Window shopping...

Okay, so in my last post I told you about the $1.00 I spent at the hospital auxilliary shop for the hobnail planters and the floral earrings...


But just a few doors down is Viviana's Vintage Shop....


...and her window displays are always so beautiful that Amanda and I had to go in and look around.....


(So much for just window shopping)....


I loved this table full of vintage toys (and they all work, too!)....


This was a sweet stitchery of Cape May Lighthouse...

I loved these doors, even if they did have broken glass....

Can you guess what this design appears on?

This sweet old toy piano. I just loved the birds singing and all the flowers.. Wouldn't some potted plants look adorable on top of that piano... a little raised plant stand?

And just look at all these sweet Mary statues and/or planters! (I wonder what Amanda is checking out in the section behind me?)

I have to tell you, I was very tempted to get the Mary dressed all in white... V-e-r-y tempted...

This little garden burro reminds me so much of a small, indoor burro planter my Nana had in the 1950's. I'm just so drawn to things that reminds me of that era and/or of my Nana.

So even though I didn't purchase anything at Vivianna's today, it's always so much fun to go in and browse around...

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Donna

My embellished Mary print - a vintage treasure...

Last year, during my search for the elusive Staffordshire dogs, I stumbled upon this vintage framed Mary print at a junktique shop.... I have a great fondness and love for all things Mary. Some day I'll share my small collection of Mary statues and art...

(click any photos to enlarge)

This was so different from anything I'd ever seen before. Some very creative soul had hand-painted a delicate floral border around a black and white print of Mary and then glued robin's egg blue crinkled paper around the print and painted border, giving it a lovely dimensional effect.


I love everything about this image - the serene expression on Mary's face, the delicate position of her hand, the flowers in the background, the overall simplicity of the design...


More than likely the person who handpainted the border is the same person who hand lettered "The Power of the Agnus Dei... To help efface sin... To guard against a sudden or unprovided death. To turn away the thunderbolt" below the artwork.



The frame itself is old and the back is quite primitive, with small nails holding everything intact.

Mary hangs among family photos in a corner of my office. (I know I have way too many things hanging on the wall, but in my office I tend to let my packrat mentality take over)... And in case anyone is wondering... yes, that is a framed photo of Colin Firth but no, he's not family. It was a gag gift from someone who knew that Darcy (of both Pride & Prejudice and Bridget Jones's Diary) makes my heart go pitter-patter!

I'd love it if you shared some of your favorite actors since I'm the odd duck among my friends, who are all huge Johnny Depp fans... I can't possibly be the only one who prefers a clean cut image to a bad boy image... can I???

And don't you just love Trish from Clean House?? Oh my gosh, she's such a hoot! I love that show, and everyone on it... (although I don't think Mark would care too much for the look of this cluttered corner!)

Be sure to head over to Smiling Sally's blog to see her Blue Monday listing and to find a list of all the other blue-loving bloggers! Have a great week, everyone!

Donna

My Junktique Finds...Photo Tag...And Awards!

S-C-O-R-E! I was searching for a couple of frames and an inexpensive birdcage....


... and just look what I found!!!


I thought this birdcage was adorable. Even though I already have a few birdcages (a future post for sure), I've been doing some 'tweaking' and 'rearranging' here and there and I thought one more was needed for a certain spot... This one fit the bill perfectly...

Some of you may remember my April post on this original rose painting... Well, ever since then I've been trying to find a frame for it and for this vintage PBN of Mary. They're both 10x14, which is not a standard frame size. I decided to make it a priority to find frames for them because I really want to hang them...

...and Fairground Antiques didn't let me down! I found these two old frames. One is a little bit small for the rose painting, but I'll make it work somehow... (right now the painting is just propped up behind it)... I'm very torn between leaving the frames natural or painting them white. Since all of my walls are white, I'm leaning toward leaving them just as they are. (Sometimes I think I get carried away with painting everything white)...

Don't you just love it when you find exactly what you're looking for??

I also found one other item, but I think I'll save that for my Blue Monday post... (I guess you don't have to think too hard to figure out what color it is!)

PHOTO TAG

Sherry at Edie Marie's Attic tagged me for a game of Photo Tag. The rules are, I have to go to my computer photo folders, open the fourth folder, and post about the fourth photo...

This is a photo that my sweet friend, Jill, sent me... She lives near Amish country in Ohio and since I've never been, she was kind enough to send me this fantastic photo that she took while out shopping one day. You just don't see anything like this here in New England... At least not around where I live!

The four people I choose for Photo Tag are:

Dana @ The Stone Rabbit

Joanne @ My Little Cottage in the Making

Angie @ Sandals and Daisies

Jean @ A Romantic Country Home

AWARDS

Thank you so much to Cami at Creating Myself for giving me this Kreative Blogger award! Cami is the "Kreative" one! I was in awe of her November 2nd Stairway to Heaven post - it's spectacular!

And I was awarded this "Lovely Lady" award by Joanne at My Little Cottage in the Making. Thank you, Joanne. Be sure to check out the vintage Christmas postcards she just blogged about, all arranged in a beautiful cork board!!

I also want to thank both Pat at Mille Fiori Favoriti and Nola at The Alamo for making the the recipient of the beautiful Marie Antoinette award! For some reason, my computer will not allow me to save the beautiful graphic from either of their sites. I'm sure it's something going on with my silly computer... But thank you both so very much!

I'd like to pass on both of these beautiful awards to all of you because you all deserve them!

Donna

Rose Cottage Antiques

FUN - FUN - FUN is the only way to describe Rose Cottage Antiques at 208 Main St., Lee, Massachusetts...


Two floors of GORGEOUS vintage finds, all set in themed rooms...


Here's Amanda, looking at some of the aprons in the kitchen...


Speaking of kitchens, isn't this the sweetest cottage kitchen ever? Look at those glass cupboards! And how I would LOVE to have a window in my kitchen!!! (You heard it right... I don't have a single window in my kitchen, ladies... Was that a collective gasp I just heard over my windowless plight? I think so... a sad situation, indeed..)


This is the dining room of Rose Cottage.. Just look at that built-in hutch! As you can see, this shop is housed in a lovely older home with a sweet porch - which I forgot to take a picture of!!


Is anyone looking for silver to add to their collection? Or a tea cart perhaps?


I love doll houses... This was the kids' room on the 2nd floor of Rose Cottage...


My daughter bought a beautiful pleated vintage half slip, new with tags, from the bedroom upstairs... The original tag said $1.70!


I had to take a photo of these cherubs because they reminded me of something that Cindy (My Romantic Home) would make over and put in her beautiful home!


I was SOOOOOOOOOOO tempted to purchase these two original bird paintings... Aren't they COTTAGE spectacular?? They were $55 for the pair though, and considering I had already spent some money at Greylock Cottage, I passed on them (but for two original paintings - and such sweet ones at that - I was tempted!!!)


When we headed back to our car, look what was stacked up behind Rose Cottage Antiques... Of course I thought of Linda at Linda's Blue Gate right away! Can't you just picture the gorgeous yard conservatories she would make out of them??

Yes, if you are ever in the Lee, MA area, definitely set your GPS for Rose Cottage Antiques!!!

Donna

The Greylock Cottage

When my daughter and I headed out to western MA for a bit of girl fun, one of the first towns we visited was Lee, MA. It has the most adorable Main Street...

...which is where I spotted this beautiful shop, The Greylock Cottage at 51 Main Street...


Just look at these cottage chairs.... I love the one with the flowers!


Look what I spotted as soon as we stepped inside... Now that's my kind of birdcage and stand! It looks like it could have come straight from my Nana's house!


There were so many beautiful vintage speads - lots of chenille, fringe, ruffles, and lace....


What a sweet cannister set, just perfect for a cottage decor!


Just look at the beautiful fringed spread and crocheted pillowcase on this antique bed...


We drove around a bit more and found a junktique store which ended up being more "junk" than "tique," but I did like this little red and white kitchen display..


Yellow House Books at 252 Main St. in Great Barrington was a wonderful shop to spend some time in! The entire Main Street of Great Barrington, and the little side streets, were full of wonderful shops and eateries... I definitely want to head back there sometime...

I have a few more places to share with you in a future post... The Berkshires ... such a lovely area to spend some time exploring....

Donna

A Thrifty Day Indeed!

I had such a fun afternoon visiting several thrift/ junktique/ antique stores along the New Hampshire/Massachusetts border, and boy did I score some goodies! I'll share some with you now, and some in future posts. This barn (actually two 2-story barns) had wonderful things, but most of it was big furniture, and my little home is already filled to capacity with furniture. But take a peek inside...

I love cats and dogs, so this framed print immediately caught my eye (not to mention that it's all my favorite colors!). It was hard to read the tag, but I think it said $40, and since I don't have any wall space left to hang pictures, I couldn't justify spending that much...

But then, a few towns away in another shop, I spotted this... I know I just finished saying that I have nowhere to hang another picture, but this is an original 10"x14" painting of roses on canvas just oozing cottage charm! And - are you ready for this?... the tag said $2.50 - an absolute steal! There was no way I was walking out of the store without it! (You better believe I'll find a place to hang it or prop it!)

At the same shop, I spotted this beautiful little statue of Mary with a price tag of $1.50. I know nothing about it... any writing on the gold tag on the back has long since worn off... MLC 23 is etched on the bottom. The halo has some nicks along the edges, but I knew she had to come home with me to keep my other Mary company...

Below is the Mary that belonged to my mom. I have no idea how old she is, but my guess is that my mom bought her in the 50's or 60's. She hangs on the wall in my office. The beautiful necklace of glittery silver crosses is from Katie's Rose Cottage. I've purchased so many items from Lori and I am always so thrilled with everything!

So that's it for this post. I'll save some of my other junktique buys for another post, but here's a little two word hint about one of them... white birds! (Big surprise, right?)...

Donna