Stuff I Love

For those of you that are like me and "probably" have too much stuff, do you ever take the time to realize what you have and why you love it?  Like the sign above, why do I love it?  It's double sided and "Doubble" is spelled to match "Bubble", go figure. I love it!

I love the chairs in this picture. They are just different looking which I guess is part of the appeal. And the long, old primitive bench in the background? My parents had it for years. It use to be in an old Chicago train station and it truly has killer, chippy blue paint on it.

My sister didn't really want much after my folks died, so I took a lot of it. I love the old "V-Mail" letter my dad had written while he was overseas during WWII.

I have this thing for little kids vintage things. The two suitcases above, although they look standard size are actually small, designed for little kids to pack their tiny belongings in.

A vintage sign, with a vintage teddy bear, and an old folk art birdhouse, need I say more?

Another thing I lust after, I long for, I fall in love for, is architectural elements. The big round piece above weights a ton. I broke my ankle in the beginning of the year in 2007. That is a good story for another blog. Anyway, since getting around on crutches was a challenge and I didn't get to the store too often, which happens when you break your right ankle and can't drive! So, I would shop by the pictures I would have my kids take for me. That is where I got the piece above.

This is my nightstand right by my bed. I just added the picture of Riley on the left. It was taken by some photographer that took pixs at her pre-school. That is also her as a small baby sleeping above. What doesn't show is I have one of Morgan sleeping in similiar pose & position framed above Riley's. Still need to frame Bodhi's sleeping picture. It's nice to wake up and see my little ones the first thing each morning!

My bedroom is decorated kind of vintage Hawaiian and tropical. I love the beach and the ocean. Above is one of the many pieces of coral that I have. On top of it is Brande's first pair of ballet shoes resting comfortably.

I fell in love with this chandelier because of it's simplicity. I just love it, along with the old white ironstone. The pottery sits on a shelf that is made from the old Laguna Beach boardwalk that we used so much in the construction of Country Roads. And below that is a really cool claw foot tub. It's been there at least three years, maybe four since its been there. Bryce and Vinnie have yet to hook it up for me, sigh!

I'm sentimental. I guess that's one of the reasons I'm in this business of "stuff"! See the little bread shaped metal piece that says, "good morning"? One of my first dealers at CR when we opened was Carol & Bud Shields. Carol is still there today and unless you knew, you would never think she was in her 80's. Anyway, Bud passed away maybe ten years ago, and she now has a boyfriend that is another older dealer that lost his wife. The metal piece was Carol's. And she told me each and every morning when she made toast for her and Bud, she would use the "good morning press" on his toast. As I said, "I'm sentimental"! 

Disneyland is short 10 minute drive from Country Roads. Nonetheless, I had to hang on to the first Mickey or Minnie hat I bought for Riley when she was a baby on her first trip to Disneyland!

I love vintage globes and these happen to sit on one of the four shelves in a industrial cabinet I have in my office. The little bronze statue was given to me as a birthday gift by my friend Kristi. She knows I love the ocean, and this tiny statue is what sits (more life sized of course) in the harbor as ships come in to one of the Denmark harbor. She had remembered I had written a blog post that had mentioned the statue that right now I can't think of the name of.

And last, but not least, you see bricks with the mortar still there. Why do I have those? Katie and Vinnie bought my folks house after they had passed away. It was the first house my parents bought and never moved from until they had to go live in assisted living. I grew up in that house. Katie and Vinnie did a lot of remodeling and took out the old fireplace that had been in that house since it was built. I guess I just had to have a little piece of my past, one more memory that I occasionally glance at, and just makes me feel good. That is why I love Country Roads. Even though I don't know all the stories, I do know that our store is filled with things that have wonderful memories for everyone. I hope to see you all soon and don't forget about our Memorial Sale this week-end! Take care.