Art Retreat at the Prairie (April)

Hello everyone, I’m Barb’s daughter, Erin.  I’ll be poking around here time and again to update you on all the fun we’re having with Vivi Magoo’s Art Retreats.  I guess I should give you some details on me, just to make proper introductions… I’m a 30 year old work-from-home mom, married to my handsome hubs of 6 years.  We welcomed our first child, 

Miss Vivi in the Texas Bluebonnets

a daughter named Vivi, last May. (Have y’all ever heard the story behind Vivi Magoo?  If not, we’ll be sure to fill you in, stay tuned!)  I’m a numbers nerd by profession, but a creative soul at heart.  I’m excited to be a part of the Art Retreats – meeting inspiring women, getting my creative juices flowing, traveling and spending time with my oh-so-close-knit family.  I’m excited to meet many of you who will be attending our inaugural Art Retreat at The Prairie at the end of the month and I look forward to meeting many more of you in the future.

Last week, Vivi and I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Round Top, Texas for the big (nay, HUGE) biannualAntiques Week and stay at The Prairie by Rachel Ashwell.  Let me tell you, friends, my soul has a new place to call home.  For so many reasons. 

Hands down, I could live at The Prairie and never come home.  Seriously.  And I know we just met, but let me tell you - I love my home.  The Prairie is just that great.  I’ve always been a Shabby Chic fan (who doesn’t love Rachel’s serene, feminine blend of old treasures and fluffy, floral fabrics?) but to stay in her B&B was Mecca to me.  Every detail was perfectly and thoughtfully executed.  You can’t help but feel your stress lift away when you’re there. 

A short drive from The Prairie is Round Top, which is the quintessential small Texas town.  Exactly what I’ve always imagined in my mind when listening to country music.  Slow, easy, friendly – very Mayberry-esque. 

And the food.  Oh, friends, let me tell you about the food.  I ate my weight in deliciously barbecued meats, tangy coleslaw, baked potatoes and beans.  And don’t forget the 3 SLICES of cherry pie a la mode with Blue Bell ice cream (from neighboring town Brenham) that was the literal cherry on top.  My family’s favorite is Royers Round Top Café, a restaurant that would rival any big city fancy establishment although it is nestled in the heart of Round Top.  The ambiance is a fun, cluttered hippy mix and the food is to die for.  And it was their pies that I so piggishly devoured last week.

And if all of this isn’t enough to knock your socks off, there were the many venues full of row after row of antiques.  From old, 17^th-century farmhouse tables with $10,500 price tags to old, ratty doll parts (because someone’s trash is another’s treasure), they had it all.  Big, small, old, expensive…you want it, you could probably find it at Antiques Week.  After 9 years of hearing stories that my parents would tell about Round Top, the antiques show, the food, etc. I was in heaven being able to experience it all first-hand.

Hopefully I’ve given you a glimpse of what captured my heart last week and why I am literally counting the hours until we return for Art Retreat at The Prairie.  I can’t wait to meet those of you who are signed up in person.  And to those of you who cannot be with us, I’ll be back to update you on the fun and memories.