Two weekends ago while my husband, brother, and cousin were racing the clearly insane Tough Mudder, my mom, my aunt, some of my aunt’s friends, and I participated in an endurance challenge of our own: the Round Top antique fair. Round Top is a tiny, charming town about 75 miles east of Austin. The fair started 45 or so years ago and has morphed from a small event into a week-long extravaganza that happens twice a year. One of my aunt’s friends owns the Daisies and Olives flea market in Prairie Grove, Arkansas, and all of the ladies who came on the trip from Arkansas sell their wares there. It was great to see true “pickers” at work. These ladies knew what they were doing and quickly gave me the courage to ask for deals. And some great deals I found!
The day my mom and I joined the others at the fair was the very last day, and we were still shopping as sellers were packing up to head home. As I made my last stop, the vendor from Colorado was packing up, but as soon as I spied the vintage barware she had, I knew I would make a purchase. On first sweep, I found the beautiful 60’s brandy snifters. And, on second walk through, I was delighted to find the cocktail stirrers.
Two other exciting finds were a 60s fiberglass shell-style chair and a painted rolling serving cart. I put the chair in my dining area. It works well with the color palette, and it will definitely come in handy during dinner parties. I originally intended to use the cart as a bar server on our patio, but for now it has landed in the guest room-maybe to stay.
My biggest (in size!) find of the day was a large metal ampersand. I first spied a pink ampersand on Sarah Yates and Lou Mora’s house tour on Design*Sponge and have had my eyes peeled for one ever since. Over the weekend, I sprayed the ampersand with primer and then a beautiful berry-colored paint. I think it has a found a permanent perch on our dresser.
The best deal of all: everything I bought (or was bought for me by my sweet mom and aunt) totaled under $200. To be sure, not everything for sale at Round Top was a good deal or things that were my style, but I am very happy with the jewels I found.
Come to Texas, y’all. We’ll go to Round Top.
– Courtney
Photographs by Courtney Adkins