Wakefield Uncommon Antiques and ZuZu's Cafe

I took another vacation day on Friday.  I still have many left, yipee!  Since snow was coming on Saturday I thought I should get out on Friday and get some foliage shots. With high winds predicted I figured all the leaves would be off the trees and on the ground soon.

This shot is of a tree in my yard. I love multi colors on a single leaf.

I took a quick trip up to the Canal Street Antiques and bought the chandelier I blogged about in an earlier post.  Now I have to contact the electrician to hang it. Will post a photo when it is up.

Back to the foliage shots, it was actually a disappointing day. Foliage was not that great this year so I had to find other things of interest.  Like this old cemetery in Reading.

Another disappointing foliage shot.

It was getting late and I was starving. I realized it was hours past lunchtime.  So I headed to ZuZu's Cafe for a second visit to this little cafe. The food here is fantastic!  I am thinking of using their catering for my Christmas Soiree!

I love their menu, so many choices! Shocking for such a little place.  My goal is to try every item on the menu.

Last Summer, I came here for lunch and sat outside.  They have more outside seating than indoor seating.

I opted fot the deep dish quiche. This quite possibly was the best quiche I ever had.  Spinach, feta, red pepper, yum!  It was mile high yet light.

And there was a lovely view from my table. Aw, there's some foliage!

And here are the tables used for outdoor dining.  Friday was a blustery day.  I don't know what the wind chill was but it felt like sub zero.  I could tell it was going to snow soon.

The wrought iron chairs and tables were so cute! It is so pleasant to sit here in Summer.

Almost next door to ZuZu's is a cool little antique store called Wakefield Uncommon. I spoke with the owner and asked permission to take some shots. She was happy to oblige.

There are three small rooms in the building.  A number of dealers share the space.  Seemed everything I picked up belonged to vendor #99. Whoever she is she has excellent taste!

Loved the little beaded purse.

Displays were nicely arranged. Loved the lamps and the blue and white theme.

This lamp also caught my eye. Although honestly I have plenty of lamps. I always seem to be drawn to them. I don't know why.

 A nice collection of evening bags.  These would be pretty just for display in a bedroom.

 What a lovely screen.  I need one but this one is too pretty for my purposes.  ( I need one to hide a cat litter box).

Another one of the rooms in the shop.  Love the chair and the paint color!

I did pick up a few items at Wakefield Uncommon, a Victorian tray, a book and a cameo.

A very nice day off I would say.  I will be back to Wakefield soon.  It is easy access for me, about 10 minutes from where I live. 

Thankfully last night's snowstorm and high winds did not do any damage to my condo.  I did have to take several detours due to downed branches across roads today.  Some people in the state still do not have power. I just heard on the news 640,000 people are still without heat and electricity.  I hope the problem is resolved soon.

This snowstorm was just way too early!

Pumpkin Crazy

Just some quickie photos of some of my Fall decor.  Yes, I am pumpkin crazy this year! All of the pumpkins are fake.  The bird cage is from a yard sale. The trophy from an antique store. This is the top of the bookcase in my hallway.

Yay, I just received the velvet pumpkins I ordered recently. I selected the set with non-traditional pumpkin colors. I think they are so adorable. I just hope no real pumpkins were harmed in the making of the velvet ones.  Those are real pumpkin stems you know!  I got this scale at Todd Farm (see prior post). This is on the kitchen counter at the caffeination station for now.

This pumpkin sits atop a mercury glass candleholder in my dining room.

                       I see a theme going on here. This scale is from Brissonte in North Reading.

                                     
                         Small candles atop candlesticks from Pier 1, living room.
                              

                                                   

                        The last of the pumpkins!  This one and it's identical twin (not pictured here) flank the living room television.  The TV will be wall mounted one of these days.  I bought the runner from my friend Kim at our recent yard sale. I will post about that at another time.

Todd Farm Flea Market

This morning was crisp and sunny. A perfect Fall morning and also perfect for a trip to the Todd Farm flea market. I got up earlier than usual and headed north to Rowley, Massachusetts.  The market opens very early.

When I arrived the grass was still wet under foot. The vendors were set up in the fields and I was ready for some serious fleaing. I went by myself so I could breeze through at my own pace.

Such a variety of items! And some very cool stuff. I liked this bird cage with stand. And this man

is showing off his version of Todd Farm chic.  More about Todd Farm chic later in this post.

Little iron furniture perhaps from some antique dollhouse? It was very detailed.

Some of the chicest people there were the vendors. This man sold handmade belts. They were well done!

He said the belt on the right was made from melted silver dollars.  Nice handiwork but more than I could pay.

This birdhouse was quite the conversation piece.  A true work of art. Steampunk birdhouses.  They were really cool. I did buy something from him but not a Steampunk birdhouse.  They were out of my price range.

Here's another birdhouse. If you buy one you must keep it on a covered porch. But obviously open porches are best if you want birds to use your birdhouse!

Can you tell I was smitten with the birdhouse? Ok enough already!

I vote this most creative use of a propane tank.  I told you that had it all at Todd Farm!                        

This old sewing machine at a fabulous table with it. It was in great condition!

I bought something from the owner of this very creative space too! His name is Jamie and he was so sweet he let me leave some of my purchases in the back of his van until I finished shopping.

You can tell Jamie had a flair for display.  His van had curtains on it! And all of his little vignettes were so eye catching.

I was speaking with a woman named Ann Marie who was a Jamie fan and she commented that no

one but Jamie would think to put a typewriter with china.  But it looked good. 

  Another one of Jamie's displays.  Nice china set and glasses but I didn't buy these either.

This was so pretty.  A perfect tablescape for an Autumn morning.

This desk set was Jamie's too.  He asked $25 for the set of two desks and chairs yet someone who wanted them thought it was too high of a price.  Wish I had the room for them I thought the price was fair and the desks were in good condition. Just a little scratched.

Of course my eye was drawn to the teapots.  That blue one was a real beauty!

 Ok, about Todd Farm chic. My attire for the excursion consisted of a boiled wool jacket for warmth, a black long sleeve jersey, blue jeans, and my waterproof boat shoes.  Green in color.

As I walked around and observed those in attendance, I noticed that people actually put thought into their attire.  Whereas I thought more about comfort and the fact that I might get dirty looking at old things.

This woman said she was an artist and she also liked the steampunk birdhouses. I liked the color of her sweater, so perfect for this season. And those boots were fab!

This woman looked very artsy to me. Is this reminiscent of the Annie Hall look? That's what comes to my mind anyway. For now we shall call it Todd Farm chic. I guess the next time I go back there I will wear one of my nicer jackets and a scarf or hat so I can be Todd Farm chic as well.

Back to the shopping, nice silver pieces.  I do love silver teapots but no I took home no silver.

Ah, yes, the architectural salvage guy.  Very cool stuff.  And that door knob in the front went home with me. I also got the plate that goes with it.  It is from the 1800's.

Nice wicker pieces, I was wondering if I would see some.  I would love to see some wicker on our porch at the condo.  We have no furniture out there and it needs some attention.

These heating grates were at the architectural salvage guy's booth. I saw a pot rack made from a grate like this.  What a great idea! I have a grate that I could use as a pot rack but my space in the kitchen is limited so it probably won't happen.

Here's the last of the photos.  This caught my eye, looking so pretty on an Autumn morning.  I will definitely show you my purchases in another post this week.

Hope you all had some fun this weekend too.

The Trouble with Cats

Poor Oscar! It seems he has lost his identity as the alpha cat in the household. His tail is in a twist!

Here's the new alpha cat or so he thinks! Percy likes to throw his weight around, stir up trouble and
destroy things.

Molly is having none of that alpha cat stuff.  She hates him and she openly defies him. Makes for

some mighty tense moments in the household.

 My newish dining room chairs? I bought them almost 3 years ago when I bought the condo. Percy
had at them and...

he thought they might look better with fringe.  I disagree.  He also bit the nailheads out of the sides of the chairs.  I could not tolerate having a choking hazard in the condo so I brought the chairs downstairs to my office.  The kitties do not set foot in my office.

Oh great! Let's have another altercation. Percy can hold his own now.  He weighs more than Molly and more than Oscar too!

According to my vet, I am living with three social groups. She says they're trying to figure it out. She offered some suggestions.  Let's hope they figure it out soon!

Cool antique find

I spotted this antique chest at Canal St Antiques about two weeks ago.  I liked it because it was black and it had glass knobs.  It looked small but I thought it might be the perfect size for a corner in my kitchen that was badly in need of a little sprucing up.

I had one of those butcher block carts that can double as an island in the kitchen corner.  It was too big and too tall for the area so I was looking for something smaller.  I also wanted drawers so I could store dishtowels and maybe some small dishes in it.

So after measuring the kitchen space and the chest, I took the plunge and bought the chest. After a major struggle transporting it out of the car and up some stairs to the condo, I placed it in the corner of the kitchen. Wow, I am out of shape! Note to self, ask for help next time!

It fit nicely in the corner with room to spare. As you can see, there is a heating grate on the floor so I had to make sure that the chest did not cover it completely.  It is the perfect display spot for my collection of Anthropologie teacups. That's a chalkboard platter from Pottery Barn.  This may not be a permanent display, I am always moving things around.

You can see that I have some wall art over the chest so I had to make sure the chest was not too high.

That's my bedroom door to the left in the photo.  Yes, I put a number on the door. I wanted it to
look like a hotel room door.  The curtain to the right is made of a black and ecru toile fabric.

The chest does have some flaws and scratches.  After all, it is from the 1800's. I don't mind, it just adds to it's character.

 I bought a reproduction of a French dryer rack from Brissonte in North Reading.  I think it suits my Anthro teacup collection.

I love these teacups and the colors are perfect for my kitchen.

Here's the wall art I mentioned earlier.  My little ode to France. The Steinlein print is one of my faves. I actually saw this print at my vet's office and thought it was so me that I googled the artist's name. I then found a print on Ebay and the rest is history.

I often write messages on the chalkboard platter but not today. I'd like to find a nice quote to write on it. Nothing too long, I'm a lefty so I smudge my words.  I usually have to write from right to left on a chalkboard.

This is the adjoining wall with the Harney Tea wire rack and a little clock.

Surprise, the interior of the drawer is red! Again, this is a nice accent color in the kitchen.

I'm still playing with the display on top of the chest. If you look closely you can see that the box is a tea box.  The samovar is Russian and needs to be rewired for American use. I think it is pretty but not sure that all of that looks good on the chest. I will probably stick with just the platter and teacup stand.

I hope you enjoyed your mini tour of my kitchen.  I have tomorrow off so I will post about my weekend activities soon. So far I am planning to attend a craft fair and then have lunch with friends.

And then of course there will be football!  Hope you all have a great weekend. I am linking up with Cindy of My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday.  Check out her post here and then check out other particpant's posts through her blog.