12,000 ft to Sea Level. . .

24 hours in the Amazon. . .

So So thankful for THESE FRIENDS and their hearts!

Join us in Sponsoring a Child!

Join me in sponsoring one of these littles. . .

The highlands of Ecuador ( in the Andes Mountains) are one of my favorite places and I think you will see why. . .

We have started something new this trip that I think is so amazing. . .

You can actually sponsor a child from the Center we were at today by clicking HERE! There were so many beautiful kiddos at EC-478!

Be sure to follow the other bloggers their stories are so good I read them twice!

We are off to a Center in Quito today. . .

Will You JOIN us!

We are at the Miami airport getting ready to board for Ecuador!

I am so excited to travel with these ladies. . .like SO SO SO excited!
Follow along. . . I know I can’t wait to share!

The Junk O Rama Prom was (as usual) – a HUGE Success!

Thanks Junk Gypsy Gals for another fun night!!

Can’t wait to share more Pics Soon. . .

Until Then off to find more finds in the cow pastures of gold finds. . . Think we will shop Warrenton this afternoon!

THREE of my favorite flags hang at the entrance.  . .

The Prairie welcomes you right away. . .

The open rusty fenceThe Vintage Prairie truck

  Parking spaces labeled Dale Evens, Roy Rogers, Tom Mix ( and other western heros) beckon you arrival.

 The Laundry lines are full of linens

Rachel Ashwell’s Shabby Chic Couture in Round Top is officially open for you to visit!

So get your calendar ready, I see a weekend trip in your future!

  We headed to the Rangers Lounge for lunch  Our gracious and fabulous hosts:

Kelley, Bud and Rachel

 Bud Royer provided a wonderful lunch

His famous Shrimp BLT and my personal Fav the grilled chicken house salad with the cilantro ranch- that ranch is HEAVEN!

and of course no Royer meal is complete without pie, especially the chocolate chip pie AND with Amy’s ice cream OF course!

  After lunch and in between chatting, we ooo’d and ahhh’d at the Ranger Lounge and all the details.

 The Wedding Cake on the left has been used at many weddings including J.LO and Pamela Anderson ( just to name drop a couple)

Sketches by Rachel and her sister

 Then Rachel sat down and shared a bit of her vision and what brought her down to Texas.

“The Prairie is part aesthetic inspiration from Marie Antoinette, part authentic detail from Coal Miner’s Daughter, and part passion from Gone with the Wind. The Prairie is my Tara. And my deep rooted love of country music now has a home.”

Rachel has been coming to Round Top to shop  Antique Week for years always staying at this property ( a former bed and breakfast) and last year she became the new owner and her “. . .long held dream of having a small, perfect hotel became real”.

The main homestead (seen below) was built in the early 1800′s and the other buildings on the property have been moved / added over time.

I love how Rachel talks about cherishing every restored element on the property and plans to continue adding to this property making it a creative space for her future furnishings and fabulous fabrics.

As we walked the property she told us her inspiration for each building.

Now remember it IS antique week so she was full with guest. But she and her staff graciously welcomed us into their haven in the “liliput lodge”.  She said she wanted to show more than lilacs and lace

So throughout The Prairie you will find a Wagon Wheel chandelier, deer, Antlers and horse shoe decor.

Things you will probably not find in her LA, NY or London hubs.

She wanted the Prairie to be a blend of her Style. . .

“In the same way I have brought the shabby into chic for two decades, at The Prairie I am embracing the diversity of my aesthetics, while still keeping my common threads.”

Love this drape, with that blue wood wall. LOVE.Rachel collects watercolor paintings, loves to paint herself and is welcoming that inspiration at The Prairie. She

“. . . .realized that having art in our soul gives us all a forever safe place in minds.”

We then went thru the horseshoe gate to the new shop. . .A cozy porch swing and sweet Pearl ( the Prairie dog) set the mood. . .

Relax!

They even have their own scent out on the Prairie.

I definitely grabbed one of these to burn when I am feeling homesick in Nashville.

It smells AHmazing!Obsessed with these pillows. . .

Union Jack and The Lone Star flags

Ahhhh! How does one choose which one??

After leaving the store Rachel had pointed out her “finds” from the antique week (so far!):

Vintage Christmas wares. . .

A collection of Florentine – which might I add I have been picking up lil pieces of Florentine for the last few months on my “estate salin” journeys! Glad to know I am not alone in this Florentine hunt!

And all her fun pieces awaiting paint, repairs and shabby rehabs. . .

We headed back to the Lounge. . .

I loved getting to chat with so many sweet ladies!One of her inspiration boards hangs in the office:

Her inspiration board inspired me for my inspiration board that needs inspiration ( oh the irony)

“. . . . It’s an ongoing process of adding and deleting elements. Scraps of fabrics, sketches and personal bits and bobs…The end result is what I consider authentic art.”

I SO wish my sister Kelsey had been there too! Looks like another trip to the Prairie is needed!! Thanks Again Bud and Rachel

( and Kelley & Dwell with Dignity too)

It was a memorable and inspiring day!And I am already looking forward to YOU visiting The Prairie SOON!

For Reservation info check out her site Here!

Deep in the Heart of Texas.

I shall now rename this as

THE BEST WEEK IN THE FALL EVER. . . HANDS DOWN!

( other than Thanksgiving weekend, because its Thanksgiving and that means family and Aggie football, but back to

THE BEST WEEK IN THE FALL EVER. . . HANDS DOWN)

I have written about it HERE and HERE ohh and HERE and plenty more

Saturday

I can be found shopping the fields ( a nicer term for cow pastures) with my mom and my dear friend Brandy from Nashville plus a 100,000 new friends.

Sunday

More fields. Miles upon Miles of fields!

 Monday. . .

OHHH is it Monday yet? I have been so excited to share this with yall!!

Monday I get to hang with 30 other women and chat about blogging, our love of junk, antiques, and all things rusted. . .

and enjoy lunch from one of my favs – Royers

as we sit on a Prairie, but not just ANY Prairie.

Its “The Prairie” the  newest adventure from Rachel Ashwell.

I have loved Rachel’s eye for design, texture and photo for some time and I cannot WAIT to see what she has added in my favorite little Texas town.

I have to give you a sneak peak of the photos from her site cause I . JUST . CANT . WAIT! And seriously aren’t these photos DIVINE!

I apologize in advance if you find me sleeping in this bed after I eat Royer's Pie. AMEN.

Look at all the places to stay!

umm yeah, if I go missing after Antique Week I am more than likely HERE.

The chair and the deer. . .just did me in. LOVE!

Clawfoot tub?? Don't mind if I do!

And. . . the award for best pullout couch goes to THIS ONE!

And here is one of the best parts. . .a portion of the cost of the lunch is benefiting ‘Dwell With Dignity‘.

They are all about inspiring lives with design! I Love what they are doing!

Dwell With Dignity was recently featured on the Nate Burkus Show.  You can see a clip HERE

But please take a second to click over and check out the Dwell With Dignity blog.

Okay welcome back, good to see you again! Wasn’t Dwell with Dignity great?? Told you so!

Be sure to check back in as I will have the full lowdown on The Prairie with pics, info, and I am sure so much more!

Seriously . . .IS IT MONDAY YET???

AND Thanks in advance to Kelley at The Hidden List for organizing the day!

Ohh there is still a WEEK left sooooo. . . .

Tuesday

The Marburger Farm Show will start. Get ready for that blog! It takes two days just to feel as though you MAYBE saw it all! MAYBE!

So Tuesday will probably carry over to Wednesday too!

WEDNESDAY

Here we go. . .

But not before fueling up on coffee and maybe some pie ( fruit pie for bfast anyone?) at the new PIE HAVEN. The newest addition from Team Royer! Yall I have seen some pics of the décor and I have tasted the pies so I know this will be THE PLACE to be (it’s in the NEW Henkel Square). Go visit my friend Tara, You will be glad you did! I hear the muffins are a MUST too. Save one for me Tara!

There’s still so much to see: Warrenton, Excess, Blue Hills, The Red Barn …. My heart is starting to skip beats just thinking about it.

But Thursday

SWEET Thursday!

I will be hanging with my dear friends the JUNK GYPSY Gals!

If you are in Warrenton that day you do not want to miss this invite. . .

ZAPP HALL . THURSDAY . AT TWILIGHT . THE JUNK O RAMA PROM!

Trust me the “Junk o Rama Prom” is calling your name. . .

And your dancing skills are needed!!

I will be around that day and prom-i-fied by night, but don’t ask me what I am wearing, cause I don’t know yet! That old prom dress is hopefully hanging in a cow pasture ( I mean field) waiting to be found and I just know it will match my turquoise and boots!

EXCITING NEW NEWS. . .

This year there is an addition to Warrenton, Tx that I am excited to check out! HGTV will be there. Be sure to follow them on twitter #hgtvjunk  I hear they will have some good tweets about their new Texas Adventure and all the happenings in their tent! They will be at Zapp Hall near the Junk Gypsy Tent!

Friday

I think you know by now. . . more fields to walk and finds to be found.

Saturday

The show starts coming to an end and the sweet quiet town of Round Top begins to breathe again. But just for a bit cause we gotta start hunting for the Spring otherwise known as THE BEST WEEK OF THE SPRING EVER… HANDS DOWN!

Will you be at Round Top this year?? If so let me know! Send me a tweet @keelymarie maybe we will bump into each other as we are looking for our

NEXT BEST FIND!

Can’t wait to share more pictures from our time there!

Today we are back in Quito.

Spending the day with some of our Leadership Development Students and some of the sponsor kids!

More from the Equator. . . .

I am here this week with a great team of artists and speakers that partner with Compassion!

I LOVE being back in this country. It has been 2 years TOO long!

Yesterday we visited a Compassion program right out side Quito . . .

Is that pic above not the sweetest. . .

Today we are headed north to a community on the coast almost bordering Colombia.

They have had very few visitors SO I know we are excited ( and they are too!)

Can’t wait to share this part of our trip on Thursday when we get back to Quito!