Guess what I did this weekend?

I took a little break from my shopping addiction to drive down to San Diego with my mom for...Antiques Roadshow! After years of trying to get tickets, my mom lucked out and won some (you can only get tickets through their ticket lottery). It was a fantastic experience, one that I hope I will get to have again.

We had an entrance time of 3:00 but we arrived at the convention center a little bit early. Knowing that we couldn't take pictures once we were 'on set', I snapped as many as I could around the center and inside the waiting area.

Loading the cart with Mom's antiques. My mom brought an 1860s French sampler and an antique George Washington doll. I brought an antique necklace given to me by my grandmother and an antique pendant watch.

Directly across from the convention center is the heart of San Diego. It was such a beautiful day!

OOOH we're getting close!

What's in there?! This is where you exit after having all of your items appraised. You can see a bit of the Roadshow set.

Waiting in line...lots of waiting in line. Your Roadshow ticket has an entrance time on it and you are grouped with all of the people in your time slot. The lines were extremely organized. I can't say enough about the people that put this show on. They were incredibly nice and professional. Lots of waiting, yes, but we talked with all of the people around us and the lines moved quickly.

You really do meet the nicest people. Everyone is thrilled to be there, and share the stories of the items they brought. The ladies on the left ran into us after the show and asked if we were buying dinner. The man on the right and his wife (I think that's her arm in the picture!) waited in line with me at the watch table and had me cracking up.

Get ready to declare your items and get your category ticket, then you are IN! You show each of your items (each person can bring two) and get a category ticket (i.e. pottery, jewelry, etc) for each item. Then you go in and wait in your category line.

So how did we fair? Pretty good overall.

My great great aunt's pendant watch is from 1910 and the appraiser loved it. He told me all about how it was made, where it came from, etc. It appraised for $2500-$3500. Tearjerking moment - when the appraiser popped out the back and revealed my great great aunt's name engraved on the inside.

My mother's sampler, sadly, was a bust. It wasn't from the more desirable 1700s. Oh well.

The George Washington doll was actually not George Washington but a 20th century French artists' mannequin. Still, with all of his accessories, worth about $1200.

My excitement for the day came with the appraisal of my grandmother's necklace. It was given to her by family friends when she was a teenager and passed on to me when I was a teenager. The appraiser knew lots about it (which was exciting for me because I had no information on it). It's Italian Estrucan revival from the 1850s, gold and natural pearls, and handmade. The necklace appraised for $3000. My grandma was very happy to hear all of this information about her necklace (which of course I would never ever ever sell in a million zillion years).

We had an absolutely fantastic time at Antiques Roadshow. If it ever comes anywhere near where you live, try to get tickets. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!