Today’s adventure was one for the record books. A while back I got hooked on watching Junk Gypsies. They’re kind of quirky and I wouldn’t necessarily decorate the way they do, but I can appreciate the way they can take what I might consider a piece of junk, and turn it into something. It wasn’t long before I started following them on Instagram, and that is how I found out about Texas Antique Weekend.

Texas Antiques Weekend takes place twice a year and is where every antique dealer, every collector, every picker, etc. comes together to sell their wares. It’s the mother of all antique shows. Imagine a yard sale along the road that goes on and on, from town to town (actually, that does exist but that’s not in Texas). Anyway, this antique show literally spans across 5 towns and lasts 9 days!. Sounds fun, right? I thought so! But, would JD go for this? We’d been talking about looking for things for the house, so I took the plunge and asked him if he’d like to go. Much to my surprise, he was totally up for going! Even though I explained it to him, I knew he had no idea of just how big of a deal this was going to be!

We headed out this morning, and about 45 minutes into the drive we both decided we needed some breakfast. We found a little donut shop and thought – perfect! Now I consider us to be friendly people. When we go in somewhere, we say hi, how ya doing, etc. Well, we walked into this donut shop and the lady behind the counter looked like she would have rather been having a root canal with no medication rather than selling donuts. She was an older lady, deep voice like she’d been smoking since she was 10. We say in our very best California accents, “hi, how ya doing? She didn’t care she just wanted us to get our donuts and get the heck out. Forgive me lady, but I’m really curious about these kolache things. I think I’ll try one (clearly I am taking way too long to make up my mind). She rings up our order – “Oh crap, now I have to change the tape in the cash register. [said in deep, raspy voice]. JD and I cannot make eye contact or we will both burst out laughing. “Well wasn’t she a ray of sunshine” we laughed all the way to the car!” Incidentally, the kolache thing was okay, but next time I’ll be ordering a chocolate glazed donut.

After more driving (this event takes place somewhere between Austin and Houston, and we are farther south near San Antonio (check your map!), we arrive in the first town. WHAT THE HECK!! Although I knew this was going to be a big deal, I was amazed. JD was amazed. On both sides on the road, for as far as we can see, there are literally rows and rows of tents and buildings with all sorts of things for sale. We debated. Do we park here and shop here? Do we go farther up the road to the next town? We decided to park – at this point we knew this was all we were going to see today. There was no way we’d see everything and still have time to the next town. We’d only been out of the car for five minutes before we were saying, “next time we’ll get here earlier”. “Next time this will be at least a two day event for us”. You get the picture.

There was SO MUCH STUFF TO SEE!!! We were on overload within the first 10 minutes. We were on the lookout for things for the living room, guest rooms, entryway, and whatever else looked interesting. We were in a sea of furniture, old stuff, new stuff, indoor décor, outdoor décor. Quite honestly, initially it was paralyzing. Once we looked around a bit and got our bearings, off we went. We stopped in one tent and were looking at some furniture, and on a table I saw this really cute table runner with a vintage, cowboy design on it. I figured it was just a prop, not really for sale. JD says, “Ask, maybe they’ll sell it”. So I see a young man (emphasis on young, as in no clue to the value of said runner). So I ask. “Oh I don’t know, it’s my moms, but  I’ll sell it to you for five bucks”. I was dying inside! I felt guilty because this was not a five dollar table runner. I said, “Your mother is going to kill you!” He didn’t care! “We’re here to make deals” he says. Well okay, here’s your five bucks. Quick JD, shove this thing in my backpack before this guy’s mom comes back! There – we broke the ice, we made a purchase!

We were targeting the actual antique stuff today. Next time I will definitely spend some time looking at the “stuff”. I found myself thinking the girls would love this, or my sisters would love this!

We did make one purchase for the living room, I wont say what it was, but once the room is done I will post a picture. We still need some additional pieces before we can call it complete.

We stopped for dinner before we headed home and talked about “next time”. Here’s what we came up with:

• Leave the house at 5am
• Reserve a hotel room nearby because this is a multi day event
• Go to Round Top (which is the hub)
• Bring a wagon
• Haul a trailer
• Bring the checkbook (who would have thought cash or check only in some places?)
• Bring friends

It was a fun day, but we are now two tired pups!

Remember – one man’s junk is another man’s treasure (and if it’s not, it can be upcycled into something else!)