Round Top, Texas!!!

Round Top is always a good time!  We had so much fun shopping the fields of Texas and finding some really cool pieces to bring back to Down Home!  Part of the fun of Texas is driving around the small towns  ~ I love all the scenery, especially the old buildings - so charming!

 And of course, I love the long horn steer!!! 

And, the Blue Bonnets are amazing!!!  So pretty this time of year!!!

But, let's get to the most exciting part - the shopping!!! After all, that is what we go to Texas to do!!!  Besides getting some amazing finds, I also love all the dealers who bring fabulous pieces and create inspiring displays!  Many have become friends of ours and we enjoy the social aspects of Round Top as well - catching up with people we haven't seen for a few months!  But, again back to the shopping...I found a couple of great harvest tables, as well as several smaller farmhouse tables.   And, of course, a great selection of cupboards!  And a couple of early pieces that I can't wait to get into my "Little House on The Prairie"  room at Down Home!  We found all sorts of interesting smalls; some hooked rugs; salt glaze pottery; great wire totes and carriers and baskets; stools and benches; several signs, lots of fun galvanized metal pieces, some great industrial pieces, folk art, and so much more!

 In Warrenton!

At Marburger!

 After days and days of shopping, the container was filled and ready to head to California!  

We're back in California and the container came yesterday! It's unloaded, but we have some work to do!  Can't wait to get these treasures into Down Home!!!

 Follow us on Facebook, and we'll let you know when a load is coming in!

See y'all soon!

Bird Brain!

I've always loved birds and at times I've thought of myself as a "bird watcher."  When my girls were little, we would go camping and hang pine cones coated with peanut butter and birdseed all around our camp site just to lure the birds!  I love this time of year when the birds are making their nests and are busily flitting about right outside my kitchen window.  They often build their nests under the eaves of my roof or in the trees in my front yard.  When they're done and have abandoned their nests, I often salvage the nest for my own collection.

My favorite is a little intricately woven birdie Bjorn-like nest.  It is made of horse hair and the polyester fibers from the twine that bound the hay bales. It's just so amazing!!!

Just a quick note about collecting nests, make sure you put them in a zip lock bag and place in the freezer at least overnight to make sure any mites, etc. are gone before bringing them into your home. You can also do this with straw stuffed teddy bears or cloth pull toys, etc.


 I have a couple of birdbaths and the birds take full advantage of them!  It's so cute how they splash about in the water to get clean.  They always put a little show on for me as I wash dishes!

My backyard has been a bit of a swallow refuge in the past.  They don't come back every year, but quite often.  The only problem with Swallows is they make mud nests.  They get dirt in their beak, and then swoop into my pool and get water to make a beak-full of mud, and then make their little adobe nests under the eaves in the back of my house.  Half the mud lands in my pool and on my patio as they diligently work  It's quite fascinating, really!

Of course, being the collector that I am, I have been drawn to collecting bird related items. Love old books on birds!

I've found a couple of cute bird lamps!

 And I love, love, love hand carved wooden bird folk art!

At Down Home, we have all sorts of bird related antiques in stock right now! There are bird baths, bird cages, bird books, bird houses!  Love our little feathered friends!

xo, Peggy