This girl will travel Just About Anywhere to Shoot a Photo!
Ranger Hall
Kelley Copeland, Bud Royer and Rachel Ashwell
and now on to The Blue Bonnet Barn where I stayed in July!
Ranger Hall
the beautiful countryside around Round Top from a few years ago
you know you’re in Round Top when … you see longhorns everywhere!
I arrived a little late to the bloggers luncheon at Royers cafe in Round Top
just in time to grab one of the few remaining seats.
We were soon served our plate of margarita pie and ranch salad with cilantro
dressing by the Royers staff, just as we had been at the first luncheon a
few months ago out at the Prairie. We ate, getting to know those seated at
our tables, and to learn just how they too ended up here at the luncheon,
mostly from blogging connections.
Soon after we were served our Junkberry pie with vanilla Blue Bell ice cream,
the program began.
I wondered to myself after just a few minutes… just where else does an
“industry” such as the phenomenon of Round Top come from? From the time
you reach the towns near Brenham driving through Carmine, home of my friend
(Emily BarringtonSellers) or Burton where Linda and Ludmill of
Willow Nest Farm live and working your way down one of the roads leading
into Round Top. Passing through Shelby and the Shelby Inn and on down to
The Prairie by Rachel Ashwell just a few miles north of Round Top and all
along the way, one farm after another, you see vendors, all set up out in
their fields…and this happens over and over again…for miles!
Where else in the world is there a place like the Round Top Antiques Fair held
twice a year plus two smaller shows where people come from, all over the
world, even Corey (Tongue In Cheek Brocante, in Provence…and others
(Martha Stewart and Mary Emmerling) in years past to buy and sell?
Hearing all of this for the first time and seeing it for himself must have
been amazing as the visitor from New York city sat there as his friend
Bill Winsor (CEO) of the Dallas Market Center told about the new
Vintage showcase at market. The DMC was sponsoring the bloggers luncheon
this time along with Marburger Farms and Royers and making sure we all knew
about the involvement now that the DMC had on this thing called “VINTAGE”?
The Dallas Market Center has opened a whole new section just to showcase
all of the dealers in one place, the old Market Hall-with food Airstreams
outside and tons to view indoors!
We heard as Bill told about Dallas’ involvement in the vintage market and
Carol Hicks Bolton from Fredericksburg tell us how Homestead started and led
to her eventually, at 40 starting a family and leaving the business for a while
to raise her 2 children, home schooling and all! We heard about being true
to ones self no matter what you do and “Knowing who you are” in your home
and life.
We heard all about the importance of home and making it yours…uncluttered,
having it all…and things that you love, not just stuff to fill a space.
Dwell with Dignity was again featured as a great outlet to help those with less
be given a new start and chance at life, but in beautiful settings that give
a boost and purpose to starting over.
After lunch as I drove south out of town I began to come to the farms set
up for business…from the covered wagons perched out in one field to the
abundance of Texas and American Flags…
I realized then, just what a phenomenon this place truly is…
the land of opportunity, the American Dream of owning your own business
as most of these people do who set up here. Just as Carol and her husband
did about 25 years again Fredericksburg with Homestead and now with
“Antiquites Laboratoire de Design” and how Bud and his wife Karen did with
Royers Cafe and it’s growth and popularity and mainstay in Round Top.
I realized this is what it is all about, being true to yourself, your dreams,
hard work,making long time friends and making a life for your family.
It took me a long time to finally find my way down to see this place called
Round Top Antiques Fair, being born and raised in Texas, I have known of
this place for years. But it wasn’t until I had the opportunity to come a
few shows back and shootas a VIB, “Very Important Blogger” for the
Marburger Farms show that I also got hooked into coming every time to see
what was in store and to experience the greatness of the
American free market and life in Texas!
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How lucky can one girl be? Pretty lucky I would say!
This time we have our luncheon with Carol Hicks Bolton
from the original Homestead in Fredericksburg… now
at Antiquities and Laboratoire de Design in the same
place but with a whole new design and look!
Bud from Royer’s Cafe will be providing the delicious food
again and his famous pie for dessert! So watch out blogging
world, here we come for another fun time at the wonderful
Rachel Ashwell Prairie B&B!
Dwell with Dignity was feature on the Nate Show and from that exposure
other cities are hoping to start DWD in their own towns. Helping to
re-design some needy homes, it gets people back on their feet when
they need so much that we take for granted. Donations are coming in
from some pretty major sources so it looks like they are on their way
to something big!
Royers certainly doesn’t need any recognition since he is well established
in Round Top, except that oh yes, he does have a new coffee spot there on
the square in Round Top ….. And Rachel’s place open less than a
year is already a big hit with b&b’ers, film types doing shoots, and small
events…well it just may be hard to secure a room there!
I was fortunate to stay back in June and had the pleasure of being able to
tour all of the cottages and snap a million photos! All I can say, is what
a perfectly shabby yet CHIC place this is, so peaceful and serene, I can
hardly wait to go again. So, what a perfect meshing of talent to pull
this luncheon all together!
Another fun thing in the day was meeting as many of the bloggers as you
could and running into some that you knew 12 years ago or more,(KK and her
b&b called the lazy T)with whom you had lost touch! and also meeting
new friends you’ve read about in magazines(vintage trailer restoration)It was just a great day full of inspiration!
It makes for a highlight of one’s year, whew! and then having Rachel give
you a personally guided tour of the Prairie where each room is better than
the next!
What more could you ask for this September 27th day???
Royers Cafe
The Prairie by Rachel Ashwell
The Hidden List
Patina Green
The LazyT
Coming next time, a story about the gifts in our gift bags!
I don’t know what it is about Round Top and the whole antiques week
experience… it just seems to draw you in, making attending each
time, a must do, no questions asked! Just go. For whatever reason.
As one of the bloggers said at my table, “I would give anything
to move to Round Top!” I know exactly how she feels, as I often think
the same thing – then glancing at real estate for sale…
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KIT KAT TALKS 
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