My chippy addiction!

Michael, here's the chippy cabinet I bought from Renee at Round Top/Warrenton a week ago.

The patina is so lovely!

And I adore the fact that someone made repairs to the piece many years ago. The back even has a flat tobacco tin covering a hole made by some long dead mouse family.

The finish on the top has been worn down to smooth wood but it has so many beautiful brown and red colors in it.

I wish this piece could talk. 

The stories it could tell, unlike the next piece which I made new.

 I did give the new wood as chippy of a look as I could, though.

 Do you recognize the towel hanging bar?

It's leftover decoration from the bedstead gate that Juan Handyman made me!

 Yes, I hoard everything! Get over it, son!!!

Round Top/ Warrenton NOW!

To the left is another great Texas entertainment center!

Me? I'm not old. I'm just a little rusty and chippy...like the rest of my husband's junk!

Going to Round Top/Warrenton next weekend with my cousin buddies. Watch out, Treasures. Here we come!

Runnin' around Warrenton

OK, let’s pretend I’m broke − money-wise, that is, not to the saddle!

That doesn’t take much pretending nowadays, does it?

So, here I am with no money and I’m headed home to Bryan after flying over the valleys of Central Texas Hill Country. And there right in front of me is Warrenton. Wonderful, wonderful Warrenton.

The advertised start date of this antique and junk festival is less than a week away but traders are already setting up their wares under big, white tents. Early bird junk collectors are grabbing up the unique items that vendors have herded together and headed out to the bluebonnet-covered fields of this rural community.

What’s an empty-pocketed girl to do?

Shop by camera, of course!

Guess which picture I like best!

It took me long enough!

Some projects take forever. It's not that you don't know what you want. It's just slow getting there.


This table was one of those projects. I bought the piece of cypress at a garage sale years ago for two dollars. (I was just telling PJ the other day that I might not remember all my children's names but I know what garage sale I bought something at and at what price. I guess my brain has its priorities!)

The piece was rough sawn, with bark on the sides. But wow, the potential was shining through. I hand sanded the sucker for a couple of years, in between easier projects. But when I was through with the sanding and the staining and the varnishing, I still only had a table top, no base.

Another year passed and I made my first trip to Round Top/Warrenton. After waking my legs off in the Bar W field, there was the perfect table base. I got the dealer down to my price and proudly took it back to Renee, Susan and Andy, and Other Doug. They were less than impressed, especially when I tried to use it as a chair and almost broke it! But it was just what I was looking for.


The lamp came another year later. Renee and I found it at a flea market for a buck. It just goes to show you that old saying is true: One peron's trash is another person's treasure.

The same saying applies to husbands and boyfriends!

I'm a Virtual Homely Coming Dance participant!

That durn Mindy of Primitiques 'n Poetry at http://rockinm.blogspot.com just had to remind me of how homely I am by invitin' me to her stupid (read: "Quite clever. Wish I'd thought of it!) blog online dance. Let me give you some history about how this first annual virtual insanity came about.

At Warrenton twice a year there's this antique and junk fair. (I know, I know - you've never heard of it and especially not on this blog.) Anyway, on the last Thursday night of each sale the Junk Gypsy Company of College Station puts on a Junk-o-rama Prom. Participants dress up crazy and act crazier. A good time is had by all, at least that's what all the pictures I've seen of the Prom suggest.

So cute little Mindy decides us homely, junking bloggers should have our own pity prom online, since we can't be at Warrenton to dance at the real one. Mindy has even tempted us with prizes to show her our weird ways.
Mindy, please take note of my high-heeled, high-topped sneakers (you may borrow, girlfriend), the Christmas-tree-skirt skirt, and the cowhide I bought at Warrenton Tuesday. Send me your prettiest durn denim bracelet as my prize.

Thank you. Thank you very much. The Texas Woman has left the building.

An update while I clear my camera's memory

Remember my alpaca silver belt I bought at the local thrift store?

(http://thetexaswoman.blogspot.com/search/label/thrift%20store)

I'd bought it for $3.50. Well, I wore it to Warrenton/RoundTop Tuesday and two separate dealers offered to buy it from me. I thought the first one was just kidding, but then later in the day the second one offered me $75. I told him I wasn't through loving it yet, and he offered me $100. I still have the belt!

Here are a few more photos for you to enjoy as I clear my camera of my trips to Warrenton and Round Top.

Everything that Warrenton had to offer and I only bought...

a menu board!

Why I felt I needed this handsome, 3-D fellow is a mystery to me. He does seem to like the same kind of food and drink I do, though, and then there's the fact I've always been a sucker for a man with a mustache.

After I hung him up in the kitchen, I realized he was lonely. He just didn't go with the rest of my decor. So, I made the decision to go back to Warrenton and Round Top today to see if I can find some things that he'd like to have around him.

I hate to go there again. I'm sure I've seen it all. I'm sure I won't have any fun at all. I'm sure I won't spend any money. I'm not lying.

Take a bus, drive a car, ride a donkey, but get to Warrenton, Texas!

Yes, I mean YOU! Get there! You won't regret it.

You will regret not taking a wallet full of money, a trailer or pickup, comfortable shoes, a wide-brimmed hat, a bottle of water, and an extra peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Here's a sample of the goodies you'll find there:

big flowers,

(well, maybe they were phonographs),

blue jars,

Theresa of Garden Antqs,

pumpkins that match your chairs,

A Junk Queen (Renee),

Indians (and I think I also saw a cowboy or two),

a creek bed of cranes,

baby heads (I don't understand the heads but I did like the stacked, flat bottles),

colorful coffeepots,

Andy of Found Around Fred's Place,

(for those of you confused, Andy is Fred!)

Andy's pipes,

pendulum clocks,

round wheels,

kids' chairs,

Ruthie's new dolls,

and good advice.