No Guilt Soup Tureen Love

I love all the beautiful French ironstone pieces I see when I visit blogs.....I have secretly wanted a soup tureen, but here in central Alabama, well, we are just out of the French soup tureen loop. 

I would look at them long and often on ebay and etsy, but didn't feel like I would make a purchase from those sites.  I guess I wanted to hear the choir singing in the background when I saw it for the first time--in person.   You know what I mean--the thrill of discovery! Another reason I have hesitated to make a purchase is the cost.  I love the older pieces but they tend to be a bit hard on the budget (but they are antique and from another country).  I told myself I couldn't justify the purchase because I'm too practical and I don't live in a French country home...

if I did, I might be more inclined to look into a purchase.  

      So, when I saw this tureen a few weeks ago, I decided to bring it home.

I found this piece in a local thrift store in mint condition and

 of course, at a fraction of the cost of a French antique. 

 It's rather freeing.... I don't feel like I have to display this tureen 

for months on end because I spent so much money on it. 

 It's a vintage item with identifying maker marks on the bottom

 that show it was made by California Pottery.   

I love that it has the under plate for the tureen to rest on and I love that the design compliments my white Italian Countryside china.

I love the piece, the price and I can still purchase a French antique tureen when I see one AND of course

if the choir is singing!  

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Culinary Antiques in Fairhope, Alabama

A few weeks ago, we were in Fairhope, Alabama. Have you ever been there?  I love to visit the shops in this beautiful town. Would you like to come along and shop with me?  Come on-let's go!
One of my favorite shops, Aubergine,  specializes in culinary antiques.  Years ago, I would visit---drawn in because of beautiful natural light that streamed in through the windows...and because it had kitchen items.  Now that there are so many wonderful blogs that feature lovely European antiques, I can't help but feel like I'm walking through a blog or a beautiful magazine when I visit this shop.  The antiques are beautiful, the merchandise changes often and the shop keepers are always so pleasant. 

I love to take photographs in this shop

 because of the lovely antiques

 and the wonderful natural light.

This room is to the right when you step inside.

  It's my favorite area and it is different every time I visit.

 Confit pots

Copper cookwear

These sardine pots are one of my favorites.

I have many lovely pieces of my Daddy's 

crockery that he collected over the years.  If I didn't 

have those pieces in my home now, 

I would love to have a small sardine pot. 

 I think I could use it in several different ways in my home.

 I love cutting boards.  I think I would enjoy collecting them, 

but I haven't figured out how to display them in my kitchen.

Lovely vintage baskets.

I loved this zinc bottle carrier.

There are always seem to be a good number of

 demijohns on hand when I visit.  So pretty.

My husband and I both liked this bread basket. 

 Maybe if I learn how to make beautiful loaves 

of French bread, I could get this beautiful basket??? 

 Maybe I could get it because I like to eat French bread???

I hope you're still enjoying the visit to this wonderful shop! 

 I have a few more pictures to share with you.

I was delighted to see this crate of French herb pots.  

The lady in the shop said that the owners

 had never found herb pots before until their last buying trip

 (they make trips to France and have containers shipped back).  

I hope you've enjoyed the trip through this lovely shop.

  Aubergine means eggplant in French--so when you get to Fairhope and see this eggplant sign,

 you'll know you're at the right place!

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

On a recent trip, we stopped at the Plunderosa in Loxley, Alabama. Yes, there's a restaurant nearby that offers an All You Can Eat Quail night.  Humm....I wonder how many quails the average person eats???......I digress...     
     I was curious to head into an antique store that I had not visited in many years. The first thing I saw really piqued my curiosity. The lighting wasn't great over there in that back corner, but I thought to myself, "That looks like a Gypsy wagon." Taking a closer look, I decided that it was part of a Gypsy wagon--the part that the passengers sat in.  It had been lifted off the wheels and the wagon base and was just sitting there in the back of the store in the corner. Remember, I'm in a store in south Alabama???  A Gypsy wagon.....ok, so now I hear that Cher song in my head as I start to really look around.  Then, I began to realize that this isn't a store that sells your average Alabama-type antiques.  The more I looked around, the more delighted I became.  There were a good number of items that were obviously from Europe.  I spoke to the kind ladies at the check out area and my thoughts were confirmed.....they shopped in Europe and had containers of treasure shipped here!

Here's a sample of the offerings--

Lots of beautiful demijohns

Stained glass doors and windows

Another Gypsy wagon--complete with the wheels--

and full of wonderful wooden tools

They didn't have any bread boards, but the lady said buyers often cut down the longer handles to make a bread board from these paddles with the long handles.  I smiled at the lady and said, "I bet you have a saw in the back to help folks out." She smiled back and said, "Yes."  

You've just got to love helpful people......

They had painted furniture

They had GOAT HEADS!

I took a bunch of pictures of the goat heads (holding the camera up in the air) and never got a good shot.  They were on some tall pieces of furniture--up high where you could kinda see them, but where they wouldn't be disturbed by curious little fingers. 

 The goat heads were $150

They had antlers--these were very large

There were bread/dough bowls--many, many different sizes

Grain sacks

Loved the zinc sinks.  

These were very large.  I've wanted one for years, but we didn't have room in the car....even if I left my daughter behind..... :)

Shutters with chippy paint

The had pickling jars in a variety of colors

I came home with a couple of treasures and I will be sharing those items in a future post.  Here's a link to the Plunderosa Antiques.

Lorraine will be happy to answer any questions you may have about items in her wonderful store.  I hope you will be able to stop if you're in the area or going to the Gulf Coast Beaches.