Friends, Fleamarkets, and Fun (in that order)!

Hail, hail, the gang's all here...

Our First Outside Fleamarket was Sunday, April 19th...and yes, I'm a little behind schedule getting this written (apologies to Ericka...my biggest "fan"). And, I took so many wonderful pictures, it was hard to decide what not to post...so I posted "a lot"...if you get tired of reading, just take a coffee break, and come back! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Well...the weekend wasn't a complete washout (but most of Sunday was). Terri, Ericka, Ellen and I were up at 4:00 a.m. - bumping around in the dark trying to get ready... We arrived at the Boone County Fairgrounds at about 5:15 a.m., and had to uncover everything and reset the booth (everything had to be covered because of the threat of rain..). And, by 6:00 a.m. there were shoppers armed with flashlights scouting out the fairgrounds - such dedication! We had a few hours of clear skies in the morning - but rained out by noon (fortunately we were under a tent). We had some sales (one very fun customer...bought a pink side table from us for her "Mary Kay" room - would love to see that!). We covered our expenses - but, that's the fleamarket business...especially outdoors! And, I want to thank Ericka and Ellen - they helped us so much, setting up and tearing down in the rain - they knew we were a bit bummed about the weather (well, maybe a lot...), but they definitely made our load lighter. We really love you guys!!! (And...P.S...you're hired!)

Now, it's on to our next show - the Springfield Extravaganza on May 15th thru 17th - that's always huge fun, and with over 2000 vendors...you can find anything!

Anyway back to our weekend, and...you know sometimes it's all about the journey, right?? This definitely was... So backtrack a couple days to Friday...

Terri and I set off from her house (about an hour late...oops) (and at least Terri remembered her eyelash curling thingamajig this time...), but we weren't on any particular schedule Friday - except for Ericka and Ellen waiting impatiently on her porch (see the pic...too funny). We made our way to Kentucky over the course of Friday and Saturday - made some stops along the way, made some new junk friends, and found some cool stuff. My famous chocolate chip mocha muffins were tucked in - for energy food along the way! (They're sort of a girls' weekend tradition.)

Patience is a virtue?

Our first stop was an antique mall in Springfield - perusing all the treasures, and then "parking" ourselves in a spot outside on the ground to have our picnic lunch in the sunshine (no picnic tables or benches, so we made do with a patch of concrete...) - we pooled our "food" resources, and had a great little buffet in the sunshine!

Trying some hats on for size

A "shabby chic" booth

A "Beauty Cap"...I've always wanted one of those...and it fit! (we almost look like we're related...scary)

Next, we traveled to Yellow Springs, and on the outskirts of town there's this totally awesome, heavenly junk-filled yard, buildings, etc...with vintage rustiness to die for...literally! The name of the business is "This Old House" (6295 Springfield-Xenia Rd, Springfield) and the owner's name is Sue Krapf - she made us feel so welcome - junkers are the nicest people! We really had the best time there...she's got three buildings - the first one is a cute little shop with vintage, primitive, and new things for sale - all really nicely put together. Then, you follow the junk path (really...it is) to the first barn...upstairs we found anything architectural - windows, doors, corbels, mantles...you name it - not sure how they got all that up there. Winding a little further down the path is a building with anything and everything else in it...chairs (hanging from the ceiling), shelves, ladders, mirrors......and SO much more... (the pictures tell "part" of the story). We each found a few things (Terri found the coolest old rusty scooter), and then we piled our treasures into the back of the truck. Sue looked at some of the things we had for sale (collages, pincushions, button bouquets, etc.) - so we had a little time of "show and tell". She has a fall festival that we may be vendors at, or at least visit it to be a part of the fun and "junk"! She even took pictures of us - and WOW did she have the props for some great shots!!! We could have camped out there and spent a couple days...but unfortunately, we had to head down the road after about an hour and a half...but, don't worry Sue...we'll be back!!!

Here's Sue...she's gotta be the "Queen of Junk"

Welcome...the fence has garden tools "built in"!

This little lane lead us to a whole lotta great junk! And...there's building #1 (there were 3)!

This looks tempting...

Just my speed! (and my friends are so supportive)

Inside building #1 - what a great entry!

What a cool light...a little "junkarchitect-ish"!

Here'a another one...in its former life - a meat grinder.

Here's the building/barn #2 - the upstairs was packed!...windows, and corbels and junk, oh my...

A view from the upstairs of the barn - looking at building #3

A view from upstairs looking at building #1...have you ever seen so much great junk?? And, if you look really hard, you'll see Terri's rusty old scooter.

OK, El...put on that hat AND (in your best munchkin voice) "follow the junky stone road, follow the junky stone road..." We're off to see the junk wizard for sure!!

And it really is a "road" of junk (great junk too)!

Did you say you needed a chair???

A little junk vignette...Time to rest...all this junking was wearing us out (not really...)

Here's one that needs just a little help...

We just can't miss a photo "op"!!My personal opinion is there is no such thing as too much rust...aren't these springs great? (I had to buy a few)Looks like a giant junk bouquet of garden tools!

What a group of happy junkers!!Croquet anyone?? (so the balls are missing...is that a problem?)

After that, we hit the not so dusty trail, so we'd actually make it to Kentucky! And, when we finally crossed the border (in Florence) (with my GPS already set to find the first Goodwill store in Kentucky)...talk about dedicated/obsessed shoppers...we were all really tired by then...and didn't find anything - and decided we really should get settled in (but sometimes ya just don't know any better, and have to make that one last stop of the day). So...it was on to our hotel...and SLEEP (and NO giggling)!

We didn't have to set up at the fairgrounds until later in the afternoon on Saturday, so we quickly had breakfast at the hotel, and headed for an antique mall in Florence - and found a few little things...Then it was on to Burlington...with a few garage sales along the way...and just a little "warning" we might want to pay attention to - especially if it would cut into our spending money...When we arrived in Burlington, we couldn't find anywhere to picnic, so since it was Saturday, and the Boone County Attorney wasn't in...we "borrowed" his front porch. (Thanks!!)

Ericka doing a little jewelry shopping...and no, you can never have too much jewelry either! Hey...they look familiar...Terri, Ericka, Ellen & Kathy (at least I think the one on the right is a blonde...or else bald...yikes!) Another great antique store...built in 1837

Isn't this awesome? It was marked "sold", and was going to become a room divider - how cool is that?

We finally made it to the fairgrounds, set up (and then covered up) our booth, and walked the grounds to see what we could see...And, look what we found - a shabby chic deer head...we like to paint things white...but, a deer???

Someone made a bench out of old water skis...

This was a little mobile "home sweet home" - how cute!

He's trying to show off his muscles...not really - it wasn't as heavy as it looked!

Sorry...no pictures of our rainy day...

Our trip home on Sunday was a pretty quiet one (Ericka and Ellen were wore out...no snoring in the back seat though). Terri and I did manage to have one of our "business meetings" on the way; we're always looking at a "Plan B" when "A" doesn't quite work (i.e., Mother Nature's very thorough sprinkling). And, we decided to have an occasional sale/garage sale at our workshop on Friday, May 8th - that'll help add to our bank account - so we can get back out and start buying!

Finally...(I know that's what you're thinking) My haul wasn't that big (fortunately, because between the four of us...we can junk...right girls???) - but I found some cool stuff...my favorites...rusty springs (woo hoo), a plow-thingie, a cool jewelry box to organize my supplies, a cup from the 1933 World's Fair, fabric for my "flea bags", metal stars, a red "heavy metal" flower frog, an old cloth storybook, a cute little planter, etc., etc. - well, I guess I loved it all!!

Here's an idea for the "plow thingie" - jewelry caddy.

And that giant flower frog...holds some scissors quite nicely.

A tiny Statue of Liberty - will find its way into a collage I'm sure!

And, finally (it really is this time I promise!) - Here's my "coming home" present - this rickety old hand plow was sitting by a "free" sign just a couple blocks from my house... And to think I had to travel all the way to Kentucky and back to get this! It'll be great in my garden! A perfect end to another awesome girls' weekend!

The End!