much sums up the day.

Happy and full of love from the guy who tells me he loves me every day and is always proud of my accomplishments, great or small and celebrates in my joy.

Texas Buying Trip

In about two weeks, I'll be flying to Texas to attend the Round Top/Marburger Antique Shows on a buying trip for the shop and upcoming Present Past events. It's going to be a girls get away trip this time and I'll be meeting up with my dear friend Carol and a few other friends for the week long flea marketing extravaganza. We'll be staying in a guest house on a working cattle ranch, should be lots of fun!

I'd love to have a little get together on Sunday, March 30th with other fellow bloggers and shop owners who are planning on attending the shows. I was thinking about making it a lunch time social at Zapp Hall since there are limited restaurants in the area and many evenings are taken up with big parties such as the JunkoRama Prom. If any of you are interested just drop me an email (presentpast@sbcglobal.net) or leave a comment here and I'll start compiling a list. Can't wait to meet you!

Also, if any of you are veteran attendees of these shows and have any information on the can't miss spots to see or yummy places to eat, don't hesitate to leave your recommendations. Already on the agenda of Not To Be Missed are Carolyn Westbrook, Junk Gypsies, D'Ette Cole of Clutter, Willow Nest, and Theresa of Garden Antiques. If you know of any more great vendors, please fill me in. Oh, and I was thinking about doing a few Texas Diaries here on the blog if you're interested. That is if the Cattle Ranch has internet, oh please let them have internet.

Weekend Social at the Barn

Did the gigantic cupcakes grab your attention? They sure made a big impression at the barn this weekend. Two lovely ladies all the way from Lake Havasu, Arizona brought them from their favorite bakery.

From the left we have one of our new dealers, Joy from The Vintage Rabbit, next is Anita, myself and Tammy who are friends with Joy and my sister-in-law and own a shop in Lake Havasu called Bella. Be sure to visit their blog The Pink Funny Farm and if you're in the area I would definitely make a trip to their shop. Just check out how stylish these girls were!

Isn't Tammy's belt buckle amazing!! She made it herself and I believe she will take special orders if you'd like one for yourself.

Here's our refreshment offerings, not quite cupcakes but still enough sugar and caffeine to get you through your power shopping. This of one of our younger customers enjoying her donut hole. Yes, we start them young here. Isn't she adorable? I just love her pink cheeks and colorful outfit, especially those tights!

This is one of the things I bought. Now I just have to decide where I'm going to put it so I can look at it everyday! And my friend Linda bought this one....

My friend and fellow dealer Sherrie made some great restyled vintage jewelry pieces and had some gorgeous garden displays.

Here's the most darling Italian girl you'll ever meet, Rita. She is our "head cashier" and also makes beautiful soldered china key chains and charms, builds the cutest vintage style locker cabinets and ceiling tile mirrors and says things I don't understand but wish I could. Adore this gal!

I got to meet so many great women this weekend and lots of family and friends stopped by to visit. Here is my sister-in-law, Kay. She has been an interior designer for years and just started her new blog. She has lots of plans in store for her blog and I know you will enjoy getting to know her and seeing what creative touches she brings to everything she does.

I also wanted to thank Jackie from The Art In You and her sweet friend Jane for being a part of our fun weekend and so many of the other bloggers who came by to say Hello. Even with the rainy weather, friends and shoppers came by to brighten our day!

Springtime At The Barn

I can see by my last post how much we all love flea markets! Many of you asked which one I went to and it happened to be the Long Beach Flea Market which is held on the 3rd Sunday of every month. I try not to miss this one because I usually find better deals here than at the Rose Bowl. But of course, I shop that one too! You never know when you'll find a treasure. I've been collecting inventory to update the website with more vintage items.

As promised, here are a few sneak peek photos from my spot at the La Maison Rustique Barn Sale. It's full of Easter gifts and goodies and lots of fantastic vintage finds.

The large antique gathering baskets are from one of my French importers. I think the Copper Wire Nests look so pretty all piled up in them (these are also back in stock on the website). Of course, they'd be great filled with sea shells, garden pots or magazines as well.

I wish I had more photos to show you but most of the ladies are still busy setting up their wares. But come Friday everything will be ready for your shopping pleasure. I plan on being there Friday and Saturday from around 10-2 and Sunday from 11-2 and I hope that some of the local gals can stop by so I can meet you in person! The Barn Sale hours are 9:30-5:00 Fri & Sat and 11:00-5:00 Sunday. The location is 39195 Avenida Antonovich in the beautiful wine country of Temecula, CA.