A VISIT TO THE SHOPS ON WEST RIDGE

I give myself presents every once in a while to pamper myself on what I consider to be a “special day”. This past week one of those "special days"occurred . And my gift to myself  was a trip to THE SHOPS ON WEST RIDGE  www.theshopsonwestridge.net  which is a huge, two story space that was once a furniture store but now houses 200 vendor spaces filled with antiques, home accents, artisan works, home furnishings, gifts, treasures and more. It’s a lovely place to get lost in for a couple hours of retail therapy. 

There’s lots of walking. Thank goodness, there is a small restaurant on the premises where you can rest your weary feet before tackling floor #2, you can get a cup of coffee and a sweet while resting. Blow are pics of the "rest area".

I just love this place and always have more favorites than money. Another plus about the Street of Shops is that there is usually some kind of special event going on. At Christmastime, they have a huge Dickens Christmas, with costumed Victorians moving about and scenes from Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol” seen through steamy windows into the story scenes.

When I visited last week, the special event was a table setting contest. It was totally charming. Several vendors of vintage china, linens, etc. set their own version of a fancy table. The shoppers voted on which one they liked best.

                            Red toile and red transferware china

                                  Wedgewood Blue

                               Aubergine Glass

      This setting seemed perfect for a Springtime luncheon or perhaps, Easter Brunch                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                           

The red toile was my favorite and I voted for it.   

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                       Personal favorites of the day.

The two pictures above are of two things that caught my fancy. The secretary desk is like one I have but this one has this heavenly trompe l'oeil cherub scene painted on it. And the white bedroom - all painted white furnishings, white tulle canopy and white lights - is like I died and went to heaven ~ swooning..........

I did buy myself some tchotchkes. A beautiful clipboard  with a rose encrusted clip and covered in a vintage song bird book cover, I bought a recipe holder, a gift for my sister, and a baby gift.

Baby gift has already been given to the adorable tot. And the last pic is what I purchased for me and my sister. 

             I had a lovely, memorable day and fitting celebration of a special day. 

Recycling - Upcycling - Reusing - Repurposing

My castteam-mate, NaNa, from NaNa Things blogged this week about how anxious she is for springtime so she can go "hunting" without coats, boots, gloves, etc. Where she's free to dig, dig, dig in relative freedom. Here's her blog.

http://www.musingsofavintagejunkie.blogspot.com/2013/02/anxious-for-hunt.html

I even have a special purse I bring along with me when I go on this type of outing. It's a tiny little thing, flat, cross body. It fits my license, a couple dollars, a credit card, even a pen and tiny notebook - plus has a clip for my keys. It doesn't dangle behind me like my big black purse, whacking everything in a 3 foot radius. It stays right up close to my body.

The "hunting" of which I speak is:  hunting for good, sale-able vintage wares. NaNa sells hers in her vintage etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/NanNasThings

I generally re-purpose estate sale finds..

We've both been to the same Volunteers of America shop in the past few days. Read about what she bought, on her blog.

I bought a men's dress shirt. I wanted to re-purpose it into the back part of a pillow cover. The buttons on the shirt make a convenient slot to slide the pillow in and out for laundering purposes.The front of this pillow is also an up-cycled textile. This one was rescued at an estate sale, where often times one will find all the household linens spread out on a bed in one of the bedrooms. When I come upon a scene like this and there's all kinds of crochet work, embroidery, and lace, I almost begin swooning, I am so overcome. I am tossing linen into my reusable bag with wild abandon.

Once home with my haul, it all gets examined to determine how to launder it. I love hanging it out of doors to dry. Another reason why we want winter to be over and done with.

The front of my pillow cover is one end of what was once called a dresser scarf. Both ends of this glorious piece of linen were embroidered with a colorful bowl of flowers. Many artful stitches were used in it's execution. I so respect the skill of these embroiderers, crocheters, and needle-workers of old and am sad that their labors of love are often are so unappreciated - I just have to rescue them before they languish  in a landfill.

Since the original articles are no longer in fashion, I re-design them into something that is in fashion. And, voila !! The treasured heirloom has a new life.