Cool antique store find

You might remember I visited the city of Gloucester last week. Well after my friend Lori Lee and I had breakfast we checked out a few antique stores.

I found a wonderful old photo album that I just had to have.  Here it is on display in my hallway.

Here's a closer look. I liked the color of the album and noticed it had some of the colors of the lamp.

The album is hand painted and the paint is chipping.  But I don't mind.  It adds character.

Here's an extreme closeup.  It's so cheery. I just love it!

 It must have locked at one time. The fact that it won't lock now doesn't bother me.  My life is an open book, right?

And speaking of open books, when I opened the album I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the interior.  Also, the book was filled with pristine vintage photographs.

Don't you love the painting around the photos? So gorgeous!

This page is my favorite.  Love the little girl and the embellishment around the photo. It is just so charming.

 Here's a closer view.

And an even closer view of the artwork. Magnificent!

I love this little boy's outfit.  I am not sure what era this is from but I sure am curious. Their names are Fred and Ethel!

For a second, I thought I had an original Abe Lincoln photo and I thought I might be able to retire early. But it turns out this is Gramp Hill, a Lincoln lookalike.  I guess I will have to keep my day job! So perhaps this is a Civil War war album? That would be so cool!

This photo was made of a different material.  Lori Lee thinks it's silver gelatin. Really?

And another stylish toddler.  When I brought this to the shop owner I asked if the price was firm and he discounted it quite a bit.  Then he when he opened the album he asked if I would like to sell the photos back to him.  I said no way.  They're part of it's charm!

I'm joining Cindy from My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday. Click here to see more posts.

A daytrip to Cape Ann

 Thursday I took the day off from work.  The weather was just perfect, not too hot or cold with a nice breeze. My friend Lori Lee came down from New Hampshire.

We decided to go for breakfast first. I suggested Sugar Magnolias in Gloucester.  Sugar Mags was on the way to Rockport, our final destination.

Lori Lee had not been to this restaurant.  She loved the menu and decided to go with the decadent Georgia French Toast.  That's marshmallow and chocolate chips atop the toast.

The Motif No 1 was looking good. The harbor was quiet. Just a few pleasure craft.

The water color was such a gorgeous blue.

And yes, of course, we went to Helmut's Strudel shop.  This is the view from the deck.

And another view from the deck. How fun would it be to take out a sailboat on a day like this?

Our table was right here, behind the railing. We had coffee and studel. So good, we each got a box to go home.

Everyone who sits on this deck does not want to leave.  It is possibly the best spot to view the goings on in the harbor.

Mini sailboats on the water.  We watched as sailing school went by us.

We found some interesting shops in Rockport. In Gloucester, we hit two antique stores and a consignment shop.  I'll post about my finds in a few days.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

Another birthday?

Well how can that be? It's my birthday again! Wow did the last year fly by!

Time to do some celebrating. First of all,  I took a vacation day from work so I would have the entire day to play and do whatever I wanted.  My Sister had the day off too because her last day of school was last Friday.

I told her I wanted to go for dinner in Rockport.  I wanted to see a beautiful Rockport sunset. But then the Bruins made it to the Stanley Cup finals and wouldn't you know it game seven was scheduled for the night of my birthday. So we decided to go for breakfast in Gloucester instead so I could watch the game at night.

I picked the place for breakfast, Sugar Magnolias.  This was my second trip there. I had the goatie, an omelette filled with goat cheese, tomatoes, and mushrooms and maybe spinach.  Can't remember but I know it was delicious.  My sister opted for the eggs benedict with spinach.

The decor is nice and easy.  Nothing fancy but welcoming. We got there at a good time for a late breakfast.

As I was sitting there watching the waitresses fill the ketchup bottles and write the lunch offerings on the menu, I was reminded of the movie Mystic Pizza. Maybe it was because the girls all seemed to be friends or maybe it was the setting in a seaside town in New England. I did not see Julia Roberts.

Here's another view of Sugar Magnolias or Sugar Mags for short.

There's Becky our waitress. Turns out she's originally from Winchester the next town to mine! She had some funny stories for us.

Love this sign.

Here's the front of the restaurant with a beautiful stained glass window.

After breakfast we drove along the coast to Rockport. The peonies were in bloom and so fragrant. We've had so much rain it's been good for the flowers. 

For the last few days the weather has been more like April than June.  It's been cold and windy. But today it was absolute perfection! Sunny and in the 70's, can't get much better than that. I guess the birthday gods must have been looking down on me. Wouldn't you love to have an oceanside seat in one of those little chairs at the bottom right of the photo?

We walked to the end of the wharf and found this beauty of a boat or I should say ship.

And don't I always run into a kitty no matter where I go?  This one was really friendly and definitely not a stray.

Of course we had to sit on the rocks since we were in Rockport.  Just look at that water.  This is the
place to relax.

This woman told us this rock is the best seat in the house! She called it a Rockport Lazyboy.

This spot at Bearskin Neck is popular fror picture taking. Is this going to be a Christmas card?

This is surely a Christmas card. Mom just needs to get someone to take one with her in it too.

Walking all the way out to the end of the jetty is a favorite pasttime. Some can do it with grace. Others can not.

Don't forget, there's a game seven to be played tonight. Bruins fever was alive and well in Rockport.

After soaking up some gorgeous sunlight, we headed to the deck at Helmut's Strudel Shop

for a bit of refreshment.  Ice coffee for me and tea for my sister and of course a warm from the oven slice of apple strudel.  It was beyond delicious!

So here is my happy place, the deck at Helmut's. I could sit here all day sipping my ice coffee and watching the seagulls fly by. I love the feeling of a soft breeze on my face and listening to the boats rock to and fro right in front of me. Nirvana! 

Oh I do not want to leave this idyllic spot but I do want to get back and see my mom at the nursing home. I have to see her on my Birthday. And then there's the game tonight.

This man came to Helmut's on a break from work. What a nice respite from the work day! He is lucky to work in Rockport.

And the woman with him is Christine.  She works at Helmut's and she is hysterical.  She was going to make a Stanley Cup out of tin foil for the Bruins game. And last night, she stayed up until 2 AM making a Bruins sign to be hung on Rockport's most famous building, the Motif No 1.

And there it is, Christine's handiwork. It looks very professional. 

And a closeup.  You know my best birthday present would be a Bruins victory tonight.  They're up 3-0 as I write this. 20 minutes to a World Championship! Cool.

Gloucester with the Girls

Today I went for a day trip to Gloucester with two of my friends from high school, Kim and Joan. I see my friend Kim all the time because she lives a couple of streets away from me. Joan I see maybe once or twice a year.

Yesterday was Kim's birthday. We don't exchange presents but we usually get together for breakfast or coffee. Today we did both!

We started at Sugar Magnolia's for breakfast. This place is one of Kim's favorites.




I opted for the cinnamon raisin french toast with homemade maple syrup. Kim had hash and Joan had eggs and pineapple fritters. We all shared in a fruit bowl with granola. I am glad I got the short stack of french toast anything more would have been too filling.



Our timing was perfect because shortly after we arrived it started to get very busy.



An interesting mix of artwork was displayed on the wall. I really liked the decor and feel of the place.




Wow, that man to the left looks intense. She sure has his full attention!



A mural adorned one of the walls.



I just had to take a photo of this poster that was in the ladies room. Audrey with a cat, how perfect!



One more look back at Sugar Magnolia's before we turned down the street. I really love this place. It is exactly the type of breakfast spot I like to frequent.




We headed next door to Gabriel's Antiques and this teapot caught my eye. I didn't need another teapot so I passed on it.



We liked this outfit outside of the Dress Code. They had very cool clothes and we spent quite a bit of time there. Kim tried this coat on but it was too big and of course one of a kind.






Before heading home, we decided to stop for coffee/tea at the Pleasant Street Tea Company.



This spot had quite the selection of teas and coffees. There were lunch items as well but we were still stuffed from breakfast. I just had a dark chocolate mocha.



Well, maybe I could have a little nibble.



I had orders not to take any photos of Kim and Joan for the blog. I didn't realize that they made it into the right hand corner of this shot. Ha, Ha! I don't think they will mind.



For this shot, I was aiming for the steam coming off the tea against the dark wall. But I did actually get some of Kim in this shot. She said it was ok. We loved just sitting and chatting in this quiet corner of the tea company. There were couches and chairs you could just sink into and sit in all day. And we did spend a long time there.



As I sit blogging about my lovely day with the girls, my boys are at my feet enjoying a little brotherly love. Sweet!