country living fair 2011

Oh, happy day!

Look what I received in the mail today!

Are you going?



I am making my list...and counting the days.

I've rented a big 'ol cargo van and reserved the hotel.

Any ideas of places I should stop along the way!?

Because you know I want to turn every little shop and salvage yard along the way up-side-down!

*sigh...*

Have I ever told you how much I love these kind of roadtrips with the girls?? Yes. I think I have. Many, many times. But they are just so much fun! Shopping, laughing, shopping, eating, shopping...you get the idea.

So are you going too?? If you are...lets meet up!

totally random...

I just realized how little I have posted this summer. Between trying to keep up with furniture orders, getting ready for shows, getting my mother-in-law moved into assisted living and her home ready to be sold...the time has flown by so fast!

So today I thought I would check in...say hello...and release a few of the random thoughts floating around in my head.
Here we go...



- I went to a county fair on Saturday night. I love a good fair! What could be better than farm animals and food on a stick?? Oh, and cute farmboys, lets give them and their tight jeans a little credit for the ambience at a fair. {wink...wink...}

-  Anyone out there have a magic cure for summer allergies you can share?? I am miserable. It is like having the worst cold of your life...that never goes away. I've tried Zyrtec, Singular, Claratin...they provide zip in the relief department. Ugh. Help. Please.

- It is going to be HOT here today. So it is Barbeque Chicken Pizza done on the grill for dinner...oh, and  Margaritas are on the menu, too. We must stay hydrated on a hot day, you know.

- Right now I am drinking lemonade. And I put frozen strawberries in it rather than ice cubes. It is my very favorite summertime drink. You should try it.

- Remember my post about wanting a white slipcovered chaise for my office? Well, Ilast week I bought the 'armless' Etktorp chaise from Ikea. *LOVE* it!

- Have you ever had a fried Snickers bar?? I am just taking a survey. I did not partake. I was too scared. Fried foods kinda freak me out. But I do love a Snickers ice cream bar. Those things are so bad, yet soooo good.

- As I type this I am looking out the window at my sister's Hydrangeas (she lives next door). Hers are huge and pink and beautiful. Mine are dinky and barely blooming. What??

- It is 12:41 and I am still in my pjs. Oh, how I love being my own boss.

- I found a beautiful quilt at a garage sale this weekend for $3! Three bucks!? That was an awesome moment.

 - I am trying to plan a vacation for the Hubs and I in December. Any ideas for me? We are thinking Key West. Anyone visited during the winter months? Is it going to warm...like beach weather...or no?

Ok, thats all I got for today. I will be amazed if any of you made it to this end of that post, and didn't click off somewhere around random thought #3. I am off to paint furniture in my garage. I brought 4 dressers home from my warehouse just so I could go in and out of the air conditioning today. I am such a whimp.

Stay cool, girls! I will be back tomorrow to share an up-and-coming roadtrip!

dash & albert rug questions - help!



I am in the middle of a little make-over of my home office. I brought in a farm table I had sitting in my warehouse for the last couple of years...bought a beautiful white slipcovered chaise for the corner...and now I am have thoughts of a rug swirling around my brain.

Specifically, Dash & Albert rugs.

And I have a few questions for anyone out there that may own one...or maybe has a shop that sells them...or just dreams about them the way I do.

One thing I really need to know...how heavy are they? Are they going to wrinkle every time I try to move my desk chair, which is on wheels?? That would drive me insane, so someone please give it to me straight if that is the case. I will forgo the whole rug idea for this room. I am looking at a 6'x9' rugs for this space, if that makes a difference.

Second questions...how easy are they to clean? My dog, Jake, apparently thinks I cannot function for a moment without him by my side, so as I sit at my computer (or lounge in my chaise watching a little TV when I am really supposed to be working...shhhh!) he lays in the room with me right where this rug would be going. He tends to shed...and I have to vaccuum...well...daily. Thank goodness for the invention of the Roomba! But, if he wanders in after being outside with a muddy paw or two am I going to freak out after finding I can't clean it up?

And lastly...what is your favorite Dash & Albert rug?? I can go any direction with this room. At the moment, it is a wonderful, dreamy white. I could go bright and fun or neutral and rustic. There are so many gorgeous rugs, its so hard to choose!

Thank you for your help, girls! I can't wait to read your comments! You know how you get a project in your brain and you want to finish it...well, like...yesterday? Yeah, that is the stage I am at right now. I just want to get it done!

snippets from the flea market...

Whew! What a weekend it was! It was hot, hot, HOT here...and of course in the Midwest you can't be hot without being slapped with 90% humidity to add to it. But, despite all that it was a *fabulous* weekend selling at the flea. I was worried it would be slow since it was a Holiday weekend, but as always...my customers ROCKED! They came early, stayed long...and gave my furniture new, happy homes!

I just thought I would show you some snippets of what I brought to the show. Now, keep in mind the photos had to be taken in about 2.5 seconds before the crowds came running in the gate on Saturday. So they are not pretty, staged shots...just a "here it is so you can see that YES, I do actually paint furniture for a living. I- am-not-making-it-up-I-swear-kind-of-shots." Hee...hee!

I say that because I always laugh when someone is in my booth and they look at my business card...their head whips around and they say "YOU are Urban Farmgirl?"...I say "Yes"...and then they say "I read your blog, I had no idea you painted furniture and had a business." I am soooo bad, I know! I never, ever show before-and-after shots. I never, ever really talk about what I am doing for the biz. And the simple reason is this. I paint between 80-100 pieces every. single. month. There is just no time. By the time I find the pieces, prep them, paint & distress, put hardware on...in all honesty...I am pooped.  I am stressed. I wonder if I have lost my mind trying to do all this and blog too! I need a personal assistant. Anyone out there want to apply for the job? I will pay you in furniture. Haha!

Anyway, on with the show. Just a day in the life at a flea market with painted furniture. Most of what you are going to see it white. I do paint any color, I antique some pieces etc...but at this flea, my cusomters want white. So white is what I shall bring them!

This armoire is so huge...and awesome...and it found a new home in a nursery. I love being part of something like that. Makes me *smile...*

And this dresser?? Beyond awesome...why o why didn't someone take it home? It is just so pretty! A lot of people wanted it, but no one had a car big enough to haul her in. Sad.

And this little cabinet was one of my favs of the weekend. Pale gray...distressed to show the white underneath...and white painted checken wire. *sigh...* I miss her already. This one should have been a keeper. Oh well, maybe I will find another one someday.

This little gray desk was so much cuter in person, I didn't do her justice with my quick photo. She is so curvy and dainty...

and her drawer is lined in antique french books...

and then there was the barrel top desk...such a cool piece!

I always paint my cubbies inside. I just don't feel a piece finished unless all parts are painted. The little extra time it takes to do it is so worth it in the end. It would look funny when you roller her top back. Not an easy paint, but necessary in my eyes. And anyone at home that has one they want to paint...don't be scared. The cubbies come out, most are just held in my 2 little nails. Soooo much easier that way!

Oh, and I lined the pull-out tray with an antique map, too.

I love the curved top...

I brought frames, frames and more frames...big and small, simple and ornate...every singe one found a happy home!

I had quite a few ornate mirrors...

desks of all shapes and sizes...

and last...but not least...this antique french bed, which I just *loved*!! She found a home with a girl that I know is going to dress her up pretty with soft, flowing shabby chic bedding.

I hope she sends me a photo!

So there you have it. Little bits and pieces from my weekend. I hope you all had a safe & happy 4th! Mine was spent at home, relaxing and recovering!

Happy Tuesday, girls! Don't you love it when a Tuesday feels like a Monday? Ahhh....I {heart} long weekends!