In Plain Site

It's been a while since I posted, dear friends.  My day job is killer and takes up way too much of my times these days but I am grateful that I have one. Still, I do miss road tripping and finding nifty little shops.  I was doing some shopping in Spring Hill/Weeki Wachee as there is a great Hobby Lobby and Marshall's in the area.  As I was waiting in line to check out, I was doing a google search when a message popped up about an antiques in my area.  My kind of click bait so a quick click and Black Oak Antiques shows up and it is " behind" the Marshall's.  Holy gotta go there now, Batman.  Sometimes the most amazing little shops are hiding in plain site.  So a quick 2 minutes trip out of the shopping center and into the Black Oak Antiques parking area.

13168 Jacqueline Rd 
Weeki Wachee, Florida 34613

They were also having an outside yard sale with lots of treasure to be found.  Black Oak Antiques is housed in a small home with the rooms filled to the brim with goodness.  When I entered the shop, this magnificent, copper weather vane of a sperm whale greeted me.  

 Oh, be still my heart, my favorite whale species and a weather vane.  If I had been the big lottery winner last week, this beauty would have come home with me.

Antique nautical lighting, another passion offered here.  Black Oak Antiques is an antique store in the truest sense and the rooms are filled with great vintage pieces and genuine antiques.

Antique crocks, treanware, and American primitives.

Sweet antique teddy bear nested on a vintage shelf.

 Gorgeous wooden fireplace mantle, oak desks and shelving units.

The kitchen room was filled with vintage kitchen pieces and this nice, soft pine, mid century dry sink.

Not only are their "Honeymooner" type frigidaires but they also have a genuine "ice box". 

Sun yellow coffee tin.

Stacks of wood boxes and lots of unique lighting.

Steampunk lovers, this is one of few of the coolest lighting pieces I have seen in a long time.  Hand crafted by an artisan, each piece is different.  

A hallway shelf was filled with antique and vintage glass, sterling and silverplate.

Next to the house is a detached garage that is filled with rusty, crusty, chippy, painty and just cool pieces.  From spindles, metal bed frames, machinery and whatever, this is a place for ones creative juices to see found objects and transform them into something different.

A stunning genuine coca Cola cooler in amazing condition.

A Sun Tune up Tester with dials and cords and wouldn't this be fun to turn into sometime of lighting fixture?  

I am so delighted to have found this lovely antique shop and I will be back again soon.  Oh, and did walk away with some treasure...a bag full of vintage tea towels and a newspaper dated January 17, 1849.  Yup, pre civil war...once I carefully open it up I will snap photos and post as I love the style of language used in the articles.

Wishing blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch.

We need a little Christmas

right this very minute. We need a little Sidewalk Sale...ing too!  The Lyon's Head Antique Mall, where I have two spaces, holds a monthly sidewalk sale from October through March (our winter season where the humidity is low and the temps heavenly).  Although I have yet to participate as a seller, I have found some marvelous pieces each time I went to take photos for their website and facebook page.  I've been loading up my spaces each weekend with antique and vintage Christmas pieces as well as popular items for gift giving.

Antique Christmas framed prints, St. Nicks, vintage ornaments, snow babies, and stockings are of what's moving out of my spaces.

These vintage glass ornaments did not last 2 days in my space. The unique orange color was pure 1960s.

Avon's Cape Code series is still in demand by collectors for the holiday tables.  

Everyone loves the vintage Lefton sleigh and holly server. Brilliant Christmas green with red berries, these continue to be sought after holiday items. Original label still on sleigh.

Pears for the partridge and an I Believe star for the children. 

The famous Houzz, "Season's Greetings" stained glass drinking glasses. These were first offered in the early 1970s and continue to be a hot seller.  

Believe it or not, I am still unpacking boxes.  My day job has been a bear this year and I have never put in more hours in a day like a do these days.  I have been remiss in finishing up my home and pulling out so many of the Christmas inventory only reinforces my desire to get my home in order.  I took a vehicle load of items I thought I would use when I moved here to Goodwill, and of course, stopped in for a quick look to see if I could find anything.

Imagine my surprise when I saw this lovely, Victorian silverplated hand mirror.  

Yea, it came home with me.

Surprisingly, the mirror itself was in amazing condition as these tend to lose their silvering from water or perfumes over the decades of use.

Stunning vintage cut glass piece.  Not AMCG, but still lovely.

 Lovely shaped bowl.

I don't know about you, but I never have enough serving spoons come the holidays so I nearly squealed with delight when I came across this set of six large tablespoons.   Now I need to polish them and look up the pattern name and date them. 

Lovely late Victorian silverplate pieces.

My most recent Lyon's Head Antique Mall sidewalk sale was this pair of hand carved duck decoys.  Signed by the carver and dated 1909 and 1935.  

The last purchase at my local Goodwill was this unusual shredded money wreath.  Actual shredded American paper currency has been turned into a holiday wreath.  Makes ya wanna go out and buy a lottery ticket. LOL  

Wishing everyone a good final month of the year and blessings to you and those you love. 

Beauty and the Beast and a packed suitcase

I am one month away from my first year as a Florida resident.  Still can't believe it will be a year as it seems like I'm still unpacking.  My day job has me overwhelmed but living here makes it all worth it.  Spent Halloween visiting my son and his family and I got to bring up costumes for them all as they went as a family dressed like Beauty and the Beast.  I had such a marvelous time creating the costumes and so grateful that only hem adjustments were needed for the dresses as everything else fit like it should.

The family that Disney's together has fun together.

Beauty and her Beast!

 Lumiere lights the way.

Plumette loves her Lumiere.

And the Enchantress who was the architect of all this fun.

  I traveled with all of these costumes in a checked back and I did not want to check an empty bag when I returned home so my lovely daughter in law took me junkin at her favorite thrift shop where I found some great treasure.  

Gorgeous vintage, cut crystal nappy.  This one throws beautiful rainbows.

 Stunning pair of Hobster and Feather tumblers by Millersburg glass.  Circa 1909.

Lovely set of 5, cut crystal brandy snifters (two were still in the dish drain drying).   

Lovely quadruple plate urn and a group of  vintage miniature billiard balls. I'll be keeping the quad plate and adding it to my personal collection but the "balls" are going in my space this weekend.

Fantastic and what looks like it was never used Ronson "Nordic" table lighter.  

Produced 1955.

Nice Imperial Glass mushroom candlestick in the Candlewick pattern.  Has the slightest hint of sun purple.  Circa 1950s

Upon returning home, I still had two days of my day job to perform and then the weekend arrived and I was off to a few local haunts to see what was out there.

Sometimes the best place to shop is where you sell and these pretty cut crystal salts were at the front desk at the Lyon's Head Antique Mall.  They always have "impulse items" for those checking out to see and I was drawn to these when I saw them.

Marvelous marriage of two EAPG pieces.  The top is a Gillinder, round frosted lion head and the bottom is ... well I haven't discovered this pattern yet so I'm still looking and will report back when I find it.  Still, it was a great marriage of two pieces that did not start out together but ended up a perfect match.

A Goodwill find, a pair of gorgeous Wedgwood serving platters.  

 A nice, vintage gravy boat and pretty little butter pat.

Finally, a terrific store display mannequin.  Heavy duty and linen cover,  am crazy mad for this.  Especially since it was priced at $38.00.  I use them in so many different displays and when sewing that I couldn't wait to wheel this sweetie out of the vehicle and into my home.

All in all, it was a lovely two weeks, we turned the clocks back last Sunday and the days are still getting shorter.  Is it wrong to say I can't wait for next spring to change the clocks again?  I miss the long sun filled days.  Wishing everyone a gentle fall season and blessings to you and those you love.  SeaWitch

October is Autumn Even in Florida

Hello dear readers.  I got caught up with too much work in September and the month got away from me but with October now here, there is no denying that even in North Florida, we have entered our own season of autumn.  Shorter days, less humidity, and temps with lots of breezes make this a lovely time of the year.  Of course, I'm knee deep in more tulle than a dance studio as I create Halloween costumes for my grandchildren.  This year the family is going as Beauty and The Beast so I am making costumes for all of them.   

In between costume making I have been prepping my booth space for the upcoming seasons.   I'm slowly bringing out the pieces that everyone wants for their holiday entertaining and decorating.

Dinner setting for four by Johnson Bros., England in their wildly popular pattern, Harvest Time.

Vintage hats are always in demand this time of the year as well and this pretty brushed wool hat with velveteen fruit around it is too cha cha for words.

Another lovely vintage hat of smoked velvet and brilliant rooster feathers around the brim.

I spent months searching for a small hutch as a display but couldn't find it anywhere.  A fantastic architectural salvage store called Junk Co. opened a few doors down from the Lyon's Head Antique Mall where I have booth space and this faboosh piece was in the front windows.   An antique store cabinet painted that sea foam green I just love. So much space and it was exactly what I needed as a display piece.

Large assortment of antique transferware platters abound along with dinner ware.

 Take a goodwill find server and add a pair of Art Deco pendant light shades and you have a one of a kind server for your holiday table.  If this doesn't sell, I will not be sad because each time I look at it I kinda dig it even more.

Did a little hunting at my favorite local haunts last weekend and came up with these treasures.

Stunning EAPG syrup with original lid.  This is a keeper for my personal stash and I will use it over the holidays.

I have a weakness for these vintage iridescent butterfly wing pieces from the 1950s.  Usually brought back as souvenirs from Mexico, these are brilliant in their shades of blues.

Lovely engraved Challah bread knife.

Lot of large antique and vintage serving spoons, a sauce ladle and teaspoons.

A beautiful pair of silverplate candelabra inserts.  I use these in antique oil lamps and they look stunning.

Not one, but two pairs of vintage silverplate candelabra inserts.

An amazing find, stunning vintage mink coat by renowned furriers, "Coopchik Forrest of New York" and designed by Donald Brooks.  Football great, Joe Namath wore Coopchik furs. 

Look at the handwork done in the lining.  Both sides have this stunning stump work along with the traditional hand embroidered initials of the owner.

and finally, place your bets ladies and gentlemen.  Round and round and round he goes, where she stops, nobody knows. A great piece of carnival history, this betting wheel or game of chance wheel is from the 1930s.  A truly unique decorative element over a mantle or on your wall space.  

Wish everyone a gentle week and blessings to you and those you love. Sea Witch