Into Antiquity

On Thanksgiving, B.daddy and I enjoyed our tenth anniversary.  Ten seems to be a big deal, so we did some actual celebrating.  I don't need much more than that to plan a weekend away!  However, I think year eight deserved the celebration, because pulling through year seven was a miracle.  And I do not use that word lightly.  Maybe I'll write on that one of these days.

I found a cozy cabin on Pawtuckaway Lake--love that name!  Grammie and Poppy came up for the weekend.  The kids loved spending time with them!  Since we lived with them for eight months in Arkansas, I think this was an especially sweet reunion.

Our mission was simple: shop Antique Alley and enjoy every minute of downtime.  I packed a bunch of food I'd made ahead of time, so we only had to eat out once.  I actually loved eating in.  Going out to eat has been one of those little treats I love to indulge in.  But eating out for every meal over three days can be a bit much.  And I feel it adds anxiety when we're in a phase of life where we should be ever careful with our resources.  It was so relaxing to head for the cabin after a day full of walking and shopping and blustery winds.  We'd crank the fire up and enjoy the quiet of being the only two souls in our tiny world.

We got to see some really cool stuff on Antique Alley.  Some shops were more like museums with "true" antiques costing hundreds and thousands of dollars.  It was fun to speculate as to the purpose of some of these odd items.  Most shops were more approachable with good stuff at reasonable prices.  A few barns were full of junk--the buildings themselves were more interesting.

Here are some of the fun things we saw...

How cool would this marble table be in my kitchen?  Perfect for pastries!

It weighs, like, a TON!

With the marble to the right of my stove, I'd put this puppy on the left.  How beautiful it is!

On our dinner out, being silly, drinking yummy Irish coffee.

It was soooooo good!  *The Barley House in Concord, NH--everything was delicious!*

One of those funny things you see antiquing.  A little lady's tricycle.

Mustache cup.  Awesome.  Wanted to get it for J. Baylor, since he always has a mustache and he's always drinking coffee. :)

Thought this was fun--it's like a bachelor skillet.  Perfect for preparing a fully fried meal for one.

Alas.  I have expensive taste.  Wanted these bowls SO bad, but the whole set was just too much.  Another day....

These mugs are just like the ones I would drink out of at Josh and Meghan's every Sunday.  Made me miss her so!

In the end, we got a few small things.  A plate and bowl for my mismatched china, old books for the kids, an iron sconce, and a whole lot of ideas for the future!

Here's an antique we got for free.  (Well, considering how much we paid for this house, maybe it wasn't so free.)  B.daddy found this ladder in our attic.  He cleaned it up, cut it down a smidge, and now we have a blanket rack in our living room.