Last Wednesday morning, we loaded Charlie and all of his gear in the car and took off for Virginia. We drove to White's Ferry, Maryland (about 40 minutes from Eric & Jane's) and drove on to the ferry for a 3 minute ride across the river to Virginia. We then drove another 3 miles to the historic town of Leesburg. Leesburg is a a lovely little place filled with antique shops, stores and restaurants. We set up the stroller and did the sunscreen bit on Charlie, remembered the diaper bag, books, stuffed animal friends, baby ipod and food. After lunch, we walked up the street to my #1 destination of the day........
.........The Cottage, on King Street. I had seen many pictures and read many accolades on different blogs and it did not disappoint! Even the outside had great goodies! There were two floors, 12 rooms of eye-popping goodies. Do you think I longed for this lamp?
Every room was filled with an eclectic mix of beautiful things; old, new and handmade.
Linda, one of the owners, could not have been more gracious to me on my visit. She allowed me to take all the pictures I wanted and even let me snap one of her. We had a good laugh about some of the greeting cards I had picked out and she also gave me directions for our next stop, Lucketts. I look forward to returning before the holidays. Visit their website for more information about the shop and upcoming events. If you ever have the opportunity, stop in and allow lots of time for browsing.
It was hard to make a choice as to what to take home but I managed to do a little Christmas shopping and also get the old suitcase for myself. (No, Charlie and I aren't running away...he had fun with Papa, walking around the town while I shopped)
The next stop was The Old Lucketts Store, which was just several miles down the road, north of Leesburg. Lucketts is an interesting combination of antiques, from old rusted wire furniture, gates and planters in the yard, to elegant antique silver and furniture inside. They, too, had some handmade items.
I snapped this picture of the pedestal table and wire office items and then went back and picked up the 3-tiered basket. That ended up in our car. Wouldn't my dress form stamps look great piled in that large lower basket?
We stopped very briefly (even I know enough when my 2 guys have had enough shopping for one day!) at On a Whim, also in the town of Lucketts. When you see a pink & black polka dotted silo, it kind of catches your eye. The old painted metal chairs out front were very cute and inviting. I'll have to spend more time there on the next trip.
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My friend 
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When I had my back turned for a moment, they must have circled their chairs around to chat...enough train rides for now. This guy with the bell around his neck is one of my favorites. All four of these bears are Boyd's bears. Some day I'll drag my handmade bears and "others" out to show you. Do you see the stenciled ants on my wall???? I don't like real ants in my house but the stenciled kind always make me laugh when someone discovers them for the first time.
