Round Top Trip

I was unable to take hardly any pictures.  I was very stressed - me and crowds don't mix well for one.  However, it was mainly because I HAD to find the front door on this trip.  The plans were on hold for it!

So, in my search, the picture situation fell through.  This is why I will never vlog.  I just cannot be out of what is going on - it is not natural for me.

Anyway, we got there about 9:30 a.m. which was great because it was not hot at that point and the crowds were not horrible yet.  I got a tip from a customer about a vendor with a ton of doors; she gave me directions to these doors but, we soon gathered that she was not the best at directions.

We decided to pay $5 and park in this field that looked like they had a good amount of things.

First thing I came across was this:

Oh, my goodness, I fell hopelessly in love with this!  Dutch Doors, stained glass, beautiful.  It was also $2,400.  Double gulp.  We tried for 2 hours to send a picture to my husband and also the builder.  Finally it got through.  They are windows!  LMAO!!!  We could still make them into doors, but it would take quite a bit of work and they sellers would not budge on price and insisted they were doors.

I walked away.

We walked and walked and walked.  I saw these cute pieces and wanted to take them home, but at $65 each - I thought they were overpriced and did not know where I would put them either.  They also would sit in storage for a while.

Also, I was looking for our outside dining table - preferably wood with metal or a copper inlay - something like that.  I came across this farm table, but also over priced - $2200

You really could find good deals, you just had to walk and look and walk and look.  It took all day!

My sister found a table for $175 that was really unique and her style completely.  I did not get a picture of it - bummer!  I thought I had!

All the time we were looking, we were trying to get pictures to our spouses.  But around 3:30, we were done.  We had long walked our 10,000 steps, were sunburnt, hardly eaten anything (we did drink water though) and were just about ready to call it quits, when I almost hit a police officer eyeing these doors.

Although this was not exactly what I wanted, it was in the same style.   We decided that this would be our last stop.  Remember, I have zero faith that I will find anything at this point.

We walk in and I find a door I kind of like - it is $350 and will do, but I wanted something a little more interesting.  I started talking to the door designer and builder and I ask if he has more of the clavos to go on the door to make it look a little more custom.  He did not, unfortunately, but he pointed me a direction to another door. 

Now, it does not have to top arch like I wanted, but this door is stunning!  The picture does it absolutely no service.  It was hand scrapped by him and sat as a show piece for his store at one time.  He had a hard time letting it go because it held so much meaning to him - which he told me as he was loading it on the truck.

It still has an eyebrow arch like I wanted, clavos, and the hand scrapping is around the perimeter.  It really does look so much better in person.  The best part, his wife is a stained glass artist and she is making us a custom piece to go in the arch - in oranges, blues and greens.  I have to lightly sand and restain it as well as giving it a few good coats of polyurethane, but the $1,000 was completely worth it!  This is one of a kind door with custom stained glass - I could not have asked for more.

Now, both of us were rejuvenated and wanted to explore this field of tents that seemed to be all about the furniture.  At the same tent where I bought the door, my sister bought a necklace rack and then we stepped out the other side of the tent.

To the most amazing display of wood table on iron footings.  It literally took my breath away!  I saw an 8' table in a deep, rich, dark brown that I wanted to lay on and kiss, but I thought it might be too expensive.  The seller (a guy) was a jerk, but rattled off the price.  My sister saw the same table on the other end of the tent that was 7' long.  PERFECT!  I did not even try to text Darrell, I just started counting out the $100s and bought it.

Then the seller became my best friend.  I told him I was building a house and our dining room was outside in a covered screened patio and that is when he told me - this wood is teak, reclaimed from a boat!  He forged the footing himself however and it is incredibly heavy.  This is so perfect!  No, I did not get the copper inlays, but I will put a copper bowl on top of it!  It is so gorgeous!

There was another couple who walked away thinking about it.  But at a place like this, you have to be ready to put the money on the line - an cash won!  Now, I did pay $1400 for this table with no chairs and that is expensive, but this is the perfect table.  Literally - it was in my dreams!  I paid for it with my money I made from quilting and is the only real splurge I am going to do.  This table will be with us for years - because I highly doubt I will ever tire of looking at it.

That was it though.

So, we drove very slow home because we had to have the tailgate down since the table was 7 ft long and the door was 8 ft tall!

Darrell could not stop gushing and gushing and gushing.  Even today, he is going on and on over how beautiful it is.  His favorite is the table, but he cannot visualize the door just yet.

My overall opinion of the whole market is 90% of it junk.  You have to sift through the rest to find the deals.  You will pay for quality, probably meet the artists, builders and TAKE CASH!  It saved me tax.