Honey of a Honey Hole!

Last Saturday, a local gentleman stopped by Paint Pan Patty’s and asked if we’d be interested in some junk his wife had sitting in the back yard.  We’re always a little bit hesitant at first, until we get the whole story.  You know, we don’t want to end up with a real pile of junk we just have to haul off to the dump.  So we ask a few questions and try to determine whether or not it’s an honest-to-goodness-treasure-hunter’s-dream pile of junk.  There’s a difference, ya know……..

I could see Patty in the first stages of cardiac arrest when the gentleman explained that his wife also had a nice burn pile going next to all this junk and wasn’t opposed to using it!  The next item on her list for the towering inferno was an old Hoosier cabinet that was dirty, paint peeling, and needed a little work on the roll-up door part thingy.  Whoa!  Eeerrrkkkkk!!!  Stop the train!!  Trash to some folks, but PURE LOVELINESS to us. 

At this point, I watched as Patty calmly (as in *trying not to shake*) wrote down her phone number and asked him to please have Wife call before she burned anything else so we could drive over and take a look.  We might possibly be interested. 

Of course, we couldn’t get up there fast enough, and when we drove into their yard yesterday, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  The Hoosier cabinet is in almost perfect condition but needing a little love.  We quickly purchased that along with a full size bedroom set from the 1940’s or ‘50s, some cast iron pans (one Griswold, rescued from the burn pile), ornate upholstered rocker, vanity bench, some old books, and several other items destined for the shop.  Honey hole, indeed!  We can’t wait to get it all set up and ready for you to see.

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Our Favorite Game

Patty and I love to think of our shop as our playground.  One of our favorite games we play is called “Give Me Some Credit”.  It goes something like this:  Every Saturday after we open up, Patty and I start pulling out items that we’ve collected that week and brought in to price and sell.  Each of anxiously, yet calmly, waits and watches as the other unloads her treasures, hoping to see something that we just fall in love with.  These are called “Needful Things”, in case you’re wondering, and there comes a time in everyone’s life where you require “Needful Things”.  We just seem to have those times more often than most!

Anyway, when that certain item is spotted by either of us, the first question is,

Gwen:  “How much are you asking for that?”
Patty:  “Oh, I thought $25.”
Gwen:  “I just love it, but I can’t give that for it.”
Patty:  “Well, just Give Me Some Credit.” 
Gwen:  “OK!  You get $25 worth of my junk!”  and BAM!  a note for credit quickly goes up on the board.

The picture above of the little glass dog container is one of my favorite Needful Things I got off of Patty.  He now sits on my kitchen counter and holds my kosher salt.  I call him my Salty Dog!

Fun Times at the Country Living Fair 2011

 It was a wonderful time at the fair last Friday!  Country Living really knows how to do it up right, that's all I can say, and Stone Mountain Park makes a wonderful venue for this event. 
Of course, there were people by the thousands, but the set up is so spread out on winding paths underneath towering Georgia pines, that I hardly noticed a few extra folks besides me and my very tolerant husband!  He was wonderful and let me wander to my heart's content in and out of every single vendors tent, while he stood silently by trying to keep track of me.  I was like a kid in a candy store, trying to take in all of the wonderful displays, and getting pictures of some great ideas.  I was so enthralled with it all that I didn't even notice the "Please don't take pictures" signs up in most of the tents.  Husband patiently pointed this out to me :-)). 

We have already made plans with Paint Pan Patty and her better half to make the trip together next year and plan to stay overnight.  However, on that trip, we will take along our own food and tailgate, because the food prices inside the fair are pretty steep, and water is $3/bottle.  The parking lot is located very convenient to the fair itself, and you are welcome to wander in and out all day with the hand stamp you get when you first enter.  Other than the food prices, though, I think that admission at $13.00 per person in advance & $16.00 the day of is very reasonable for an event this well done. 

 

All in all, I highly recommend making your own plans to attend the Country Living Fair 2012, if you get the chance.  If you love antiques and cottage/country decorating, etc., this is an event you will absolutely love!

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Country Living Fair 2011 = ROAD TRIP!

A road trip is in the works for Don (aka Hubby) and me, and I'm so looking forward to it.  The Country Living Fair in Stone Mountain Park, GA is this weekend, so we're taking off bright and early Friday morning.  I've always wanted to go, so I decided that this year it would definitely happen.  Should be lots of fun.  Country Living is one of my all-time favorite magazines, and I'm anxious to see "the pages of Country Living come to life", as they say!  I'm hoping to find some really good junk, or at least ideas for some that I can bring back to Paint Pan Patty's.  I kind of like that stuff!

OOPS!! Launch the blog and..........

Sooooooo.......see this picture?  That's been me for the past two weeks.  Well, almost.....I have dark hair.  The rest, yep...pretty much.  It's a well-known fact that for the general public, computers can be a source of great frustration when things don't go according to plan.  My plan was simply to launch the new blog for Paint Pan Patty's, push the button, and GO!  Long story short, didn't happen *PERIOD* 

What's in a Name? The Story Behind Paint Pan Patty

People are always asking us how we came up with the name Paint Pan Patty's for our little shop.  Well, there's a story behind that.....

Now, sister-in-law Patty and I like just LOVE to paint.  Our motto is, "Everything looks better with a fresh coat of paint."  So when we decided to open the shop, we were super excited because a new shop must mean lots of new paint, which was right up our alley.  We cleaned, scrubbed, and painted for about 6 weeks, trying to "girl up" the old garage bay that was going to house all of our treasures. 

One thing I quickly discovered is that when you paint alongside someone for that long, you get to know a lot about their painting etiquette.  Patty has none..........I was shocked to find out that even though she creates some beautiful stuff with that paint brush of hers, she never washes out the paint pan or cleans the brush!!!!   Just lets 'em dry right up and pours new paint over that for her next project.  For me, that's like fingernails on a blackboard, and you might as well rip my eyeballs right out.  Keep in mind, now, that through all of this, and with our Grand Opening coming up very soon, we're still searching for a name for ourselves.

One day when we were hot, tired and nearing the end of the clean up/paint party, I turned around to walk to the sink to wash out my paint brush, when I stumbled over the remnants of Patty's last paint project.  Without even thinking, I shouted called out to my girl, "You've got to move your paint pan, Patty!"  Tah-dah!  ....and Paint Pan Patty's was born.  *The End*

You Meet the Nicest People

Hey Folks!  Had a nice little bright spot in my day while on a quick fix trip to TJMaxx.  Kevin & Layla Palmer of The Lettered Cottage just happened to be walking out across the parking lot.  I recognized them right off because I really HEART their blog and have been a faithful follower for a couple of years.  Now, I'm not one to see someone and say, "Hey, aren't you so and so???"  But I couldn't help stop myself this time.  They are really the NICEST people and it was such a pleasure to talk to them for a few minutes and let them know how much I enjoy what they are doing.  If you haven't seen their blog, you really should take a few minutes and check it out at http://www.theletteredcottage.net/.  You won't be disappointed!