gone antiquing

I have been impressed with today since the moment I opened my eyes and realized how comfortable I was inside my soft, warm bed with the cold wind blowing outside. Normally this sort of serenity doesn't hit me until about Thursday, seeing is how it's a Monday, I was pleasantly surprised. When I decided to leave my comfort for some hot chocolate-for-breakfast, I was greeted by a happy, furry little dog in a hoodie. Yep, that's right, Mark bought Buckwheat a dog-hoodie! It is darling (I'm still trying to get a good picture of him in it).

There was time for some morning reading before taking Mark to work and I started my day of errands, so I read, and decided I needed to check out another book for when I finish the one I'm working on. Currently, I have 3 books checked out; even though there's not a limit at the base library, I feel I'm cheating the other books if I have too many out at once... but they're BOOKS! How can you not be reading one at any given time: waiting in the car, sitting on the couch after lunch, during lunch, before you fall asleep... the list goes on.

A couple of the errands were fun ones; one imparticular called for me to go to a boutique in town to look at some Halloween decorations, and of course I had to browse all the jewelry (found LOTS that I loved, but I refrained from buying anything.. for now). Above this adorable boutique there are antique rooms set up. So I followed the sign up there today and found some fun things! It was my second time in the store, but it's the first store I've ever been "antiquing" in.

I walked up the stairs to find a mirrored coat and hat hanger with an old riding hat and a top hat. Yes, I tried them both on and made some oo-la-la faces in the mirror. After that, I had to choose which room I should explore first. I went left. I found two chairs that were fun: one with green velvet padding and the other with pink:
A bit further down the long room, I spotted an old wirey fan, and a little desk bell. You know the kind, they usually have a sign by them that says "Ring Bell for Service." I rang the bell, not for service, but just for the sake that it probably hadn't been rung in a long time. It sounded old and dull, but I still thought it looked pretty.

Two more pieces:

One is for my dad, and the other is for my mom (now that I just found out they're reading this). The first is an old Poker table. It didn't have a date on it, but my guess would be the late 3os or early 40s. This is for my dad, because he said once he was pretty good at poker; and I remember an Ocean Shores trip with the Barretts where he was a big help to me and my winnings:

The last piece is for my mom because it's one that her mother gave to her. I've now seen 3 of these in my lifetime, and I think it's pretty neat that it must have come from a furniture line about 45 years or so ago. It has the folding/slanted door that turns into a writing ledge when open, and it has two hidden drawers (they look like columns around a front door of a house, sorry for not having this picture) on either side of a swinging door inside (it actually looks like a door with a fan window). Have I described it well enough, mom? It is the same! At home, mom puts all our papers, markers, rubber-bands, and miscellaneous letter-things in the drawers. I forget now what's inside the windows. I suppose I was always too busy playing with the drawers inside. This piece of furniture used to sit in my Grandma Barrett's kitchen in Bellevue, WA when I was younger.

I found a favorite piece in this left room of the upstairs-antique store, but I'll have to post it another time. It deserves a few other pictures to go along with it. Here's a hint: my Grandma Judd taught me how to make jelly and jam, and this would be perfect for those jars full of sugar.