Reflections

Take a look at the girl in the mirror.

It's me.  

The Barn Girl.  

Living my dream.

I snapped that photo about an hour before our spring show opened last weekend.

Before the parking lot filled to capacity.

And customers swarmed the barn.

And the checkout line snaked to the back of the barn.

Before the excitement kicked into high gear.  

When it was quiet and I had a chance to reflect on how lucky I am.  

I'm so blessed to be doing what I love at this stage in my life.

When I look at this photo, I love what I see.

A woman so full of joy she feels like she'll burst! 

It's a barn girl.

It's me!    

My Kind of Heaven

 I found heaven on earth yesterday.

And it was in a barn.

In Pennsylvania.  

Three or four barns to be exact.  

Loaded with the most amazing architectural salvage materials you have ever seen!  

The barns are owned by a new friend.  

Someone I met at an auction in a chance encounter.  

I bought something he wanted, so I sold it to him.  

Which started a conversation.

And more encounters at the weekly auction.

Which led to an invitation to shop his barns.  

Which are located in another state.  

Which led to spending the entire day with the other barn girls on a field trip to rival any field trip I've ever been on.

It was the kind of day we dream about.   

Adventure!  

(Four women in a truck? Enough said!)  

Amazing hospitality.

(thank you, drew!)

Great friends.

(The barn girls rock!)  

Incredible finds!  

It was definitely my kind of heaven.  

Wondering what just a slice of heaven looks like?  

Come visit me at my next barn show  

- you'll find some of things I found in heaven - and it's all for sale!

Heavenly!    

Where Am I?

I got an e-mail from a loyal reader wondering where I've been!

It seems my posts are too few and far between.  

You gotta love someone who misses you.

Just because she thinks you have something to say that just might interest her!  

Thank you, friend!   

So, where have I been and what have I been doing?

Going crazy!   

Getting ready for this:

(Check out our new Barn Show blog here!)

and 

Auction hunting for great stuff like this:

(Remind me to tell you about my new passion for all things industrial!)

Oh, and when I'm not doing that I'm getting ready for my monthly sale here:

So, even though I might not be blogging as much as I once was, I'm still here!  

And trust me, have I got a lot to tell you!   

All in good time!  

Soul Searching

Someone asked me today what I look for when I go to the auction

and 

I couldn't come up with anything specific because I don't collect anything or sell one particular look.  

But I've definitely noticed a pattern of what I buy.

I buy things that speak to my soul!


Like chippy, old farm tables with edges worn down from years of families sharing meals, creating memories, through tears and laughter.  


I especially love old discarded photos of forgotten people and places.  


I long to protect them and save them from ending up in a dump, 
where lives are 
forgotten and memories dismissed.


Like yesterday's news .


I gravitate toward handmade, wooden boxes 
and when I hold one in my hands I 
imagine who owned them and what treasures they held.  


Baseball cards, love letters or secret dreams?


Auctions are like life.


You have to sort through an awful lot of junk to find the real treasures.  


And sometimes, you find something you didn't know you were searching for.  


But then, there it is, and it speaks to you.


It becomes a part of who you are.    


And no price is too high.  


I'm at my happiest on Wednesdays, when I'm at the auction, 
doing a little soul searching!  

Frizzy, Fuzzy, It's all The Same

Do you ever have one of those days when you think you really have it going on?

You know, the cute outfit, great hair, sunny mood, glorius spring weather?  

I was having one of those days until five minutes ago.

When my youngest son (11) walked in the door from school, came over to where I was sitting,  and with the most sympathetic, pathetic look I've ever seen on his sweet face,  patted my hair and said:

Frizzy.  

I looked at him with the kind of look only a woman could muster and said:

 FRIZZY?  
Really, now?

Without missing a beat he said:  

Uhm, Fuzzy?  

I said:

"Go outside!"

Now.   

Stinker.  

Moral of the story:


Kids don't bullshit.  


Image found here.  

Make Plans to Shop Chartreuse This Weekend!

I was going to post photos of all the great merchandise Molly and I have gathered for our weekend barn sale at Chartreuse and Co., this weekend but Molly did such a fabulous job of posting pics and information on her blog I thought you'd like to check it out there instead.  

Go visit Molly's blog here and then come back and let me know what you think!  

Leave me a comment and then head to the Chartreuse website for sneak peeks at what the other dealers have in store for the weekend!  

Have a great week!  

Crowning Glory

Saturday morning found me at the Big D.C. Flea  searching for treasures for my two barn shows.  

Two buildings + 1100 dealers =

Heaven on earth.  

My first stop is always at my favorite dealer's booth.  

Let's just call him Mr. Anonymous.  

(Afterall, I wouldn't want to give away my best source, now would I?)

It's always great to see him because 

 a) he's charming 

and

 b) has great stuff!  

Like the crown motif mason jar pictured above.

Which I fell hard for at first sight.  

Total love. 

I bought every one he had.  

And I'm hoping Mr. Anonymous calls me if he ever gets any more.

Every girl deserves her own crown so if you want one too     

they'll be for sale at  Chartreuse and Co., and at my spring barn show.  

Ahh, total love!  

Photo found here.  

Too Much Testosterone!

I live in a house full of testosterone!  

Husband, two boys, 13 and 11

And lately I've been feeling alone

Now, don't get me wrong

I love them all and wouldn't trade my boys for girls ever

But sometimes

Like when I find airsoft pellets in the stove burners

Or Nerf gun darts behind the couch

And sweaty jockstraps strewn on the laundry room floor

I get a little crazy

They just think so differently than I do

They don't get me

They tolerate me

But they don't understand

My obsessive need to rearrange the furniture

("It's fine the way it is!")

My giddiness over new dupioni silk window treatments

("We like mini-blinds better!")

How I can spend hours reading your blogs

(Seriously mom?  You don't even know them!  Man vs. Wild is on tv!)

Which is exactly why I love the blog world

It lets me connect

With my own species

And a girl needs that every now and then

Hurry to Buckeystown, Maryland!

It's a Chartreuse & Co., weekend in Buckeystown, Maryland and the barn is loaded with absolutely fabulous vintage furnishings, antiques, jewelry, architectural salvage pieces and industrial chic items just waiting to go home with you!  

Take a peek at what's in this month's sale here.  

My Latest Obsession

Okay, seriously, I want to go on a road trip with these guys.   

Have you watched their show yet?  

American Pickers

It's on the History Channel 

It's the ultimate treasure hunt!  
It would be a blast to pack my bags and tag along!  

Wishing You Lots of Love!

Happy Valentine's Day!

(I snuck another snow picture in!)

Photo found here.

This is it! No More Snow Photos After Today!

"Picnik Show"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

Got Snow?

Oh, yeah, we've got that!

How about you?

The Right Call

It's the call my boys and I had been waiting for all day.

The big question had been looming all afternoon.

Each time the phone rang we looked at each other with anticipation.

The first call of the day was my husband.

Checking in from Toronto.

When the phone rang again an hour or so later the boys sprang for it, certain it would be the one they'd been waiting for.

It was just a friend reporting on road conditions.

I sent the kids out sledding to get their minds off it.

They came back with five friends in tow, famished from trudging the tobbagan home from the hill.

The phone rang just as they sat down at the table.

I answered quickly and immediately hit the speaker phone button:

"Hello, parents, due to inclement weather schools are canceled for tomorrow."

The boys went nuts, high fives were exchanged and their screams of delight would have rivaled any group of similarly gathered girls!

This girl rejoiced with them!

I love snow days!

Beautiful!

SNOW!!!