BARN SALE DAY TOMORROW!

Tomorrow another sale day and it's going to be a hot one. I start early(between 6:30 and 7:00) bringing items out and setting up the tents to try and be ready by 1:00. It's exhausting. Most of it is done by myself. My husband does help with the tents and then he's off to church(where I should be!). I decided last year to try and have the barn open once a month on a Sunday. I get more Sunday's off from work and there's not as much competition with things for people to do(yard work, ball games, grocery shopping, etc). I wanted to be some place a person could go for a Sunday drive. Little did I know how much more work it is to put up 2-3 tents(which are needed with the hot sun and no shade) and all the extra stuff that has filled this barn in the last year. I'm always working on a plan, thinkin what could be done better. My best friend, Teresa(Tete-beyond the Garden Gate) is a big help with that. She's full of ideas and suggestions. She's a great sounding board and wonderful support. Thanks Teresa. Well, on to my real job for the day and then it's time to do the pre-planning(it's almost like a party!) Hope to see you all there-I love meeting new friends, and of course-seeing the old ones!

Barn Sale Coupon

I sent out a few of these to my favorite customers and then(having a marketing degree)decided to post one to see if anyone would bring one of these with them to the next sale -This Sunday!

Hope to see you there!

Newspaper Article From Paper

This is the article that was in the newspaper before the last barn sale where our barn was on the barn tour for Oakland Landmarks(Historical society that I'm a part of ). I was so excited!!!!!! To get free advertising is wonderful. This shows the back of the sale barn. We had a great turnout and a lot of fun!!!

My Obsession with/Collection of Metal Lawn Chairs

Well we've got some sticks to burn-wanted to do that on the 4th but it was too windy. I keep several of my chairs around the fire. My husband's working on painting the back fence(that's another story) and you can see how tall the corn already is. Our outhouse in the back (I have a great [past post on that!) Hope you're 4th was Fun!

A pair of these-need to get out them out of barn Bought this one yesterday-couldn't resist the pink! Bought this one last week-different with the smaller scroll back

Fun Yellow This one needs a paint job-bad-I have three so one's off to Ella Maes for the next sale! Two of these-one in red-I put it out for the fall display Two of these-love to have them around the fire pit in pairs

I have three of these in white so one is going to Ella Maes for the next sale. I also have one in red and one in blue for my red/white/blue display! Another chair still in the barn-my favorite color -pink This is probably the most common style of chair I see when antiquing Only have one of these-simple style-needs some attention Shell back style-I have two of these This one needs some TLC -don't know what color to paint?-my dad found this one -I don't have one of these in my collection-so I may have to buy it from him Still sitting in the barn-love the color and extra detail-haven't seen another one of these

Whew -are you tired of looking at these-because I'm tired of posting them. I thought these might be of some interest because they're all so different-like we all are. That's what makes it fun-kinda like putting different chairs around the dining room table!

I usually like all my outdoor furniture to be white-we have a large yard and everything seems cohesive when it's all white. That's why my colored chairs are still in the barn, I only pull them out for special occasions like a party or holiday. These metal chairs are great for my yard because they're heavy enough to not blow away(we don't have a wind block and we see some pretty crazy winds out here on the flat prairie! They're fun to have sitting around-waiting for friends to stop by!

Friday and Saturday's Finds

Old Speaker book-I like having these old books around-it's fun to read and look at them with the oil lamps when the electricity goes out-which seems to happen around here in the winter alot. For a short time it lets you feel like you're living back in the old days.

Really long tray-It will be going to the antique store ($22) if my friend Teresa isn't interested in it. I had seen this picture a few years ago with several of these hanging on the wall- and she had a similiar idea. Great message board with magnets.

Enamelware tops(great for the barn sale-they look neat on a wall for dish towels), small santa cup, vintage valentine planter, and swan planter along with some dishes

Light up owl, glass owl bank, and skull-fun Halloween stuff

Not a lot of sales this weekend with all the festivities. I sometimes like it that way. There are quite a few antique dealers in our area and I live about 1/2 hour from where I go. I always seem to be there just a step behind them. I still seem to find a few little items and that makes it worth going. I've been trying to think about all the holidays/seasons so I can be ready and supplied when they come. Of course-I'm always looking for Halloween. My friend Teresa says that we need to put Halloween in the booth at the end of July, first of August. I know that sounds early, but the dealers will be buying for their booths. I'm always ready to get rid of the extra Christmas decorations since I work retail and don't have the energy or time to decorate or enjoy them.

4th of July Decorations-2010

This was one of my first favorite decorating ideas-simple, but it makes a fun statement. I like the look of these little children's chairs-still need to find a white one to complete it.

My favorite bench(that's another story)! These flags need a little TLC, but I always put them in the watering cans !

I'd like to put something else in the wagon-any ideas????

This needs some work. I may run the flag thru the trellis and put some flowers and flags in the watering can.

Just started getting out the 4th of July decorations. Not sure if we'll have company or not. My mom's birthday is the 4th (how fun is that)(my sister's is today and my dad's is the 22nd-busy July) and I thought they would be coming over until tonite-after I started pulling all this stuff out! She may go to one of her friend's party-whatever makes her happy-we'll still sit around the bonfire and watch for fireworks from several other towns(we live in the country on flat ground). I usually don't put the flags out early because some of them are REALLY old. I don't want them to get damaged or more faded. I still need to clean everything off, but wanted to try and get things placed this evening. I work until 10:00 tomorrow nite and won't get to do the little stuff until Sunday. It's kinda fun-except it only lasts a few days. I prefer to decorate for Halloween! My friend had to tell me tonite that she's already got my present for Halloween(we decided last year to trade bags) so I'll have to suffer for at least two more months! I hope you all have a wonderful 4th celebrating the freedom that we shouldn't take for granted. I'll try and post more on Sunday!

4th of July Shoes?

Anyone who knows me -even a little-knows I love shoes. Not just any shoes. Fun shoes-to the tune of a few hundred pairs. So when I saw these shoes last year on clearance-I had to have them. My mother(she doesn't understand my obsession with shoes(and a lot more)) tried to talk me out of buying them. Then the salesclerk mentioned how great they'd be with a 4th of July outfit-SOLD!!!!! I love to dress for the seasons and the holiday. I rarely wear anything twice in a year. I work at a retail store(where I get a good discount) and I shop garage sales and thrift stores. I love to mix and match things -some from a few years ago with newer items. It's a challenge I create for myself. Life is too short-be daring-wear that outfit or piece that makes YOU happy. I've told customers that the item that you finally talk yourself into wearing is the one thing you'll get the most compliments from.