Willow Nest is Coming - August 16th!!!!

If you want to know how Barn House got its start, here it goes...We had only been up in the NW for a very short time, but all we heard about was "Have you been to Willow Nest???" Joe, being the magazine junkie that he is, didn't quite make the connection at first. Well, eventually a light went off for him one day as he was browsing through an issue of Country Home Magazine.
"OMG, we HAVE to go!" Not long after his revelation, we finally went to a Spring show at Willow Nest. We made our way up I-14 along the Columbia Gorge and started getting goose-bumps. THEN, we made it to the property...an 1800's school house with a gymnasium and barn to die for!! THEN(!) we went into the gymnasium for the show...our hearts stopped...we were completely overwhelmed by "The Magic!" This was not by any means anything we had ever been to...this was VERY SPECIAL in every way imaginable! It was packed with people grabbing the treasures. We were star-struck! By the time Joe made it to the counter, he had a twinkle in his eye and must have done or said something "rather interesting" to get us considered to be part of The Willow Nest Flea Market. Now, Miss Linda is VERY selective about her vendors, so after she did much research, we were in!!! We brought the biggest U-Haul we could find and set up to impress...
It was the most beautiful day. We had an amazing time. We met incredible people--customers and dealers. Linda and Ludmil were THE MOST incredible hosts. THEN, we packed the few items we had left and went home and cried. It was like that!!! This is the impact Willow Nest had on us. This is how Barn House got started. This was our inspiration. And THIS is why this event is so special to us. They took us under their wings, mentored us and encouraged us to follow our dreams. Linda and Ludmil are coming back for a visit, y'all!! AND, they are coming to Barn House on August 16th!!!!

Joe & Jermonne
OH...you may be wondering how we are going to pull off two very distinct shows in August??? We are on our way to The Clayson Farm Antique Show in Yakima, WA to CLEAN THEM OUT on Saturday!! Our friend Joy of Antie Joy is going to be a dealer there, as well as over 50 other dealers. Leslee, are you ready for us????

Barn House Flea Market - Part 2

This picture speaks a thousand words! We just want to grab everyone who came and give them a big ol' country hug. We did a lot of it at the event, and probably scared some folks to death. If I had met you, thought I had met you or really wanted to meet you, or just made eye contact with you...you probably got a hug. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all of the support and kind words on our blog. We really appreciate you!!

As mentioned previously, our camera got crushed by either my big foot or a car in the early morning of the event, BUT, we were so fortunate to have had some of our friends (old and new) take lots, and lots of pictures. They all really captured the essence of The Barn House Experience!

Mrs. French - Bliss
Bliss Barn House Flea Market Slideshow (She is an AMAZING photographer--somebody really needs to snatch her up to do editorial work!!!)

Robin - Bird Tweets (a new friend of Barn House and also an AMAZING photograher -- How lucky are we??)

Cindy Dockins - Queen of Tarte
Rebekah - Little Byrd
Joy - Antie Joy
Aleta - The Silly Bear and Flourishes
Lulu - Luluz
Krista - Organize in Style AND AM Northwest Lifestyle Expert AND The O Myth AND BlogTalkRadio
Tracey - Notes from A Cottage Industry
Brandi - The Home Office Organizer AND The O Myth AND BlogTalkRadio
Isabel - Maison Douce
Lisa - A Thing for Roses
There are rumors spreading that we cheated a bit to win the Chili Cook-Off. I won't mention names (Barry-"King" of Tarte), but folks are saying we only won because I was winking, smiling too much, flirting, kissing babies and pinching bottoms to get extra votes. Joe apparently dressed up as a Chippendale and was giving lap dances for extra votes. Not ALL of this is true, but sometimes you do have to work with what ya mama gave you!!! The Barn House alter-ego is "J&J's Suga Shack" for a reason! ;o)
Great things are on the horizon for Barn House! We just got our first "editorial" mention in Country Pleasures Magazine y'all!!! Be sure to check out the August issue (not pictured) to see what the lovely Joelle had to say about us. :o)

BIG NEWS!!!!
Linda and Ludmil of Willow Nest are coming to Barn House - August 16th!!!!They are our inspiration. They have encouraged us and supported us and guided us through everything that is Barn House. We love them dearly. AND they are coming all the way from Texas for little ol' us (they might have other stuff to do too but who cares about that)!!! We have lots to say about how special this event will be...more to come soon...

J & J

Barn House Flea Market - Part 1

Happiness is upon us! Our first Flea Market was really more than we could even imagine.
The line started EARLY...waaay before we opened. The parking area overflowed...in ways we never thought possible. I (Jermonne), along with Barry (Queen of Tarte's man) and our dear friends Amanda and Beth were all running around in a frenzy trying to control the traffic/parking. I was running in circles (literally--and was the butt of many jokes at the "After Party" for my very animated style in directing traffic) and dropped our camera which was run over by a car--poor us! ;o)The dealers were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! We are so very lucky to have had some of the most beautiful, talented, inspiring, positive, gracious, and wonderful women step out on a limb and bring their A-Game to the first annual Barn House Flea Market.






OH! And the Dealer Bake-Off and Chili Cook-Off competitions were a BLAST!!! We had six entries in each category. For the Bake-Off, the entries were: The Boys of Barn House - "My Late Grand Mama Pearl's Peach Cobbler," Little Byrd - "Fabulous Banana Bread," Brush Prairie Originals - "Nanaimo Bars," Antie Joys - "Poppy Seed Cake," Sparrow - "Coconut Lime Bars," and Worthy Goods - "Harvest Loaf."

The entries for our Chili Cook-Off: The Boys of Barn House - "Fire in the Hole!!! Chili," Queen of Tarte - "Antelope and 27 Other Meats Chili," Brush Prairie Originals - "White Hot Chicken Chili," Sparrow - "Centuries Old Family Recipe Chili", The Withies - "Mayan Mystery" Chili, and Lynne G's "Nose Hair Curler" Chili. We had 15 amazing judges...some of 'celebrity' status, and some just normal folks like you and me...but we loved all of them the same. Do y'all want to know the winners????
The winner of the Bake-Off competition...Natalie of Sparrow - another reason we can't stand her...along with all of her fancy primitives we want for our house but don't really need because we already have plenty of her stuff!!!! ;o) One comment from a judge was, "Very unusual, lovely blend of flavors." I would looove to focus on the word "unusual"...BUT, we didn't even get a chance to taste her "Unusual" Fancy Coconut Lime Bars that just happened to win the competition. BUT, what we can tell you is, she ain't invited back...EVER!! My late grand mama Pearl is probably rolling in her grave. ;o)

The winner of the Chili "Battle" is...microphone please...trumphet please...spotlight please...birds chirping please...angels singing please...Hillbillies around the world SCREEEEAM...THE BOYS OF BARN HOUSE!!!!! HEE HAW!!!!! This is kind of amazing considering we hadn't slept much all week, had spent most of the day setting up and lolly-gagging with our dealers/friends...THEN there was the "Pre-Flea Market Party" with our dealers/friends that spent the night with us (Queen of Tarte & her man Barry, Antie Joy , Luluz and her man Geff, and Molly Mo). By the time Cindy & Barry (Queen of Tarte) and The Boys of Barn House started our chilis, it was around midnight before the event (and we had to be up at 4 am)!!!! This was a new recipe for us...somewhat of a last minute concoction...we decided to just play it by ear. "Moonshine" speaks in mysterious ways sometimes! (ok, yes, we are still a bit sleep deprived)

As mentioned, our camera was crushed, so if you were here and have photos you would like to share, please send them our way (barnhousebh@yahoo.com). Thanks Sweetie-Pie Isabel (Maison Douce) for sharing some of the pix you took for us. AND, thanks for all of the customers and friends who made it out our way on Saturday. Tell us if you had a good time!!! Shoot, tell us if you just wished you were here!!! Just don't tell us you didn't like our peach cobbler and chili!

Joe and Jermonne
The Boys of Barn House

Party at J&J's Suga Shack - This Saturday!!!

J&J's Suga Shack is the alter-ego of Barn House. Every once in a while, we go a little country crazy and just let it all hang out! Our first Flea Market is going to be QUITE an event. If you don't know us, you are sure to find out who we REALLY are on Saturday. I don't know if this is good or not, but you are sure to get a good laugh (most likely at our expense).
Today was our first day of set up. "Mister" (me) stayed home to make sure there wasn't too much lolly-gagging going on. I have to keep my eye (my good eye) on that Joe sometimes! ;o) Natalie (Sparrow--aka Master Primitive Hunter), Aleta & Bill (Flourishes AND The Silly Bear), Julie Verburg (The Withies), Lynne Gunderson and Julie Brough were all here dropping off a portion of their goodies. Tomorrow is the 1st day of the party when ALL of the dealers will be here working their magic. Are you ready for this??
We have six entries in each category of the Bake-Off/Cook-Off dealer competition. Our entries - "Barn House's 'Fire in the Hole!' Chili" and "Grand Mama Pearl's Famous Peach Cobbler" are sure to win!!! We can't wait to wear our Blue Ribbon's proudly at The After Party...not to mention running around rubbing every one's nose in it. How FUN will that be!!! AND, we have celebrity judges too!!! You may have heard of Donna and Phillip (Stylist and Photographer Extraordinaires)--they do covers for such magazines as Country Living and Country Home, among many, many others. HEE HAW! I mentioned in an earlier post our new friend Krista Colvin, AM Northwest's Lifestyle Expert. Hallelujah, she is bringing a chariot filled with lovely and very talented ladies who will also be judges!!! Her friend Tracey is coming all the way from Nevada for this here party. We have many other fabulous judges too--more on them soon!! We have politely asked Cindy (Queen of Tarte) and her Manly-Man Barry to be sure to remove the antlers from their 'Antelope' Chili...or did she say 'Gazelle' Chili??? It's hard to keep up with Miss Cindy sometimes. She is soooo Fancy!!
OK y'all, "Mister" is T-I-R-E-D...there is still so much to do! Gotta go tend to them chickens...hope to see you on Saturday...

Joe & Mister
The Boys of Barn House

The Flea Market Is A Comin'...!!

It's almost time, so we don't have much time to chat. We both were a little side-tracked this weekend...hanging out with Cindy and Barry at their place in Salem (yes, the disco ball was in full swing)...sittin' on our porch drinkin' moonshine...and talking about ALL the stuff we STILL have to do!
Even with the R & R, the Barn House space is coming together. Joe wasn't content with just having a tent, so he insisted on building yet ANOTHER "big elaborate structure." Even though I was close to having anxiety attack when he first mentioned the idea, I must say it looks really nice. One day I am going to choke on all the words I have to eat around here!
Natalie (Sparrow) has slowing been bringing her larger pieces. This is an absolutely gorgeous European hutch she recently found on a scouting adventure. If it doesn't sell at the Flea Market, it is definitely finding a place in the Barn House Home Collection. AND we have been hearing about all of the wonderful treasures our other dealers are bringing. It's going to be jammed packed!! HEE HAW!!!
The Chili Cook-Off and Deliciously Sweet Bake off is going to be FANTASTICO!! We even have us a local celebrity judge y'all!!! Krista Colvin, AM Northwest Lifestyle Expert and Creator of Shebang.com, The Smart Woman's Guide to Doing it All is going to be one of our judges!! We have several other confirmed fabulous judges, BUT, we could use a few more. Please let us know if you are interested--the judging includes an exclusive home tour!! ;o) We have some great entries in both categories. We are kind of getting nervous about not winning. Everybody is talking behind the scenes about all these special ingredients and stuff...yikes!! BUT, since we have these here home grown Walla Walla onions that are ready for the pickin', we plan to use them in the Barn House Chili entry (nobody else has these gosh darnit!). Somehow, Cindy (Queen of Tarte) and her man Barry found the 'Antelope' for their chili. If we didn't actually see it happen for ourselves, we probably wouldn't believe it either. One of their party guests was in Africa (or something like that) the other day and supposedly has the hook-up on 'Antelope.' They asked if they could borrow our goats and sheep for their 27 meat (or something like that) concoction, but we politely said HELL NAW! ;o)
We will post directions later this week. Hope to see you on Saturday!!! Tell a friend or 10 friends or 100 friends...this is going to be something else!

J & J
P.S. - Oh, and we have been "tagged" by the beautiful and amazingly talented Brooke. She is really going to get it for this!! I don't know if anyone will be ready for our answers. LOL :o) More to come...

Are you ready for July 26th???

Although we have been lolly-gagging a bit -- hanging out with Jason and Terry from La La Land, enjoying the company of Little Byrd and Mrs. French (with LD and Mr. French) AND finally getting some hammock time, we have actually been getting ready for the Flea Market too! We have an amazing line-up! These folks are good...and we mean REALLY good! We are so very happy they will be part of our first Barn House Flea Market. The treasures are starting to roll in. This is a piece that Natalie (Sparrow) brought back from Comfort, TX. If we didn't love her so much, we might be green with envy about her primitive-finding abilities. She is such a show-off...we (almost) can't stand her! BUT, she is here right now helping Joe (Mr. Side-Tracked) build a brand new "elaborate structure" for our space outside...which I am not sure is toootally necessary in the 11th hour when there are a million other things to do (like pricing) -- but really, who am I to say??? Joe constantly reminds me, "You are NOT 'The Almighty Creative Director'...that is I!!" Did I really say all of that out loud? I SURELY digress. Back Natalie, she is a show off with her primitives (traveling to TX and stuff), BUT, we still love her! ;o) Joe has been out scouting some goods for Barn House with Cindy (Queen of Tarte) at one of those "invite only" sales down in Central Oregon. This is the second one they have been to together in the past month or so. It's really not a good thing to get those two together shopping. They bought so much stuff the first time, they still haven't been able to pick it all up...and she has a huge trailer! She is another one we (almost) can't stand...sooooo talented with her famous ribbon, and chairs upholstered with French Burlap and on, and on! It's kind of sickening...but, I will get to her later! If you didn't know already, we are having a little competition between some of the dealers. There will be a Chili Cook Off and a Bake Off. It all started at our first sale and The Boys of Barn House planned to cook some chili for our featured vendors. BUT, Joe didn't buy all of the ingredients for "my" chili, because he thought "he" was going to make his version of it (really a knock-off of mine). Well, the mud started slingin' about whose chili was the best. Cindy was talking about how her Barry makes some chili with 27 different kinds of meat (including antelope or something like that) ;o) ... then Natalie started in on the recipe that has been in her family for centuries (or something like that)...so here we are today.More to come on the "official entries" for both categories...but this is going to be a serious down home country cookin' battle!! We would love to get some confirmed judges that will vote on one or both categories. Only folks that sign up ahead of time will be able to judge and taste my late grandmother's famous Peach Cobbler, along with the other entries. If you are a little concerned about trying Cindy & Barry's 'Antelope' Chili, pick the Baked Goods, please! :o)

Hope to see you on the 26th!!

J & J

July 26th Flea Market - The Line Up!!!

We had some much needed R&R over the weekend and were fortunate enough to have our very close friends Jason and Terry from La-La Land here visiting. We threw a little party on the 4th and even made it down to the Willamette Valley for some wine tasting yesterday. This is Joe at the beginning of our day. He didn't let me post the picture of us carrying him out of the last vineyard (geez, he is sooo particular!).But now, it's back to business! OK y'all...are you ready for the Flea Market line up??? We don't know how, but we were able to attract some of the most creative, talented AND beautifully-spirited folks in the Northwest. We are very honored to announce they will all be joining us for the very first Barn House Flea Market!!

Featured Dealers:
Queen of Tarte (Salem, OR)
Sparrow, aka "Master Primitive Finder" (Washougal, WA)
Couture Junquies (Camas, WA)
Luluz (Tacoma, WA)
Little Byrd (Portland, OR)
Flourishes (Mt. Pleasant, WA)
Worthy Goods (Washougal, WA)
Antie Joy (Silverton, OR)
Julie Brough (Camas, WA)
The Withies (Lake Oswego, OR)
Molly Mo's (Sublimity, OR)
Lynne Gunderson (Portland, OR)
BirdSong Designs (Battle Ground, WA)
Brush Prairie Originals (Brush Prairie, WA)
Uncovered Ruby (Battle Ground, WA)

AND, we must also mention we are having a little competition between some of the dealers...a Deliciously Sweet Bake-Off (10 am) and a Hot & Spicy Chili Cook-Off (11 am)! Sooo, if YOU are planning on coming and want to be a judge, just let us know. Of course we hope the Barn House contributions will win the Blue Ribbon for both categories, but some of the other dealers have been talking a lot of "mess" about their skills in the kitchen. All we can say is...whatever! ;o)

Hope to see you on the 26th...

Joe & Jermonne
Barn House

Miss Celie (our first confirmed judge)

Sweating Bullets of JOY!!!

Whew...it was HOT! It was Lovely, it was Magical, it was filled to the brink with some of the best treasures around, IT WAS the fruition of our Barn House Dream coming true...and y'all, it was Texas HOT!!!! First, we have to thank the MANY die-hard customers who ventured out to the country on a day that was predicted to be 100 degrees. We love you and we thank you!!!And we MUST thank Rebekah (Little Byrd) and Mrs. French (Bliss) for bringing incredibly delicious home-made cookies and taking the most beautiful pictures of the event and our little farm house (and sending them to us since our camera was acting funny in the heat)!! These young women are amazingly talented photographers!!! They make it look like we are doing something kind of special around here! :o) Check out their blogs for more pix. Somebody should pay them BIG BUCKS for this talent. We are going to pay them with some country cookin' and Mojitos in a couple of weeks. Thanks SunshineS!!!And we can't forget the renegade parking assistants Scott and Wade. We were supposed to fill these little bottles up with water since they were out in the blazing sun all day, but forgot. Ooops! We ALWAYS have to give a special thanks to the purple flower that's in bloom!!! Our little babies seem to have left us for new homes. We wish them the best with their new families!! And we REALLY have to thank our very special friends who accepted our invitation to be part of The Barn House Experience!! We love you and thank you for all of the hard work you have put into make this dream a reality for us. From left to right...Katie, Chrissy (Couture Junquie), Me & Joe (Barn House), Sylvi (Little Cottage), Susan (Couture Junquie), Debbie & Laurie (very close to deciding their name, but we won't spoil the surprise), and those not pictured: Cindy (Queen of Tarte), Natalie (Sparrow), Toree (Narrow Gate Antiques), Kim Poloson (Kim Poloson Studios) and Rob Kennedy (Rob Kennedy Photograpghy).

Joe and Jermonne
Barn House

OH, and the first Barn House Flea Market (July 26th) is going to be SOMETHING ELSE...AND, we are getting YOU involved in a little competition between the dealers!!! HEE HAW!! More to come this week!!!!

Will you even recognize us??

Still lots to do...still making trips FROM the basement with more stuff...still making trips TO the basement with items that didn't quite make the cut...still have to borrow the neighbors tractor to extend the parking area 'cause we ran out last time (thanks to you!)...and still...and still and still!

The Barn looks soooo different, I can't even remember what it looked liked for the opening. I can't figure out where all this new stuff came from...and we have still have Cindy coming this morning to cram even more in!!! It's looking good folks...I mean REAAAALLLY GOOD!!! It makes me emotional just thinking about it all.

OK...Joe is going to wring my neck if I don't get back and move all that stuff back to the basement. Here are some very rough pix of where were are at 9:00 am today....




See you tomorrow!!!!

J & J