Houston Ballet Nutcracker Gift Market.....here we come!

What a fabulous show First Monday proved to be! Certainly worthy of a good post, but my life is completely crazy right now....no rest for the weary!! We rolled right out of the Canton show and began loading the trucks and trailers for .....drum roll please.....the Houston Ballet NUTCRACKER MARKET!! Hubby and I have not had a day off in weeks!! But no complaining....we're excited!!

The entire crew is buzzing.....it's all we talked about during the Canton show!! Everyone is going with us and we're ready!! The trailers and big trucks are so full that it's almost comical! So much so, that last night we were pulling off things and trying to condense so we could make it all fit!

We're taking everything but the house and will begin unloading tomorrow morning at Reliant Center baby!! We're ready ......are you? We can't wait to see you.....here's all the scoop:

Nutcracker Market begins on Wednesday night, November 11th, with a $150 per person preview party and ends on Sunday, November 15th. You can get more info at the Houston Ballet website. If you've never been, you are truly missing out!! It's the best show of the year! If you are planning to attend, be sure to drop by and see us at booth 332. We're in the same spot as last year.

I will try to post a couple times before the show, but no promises. However, I plan to share lots of pics when I return along with a fun post about the lil Canton Cottage that I will I've been planning but not had time to finish!!

Have a great week!

Blessings,

LaurieAnna

Coming up for air...

So much going on right now...don't even know where to start! We've been so busy that I just noticed I didn't even post about the last First Monday show....that's a rarity! It was wonderful, we had a great turnout and said goodbye to a lot of wonderful pieces!! Now, it's almost time for the next one....just next week! Where does the time go?...

Immediately following the past show, we rolled up our shirt sleeves and began renovating the Canton Cottage. This lil gem was built in the 1930s and was starving for attention! It was once featured in Cottage Style magazine many many years ago, but has long since been cast aside and forgotten. So, we've been doting over it and giving it our full attention for the past several weeks! I'm bonding with the lil place and am eager to share it with you. But, you need to see the starting line first......the "before" photos. So, here goes....

Does it look like a good candidate for some TLC? We're putting the final touches on the kitchen renovation today.....so a nice long post is forthcoming with lots of "after" photos! Stay tuned!

Blessings,

LaurieAnna

Make a Plan and it's Sold!

Thank you for shopping with us during First Monday and making it an amazing show! Between our Fall Preview and First Monday weekend, the store looks very empty. Lots of happy shoppers left with bag fulls of decorating goodies. Linens and upholstered items were a hit, and we sold scads of tables and beds!

We just acquired a small cottage in Canton for the crew that I've been decorating in my head over the past week. During this time, I became emotionally attached to two of the white iron beds in the store (pictured above) and had found perfect spots for them in the new cottage. That's always a big mistake in this business, because the moment you make a plan for a piece... it will most assuredly sell! And in true form, within 12 hours of saying aloud that the beds were going to the cottage, both of them sold! *sigh*

Oh well, looks like another road trip is in order this month. So, the girls and I, with an empty trailer in tow, are planning a trip to Round Top!

~Smiles~

LaurieAnna

Build It and They Will Come

Thank you for making Saturday the most amazing day!! More than I could have ever hoped for!

It had already been 3 weeks of glorious hard work when Tina, Monica, Willie and myself were at the store until 3:30 am Saturday morning (yes you did read AM) putting the final touches on everything when a smidge of anxiety kicked in. Since we had only promoted through blog and our email list, and had only begun promoting a mere 10 days before the event, I was concerned about attendance. The girls laughed at the notion and my hubby used his standard line from the movie Field of Dreams, "build it and they will come", which brought a smile to my face.

Well, they sure were right, we built and you came, thank you, thank you, thank you! The day took off like a shot and between 9:30 and noon we couldn't keep up with the pace! At one point, the line meandered into the back portion of the store. My apologies for that....we'll do better next time! This confirms that you read the blog visit our site which means so much to me. Now, I know that you will find us any place we go!

I wish we would have had some time to grab a camera and catch more action shots, but I must confess that I only thought of it once and those shots are quite blurry, sorry about that! But, Tina did get some nice shots moments before we unlocked the door. I'll share more in the next few posts.

With the successful event firmly behind us, I know now that the anxiety was misplaced and should be saved for more suitable things such as booth set-up for the rapidly approaching First Monday!!
Lots of big pieces were gone shortly after we opened. The big seed cabinet and magnificent English scale pictured below sold quickly along with lots of other great vintage pieces.

So many customers drove long distances to come to the event, but I believe, at least based upon what I know this morning, that the prize for the "farthest distance traveled" belongs to these sweet ladies that traveled from Memphis to attend!!

We also had numerous clients that drove in from Houston - they all found us during the Houston Nutcracker last year!! I love that! And they found out about the event through the blog.....see what I mean about finding us anywhere!

Thanks again to all of you for continuing to support and encourage us.....you are why we do this! And, I would like to close with the biggest thank you of all...to my incredible crew and especially the the three peas in a pod pictured below that stuck it out with me for the final 24 hours! I took this photo late in the day...they are all dog tired running on 2 hours sleep, but you'd never know it, they still look fresh as a daisy with smiles on their faces! It would be impossible for me to do any of this without them and I love them all dearly! Tina and Monica work with me, but they are also two of my sweetest friends and mean the world to me. And, my hubby....well he's my heart.

And I must thank fellow bloggers Theresa of Garden Antiques, Deb of Talking Trash, Marcie and Mayron of Unique Unique Designs, and of course Tina of Cherry Hill Cottage for supporting and promoting us the way you do!! It means so much to me....you are great friends and I treasure you!

Now, it's time to get the wagons loaded for First Monday......be sure to visit us at both locations! We'll be here waiting for you Thursday - Sunday!!!

Blessings,

LaurieAnna

Glass houses...

Jeepers....where did this day go?....

Look at the size of this cake plate and dome.....the prettiest I've ever seen, it's sheer decadence! The vintage baby doll inside seems perfectly content.

We are loaded up with lots of beautiful glass......come see us on Saturday!!

We're in the final final stretch .......just 36 hours til shopping time!

All keyed up!!

And ready for your visit! So many new things in store, antiques, architectural, new soaps and candles, even nightgowns, totes and accessories! Just so so much.....get ready!

Can’t wait to see you! Just 3 more days!!




See ya Saturday at 9am!!

Almost time to file!

File in, that is! Check it out, an old courthouse filing cabinet! It's all metal, with a fabulous rusty green patina! Don't ya just love it?

Tina, Rebekah and I worked so hard and fast today at the store that we had a whirlwind of dust following us!! I’m am so excited with the latest store makeover……I think it's the best it's ever looked and I can’t wait for you to see it!

Just 4 more days……see ya Saturday at 9am!!

What's in your wagon?

My husband will tell you that the phrase he hears most often from me is, "You can't do business from an empty wagon". It's my stock answer for just about anything he throws at me!

Like when I get that look that says, "Why on earth did you buy that?" Or, when he says, "Is that thing as heavy as it looks?" And the line that most of us women have heard at least once, "What are you gonna do with that thing?" I just smile and say, "You can't do business from an empty wagon." Works everytime! Although it's sometimes met with an eye roll and a sigh.

Well the wagon is now empty, but the store is FULL!! In fact, it's beyond full....oh my goodness the stuff!! Like the vintage concrete chickens pictured above, aren't the fabulous!

Get ready! Just 5 more days!!

See you on Saturday, August 29th, 9am - 5pm!

Bring your empty wagons and come on!!

For Serious Junkers Only

Jeff Foxworthy used to have a line in one of his skits, "You know you're a redneck if people mistakenly come to your house thinking you're having a yard sale." I must confess that his funny line has crossed my mind as we have been preparing the store for Fall over the past couple weeks.. There is positively NO storage at the store, as such we've had to use trailers as make shift holding pens while we move things in and out. It used to bother me, but now I accept it as "working with the problem".

I know my serious junkin buds will appreciate the humor in the above paragraph and can probably relate! Go ahead and confess it, I know how many of you are preparing inventory and loading trailers for the Round Top event!!! We're all just sassy lil gypsy souls!

Speaking of events...we have one of our own coming up on Saturday, August 29th...just in case I hadn't mentioned it. It's in 8 days......count 'em....8 DAYS!!

Pictured above is an old dental table, another cool find you can expect to see at the store. And no, it's not a Doublemint ad, I have two!!

More updates on the way...

Rusty, Chippy and Frenchy!

Look at this chippy rusty french twin bed. One of our many vintage finds that you will see at the Fall Preview Party!

Which by the way is only 9 DAYS away!

Mark your calendar for August 29th, 9am - 5pm !

More to come....