One Great Day at Bella Rustica Vintage Marketplace

Well, I told you I couldn't NOT go to Bella Rustica 2012.

So, early (and I mean early 7ish) Saturday morning, I jumped in my car, dropped by my local Starbucks for a venti skinny mocha, and headed down the highway to the Bella Rustica Vintage Marketplace.

It was about an hour and a half drive and I didn't really know how much of that included the back roads of Tennessee...or maybe I was just really excited to get there because I arrived pretty early...like 45 minutes early.

Hey, I wasn't the only one.

Actually, I was about the 6th car there, lol.

I don't think the parking lot worker appreciated the early arrivals but I'm sure he got over it.

So, here's what greeted me as I turned off of the small, two-lane highway.

A beautiful farm hidden along the back roads of the Tennessee countryside in Pulaski, Tennessee.

I've lived in Tennessee all of my forty (cough, cough) years and I never knew that the Mars Candy Company founder had owned a farm in middle Tennessee.  Pretty cool.

Ok, this next picture is a little cheesy because I'm one of those awkward people that sort of hang in the background till I'm sure of things.

This is a picture of the entrance...taken from my car because I was too chicken to go stand in line with the two courageous ladies that said "Yes! We're the FIRST ones here!"

(See the two ladies under the tent?  Yes, they're the FIRST ones there!)

Me?  I'm in the car...making sure I'm not going to get in trouble for being where I shouldn't be before it opens.

Must be from some traumatic experience of being where I shouldn't have been in kindergarten or something...or I'm just goofy.

Yeah.  I'm just goofy.

Anyhoo, isn't the barn beautiful?  I l-o-v-e barns and a barn made of stone is just the best.  Bella Rustica was held in the barn at Milky Way Farms.  I didn't even get a chance to see the main house.  That'll be a trip for another day.

Inside this huge barn was booth after booth of vintage, chippy, shabby goodies.  Just look at the metal letters and burlap curtains hanging from the ceiling in the main part of the barn.

Sorry for the picture quality.  I took it quickly with my iPhone.  I'm not sure if you can tell but in the distance, you'll notice a haze.  That was the dust being stirred up.  I had to wipe down my boots before I stopped at the store on my way home.  It was so worth it though.   :)

Now for a look at some of the booths.  I'm sorry I don't have the vendor name with these pictures but you can check out the complete list of vendors here.

Vintage cameras and alarm clocks and look at that globe!

Beautiful fabric and colors on these chairs

Loved the look of these pictures

One of my favorite booths...I think I was really drawn to their cute vintage camper!

Letters cut from old books!

Ok, so what great things did I find there?  Hang on to your hats and check out this next picture.

I found Donna of Funky Junk Interiors!!  

Yep, pretty much one of the reasons I drove an hour and a half.  I wanted to meet Donna.  I've followed her blog for quite a while and I can now say, she's as sweet and funny in person as she is on her blog.

Full of great ideas and has such a generous heart to share what she's learned.  She led several workshops during the course of the 3-day event.  I sat in on this one.  She explained what the best tools are for the DIYers.  If you're not familiar with her blog (and I can't imagine anyone reading mine wouldn't already know about Funky Junk Interiors), be sure to check it out here.

I can't blog about Bella Rustica without mentioning that I also met Rhoda of Southern Hospitality.  Ok, I admit it, I drove an hour and a half to meet them both!  Approaching them, I felt like a creeper, lol.  Having followed their blogs for so long, I felt I already knew them yet they didn't know me from Adam.  Sadly, I didn't get a picture with Rhoda.  I sat beside her during Donna's workshop.  I hated to disrupt Donna's workshop but I had to at least speak to Rhoda because I knew I had to leave very soon.  She was so sweet to say hi and chat a little about her house renovations and her parents.  Love, love, love getting her emails announcing new updates to her house.

If you love decorating, houses, and renovations, I'm sure you're familiar with HGTV's Sarah Richardson.  In this season's episodes, Sarah is taking a contractor grade house in a subdivision and showing us how to choose upgrades to make it beautiful.  Well, she is making it beautiful but she's taking a $700,000 home and a $100,000 upgrade budget to do it.  I don't know about where you live but here $700,000 would more than purchase a home that included all the upgrades I could ever want.

I mention that to say, Rhoda's house renovations are beautiful and she's doing it on a budget I can relate to!  You've got to check it out.  Start here and follow it to the latest updates and you'll see what I mean.  Rhoda's journey has been incredible and I can't wait to read the post that says "Move In Day!"

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!
Angie