FUN TIMES AT THE BARN

This old canning ring full of mason jars of fresh roses 

was one of the first things we sold Friday night.

Hey, Y'all! We're just back from the Rusted Gingham Barn Sale in Gonzales, TX where there was an abundance of creative, handmade, vintage, and antique items all under one big metal roof! We had a lot of FUN visiting with many old friends and making new friends. THANKS to Suzanne and her team for putting on such a wonderful show and transforming the barn into a market full of great goods, beauty, and inspiration!

Here's a few peeks at what 

Garden Cat Vintage had for sell.

Florals, crazi quilts, and velvet...oh, my!

All kinds of JUNK for sale!

Fun with pink petticoats!

The vintage insulators with battery tea lights were a big hit.

Somehow I managed to collect several vintage hat boxes--love the patterns!

This little princess found a new home Friday evening. 

She has the sweetest little face.

Garden Cat Vintage at Rusted Gingham Barn Sale.

Lots of bling!

This great old truck is a tradition at

Rusted Gingham. It's just the right color!

The JUNKIN' trail never ends...next up for 

Garden Cat Vintage--

JUNK HIPPY ROADSHOW WACO, 

NOV. 16 at the Waco Convention Center!

Until next time, sweet friends--

Peace, love, and all 

the good stuff to y'all!

GETTING THE GOODS AT RUSTED GINGHAM

Hey, Y'all! It's almost BARN SALE time--that is Rusted Gingham Barn Sale time! Last year I was supposed to be a vendor at this wonderful vintage market. However, due to circumstances beyond my control I had to back-out at the last moment. This year I'm so excited to finally be participating as a vendor! 

This gorgeous vintage 1950s Ford F-100 is loaned 

by a gentleman to welcome guests to the Rusted Gingham 

Barn Sale. What a beauty!

Rusted Gingham is in its sixth year and although it is a small vintage market it packs a 

Lots of fun things at the Barn Sale!

powerful punch of INCREDIBLE vendors with booths full of FABULOUS "vintage, antique, unique,  

handmade, remade, or otherwise made goods."

You see, this is a vintage market with a lot of SOUL and is a great example of what makes our 

Beautiful wares created by Adornments by
Lisa will be at the Rusted Gingham Barn Sale.

Look for Adornments by Lisa for lovely
 items that make great Christmas gifts!

JuNkIn' community so awesome--good 

Sisters Elaine and Betsy of Sisters Treasures will be at the Rusted Gingham Barn Sale.

people creating and showcasing GOODS made with creativity and genuine craftsmanship. 

RUSTED GINGHAM BARN SALE will be held Friday, November 1 from 5-8 p.m. and Saturday, November 2 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at J.B. Wells Showbarn in Gonzales, TX. 

Garden Cat Vintage will be at the Rusted Gingham Barn Sale.

Hope to see ya at the Barn Sale!

Until next time, 

Peace, love, and all the

 good stuff to ya sweet friends!

LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD

Hey, Y'all! After a busy summer and a hectic, crazy year, I'm taking a little time off from road-trippin and setting up at Vintage Markets  and Antique Shows. However, being the enthusiastic JUNKER I am, I never seem to take a 

break from "pickin'." So my booth at Hermann Antique Mall will be getting a whole lotta love and attention in the coming weeks. I have totes

and totes of all things rusty, cowgirl, garden, lacy, vintage, 
primitive,  dainty, and industrial that 

will be making its way to Brenham for the autumn junkin' season. 

I'm also very excited to be a part of the Rusted Gingham Barn Sale in Gonzales the first 

weekend of November. I'll be setting up a truckload of FRESH "Victorian Cowgirl" themed treasures!

Until then, I'll be presenting, "Flea Markets, Funky Old Stuff and Murder, Oh My!" to 

the Heart of Texas Sisters in Crime Mystery Writers group in Austin September 8. 

They've asked me to present how old stuff could possibly become incorporated into a mystery novel...I'm beyond thrilled to be asked to explain how that can and does happen (at least to me!) Which leads me to 

mention what is happening with VINTAGE MURDER, the second book in the Jimmie Rae Flea Market Mystery series. To be honest, I'm still working on the manuscript--I know, I know...I said I'd be done already and have it available by the end of the year. I'm still learning a lot about publishing and although the book will technically be "finished" well before then, there's a lot of pre-release marketing and reviewing that needs to happen. I'm working to do just that to the best of my abilities, but it puts VINTAGE MURDER at a LAUNCH date of March 2014...just in time for the SPRING TEXAS ANTIQUES WEEK! In the meantime, look for some fun contests AND GIVEAWAYS, a-hot-off-the-press-Jimmie Rae Junkin' newsletter, the VINTAGE MURDER cover release, and lots of vintage wedding info...hopefully you'll understand and it will be worth the wait. 

Until then, here's the "blurb" for VINTAGE MURDER. 

Love is in the air for everyone but Jimmie Rae. Maxine Huntington and Steve Devine are engaged and the wedding planning is in full swing. Even her Grandmother Star has found romance. All is going as well as can be expected until something blue is wrapped around the wedding planner's throat and she is found murdered near Blessings Antique Mall. 
What's a girl to do when all the clues point back to her best friend as the primary suspect? It's a whole lot easier to host a pin-up girl bachelorette party than to investigate a case with more twists than a funky macrame plant hanger. 
Jimmie Rae goes beyond her duties as maid of honor to hurry and solve the murder so Maxine can be taken off the suspect list and the wedding can go on as scheduled. 
What she discovers leads her to believe she may not know her best friend as well as she thought she did. Only the admission of a strange secret past can free Maxine. But will her revelation leave her broken-hearted at the altar and directly into the trap of the killer? Can Jimmie Rae save not only their friendship, but her best friend before it's too late?
Stay tuned....

My last happy thought for this post...six weeks until FALL TEXAS ANTIQUES WEEK!! 

Until next time,

Peace, love, and all the good stuff, sweet friends!

SHOPPIN' AT RUSTED GINGHAM'S BARN SALE

Love this old rusty truck Rusted Gingham use for their BARN SHOW.

Hey Y'all! Sometimes the blacktop throws ya a curve or two and ya just have to hang on to the steering wheel and take the change of directions a little slower. That's what recently happened to me. 

Since before last summer I was on board to attend the awesome Rusted Gingham BARN SALE as a vendor setting up my Garden Cat treasures. However, whenever it came down to it, that was just not to be this time. Instead, I was able to make my way to the BARN SALE as a customer and happy JUNK supporter! 

I've a thing for old Ford trucks (so does my
 protag, Jimmie Rae Murphy!) This one is gorgeous!

I couldn't wait to see what all the wonderful buzz was about and to see my dear friends the masterminds of the BARN SALE, Suzanne and Tracy. 

Left to right-Rusted Gingham's,Tracy, Sweet Girl, Moi, and
Rusted Gingham's Suzanne at the Blog Party a few years ago.

I met these sisters-in-law and awesome vintage sale organizers at Sweet T's Blog Party a few years ago at Round Top Antiques Week. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Suzanne and Tracy are women with kind hearts the size of Texas!

At Petticoats on the Prairie in Waxahachie this
past spring. Janie, Tracy, Tracy's auntie, and myself.

Fortunately we've been able to catch up with each other many times down the blacktop.

Amy of Amy  Boland Photography, Suzanne of Rusted Gingham, Kristi of
Checkered Past and moi catching up in San Antonio.

This was the fifth year of the Rusted Gingham Barn Sale, and the first time Suzanne and Tracy have filled the big old show barn FULL of incredible vendors with stacks of great JUNK, vintage treasures, handmade wonderfulness, and tasty treats. There were more than 70 vendors which means lots of GREAT finds!

Lisa of Lisa's Adornments with her beautiful 
 hand-crafted  keepsakes, journals, totes and  smile!

Pretty clutches by Lisa of Lisa's Adornments.

Fun finds!

Some of the treasures from sisters,
 Elaine and Betsy of Sister's Treasures.

Lovely sisters, Elaine and Betsy of Sister's Treasures.

More fun stuff!

Here's a few of the fantastic things I found at the BARN SALE. (I can't show y'all everything because I bought lots of Christmas gifts too!) ;)

Love this cool turquoise Victorian door from Lucky 1300. 

I bought this fantastic primitive cupboard from Suzanne's
booth at the BARN SALE!  It's perfect for my
Victorian  Cowgirl inspired bedroom! 

Until next time, dear friends, take the road less traveled, be thankful, and fill your life with 

PEACE, LOVE, and 

ALL THE GOOD STUFF!