Springfield Recap and Shop Pictures

Wow you guys time has been flying by...more so than ever!!! I guess because we have been spending every minute working to get the shop ready. I wanted to share some of what we have been working on at the shop but first I thought I would share some of our booth from the Springfield Extravaganza this year.

As always we had such a wonderful time and it was great to see so many of you and catch up with our Springfield friends. This was the first show we have ever done there that it didn't rain one time!!! It was so weird to walk back into our booth every morning and have everything be dry! I am sure it will never happen again so we really tried to enjoy it! It was unbearably hot though, so hot that I could hardly summon the energy to walk around and shop. I did walk around a bit on Saturday though and found some wonderful goodies. It is even more fun to go out look for goodies at flea markets and antique shows now that I have shop to bring everything back to!

This gorgeous white cupboard filled with farmhouse goods made for one my favorite displays yet.

As soon as we got back from Ohio it was straight back to work getting the shop ready for the big grand opening October 13th!!! Here is a peek at some of what we have been working on!

The front is coming together just like I envisioned. This historic building sat vacant for so long that I think a lot of locals had forgotten the beauty it held so I wanted to add bright vibrant colors to the porch to catch people's eye again as they quickly drove past. I also want the community to know that it is a store once more and feel a warm welcome as they come in.

Inside you will find the calm creamy whites that I never tire of as I find they make the perfect backdrop for all of the seasons while making things cozy and cohesive at the same time.

I chose to leave the floors as is...100 plus years of scratches and all. I love thinking of the things that people would have bought that made those scratches or the store owner that moved heavy barrels here or there.

I am thoroughly enjoying the fact that the shop is large enough for me to create fun set ups like this kids bedroom I made in the one corner. I have to admit it has been hard for me to sleep lately with all of the ideas I have swirling in my head...and trying to remember where I put this or that that I know would be just perfect here or there in the shop doesn't help!

The railroad use to run through this tiny town (which is just houses now as everything else has been demolished) and this was the place to stop and get any of the essentials/general goods needed. This week we are working on recreating the shelving that would have originally lined the walls and held those goods. Luckily enough we found the original drawers upstairs in the building and were able to bring them back downstairs.

Recreating the store shelving is probably the project that I am most excited about here at the shop. I have dreamed of having a shop in a general store for so long but I honestly thought we would just have to find a generic looking shop and then make it look like a general store. Never would I have imagined that we would actually find a general store and I feel beyond blessed and fortunate to have this amazing opportunity to restore it. So walking in now seeing these grand shelves that I get to fill with all of the goods I search high and low for is a really big moment in my life. I am still waiting for someone to come knock on the window and say we aren't aloud to operate or something!

A little peek at the counter...more pictures of it soon.....I absolutely love the way it turned out. Pretty soon it is going to be lined with big glass jars filled with candy...Millie can't wait to help me with that part!

My drive to the shop seems to just get prettier and prettier as the leaves have started to change color. The road I take there is lined with one Amish farm after another and I am continuously inspired by the gentle and utilitarian beauty of their homes and farms. I am so excited that we are having our grand opening in the fall...it just seems like the perfect timing.

Also on the to do list this week is getting our shop name and our hours on the window, putting many pieces of big furniture in place and getting the goods on the shelves!!!  There is a lot more that I would love to have done before we open but there is just no way we will be able to get to it all! That's okay...I am just beyond grateful to call this little peace of heaven ours! I know many of you are planning on coming for the big day and I absolutely can't wait to hear what you guys think about this amazing building and all that we have done to it!!!

GRAND OPENING
Saturday October 13th 11 AM to 5 PM
5750 West Center Road
Linesville, PA
16424

Viburnum Snowballs, Springfield Recap and Shop Updates

I am so sorry it has been so long since my last post but you guys know how busy Spring is for us! Between getting ready for the Springfield Show , getting everything moved out of what was to be our shop and all of the yard work that needs to be done this time of year we haven't had a spare moment lately. I have so many things I want to share with you and just never enough time!

Our yard is alive with spring blooms and my viburnum is bigger than ever this year and covered with snowballs. I love these flowers so much that I can't help but put them literally everywhere.

I also wanted to share our new sign that I hung on our front porch. I have a running search on ebay for antique signs and when I saw this one show up in my email I knew it was just perfect for the front porch. I love the way it looks with the black writing on white and what it says makes me giggle when I see it.

Decorating the inside of the house is so easy this time of year...a giant jar or vase of flowers and you are all set.

I also wanted to share with you guys some pictures of our booth at the Springfield, Ohio Antique Extravaganza. I was so busy this time I hardly got any pictures with my camera but if you visit my Instagram Stories you can see many images of our booth.

As usual we had the most wonderful time and it was our most successful show to date! I absolutely love getting to meet all of you that come to say hi and shop and catching up with all of you that come every year! Sooo many of you went out of your way to give me your condolences about the shop and also your encouragement in finding a new one, that means more to me than you could ever know.

As far as finding a new shop location, it is not as easy as one would think. We can't find anything that fits our needs that is already deemed retail.  PA Labor and Industry laws are very strict regarding retail shops and as I mentioned in my last post we have found a building that we are trying to make work. It is an early 1900's general store and it goes without saying it is my absolute dream shop. It is only 30 minutes from our house and I never even knew it existed until we started searching for old buildings that could be commercial. Just as I expected we are being faced with one obstacle after another and I have to be realistic about the fact that it just may not end up working out. That being said I just honestly can't believe this building that is everything I ever dreamed of is sitting there empty and that it is not meant to be ours.

It is a hard thing to explain but I was always very careful of letting myself think too much on the whole shop thing until I knew it was something I actually tangibly had because I knew it would be so painful to let myself mentally plan it all and have nowhere to put those plans. Well after thinking I had one I did let myself start to imagine exactly how I wanted it all to look and now there is no going back. Raising my children has always been my number one priority and I put a lot of my dreams/goals on the back burner so that I could do it properly but lately I have been feeling it is time for me to start working towards some of my own personal career goals. Also, Millie will be starting pre-school in the fall so the timing seemed right. I had finally decided to take that leap and then it was all taken away from me so now I am left feeling sad and lost in a way I have never felt before. I am sure some people wonder why this is all such a big deal to me but it is my passion and I love bringing beauty to people with my images, ideas and hopefully some day soon housewares from my own shop. I truly feel like it is what I am meant to do.
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I bought lots of goodies at the Springfield Extravaganza and have been listing them in my etsy shop over the past week. I came home with tons of ironstone, there is always so much of it there and no ones seems to be buying it, fine by me. My friend Kristine (@farmhousegreen) and I spend every spare seconding running around looking for it! I still have a lot more to list and will hopefully get to it all next week before we leave for our annual schools out camping trip.

Thank you all so much for your continued support and for listening to me vent...hopefully greener pastures are just around the corner.

Springfield Antique Show ~ Why You Need To Go

Well it is that time of year again....time for the Spring Springfield Antique Extravaganza!!! The dates of the show are May 19, 20, and 21st.  If you can get to Ohio then you need to go to this show, it is amazing!!!

 I have been busy painting, pricing and packaging up all of the goodies I have for the show!!! I don't sleep much this time of year but it is so worth it...I live for this!!! 

I wanted to give you guys a little sneak peek at some of the things that I am most excited about that you will find in my booth!

This beautiful antique rocker with its original woven wicker seat and the most beautiful coloring is one of them. 

The cutest little medicine cabinet and tons of little milk glass jars, I just love these. 

I gave this gorgeous old vanity new life by removing the mirror and painting it a creamy white.

Most of the items on the vanity will also be for sale (not my ironstone soap dish, sorry guys). I have a large oval mirror that goes with the vanity, the one pictured will also be for sale along with many others. I always take lots of mirrors... simple, beautiful, useful...they are one of my favorite things to decorate with.

I will have these big soaps in the booth as well, I can't even begin to tell you how good they smell.

Neal is busy working on a bunch of projects for the show too. He is making big long benches like the ones we have in our dining room to go with an antique drop leaf table I am selling. I will also have lots of ironstone, vintage bedspreads, quilts, linens, and pillows!!

I also wanted to share with you some of my favorite finds from Springfield. I seem to always come home with the most exciting finds for very little money! The antique crib below is just about my favorite find ever. I honestly thought I would never be able to afford one of these. 

Below is what it looked like when I bought it...the upholstery on it was not me clearly but I could see the possibilities the moment I spotted it. I was actually shopping in the booth next to the one with the crib when I spotted it and ran to it in what seemed like slow motion at the time! I was expecting the seller to say it was hundreds of dollars and was preparing myself for "I can't afford it sadness" but I got a great deal on it because I bought it on the end of the last day. If you do come to this show I advise that you plan to walk around late afternoon Sunday, that is when I do most of my buying because it is the really the only chance I have while there to actually shop but also because you can get some really good deals. Trust me vendors usually want to get rid of as much as possible before loading up.

I also bought the antique crib skirt seen on the crib at Springfield and the antique crocheted edge pillow cases seen below.

The adorable nightstand below is also from Springfield, read more about it here.

My mom bought me this beautiful little table as a birthday present at the last Fall Springfield Show. You can see by the fact that it makes into almost all of my pictures lately how much I love it. The larger ironstone pitcher is also from there, you can read more about it here.

I just love this little reproduction egg holder and bought it at the last Springfield show. One of these years I hope to find the time to walk around and take pictures of all of the amazing things and booths you will find at this show.

What I love absolutely the most about the Springfield shows is the wonderful time I have with my mom and sisters. We love being together and look forward to each show like it is Christmas or something! I am so lucky to have such a hard working and supportive family...I couldn't do any of this without them!

I really hope that I have convinced you to come to the show!! I am booths 551 and 552...get a map if can find one (we supply them in our booth if you can get to us) because there is really no rhyme or reason to the number system and a lot of my followers have trouble finding me!  I advise you get there early Friday morning, most of my (and other vendors) big items sell fast. And come with a way to get everything home...there will be so much you want at crazy good prices. I also wanted to tell you guys that Springfield, Oh is only 45 miles from Columbus, OH so if you are planning on going to the Fall Country Living Fair then you should plan on spending one of the days shopping the Fall Springfield Extravaganza. They are always the same weekend and the prices are way better at the Springfield Show!


I look forward to meeting each and every one of you that visit my booth and catching up with those of you that have been coming to my booth from the start! See you soon!