Quivery, shimmery jello remains a lunchbox staple and a flavorful ingredient in jello shots. And July 12 just happens to be "Eat your jello day." But long before it became a prepared packaged food or was paired up with alcohol in bar drinks, flavored molded gelatins with sweet or savory "sinkers" and "floaters" were popular dishes at ladies' luncheons, potlucks, and more. 

​Even if aspics and congealed salads are no longer the darlings of parties, those vintage jello molds still hold our interest. Hold that mold while we take a quick stroll down memory lane, back to where they originated.

During the 2020 pandemic, gardening and canning saw a huge surge in popularity. By late summer, the shelves were bare where canning supplies are normally found, and many of us were scrounging around in our basements and garages for old canning jars long forgotten.

But old glass canning jars are good for more than jams and jellies....and some jars are more valuable than antique vases. You just have to know what you're looking for.

There are many ways to pick vintage and antique pieces including your family's attics and basements, auctions, and estate and tag sales. But a good flea market can be a great picking place....and one of the best flea markets in the country is just a stone's throw away.

And they are fixing to re-open this weekend.  So have you ever been to the #NashFlea? Here are three tips we've learned over the years that will help you navigate a flea market like a pro.

1. The early bird might get the worm, but the last mouse gets the cheese.
If you are an experienced flea market regular, you probably already know that showing up while dealers are setting up can be the best way to score some great items. But if you don't know the ins and outs of the market, and you don't know the dealers, you may be viewed as a nuisance, getting in the way of their set-up routine. And don't expect to get your treasures at bargain-basement prices in the early hours of a market: dealers have worked hard to bring their items to market. They have packed up trucks and trailers, hauled everything - in some cases, hundreds of miles - and worked hard to set up their displays. They expect a reasonable profit for their efforts, especially on the choicest pieces.

On the other hand, the last few hours of a flea market can be a time for great deals....on whatever is left. If you're lucky, the items you want are still there, and the dealer may not want to haul it home or to the next market on their route.

You just have to pick your style - are you a treasure hunter or a bargain hunter? You probably won't be both. 

2. Experience is a hard teacher: she gives the test first, and the lesson second.
Nearly every flea-market fan has learned some hard lessons with ill-advised impulse purchases. Some spur-of-the-moment acquisition stories will turn out well, some will become cautionary tales of what NOT to do. Either way, they are teaching moments, so learn from your successes and mistakes.

Dealers can be a wealth of knowledge...but if you want them to take time and educate you on the provenance on a piece and tell you its worth, don't expect them to also give you a bargain-basement price on it.

It pays to spend time observing, researching and learning before you fall in love with a specific item or category of goods. Some items are reproduced and may even look old, including jewelry, dishes and glassware, furniture and architectural salvage. The best way to learn to tell the vintage from the reproduction is to train your eyes and hands to recognize the subtle differences.

Side note: being a reproduction item isn't always a bad thing: for example, reproduced arches, corbels and windows aren't going to have rot and termite damage like their bonafide counterparts. Prices on reproductions might be  less than their antique counterparts, but the more ornate and intricate the piece, the more the price will reflect the craftsmanship that went into making the item, new or old. New dishware is typically dishwasher and microwave-safe, and is made with less-toxic materials...but labor and materials have gone up exponentially. You just need to know what you're buying. 

Always carefully look over pieces before you commit to buying - most sales are final. If you can repair it or live with the imperfections, you can get some great deals. Be realistic, and don't expect pristine quality for second-hand prices.

3. The Golden Rule applies.
​Using common sense and common courtesy will pay dividends when you visit a flea market. Treat the dealers and your fellow flea market buyers with both, and you'll have more success and fun than those who don't.

• Do carry cash cash (preferably small bills), and keep them securely in a front pocket or bag you keep on your person.
• Don't ask expect a dealer to give you their deepest discount if you're paying with a credit card - transaction fees eat into their profits, on big and small purchases.
• Do ask the vendor if it's their best price....but don't insult them with an unreasonably low offer.
• Don't block walkways or booth entrances with your shopping cart. If you're bringing a tot or pet, don't let them free-range - it's dangerous for everyone.
• Do ask a vendor to hold an item if you can't carry it with you - and DO take a photo of it to remind you where to pick up your purchases. But don't expect them to help you carry or load it. Need a second set of hands? Look for porters near the loading zones - and tip them for their help.
• Don't expect a flea market to be easy pickings. Our flea market days involve 8-10 hours of hard work: walking and lugging items through crowds. Sometimes our efforts pay off, other times we come home half-empty. The weather for outdoor flea markets is almost always uncomfortably extreme: hot and sweaty or cold and windy - and sometimes sopping wet. Flea marketing is not glamorous, and honestly, it's not for everyone. But we think it's worth going at least once, just to satisfy your curiosity and see what the fuss is all about.

Cake is the dessert of choice for many occasions, and has been the crown jewel of many feasts, banquets and parties for centuries. But do you know the origins of cake stands, pedestals, savers and carriers? Each of these items were designed and developed for a very specific purpose - and for some of us, we have sweet, fond childhood memories that flood back when we see a fancy glass cake stand or painted carrier like the one we remember.

As Murfreesboro's favorite place to buy paint, we get a TON of questions about painting furniture. Often the question is, "Should I paint this piece?" - which is subject we covered here. 

But the question we get most often, is "What color should I paint this piece?"

It's a great question, and it deserves a thoughtful answer. Ultimately the choice is yours, but here are three questions that will guide you to the perfect color....for you. And keep reading, because at the end, we'll reveal one of our fresh-painted new arrivals this week. If you caught our recent Instagram or Facebook stories, you saw the before and during the updating process.

Kermit the Frog once famously lamented that iI's not easy being green. Sorry, Kermie - we love you, but we have to disagree; we think it's actually pretty easy to be green, at least if you are a particular hue known as jadeite green. This enduring, soothing color has been a mainstay in kitchens for decades, and it's still just as home in today's modern kitchens as it was in the country kitchens of our mothers and grandmothers.

​Let's explore the origins of this lovely glassware, and what is - and isn't - jadeite.

March is when Spring Fever starts to spike, especially among house-bound Southerners. By now, winter has overstayed her welcome and we're all itching to get outside and enjoy the warmth of the sun on our backs and feel fresh dirt between our toes and fingers as we start filling containers and getting garden patches ready for tender new plants. But Mother Nature can be fickle, so if it's not quite time to get out in the garden, look around your garden shed or some antique stores for a few old garden tools and make them into decorative items while you wait for warm temperatures to arrive.

If you've seen American Pickers, you know how Mike and Frank scour the countryside for vintage and antique finds. Their travels have taken them to far-flung places across many  states.

​In case you didn't know, Mike has become a bona fide Tennessean, with a residence in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee and he's often spotted hanging out with our friends at Blue 32 in Columbia.

So how did Sherri and I get started picking? And do we pick like the American Pickers? And where can YOU find great picking spots?  

Valentine's Day conjures up memories of grade school: blunt-tip scissors, pungent paste and a classroom of children cutting and pasting paper doilies onto construction paper hearts under the watchful eye of our teacher, and proudly depositing those handmade Valentines into brightly festooned shoebox "mailboxes" for each other. 

Paper and crocheted doilies have been around since Victorian times. The introduction of mercerized cotton thread made it possible to gussy up napkins with beautiful, intricate embellishments. Even if we aren't from the era that made our own doilies by the dozens, we have all seen them in our mother's or grandmother's homes, protecting furniture and cushioning delicate baked goods.

But don't keep those keepsakes in a box or trunk - break them out and let them have a new life in your home. Here are some ideas on how to collect, care for and repurpose crocheted doilies.

The obvious answer: you haul it home, of course.

If you know me, you know I have a thing for anything with drawers and cubbies - the more, the better. (And a rather serious vintage mixing bowl fetish....but that's another story.) I've traveled hither and yon across the mid-state for card catalogs, usually just the 18-drawer stacking cabinets. hefty, but manageable, especially if you remove the drawers.

​Last week, a grand-daddy of a cabinet came my way, and to be honest, I'm still not sure how two of us actually loaded it in my Armada.

Adrenaline, baby. Now the question is, what to do with this 400-pound beast?