Our latest collection

 

Do you remember a couple of years ago when Jason was obsessed with old, rusty cans?

 

He got the nickname "The Can Man" for a while.

 

You can read about his can collecting adventures here.

 

Thankfully, that collection has halted.  The cans are still placed strategically around the house and I'd still like to get rid of them.

 

But Jason found a new object to collect.

 

We were walking around an antique store called "Found" here in Ithaca about a month ago and this little guy caught Jason's eye through the glass showcase.

 

 

 

 

I had a gift certificate for my birthday from my mother-in-law and I kept wandering around the store looking at vintage jewelry to buy but Jason had his eye on that fish.

 

I finally decided on a cake plate . . . it just happened that the cost of the cake plate wouldn't use up all of the gift certificate, so I decided I'd get the fish bottle opener for Jason.

 

Jason loves the bottle opener, especially since our old bottle opener is a little junky thing that probably came from the dollar store.

 

Right before Jason's birthday, I went on Etsy to see if I could find some more bottle openers, since J mentioned that it would be cool to have a collection.  I couldn't believe the selection!

 

I remembered reading in Martha Stewart or somewhere that usually collectors pick a common theme for their collection.

 

So antique plate collectors will often pick plates with only gold edging, or only blue plates, or only plates from a certain time period . . . you get the idea.

 

(For the can man, it was any can with lots of rust.)

 

So I had some choices.

 

I could buy only fish bottle openers.

 

Or only animal bottle openers.

 

In the end, I decided to go with bronze or gold bottle openers.

 

 

I found this darling little dog bottle opener.

 

 

 

 

And this horse bottle opener.

 

 

 

 

 

So now we have the beginning of a collection (the fish remains Jason's favorite).  Aren't they cute?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I'm no longer embarrassed when someone needs a bottle opener at my house.  Now we just need to figure out how to display them!

 

Weekend Treasures

Jason and I ventured out to a local antique store this weekend that was having a flea market. I'm so excited to share what we found!

First off, I found this awesome old hitching post top. It reminded me of some of the cast horse busts I keep seeing in Restoration Hardware.  

 

 

 

 

Isn't it gorgeous?!  I was so stinkin' excited when I found it!

 

Maybe you think I'm crazy, but take a look at the recent Restoration Hardware catalogue.  Better yet, I'll show you.

 

By the way, did anyone notice how incredibly THICK the most recent Restoration Hardware catalogue is?  I was so excited to come home to that baby waiting in my mailbox!   The images were taken with my iPhone right out of their latest magazine, so please excuse the quality. . . you get the idea.

 

 

This 19th Century Realist Carved Horse head could be yours for just $395.

 

 

 

 

How about this one, which sits proudly on the mantel. The price tag? $159.

 

 

The price for my flea market find?

50 Bucks.

 

I love looking at it on my end table in our family room.

 

 

 

 

 

The next item was an old horn that Jason was drawn to. I didn't really know where I was going to put such a piece, but I figured for $10 it would be a nice piece to decorate with at Christmas time.

 

 

 

 

I also picked up some cool jewelry. I love this cameo locket.

 

 

 

 

 

It just happened to match my shirt that day.

 

 

 

 

And since all of the jewelry at this vendor's table was only $2 each, I snagged three necklaces.

Two were lockets with cute little kid's pictures inside.

The first was the cameo I mentioned above. Here are the pictures that were inside.

 

 

 

 

The second locket is a bit smaller, with a green stone above the locket.

 

 

Even though I found these lockets on different displays at the same booth, they were both belonging to the same person.

Here are the kids' pictures in this locket.

 

 

 

 

At a closer look, I realized the lockets had pictures of the same children in them, just at different ages in their life. I began opening other lockets in the booth and sure enough, there were more pictures of the same kids.

Here is a better picture for you so you can clearly see the two images of the same kid at different ages.

 

 

 

 

 

 It must have been jewelry from an estate sale, but what saddened me is that no one bothered to keep the pictures.

I have a hard time throwing away someone's memories, even if their loved ones didn't stop to keep them. So these little kid's pictures are tucked away in a little decorative box in my bedroom. If you have any suggestions of what to do with someone's old pictures, please let me know. 

This happens when I buy old frames too. I usually just put my picture over the original photo in a frame, but the locket makes it a bit harder - and besides- it does feel weird to keep someone else's pictures, but it just feels wrong to throw them away.

 

 

Anyway, the last necklace I bought is a bit more flashy.

 

 

 

What's cool is that it's actually a brooch too.

 

 

 

 

I love getting vintage jewelry because no one else has it  (same goes for vintage clothes)  It makes me excited to go to work on Monday morning and put on something new .. . and what's even better is that it only cost me $2!

 

 

We also bought some old maps for an art project Jason plans on doing. Stay tuned because it's really cool.

 

 

 

That's all from the flea market. Did you find anything interesting this weekend?
 

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Staying Warm in Winter

I was going through Jane withdrawl.

I hadn't seen her since May, and despite the fact that the snow was quickly blanketing my yard and all of the streets, we ventured out to see Jane.

Snooty Fox is only open on Saturdays, so if we didn't go now, we'd have to wait another week.

It was so cold outside and we failed to warm up the truck before we left, so one block down the road, I suggested to Jason we go another day.

"No, you've been wanting to go for a long time now. We'll go"  Jason insisted.

So we made the 20 minute trek down a steep and slippery road.

 Every time we go to Snooty Fox, Jason and I want to buy so much that we have to narrow down what exactly we will purchase that day, and what we will have to wait to purchase until our next trip (all the while hoping nobody else purchases those items before we return).

Not only do I want to buy everything in the store, but Jane also has such an eye for displaying.  I get so many ideas from her.   Some day, I will get up the nerve to photograph some of her displays.

This trip was well worth it.

Jason had been seeing a lot of architectural elements in the Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware catalogues lately.  Of course, these architectural remnants aren't authentic. They are made to look old.

Image: Restoration Hardware

See that coffee table?  It's $1,695. 

See the book ends in the back?  Those are called "Antiqued Wooden Corbels" and they are $115 each.

Yes that says $115 "EACH."

We found something very similar at Snooty Fox, except our corbels  were $25 each. 
They are SUPER heavy. 

We love that, not only were they less expensive, but they are a piece of history preserved.

We also found these fantastic antique bowling pins.  I once saw a similar set in a PB catalogue on a bookshelf in the background of one of their living room sets.

Dick kept telling us to strip the bowling pins and display them in their natural wood but I like the chipped paint and the bold red stripe.  What would you do?  Would you strip them or leave them?

Our last purchase was this beautiful milk glass bowl.  Perhaps  you remember it from my most recent winter mantel display.  I don't have any of milk glass, but I always love the way it looks,
so I decided to get my first piece.


 I can't wait to use it for Valentine's Day. 
Won't it look great with red candies in it?

Another thing I love about Jane is how good she is with Imani.

She has a basket of special rocks that she lets kids pick through and select one to keep at each visit.

Imani always loves to go antiquing with us but inevitably always asks us to buy her random stuff.

Today we told her to bring her own money, since she does get an allowance.  I was surprised when we were in Snooty Fox and she wasn't buying anything.

I had forgotten that she spent almost all of her money last week on a few things

she saw at the mall that she wanted.

But she also bought her baby brother some adorable clothes that she saw.

How sweet is that?

As we were preparing to leave, Imani showed me the treasures she had negotiated with Jane.

For 26 cents, Jane had sold her these:

This little treasure box:

Along with these little treasures:

Imani was one happy little girl.

I was one happy big girl.

And Jason was one happy Coupon Drugstore Cowboy.

I know, one day we're cutting coupons and the next day, we're out buying antiques.

It's in the budget, I swear!

With that, Jane sent me off with a hug into the brisk snowy night.

Except this time, I didn't feel the cold.

I Think It's Because We're Young

A few weeks ago when Jason and I went to Snooty Fox Antiques, we were inspired by the many cool ways Dick and Jane displayed their antiques.

They are the king and queen of repurposing and I just felt the urge to take a million pictures so I could copy everything at my house.  But I'm not that bold . . . yet.

I also wanted to touch everything like a little kid in a toy store. 

Jason and I both loved how Jane had a lot of plants and flowers in various bowls, buckets and dishes.

So we picked up what we thought was an oversized white mug.  Jane had it proudly displayed on a table with a beautiful lilly planted in it.

When we went to cash out, Jane giggled, "Oh good," she said smiling.  "I'm glad to see someone else who loves chamber pots."

Isn't that what people used to use to go to the bathroom?  I was feeling very foolish but I didn't say anything.

I casually moseyed on over to Jason and quietly whispered, "Did you know that mug was a chamber pot?"

"Ewwwwww . . . it is?" Jason asked.

Phew. I was so relieved that he didn't know either.  He always knows more than me.

It must just be because we're young, I justified in my own head.  I notice I've been doing this a lot lately as I approach my mid-30s. 

"Do you still want to get it?" I asked.

"Yeah, you?" he asked.

"Yep."

 A little repurposing here didn't bother me.

And so . . .

Here's my chamber pot proudly displayed on my dining room table. 

Imani is often interested in the history of various antiques we bring home so when I told her what this used to be used for, she got all grossed out and swore she wouldn't eat if it was on the dinner table.

It's still there and she doesn't appear to be starving.

Ladders Aren't Just for Climbing

I've been noticing ladders lately, and not just because Jason's been using one to climb up and fix the soffits on our roof.

I've noticed that I like when people incorporate old wooden ladders into their decorating.

I first noticed it when I discovered one of my favorite blogs, Philigry.  Katie has an old ladder just propped up against a wall in her living room.  I like how simple it is.

Image: Philigry.blogspot.com

Then I spotted a ladder used to hold a blanket in Pottery Barn.  For $179, this baby could be mine.

Image: Pottery barn

I set off on a mission to find a ladder for my living room, but I wasn't paying $179.  Jason and I came across a great ladder at an antique store around the corner from our house called Barn House.

We placed it behind a leather chair in our family room and I draped an antique flag over it.

I'm reallly loving how it looks with the flag as a backdrop behind the chair.

I love when people take an ordinary object and use it for a completely different purpose -- one of the common techniques among many interior designers.  Ladders are just one of the many objects that are often re-purposed in decorating.

Some people use ladders as pot hangers in their kitchens.

Image: Woman's Day

Here, a step ladder is used as a plant stand.

Image: Country Living

And here, a ladder is painted white and incorporated into a holiday display with a wreath.

Image: Country Living

But one of my favorites, and probably one that Jason and I will soon copy is here, where the ladder is turned sideways and used as a shelf.  I love it.

Image: www.arusticgardenblog.com

What about you? Have you used ladders to decorate?

Pssst:  Don't forget to enter my first Giveaway!

Addicted to Oars

A few weekends ago, Jason found an oar he loved at an antique store near our house.  I checked out the price tag: $50. 

"No way are we spending that much money on an old oar," I said matter-of-factly.

Since I am in sales and I have a very large territory I often come across antique stores on my lunch hour or on my way home that I would have never discovered if I didn't have a job that requires so much travel.

I remembered seeing old oars at an antique shop about 45 minutes from our house.  They were only $20.

So last Friday, on my way home from work I stopped at this little shop and was happy to see that the three oars still remained.  Two were red and one was a grayish blue.

I snagged the grayish-blue one.  I loved that it was all chippy and still had the hardware on it.

When I got home, Jason went to work figuring out how to hang it.

First, he put one screw at each end of the oar.

Next, he put wire around the screw to form a loop so that it could hang on the wall.

When he was done, it looked like this:

We decided to hang it above the window in the guest room. 

 

Now Jason wants me to go back to the antique store and buy the two other oars.  In typical addict fashion, one oar isn't enough.  He wants to decorate with a bunch of oars.

Actually, now that we got the computer out of the guest room and into the new office nook (which was a closet), there is a lot more space in the guest room and there is a big wall with nothing hanging on it.  Three oars hanging in a vertical row might just look nice.

And I can get all three for only $10 more than we would have gotten one! 

Let's hope somebody else didn't snag them before I get there.

I'm a Snooty Fox Lover

Have you ever gone into a store and the atmosphere felt like Christmas?  You know the feeling I'm talking about.  It's warm and toasty, it smells like cinnamon and you just feel so good that you never want to leave? 

This was my experience this weekend when Jason and I discovered our latest favorite place.  You all are going to think I am making a bucket of money from these blog posts about stores, but I swear to you that I'm not making a dime!  At least not yet :-)

Anyway, every so often for my job I have to drive down a major road out in the country that has a big antique sign for a shop called "Snooty Fox Antiques" in Newfield, NY.  The sign states that the store is only open on Saturdays.

This is a big pet peeve of mine.  I hate that stores aren't open on Sunday! I know, I know, Sunday is a day of rest.  But antiquing is like resting for me!  Searching for old treasures to decorate my house brings me peace.  Searching for treasures with my husband and my daughter brings me double-peace.  Sundays would be the ideal day for this, but I'm finding so many antique stores are only open on Saturday. 

Anyway, as soon as Jason and I walked onto the property of Snooty Fox, we knew we loved it.  Dick and Jane, the owners, (I love that their names are Dick and Jane . . . just like my first grade primers)  have built the shop in the garage of their home, which Dick built many years ago on their 30 acre property.

The woodstove was piping hot and a kettle full of cloves and cinnamon sat on top, so I immediately smelled Christmas.  When we entered the shop, there was such an art to the way Dick and Jane displayed their primitive antiques that I got so many decorating ideas.  Everything looked like it belonged in a catalogue. 

I wanted to touch everything and feel the worn edges; I wanted to hear the history behind all of the pieces.

In searching through the shop, Jason actually stumbled upon the home where Dick and Jane live (the door was open and appeared to be part of the shop).  They were kind enough to give us a little tour.  The home was absolutely gorgeous -- with an enormous stone fireplace, cathedral ceilings, and a wall of windows overlooking the 30 acre property and an enormous pond.  Dick had built the home many years ago and it's where they raised their five children.    It was tastefully decorated with beautiful primitive antiques, much like their shop.

I was so mad I didn't bring my camera.  I don't know if I would have had the courage to ask Jane if I could photograph her house.  A home is such a personal space and not everyone is cool with allowing a stranger to take pictures and post them on the worldwide web for everyone across the globe to see.

Jason and I spent so much time in the shop and we saw so many items we wanted to buy.  Jane was kind enough to educate us on many of the items in her shop.  We ended up leaving with several great pieces.

My favorite piece is this Paul Revere lantern, which now hangs in our sitting room.

I love the intricate pattern it projects on the walls.  We want to get a few for our deck, since it is really difficult for the wind to extinguish the candle through the hundreds of tiny slots in the tin. 

I also found some grain sacks, which were only $5 each.  I am always so inspired by all of the grain sack projects I see here in blog land, and I don't have the patience to try to re-create grain sacks with printing on cloth, so I bought these.  I have no idea what I am going to do with them yet, but I'm eager for suggestions!

Jason was really drawn toward this washboard.  I kept trying to convince him that we should wait until we have a new home that actually has a laundry room instead of a damp unfinished basement, but he really, really wanted it. .  I was relieved it wasn't another coffee can, so I agreed.  I actually really like it and we're thinking about hanging it in our downstairs bathroom.

We also got some of these kitchen utensils.  To be fair, we had also gone to Hub's Place this weekend and we snagged a few there too.  The problem is, we have no idea how we will display them in our somewhat modern kitchen.  We've thought about just putting them in a wooden bowl, or hanging them on a piece of wood.  We've also considered building some sort of shelving. 

I was thinking it might be cool to move the coffee cans from the living room into the kitchen and displaying them all together.  Any suggestions?  Don't be shy . . . . comments are pushed to my phone and they make me smile when I am working!

  

And can you believe I actually found more rag balls?  Jane tells me they are actually kind of hard to find.  Here, they are displayed in an old chamber pot, which I also bought at Snooty Fox Antiques.  I had no idea what it was when I brought it up to pay for it!  After she told me, I giggled but didn't put it back.  I have plans to use this beauty as a planter . . . just like Jane did in her shop.  She had gorgeous lillys growing out of it.

When we realized Dick and Jane didn't accept credit cards, we were devastated.   But they just told us to take all of it and send them a check in the mail?!  I loved these people.

We couldn't do it.  It just didn't feel right, and besides, I knew if we went to an ATM, it would give me an excuse to go back into their shop within a few minutes, which is exactly what I did.

I didn't want to leave.  I told Jane I would be back and that I would be a regular.   She sent me off with a big, warm, motherly hug and the feeling of Christmas in April.

Linking to: 2nd Time Around Tuesday