The Painted Trunk

06/03/2026

05/31/2026

It’s Sunday.

For some people, that means sleeping in, brunch, and leisurely vacation activities.

For us?

It means setting an alarm on purpose and standing in line with complete strangers hoping to buy dead people’s things before they do.

We’re estate sale-ing as a family in Kansas City, Missouri this morning before heading off on the rest of our adventures. Because no matter how far I travel, my brain still says, “You know what this trip needs? More stuff.”

Which brings me to a question…

How many of y’all see amazing vintage treasures while traveling and immediately talk yourselves out of buying them because of shipping costs?

“I love it, but how would I get it home?”

Friends. This is quitter talk.

There are ways.

There are tricks.

There are methods that don’t involve strapping a secretary desk to the roof of your car and hoping for the best.

I’ve shipped treasures home from all over the place, squeezed antiques into luggage that definitely wasn’t designed for antiques, and become suspiciously skilled at explaining why my vacation suitcase contains more ironstone than clothing.

Maybe before summer travel season gets rolling, we need a crash course in:

• How to thrift while traveling
• How to ship without selling a kidney
• How to pack treasures safely
• How to identify what is worth the trouble
• How to convince your family that stopping at “just one more antique store” is a perfectly reasonable vacation activity

Tag your travel buddies. Share this with the friend who claims they’re “just looking” and somehow comes home with a lamp, three baskets, and a taxidermy squirrel.

Now if you’ll excuse me, there are treasures to rescue and poor decisions to make.

📍 The Painted Trunk | Downtown Rocky Mount, VA
🕰️ Thursday–Friday 10–5 | Saturday 10–4

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05/29/2026

Trinity treasures…

05/27/2026

The clouds finally clocked in and gave me three whole hours of sunshine, so naturally I decided to do one of my favorite things… sit on the porch, drink Earl Grey, and read a book like the slightly haunted old lady I was apparently born to become.

Yes, there are absolutely other things I should be doing. There are emails. There’s inventory. There are probably at least three random vintage objects staring at me waiting for me to “find them a spot.”

But my brain is slowly learning that being “unproductive” is sometimes just another form of productive… especially when your brain runs at the speed of an estate sale at opening time.

Which led me to sitting here thinking…

Should The Painted Trunk have a book club?
A writers club?
A “bring your current read, your weird little notebook, and your emotional support beverage” club?

Because honestly… reading books together and maybe even writing books together sounds like exactly the kind of chaos I could get behind.

What do you think? What kinds of books would you want to read? Cozy mystery? Fantasy? Vintage spooky vibes? Romance? History? But please… no self help or books that require thinking. Tell me your thoughts because now my brain has latched onto this idea like a raccoon with a shiny object.

📍The Painted Trunk | Downtown Rocky Mount, VA
🕰 Thurs–Fri 10–5 | Sat 10–4

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05/27/2026

Maybe just a little sunshine… just a tad… please

05/24/2026

🚨 Last call for RIGHT NOW, friends. 🚨

I’m placing the current The Painted Trunk T-shirt order in the morning, so if you’ve been meaning to grab one, now’s the time before this batch gets sent off into the wild.

Available colors:
✨ Pistachio
✨ Light Pink
✨ Light Gray
✨ Heather Blue

Sizes XS–3X
💸 $25 each

This isn’t a dramatic “farewell forever” situation. Nobody panic. The rabbit just likes order deadlines and mild chaos management. 🐇

So if you want in on THIS round, comment or message me:
✔️ Color
✔️ Size
✔️ Quantity

before tomorrow morning.

These shirts are perfect for:
• vintage shopping
• estate sale wandering
• pretending you’re “just looking”
• carrying furniture you absolutely did not measure for first
• and identifying fellow members of the coolest little vintage-loving cult—I mean community—in town.

📍 Downtown Rocky Mount, VA
🕰 Thurs–Fri 10–5 | Sat 10–4

Like • Follow • Share • Comment for daily vintage finds, sneak peeks, unboxings, rabbit problems, and general retail nonsense.

05/22/2026

After 34 years in retail, I have developed a very professional and highly scientific theory:

If you touch it and leave it behind… you have personally summoned another customer to buy it.

That’s it.
That’s the magic.

I don’t make the rules. The vintage universe does.

An item can sit peacefully for three weeks collecting dust and minding its own business. But the SECOND somebody picks it up, stares at it lovingly, carries it around the store like an emotional support goblin, then says:
“I’ll think about it…”

BOOM.

Gone.
Sold.
Vanished into the arms of someone with less hesitation and more commitment issues.

Y’all think I’m joking, but this happens DAILY. Retail juju is real. Vintage spirits are petty. The lamps are watching.

So if you come into The Painted Trunk this weekend and something speaks to your little rabbit heart… buy it. Because the minute you put it back on the shelf, the universe goes:
“Excellent. Release the next customer.”

And then you’re gonna spend the next six months telling your friends about “the one that got away” like it was a failed relationship.

📍The Painted Trunk – Downtown Rocky Mount, VA
🕰 Thurs–Fri 10–5 | Sat 10–4

Come tempt fate and make questionable vintage decisions with the rest of us.

Like, follow, share, comment, and remember: hesitation is how Susan from three counties over ends up with your cake plate.

05/22/2026

Wellllll… it looks like Memorial Day weekend is kicking off with enough rain to make the ducks happy and the rest of us question every outdoor plan we had. 🌧️

Now listen… we needed the rain. The flowers needed it. The grass needed it. My wallet after shopping for National Vintage Store Day probably needed a moment to recover too. BUT if you’re gonna be trapped inside anyway, might I suggest wandering through aisles of vintage treasures instead of pacing your kitchen looking for snacks every 17 minutes?

Last weekend was absolutely incredible, and y’all kept me riding a vintage-fueled caffeine high all week long. So naturally my brain said:
“You know what sounds responsible? A sale.”

So if you saw something last weekend that has been haunting your thoughts like the ghost of bad financial decisions… this may be your sign to come claim it before somebody else adopts it and gives it a better home.

Because here’s the problem…
the rabbits have multiplied again.
New stuff is coming in.
Furniture is moving around.
Collections are breeding in corners.
And I need room before this place turns into a full-blown vintage avalanche situation.

Come shop the rain away this Memorial Day weekend at The Painted Trunk — located on the coolest block in downtown Rocky Mount.

Thursday & Friday: 10–5
Saturday: 10–4

Like, follow, share, comment, tag your shopping buddy, and come help me make questionable decisions about bringing home “just one small thing.”

05/22/2026

Happy Rainy Day!