Take your daughter to work day....VINTAGE STYLE

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It's been a long hot summer here in good ol' Boonsboro, MD.  Our schedule was jam packed with trips, vacations, camps, work, blah blah blah.  You get the picture!  I'm sure it looked pretty much the same in your neck of the woods.  (Gotta love a little Al Roker reference, baby!) 

When my little birdies are out of school I find it difficult to focus on my vintage business.  I just want to hang out and spend as much time as possible with them.  My oldest birdy is 26 and my youngest is 13.  I know their time in the "nest" is coming to an end.  This being said...when I do have to work in the summer I try to include a birdy or two whenever I can.  (Sometimes bribery comes into play.)  This is the topic of this blog post.


Take your daughter to work day.....Vintage Style!

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I've mentioned my good friend Kelly from Madison & Mabel many times who is my vintage road trip partner in crime. Well, she has a daughter, Paige, about the same age as my little birdie, Bella. Get two crazy gals to thinkin' and voila, a plan to bring our girls with us on a flea market shopping day up in PA. 

 

 

 

Lunches/snacks packed, check! Clothes laid out the night before, check!  Alarm set for o dark thirty, check!

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My sleepy-eyed birdy moaned and groaned as we hit the road to meet up with the M & M girls.  Kelly and I looked at each other with a mixture of fear and amusement as we listened to our daughters complain in the back seat.  Although the trip had just begun and both of us had packed all our food for the day, a little bribery was certainly in order. 

 

Moms:  "Girls...hang in there!  There's a Dunkin' Donuts just off the exit before we get to the flea market."

Girls:  "How long is it gonna take to get there?"

Moms:  "About two hours....just go to sleep."

Girls:  "Are we there yet?"

Girls:  "Are we there yet?"

Girls:  "Are we there yet?"

 

Well.....true to our word our first stop was for donuts.  By the time we got to Dunkin' Donuts they were crabby, lazy, sleepy and hungry.  This did not bode well for the rest of this vintage shopping trip. 

 

 

Insert 24 donut holes....YES 24, between the two and presto chango they were riding the sugar train!  Really hopped up on the "junk"!  Like Energizer bunnies, Bella and Paige were ready to shop!  If you know me you know that I'm a bit of a tree hugger when it comes to food.  No fast food, whole foods, organic, you get the idea.  But shopping is shopping, I figured that one donut frenzy is not gonna kill her.

 

Shop, shop, shop......blah blah blah

 

The four of us shopped our way through PA and were on our way home.  Lo and behold, what do we find?  A bakery that creates custom donuts!!  Really..... 

 

Girls:  "please, please, please....let us get some!!!"

Moms: "You already had donuts this morning!"

Girls: "Pah leeeeeze.........these are custom made!!!!!!"

Moms: "What the heck, you only live once!"

 

 

 

How was the vintage haul for this trip????  It S-U-C-K-E-D! Neither Kelly or I found any treasures, and quite frankly, hardly bought a thing.  And yet, for me, this was one of the best shopping trips I've ever been on.  It was a blast watching the girls act silly and just being girls.  At the end of the day, I work for myself so that I can spend time with my family.  And that's just what I did!!

 

Have a good one,

Robin

 

 

 



Worlds Longest Yard Sale, and the verdict is.........Part 2

Ok, fresh eyed and ready to start day 2 of the World's Longest Yard Sale. Now I just have to figure out what time it is.......I left off at Crossville, TN in the central time zone.  I stayed in Harriman, TN in the Eastern time zone.  It took me about an hour on day 1 to figure out what was wrong with Penelope (my GPS). I wanted to get to Crossville around 8:30am so after a few mental calculations I figured out what time to leave my hotel.  I grabbed my stuff and headed out the door.  I was instantly greeted by an old dude in the parking lot loading his trunk.  No big deal right?  Well, he had no shirt on and a big suntanned silver haired belly was staring at me when he shouted, "howdy". All I could do was say...."hi".  I tried my best not to giggle until I got to the truck.

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Not the guy but you get the idea......

 

 

Shopping day 2 proved to be much more productive than day 1.  Instead of giving you a long narrative I thought I would just post a few pics to let you see what I saw/bought.

 

Need a 15ft. giraffe anyone???

 

A little pricey...but I can see it now. 

 Food warmers into amazing sconces.

 

I will only make 1 trip to the car!!!

 

This vintage beauty will be so hard to part with.  Patina to die for!

 

CRAP....won't fit in the trailer!

 

Some of these beauties headed to the shop!

 

 

Ahhhhhh....perfect way to end a long, hot, sweaty, dirty shopping day.

 

 

I woke up the next morning still longing for sleep, but gathered my stuff /loaded up and headed home.  I still had money to spend so I was ready to shop my way home.  I hit several small little flea markets with no success then set my sites on Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke, VA.  HGTV show...thought it was worth a stop.

 

 

 

I hate to be a "hater", but I was really disappointed at Black Dog.  Maybe I had built up it's greatness so much in my mind...not sure, but not impressed.  One whole side of the huge building was filled with vintage/not vintage/interior designer dealers.  I expected an amazing mess of salvage treasure, not wholesale products and new rugs....ok, I'm off tangent, sorry.

 

I did hit a couple of amazing Virginia flea markets that finished off my trip with a bang.

 

Now $64,000,000 question???  Would I go to the World's Longest Yard Sale again? Yes and No. 

Yes... I would absolutely go if someone else went with me.  No...I would not go by myself again.  It's such a long drive so you're tired to begin with.  Top it off with sensory overload seeing so much stuff for sell.  I'm sure I passed on some great pieces because I had lost my marbles in the heat and crowds. 

 

All in all, I had a great time.  I'm so glad I did it.  If I hadn't, I'd have always wondered what the hub bub was all about.  Who knows....might have some takers for next year's sale.

 

Have a good one,

Robin

 









Worlds Longest Yard Sale, and the verdict is.........Part 1

Well as you all know I took a little trip last week.  Little is not the word I really mean. Headed down to Chattanooga, TN for the World's Longest Yard Sale, aka the 127 Corridor Sale. I drove 1360.2 miles in 4 days.  Needless to say, I was P-O-O-P-E-D when I got home. 

The drive was long, but entertaining due to hubby's audio book.  It really was/is (30 hours, folks! Still listening!) a great Steven King!  Being by myself I decided not to shop on the way down just to make sure I'd not get too tired and feel like I had to stop for the night. Chattanooga here I am!!  Hotel was fine, but I left my pillow.  I woke up super early so I could get the best goodies.

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It actually took me about 45min. to get on the Yard Sale route.  You can't actually plug in.....Rt. 127 Corridor Yard Sale Route into your GPS.  Believe me, I tried!  Finally I stopped at a gas station and asked the "Coke" distributor guy. (I figured he know for sure). Problem was, he had a thick southern accent.  I was in the valley, you see, I needed to go up onto the mountain!! What???  Can't plug that into Penelope (my GPS) either.  Go to Signal Mountain Rd. off Rt. 27,  finally I can plug in! (btw...a for "real" mountain, I'm just sayin')

 

 





Don't know if it's a regional thing, but yard sales up North start EARLY!  Not so in the South....where is everybody???

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It was going on 8:00am and people were just pulling off plastic from tables and setting up.  Heading straight up a winding mountain road I made my first stop...Guess what I saw?

 



A lawn jockey and a peeing boy fountain.  Really???  The sell did offer a few goodies, suit cases, mirrors, frame and the shelving from a vintage Frigidaire ...not sure what I'm gonna do with that.



Tally ho...off to the next sale.  I hit several then came upon a big sign for a barn sale a few miles off the route.  Longest 3 miles ever, but the signs every few 100 yds were so intriguing!  "Don't You Turn Around", "Best Barn Sale Ever"...you get the picture.  Weelllllll......not the best barn sale ever, crochet toilet paper cover....but certainly the most strange and beautiful.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

Fluffy chickens for sale...Really????

 

 

 

I know freaky...truth be told, kinda wanted to buy this. Text to friend....."You are a freak!" OK, no to this fine specimen of taxidermy.

 

 

I ended day 1 of the Worlds Longest Yard Sale with an eye full, but most of it did not end up in my car.  Head 35 miles to the east to hotel #2. Check in, get to room.  I take a long shower and get into my jammies.  Try to turn on bedside lamp, nothing! Try to turn on tv, nothing! Try to call front desk, nothing! No wireless so no Netflix.  I don't know about you, but I gotta have a little media to wind down before bed.  OK...throw on some clothes and head to front desk.  I got 2 guys climbing all over my bed/room to get everything running.  I just wanna go to sleep.........

 

Maybe tomorrow will bring better results!

 

 

Have a good one,

Robin



Where the bleep is Robin?

Wellll......once again, I'm MIA!  I feel like I'm a jack of all trades.  Hey, I'm a mom, wife, interior designer, vintage furniture dealer, painter, fixer, cleaner, shopper, problem solver,  accountant.......yada yada yada!

 Like most of you it's so hard to balance my time between all these duties.  What can I say....I do the best that I can.

 

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Ok...now that I've gotten that off my chest and don't feel so guilty about bailing on my blog, let me tell you about my latest crazy scheme!

 

 

Ever heard of the one and only...World's Longest Yard Sale? It's a crazy long yard sale spanning 690 miles, from Michigan to Alabama!  Can you believe that??  I have a friend that has actually shopped this for the past 2 years.  She invited me so of course I said YES! Not so crazy right?  Well, maybe a little bit. Split the hotel, gas and driving, hey I can do this. It's 4 days of vintage amazingness...so worth it.

 

 

 

 

Now for the twist....friend can no longer go.  Trip is off.  How can I do it by myself?  Nine hour drive each way, paying all the expenses myself.  No fun, giggles, and blabber along the trip.  Ugh!

 

Then course, my crazy brain starts to kick in.  Why can't I go by myself?  Robin's famous last words..."How hard can it be?"  I sit down with hubby, plan my route, cash in some points to pay for 2 nights at mediocre hotels (word used loosely here), and set my sights on Chattanooga, TN! Hubby swears his 30 hour audio book will keep me company...please know that I've threaten his life if it doesn't!

 

 

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 So at O dark thirty I'm hitting the road tomorrow morning!  I'll be loaded with food, packing blankets and hopeful dreams of the ultimate vintage mega score.  Be sure to stay tuned.......

 

Have a good one,

Robin

Say "Cheeeese"! We had a little photo shoot in the NEST

Even though I changed up the look of my blog last year, in true "Robin" fashion, I already feel it needs freshening.  I contacted an amazing local photographer, Courtney Reese and arranged to have a photo shoot at The Robin's Nest at the Chartreuse barn in Frederick, MD.

 

 

The morning of the shoot it suddenly dawned on me that I was going to be "shot" (he he) and I hadn't picked out anything to wear.  Ugh..."what to wear????"  Color, sequins, and comfort...my traditional uniform.  Nothing gussies up your look like a sequined t-shirt from J Crew.

 

 

Courtney set up her gear and snapped, snapped, snapped throughout The Robin's Nest.  It was so much fun to watch her and see what caught her eye.  I must say, I felt very "fancy" as birdy #3 often says.  Instead of going on and on in detail about the shoot, why don't I just show you some of my favorite pics.  After all, a picture's worth a thousand words....so....blah blah blah blah

 

 

 

 

 

I look forward to using these images in my business!!!  Thanks Courtney for such a fun day!!!

 

Have a good one,

Robin

Okay...It's time to tell the tale

Sorry I've been M.I.A. lately, lots of drama with my little birdies in The Robin's Nest. 

Okay, well I'm ready to fess up about a little "incident" that happened a few months back. As many of you know my mode of transportation is my 2005 Chevy Trailblazer, aka "The Junk Mobile". In order to score big and buy the goods I pull a 6' x 12' trailer that I may or may not have flipped on I-66 some years ago. (Hey...only one embarrassing story at a time!) I LOVE my trailer, battle scars and all!

 

Being a small business owner, this girl works hard for her money.  I can stretch a $$ till it bounces!!  I try to keep business expenses to a minimum. (Except when it's power tools, I LOVE me some toys!) Ok, back to the story.  As I said a couple of months ago the Junk Mobile gas gauge konked out on me. Well..."I'll get about to fixing it, I mean all ya gotta do is use the odometer to keep track of mileage" I tell every patient Hubby. "No big deal!!!"  Weeks go by with nary a problem.

Now here's when it gets dicey.....

Birdy #2 is a hard worker and jumped at the chance to haul furniture each month during the Tag Sale.  It's a real treat to have some alone time with him and chat while we drive to and from the barn. On a chilly morning we stopped at Sheetz, the fine dining/bank/gas station and grabbed some coffee/fruit (me), hot chocolate/donut (birdy #2).  Did I get gas, you ask??? Heck no...by my calculations I gotta another 48miles to go and we are running late.  (Insert dum, da dum dum DUM.....)

Slurping coffee, munching donuts, chatting and cruising up South Mountain...I said it South MOUNTAIN......

Suddenly the Junk Mobile, sputters, lurches forward and then......stops!!!!!! Oh Crap!!! We are going uphill on a mountain, pulling a trailer, on an Interstate!
Me:  Birdy #2...there's something seriously wrong the truck!
Birdy #2: What are we gonna do, mom?
Me: Gonna call Papa Bird and AAA
Birdy #2: These trucks going by are really shaking the truck...it's a little scary.

I call Hubby, and tow truck.  Oh of course...you can't tow the truck with the trailer.  I'd love to leave my trailer abandoned on a mountain half full so that it could roll down the Interstate and kill all those in it's path.  Enter super hero friend/carpenter to the rescue with his truck!!! He, birdy #2 and I unhitch the trailer and roll it DOWNWARD (yikes!) to make room for friend's truck to pull it and drive the trailer to my house. (a little scary even I have to admit)

 

Hubby comes, tow truck comes.. birdy #2 and I to the barn, Junk Mobile to auto garage.  It's all worked out.  I spend most of the day worrying about how much this car repair is gonna cost!  The phone rings, it's repair man...hit me with it! 

 

Repair Man: Mrs. Lady...before we check in more detail, I noticed that the gas gauge was on E.  Is there any way that the Junk Mobile is out of gas??

Me: Oh I know, it's broken...I've got about 48miles to go on that tank.

Repair Man: Why don't I just put $10 in it and see

Me: Oh sure thing...And while you've got it in the garage, why don't you go ahead and fix the gas gauge.

 

Tick tock, tick tock....15 minutes pass.

 

Repair Man: Yup...you were out of gas!!!

Me: Yikes, now I gotta tell hubby.

 

Me: Well great news, cheapest car repair in history.

Hubby: What was wrong?

Me: You're gonna think this is funny....um um  it was out of gas

Click!!!

 

 

Me: (after redialing Hubby) Are you really mad at me?

Hubby: I just don't know what to say...maybe it wouldn't be so bad if you hadn't been at the gas station a mere 3 miles before the car died!

Me: If its any consolation, I had repair man fix the gas gauge.

 

I guess there's a lesson learned here....maybe I need to brush up on my math skills!!!  He he he.  Don't tell hubby I said that, it still might be too soon!

 

Have a good one,

Robin

 



 

Needing a little downtime? Try playing in the dirt!

 

Last weekend we had a crazy big event at The Robin's Nest! Ok, it wasn't just me.... Chartreuse & co, the sales collective (crazy group of gals) I am proud to belong to had our twice annual Market Days. It was a mad dash to the finish line to get ready for this sale considering the regular March tag sale was only 3 weeks before.  Yikes! A little downtime was in order, let me tell you.  I was so inspired by all the amazing plant displays at the sale, I decided to take some time to play in the dirt this week to recuperate from the madness.  See...not everything I do turns into disaster! 

 

 

 

I am an avid gardener, or I guess I used to be.  I just don't seem to have much time these days to plant ginormous beds of rows and rows of glorious flowers.  What's a girl to do??? CONTAINERS!  You can use anything, I mean anything.  Just drill a hole in the bottom and voila....a planter.  If you can drill a hole in it, then just add some rocks in the bottom before you plop in the dirt.  I am lucky to have a gravel driveway, so I always have rocks at the ready.  (Side note...I also have 2 doggies so I have to be careful not to grab some dried doggie poo with the rocks.  This "could" be the voice of experience talking here...just sayin')  I'm really diggin' (get it, he he) succulents these days.  The vibrant colors are dynamite!  And, I've been told they aren't "needy" like bloomers (flowers, had to say it, I crack myself up!)  I'll let you know how it goes. 

Here are some of my latest containers.....it's what I had laying around the house.  (Side note...I so wanna call it a "compound", but Hubby says I'm nuts!  One house, 1 barn, 1 summer kitchen/cottage, 1 well house, 1 forgotten 15' satellite dish....it's a compound, right?) Back to the plants....

I've had this gutted alarm clock forever looking for the right project...it's found a home.

 

 

Got an old desk lamp around?  Rip out the guts (violent sounding, eh??) and add some "green" love!

 

 

Old silverplate serving dish that lost its shine...It's shinin' now!!!

 

 

Love that I found a mailbox with a teal flag...please Mr. Postman, don't take my mail!

 

 

 

 

Even milk glass compotes get used in my containers...(this is where the doggie poo incident happened.. add water to dried poo and guess what?  It stinks!!!!)

 

 

I'd love to hear/see what crazy wonderful planters you're using this spring!

 

Have a good one,

Robin