Look out Etsy, Here we Come!

Connie and I had a plan for the fall/winter to start working on our etsy store following the season end of the Peddler's Market. 

But, I got really excited after I came across Gina's ebook from The Shabby Creek Cottage "From Passion to Profit."  I purchased it for $10 and downloaded it.  I had all intentions on decorating for Christmas that day, then I found myself opening an etsy store (no, I still haven't decorated, maybe later today...). I have posted a few items and I'm still tweaking the store.  There's a lot to learn about etsy but it seems to be rather user friendly.  We hope to continue posting new items daily and keep our storefront updated.  I wouldn't of been as motivated if it wasn't for Gina! Now, I just need to find a book to motivate me to decorate for Christmas!

Our shop is Roadside Relic's "RoadsideTrunkShow." Check it out!

 ~Marie

One Day at a Time

Well Hello All and Happy Halloween to you! :) Please excuse our absence here in blogland. We're happy to say we've been really busy with The Castle Street Peddler's Market.  Selling, buying, refinishing, loading, unloading, you get the idea.  Between our "real" jobs and our dream job, we stay pretty busy.  We're getting ready for the upcoming weekend with the CSPM along with The Fall Festival on Castle Street. Our last few markets have really been growing! Yay!

Artist Sheri Welsh

These photos were taken early, right after vendor setups.  We hope to show you some great pics from the upcoming weekend.  We're excited to say, we'll have Debbie from Miss Lillians Cottage decorate an entrance along with an arbor and beautiful fall decor from her lovely little cottage in Hampstead, NC. Southern charm and hospitality awaits all who enter the front door of Miss Lillian's Cottage. Here's a sneak preview from the talented ladies at Miss Lillian's.

Miss Lillian's Cottage

Miss Lillian's Cottage

Miss Lillian's Cottage

I'm grateful to say, our plates are full right now.  Just this week: 

• My husband and a friend are launching a BBQ business together.
• I'm helping my mom (a little) with my minimal blogging skills, on her blog about a children's book she's publishing. She would love for you to visit and comment if you have any words of inspiration or wisdom.  You can follow her progress at J.A.M.
• Connie & I are working everyday with vendors and marketing for the market.
• Our Etsy shop is in the works....  
• We do have to work our "real jobs" as well.
• Last but not least at all, help to keep the household running smoothly on a daily basis.

I know you are super busy as well. 

It's amazing what we all have to juggle. 

I hope you are blessed this week in everything you do!

~~Marie

One Step Closer to Doing What we Love!

We would like to fill you in on what's been keeping us so busy.  Connie and I are now hosting the "Castle Street Peddler's Market" in Wilmington, NC, every 1st & 3rd Saturdays of the month.  

A little history on how it all worked out...things sort of fell into place as Connie and I were out recently talking with shop owners about vendor space and ideas to move our merchandise.  In doing so we met Michael with Michael Moore Antiques.  We hit it off right away!  In talking with him, we felt he could see our love and drive for the business.  He has been gracious enough to allow us the opportunity to make this our project, as he is the property owner, and is supporting our efforts the entire way!  

We just can't put into words how passionate and excited we are about it!  With the increasing costs to travel to the Raleigh Flea Market, this has been a fantastic opportunity and we greatly appreciate it!  The market features artisan goods, vintage items, collectibles, furniture and home accents. It's really a great venue for small business owners and artisans to network locally right in our own hometown.  

Roadside Relics

Various Artisan Goods and Vintage Items

Giclees by Anne Newbold Perkins

Gotta love "Sally's Sacks"

Myrna's treasures

More Roadside Relics...we just love our stuff!

We hope this gets bigger and better each time!  With our excitement we can really make this happen.  We are still working on vendor support and ways to drum up more traffic to this wonderful antique district.  Wilmington has needed a market like this for a really long time.  Please cross your fingers and say some prayers that this gets bigger than we ever imagined!  We'll keep you posted!  ~ Marie

 

There are people who have money and people who are rich
  ~ Coco Chanel

"They" say do what you love.....

"Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life"..."find your passion"..... You may want to pull up a chair, this may take a while.

Lately, this has been my obsession, what am I going to be when I grow up?  In talking with other people , I don't think I'm alone here either.  As I am approaching 41 years old, my entrepreneurial spirit is continuously calling out to me and I'm trying my best to respond. But what is the answer???  I've recently read this book, 48 Days to the Work You Love written by Dan Miller, as recommended by financial expert, Dave Ramsey. As I see it, I'm going to have to read it again, to mentally grasp the concepts and truly listen to what the writer is trying to get through to me.

Do what you love, what is your passion?? What exactly does it mean do what you love? I love working for myself, flea markets, yard sales, traveling, gardening, blogging. I love our business, Roadside Relics. Problem is, my "real" job gets in the way.  Balancing family, full-time work and this part-time dream can take it's toll. Something's gotta give!  Another dilemma in doing these things that I love, the return has been minimal (due to the time issue).  Life cannot be lived on a minimal profit. I'm just going to have to be patient. Patience my dear, patience.... I guess until the skies part and God says, "Marie ___ is what I want you to do," I'll dream a little.....

Dreaming of a shop like Shaunna's over at perfectly imperfect...........living my dream.....check out her blog, especially taking note of her office space, ideal for meeting with clients, so personal and comfy! 

The way my dream plays out, Connie and I have been traveling for a few days. We've found the coolest most unique treasures. We have an adorable shop like this where dealers and customers are anxiously awaiting for our return.

Or what about Rhoda showing some  Southern Hospitality.......I picture myself in the morning, walking into this office with my coffee, checking my orders I've received overnight. I wanna be her when I grow up!

Meet Beth, I could be like her, a diy'er (do it yourself'er) and professional blogger. Her blog, Home Stories A to Z  is cleverly written to reflect her personality. A girl that describes herself  as "I possess zero special talents! Seriously. It’s true. I’m just incredibly tenacious, resourceful, and willing to take risks." Maybe that's why I like her so much, we have a lot in common!

After completing this post, I honestly think, reading what I am passionate about makes things more clear. Thank you for listening to me!  Life is too short, I think we all should love what we do for a living. That's not too much to ask, is it? 

Everyone Loves a Good Makeover

Wow, these pieces were literally trash to treasure projects. We were lucky enough to do a friend a favor and move this wonderful buffet out of her garage before it would be shipped off to Goodwill.  She made room in her garage, in turn, we had a project. A win, win situation.

We could appreciate the wonderful detail and the fine wood this beauty is made of.  We scrubbed it down, removed all loose pieces of wood. We sanded several areas to smooth things a bit. The drawers were removed as well as the hardware. We replaced the hardware with some fab drawer pulls we landed at World Market.  We decided to try Behr Premium Plus Ultra, paint & primer in one (pot of cream), for the entire project. It is much thicker to work with, but seems durable and covered very well. After several coats, we were more than pleased with the end results.

The next piece was snagged directly from dumpster doom. Yes, it was on it's way out. Someone wanted it out of the way or didn't see the potential.  Whatever the reason, I'm so glad we found her.

We used the same paint, Behr Premium Plus Ultra, paint & primer in one (pot of cream). After several coats she was no longer trash, a wonderful treasure.

 

So, what do ya think? We always have issues parting with our finds.....I hope they find a good home.   

Can't wait to show you more

Roadside Relics..............Marie :)

Name Changed, Faces Remain the Same

 
We have some splaining to do..... ..Connie and I have been kicking around  the idea of renting owning (that's more like it) a store front to sell our fabulous finds one day.  In doing so, we came across a description of some random finds described as "Roadside Relics." That was us and now, it is us! We think it's a really cool name that describes what we have to offer.  

You may notice our blog is like us, like life, it's random.  If we're excited about something we're gonna tell you about it.  Nothing makes us happier than a good deal, and we'll tell you how to get those deals.  We get a natural high from flipping furniture and picking in places that few dare to venture. We'll find it, sand it, add a little tlc, throw on a coat of paint and tell you all about it along the way.


We hope you like Roadside Relics !!! As always, we would love to hear from you. Comments are welcome ;)

Share and share alike

Welcome.....Just a little inspiration for purchasing things when they are "free" (or close to it) with a coupon. We filled a box for the Baptist Children's Home through our church. Many of these items were at very little cost to absolutely free with coupons. We are by no means tooting our own horn for doing so, I just wanted to share with you how you can give to others for pennies out of pocket. Please don't mistake us for extreme couponers. But when we can get things we use for free (or close to it), we try to stock up. You can always give the extras to a local charity, a single mom or the college kids that stop by on occasion. I would like to revisit the coupon blogs we mentioned a while back. These ladies have fantastic videos to teach you couponing basics and all kinds of tips for deals at various stores. Considering these crazy economic times, this is a great way to cut back on the fams food budget.

This is Jenny, an absolute coupon Goddess!! I don't understand how she does it, but I'm sooo glad she does! She is most definitely, da couponing bomb!!



Next up, Collin...and this is NOT your Grandma's Coupon Site! I love her energy and I especially love her Coffee with Collin videos. She keeps it real! My kinda girl!



You'll just love Lori! This is how she sums up her coupon passion....

"A die-hard dollar stretching yankee mom of five living somewhere deep in the heart of Texas. . . . . . . I can bring home the free bacon. Fry it up in a half price pan. And show you how to never ever ever pay full price again. . . . . . . Retail is for chumps. Welcome to hard-core retail rehab".

Speaking of passion, you won't miss a thing following Heather over at http://www.passionforsavings.com/. Her motto is "save where you can so you can spend where you want to." Words to live by!

I think this is an impresssive list of smart, hard-working ladies. There are thousands of coupon sites to go to, but these are my "go to" girls!!

Coupons are like anything else in life, you'll get out of it what you put into it.

As for my home, our motto is we're "living like no one else, so one day we can live like no one else."

We LOVE to help people get started with coupons! Please contact us if you need help or have questions.

Start clipping now............... ;)

Btw, We are working on two fab pieces of furniture that we rescued. One is an antique buffet, the other a queen headboard and footboard. The end results will knock your socks off!!

At Home Shopping

Hello again! I promise, we have not been ignoring you, but life has kept us a bit busy. And with that being said, thank you as always for stopping by to visit during your busy lives. We appreciate it more than you know.

Recently I've been "shopping" in my own home. Rearranging from room to room, to "freshen" things up a little. As I have been working very hard to obtain financial peace, I've placed myself on a spending freeze.  Unfortunately, this became the end result of the wall by my back door after moving a picture from here to another room. Honestly, I'm embarrassed to say, it's been blank for weeks. I had nothing to put there at all.

Until this white frame fell from the top of a cabinet where it was propped as a layering piece. I picked it up and had nothing else to do with it, but hang it on the empty nail by the door (light bulb moment..). Picture quality...not so good. Sorry, I'm working on this...



I wish my cabinets were painted white. I'm not that brave just yet and my husband would probably not dig the idea. Oh well,  I'll dwell on it a little longer..

  As I shopped the house for the perfect decorative plate or picture of my girls to place in the center, I thought of the dinner party we were having for my nephew Bradley that night, as he is leaving in a few days for Haiti. How appropriate to find a picture of him to celebrate. This is his second mission trip and he had such wonderful pictures of his previous trip. It was a tough decision, they're all so beautiful and touching. I chose one from the file, printed it on plain paper and this is the end result. I love it and it's staying here for a long time to come. To top it all off, free decor...I can afford that ;) 

                

A picture is worth a thousand words. You can see the love and this is exactly what's calling him back. He and his friend Blair are going to serve for a month and a half with Mission of Hope Ministries. If you would like to follow in their journey you can visit them at http://www.bb2haiti.blogspot.com/ .

They leave Wednesday, 2/16/2011. We pray for their protection as they follow God's will.

Here are a few other pictures from his past trip.

 Matthew 20:26-28 says “It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Blessings...Marie

Dear Dave,

Dear Dave Ramsey,

You have been consuming my every day and night.  All I think about is numbers and getting out of debt and how to make more money to do so.  I wanna be debt ffffrrreee!!!!

STOP WORRYING ABOUT MONEY

Connie and I, as well as our hubbies, have signed up for a course in Financial Peace University instructed by Dave.  He is teaching us to dump debt, build wealth and change our family tree.

Since beginning this journey several weeks ago, my husband and I have roped in all the figures and we're trying to grasp Dave's concept to "live like no one else so one day you can live like no one else."  I can say, living now like a college student (money-wise) ain't a whole lotta fun.  But we're holding onto the light at the end of the tunnel.  Accumulating debt didn't happen overnight and we're not expecting to get out of it overnight.  Hopefully by following Dave's advice, we'll be free of these chains of debt in 18 months!  We are motivated to do this because we feel like we were not put on this earth to be "slaves to the lender", as Dave likes to say.  I wanna live a decent life, give my kids what they need (and a little bit of what they want) and owe no one.  This takes a different mentality and getting over an instant gratification concept entirely.  We have to save and plan...period.  Dave says I can do this.  And if Dave says it...well then, I believe it!   I wish this was taught to us in school years ago and even more, I wish it was being taught to our kids in school now!  Believe me, our kids will get the concept, they really won't have a choice actually.... it's the hard knocks life these days, that's right!....we're taking baby steps...


So far we have:


1. Saved for our emergency fund.


2. Created a budget. This sounds simple huh, not so much.


3. Now we're working on paying off debts and snowballing it right on down the line....until our home is paid for and we're debt fffffrrrrreeeee!!!!!!  Seriously, it's possible!


btw, Dave says "sell so much stuff that the kids think they're next"....


This is a 13 week long series and we're 4 down. We'll keep you posted on our progress and how it's changed our lives.  Hopefully not divorce court...;)    Marie

An eye for pretty

We've linked up to The Shabby Nest. Wendy has a special touch to create spaces that are both livable and beautiful. Click on her site name or the link above. She would love to have you visit....you're in for a treat!

Road Trip Inspiration.........

Hello All! We apologize for the lack of posts here but down south we've been dealing with about 6 inches of snow and all of our normal daily lives seized for a while. We haven't had snow accumulation like this since 1989! It was nice to see it come and nice to see it go...

Marie's daughters, Alexis & Courtney and  best friends, Rascal and Rock enjoying the snow.

 Lately, we've been searching for inspiration. To get our minds away from this  miserably frigid beautiful wonder of nature, we thought we would share some past picks with you. All of these items have been sold.  We must say that we have mixed feelings on selling our finds. First of all, we have to love it to buy it and once you love something, it's hard to set it free.... that is until someone pulls out some cashola and things start getting a lil' easier to let go of.  A lot of these pieces needed some special TLC. Here are pics before these piggies were taken to the market.

Loved this table! We lucked up with it while cleaning out someone's garage.

Another garage find! This was a worth while day! What personality and character.

Both needed a little love. It's amazing what a coat of paint and fabric can do!

The drawer in this piece would slide out both sides. The buyer was so lucky to find this!

 



straight from craigslist! {love} {love} {love}



picked up at yardsale. added a coat of paint, shabby a little and waalaa!



We hope you enjoyed  strolling  down memory lane with us....

There are many picks to share from the past but this gives you a glimpse of what we brake for.

Stay warm and think sunny thoughts...........  ;)

Connie and Marie