the give-away that gave back

Remember when we posted our March {give-away}?   A fun filled day with us, full of treasure hunting, laughing, and food?  Yes, you missed out, unless your name was Mary!  Last Thursday, April 12th was the highly anticipated date, and it went a little something like this.....

Mary and her husband Jim pulled into my driveway around 8:30 a.m.  They had driven to Arizona from Orange County, California (a six hour drive!) and had spent the previous night at a nearby hotel.  Mary really wanted to see the {industrial workbench} up close and personal.  Judging from the pictures and measurements that were taken, Jim will be whipping up a precise replica this weekend.

Mary assured us that Jim was absolutely delightful, and would be happy to traipse around the city with us all day long.  Mia and I can definitely get behind a man that loves to shop, so we didn't object one little bit.  And so we set off around 9:00 a.m. with a bucket list of stops for the day.  We were planning on meeting up with Lindsey of  {Better After} when we got into Phoenix, but unfortunately she had been up all night with a very sick little girl and couldn't come.  Although we were all bummed, we put on our happy faces and decided to set out.

The first place we stopped was {Merchant Square} in Chandler, a mecca of treasures.  There are hundreds of vendors who pack their spaces with everything from A to Z.  We each found a thing or two to to call our own, and it was a great place to start the day.  From there, we hit St. Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, SAS, and Gracie's Thrift to name a few before we needed to refuel.  We decided on Zoe's Kitchen for lunch and loved it.  Mia and I had been before, and we knew it would not disappoint.  They serve relatively light fare which was perfect for shoppers like us because we didn't want to go into a food coma.  We were on a mission!

Jim surprised the two of us with containers of the delicious Greek dressing from Zoe's when we got back into the car.  It's so good!  And speaking of Jim, he was an absolute gem the whole day.  He held our doors, held our stuff, and held us to the time limits we set for ourselves at every stop.  He had a smile on his face the whole day and was the perfect gentleman.  Just look how adorable he is inside this Airstream at one of our very favorite spots, Rust and Roses.

If you live in the Phoenix area, Rust and Roses is a place you MUST visit if you haven't already.  Shelly has an amazing sense of style and fills her store with the most unique and incredible finds.   She shops year round, all across the country, and brings her finds right back to this desert we call home.  We have purchased so many great things from her over the years, and her store is definitely one of our favorite places to go.  Mary collects old office items, and was super excited to find a vintage seal press.

Let's talk about darling Mary.  She was beyond gracious, complimentary, and polite.  She was so interested in us and has been sweet enough to read every one of our blog posts!  We talked about everything from raising kids to recipes.  She was a wealth of knowledge and had a heartfelt answer to every question we asked her.  She is a seasoned flea market shopper, as well as a curb-side trash collector and seamstress.  We had so much in common with her and really wished we could have spent at least one more day together.  She had our mouths watering over her recipe for apricot scones, and our eyes transfixed on the pictures of her yard in California.  She was just delightful in every single way!

We pretty much cleaned Phoenix out over the next few hours and once it started getting dark, we were forced to call it a day.  When we pulled back into my driveway it was 7:00 p.m.  Here we are with some of our loot.

Right after we posted the giveaway, we started getting a little bit nervous about what we'd done.  What if the winner was boring?  What if she found us annoying?  What if we had completely different tastes?  What we did was definitely a crap shoot, but in the end, it proved to be simply magical.  Thank you Jim and Mary for a beautiful experience that will not soon be forgotten.  We definitely feel like the big winners after having been able to spend the day with the two of you!

Gotta love a happy ending.