Category — LUVin’ 2 LiVE. LiviN 2 LUv.

SXSW. one of the largest outdoor music festivals in the world. appropriately held in the live music capitol of the world…austin, texas. folks travel from near and far to attend SXSW…celebrities, rock stars, and media moguls. and this year, HGTV rocked the fest.

{presenting the studio by HGTV..art by you}

and when HGTV comes to town, they bring their A-game…

hosting their own venue…the STuDIO by hgtv…decorated by THE NOVOGRATZ…and featuring a stellar lineup of musicians.

and WE were invited to chill with our new buds, the property brothers…

{chillin in the STuDIO by hgtv...decorated by THE NOVOGRATZ}

we made good use of the photobooth…

as rod stewart says, some guys have all the luck…

{showin drew some love...}

we graffiti’d…

{JG hearts HGTV}

we met some of the awesomely awesome geniouses behind the heart & soul at HGTV…

{bigggg hello to robyn & denise ...HGTV superheroes!!}

we made darn sure we weren’t grouchy or irritable when we grabbed some tacos down the road from the STUDIO…

{seriously y'all. don't be a hater}

 and saw austin as we’ve never seen it before…

{austin + approximately 300K people}

 and that’s the way HGTV rolls…

*thanks to sarah wilson & HGTV for all the awesome pics!

antiques week is imminent…and to us junkers, we’re about as giddy as a kid on christmas morning.

today marks day 5 of set up…we’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there.

buuuuut we’ve had a few distractions along the way…

like this door….

{hello, beautiful. quite naturally we belong together.}

(which we just HAD to buy from matt white of recycling the past at EXCESS.)

and this little piece of heaven…

{amie navigating through the masses of wonderful junk at northgate field.}

and these lovebirds…well, they just made my day with their chippy peely decadence…

{you had me at chippy peely concrete lovebirds...}

 this is our macy’s…

{bar W field}

our happy place…

{excess field}

our junk therapy…

{vintage boots on the cheap at dead people's stuff at ZaPP}

{awesome old green jars & olive buckets at 'more than antiques' in northgate field}

{more good stuff at ExCESS}

and look at the AweSOME, amazing, GIaNT, love-em-forever, sconces we scored for our new store…

{seriously...you could travel the world for this stuff...orrrrr just come to texas}

today’s fleamarket morning…

{GoD bless the country...where life moves a little bit slower...}

WHERE we ARE: ZAPP haLL , directions HERE.

spring 2012 show dates: march 30-april 7

hours: 9ish-darkish

JUnK-O-RAMA prom: thursday, april 5 @ the gypsy tent

no tickets required!! FREE to all!!!

it’s reallllly a travesty. a true-blue tragic reality. and it’s practically IMPOSSIBLE for us to understand. BUT, the word on the street is that SOME of you… HAVE. NOT. BEEN. to. ANTIQUES. week.  

{gasp}

i must take a moment to compose myself.

OK…so a quick little post to give the NEW kiDS on the BLoCK & the ANtiQUES week veterans, (aka. the never-say-die JuNKin ROAD WaRRIORs) the 411 scoop on the most important & most recent WHATCHA-GOTTA-KNOW deets of antiques week. antiques week 101 if you will.

as OFFiCiAL ambassadors of JUNK, we feel it’s our duty to keep y’all posted on all the exciting happenings of antiques WEEK.

leave no woman behind. leave no piece of junk un-turned.

there’s always quite a bit of confusion as to WHEN antiques week begins…and the answer to this is as clear as, well, mud. every field has different opening dates and while some junkers welcome early shoppers, others prefer you wait until they are officially open.

we set up at ZaPP hALL in warrenton…it’s where the cool kids are. actually there is great, awesome JUNk everywhere at antiques week, as far as the eye can see…and if you have time, you should cover as much ground as possible!

{the biggo texas sky and zapp hall. image: keely marie scott}

everyone always asks what to wear…and we have observed, that antiques week has it’s own sense of fashion couture. if your boots were made for walkin, wear them kicks. if not, wear COMFORTABLE shoes.

another must: a HAT. cowboy hat, sun hat, baseball cap…whatever fits your fancy, just bring a hat…the TeXAS sun is biG & bright and the fields are, for the most part, not shaded.

ALSO, pack sunglasses, sunscreen, cash, a tape measure, your camera, and a good backpack or tote bag.

just remember…anything goes…

and more is MoRE…

the good news is…if you forget any of the above, you can more than likely find it at antiques week!

FoR JuNK-O-RaMA prom “shag-carpet couture”…refer to CaCTUS CREEK DaiLY’s “WHaT TO wEAR” post.

NoW…get ready! pack yer gear! leave all worries, anxiety, and STReSS at home!

THIS. IS. YOUR. SOUL. VACATION.

do NOT miss that memo!!!

i repeat…

THIS.

IS.

YOUR.

SOUL.

VACATION.

now hit the ROAD & get yer BOOTY to the FLEAMaRKET!

**************************

breakin’ it down…

WHERE we ARE: ZAPP haLL , directions HERE.

spring 2012 show dates: march 30-april 7

hours: 9ish-darkish

JUnK-O-RAMA prom: thursday, april 5 @ the gypsy tent

no tickets required!! FREE to all!!!

(click HERE to see keely’s pics from FALL 2011 prom!!)

stay tuned for biggg news on another awesomely exciting evenT during antiques week!! (hint: hgtv+jg+meg caswell)

there’s something about a photoshoot that i love. that we all love. it’s exciting. it’s new.

for this shoot we were inspired by roadside stops and old merle haggard songs. dusty, crusty ole codgers and all things americana. we were born free and we were born to dream.

we get seriously EXCITED every day around 4:45pm when nacho our UPS driver shows up with new goods. new jewelry. decor. threads. goods that we’ve scoured near and far, high and low in search of…goods that we LOVE and hope you do too.

it’s like christmas morning every time a new tee design rolls in the door.

and i LOVE that we still LOVE our new stuff. and since we only do a big photoshoot 3-4 times a year, it’s always fun to pull out all the new goods and play dress up.

for this photoshoot, our supermodel is a local mom. we met ranell while shooting our HGTV series…watch for her in an upcoming episode! but until then, she’s our cat-walkin’, super-vogue, supermodel.

the scene of the crime:

the merry christmas bar…right here in round top. originally known as M.E. SCHULZE grocery. but here’s the story….way back when, mr. schulze wasn’t very festive around christmas time so one year the local townspeople decided to decorate for him by mounting a giant sign atop the store. christmas came and went. and the sign remained. eventually, the market/watering hole/local gathering spot became known as the merry christmas bar. and to this day, the sign remains and so does the name. mr. schulze just left that ole sign there to be ornery…and now, it just adds to the awesome-ness. and y’all, this is the stuff that makes little old towns so cool…the fact that places like the merry christmas bar still remain…and they have a history. a story. and now we can keep the legend going. (and by the way…watch for the ole merry christmas bar in an upcoming HGTV episode too!)

and while we were doing this outside…

{"despite all my sunday learning...towards the bad i kept on turning" - merle haggard}

here’s what was going on inside…

{the stories these walls could tell...}

about 500 more shots outside…

{amen. and amen.}

{native american inspired}

{love this shot. and hell yes, these boots are beyond bad to the bone}

these thelma & louise style shots had little purpose for showin the goods but we couldn’t resist…

{dashboard therapy. daydreamin through the windshield}

they’re some of my faves…

{catchin' dreams}

 meanwhile…back at the ranch…

{archie gettin vogue in her fave new tee}

 and we outfitted ranell with more newwww stuff…

{dreamcatcher.}

and yes…we were each doubling as photographer, stylist, supermodel & moms…kids were in tow…

{ranell's daughter gettin some camera time}

{turquoise love.}

 annnnd another wardrobe…

{kiss my biscuits.}

 see no evil…

{one of my fave new bracelets...the harlow. vintage glam.}

day 2 was a rainy, rainy day…we took refuge in our new under-construction building…

and day 3 was fast & furious…

with only 1 tee to shoot…our new exclusive for miranda lambert design…

{fastest girl in town.}

that’s it for now…hope y’all dig the new goods!! check em out hErE!! and let us know what y’all think!!!

**P.S. we’ve been having a few technical issues in gypsyville…y’all please bear with us as we are working hard to get ‘em fixed! we’ve begged and pleaded with our web company…i wonder if they’ve met duke? :)

grit.

amie and i were taught many things as kids…how to ride a bike, always say thank you, don’t skip school (oh wait, wrong family)…anywho, you get the point.

but probably definitely (you like that? “probably definitely”…yes, it is a correct form of speech…i just made it up..because i’m indecisive. probably definitely.) one of the most important things we were taught is how to work. we were taught the value of physical labor.

gettin’ down and dirty.

{loading trailers in the rain at BiG stATE fest.}

sweat-on-your-brow and dirt-under-your-fingernails type of work. muscles achin’, back-breakin’, baby-needs-a-new-pair-of-shoes kind of work.

GRIT.

we were raised with no gender limitations. in fact, my favorite shirt when i was a little girl said: “anything boys can do, girls can do better.”

{sportin my FAVE said glitter tee}

we were taught how to build fence, use power tools, how to properly go muddin’ on a 4-wheeler (i think we actually probably definitely figured that one out on our own)…

{amie rockin' the rotary sander at antiques week}

{yep, that's me...using an air nibbler}

we didn’t learn how to work by being FORCED….to do chores. to work in the restaurant. to ‘earn our keep’.

{preparing for JuNK-a-PaLOOZa...yes, it was about 1098 degrees that day}

{because this chandelier was just begggggging to be pink}

we learned from watching them. mom and dad, side by side. working. and laughing. and keeping the family together through those 2 things.

{mom and amie makin' on-location rustic chandeliers for miranda's wedding}

{mom, amie, t-smitty, dad...workin' hard to pull off miranda's reception}

which i believe now is the reason we love hard work. we appreciate and respect it. dare i say, we revere it.

{loading trailers in the rain (again) at FriDAY NiGHT LiGHTS episode}

and yes, we enjoy it.

{yep...loadin in the mud....again. GoD bless mother nature.}

there’s something about being out of your office. away from your desk. disconnected. and reconnecting with the value of manual labor. working with your hands. your head. and your muscles. there’s something great about accomplishing something concrete. something you can feel and see. and pat yourself on the back for.

{anything boys can do....}

and through hard work, all things seem to have more intrinsic value.

which i guess is why they call it sweat equity.

get out there. get some sweat equity in something. and be a real rebel….leave your cell phone in the car. it’ll make the sweat even sweeter.