Christmas visitors....

I love the Nutcracker Ballet.  I've only been once, with my Mom, but wow, what a show!!  So I went to an auction this weekend and found this awesome treasure.  A giant Nutcracker!  He's even taller than me.  I'm 5'4", so he might be close to 6' tall.  He's standing in the window of the shop right now, greeting shoppers as they come in the store.

And a lovely lady came into the shop this morning with these adorable little elves for sale.  She said they once hung in an old grocery store at Christmas time.  They stand about 39" tall and I thought they were absolutely charming!!

Now to take pictures of all the wonderful furniture finds we brought home Saturday night....

I love finding treasure in barns!

I went to a wonderful old farm auction in Thornville last weekend.  The property was incredible.  It was surrounded on three sides by Dawes Arboretum.  It was nestled on gently rolling hills with a wooded background.  Beautiful!

I wasn't able to get much furniture because prices were pretty strong.  However, almost no one seemed interested in the fun stuff hidden in the barns!  There was an awesome wooden truck gate hidden away and a pair of barn panel gates and I was the only one that wanted them!!

Here's a pic of my gates set up at the shop.  I'm waiting for a handmade Mary and Joseph to arrive so I can set up a manger.

The gates are taller than me and they're about eight feet long.  They take up a LOT of space, but I love them!   I want to wrap lights and garland around them.

I also got this old barn door hanger.  When I first saw it, it was just sitting there (upside down) like this, and I thought it had so many possibilities...

So I decided to fill it up with Christmas Goodies!!  Candy canes, poinsettias and a pair of vintage baby mittens!

I also managed to get the winning bid on one of my favorite items at the auction... an old wheel barrow (missing its sides) in original blue paint!!

My sister met me at the auction and I know she thought I was a nut, buying the most primitive pieces there!  But we had a great time together and she got some fun stuff too.

One thing that bothered me though.  There was a wonderful old buggy seat advertised to be at the sale, but when I got there, no one could find it.  They determined that it must have been stolen before the sale started.  How sad!

Lovin' old painted pieces!!

It's not always easy to find unique items for the shop, especially old painted, primitive pieces.  So when someone stopped in the shop and told me he had just purchased an old house filled with things that hadn't seen the light of day for years, I jumped at the chance!

The house was in really bad shape, but just like the gentleman suggested, there were several old pieces that would be perfect for the shop!  Here are just two of them:

I just love this old dresser!  Just the right amount of wear... 

And this little jelly cupboard is so sweet!  Not too big and not too deep.  Perfect for a small space!

Some of our handmade goodies!

I absolutely love having something in the shop that not everyone else has.

These adorable lollipop ornaments were made by a stay-at-home Mom, trying to make some extra Christmas money.  I love them!

And these little peppermints are something I made myself this year.  They were fun!

I just love Christmas!

Open House Today!

Shop is all decorated and ready for Christmas!  Not sure if I'm ready yet though!  :-)

Hmmm... do I keep or sell this wonderful old red cupboard?

I found this wonderful old red pie safe/jelly cupboard at an auction a few weeks ago and immediately stuck it in the window of my shop.  But, the more I look at it, the more I think it needs to come home with me.  I guess that's one of the good things about having a shop, I can trade things in and out.   However, my dear husband doesn't seem to enjoy it when I can't quite make up my mind.  Imagine that!!  :-)

Christmas Open House!

Yes, it's been an awfully long time since I've posted.... hopefully I'll be better!  :-)

I'm so ready for Spring!

I'll confess, I'm usually a huge fan of winter.  I love the crisp, thinner air and I love snow.  I get so excited when I see the first flakes gently falling to the ground.  But this year, winter came early and never gave us a break.  I'm SO done with winter.  I don't want to be teased with spring, where the temps warm up and then plunge back to frigid bleakness.  I need spring and I need it now!

I want to see crocuses popping their sweet heads through the ground, I want to smell the intoxicating scent of lilacs in the air.  I want spring.   So please month of March, that came in like a lamb, please don't go out like a lion.  No early April snow storms either.  I just want spring and I want it now!

 

This feels like spring!

For the next week, I'm offering FREE Room Spray with every purchase!  So, stop in and tell me how you're longing for spring too!!

Back to BlogLand!

Well, I certainly didn't do a very good job of keeping up with my blog over the Holidays!  But I did spend a lot of time reading everyone else's blogs!  Everyone's so creative and I get lost reading for (many) hours!

I never know what to do with the shop in January.  Sometimes I do Valentines stuff, but it always comes on me so quickly, that I'm usually too late with any ideas.  It's too early for spring stuff (isn't it?), so I usually just try to be neutral.  Yeah, I know, neutral can be really boring.  But I've been selling lots of stuff and bringing in new things, and I've been having a good time rearranging the shop... so I thought I'd share some pics.

I found some beautiful Belleek heart shaped bowls that helped me put a little "Valentine's" spin on the glass showcase.

I think anything Victorian is always romantic!

I love this little chair.  It's been beautifully covered and has such nice legs! 

Beautiful bench made from an old bed.  It has wonderful old chippy blue paint!  I love the little cupboard sitting in the corner too.

A nice little plantation style desk, red and white coverlet, sled and a wonderful old 20 gallon crock!

I love winter and I love snow, even when it makes it hard to get around.  But I have to say I can't wait for spring this year and all the awesome sales that will be springing up.

Hope you're all keeping your spirits up and staying warm!