Starting 2020 Off Right

Not having blogged for a year is no excuse, so let me give you a run down what has happened in the past year. I guess time has just gotten away from me and I hope to blog more this year. Our house caught on fire December 3, 2018. So we literally spent the entire year of 2019 renovating our home. It was a very stressful time but I know God was truly watching out for our family. We were not home when this happened but our son was and he was able to call the Fire Department quickly. The best part is that he woke up before the fumes engulfed him and he made it out safely in time. This is the best part of all this ordeal.

Now that our house has been totally renovated, we are living in a blank slate. I haven't decided what all will be brought into our home and what I want to part with. I'm actually enjoying this blank slate. Something I never thought I'd say because I had surrounded myself with so many things over the years.

We've also reached one year of selling monthly at First Monday Trade Days in Canton Texas and are actually going into our second year. So I thought it might be fun to show you some of this past years highlights of a few of my favorite treasures that I found and parted with (some of them I wish I hadn't but so it is in this business) and some of my most liked posts on Instagram.

I had driven down the road where this house was located several times over the years and had always noticed these vintage signs. You could tell by the main sign that it was a "Country Boutique" junk shop/antique shop. On a whim I shared it on Facebook and a friend told me who the owners were. I contacted them and asked them if they wanted to sell the signs. She asked me to call her back since she wanted to think about it. Well several years passed by and finally this past year after having driven by this place again I thought you know I better call because they may not be here again. The owner willingly sold them to me and said she had planned to reopen the store again but then after having done Round Top for years and since she was now in a mall she probably would never open again. I'm happy to now own these signs.

One of the highlights of this past year was finding this awesome green workbench table from a favorite vendor. He told me it originally was in a guys workshop. It was the perfect shade of green and I saw so many possibilities with it. It quickly sold and is now located in a great store in Cleburne Texas.

This apothecary cabinet was so heavy that my husband had to add wheels to it just to be able to move it. I loved it for the short time I had it but it too quickly sold. It was a fun piece to decorate and I saw so many possibilities with it too. I believe it now resides in Cuero Texas.

Part of the fun of being an Antique Dealer is getting to keep a few things. For years I didn't keep much and sold almost everything I bought, but this past year I decided to keep more, like this awesome Zinc Awning (I actually have three) that came from a French Chateau. I had them for sale a few times when we did the Round Top show but they never sold so I decided I probably would never find another. I'm hoping to use them soon for a building project we hope to start in the next few months. Those cottage doors sold the first month I took them to Canton. The sign that reads Pine Hill Cafe was bought from a friend years ago and just never could part with it or the beautiful white urn that I really cherish.

Now these garden statues have a neat story. They belonged to a master gardener that had them imported from England. I bought so many garden antiques at this sale that it took two loads to get them home. I sold half the load and kept half.

When I bought this awesome Stepback Cupboard in Round Top I had hoped it would work in my home but since it didn't I decided to sell it. I did get to enjoy it a few months but then an Arkansas dealer came along and bought it along with several other great things.

One of the highlights of each season Spring and Fall is to attend the Marburger Farm Antique Show. Here is one of the fabulous booths that was seen there one year. There are so many dealers and so many awesome booths and treasures that you really need more than one day to shop this show. Be sure to get there on opening day to see the fabulous displays. If you wait until later in the show you'll have missed so many awesome displays and things.

Here's another awesome display that I loved creating this past year in my booth at First Monday Trade Days in Canton. The salemans sample dresser is now in my home. I just couldn't seem to part with it or the old Grocery store sign that had been painted over many times. The Zinc Top Table either went to Marburger Farm or Excess field, the dealer that bought it has a booth in both shows. I'm sure he made it look fabulous. All the architectural pieces sold as well.

This cute green cabinet/pie safe was such a favorite find. I loved the green color so much and it didn't bother me that it was missing the original doors. I could so envision it in a potting shed. This too went to a fabulous dealer out of state.

I always looked so forward to stopping by Old Glory Antiques in Round Top every chance I got. This was one of my favorite vignettes they had last season. Actually everything that Holly, the owner does, is my favorite. She has such a great eye for design and display. If you don't have her new book, New Americana, I highly recommend getting her book. I have so many pages marked. It's full of great ideas and vignettes and decorating advise. I'm going to do an entire post to Old Glory Antiques so be watching for this really soon.

The last picture was the top nine posts liked this past year on Instagram. You can check out this full post on my Instagram Account under Walker 1791 Salvage and Design.

I'm also on Facebook and I hope you'll check out this page as well. I hope to be adding pics in the near future on the SHOP section of this website. Thanks for stopping by and please visit us at one of the shows mentioned either on Facebook or Instagram.

Hope to see you on the Junkin Road...