A Bloomin’ Road Trip!

These trees down the road from my house put on quite the show each year.

Bradford Pears are amongst the first of the bloomers when it comes to spring, and it looks like they have been doing their happy dance the whole time I was away in Texas!

The leaves are starting to push the blossoms off the trees, and they are getting their halo of new green.

Of course blooming trees are MOST magnificent against a blue blue sky and yesterday was overcast – I shot this photo out the car window on my way to the post office.

After dropping off the book orders, I made a beeline (did you notice that bees do NOT go in a straight line?  They take a wandering circuitous route?) toward Raleigh. 

My baby brother Mike was flying in to town, the first of my siblings to come this far east with an opportunity for a visit.  He’s here for work.

His flight got in just before 5, and knowing this, I thought I could get to where he was staying, just under two hours from home, before traffic got really bad at rush hour.

Only……I had to make a stop.  Antique Mall Adventure!

Kitchen cabinet, maybe?

I wasn’t sure what I was going to find, I only knew I Had to look.  And I have a list of things needed for the new cabin because it is not being left furnished.  The only things we have negotiated for with the purchase of the property is the generator (GOOD IDEA!) the extra fridge in the basement, and the lawn mower.  Other than that, we turned down the $3,000.00 the sellers were asking for living room furniture we really didn’t like, rugs, we didn’t like, and beds that we didn’t know where comfy enough to keep. 

Some things we want new. 

Some things we want to choose for ourselves.

Some things will be moving over from the other cabin because they are antiques or family pieces I want to keep.

DRESSERS are needed!  And that is what I was mostly in search of.  (Although that handmade cabinet has some appeal!)  My problem is that I usually want more furniture than I have room for simply because I love the piece and it will go “somewhere.”  I’m trying to go SLOW here.  And fairly minimal until we see how our stuff fits.

But wouldn’t quilts look great stacked in this cupboard??  I’m still thinking.

Vintage dentistry cabinet??

I opened the doors and drawers and everything still smelled like disinfectant.  I think my Grandpa had a cabinet similar to this in his office back in the 1960s.  Those drawers are appealing though! 

Dressers.  You are looking for dressers.  Not kitchen cabinets.  Not sewing studio furniture.  Dressers.

But look!  A beautiful Singer 201!

NO!  Dressers!!

But this would make a great computer desk?

NO!  Dressers!

QUICK!!  FREE THE MACHINE!!!

Hello, New Home!

No New Home for you today.  DRESSERS!

Try as I might, the shelf above the machine prevented me from leaving her out in the open, but I sure loved saying hello, petting her a bit, and lowering her back down.

HEY!  I had one of these as a kid.

I even locked my diary in here thinking it was “SAFE”!  Ha!  Yes, I’ve been journaling nearly my whole life, and it isn’t stopping any time soon.

Now this is pretty!

I sent a photo to the Hubster, and his comment?  “Of course you like that one, you have one nearly identical to it at home.”  And it’s true!  The carving at the top is different, but I have a very similar one at home.  Keep looking.

Cute 70’s mushroom clock.  (SQUIRREL!)

THIS.  Just wait for it.

I am checking this one out and it is extremely sturdy, handmade of walnut, 1800s from Alamance County near by.  The hand carved handles need some anchoring, but other than that…this is amazing.  Solid.  And I love the color.  It won’t blend into the color of the log walls.  It won’t disappear.

And I have to laugh at a bit of Appalachian Speak:

 

Handmade CHESTER drawers.  LOL!

We’d say CHEST OF DRAWERS --

My new dresser has a name.  CHESTER!  This one is coming home to the new master where it will pair up with the log bed that is on order from the guy in Wilkesboro. 

And just as I had made my decision I turned the corner to let the folks at the front desk know, and…BAM!

See the giddy look on my face?!

This is another early walnut piece.  I love really unique furniture, and the guest bedroom will also need a dresser.  Those carvings!  Those drawer pulls!

Avacados?  Fruits?

My son said they looked…well…anatomical. 

And we laughed – and I told him they are going in the YOUR guest room.

And he grimaced.  LOL.

Check out this attention to detail.

I’ve always loved dove-tail construction, but I have NEVER in my life seen scallops that fit this way, or the fact that the drawer is not assembled with nails, it’s pegged.  FINE craftsmanship!

Things like this always make me wonder about the craftsman who put so much care into this piece.  Who ever it was – I ran my fingers over these joints and said THANK YOU!  This is the kind of thing you can’t find in today’s furniture, as much as I love IKEA.  I spent probably about the same as I would have if I had bought mass produced dressers at IKEA –but I bought history and pieces with interest instead.  I also consider antiquing a form of recycling.  And there were no flat cardboard boxes to dispose of, and no Allen wrenches were cursed at in this process!

Shrink wrap and red velvet! LOL!

There is a Goodwill across the parking lot.  While the mall folks were getting my items to the front, I ran over to purchase some blankets to wrap the dressers in.  I had no idea I would be buying furniture on this trip, so I didn’t pack any.  One twin comforter, and one queen duvet cover and a 55+ discount later (HOORAY!) I was back at the mall and we were wrapping.

Dresser and mirror.

And this is why I drive a van!  ROOM to spare!

As I was pulling away, I got a text from Mike that he had landed in Raleigh after a long travel day from Boise to Houston to Raleigh, and had yet to pick up his luggage and rental car.  I said NO HURRY! (guilty voice!) I’m still 55 miles away!

But I got to spend the evening with my youngest brother!

He wanted to eat LOCAL.  He wanted to experience things deeply CAROLINIAN, so we ended up at a little hole in the wall local BBQ place and we sat in a quiet corner and talked for hours until it was time to get his weary self back to his hotel, and me back on the road for the hour and 45 minute drive home. 

It was worth every mile, just to see this smile!

The dressers are now in my garage waiting – I have a mental countdown happening in my head.  18 days until closing!

I’m going to try to get out of here today, head up to our cabin and start organizing things.   It’s amazing what you can amass in 3 years.  There is china to pack.  There are kitchen items, linens, tools, and oh, the quilting nook needs to be packed.  The plan is to pick up a bunch of tubs and start in.

And yes, I’ll leave SOME time for sewing! The Straits of Mackinac parts are still baggied up and I will take that with me.

Catch you from there --

Quiltville Quote of the Day!

Vintage and Anvil quilt found in North Carolina.

Every word matters. Speak kindly and give encouragement!

Happy Last Day of February, everyone – MARCH ON!

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