I am looking forward to things calming down in the very near future. Give me a week or two and things will be calmer and moving at a slower pace. Until then, my posting might be a bit sporadic. Regardless, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. I've just got some other things on my plate right now that require my time and attention.
OK
- enough pontificating -
(Fun word, huh?!)
Let's get to today's post.
Shall we?!
As I just mentioned, my mom was visiting from Springville, AL this past weekend. My mom and I have become such good friends over the past few years (well, we have always been very close, but that closeness has evolved into a deep friendship as I have become an adult), and we always have so much fun when we are together. It doesn't take much to make us happy! Among the things that we LOVE to do are:
- relaxing in a local coffee shop, sipping on warm coffee or tea, sharing thoughts, memories, and laughs together;
- cooking;
- practicing yoga or dancing;
- shopping at thrift stores and Goodwill's; and
- hunting for hidden treasures in local antique shops!
The last item on that list might very well be our favorite. I don't know what it is about antique stores, but my mom and I just love them. Maybe it is the history that is behind every piece...or maybe it's the face that every item echoes a time gone by. Whatever it is, my mom and I are both in our element when we are surrounded by timeless and beautiful antiques.
On Friday morning, my mom and I stopped into a local antique store in Orange Park, FL (where Bo and I live). As most antique stores do, from the outside this one looked like a hole in the wall...you know, nothing to write home about. However, once inside, it was filled with troves of treasures!
Sidenote: Isn't "trove" a fun word? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary it means "a store of valuable or delightful things," and man oh man were we delighted!
I just loved this old buffet. One day, I would love to invest in something like this, repaint it, replace the glass panes, and display my china (and various other timeless trinkets) inside. It's hard to find furniture like this anymore...unless you have $5,000.00 or more, that is.
BOOKS, books, and more beautiful books!
My beautiful mother.
I hope that I age as gracefully.
I thought that these old-timey tools were so cool!
If we lived in more of a country-style home, it would be really neat to create a wall display with them, don't you think? Oh, and by the way, looking at these tools really made me appreciate how easy things are these days. The simplest of tasks used to be so much more difficult than they are today!
Old-timey kerosene lamps.
DISHES!
(Seriously, what cook can have enough cute AND practical dishes?)
More dishes and records.
Although you may think I am too young to remember records, you are mistaken. I grew up dancing to them in the dance studio (before tapes were widely used, and WAY before CD's were invented). I remember that if we landed a leap too close to the record-player we would cause it too skip. I also remember the teacher having to restart the song every. single. time. it. ended.
WOW.
What good memories.
Trinkets filling every corner.
A beautiful decanter with matching tumblers.
Can't you just envision a gentleman serving scotch or bourbon from this?!
Day's gone by.
Me...surrounded by antiques everywhere!
In the end, my mom helped me settle on a counter-top full of goodies, including:
- five Pyrex dishes with glass tops;
- a kerosene lamp;
- three old-timey Bell jars;
- a crystal decanter;
- a stainless-steel bundt pan;
- a hand-held, metal citrus juicer;
- ceramic salt and pepper shakers; and
- a beautiful, blue porcelain baking dish.
I can't wait to build shelves for our kitchen so that I can display all of my food-filled Bell-jars. Dried beans, oats, cornmeal, lentils, quinoa, flour, sugar, chia seeds...you name it and I will be putting it in a jar for display! It will be so nice to get them out of the pantry and onto the walls for all to see!
I have already cooked in two of my Pyrex dishes and they worked out perfectly. Not only can I cook in them, but I am also looking forward to storing leftovers in them and saving money on Tupperware, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap. Win-win!
All our loot in a carry-home cardboard box!
To my mother - THANK YOU for spending your time and money on me. The memories will last a life-time, and thanks to its quality, most of the items that we bought will too!
I love you.
Question of the Day:
How do you like to spend quality time with your mother/father? What are some of your favorite things to do together?!
Blessings,
Ally and Bo
First - your dress is absolutely adorable, and so is your mom!
ReplyDeleteI love to hike with my parents, or go skiing with them. Another thing I used to love to do is read by the fire with my dad in the winter, with music playing. Ahh.. so nice. I love to cook with my mom. I wish I could spend more time with them and I am excited to see them for the holidays for the first time in years!