LaWDY, LaWDY…it’s been sooo long! as y’all may have guessed, our ‘out in the middle of nowhere’ internet connection left me the day after the last post, never to return. soooo here we are, [a hundred years later it seems] back home…sorting through all the good timin’ memories of yet another show. 

there’s so much to tell…from the AiRSTREaM REveAL & MirANDA’s ReACTion, from TeNT set-up to FleaMARkeT FINDs,

from JUnK-O-RaMA prom to tons o’ good times… 

{SuNSET at the RoADSiDE BArS & PinK GuiTARS AiRSTREAM reveal}

 her first reactions… 

{amie moving aside the FLeaMARkET velvet rope....MirANDA's first glimpse}

 and of course…the FiNALLY finished product… 

{interior shot the night of the reveal...sooo many more details to tell you about!}

 MiRaNDA lovin on the ‘JUsT liKE a gypSY GuiTAR with WinGS’ sconce….(more on this later, we promise!) 

{AmiE & me with RaN seeing her 'JuST LiKE A gypSY' sconce for the first time}

awww…. group hug… 

{sharin' the love with a group hug}

 to all of our GreAT FLeAMArKET MeMORIeS… 

{the somewhat completed tent set-up}

{SyRIAN chandelier above the counter...with our super-sized CaT canVAS in the background}

{yep, that would be our sweet AmY ALLeN...on a mechanical bull...beside a teepee...just your everyday, ordinary kinda scene}

 and of course, no WaRRENTON antiques week is complete without pics in the WonDERiFFIC JG ouTHOUSE turned photobooth! 

{strikin a pose the day after prom}

 and speaking of JUnK-O-RaMA prom….

{night falls on the FLEaMARkET as the JOhN EvANS band gets the party started}(thanks to anthologieimages.com for the pic)

soooo as if this AiRSTReaM projeCt wasn’t already a bit of a RoLLER coaster ride, we received a late night phone call the night before our final day of work giving us an OFFiCIAL change of plans.

{we could show ya more, buuuuut.....}

stay with me here…this may get a little confusing…

PLaN A: the AiRSTREAM HAD TO BE completed by TuESDAY, MarCH 16th. A top-secret-undercover-officially-unofficial-operative agent was to arrive at the warehouse at 0600 hours (actually, i have NO idea what 0600 hours is…i just put that to sound MiSSION: Impossible-ish). The driver was to hitch the completed AiRSTREAM to his undercover truck and “dead-head” it (that’s trucker lingo for ‘to move an empty vehicle along a route’) to WeST VirGinIA where it would be officially delivered and revealed to MirANDA for the first time.

BuT when MirANDA heard of PLaN A, she decided that just didn’t fit her fancy.

PLaN B: MiRANDA & a few of her rowdiest friends are gonna load up in her pick-up truck and high tail it to TeXAS southern style. the OFFiCIAL reveal will be somewhere in TeXAS at some point in the near future…

whew! …and the saga continues…..

MeANWHiLE…out in the shop…

{dad's shop...kickin' it old school style}

remember those amazing planks of carved up wood from the one-and-only DiXIE ChiCKEN?

{you just haven't lived until you've carved your name in a table at the DiXIE chiCKEN}

we thought with a little woodworking-prowess, these planks combined with a pair of old band drums would be perfect as end tables.

{old band drum pre-woodworking prowess...this table is soooo gonna rock!}

as oxymoronic (is that a word?) as it sounds…it almost killed us to cut through those grand pieces of history. but we reminded ourselves it was a great way to continue the legacy and the history that those gritty, grimy, old pieces of wood hold.

we held our breaths, we closed our eyes, we held hands and sang kum-ba-yah….

{on the cuttin floor...}

 and then we almost cried…

{our scraps...to be preciously SAvED for another project down the road}

 and then we got back to work…

{DaD's drill press ...used to drill holes in the diXIE ChiCKEN wood}

 annnd his old drill bits…

{his 'old coffee can' organization system...seriously, this gives amie & me warm fuzzies}

last one, i promise……

amie placing the boards…

{now it's beginning to make sense...}

and the FiNISHED product…complete with industrial casters that can be locked into place, repurposed dixie chicken wood, and our fleamarket band drum.

{stylin' & profilin', baby...(unlike amie in the above shot:))}

it’s been a FaST & FurIOUS past couple of weeks but the AiRSTREaM project is complete!

we’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve had a blast as a family and as a company…we’ve received all kinds o’ love from across the globe….

{HoLY moLY! AiRSTREAM & PROm QUEEN cookies shipped from SuzANNE SEXTON designs! thankkkkk you!}

and we guARANTEE MiRANDA’s AiRSTReam is gonna be the rockin-est, honky-tonkin’-est, tin can on WhEELS to ever hit tha road!

y’all stay tuned…FiNAL pics and video coming sooooon!

YeSTErDAY amiE shocked herself not once but twice, I sandEd the floor once twice 3 TiMES, DaD reworked the salvaged CirCUS WHeeL bar top more times than we want to admit & JaNIE was STiLL wishin for a CoRONA.

we’ve channeled LeGENDARy TeXAS baRS, BLoWN the EleCTRiCiTY and had deliveries of LuckenBACH souvenirs, OLd DIXiE ChiCKEN wood, & HoMEMadE DING-DoNGS. 4 DaYS left…the SaGA continues…  

{this is the floor at step 62 of 97}

 yeS, it really took that many steps…(or maybe it just seemed like it…i’m not sure anymore….maybe i’m delirious from the paint fumes…)  

{step 86}

If Lovin’ you is WroNG, i don’t wanna be right…   

{incomplete but gettin' there...}

MeanWHiLE we cosmically channeled LeGENDary TeXAS bars all day. we started off our morning with a visit from the girLS of the DiXIE chiCKEN who brought us a little piece of hiSTORY for the AiRSTREAM… 

{carved up planks from DiXIE ChiCKEN tables}

 ThEN…we had a special delivery from the MaILmAN… 

{goodies sent StrAiGHT from LuCkenBACH, teXAS!}

which i have decided was DesTINY channeled directly from my cosmic vibes since i just happened to be sportin my LUckENBACH tee yesterday! 

{yes, i'm a little giddy about the arrival of a LuCKEnBACH package! it's like ChRISTMAS!}

AND the day just kept getting beTTER! because then a little angel named PaTRICIA showed up with a little piece of heaven in to-go boxes filled with soul food and HoMeMADE desserts! deeeee-licious homebakED breads, chicken spaghetti, tortilla soup, and hellllloooo cookies, kolaches and HomEMADE ding-dongs courtesy of MeLiSSA & ThE BAKE ShoPPE all the way from CyPrESS, TeXAS! 

{CooKIEs, KoLaCHES, and yes! HOMeMADE ding-donGS!}

it’s OFFiCIAL. amie’s hyperventilating, my throat is constricting, and JaniE’s still wishing for a CoRONA. PaNIC has moved into GypSYViLLE. 

7 DaYS leFT and here’s what the AiRSTREAm looked like this morning… 

{INTeRIOR shot- mARCH 9, 2010}

it’s time to ShAKE ‘n BaKE, BABY! A few action shots… 

{SaNDING the barstooLS}

{preppin the BaR for the SaLVAGED cirCUS WhEEL top}

{retro-fitting salvaged tin}

{WooD StaiN for BaR...i LoVE old PainT CaNS...it's a sickness}

{yep y'all...it's an air nibbler}

 TuRNING the floor into a RoLLin’ RoCKSTAR, hONKYtoNKin’ HeaVEN right NOW …(here’s a hint…) 

{it's a GaLLon full 'o HaPPinESS!}

then moving in the salvaged BaR, rusty-crusty tables, roadworthy benches, the FuNKY repurposed SoFA (you gotta see this to believe it!), and MoRE! whew! 

{vinTaGE license PLaTES}

 annnnd Mr. Manthei…our old-school sign painter…

{KeN ManTHEI...makin it happen old school-style}

{RiCK unloading the aiRSTREAm shelves}

MiRaNDA’s parents, RiCK & BeV LamBERT, stopped by for a visit…soooo we did what any gypsy on a tight-impossible-never-gonna-make-it-no-time-to-eat-or-sleep-or-take-care-of-personal-hygeine-schedule would do… 

we took ‘em to the DiXIE CHiCKEN (a moment of silence, please) …for an officially un-OFFiCIAL biz meeting… 

{ThE DiXIE ChiCKEN - our 2nd home}

for a lunch with good friends over a CoLD beeR and a pLATE of TiJUANA friES… 

{TiJUANA FriES...did somebody say it's time to eat?}

SoMEBoDY give me a HaLLELUjAH up in hERE! 

We LoVE the DiXIE CHiCKEN. it’s TeXAS. it’s SouTHERN. it’s irreverent and cozy and CLAssiC. it’s LEgENDARY and to all who have walked through those swinging saloon doors, you know there is no other place like it on EaRTH. but that’s a WhOLE ‘nother blog entry of it’s own… 

{DiXIE chiCKEN-tattered and perfect}

and a stroLL down BoTTLECaP ALLEY as we head back to work… 

{BoTTLECaP ALLEY - beside The DixIE ChiCKEN}

BeV came bearing gifts… 

{AmiE & BeV}

WiNE from the ReD 55 WiNERY…MiRANDA’s own private LaBEL…does it get any better? ThE DiXIE ChiCKEN, TijuaNA FrieS, good friends, and eAST teXAS WinE??!!  HALLELuJAH & AMEN! 

and now…BaCK to WoRK! SHAkE ‘n BaKE, bABY! ShAKE ‘n BaKE!!!!! 

and oh yeah…. 

{yep, you got it ..."HoMEMADE cuRTainS, just LikE a gypSY..."}

In tribute to all the ROadside bars, seedy dives, and backROAD dancehalls that have inspired MiRaNda LamBErt along the way, she’s decided it’s time to hit the AmERICAN highways … like a troubadour cowgirl on the run.   

{MiRANDA @ GruENE HALL}

 With an old suitcase filled with her best worn-out jeans, her cleanest dirty shirts (and of course, her JunK GyPSY gear), and her PinK guitar slung over her back she’s going back to her music roots…BaCK to all the beauty, character, and soul those iconic bars hold within their legendary walls and on their old creaky dance floorS.   

{GRuENE HALL - one of MirANDA's & our favorite danceHaLLS}

Soooo before she hits the road, we gypsies are decking out a 1953 FLYinG CLOUD AiRSTREAM!   

{MiRANDA's new tin can on WhEELS}

 WE’vE got 9 days to turn this SiLVER buLLET into a hip-hoppin, honky-tonkin’ happenin ParKIN LoT saLOOn for MiranDa’s new tour, RoADSIDE bARS & PinK GuiTARS!!

{ThE EAgLE is landing.}

 A QUiCK & DiRTY history of how this all came to be…

• sooo, we randomly came up with the tour name for MiRANDA years ago..
• then…MiRANDA wrote ‘THE AirSTREAM SONG’ for us…
• then…we designed the logo for the tour which has an AiRSTREAM front and center on the art
• then…she decided she needed an OFFICIAL airSTREAM on her tour that we aptly named
• then we all decided we needed to deck it out JunK GypsY StyLe

And a little more to get you up to speed on aiRSTREAM renovation progress…here’s a quick glance at a few before shots…

{before shot- gutted}

{another interior- getting ready to paint...}

Annnd some progress shots…

{PainTING the interior}

 So FaR, we’ve painted the inside MeTALLIC turQUOISE. yep, METALLIC…it is sooo rockin’!

we saw it, we loved it, we had to have it.

 Here’S the SoFA…salvaged 1800′s piece from HeCTOR the COLLecTOR years ago.

{before shot-SOFa}

 StAY TunED…we’ve GoT biG pLANS for this baby!

annnnnd other RaNDOM pieces of HaPPINESS filling thE warehouse waiting their turn in the FLyING CLouD…

{PiNK FLaMINGOs-yeah, baby!}

annnd…

{GLiTTER viNYL!}

 a salvaged CiRCUS game WHEEL 

{CiRCUS gaME WHeeL}

…seriously, WHO doesn’t need one of these?  AND a 1960 CaDILLAC grILL

{hello Mr.CaDILLAc grill...you complete me}

  and soooo much more stuff you’re gonna loooove! 

StAY TunED! NeXT, on the AiRSTREAM CHronICLES…

-RiCK & BeV LamBERT, us, the DiXIE ChiCKEN, and TiJUANA FriES

-bar installation, circus wheel, and FLooR!