Well, we did it again. The girls headed down South to go to the bi-annual antique shows at Round Top, Texas. This is my second time to go, and I posted about it the first time here. [I have lots more pictures from that trip, so be sure to take a look if this interests you]. Round Top is about a 4 hour drive, and we usually stay for about 3 days.
It's hard to believe, but Round Top has a year round population of only 77. But watch out, because for two weeks each Spring and Fall, THOUSANDS of people flock here to shop and have fun. I'm lucky to have joined a girl's group that is on it's 8th year in going together. It's hard to find lodging, so once you have a room, you keep it year after year.
We are SO LUCKY to stay at the Round Top Inn. The Round Top Inn is a historic group of buildings run by Texan David Athey, who was born in Houston and raised in England, but recently left the New York City bustle to run this small Bed & Breakfast. He's a GREAT host. |
| image: round top inn |
There are several little houses in this B&B: The Gate House, The Farm House, The Little Cottage, The Bunk Room, and The Main House. The one me and my two girlfriends stayed in was The Bunk Room, above.
Our little Bunk House is actually a former Cigar Factory, erected in 1889 and was a working factory until 1932.
This is the room where they hand-rolled cigars in the late 19th century, using Texas grown tobacco.
The one room bedroom on top floor, accessed by an outdoor staircase.
All the hardware, windows and parts of the building are original. We even had to use the original old key, which wasn't very easy to turn. But definitely part of the charm!
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| above 4 images: courtesy round top inn |
This was our view, shown above. In the morning we would join the other ladies in the main house for the most delicious breakfasts. David used his own recipes and with help made them in the main house's kitchen. We had a sourdough french-toast with peaches that were soaked in honey and balsamic vinegar with fresh maple syrup. It was DELICIOUS. And you need a big breakfast, because all the antique tents are spread out on miles and miles of farms. And there are MANY farms to visit.
One of the first we went to was The Texas Rose.
Everything here is eclectic. I mean, here is a copy of a roman statue on a farm with a Texas Flag in the back. And to the right of this statue, there is an English Telephone Booth in the middle of a field, shown below.
Most of the dealers are here for several weeks, so you see many Airstream Trailers. But of course, they are the cool vintage Airstreams. Everything is so chic and quirky.
Some of the booths are set up inside old buildings, but most are tents or in shelters outside. We had BEAUTIFUL weather, which was a blessing. I've heard in past years it's been wet and you have mud covering your Wellie's and it's just a mess.
You take this one two-lane road to go to all the different farms where there are the different shows.
This is the chandelier I purchased. The dealer has lots of mid-century modern fixtures, and he gave me a great deal on this. It is 5 tiers of hand-blown murano glass tubes and I am putting it above the conference table in our office. It rode home with us wrapped in bubble wrap in about 7 boxes, and arrived in Dallas in perfect condition!
I also purchased this little Selenite fragment mounted on lucite. My friend got two of these giant clamshells.
There were of course lots of French and Swedish antiques.....
But also some really random things as well.
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| Local Sheriff at the Marburger Farms Show |
But we ARE in Texas, and Cowboy boots are the uniform here. Gypsy Cowgirl had the best selection of vintage boots.
I did NOT plan to have my beer in the picture, but it seems to fit the theme of the week pretty well.
I think we were the only girls without cowboy boots on. I guess after living here for almost 40 years I gotta get me a pair now.
This Texas legend just auctioned off the largest collection of Cow paintings, which I posted about here.
What we DO come equipped with though is a Big Ol' Pick-Up Truck. You need it to have the bed to put your boxes and furniture pieces in.
Because, as you can see, the backseat fills up FIRST and FAST. This is the small seating space our friend Kelly was left with.
And we found out -quite by accident- that when you are on a farm all day, the inside of the door makes a GREAT bottle opener.
I had a blast Dona, Kelly, Pierett & Michelle! Thanks for including me!♥
