One Gal's Trash in the Lone Star State!

(photo courtesy of Debra Callahan York)

That's right cowgirls, I'm packin' my Stetson and my sunscreen and headin' to the land of Bluebonnets and deep fried turkey legs! I'll be in Texas before midnight tonight, for 5 days of junkin' at Marburger in Round Top, Zapp Hall & Antique Weekend in Warrenton, some of the best (and rumor has it...wildest!) antiques shows in the whole U.S. of A.

(istockphoto.com)

An even bigger thrill for me is finally getting to meet Sue of Vintage Rescue Squad and Deb of Talking Trash. These gals top my list of Best-Friends-I-Have-Not-Yet-Met. You can bet there's going to be some serious cacklin' and gossipin' going on until the wee hours of the morning! Yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay!

A Ginormous Gift From a Friend

Remember this post? When I talked about getting my grubby hands on a vintage classroom map? Well my old chum Julia read that post, and took it upon herself to find one for me! What did I do to deserve such a friend?

It's spectacular!

Warning: the following photos go beyond simple show-and-tell and cross the line into boasting.

I'm planning a trip to France to visit Julia in May. When the 2 of us are together, junking and cackling, those Frenchies aren't going to know what hit 'em!

Fruit, Flowers, Wood and Glass

I finally got around to emptying the bags from last weekend's junk adventure on the Oregon coast.

Sweet plate painted with hydrangeas and figs.

White porcelain French plate with gold polka dot trim.

An old painted cedar float used for fishing nets. (Still smells a little briny!)

Milk Glass candlesticks...I'm thinking turquoise candles.

And Hazel Atlas glasses with a garden theme...including a white picket fence. (Does it get any better? I think not.) The set was priced at $1.99, but that day, blue stickers were 75% off. So that means....Wait, I have to do math, I'll be right back.

So that means, I got both of them for 49 cents.

A Quandary

I drove one of these babies during my college years while living in The O.C. My 1977 Mustang was blue. All of the other students at UC Irvine drove chocolate brown convertible BMWs, but I'm not bitter or anything. Anyway, this golden girl is up for sale near our house. Meanwhile, a few blocks away...

this sweet thing is also on the market. I've been wanting to trade in the Dodge for a Super Duper Mini Cooper for EVER. The Cooper is adorable of course, but the Mustang has a lot more room for junk in the trunk. If I was going to get one, which one would you recommend?

Big News and a Favor...

Hello to all of my Trashy Pals...
After years of attending junk sales and antiques shows, both as a buyer and a vendor, I am taking a big, but logical, step.

I'm thrilled to announce my collaboration with Maria Raleigh of Collage in creating the Plucky Maidens Junk Fest. Our first Fest will be held this summer at McMenamins Edgefield in beautiful Troutdale, Oregon. (Just about 20 minutes east of Portland.) The date is Thursday, August 18th from 1PM-dusk. All of the restaurants and pubs on the property will be open for our shoppers and there will be live music starting at 6 to play us into the twilight. Just leave a comment for me here if you would like more information about being a vendor at this fabulous new show!

Also....
Would you please visit our Facebook page and "LIKE" us? We are trying to get the word out for vendors (in the short term) and of course, shoppers. Lots and lots of shoppers!
Thanks,
xoxo
Pam

The Artistic Glory of Garbage

On our recent trip to Cart'M, we found out we had missed the party of the year that was held the night before. It's called the TRASH BASH. Lucky for us, the art show was still in place.

Here's some of what we saw...Keep in mind, all of this gorgeous stuff was made with poubelle...which is the French word for garbage and sounds a lot more elegant.

It's blue hour.

A fiesty Fido made from an enamel roasting pan, rusty tools and casters.

A huge, creepy, crawly arachnid.

Lovely assemblages made by a local artist...



and my favorite objet...a dress made from wire and blue & white tulle. Someone actually wore this fabulous frock the night before at the "TRASHION SHOW".

Now, that's an event I will never miss again.

The Rain will Eventually Stop...Won't It?

Two old glass floats + vintage shell encrusted vases + a "Seaswirl" boat nameplate =
Summer on a windowsill.

OGT's Junk in a Boutique Window!

There's a super cute boutique called Shop Adorn next to Found on Fremont. Nicole, a.k.a. Ms. Shop Adorn, asked me if I had anything nautical for her spring front window. Do I have anything?? Do you know me???
So....here's some of my junk looking fab in a shop window:

Old boat motor blade

Vintage clam basket full of wooden floats

Pirate's treasure...Yaarrghh!

Aquamarine fish net floats and bottles.

OGT's next stop: Barney's New York!

How to make things as complicated as possible

Girls, who among us has had a garage sale? I think it's safe to say that if we haven't hosted one, we have been to plenty. Otherwise, you wouldn't be reading a blog entitled "One Gal's Trash" now, would you? You'd be on the Pottery Barn site or Anthropologie or something. But I digress.

The point is this: When you have a sale, you have spent so much time getting ready; sorting, pricing, making signs, etc. that by the time the sale actually starts, you just want the whole thing to be over as quickly and painlessly as possible.

I went to a sale recently that had the most confusing pricing strategy I have ever seen. They must have wanted to make sure that people would have to stand in line 10 times longer than necessary in order to count nickels. Here are a few examples:

Microwave $31.25

Green clear glass dish $3.75

Set of 4 shot glasses $1.35

Crashing coastal waves oil painting $6.25

I was just about to stomp out of there in bemused frustration when I found a package of vintage wrapping paper. Price: 30 cents. I paid the cashier with a dime, 3 nickels and 5 pennies.

The Other Stuff...

Last weekend I went to the beach and did a little junking. I do that sometimes. I showed you some of my booty here, but the (mostly) bigger stuff has been held hostage in the back of the Dodge due to days of relentless rain. Today we had glorious sun, so I unloaded the rest of the junk.

Vintage cookie cutters just like my mom (...or was it my grandma?) had.

A boat motor blade...it weighs a ton. It's destined for the garden at the hut.

Somebody's grandpa made this charming blue bateau a few decades ago. It's a little rough around the edges. I am totally in love with it.

Wooden buoys of every hue. Note the nautical theme here?

There's nothin' like junkin' on the Oregon Coast

Have a seat girls, and let me show you some of the treasures I found...

Gorgeous and ginormous paper flowers (pink!), a dainty pile of 6 vintage slips and camisoles that were so cheap, I'm embarrassed to tell you what I paid for them.

Santa S & P, a sweet sewing basket, a box of old dominos, vintage ribbon, floral Italian coasters, Anderson tartan playing cards and a bag o' colorful vintage appetizer picks.

Colorful jig saw puzzles, doily shaped game pieces and fabulous snowman ornaments. Note: I still haven't put this year's Christmas stuff away...so please don't tell my husband I just acquired more.

Pretty girl figurine, Mad Men decanter, Chambord bottle, vintage picture blocks and a deck of playing cards that don't have numerals. I have never seen these cards before...does anyone know anything about them?

The beautiful box that holds the picture blocks.
Which is your favorite?

The Best Thing About Olympia, Washington

We took our annual holiday trip to Olympia to visit Fun Junk. Well, the actual purpose of the trip is to see my husband's family, but my consolation prize is an excursion to Fun Junk. Here's how the shop looks this year...











Stop by and say hello to Nancy. And tell her that One Gal's Trash sent you!
3644 Mud Bay Road ~ Olympia, WA ~ 98502