Last week, I shared with you all one of the stops that I made on my ten day road trip (so fun!). Well, from here on out I’ll share with you all the shops we stopped out. But, I just had to share the site around Marion, KS. Well I mentioned last week that we stayed out at the Historic Elgin Hotel B&B. Sherri, the hotel manager, was awesome! I mean, true hospitality. She chatted with us late at night, met up when we got in later than the check-in time and was overall just lovely. Also, she made caramelized French Toast for breakfast. Yum.

The hotel was originally established in 1886 and has gone through quite a journey to become what it is today. The place was made into an apartment building in the ’70s. When the current owner took it over, they decided to fully restore it to what their research said it looked like when originally built. They’ve truly done a wonderful job restoring this place and I’m so glad we chose to stay there. Not to mention, it is within walking distance to Bearly Makin’ It Antiques! Bonus.

I loved the bathroom. It just proves such timelessness with white subway tiles. All the white was beautiful and I wish this was my bathroom!

Octagon and dot tile. I love it so.

The hotel owners have worked so hard to restore this place even down to the engraved marble above the elevator.

 This staircase was visually striking with this massive chandelier and dark wood paneled walls.

 In the lounge space, on the second floor, there was this light blue Chesterfield couch. Isn’t it beautiful?

 This is the view from the top of the staircase. That golden velvet loveseat was so pretty.

This space is in the ballroom area. Another beautifully decorated spot in the hotel.

 After we left the hotel, we set out to see the charming city. We drove up and down the original red brick streets, and I was intent with capturing the charm of this little town with my camera. I had my mom pull over so I could grab a quick pic of this perfect turquoise 1950s Chevy Viking.

Since we were here on the weekend before July 4th, everyone had out their red, white and blue decorations. Most of the time, I’m a bit adverse to July 4th decorations because I think that they quickly become cheesy, over the top, and lack taste. If you love the over the top decorations for July 4th, then by all means put them out! I’m just sayin’ they’re not for me. So, when we saw this house with the red, white and blue bunting, I thought it was perfect. I love how it fits with the style of the house and such a lovely contrast to the beautiful white moldings. Also, can you see the scalloped details near the roof? I love this! I’m pretty sure that I had my mom drive by 5 times before I got the right picture. I didn’t want to appear creepy by snapping a photo, but I just thought it looked so perfect.

 A lot of this town was established in the late 19th century, but they’ve preserved so many of the architectural details beautifully. This art deco building had also been kept completely intact and preserved beautifully.

We also spotted this perfect house. Look at that wrap around porch, those white moldings, the white columns, the stone walls, and that red roof. Perfect, right? There’s also large green ferns hanging between each column. Beautiful.

After driving around town we headed out to lake outside of town. Out there we saw this awesome vintage RV. It’s so shiny. So pretty.

The town, as I’ve heard from Jess about a lot of Kansas, is that it’s done a phenomenal job at preserving itself. The town was so quaint and quintessential Midwest. The old stone, the intricate architectural detail, just screams of a town that truly cares about it’s history and preserving it. I love that.

Thanks for being to good to us, Kansas!

As Jess mentioned, I recently traveled the Midwest to make it to a friend’s wedding.  We hit 11 states in 10 days! Whew. It was so much fun and I’ve got a ton to share with all of you. My mom and one of my sisters went with me and we thrift/estate sale/antiqued shopped all along the way. I wanted to mainly visit places that I had seen on the blogosphere and friends recommend. We did just that, and it was amazing. I’m ready to do it again!

On the way up to the wedding, I knew I had to make a special stop at Bearly Makin’ It Antiques. They’ve got a huge barn full of stuff and they have a store in Marion, KS. It was featured on American Pickers but they didn’t show the store in town. Personally, the store was the best part. I heard about this place from Meg at Whatever, and knew we needed to make a special trip there. After stopping at Antique shops/markets in KS, MO, IL, MI, and OH, this was by far the best stop we made! I could spend hours and hours going through this shop. I’m most definitely going back!

We drove straight to Marion from my parent’s house outside of Ft. Worth, Texas. After a night’s rest in Marion, we headed to the shop.

First off, my photos with vintage graphic design. I really love old tins, and if the practical side of me were to vanish someday, I’d have an antique tin collection.

 Coffee is bliss, after all.

Look at this little gem! A Kitchen Maid Cake box. So pretty. I can just imagine being at a party where this was brought in and a delicious homemade cake was served. Perfect!

Since I spend my days working with children, I’ve really come to love old children’s books. Not to mention, Dr. Seuss was a genius.

Mason jars! I love the blue and the lids.

How sweet is this little lipstick caddy? The ribbon font is just too lovely. I’m kinda regretting not buying this.

Quilts!!!!! I’ve shared my love of quilts, right? The past several years, as I’ve developed my tastes more, my love of quilts has remained the same. There were so many and they were so nicely rolled that I was a little overwhelmed to pick through them. After seeing that $18 price tag right there, I wish I would have.

How great is this clock? What a cool piece for a kids room. The little gold feet, the green casing, the unique hands, and the man and monkey just make it look so playful. But considering the condition and the $45 price tag, it didn’t go home with me.

This place was amazing and soon I will be posting about all my buys from the trip. It wasn’t much, but I love what a got.

If you’re driving through Kansas, you must make a detour to check out Barely Makin’ It Antiques. Their inventory is so extensive, and the people who work there were great! We weren’t able to check out their barn because for some reason it wasn’t open, which turned out to be okay because I’ve got no clue how we would have brought back large items.

Stay tuned for more from my trip! Update: Here’s the rest of my write-up from the lovely little town of Marion, KS.

I linked up over at Her Library Adventures: Flea Market Finds.

As part of our ongoing series on choosing secondhand furniture, I’d like to discuss research tips when shopping for something secondhand.

Researching in the moment: Bringing along your smart phone or iPad and hit up Google, Ebay, or Etsy. These are quick sites to find what the item you’re looking at is currently selling for. More than likely you’re wanting to research quickly if you’re standing in the middle of a store, at a yard sale, or in someone’s home at an estate sale. Look up numbers, names, or any other information you find on the piece. If you don’t have a smart phone or iPad handy, then ask around. In a thrift store, someone might actually know something about the piece you’re looking at (patrons and employees). I know that this can be risky, but at the same time you might just find somebody nice. Often, if you’re at an estate sale, auction, or yard sale people might know about the piece anyway.

If you decide to buy without being able to research (at a thrift store), ask about the return policy. You can just go look it up and possibly return it if you’ve made a bad purchase. Most likely, you’ll love a piece regardless of what you find out.

Researching Later: If you think a piece might be a good deal and you’d like to look up quality, then feel free to leave. Go home (or to the nearest library) and do a quick Google search. Look for like items or things that might tip you off about what a piece is worth. Also, if you’ve got a camera phone or camera on hand then take a picture. If not, then jot down a description. That way it’s easy recall when you go to look it up.

Ongoing Research: For some folks the idea of researching just turns them off entirely. Which, I understand. Trust me, after grad school for 3 years, the word research still kinda makes me cringe. BUT, I love researching things that I’m totally into. Of course you can do this online, but another way to do “blanket” research (a one stop shop of sorts) is to get some books. If you’re like me, the reason you’re looking for a good deal in the first place is because of finances so loading up on books of your own isn’t an option. Well, that’s where your local library and Google Books comes in. My favorite find lately is by James W. McKenzie titled Antiques on the Cheap: A Savvy Dealer’s Guide to Buying, Restoring and Selling.

This book mostly has tips for used furniture hunting, but I’ve really enjoyed reading it. This author gives such a great run down and tips for antique buying. No, I’m not a dealer (even though I’ve got dreams of being one), but I still like to know what I’m buying. Also, he covers if it’s worth restoring yourself. Good questions and thoughts.

Lastly: If you like it and you don’t care about its history or worth, then by all means buy the damn thing. If it’s got value to you, for it to enter your home, then kuddos and happy thrifting!

Other tips for researching that I didn’t cover?

—

For the past several weeks Jess and I have been posting about things we think everyone should know about purchasing furniture secondhand. Just to recap: We wrote about why we buy secondhand in the first place here and here. Also here’s a quick recap of our previous posts.

• Know Your Shared Style: Jess wrote about figuring out what works for both you and your partner. This leads to a happy home.

• Tips for Recognizing Quality: I gave my tips that I’ve accumulated from my mother’s advice, reading, and my personal experiences.

• Reality versus Vision: Jess gave some great advice about taking a step back and not falling in love with a piece right away (some advice I should heed).

I’ve decided to use our Thursday Tea Time series to share some of my teapots from my growing teapot collection with you over the next few weeks. The first teapot I purchased was this tea pot from Japanese manufacturer Toscany. I envision a beautiful display of teapots in my home at some point of my future, but this one had to be able to stand alone. I picked it out because I liked the feel of the metal handle, I liked appreciated the wear, and the colors and style matched my house. I’m still quite fond of it, and it did look great in my house positioned amidst my dining room center pieceuntil I purchased the next three teapots in my collection on a shopping trip a few weeks later.

In addition to being my first teapot purchase, it was also my first purchase at an antique show. And that’s where my feelings begin to mix. The teapot had a sticker on the bottom when I first saw it that said it was $6. I saw it, turned it over, got excited that it was only going to be $6 and started to commit myself to buying it. The man working at this particular booth at the antique show came over and said that he had $25 on it. I should have been quicker to say that he actually had $6 on it, but instead, I just got flustered. I ended up talking him down to $18 because it wasn’t worth $25 to me but I still feel like I could have gotten a better deal. It was a teachable moment, I guess, because now I think about what I would be willing to pay for something before I even look for a price. It helps me decide when I would feel okay deciding to walk away from a potential buy.

As a related complaint, I hate it when dealers put stickers on antiques. This teapot was okay because a little gentle use of acetone removed the sticker and its residue just fine, but I’ve decided not to buy pieces because someone thought it was a good idea to try to sell them by applying a sticker to an organic material like leather or wood. I want to base my decisions on how great anew find will look in my house–not on whether or not I feel like redoing my manicure after undoing some unnecessary damage to a new purchase.

Let the curator in me assure you: adhesive is evil.