Oh, the places I go

I can't tell you how many times people ask me where I buy my stuff. I always answer,

"Wherever I am....". I don't think this is exactly the answer they are looking for.

They want me to give up my sources. I will not tell you all of my secrets.

This post will take you to a few of the types of places we frequently shop.

We will start in Colorado.

Mr. Ella just did a search for architectural salvage and it brought us to the closed gates of a junk yard near Denver.

We found a phone number and an hour later the owner came and let us in.

He had some cool stuff. Pricey stuff. I think hoarders that don't want to let go of anything price it so high it won't sell.

Great looking radiators. I like the look, but not exactly in high demand.

Cute, but wouldn't fit in my carry on.

Maybe the American Pickers should visit here. This is definitely a guy thing.

One of my favorite places to go is Warrenton, Texas during Antique Week. It is very relaxing to me to wander around. The photo above shows a group of furniture that Rachel Ashwell had bought. If you notice behind it there are Bubba signs. Such a contrast. This is a good indication of the variety of what you run across and the time it takes to sift through it all.

They also have lots and lots to dig through. Baby wipes a must!

Now, there are also Estate Sales. You never know what you will find. This particular sale advertised that there were several out buildings full of antiques. Judge for yourself...

Not too bad.

Not too good...

This is another type of place we buy.

The organized junk dealer who is ready to deal.

Somewhere in the MidWest.

Then you have a not so organized junk dealer who thinks every piece is worth its weight in gold. This is somewhere in Texas.

Mr. Ella and I had fun roaming around to see what we could find. We were really glad it wasn't during the hot Texas Summer though.

This is all we found after about an hour digging and another 1/2 hour listening to the owner tell stories.

We make several stops during one "hunting" trip and our car usually looks like this! Now, if everything would just unload itself, clean itself up, repair itself and price itself it would make it all sooo much more fun...