DARE TO DREAM

In 2007, after visiting my shop, a well-respected fellow antiques dealer planted a seed in my brain. She said, "You need to be selling in Texas at Marburger Farms". I was familiar with the show, having read about it in Country Living magazine during the Nancy Soriano days. I knew it was the big~time. Dare I dream that I could swim in this pool?

Well, fast forward to early 2008 and there I was heading to Texas to sell at Marburger for the first time. My look has evolved since then from primitive country to what I call French farmhouse. It feels really good to have my wares reflect my personal aesthetic and to have a true vibe. I've come a long way since my humble beginnings in this biz.

We're heading off tomorrow for the show and I am still pinching myself that it's really time to go. I hope you will stop by and see what's new in the land of PEA. Don't forget we are open late on opening day til 7 and Carolyn Westbrook will be doing a book signing at Marburger for her newest offering. I for one can't wait to get my hands on it. There's also a bar at the show should you require a libation after a long day of shopping.

This is it til we return, but keep your eyes peeled for my posts about the show and all the jaw~dropping pics that I'll be snapping. Pure eye candy.

SWEET PEA HOME AT MARBURGER FARMS
TENT H BOOTH 14

OPENING DAY TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 28TH
10 AM TIL 7 PM

THE WOW FACTOR

I'm a firm believer in the wow factor...

When I gutted and re~designed my shop I looked long and hard for the right elements to convey this feeling...

I wanted something very special as the focal point when you entered the shop. I searched high and low... And then...

I discovered this fabulous twig chandelier hand~made by WISH DESIGNS... 48" tall by 48" wide and hand~made from briarwood branches. It is perfection...

And now it could be yours.

After much consideration, it had been loaded onto the trailer and will be the WOW FACTOR in my booth at MARBURGER FARMS.

HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME

It's official...

In one week Mr. Sweet Pea and I will be chillin' in our new accomodations in Texas...

We will have made a trip to the supermarket. I will have spread the ridiculous amount of clothing I take each time all over the place. He will be going through withdrawal as there is no television where we are staying...

It will be the first day of the most ridiculously fun thing we do all year...

We will see all our peeps. We will make new peeps...

We will send a whole bunch of fabulous treasures off to new homes. I will find some new ones for ours...

He will be happy in the land of meat. I will go well stocked with plenty of vegan food to eat. This is the land of meat folks. I don't begrudge anyone that. I learned the hard way to be prepared. When we went to West Virginia for Mr. SP's family reunion we ventured to Kroger looking for vegan fare and the nice man sporting the very bad toupee (who graduated from high school with mr. sp) showed me right to a stack of veggie burgers that were the only vegan or vegetarian thing they had. I understand. The last trip to Texas we stayed in a motel and had to eat out every meal. You can't imagine my joy at finding a place with a portobello burger on the menu after eating a baked potato and side salad for over a week. Thank heaven we have a place with a kitchen this time...

We look forward to meeting you at Marburger. Don't forget we have late shopping til 7pm on opening day. We'll be serving wine and big smiles...

COME TO THE LAND OF SWEET PEA AT MARBURGER FARMS

TENT H BOOTH 14

ROCK OUT

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

One of the best things about being in Texas is rockin' out the PEARL...

MAGNOLIA PEARL that is...

You will see me head to toe in PEARL cause it just fits the vibe of the whole experience.

There is just one thing about wearing PEARL though...

You must, I repeat MUST have the right shoes... Any old shoe blows the whole look.

You've got to go really pretty and feminine or totally funky. No in between. Last fall the models were sporting old work shoes on the site and it was so fabulous and funky that I had to borrow the look.

I knew I was saving those old Nine West work shoes for a reason...

Boots are always right. Cowboy boots, Uggs, and of course you have to have a pair of rubber wellies. Rubber wellies can come in really handy besides looking cute with your PEARL.

So here are some pics of what I'll be bustin' out in at the show with my PEARL...


These Doc Martens are so over the top cute and look killer with my pantaloons.


My new wellies.


I found these adorable shorty boots with a killer ruffle at Target.


Love these boots from Simple.


Sweet flats in nubby fabric with a velvet bow.


My cowboy boots.


And here they are. My black work shoes. Lucky me, I have a pair in brown too.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS

So tomorrow marks the two week point at which this show hits the road. It's hard to believe that it's really time to head to Texas, to Marburger, to the land of all things fabulous...

I thought I would share with you what happens on the production side of whipping a booth together for us. Those of you who come to the show on opening day see the full effect or you see it in pics here on the blog. I guarantee that pics don't do it justice. It's a full four days of butt busting work to make the magic happen and we do it all for you...

DAY ONE.

We arrive at the show grounds, check in and proceed to Tent H and to our booth. After hugs, hugs and more hugs exchanged with friends we only see here we park the trailer outside the booth and get to gettin'. Step one is to set up the walls that separate our booth from our neighbors. Mr. Sweet Pea takes over here as the fence posts that the walls are wired to must be pounded into the ground with that post pounder thingy first. I take this opportunity to sneak off and nose around...

Once the posts are in place we put up the walls. Next step it to cover them with burlap or brown paper, whichever we happen to be using that show. After the walls are completed we put down the floor. Yes, we put down a "floor" at Marburger. A 20' by 20' gray tarp is anchored into the ground to keep the booth a little cleaner and more finished looking. Using the tarp has only backfired once so far when we had that little flooding problemo last fall show. Remember the soup of straw and water that sat on top of the tarp?

After the tarp is down Mr. Sweet Pea now runs all the electrical for the chandys, lamps, fans and music. Uptown huh? So of course while he's doing that I sneak off a second time... Okay I know what you're thinking. Poor Mr. SP right? Well Mr. SP has been known to sneak off after I sneak off, and well that makes for a very poor work outcome so I must be very careful to time my excursions to avoid a mutiny.

If we are lucky, and things go well we have actually gotten the large furniture off~loaded on day one as well. I'm getting tired just reading this for typos, how about you?

DAY TWO.

Day two starts with off~loading the rest of the big stuff and a few re~dos as my arrangements rarely work without a few changes. I always think I have way more space than I really do and my set~up is totally off the cuff. After we get all the main players in place we plug in the smaller pieces like suitcases, small tables and the like. Now it's starting to look like something...

We hang the chandys, well Mr. SP hangs the chandys, and I have been known to do a quick disappearing act at this time too. Must be very careful here though, as this is prime vanishing time for him...

Okay by now it's probably lunch time so we break to put the feed bag on and re~charge the batteries a bit. After lunch, we break out the totes full of smalls. I usually average twenty or so totes. This is when the look comes into focus and of course it's my favorite step. I won't get them all unloaded, but will put a major dent in them.

Quittin' time folks. Time to head to Leftover's.

DAY THREE.

Okay so today is dedicated to unpacking the rest of the smalls and finding the perfect home for them. I usually am able to place them without much fuss as I buy with a particular look in mind and it all meshes pretty seamlessly. Because we are in the home stretch, the mood of this day is much more easy~going and free~form but still with our eyes on the prize if you will. Mr. SP usually wanders about or lends a helping hand where needed as this stage is my baby.

By the end of day three we are in great shape and usually only have fluffing and zhushing to do on day four.

Off to the blogger party in Warrenton at Garden Antqs Vintage...

DAY FOUR.

Okay here it is. The day before we open... Giddy with anticipation, I primp the booth and get it ready for pics. It's a light day for sure, but we have worked our butts off to get to this point and I hope it shows. I plug in some plants and flowers to add some ambience and we call it a day.

And that's a wrap as they say...

IN THREE WEEKS...

I will be in Texas.

In three weeks, I will be in Texas...

IN

THREE

WEEKS

I

WILL

BE

IN

TEXAS.

Pinching myself. Can't wait.

Please come by my booth at Marburger and say hello. Tent H Booth 14.

I promise it's going to be a fabulous selection of treasures. I think it gets better and better. Lots of French farmhouse goods, lots of white, a feeling of fall...

And great news for everyone coming out on opening day...

WE ARE OPEN TWO EXTRA HOURS UNTIL 7PM...