Nirvana on a Sunday Morning at Todd Farm

What is a better way to spend an early Sunday morning than meandering aimlessly through a flea market, coffee in hand enjoying the relaxed pace of other marketers walking dogs, chatting & admiring the wares?  Yeah, I can’t think of many better ways either.

Todd Farm Flea Market
Route 1A, Rowley MA

Loved these "rustic" rusty shopping baskets

So last Sunday, I headed to the Todd Farm Antique Flea Market in Rowley MA and was not disappointed.  You may remember my pals & I tried to go to Todd Farm last spring but we were rained out…so we went with a “plan B” on that particular day (you can read about that day here).

I'm not sure if this is authentic but it sure looks like an Enid Collins handbag...Fun!

oooohhhh la la look at the bling...so many lovelies

Todd Farm is open every Sunday (barring rain apparently :) from April to November from 5:30 am to 3 pm and from all accounts the best advice folks have is “get there early”.  Well, If you've been following me for a bit you may know by now I have my own philosophy about this “early bird” tactic….if it’s not there when I get there I didn’t need it to begin with…spoken by someone with a house full of goodies of course.

So I arrived just after 9am (my definition of being out & about early on a Sunday).  I’m sure there were a ton of wonderful things I missed out on but I certainly didn’t feel like there was a lack of fabulous goodies to draw me in.

Definitely tempting!

I always have my standards that I am on the hunt for (dishes, jewelry, artwork...) and my latest must have is a silver ice bucket.

Kelly from The Essence of Home shared this pic of her kitchen last year...I was instantly in love
photo source

About a year ago I had spotted this bit of fabulousness on The Essence of Home and have been obsessed with finding an ice bucket and totally ripping Kelly’s idea off.  In all of my travels over the last year I have seen quite a few ice buckets but not the perfect one and certainly not one that was at the perfect price.

Imagine my excitement when I spotted this little beauty…not an ice bucket but it certainly fits the bill for fabulousness.  But with no price on it I hedged…I was so sure it was priced out of what I wanted to spend…I mean it was perfect right?

Yup - she came home with me!

So I circled the block a couple of times, sorted through what I was so sure she was going to ask ($75)…I mean, I’ve seen these in the shops.  And I made up my mind what the max price I would pay was ($20)….not a chance right?

My timing must have been right…I asked the price and I had to ask her to repeat when she said $15…couldn’t be right….but it was.  I quickly got my cash out before she had a chance to change her mind and off I went with the perfect utensil holder and a huge grin.

My cluttered countertop before...for someone who hates counter clutter (me) I sure did have quite
a collection going here.

I was so excited that it ended up being my only purchase of the day but I did spend another couple of hours walking the grounds of Todd Farm and thoroughly enjoying the morning.

My new counter set up...oh so much better...now just to purge some of those extra spatula's

sharing this week on:
Between Naps on the Porch, The Dedicated House, Savvy Southern Style, Coastal Charm, Cozy Little House, The Cottage Market, The Charm of Home, French Country Cottage, Mod Vintage Life, Jennifer Rizzo, Artsy Chicks Rule, Elizabeth & Co, Our Home Away From Home

Lusting for Pink Lusterware

Are you acquainted with Pink Lusterware?  Well, I wasn’t….sure I had seen plenty of the ubiquitous gold & blue and even had a piece or two that I had found over the years…including a hand painted little bowl that my maternal grandmother had painted many, many years ago when that’s what housewives did with their spare afternoons (along with bridge).



My grandmother signed & dated this piece MSM '31 (a little blurry, you'll just have to trust me on this). 
It's kind of cool I know all these years later where she was in her life when she created this...
she was newlywed to my grandfather.

Well, a couple of months ago I was perusing the blog of a fellow north shore blogger Katy Elliot and I stumbled upon this photo that one of her followers had sent her and let me just tell you it stopped me dead in my tracks! 

Photo Source

I was instantly intrigued…such a magnificent display of something I didn’t even know existed.  By the way, Katy writes a really good post about how to collect pink lusterware.  You should definitely check it out if your as intrigued by the collection as I am.

Well, to be fair, I have seen a piece or two over the years but for some reason had never really paid it much attention.  I think it’s the gravity of the number of pieces in this picture that caught my fancy…for sure a dedicated collector if I have ever seen one.

From Katy's post...isn't this a  beauty?
photo source

I really don’t consider myself “a collector” but in reality I probably qualify (she says in the tone of someone fessing up at a “fill in the blank” anonymous meeting).  I freely admit my affinity to depression glass, red transferware, pin trays and a couple of other favs but does that make me a bone a fide collector….I have collector friends and we go on jaunts looking for the illustrious missing pieces to our “collections” but does that make me a bone a fide collector either…

Well, I think I may have crossed the threshold on this one…I have been actively seeking pink lusterware since I came upon Katy's photos.

It’s official I have been pulled to the dark side.  And just to put a nail in the proverbial coffin I have recently acquired these 2 lovely pieces as well as rediscovering this lovely little cup & saucer that was from my great grandmother’s collection.

The start of something good...much more contemporary lusterware but still beautiful

And to make it worse, I really am loving them.  Do I need them, no for sure not but after some deep soul searching I think I’m ok with that.

sharing this week on:
Between Naps on the Porch
The Dedicated House
Savvy Southern Style
Coastal Charm
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The Cottage Market
The Charm of Home
French Country Cottage
Mod Vintage Life
Jennifer Rizzo
Artsy Chicks Rule
Elizabeth & Co

Wandering in Charlotte....Again

You all know by now if you’ve followed along for very long that I travel a bit for my job.  It’s not always to great places but I always try to see something local where I am heading.  It’s generally varied and often in places where conferences are held…Phoenix, Las Vegas, Orlando, Chicago, etc….what is unusual however is travel to the same city multiple times a year…that being said It’s been a very unusual year already.  I was back in Charlotte this week for a very quick meeting (and will be heading back again in May).

It was very quick…flight landed Tuesday at 5 pm and I left to return back to Boston Wednesday at 6 pm with a dinner and full day meeting between.

This was the dessert for my lunch meeting...oh my so amazing...and no I couldn't eat all of the frosting (it is a triple
decker after all)

Who has time for anything else when booking it that close?  Well, much to my surprise (and pleasure) my meeting broke a couple of hours before expected and luckily I had brought my handy little “shop hit list” with me.  Perfect!

My NC shop list.  I keep a separate worksheet for restaurants & sites as well

Since I travel a bit I keep a handy dandy excel spreadsheet with info on all the places I read about on other blogs, magazines, Yelp, or my good friend Google.  It really comes in handy when I have an impromptu trip and don’t have time to do digging to see what I want to do.

Well, after going down the list I picked Century Vintage and headed that way.  Since my “hit list” is gathered over time often I don’t really remember the details of the shop I put on the list so sometimes I’m never entirely sure what I am going to find…it’s like its own little adventure.

Central Ave....surprise, surprise there were several shops in this little neighborhood

Century Vintage is what I would categorize as a “junk shop” (in the best absolute possible way) not really antiques but lots and lots of really funky interesting vintage things.  With my limited (as usual…insert scoff here) suitcase space I was very selective and didn’t end up buying anything.  Fun looking though.

Some of the fun I found at Century Vintage on Central Ave in Charlotte

Right next door is Ten Fifteen Antiques, much more of a hybrid of a traditional antique shop and a junk (ie thrift) shop.  If you are looking for a huge selection of plates for the ubiquitous decorative plate wall Ten Fifteen is the place to go…they had an absolute TON of dishes.  Now you know me….it took everything in my being but I stood strong and left with just the money in my pocket and headed toward the airport to catch my flight (she says optimistically since ANOTHER storm was due to hit Boston).

China, Blue Transferware, Milk Glass and a fun gumball machine display at Ten Fifteen on Century Ave in Charlotte

One of my little tricks in cities where I am not entirely familiar but want to explore is to set my Garmin to avoid highways.  This keeps me on the side roads and usually I get to see something of the city and you never know what you are going to find along the way.  This is how I stumbled into Clearing House.

I was driving down the road and spotted this sign and slammed on my brakes (note to fellow drivers, I might not be the best candidate to tailgate :-).

And oh my gosh I’m so glad I did…beautiful, beautiful, beautiful things and really fair prices.  Clearing House is a consignment shop so they have a little bit of everything decorative but all of it really great.

This little beauty did come home with me....I have been struggling with an arrangement of pin trays and this one
I think will add just the right color/balance to the collection I have...stay tuned for pics when I get them all hung

Funny thing, there was a lovely older lady dropping some small items off to consign and chatting with the shop manager while I was lurking around sneaking photos.  She was inquiring to whether or not they were accepting china or if they were over stock (is there really such a thing?) she thought that with all of the “old ladies” passing on there must be an over-abundance of inventory because the “younger generation doesn’t really buy as much china do they?”  I assured her that there really is a market of china addicts out there in the “younger set”.

Oh my this was just magnificent in person...the prettiest shade of pink!

No question I am heading back to Clearing House on my next Charlotte trip...maybe I should just bring an empty suitcase next time.

I am still kicking myself for not bringing one of these repurposed
vintage jewel cuffs home with me!  I guess it's something to
look forward to for my next visit.

sharing this week on:
Between Naps on the Porch
The Dedicated House
Savvy Southern Style
Coastal Charm
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The Cottage Market
The Charm of Home
French Country Cottage

A Brief Winter Break in Charlotte

As you may have seen on the news here in Boston we have been directly in the path of a “weather event” over the last couple of days…wow did we ever get hit!  We got walloped with a massive 2 feet of snow overnight on Friday and are still trying to dig out.  Luckily we did not lose power at my house though so no complaints here.

My driveway seemed to be perfect for catching the drifts...the snow was well over 3 feet...My front doorsteps
were also buried beyond recognition.  It sure is pretty though...

This was definitely a wake up snow after my week last week where I was not unhappy to leave the very cold temperatures of Boston for the much more temperate climate of Charlotte for a couple of days.  Two days of over 60 degree temperatures was very welcome plus I love Charlotte…it really is such a wonderful city and the people are so darn nice.

The majority of my first day was spent in meetings but I did manage a couple of hours to do some exploring.  There were a couple of places I had discovered on my last Charlotte visit I wanted to refresh my memory on.

The first one is Classic Attic and is well worth the time to pop by.  This is kind of a cross between an antique store and a consignment store…some old, some new, all pretty.

This tole chandelier is almost worth adding a new ceiling light to somewhere in my home..if
I only knew where...

They have a back room FULL of custom drapes.  I’m not sure but they look like they are custom made for sale at this store.  I also didn’t really check prices but judging from everything else at Classic Attic I would guess that they are fairly priced.

Custom curtain room...so many choices...all lovely and beautifully made

I ended up toting this lovely back to Boston.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen a piece of pink depression glass that called to me and was priced reasonably.  Sometimes I can’t believe how much this stuff goes for!

My second stop of the day was the Sleepy Poet Antique Mall and let me tell you I could spend hours in here…and probably would have if my feet were not rebelling from being in heels all day (cement+heels = NO).

This tin cabinet is so cool...I love the nautical look

This place has EVERYTHING you can imagine both newer and old and very old.  Full disclosure here though, I personally think some of their pricing leans on the high side…but that being said there are bargains everywhere and I fully believe pay what you think something is worth to you and you will never feel like you overpaid.

Just imagine all of the fun things you could display in this...would be just beautiful with sparkly lights inside

In any case, Sleepy Poet is a great place to spend some time and see every kind of thing you could ever want.

The before to the left and the after to the right....looks very similar to my bedside cabinet facelift

Oh my, I love this!  I don't know what it is about orange it's just such a fun pop of color.

Just one of several walls of antlers...kind of cool

Day 2 was totally full of work but was fun none-the-less.   I was lucky enough to tour a coffee plant and learn all about roasting, packaging & shipping coffee.  It was interesting and wow did it smell awesome!  Kind of like Hersheytown for adults (the aroma of coffee permeated the neighborhood in a very awesome way).

The coffee cupping...they do this several times a day on many, many lots to ensure consistency in taste & quality

Sharing this week at Cozy Little House, Elizabeth & Co, Savvy Southern Style, Primp

Red Transferware = Love

Last weekend I headed off to Maine to see some of my very favorite folks and spend the day syphoning  inspiration from one of my most creative pals Kate from Scissors, Spatula’s & Sneakers.  I had started a “scrapbook” to chronicle some of the fun moments of my 2012 travel.  Now, I am not at all a scrapper but all the pretty papers and adornments really call to me.  My pal is a huge scrapper and really does amazing things so I decided her house would be a great place to try to figure out how to put together the free form pages I had started.  I really just cut 6” x 8” pages and decided to stick some of my favorite photos that representing each trip…nothing complicated just a fun memory book.

So we had a wonderful afternoon catching up & gluing things on paper...fun!

On my way home as I often do I took the “road less travelled” (aka Route 1) and headed south to see what new amusement I could find along the way.

Columbary House
1286 US Route 1, Cape Neddick ME

Well, in Cape Neddick Maine my car just happened to pull into a parking lot for Columbary House Antiques.  Now, I have passed by this place I can’t even tell you how many times and have never noticed it.  I have no idea why I not only noticed it but decided to stop on Sunday, it was literally a last minute decision to take the turn (luckily there was no one behind me on the road) but let me tell you I am so glad I did!

How great is this to re-purpose old windows?  I'm thinking this would be so great
on the built-in's in my bathroom.

Red transfer ware is in my heart but wow I love this display of blue

As I mentioned in my Plan B Rowley post from last spring (see it here) I am always on the lookout for Colonial Burslem Woods Red transfer ware.  This was my great-grandmother’s everyday china pattern.  I grew up eating many, many yummy meals on it and still all these years later love it.  She made the absolute best homemade donuts…and let me tell you fresh fried homemade donuts is the absolute best scent to wake up to!  My brother could polish off a dozen in one sitting when we were kids.

Some of my red transfer ware pieces

Anyway back to Columbary House, there are 2 buildings – the front and more serious antiques house and the back building that has wonderful vintage items of all sorts.  It was in the back building that I made my real score.

And these babies were just waiting for me to find them on the bottom shelf below the wrap desk...luckily eagle eye
spotted them right away

So excited!  It’s not often I see my pattern and even less frequent I see it priced affordably!

There are 2 styles of Burslem Woods Colonial pattern one that is a lighter weight china and one that is more of a hotel/restaurant china heavy weight.

Most of my collection is the lighter weight...notice the serving bowl though....it's the heavy weight :-(

Early on when buying I made a mistake in not paying attention and picking up the heavier weight when I really prefer the lighter weight.  So, now that I’m paying attention it seems the lighter weight is so much harder to find and particularly hard to find without chips or crazing!

While both of these pieces are Woods Burslem they are not both Colonial pattern,...that's ok I'm good with a
little mixing and matching until I find a Colonial sugar bowl

Needless to say, this was a perfect start to my 2013..I’m hoping it’s a sign that this is going to be a wonderful year with unexpected beautiful things where I least expect them


Linking back with Mod Mix Monday, Savvy Southern Style, The Charm of Home, Jennifer Rizzo, Between Naps on the Porch