Twice a year, a little event happens in the unassuming area (Round Top/Warrenton/Burton) known collectively by those who attend as simply Round Top, or more recently, Roundtopolis. Hundreds of thousands of visitors descend upon the place over the course of a week or two that normally is a humble home to maybe a couple hundred or so to hunt for junk and fine antiques alike. The event itself is generally referred to as Antique Week. Antique Week is crazy in a good way, like Christmas. You just sort of jump in and hold on.
Round Top is different things to different people. For some, it's a place to be seen. A place where the famous sometimes want to be recognized because (among other things), they want to be associated with the hot swagger of it all. On the other hand, if you truly don't want to be seen, it's easy to blend in because there are lots of beautiful, cool people who are not famous [hello, it's Texas].
For others, it's a place to people watch. Their goal is to find the famous people (who may or may not want to be recognized) or maybe just observe the more outlandish outfits & personalities that stroll through, especially on Prom night. Round Top is a Mecca for girlfriend posses, creatives & celebrities of all stripes, so you never know what or who you'll see. Anything goes.
For a smaller handful [a.k.a. corporate outsider types who want to capitalize], it's a cool backdrop for TV segments, magazine articles and such. [That's okay, I guess. We've got enough cool to share and still have plenty leftover.]
There is nothing wrong with any of the things I've mentioned above. Just different stories.
my grandmother (Loena), great-grandmother (Auguste), and great-great-grandmother (Annie)
For me, getting to Round Top is returning to my roots, not about being a character at a carnival. Driving the highways and byways is going home. I'm not from Round Top, but my German-Texan ancestors (the Guderians) first settled in the area from Falls County (Lorena, Golinda, Cottonwood) to Washington County (Brenham), which is the birthplace of Texas, and also happens to be the drive I take to arrive at Round Top. They farmed the land and built some of the first storefronts and generations later, I still feel the connection. So for me, the Trip to Bountiful (bountiful junk, that is) is a sentimental journey...a sacred pilgrimage. When I'm looking out over the fields, I'm seeing scenes that generations before me also saw. They probably scattered some lupine seeds from their homeland among the native bluebonnets, as was the custom with many German immigrants to Texas back in the day. In the Spring when the wildflowers are in bloom, it's almost more than my heart can take. This is what I'm always looking to capture and bring home with me from Antique Week.
www.thegoodtexanlife.com
When the cameras go away and the famous people get bored [and there are no signs of happening any time soon] and everyone is moving on to the next thing, I will still love this land and these little towns and all the good junk, just like I did before HGTV was a twinkle in some corporate executive's eye, because it's in my blood. I'm proud to say, this will still be home.
Once in Round Top, the fields of plunder are a playground for old souls on a Disneyland scale....overwhelming in a good way. I don't ever remember seeing truly famous people there, even though I know via social media that I indeed rubbed elbows with them on any given Round Top day. This is mainly because I don't look up, so to speak. I'm not looking at other people, really. With tunnel vision, I'm scanning the goods like an artist surveys her palette. For me (and scores of others), it's all about the "good junk."
When I go, I'm looking for components. Sometimes I accidentally find things that are finished or fine on their own. But more often than not, I'm looking in the trash bins or the scrap heaps. I'm looking for things the vendors don't even think to price but are happy to get rid of because even to them, it's rubbish. Here are a few things that caught my eye last time I was there...
vintage curtain panels
vintage trim, King's Crown plates (my weakness), Staffordshire turkey plate
vintage bread board, vintage Parisian trims, purrrrrr
Here's what I saw in my mind's eye when I was foraging...the scraps became one-of-a-kind curtains for my bathroom
Of course, no trip to Round Top (Antique Week or not) is complete without a meal at Royer's Round Top Cafe. During Antique Week, you need reservations. My favorite here is the Shrimp Po' Boy & Pecan Pie, but IT'S ALL OMG GOOD!
The Beloved Bud Royer, The Pieman, holding court. Love him.
This weekend, I head South once again...driving the familiar terrain, meeting up with loved ones, scrounging the acres upon acres of plenty, and eating a communal meal at Royer's. Looking forward to every minute.
Introducing my friend D'Wana Villines of Mountain Girl Melodies to the awesomeness that is Round Top Antique Week a few years ago. (Whew! It was a hot, humid Texas day!)
