The Rodeo Royalty ladies have transformed Round Top’s iconic Merry Christmas store into a heavenly space for their fashion fantasies, and it’s open weekends year round. The space is now a romantic beach shack, submerged in light and full of waves and waves of lacy, frothy bits. So very,
very pretty!
My trusty iPhone 4S camera seemed possessed by this store. Every single shot glows with girliness.
What’s best about the new Rendezvous field is that it truly is a place to rendezvous. There’s primo shopping, of course, but there’s also bottled beer, wine and margaritas, great food from the Bake Shoppe and Cafe, and Shivers’ frostyful snow cones (Yes, you definitely want the Rendezvous Special with lemon, cream and lavender sprinkles).
The location is practically across from Marburger, so when you’re in the neighborhood be sure to pull in, pull up a picnic bench and join the bloggers, birthday partiers and plain old happy antiquers for the refreshment of your choice.
OK. For those of you not sure this kind of lunch spot is in your comfort zone, here’s the step by step.
Step 1. Enter and feel the pleasure of some nice A/C.
Step 2. Check out the menu. No need for double meat unless you need double meat. You’ll notice the enthusiastic lack of onion rings, fries and tator tots, so cruise the bountiful chip aisle instead.
Step 3. Specify any fixin’ issue you may have. Mine’s always ‘no onion.’
P.S. Those good looking tomatoes remind me of a story. We once bought moments-off-the-farm produce from a guy parked out front. He wasn’t parked to sell produce, he was just inside hanging out, but we saw his stash in the back of his station wagon and he didn’t mind selling us some.
Step 4. Take care of any personal business you might have.
Step 5. Start in on your beverage. These are for the non-drivers, of course.
Step 6. Say a quick hello to the guys hanging out and then linger to watch them play speed dominoes until you feel rude.
Step 7. Pay for your meal and read up on the local goings on.
Step 8. Go back to the grill and watch your delicious handmade patty finish up.
Step 9. Take that sweet baby back to the car and eat it while driving. Easy peasy.
At the end of a long day walking the fields, I found a new frame of mind.
The combination of actual still life items against painted settings has become a recent obsession of mine. I’ve been intending to affix little shelves or hooks to all of the two-dimensional art on my walls and then add a dried orange or a golden bell or a raku pot to the piece. It seems like a smart way to invigorate paintings that I still adore but have gone a bit stale and unseen.
So when I discovered Maria Teresa’s booth in the way way back of Arbor Field, her dimensional paintings leapt right out at me. A real linen curtain in front of the lovely seated lady. A billowing wire cage as Frida’ skirt, tied with mysterious offerings. A tattered, twiny, bewitching family tree. Bones and test tubes, sacks and threads, jewels and tassels and talismans. Yes.
Please excuse me while I go hang some hooks and shelves.
Gather up your gilt mirrors, your marble busts, your vintage china, your grand taxidermy and your impossibly poised Grecian daybed.
Now artfully arrange it all on pallets and stacks of hay and carpets of sawdust, under mossy twigs and newspaper shreds and frayed tussles of rope and twine.
Voilá. Your Marburger booth is now a standout space and the buzz of the show.
The good news? You've discovered The Crush List. The not so good? I haven't been actively posting here for a few years now, which means the never terribly reliable details about my crushes are even more unreliable. Antique vendors have switched venues, shops in town have moved or passed on, donkeys may or may not be in the same front yards... In spite of the risks of massive misdirection I've left the site up in hopes that it still achieves its goal - to inspire you to visit Round Top for the Antiques Show or any time you have the time.
With that said, I leave you to explore this random list of my very favorite things about my very favorite place. I’ve tried to capture the area’s special pieces and parts. Some are big deal, some are small gestures, some are legendary and some are just tiny pip and squeak.
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