Treasure Hunting Adventures!

This weekend we loaded up with friends and headed to one of my all-time favorite treasure hunting spots, the Bonham, TX Trade Days.  They hold it once a month, every third Monday or first Friday or second Sunday after the first Tuesday or something like that.  (I always resort to asking my mom, I never know for sure.)  I love it because it's truly a flea market, and by that I mean a few rare treasures mingled in with lots of junk.  The junkier the market the better in my opinion, and Bonham never fails on that front.  It's not nearly as much fun when it's antique-y and boutique-y and waaay overpriced.  That's always a bummer.  I also grew up going here year in and out for about as long as I can remember, so it scratches my sentimental itch, too.

(Funny side story:  I shared with the girls how I used to love going because my mom always let me get a bunny. They were only a few bucks, and I'd always joyfully tromp over to the animal area with my bills in hand for the exchange.  I'd cuddle them all the way home promising to love them endlessly, but mysteriously and inevitably they always died, usually within a few weeks or even days.  I didn't mind ALL that much, because I knew it meant I'd be able to get a new one next time!  Reminiscing of all my bunny love as a child I quietly thought aloud, "I have no idea why they always died..."  To which Kyle chuckled, "Probably because you bought them at a flea market!"  I couldn't help giggling.  I'd never even considered it.)

Anyway!  Back to our adventure!  It looked something like this:

Beautiful, chippy bird cages, endless cast iron, lovely old bottles, an adorable tandem bike I tried to talk my husband into.  FAIL ;-)

Josh found guns, of course.  Brittany scored a great little solid wood end table for an astonishing $3.  I found lots and lots of chickens.  (and ducks and geese and puppies and goats and etc.  And no, I didn't bring any of them home this time.)

An hour in and this happy pregnant moma had already scored baskets, crates, 4 gorgeous chairs, a quilt box from the 40's, a variety of decanters, a gorgeous bird cage, that cute little $3 end table, and a handful of other odds and ends.  And I think she spent a total of $22.  (JUST kidding!  Although it was shockingly cheap.  Thank you, Mr. Flea Market!  This is precisely why we've come.)

Josh and I decided Brit was majorly showing us up, so we put on our game faces and decided to get in the game!  Don't be deceived by the smiles.  It's ALL part of the strategy...

Ah!  Now we're talkin'!  Let's DO this!

There's nothing sexier than my man haulin' loot for his prego wife...

We stashed all our treasures in the care of a nice lady who sold us a bunch of stuff (you can totally do that in the country and never give it a second thought) and tromped off in search of something cold to drink.  Ah yes, this'll do the trick...

Old fashioned root beer!  Sasparilla, cream soda, black cherry, orange cream... yes, please!  Just look how happy they are ;-)

It only took us a couple solid hours to do the necessary damage.  Next challenge, getting all our stuff to fit in the car.  Hmmm....

Check out a pregnant Brittnay fearlessly strapping furniture to the roof.  And we literally had an entire cheering squad of strangers.  They lauged, pointed, gave advice here and there, loaned us a screwdriver, showed us how to alter the rack on the roof for a tighter fit, and even took a group shot of us after we finished loading.  It was awesome.  One lady even declared us her heros ;-)

I admit it wasn't the most comfortable ride home for Kyle and I, crammed in the backseat with one of the 4 chairs wedged between us.  But hey, when it comes to treasure you do what you have to.

Here are my favorite finds of the day:

Vintage leather suitcases.  I have a serious affinity for old trunks and suitcases.  Maybe it's the travel vibe, I don't know.  I just love them.  And these were too perfectly tattered and gorgeous to pass up.  We managed to cram them in just as we were leaving, on top of the already crammed trunk space.  Everytime Brittnay hit the brakes they slid forward into the back of mine and Kyle's heads, but like I said, for the sake of treasure...

A 1950's copy of The Joy of Cooking!  What's not to love??  It even had yellowed newspaper clippings from the 50's tucked inside the pages.  $1.  *sigh*

This rustic mortar.  It's super heavy and porous, perfect for grinding spices and grains.  (I'm taking the challenge to bake my own gluten free millet bread in the coming weeks, so this was quite timely!)  And Josh masterfully negotiated it down from $8 to $4.  Nice!  Do you know how expensive mortars are??

And this vintage beauty, my favorite find of the day.  

Let me just tell you, we use our cooler religiously.  In fact, we've taken to simply keeping it stored in our trunk it gets so much use.  Every time we go to a farmers market, a local farm, or even just a day trip to visit my parents or friends or a short trip to Austin, the cooler is imperative.  We've been on the verge of buying a new one because the one we bought a couple years ago for camping has fallen to pieces.  The latch broke off, the seal doesn't quite do it's job anymore, and it's filthy as ever.

So when we stumbed upon this gorgeous, turquoise-ish lady, it was love at first sight!  Josh and I both spotted her at the same moment and instantly stooped for inspection.  She's metal, which I adore.  The latch should never break, the plug and liner are all in excellent condition, and she's the perfect size:  not too big, not too small, juuuust right!

We love her.

And look, she even has a bottle opener on the handle!

Unlike our cheapo plastic cooler that's literally fallen apart, I'm confident she'll serve us well for years to come, on trips, picnics, overnight escapes, kayaking adventures...  Yes, she's officially a member of the family now.

So there's our most recent treasure-hunting recap!  Wasn't that fun??  What did you do this weekend?

Trinkets and Patches: A New Obsession and Treasure

Over the past several weeks I've fallen in love.

Every morning I wake still sleepy-eyed and stumbly, grab my camera from the basket at my bedside and wander thru the house... hunting... seeking... searching for light.

And when I find it, I capture it forever.  I'm obsessed.  I can't stop.  I have an endless and still growing photo collection of sunlight patches.

It's something God is doing in my heart.  I'm still processing, He's still speaking, whispering, teaching with every romantic patch.  He has been for awhile now, even using my girls to show me.

I see the obvious.  But there's something more He's whispering, calling out to me.  Give me ears to hear, Lord.  I don't want to miss it.

I may be pondering this one for awhile...

On an entirely different note, we traversed back to the snake-infested undisclosed treasure hunting location this past weekend (Wait, did I mention before that it was snake-infested??  Well it is.  We Hoskison's risk our lives in the name of treasure hunting.  It adds to the thrill.) and among other trinkets I scored these guys:

Steeping mugs!  Aren't they so cute with their little lids?  I love them.  As much as I drink tea I've never actually owned a steeping mug.  I could have spent a kazillion dollars on one at Anthro... or I could risk my life among the snakes and rats and score them for FREE!  I'll likely always default to the latter.  It's in my blood ;-)

Alright, have you discovered any new treasures or obsessions lately?? 

Green: Glimpses of Dad's Garden

A while ago I shared about my dad and the gorgeous garden he plants every year.  It's that time again, time to bury seed and wait, wait to watch life magically spring forth from the earth.  I don't know many who do it quite as well as he does.  Considering my luck with growing things I naturally find his annual masterpiece terribly impressive, but perhaps I'm a bit bias, too.

And after a good rain when everything is lush and green, it really does take my breath away.  Here are a few glimpses from this past weekend...

Baby apples, not quite blushing red.

Itty bitty grapes on the vine, rows of corn, green cabbage, happy red hens.

Squash galore... sunny yellow, creamy white, deep green zucchinis.

Three little red pigs waiting for anything from the garden to be tossed their way.

Fuzzy baby peaches, sunshine thru the grapevines, rows of green onion, beans and peas.

The bees love the zucchini blossoms as much as I do.  

Mr. Gorgeous struttin' beneath the pear tree.

Burgundy beets, climbing vines, little red pigs still begging for a snack.

The most gorgeous purpley cabbages you've ever laid eyes on.

I love this view from beneath the muscadine grape vines.

Takes a lot of work to create that beautiful patch of life-giving green.  So when he needs a break you'll likely find him here... savoring a sabbath moment on his pond, which of course he created with his own two hands as well ;-)

His garden makes mine look just plain silly.  But despise not the day of small beginnings, right?  Besides, why would I need my own grand patch when my Daddy grows one for me?

Yep... there's the real secret.

What has your Father provided for you lately?

Unexpected

I've been treasure hunting again!Man, I'm on a roll lately...

This hunt was particularly exciting because I came upon it so unexpectedly.  I was puppy-sitting my friend Brittany's little guy and decided to take him for a quick walk down the street.  When we hit the sidewalk, I immediately noticed that the other side of Swiss Ave was buzzing with activity.  Of course I had to get a closer look, so down the street we went. As we approached my heart beat faster and faster...  Could it be?  A Swiss Ave estate sale?  This busy on a Thursday??  Surely not.  How did I miss the signs?  I dared not get my hopes up.  

Suddenly these two older ladies started ohhing and ahhing and approaching me at breakneck speed.  They'd spotted Nacho-the-super-cute-puppy from the road and bolted out of their van to pepper me with a thousand questions and compliments.  "How old is he?  What's his name?  He's gorgeous!  What breed it he?  He looks like a mix!  What's his name?  He's not yours?  Oh, he's so sweet!  What's his name?" 

I somehow managed to steer the conversation to the estate sale while they passed him back and forth.  Turns out, these two were a wealth of information filling me in on all the details regarding the sale.  Apparently the guy who owned the house was moving and he just happened to run estate sales for a living, so this should be, according to Nacho's new friends 'cream of the crop stuff'.  

I dared not go inside with a puppy though.  Everyone would want to squeeze him thus effectively distracting me from close examination of all the untold treasures.  No, Nacho would have to go home first.  

Over the next few days I would return to the sale 4 times.  I obviously had to take Josh back to show him any and everything of interest, and my mother-in-law was flying in Friday so of course I had to take her.  These were all excellent excuses for me to pilfer about again and again.  The first time is really just to get a good feel, scout it out, get past the overwhelming rush of what might be.  Returning is where things get serious, and really, this is the treacherous window of time I've learned to avoid if I really don't want to spend money.

The twist to this story however is that Marsha, my mother-in-law, had never been treasure hunting with me before.  And I must point out that I'd been very disciplined up until this point, managing to only admire but not purchase a single trinket.  But then, smack in the middle of my dangerous window with Marsha in tow  (aka-back at the sale for another sweep thru using her as my excuse) I happened to come upon this elegant lady I'd somehow missed before.  My eyes immediately widened with admiration and I reached for her, caressing and cuddling her to my chest with sheer longing to take her home to safety.  

 Caught up in my own dramatics I failed to realize how persuasive I can be with words, even when I really don't mean to be.  Marsha was entirely amused, as was the guy manning the room with his little receipt book in hand.  They both stopped and stared at me silently as I examined her, gushing about her loveliness and how much better she was than a Chemex.  It was love at first sight.  She charmed me on the spot.  I couldn't help it.

Witnessing my entirely sincere and enthusiastic love poem on display, Marsha caved.  What else is a mom to do when she sees her only daughter-in-law's face light up in sheer delight?!  "You know you have a birthday coming up." My eyes shot her direction in slight disbelief.  The receipt guy saw his moment and leapt, "And today it's 25% off, which would make it $18.75, but if you take it right now I'll sell it to you for $15."  My mouth gaped open, looking back and forth between the two.

Feeling so silly for my ridiculous display of emotion over a teapot and suddenly realizing how closely I'd been watched, I blushed, "Oh...no, no.  It's lovely but I don't need another teapot.  Maybe I'll come back later..."

He pushed, "May not be here later!  And the deal definitely won't be."  I smiled, thanked him, exited quickly still feeling embarrassed.

Long story short, we went back for her a few hours later ;-)  Thank goodness she was still there, sitting amidst the silver in all her regal glory!  And receipt-man did extend the deal, despite his earlier threat.  Big softy.  He knew she was meant for me.  He couldn't deny our destiny. 

Look at her beautiful detail:

And get ready... Here's her most charming feature, the most gorgeous legs and a little silver candle holder for a votive to keep your tea warm!  How genius!  *sigh*  I couldn't possibly love her more.

Marsha was also amused by my refusal to polish her up.  I much prefer silver tarnished.  I just love it.  She asked me half a dozen times if I was sure I didn't want to shine it.  I kept assuring her I didn't.  My new Love is perfect just the way she is.

Before leaving with my birthday treasure Marsha also reminded me of an old book I'd adored earlier, offering to add it to my loot.  Didn't take much arm twistin' on that front either!  It's called, British Poets of the Nineteenth Century.  Goodness, just the title is romantic...  Look at it!

It's perfectly tattered and aged, pages yellowed and scribbled across by someone who clearly cherished it before me, which I love.  It's full of so many of my absolute favorites:  Tennyson, Keats, Byron, Browning, Colerigde, and it even opens with a whole section on Wordsworth!  (who's homes and gardens I've meandered thru in recent months in the English Lake District)  

I will spend many hours with a candle-warmed pot of tea in dim kerosene lamplight getting to know these men better, gleaning from their intricate way with words.  Yes, a tattered $3 book of British poetry really does thrill me.  Immensely.  

And look... they even look amazing together!

So there ya have it, my most recent treasure hunting expedition report!  Wasn't that so much fun??!

P.S.-A little teaser for ya, we made one final trip back to the sale on the 60% off day and much to our surprise Marsha discovered a beautiful old mahogany buffet tucked in a corner with a shocking $85 price tag.  (we've been searching for one forever)  After the discount that meant we could take her home for an astounding $34!  Marsha called it an anniversary gift and I declared to Josh that we should never attend an estate sale without his mother again! ;-)

We rolled her proudly down Swiss on a furniture dolly and between the three of us managed to drag her up two flights of stairs, where she currently sits awaiting a makeover.  I promised her I wouldn't show before pictures until I have the afters to appropriately bookend.  Don't want to shame her ;-)  Soon as she's done however, you know I'll be showcasing all her delightful attributes and splendor!

Have you found any treasures lately??  Or am I the only person hitting up garage sales and flea markets in all this gorgeous weather??

Addition

Meet the newest addition to our wee garden!

The most beautiful basket of vibrant hydrangeas, a welcome-home-from-Europe-gift from my sweet friend Brittany. (Funny note, when we arrived home from the UK Josh literally dropped his luggage in the kitchen floor and immediately announced, "I'm going to check on our little green family!"  He barely even acknowledge the furry children dancing ecstatically at his feet or anything else for that matter.)  But anyway... aren't they lovely??  They definitely add a feminine flair to our otherwise entirely green wee garden.  

I love them.  

I solemnly vow to nurture an nourish them daily.

I promise to not forget to water them, or drown them by overcompensating because I forgot to water them the day before.  Or scorch them in too much Texas sun.  Or cause them to turn yellow because they got no sun.

And I confess, I already fret and worry constantly about my inadequacies as their caretaker.  

Ugh.  I'm so horribly afraid I'm going to murder them.  And murdering these lovelies seems so much worse than murdering a pot of herbs for some reason... because my friend gave them to me as a gift, because they're so delicate and girly, because their pink.  I don't know!  Just help me.  Lord, help me.  Help me not commit a massacre.  I cannot do this alone.

So how is your garden doing??

Kerosene

Look.  At.  THESE.  Need I tell you how much I adore them?  I'm sure you can guess...

So this weekend we were at my parent's house celebrating Mother's Day, and just as we were packing up to leave my mom casually mentioned a bucket by the door with a lamp in it.  She'd said something about it earlier but I hadn't paid much attention.  As I was peering into the dirty blue bucket to get a glimpse however, she also mentioned something about an old dresser and some other odds and ends at an undisclosed location, to which I immediately responded, "Let's go!  Like, now.  Can we go??"

 Within 2.5 minutes we were all loaded up in two vehicles and setting off to treasure-hunt!  Family tradition, you know.  Mom and Dad in the truck, Josh, Tirzah and I in our car.  

Half an hour later I was the very proud owner of these beauties, antique kerosene lamps, and had effectively scheduled a return trip (okay, pathetically begged to return to the undisclosed location) the following weekend to pilfer through the remaining odds and ends.  I have my eye on several boxes of vintage dishes I'm certain Christine will adore, as well as all sorts of yet to be discovered trinkets, I'm sure.

How beautiful are these guys??  Look at the detail...

I've actually decided to split them up at the moment.  One in the guest room, one in the living, and the largest in our bedroom.  Josh has been lighting it every evening for me to read by.  It's so much softer than the light from our bedside lamp, and as my Dad noted with a chuckle "so romantic!"  He was half serious, half mocking, of course.  ;-)

I love them.  So much charm.  I keep finding myself stopping to stare at them for long moments.

Eventually I'll get fresh oil (not colored), but it's pricey so we'll certainly burn what's in them already first.  Great for blackouts!  Energy saving!  (sort of)  And of course they were FREE...  

Man I love treasure hunting.

Have you found any treasures lately??