Barn Sales {+ what came home with me!}

Months ago my mom and I took a little afternoon trip to scope out a couple of "barn sales" about an hour outside DC. A barn sale is like a curated flea market with lots of vintage/antique/painted furniture, housewares, unique "finds" and even a few new items. These sales are open about once a month for a whole weekend. The thrill of the hunt is definitely a part of the experience, and I had such a good time on my first trip that I'll certainly be going back in the near future... ideally when it's warmer...you are exploring old barns after all, and it can be quite drafty in the winter!

The two we visited that afternoon were Chartreuse and Co and Stylish Patina. Chartreuse and Co is the more well-known of the two, with five enormous spaces to explore (housing many things I wanted to take home with me). Here are some examples from their blog of what you'd find:

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Apartment Therapy has featured Chartreuse and Co - and you know that's a good endorsement! There's a great article here if you'd like to take a read. This is one of their photos of the barns:

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Stylish Patina has a single barn jam-packed with beautiful handmade items, furniture, and vintage finds. They are also stockists for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint (love that stuff) and Milk Paint (need to try it sometime).

This is their barn:

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...and an example of their lovely wares:

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Adorable right? Who wants to go on my next trip with me?

So now that you've been introduced to the barns, you're probably wondering what I picked up while I was there (at least I'm guessing you are if you've read this far!). I must confess, I've been putting this post off for awhile because the items I picked up are begging for a project - and I haven't figured out what that "project" is yet. Finally (picture me throwing my arms up in surrender), I decided why not share these items with you so you can help me figure out what to do with them!

Here's my "find" - a set of vintage printing press (typography) letters:

There was a whole box of old letters at Stylish Patina's barn, and I knew I could find some to spell out something significant. I dug, my mom dug, and after several minutes of looking through all the letters, I knew what I wanted to spell out. With blackened fingertips from handling years of leftover ink, I arranged the letters to spell out "Chaney & Charlie 5/15/10." Our names with our wedding date (May 15th, 2010). I love the quirkiness of them all. Some older than others, some uppercase, some lower. 

I thought it would be neat to figure out a way to display these words and numbers in a prominent place in our apartment. This is where I could use some help! Honestly, I think they look pretty cool in a photo, which I could then frame, but if I can, I'd love to use the printing press letters themselves.

What do you think? I'm hoping you (and maybe Pinterest?) can help me out!

Have a great Wednesday! I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas :).