What I'm Loving...

I'm gushing over this kitchen! It is the perfect mix of old and new!
I would take her just like she is!
Happy What-I'm-Loving Wednesday!!!

In My Mind I'm Goin' To Carolina...

Last weekend, my husband and I took a little jaunt to North Carolina. Go on, cue the music. He had to go to Charlotte for work, so I used it as an excuse for a little getaway. After he took care of business, we drove over to Asheville for the rest of the weekend. Have you been to Asheville? It reminded me a lot of Austin. It is a really cool little town with a hippie vibe. Think art galleries, book stores, euro style street cafes, somebody playing guitar around every corner...you get the idea...immediate relaxation.

We had a late lunch at Modesto. Oh. my. yum! Mussels Diavolo done perfectly! Oh, and the maitre d' sings Italian opera on the doorstep, no biggie....yeah, I could have sat here all day!

Walkin' the streets of Asheville.

We stopped at Mayfels for dinner. Yep, "black and white stripped awning...we are eating here" I'm pretty sure that is how this restaurant was picked :-)

Fried green tomatoes with spicy red pepper aioli and goat cheese...wow, these were good. I had butternut squash soup. Perfect with the crisp mountain air!

The next day we drove a short 10 mins to see the Biltmore Estate. I thought I was going to have to drag my husband, screaming and kicking, but he was surprisingly down to check it out too.

Extraordinary wealth at it's finest.

I walked around barefoot on the front lawn...had to bring a little bit of that Texas class, y' know.

Frank partaking in acting like we lived there :-)

Gargoyle!

Me and the hubs.

I couldn't get enough of that herringbone ceiling. I looked at it forever!

That's quite a view you've got there Mr. Vanderbilt.

Some of my favs...

The leaves were just starting to change...so pretty.

I saw these little guys on our forest walk out and couldn't resist.

The Biltmore is pretty cool. If you are into that kind of thing I recommend checking it out.

I hope you are having a great week!

Marburger Farms

About a week ago, my girlfriend Sarah and I took a little jaunt out to Marburger for some antique shopping. I needed to look for some things for some clients and that's how I justified the hours that I spent out there ;-) Good company, beautiful things, awesome weather...it was a great afternoon. If you have never been to Roundtop/ Marburger Farms, I highly recommend it!!! There are so many wonderful things. If you are into this kind of thing, I could easily occupy you for hours with image upon image of the sights to see but I'll spare you and just narrow it down to some of my favs.

It looks a bit carnie-ish pulling in, but those tents hide many treasures my friends.
I loved this. It is creepy and cool in a mid-century to 80's horror movie kind of way. I really wanted this, enough to ask for a price, but I would have had some serious explaining to do if I had showed up at home and this was what I chose to buy. Frank would have thought I had lost my mind....I really wanted it though! Plus, it would look so cool in an all white nursery with animals in it. Are y'all with me?

These were unreal! They were 15ft tall and came from a chateau in France.

I loved this old card catalog. A wonderful display of ironstone. This lot made me think of Joni when I saw it.
Farmhouse chic is so hot right now!

This was one of my favorites from the day. It appears to be dollhouse and that is why I went over to see it. *more on this in a minute* However, it is actually a full scale model of a home that was to be built. It is obviously very old. Can you imagine how well the house was made if they took this much care in building the model. It even had wallpaper, see below.

*Ok, Dollhouses...maybe it's the little girl in me, I don't know, but I'm obsessed with them. Actually all miniatures. Some day I can see myself building dollhouses as a hobby. I had a really amazing one when I was a girl. My mom poured her heart and soul into it. We didn't have a lot of money and that made my dollhouse all that more special. I truly treasured it. It had electricity, wallpaper, dishes, little books that you could open, I could go on and on. My mother really got into the details. Maybe these were some of the first seeds planted for my future profession...hmmm.
Anywho, now back to Marburger...

This is "The Saloon". It is an old building in the middle of all the tents and the old tin ceiling was really something.

A gorgeous lot of Louis Philippe mirrors.

This was both Sarah and my favorite piece of furniture. This came from an estate in France and was once a pair of built-ins flanking a fireplace. It was gorgeous!!!

Old tulip botanical chart. I'm really irritated that I didn't buy this. I'm really, really irritated that I didn't buy this.

Lots of birdcages. I guess birdcages are back. "Yes ma'am, you heard me correctly, I said that I would take everything in your booth, thank you".

Owls! Another love. (I collect crabs, owls, milk glass, leather books and nutcrackers) These were pretty fantastic. The vendor thought that they were pretty fantastic too. Checked the price tag...ouch, no go.

Belgian style certainly reigned supreme.

So, these were my personal finds. They have already found their homes in my home.

These are antique Italian engravings. Love. Now in my family room :-)

I also scored these Italian sconces. They are old but not antique.

We went late in the week and the vendors are ready to unload things by that point. These were a steal!

I couldn't leave without a new piece of milk glass (well, new to me, you know what I mean). I'm particularly drawn to candy dishes, can ya tell?! The middle one is my new guy. The top one was my husband's grandmother's and the bottom one was a gift from my sister-in-law Jane (Hi Jane!).

Isn't it cute. It looks like a little cake. I love it!

Sarah and I below. She is such a dear friend! She must have thought that I was out of my mind. I'm pretty sure she had to tell me to focus a couple of times because I was so excited and flitting around. Love you Sarah! It was a great afternoon!
We finished off the day with the best funnel cake I have ever had in my whole life...including the state fair! It was almost custardy in the center. Oh my it was gooood! We didn't talk to each other, just grunted while we stuffed our faces :-)

I hope that you enjoyed your weekend.

I'll be back soon with a little post about our short trip to Asheville this weekend. It was incredible!

P.S. I forgot my good camera so all photos were taken with my camera phone...sorry for the quality :-/

Happy Monday!

Sneakedy Peekedy

Here's just a little glimpse into a bathroom remodel I'm working on right now. That's all you get! It will be done soon, don't you fret now!

I also just wrapped a killer kitchen remodel in Dallas that will be revealed soon. Trust me y'all, it's gorgeous!

I'm aware that I'm not doing a very good job of keeping "What I'm Loving" Wednesdays consistent...please forgive? I'm trying to git'er back on track.

I have many irons in the fire right now. A few words...Grateful. Blessed. Humbled. Excited. :-)

P.S. Sorry for the picture quality...images are camera phone snaps :-/

I hope you're having a great week!