Round Top Spring 2010

I went to Round top last October with Candice and we got some great things for her new house. We were trying to furnish and decorate her family back then. This trip it was her living room. We accomplished a lot in the week I was there.

This time I was also looking for some industrial looking pieces to use in our family addition. I'll post some of the things I bought in my next post.

Of course I enjoyed a few days in San Antonio with Candice and family before heading to Round Top. We worked out at her gym. I was able to do her "Boot Camp" workout there. (I think Candice was secreting trying to kill me off!) Mark was diagnosed with Strip Throat the morning I arrived and Candice got sick right after that so I thought I was doomed. Thankfully, every one got over it quickly.

Unfortunately, as is par for the course, Candice's transmission went out the day before we were supposed to leave for Round Top. We had to rent a mini van but we were still determined to go. We thought we would be able to fit Candice's purchases in the back since all the seat were supposed to fold into the floor board. And yes, you guessed it, when it came time to load of the van, one of the seats would not fold down because the front seat wouldn't move forward enough. We did get everything in in spite of that but it took hours to tie everything in and tie down the hatch back. I tell ya, life is always an adventure for us!I loved these windows taken from a building in Chicago. I would have loved to have taken one of these home with me but at $2500 each, I took a picture instead. This is at the field called, "Essex." Our favorite haunt both last fall and this Spring.
Candice and I both bought some of these last fall. The vendor had sold hundreds since then and had raised the price quite a bit. I think someone said he was selling them for $25 each now. Yikes! They are beautiful though. They came from a textile mill in the south and were used to hold dye.

Here is a taste for some of the industrial looking pieces.

We loved these tables but I think they were $1100 each. It didn't come home with either of us. We passed on the skull too. Can you believe that? I've always wanted one of those...not.
Candice was looking for an old medicine cabinet for her bathroom but these were a bit expensive. It turns out it was good that we didn't get it because we didn't measure the bathroom before the trip and this would have been too big.
I feel really bad that I didn't wear my cowboy boots and shorts. (Just so you know, I don't really own any.) Honestly, it was the uniform of the day. Only in Texas...I hope.
I took these when I thought no one was looking. Hee Hee.
There are rows and rows of tents. The biggest tents I have ever seen. This is Marburger...an upscale show. Things were really different between last fall and now. Last fall we were there almost by ourselves and saw very few sold signs. This time there were tons of things with sold signs from the first day and lots more people. Does this mean the economy is turning around?
Candice took these of the carnival booth. We each bought a couple of rolls of old carnival tickets from the girl who owned this booth.



I really liked a lot of the industrial lighting. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I took of them.
Candice is ordering these shelves to use as bookcases in her living room. I can't wait to share those pictures with you. I love how it turned out but it too was an emotional roller coaster.
Candice liked these shelves too but we decided on the ones above instead. Good choice I think.



Loved this sign. I'm hoping to use it for inspiration to make my own one of these days.
How about this beauty? It made us laugh. I didn't see any of these on Project Runway this year did you?
There were actually lights made out of these spheres. They were great.
This was taken about halfway down one tent row.
Here is a glimpse at the Bar W junky fields.
Those doors are from Europe and I bought a set. I'm hoping to be able to work them into the new family room.


We went to the Red Barn for the first time this year. It was crazy in there. Way too crowded for me. But we did like this both that used player piano rolls to decorate their booth. The pictures don't do it justice. We would have liked to have taken more pictures in here but had to go through and get out as fast as possible. Too hot and too crowded. Wall-to-wall people literally.




Ooh I love buttons! This booth was filled to the brim with all kinds. Heaven!




Outside the Red Barn are two tents, one continental and one that is European. This booth was Bo Bo's booth, the guy who does a lot for Restoration Hardware. Great booth. We loved it.











The Curious Sofa owner walked by and rearranged this cabinet. We took a picture after she left because we thought it was hilarious that she would do that. Check out some of what she bought. (We were too shy to say hello. Last fall we ran into Brooke from Velvet and Linen. We didn't say hello to her either. We were surprised they didn't recognize us from our blogs. Just kidding. We are not in their league but we are pretty sure they would have been really nice to us if we had said hello.)








Candice and I both wanted to buy this chalk board but while we were thinking about it, someone else bought it. Snooze and lose. Boo hoo.

While driving around we spotted these doors. We just had to stop and take pictures. We love old doors.
Me.

Candice. Isn't she beautiful after spending two days walking around all day in the humidity and mud?






It was a beautiful drive and we had great fun together. If you get a chance to go do it. It's a blast.
What did you say...when pigs fly? I'm telling you they have a little of everything.

Hopefully, this bottle will end up at my house. I bought two of them to make lamps out of. I hope I can make it work.

I hope you enjoyed joining in on our adventure. Can't wait to show you what I bought. You'll probably think I'm nuts...I think I might be too.

I'm Back...sort of

I'm almost back to blogging. Can it really have been over a month since I've posted? I'm so busy living (make that surviving) life that blogging has been on the back burner. I do have lots of pictures and hope my life will calm down enough to post.

Here's a list of what has been happening:

Eli's surgery went well and he's almost back to normal. He finished finals yesterday and is working on wedding plans, finding an apartment, etc. I think he should finally clean out his room and I mean really dejunk. I'm hoping to not get stuck with a real mess after he moves out. I bet I get stuck with his drum set though. Who has room for that in a small apartment?

Our addition is coming along. They put down the floor joists, subfloor, and framed the walls today. Progress. Yipee. I hope we aren't making any mistakes and I'm still trying to make lots of decisions about flooring, lighting, etc.

I spent a week in Texas with Candice. We spent a few days at Round Top. I promised her I would post pictures since we only took my camera and I have all the pictures. We found lots of interesting things and even bought some great things...I hope. I have a vision in my head of how to incorporate them into our new addition. Sometimes my visions and reality don't jive though... if you know what I mean. I'm having the things I bought shipped I hope. There is a lot of trust involved. You buy things make a detailed list of what and where to pick up the things you bought and hope the shipping company picks everything up and actually gets them delivered to you in a timely manner and in good condition. It's a bit scary. I still have my fingers crossed that everything will work out. I do have pictures of the things I purchased and may never see again.

We decided to tackle Candice's living room while I was there. Wait until you see pictures of that. It is most unique but I think cool. We bought fabric that I only had time to make curtains out of. We primed and painted, added book pages to the wall, changed out the lighting, and found some new furniture and rug. I think we even stayed on budget. Candice is a good little designer. I think she could do it for a living. (She still hasn't posted pictures of her family room that we did the last trip I made. That room I really love.) So, this trip I snapped a few pictures but they weren't good. I may post them anyway just so you can see how great it is.

After that week, I came how and caught up with work and spent time with Marissa and kids who were visiting from Florida for her BIL's wedding. I then flew home with her to help get her home. We hung pictures at her house, refinished two dressers, spent a night in the ER with Logan who had an attack of Croup, went to the beach and the Everglades.

This week I played catch up at work again. OK...I'm not really caught up but closer.

My house is a wreck, the laundry pile is gigantic, but tomorrow is another day and I hope to get some things crossed off my "To Do" list. One can always hope but I have to tell you that the list is HUGE! Here's to connecting back to the planet after being caught in a whirlwind.

Please tell me that mine isn't the only life out of control. Everyone else seems to have it so together.

LIFE

"Your path may be difficult, but will be rewarding."

That was my fortune in my fortune cookie this week. What kind of a fortune is that? I always take fortunes from cookies as "just for fun" things that don't have any merit but maybe this one has merit/wisdom for all of us. I've certainly given it some thought.

Steph told me this week that she was worried that she would never have a life again. (You know how hard it is to adjust to things after a new addition to the family.) I told her that it is hard but all worth it. Was I echoing my fortune?

I used to worry about leaving my mark on the world. But President Kimball said, "No other success can compensate for failure in the home." I've come to believe/know this is true. My greatest mark is my children and grandchildren. They are my greatest joy. I ache when they ache. I rejoice when they do. I celebrate their successes and I try to help them through their trials. I want to be there for them in whatever way I'm needed.

Did I fall short when raising them? Absolutely, I'm human. Life has had a big learning curve but I have learned and I continue to grow.

Two weeks ago I rejoiced as a new grandson was born. It wasn't without difficulty with Steph in labor for three days and the baby's breathing stopping as he was being delivered and several times after he arrived. We worried his first few days home that he was jaundice and lethargic, and not eating enough and they took him back into the hospital. We are grateful that he is doing well now.

Again I think:

"Your path may be difficult, but will be rewarding."

Yesterday, my father had his pacemaker replaced for the third or fourth time. I worried and prayed for him for days. I feel so blessed that all went really well.

Last night my son came home hurt from being hit while playing basketball. My husband and neighbor quickly gave him a priesthood blessing and then we were off to the ER. It turns out that he broke his nose, destroyed his sinus cavity, and broke the bone around his eye socket in several places. He has nerve damage on the left side of his face (it's totally numb) and they don't know if it will be permanent or not. His eye itself, looks terrible today. He was vomiting so hard by the time we got home from the ER that I think it did additional damage to his eye. It's solid red on the left side.

Today we are meeting with the surgeon that Brenna, Eli's fiance, works for. We are waiting to hear back from the hospital to see when the OR is scheduled for him. All life stops when your children need you. We are praying that all will go well and that Eli will fully recover.

"Your path may be difficult, but will be rewarding."

More Oliver Adventures

Creed and I played pirates while we were waiting for Steph and Larry and baby Oliver to come home from the hospital. Creed wanted to keep his pirate treasures so he could play pirates with his mom. I did ask for permission before I let him wear it home.

I think his pirate name was Creedi.
Candice flew up from Texas to photograph the newborn. I tried to be her assistant. Who knew that photography a newborn could be so hard? He woke up every time we tried to do anything. We turned the heat way up so he would be warm and comfortable...the rest of us were roasting. OK, Larry used the word sweating but that's just gross right?
Candice enjoying a few minutes of baby holding since her baby is 6.
Isn't this the best picture ever? I love it.
Candice trying to work her magic. I forgot this lens didn't have auto focus.





These are just a few of the pictures. Candice used my camera for these shots so I swiped them off my card. To see more of Oliver click here. To see the amazing pictures that Candice took of Creed click here.

I feel so blessed to have spent over a week with most of my babies. Oh, and did I tell you the baby's name is Oliver Danger so he could say, "Danger is my middle name?"