I know I am home when I am out running on the beach in Sarasota at sunrise! (Ok.... so I can't run the entire time... but I try to anyway)
In downtown Sarasota there are lots of interesting antique shops, but this architectural antique business is amazing--they handle huge pieces, and currently are auctioning the interior salvage of the historic Ringling Hotel that was regretably torn down many years ago--the inside was decorated elaborately with mosaic tile, stenciled wood beams, and niche fountains like the one below.
This shop in downtown Venice has been in so many magazines, and it is just as beautiful in person! The proprietor Mark Holt was there that day, and very kindly let us take a few photos for the blog--there is a nice tea shop next door, as well-- it is all so wonderfully Paris Flea Market!
We had lunch on the deck at the marina in Venice near downtown, and it was so deja vu when people came up in boats to stop for lunch--it reminded me of when, as a teenager, we would take a break from water skiing and drive the boat over to the marina at Sarasota City Island for lunch---then went back to skiing for the afternoon!
This is a great shop in Arcadia, a central Florida town with lots of antique shops, and we were able to go on the day they had their once a month antique show set up all around the downtown area--I was surprised that there were so many booths scattered around, and a parking lot full as well.
The main road through this vast natural wilderness park is lined with these old live oak trees draped in spanish moss.
This gator surfaced a few feet from where I was standing on the shore seconds earlier--good thing they are fairly non-aggressive.
These gators were sunning themselves on the bank--they are pretty big--it is hard to believe that there are giant pythons now being found in the everglades with 5 foot alligators in their bellies!!
This is one of my favorite towns in Florida----it is on the Suwanee River in the north central part of the state, and has a great little Bed and Breakfast and restaurant called the Telford House (top pic), a nice antique shop, and pretty old houses--very quaint.
I was lucky enough to catch Debra's shop open---she was busy working on her wonderful creations for the Scott's show this weekend! I loved seeing all her great art, and finding some treasures as well.
It was really fun to meet Cynthia ("the cotton lady") Blalock in Vienna, and be invited to dig through her warehouse in the little south Georgia town. She is the clever lady who sells the Chinese Tallow, which I use in my booth. Cynthia is a longtime dealer from the old Lakewood, and has done the new Lakewood show a few times....I hope she comes back to set up soon!
I can't resist taking photos of the interesting old houses you find in the small towns around Georgia!
These wall boxes hold 5 bottle vases with dried chinese tallow branches and have wire hangers......the two quotes are among my very favorites!
These little mirrors were sold out immediately at the last show, and I had so many inquiries about them! I'm glad I managed to get some more made for the show this weekend.....
(mirrors are really difficult to photograph!)
I put this one on a vintage birdcage stand...
I left this one natural....
These are so much fun to experiment with and put all kinds of different things in and on--I generally like them for family photos on the mantle....with keepsakes tucked in here and there.
Can't go very long between beach fixes!........it's so fun to wander the back roads through Georgia and the Carolina's heading toward the ocean (stopping for treasures along the way, of course). This sunrise view is from Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina, south of Wilmington.
If you could look really far, straight out from this point, you would see Morocco in N. Africa.
The rivers were high along the backroads---I love the cypress knee swamps and spanish moss in the low country.
This old house in historic Newberry SC (south of Greenville) had some really unusual porch posts----directly across the street is the Red Door Antiques shop where I found some good stuff, and really enjoyed meeting owner Norm Helms and his mother Lily.
Love the metal storage tank painted like a strawberry!
Big, fat, fluffy snowflakes started drifting down this afternoon, and it has turned out to be a beautiful white winter scene that we only get every so many years here. (I hope tomorrow is a school snow day because I am spending more time outside photographing the garden, than studying!)