What's On My List?

I am starting my shopping list for the big event and I know it will be a loooong one.

First on my list and I shop year round for this is vintage christmas. That is more of a category, because it can be almost anything. I collect vintage christmas items, the kitschy the better and I also acquire vintage christmas items that I use to repurpose into creations.

So I'm on the lookout for just about anything that's christmas related and old.

I'm really hoping to find alot of christmas items, especially some really old and cool ornaments.

The most special ones will make it onto one of my 9 christmas trees that I put up each year or they will become wreath creations for my etsy shop.  This year I collected enough vintage ornaments to make 8 wreaths for my shop. 

That's a lot of ornaments! 

Beginnings and the HGTV Special

While this little ol' blog is still in it's infancy I'd like to give credit where credit is due.  I certainly don't have the computer skills to put together a blog banner much less one as fabulous as the one at the top of this blog!  This banner and button are the genius of the creative guru that is Katie Runnels.  If you have never been over to Katie's blog, The Constant Gatherer, then it's your lucky day because I am pointing you in the right direction. 

One of the things that I am hoping to do when we get over to Tennessee next August to begin shopping at the WLYS, is to hook up with HGTV.   At the very least we hope to come across where they are filming for their annual special about the yard sale.  In my wildest dreams I would love to star in the 2010 Endless Yard Sale Special!!!

This year HGTV picked out 3 teams of shoppers and gave each team $500 to shop for a room makeover.  HGTV calls their special "The Endless Yard Sale" and this year's installment airs this Sunday at 8pm EST.

If you follow the link over to the Endless Yard Sale page on HGTV you will find several articles with lots of pictures.  You can be sure that I looked at every one of those and read all the captions.  One of the pictures mentions that it was taken in Clarkrange, TN.  So over to mapquest I go.

Clarkrange is north of Crossville, TN where I am starting and south of Jamestown, TN (official home of the WLYS) so YES, I will be traveling through Clarkrange, TN.

Also, I want to thank everyone that has stopped by and anyone that has left a comment.  I'd love to reply to your comments but I can only do so if you have an email link in your blogger profile.   You can email me anytime just by following the link over in the sidebar. 

Enjoy the show!

What is The World's Longest Yard Sale?

The World’s Longest Yard Sale (WLYS) is 654 miles long. It stretches south from Gadsen, Alabama up north to West Unity, Ohio. The WLYS follows Route 127 through Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio. It was begun by the Fentress County Chamber of Commerce in Jamestown, TN to stimulate tourism along this scenic highway. The sale always starts on the first Thursday of August through Sunday. During this weekend, traffic is congested as thousands of vendors rent spaces in fields, yards, and parking lots along the route. The lure of find that perfect treasure around the bend brings in yard salers from all over the country. Restaurants are packed and hotel/motel rooms along the route are fully booked several months prior to the sale. So book early!

I have already booked my room and have planned which section of the WLYS I am going to tackle. I chose the section which is geographically closer to where we live, if 9 hours is considered close! It is also the section which has the official WLYS headquarters, Jamestown, TN. I am hitting Route 127 at Crossville, TN and will travel 175 miles over two days north to either Danville, KY or Lawrenceburg, KY (depending on our mood on day three). That's my plan. Part of the fun is, of course, not knowing what treasures lie beyond the next bend. It may take hours to go several dozen miles, but so be it! I expect that.

As this blog unfolds, I will share with you the minutiae of planning for this event. I am going to research as much as I can, share what I find with you, and then share my personal travel tips. I can’t wait, and I'm so glad you are taking the journey virtually with me!