Our Pick With A Pro Retreat is hands down one of the BEST weekends of the entire year (it might even top Christmas – I kid you not). Miles and miles of antiques – furniture, china, architectural salvage, collectibles and curiosities. The best part? The deals! I seriously get spoiled each year.

Last year I was joined by the most amazing group of individuals! Not only did we swap pickin’ stories, share tips and tricks, and laugh until our sides hurt, we all became such good friends. To this day we still keep in touch. We had CAMPer from Georgia all the way to California – the World’s Longest Yardsale has something for everybody.

We kicked the retreat off with a down-home style low-country boil out on the lawn over looking the lake. It was a great time to relax and get to know one another better. Everyone turned in kinda early to prepare for our early morning pickin’ adventures – we hit the road bright and early in search of the best deals and awesome loot!

We covered miles and miles of the Tennesee countryside – plundering through old barns, large fields, roadside stands and front yards along the 127 Corridor. It was great seeing all of the amazing finds and unbelievable deals everyone was finding. Everyone got a chance to brush up on their haggling skills and we would swap stories in between each stop. At the end of the day, all of the CAMPers would spread out their loot for everyone to get a look. It was so cool to see everyone’s style and tastes through their purchases. There were definitely some “Oh-my-gosh-how-did-I-miss-that” moments.

What’s a retreat without a swag bag full of goodies? All of the CAMPers left with an awesome camp-inspired swag bag – vintage style CAMP pennant, CAMP mini-pillow, and even a handmade flannel throw. A big thanks to our swag bag contributors: Yours Is The Earth, Meredith Mejerle, Fallen Arrows!

Visit the Pick With A Pro website to grab your spot for this year’s retreat, August 7th-10th. It’s an adventure you’ll be talking about for years to come.

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A huge thanks to the darling Tricia Lee Photography for joining us on this adventure and capturing all of our fun treasures and new friendships.

It’s about this time each year I get the itch. Ok, let’s be honest, I always have the itch, but the warmer months are filled with incredible flea markets and yardsales and it’s prime pickin’ time!

I buy antiques where ever my travels take me, but one of my favorite spots is the 127-Sale better known as the World’s Longest Yardsale. The sale stretches from Alabama to Michigan and is packed with some of the coolest antiques and collectables.

Last year’s Pick With A Pro Retreat was such an amazing and unforgettable experience filled will lots of laughs, story swapping, tip sharing and of course ANTIQUES!

I am so excited to announce the details for our 2nd Annual Pick With A Pro Retreat! If you or someone you know is thrifter, picker, collector, or glorified hoarder, this trip is for you!

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Instructor – Krista Janos of Blue Eyed Yonder

Date – August 7-10

Location – Crossville, TN and surrounding areas

*Cost – $975

Class Limit – 10 campers

What’s included:

Luxurious Mountain Lodge Accommodations (3 nights)

Thursday Welcome Dinner

Breakfast each morning

Three days of pickin’ alongside Blue Eyed Yonder

Fun class sessions

Transportation during the retreat

Plus! BEY will haul any large items back to Atlanta for you!

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*Wanna bring a friend along for this unforgettable experience? Sure you do! Ask about our “Bunk Buddy” discount.

Email Krista at hello(at)blueeyedyonder(dot)com to sign up. Spots will go fast! 

A few weeks ago we kicked off Spring with a big ol’ party at the CAMP Spring Supper, and boy did we have ourselves a good time! CAMP, for those of you that may not know, is a collective of artists, designers, makers and the like who collaborate to teach and inspire other creatives here in the Atlanta area. Every so often we host a dinner to celebrate successes and gather all our friends, colleagues, and anyone else who wants to join in on the fun. There’s one a couple times a year, so come and be a part of the magic!

Sun In My Belly catered this party to our hearts’ content and, let me tell ya, the food was good! With bites of perfectly cooked veggies and pastas and raspberries (oh, the raspberries!), you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who didn’t go home with a full belly and a happy heart. And did you catch a glimpse at that menu?  Yes Ma’am Paper + Goods did a beautiful job with the lettering if I do say so myself. Florals by Martha McIntosh were just lovely. Everybody brought their A game to make this season’s supper one for the books!

And let us not forget the tasty treats shared by XK Macarons! Everyone walked out happy with some sweet little midnight snacks… or should I say drive home snacks because, let’s be real, who can resist the call of the macaron? The epitome of beautifully crafted goodies, the swag bags from Minted were chock full of takeaways anyone would give their right brain to have. What a sweet way to say goodnight!

A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this season’s blowout! We at Blue Eyed Yonder can’t wait to see y’all in the fall for another CAMP Supper extravaganza!

To see more about this and other events, visit CAMP.

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Floral Design: Martha McIntosh / Photography: Kathryn McCrary / Vessels: Accent Decor / Lettering: Yes Ma’am Paper + Goods / Location & Catering: Sun in My Belly / Swag Bags: Minted

Just a few more days until I’m off to the mountains of Tennessee for CAMP’s Pick With A Pro Retreat. We have campers coming from as far as California! I can’t wait to meet each one and shop together through miles and miles of treasures. It’s about this time that I start to really get excited. I imagine all of the vendors pricing their pieces, packing up their stuff, getting ready for the big sale. I can’t help but to wonder what we’ll find – each day’s a new adventure!

This year will be especially fun with the awesome ladies I have joining me. Some of them are professional pickers themselves. It’s going to be so great to swap stories and share pickin’ secrets. We have a big CAMP dinner planned the first night where we’ll relax at the lakehouse and get to know each other. Then we’ll have a little “class” time where we share tips, secrets and lessons learned. The talented Ginny Branch will also be on board to share a little about prop styling. Then bright and early Friday and Saturday morning we’ll hit the trail in search of some really awesome finds. It’s pretty much the ultimate girls weekend!

Above are a few Instagram peeks of the fun that’s happening behind-the-scenes for this retreat. I’ve been busy putting together lots of special touches and hand-crafted goodness for this year’s campers. They’ll even get some special items reserved only for our overnight retreats.

So if you’re sitting there kicking yourself for not signing up – there’s good news – we have 2 spots available! Just hop on over to the CAMP website to sign up and be sure to follow along on our adventure at #pickwithapro.

You don’t have plans Wednesday night? Perfect!

Join us at Sun in my Belly for CAMP‘s Summer Supper. Free food, free drinks and a room full of local artists, designers, photographers, stylists, creatives, makers, movers and shakers. It’s sure to be a good time!