Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas!

Thank you, everyone, for supporting Gunslinger! We wish you a merry Christmas and a blessed 2010! Have safe travels, share smiles and hugs, and appreciate all that you have! Love, Melissa and the Gunslinger Staff

Monday, December 7, 2009

Thanksgiving at The Dixie Dude Ranch, Bandera, Texas


My sister-in-law, Jill, and me in my Montana Dreamwear "Wild Turkey Hat" (but, of course...it's THANKSGIVING) on a trail ride at the Dixie Dude Ranch! Great family gathering place, awesome food, beautiful acreage, and accomodating hosts, Diane and Clay Conoly.
I am anxiously awaiting a very special gift from my friends Celeste and Earl...they are sending a live Christmas tree from Montana! We are thankful for our wonderful friends and customers every day, but especially during this holiday season! We're so very blessed in this strained economy.

Our new store, Cowboy Caliente, is now open and full of bright and colorful art, home decor, jewelry, fabulous finds, fiery salsas, and funky folk art. We are working on the website now...soon you'll be able to shop online. Cowboy Caliente is across the street from Gunslinger and a completely different concept. If you are looking to travel to Bandera for the holidays, feel free to call or email and I will happily guide you for a Christmas in the Cowboy Capital of the World.

Monday, October 19, 2009

The Outpost Inn at Cedar Creek is for sale!!!



Located just outside Round Top, Texas, is one of my most favorite B & B's.............
definitely in the "Melissa's Top Picks" of quaint places to stay. The Outpost Inn has all of the qualities I love.............
individual cabins with their own bathrooms...each decorated in its own theme with authentic antiques, clean buttery linens, and rustic elegance...and also wonderful food to look forward to each morning! Lenore, the innkeeper now turned friend-for-life, prepares an impressive, fresh breakfast buffet in the lodge shown above. You fill your vintage Texas town plate and sit among other interesting guests on charmingly mismatched tables and chairs, while looking out on the expansive acreage (Bluebonnet season is amazing here) and gardens landscaped with found objects and outdoor treasures.
Lenore is an artist in every sense of the word...her meticulous attention to the tiniest design details has created the "big picture" magic of The Outpost experience. However, it is time for her to pass the B & B torch in exchange for a paint brush...as she wishes to pursue her next dream. Canvas, brushes, and pigment call to her...but; in return, someone will be blessed by purchasing this established gem of Texas. Another big (and I do mean it literally) bonus is that her brawny sidekick, Danny, is willing to stay on board at The Outpost and continue maintaining the grounds and cabins that he has helped diligently construct through the years. (and boy can he cook, too!) The cleaning staff is friendly, professional and hard-working. This is just such a unique opportunity for someone to own and operate their own already established, turn~key Bed and Breakfast and to meet great folks traveling through this beautiful, peaceful area of Texas!
Please pass this info to anyone interested in purchasing or simply staying at The Outpost Inn. Read magazine articles and other press written about Lenore and the inn, watch a short video, or book a room online at http://www.outpostinn.com/ . Once again...tell them Melissa of Gunslinger sent you!

Cowgirl Hall of Fame Museum

I just had a fabulous time watching four amazing, inspirational cowgirls get inducted at The Cowgirl Hall of Fame Museum in Ft. Worth on Friday. A special thanks to Cowboys and Indians Magazine for inviting me to be a part of their table along with fellow advertisers. All of the tables were so creatively decorated in a western theme by various organizations, stores, and individuals. Laura Bush spoke and the food provided by The Reata was incredible, especially for a banquet (by the way...I stopped in their downtown location for dinner there, also...and had one of the best margaritas ever...also elk sausage over cheese grits...jalepeno/cilantro soup...Texas goat cheese salad...hungry yet? You MUST try it if you're in Ft. Worth or near the original site in Alpine). I hit all my favorite shopping spots in Sundance Square...time to head back to Bandera!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Stony Ridge Ranch near Gunslinger

http://www.stonyridgeranch.com/

Need a place to stay when you want to shop at Gunslinger? My great friends, Rollie and Steve, have a fabulous piece of property near Bandera. Their B & B sits high on 200 acres...which lends itself to spectacular sunsets and at night you can only see two tiny lights in the far off distance. Very remote...peaceful...serene. Rollie is a LaDame chef...her breakfasts are as pretty as they are tasty. Have her pack a picnic lunch with a bottle of wine...arrange for a massage...or even have a cooking lesson! Deer roam freely around the property...hummingbirds dance around the outdoor patio which boasts a beautiful fireplace. There is a log home and two other more contemporary rooms. It books up quickly...so make your plans now...and tell them Melissa sent you!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Gary P. Nunn Road Dates

We LOVE Gary P. Nunn and especially his song "What I Like About Texas"...playing in the background on our Gunslinger site...Thank you, Gary!
If you want to catch a live show...here are some upcoming dates!
ROAD DATES FOR GARY P. NUNN & THE BUNKHOUSE BAND http://www.garypnunn.com/

September 24
Lucky Mule Saloon 1850 S. Clack St. Abilene, TX
****************************************************************
NOTE >>>>>>> THERE IS A CHANGE OF VENUES WITH THE SEPT. 25th & 26TH. DATES
September 25 Love & War
2505 E. Grapevine Mills Cir.
Grapevine, TX 76051 # 972-724-5557
September 26 Murphy Maze Days Festival, Murphy, TX
October 2 Dirty's - 100 Elm Grove Rd. Seguin, TX # 830-379-8883
October 3 Texas Rice Festival ( Stowell Park )Winnie, TX
October 8 Private Event, Houston, TX
October 9 Granada Theater 3524 Greenville
Dallas, TX # 214-824-9933
October 10 Private Event, Simonton, Tx
October 16 Blanco's Bar & Grill
3406 W. Alabama
Houston, TX
October 17 Dessau Hall
13422 Dessau Rd.
Austin, TX # 512-469-0000

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Hangin' out in Yellowstone


Just hoping that buffalo aren't attracted to sterling and turquoise!




I need one of these with Gunslinger on the side of it!

Western Design Conference 2009 in Jackson, WY


I just returned from being a juror at The 17th Annual Western Design Conference in BEAUTIFUL Jackson, Wyoming! What a tough job it was judging what I would call "The Best of the Best of the West" in categories of woodworking, leather, metals, home accents, jewelry and fashion. All I can say is "WOW!" What a talented group of artisans under one roof. The fashion show was particularly interesting to me as the buyer for Gunslinger. So many "Melissa Must~Haves"! The highlight of the show was how designer Celeste Sotola of Montana Dreamwear silenced the crowd (in awe) by presenting her gorgeous bridal collection...as she so beautifully and elegantly choreographed the models...almost in slow motion...to a song she composed herself entitled "Little House"...and, as the last model graced the runway, petals fell "from heaven" in surreal fashion as she "played" a violin. Breathtaking!

Pictured is the stunning Sharon Waggoner, a WDC Board Member and fellow juror; the talented Celeste Sotola; me; and, on the right, Lyle Waggoner...Sharon's handsome husband (and a beloved star of The Carol Burnett Show,etc).

Congratulations to all of the winners and to everyone who worked so hard to present their finest wares...and a big thanks to those who coordinate this much~anticipated yearly event...and also to the other jurors who were so fun and yet took this role to heart in choosing winners in each category. I met such wonderful people! The weather was perfect and the food was seriously amazing. If you get a chance to visit Jackson, I would highly recommend The Snake River Grill(elk served with grits and a tantalizing margarita...had to eat there twice), The Blue Lion (best rack of lamb ever), and The Rendezvous Grill. The Eggs Benedict were fabulous at Jedediah's which specializes in everything sour dough. We stayed in a luxurious cabin at The Rustic Inn...visited Yellowstone...and of course, SHOPPED!!! There are so many cool stores and the square was buzzing with wine tastings and an art show. We stayed one night (on the way back to the Salt Lake City airport)in Park City, Utah...another darling town with many colorful homes at the base of the mountains and a fantastic selection of restaurants and shops...all which will have to wait for another vacation!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Celebrate Bandera Labor Day Weekend Events at Gunslinger

The streets of Bandera will be full of characters this weekend as we Celebrate Bandera! Labor Day is just totally fun in the Cowboy Capital of the World. The longhorn cattle drive down Main street will start the parade off Saturday at 11am. After you've sat on the curb and waved ahwile at the floats, stop by Gunslinger for a cold one. We are excited to host four trunk shows...come by and meet Stephanie Ferguson, a Dallas boot designer, Laura Mazurek, one of our Bandera "found objects" jewelry designer, Scott O'Farrell, the legendary hat maker who carries out the workmanship that Kevin O'Farrell, his celebrated father, started years ago, and Richard Schmidt of LaGrange, Texas...one of my favorite whimsical sterling jewelry designers (whose work is pictured a lot in Cowboys and Indians Magazine)...who will be bringing one-of-a-kind treasures designed just for Gunslinger! Stephanie will measure your feet while Scott measures your head...no purchase necessary right now...they'll keep your stats on file until you decide what kind of custom boots or hat you'd like one day.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Melissa Benge outfits Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb...article in Bandera County Courier

http://www.bccourier.com/Archives/Community_detail.php?recordID=090813C4

(to view link with picture!)


Bandera’s fashionista takes on Today Show

By Melissa Benge

(Editor’s note: How exciting would it be to dress a couple of television personalities and help showcase Bandera and San Antonio? Well, read the following, submitted by Bandera’s favorite fashionista, and find out. Yee haw!)

NBC’s Today Show featuring a vacation in the Lone Star State aired Wednesday morning, July 29. My role is only a small portion of what went on with the Texas vacation series, but I feel truly blessed to have been one tiny, behind the scenes but special part that I wanted to share with y’all.

A couple of months ago, Jennifer, the producer of The Today Show, came to check out Bandera – and also Gunslinger. She asked if I would help wardrobe the anchors for an upcoming show. Well, of course!

I knew this would be just totally fun! So, Thursday, July 16, I set up a “boutique” in The Westin Luxury Salon on The Riverwalk in San Antonio where Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb could browse through four brass bellboy racks – that, I might add, took about eight of those boys to roll it up to the 14th floor – seriously! You should have seen the looks we got going through the halls with all that stuff. Like you knew people were thinking “Has she ever heard of packing light???”

It all came down to finding appropriate clothing, hats, boots and accessories from Gunslinger for the girls – it was like, “Melissa, style Me!” – in everything head to toe. They had their own jeans when needed, but I provided them with a wonderful selection by Tasha Polizzi, Marrika Nakk, Ryan Michael, Pat Dahnke, Scully, Rockmount, Jerry Faires, Arnold Goldstein, Old Gringo and Back at The Ranch; 30 to 40 pairs of boots; nearly 40 hats by Michael Malone, items by Vintage Revival, Richard Schmidt, Vintage Sculpture, Kippy’s, bbSimon, Lazy Daisy and more.

Kathie Lee and Hoda had a ball playing dress up. Their clothing choices, however, were dictated by the extremely hot weather. The girls dressed for comfort and not just style – especially outdoor tapings scheduled for the first night and the next day.

FYI: Austin’s Bo Salon expertly did hair and makeup. Ron King and his two talented assistants were also assets to our adventure, but both Kathie Lee and Hoda are natural beauties!
Decked in their Gunslinger gear and ready for “a night out on the town in Texas,” the girls headed into SA to dine at Mi Tierra’s – oh my goodness, yum, you must try it sometime.
Meanwhile, we packed up – ugh!

Then Kathie Lee and Hoda came to Bandera where they were heartily welcomed by our colorful locals with whoops and hollering, good ole live country music and dancing at the one and only 11th Street Cowboy Bar. I nudged my friends Guy and Gilbert to jump in and teach those gals a little two steppin’!
The next morning, okay, I never even slept, too worried about oversleeping. If by chance, I’m in any crowd shots, I’m sure I will look totally exhausted. Anyway, early, early (at least for me, folks), I headed down the road to outfit the girls for their Dixie Dude Ranch experience, which is what attracted The Today Show to our area in the first place.

Diane and Clay Conoly were the perfect hosts and the Dixie Dude cooks served up a hearty breakfast and a fiesta lunch for everyone. Of course, Kevin Fitzpatrick performed. He was inducted into the Texas Heroes Hall of Fame during The National Day of the American Cowboy on Saturday, July 25 – wooo hooo, Kevin!

I snapped lots of pictures of the event. They may get posted on the new Cowboys and Indians Magazine website http://www.cowboysindians.com/home/. By the way, grab a subscription ‘cause Gunslinger’s – “where there’s always a cold one in the fridge!” – is in every issue.

Oops, back on subject …
Kevin taught both Kathie Lee and Hoda how to rope. And of course a couple of the Dixie Dude’s authentic wranglers showed them a lesson or two about Texas ranching and – what they weren’t expecting, (wink, wink) – work.

“Cookie” Joe Reedy taught them about chuck wagon cookin’.
Kathie Lee and Hoda returned to SA for a live segment, so I met them again with another – much smaller – wardrobe and let them select something fun to wear for the Wednesday, July 29, morning live feed.

Everyone was wonderful, warm, down-to-earth – and exceptionally funny. Kathie Lee, Hoda, Jennifer and the whole camera crew were just so cool to work with.

On a side note – but this is oh-so-important – a huge thanks to my sweet, sweet husband, Jim, who helped me pack everything up in the Gunslinger trailer and got us everywhere on time. Thanks for your patience and I appreciate everyone who has shopped with us so far!

Also, I don’t know what I would do without my awesome staff – Eric, Bird, Roxie, Sonya and Judi. And, of course, Bob, who’s busily polishing the girls’ boots right now to get the dude ranch dust off!

Thanks for reading and letting me ramble on. Yee Haw!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Gunslinger outfits Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda!

I can't tell you how much fun I had working with anchors Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda, along with Jennifer, the producer of The Today Show this past week! I outfitted them for a pre-recorded Today Show in Texas which will be broadcast with an additional live segment in San Antonio on Wednesday morning, July 29th. I will outfit them again that morning, too! The girls came out to Bandera and kicked their heels up at 11th Street Cowboy Bar Thursday night and then we filmed all day at The Dixie Dude Ranch on Friday. Both of them were hysterical...so down to earth and friendly...we gave them a big Texas welcome!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Website with shopping cart almost finished!

Hang in there with us...you will soon be able to see the new Gunslinger site complete with shopping cart...I appreciate your patience!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Fourth of July in Bandera

Fourth of July...11th Street Cowboy Bar in Bandera and Gunslinger present the 1st Annual Fourth of July Picnic...come out and celebrate! Watch The Texas Red Legs open for The Zach Edwards Band...5pm-1am...$10 cover...free hot dogs, burgers, and watermelon...Yee Haw!

Friday, June 26, 2009

Enjoy Riverfest on the beautiful Medina River in Bandera, Texas, on Saturday, June 27th...then head up the hill to Gunslinger, 1107 Cypress Street...to enjoy an eclectic shopping experience where there's "always a cold one in the fridge"!

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