We, the owners of Country Garden Antiques, are sitting at a new craft coffee bar called Ascension, in the Design District. It is located @ Oaklawn and Turtle Creek Blvd. Also available for lunch and dinner. Food and drinks are both awesome.
Anyhow, we wanted to update our blog and clue you in on what we saw at the Market this year to help stay up with the trends. Here's the quick sample summary of what's going on in our local design world.
Color-Emerald Green is the color of the year in case you haven't heard. Black and white colors were everywhere too.
Lighting-It's simplified. Lots of industrial and farm looks going on. Cage lighting still going strong.
Influences- We saw lots of gem/ minerals/ stones an the natural setting in every facet of design. Stones and minerals were sliced and polished or left raw and used as lamps, food serving slabs, bookends, paperweights, furniture, boxes, jewelry (big time) and much more. Driftwood : Influences- It was everywhere.
Antiques and One of a Kinds!- They were offered at the Vintage Finds section of Cash&Carry. Some of our friends were there with fine offerings. The only problem is that it was hard to buy cause the booths were covered in sold tags! Debbie and Danny York (Talking Trash), Maggie Lopez (The Veranda and Meloney and Brian of the Seedbox were just a few of those selling.
Next June you may see Alan Galichia and Gina Galichia (Country Garden Antiques)
Last weekend I took time out to attend the annual Bocce Ball Tournament sponsored by Damian and Trina Mandola. The Mandola family is one of the warmest and friendliest families alive. Although Ben and I turned out to be unsuccessful in winning the Round Trip all expense paid trip for two to Italy, we certainly ate enough of the wonderful food which was provided by the Mandola restaurant to make this trip worth our time and expense. The Tournament was held on the Trattoria Lisino Mandola Vineyard near Driftwood Texas just south of Austin. Proceeds were donated to the Burke Youth Center. I am providing photos of the Restaurant and Vineyard. I was sooo impressed with this experience that I felt like I needed to share this with everyone in hopes that the next time they were in the Austin area they would take the short scenic trip to the vineyard for dinner at the Trattoria Lisino Restaurant. Our two day experience at the location convinced me that I wanted to share this opportunity with others. Three other locations are throughout the Austin area. By the end of the game Ben and I both felt the warm friendship of the Mandola family. I can't thank them enough for taking us under their wings and filling our stomachs with such wonderful food and desserts. 
I must add that during my trip (as always) I was able to squeeze a few profitable hours of Antique shopping. I managed to fill my vehicle with a full load of choice pieces.
