FIRST PUBLISHED NOV. 19, 2014
As promised, the antique shopping story continues, only this time it was in Orange, California, and I take this opportunity to plug our favorite two stores there: Antique Station and Orange Circle Antique Mall. Fabulous finds and extremely friendly staff — and customers — who helped us a lot. We loved our experiences there.
I mentioned in my last post that my oldest granddaughter has always wanted an old-fashioned Victorian-era porcelain doll and that last summer's search was unsuccessful. Never sure if we'd find what she wanted, I went on a quest of my own and found three gorgeous dolls at a mom and pop thrift store here in North Carolina. I shipped them to my daughter and prior to my visit had her choose the ones she thought the girls would like. Once I arrived for my visit, and before we went picking the next day, I surprised them with their dolls. We were both spot on knowing which doll each one of them would choose. Do we know our girls or what?! I suggested, and they agreed, the doll neither of them chose be donated to a child who might not otherwise have anything for Christmas. They all thought that was a great idea!
We drove to Orange the next morning and, having obtained the elusive porcelain dolls, pursued our interests in all other things old. We tried on hats, oohed and ahhed over beautiful jewelry, checked out Civil War-era swords, admired paintings, donned fur collared coats several sizes too big, imagined making wedding dresses, and checked out holiday decor. Our eldest granddaughter found more skeleton keys for her collection, the younger one selected two ceramic owls and their mama came away quite happy with a delicate old hankie and a couple of cute Christmas mouse ornaments. At another store, we purchased a rhinestone rose necklace and a Hello Kitty watch for the girls. (You can see these items in the slide show above.)
At one point, while looking at old phones, my daughter came away chuckling, remarking that as her youngest put her finger in the holes of the phone, she looked up at her mom and said, "I don't get it. How do you call someone?" Ah, yes, no one dials anymore. It's all push button or touch screen technology now. How times have changed. Yet, therein lies the history lesson, right? And now she knows things others her own age probably don't.
A quite serendipitous occurrence was yet to happen. Although the girls now owned a porcelain doll each, we hit the jackpot later in the week at the Salvation Army Family Store. As soon as we walked into the store, like bears to honey, the girls spied and rushed over to two beautiful Victorian-era dolls sitting on a shelf. They were affordable AND perfect — one in a lavender gown caught the eye of our oldest granddaughter, the other in blue was our younger's choice. These are the girls' favorite colors, and it was just so obviously meant to be. You never saw two happier little faces in your life! And now they are the owners of two porcelain dolls each.
We all recommend these real life history lessons you can give your children and grandchildren. Learning about the past, who people were, how things worked, and what life was like will give them a greater appreciation for their lives in the present and instill in them a desire to protect the future. Even if you never buy a thing at an antique store, the history lessons are there waiting to be learned. They are truly remarkable museums for everyone!
Old Souls in Young Bodies, Part 2
FIRST PUBLISHED NOV. 19, 2014
As promised, the antique shopping story continues, only this time it was in Orange, California, and I take this opportunity to plug our favorite two stores there: Antique Station and Orange Circle Antique Mall. Fabulous finds and extremely friendly staff — and customers — who helped us a lot. We loved our experiences there.
I mentioned in my last post that my oldest granddaughter has always wanted an old-fashioned Victorian-era porcelain doll and that last summer's search was unsuccessful. Never sure if we'd find what she wanted, I went on a quest of my own and found three gorgeous dolls at a mom and pop thrift store here in North Carolina. I shipped them to my daughter and prior to my visit had her choose the ones she thought the girls would like. Once I arrived for my visit, and before we went picking the next day, I surprised them with their dolls. We were both spot on knowing which doll each one of them would choose. Do we know our girls or what?! I suggested, and they agreed, the doll neither of them chose be donated to a child who might not otherwise have anything for Christmas. They all thought that was a great idea!
We drove to Orange the next morning and, having obtained the elusive porcelain dolls, pursued our interests in all other things old. We tried on hats, oohed and ahhed over beautiful jewelry, checked out Civil War-era swords, admired paintings, donned fur collared coats several sizes too big, imagined making wedding dresses, and checked out holiday decor. Our eldest granddaughter found more skeleton keys for her collection, the younger one selected two ceramic owls and their mama came away quite happy with a delicate old hankie and a couple of cute Christmas mouse ornaments. At another store, we purchased a rhinestone rose necklace and a Hello Kitty watch for the girls. (You can see these items in the slide show above.)
At one point, while looking at old phones, my daughter came away chuckling, remarking that as her youngest put her finger in the holes of the phone, she looked up at her mom and said, "I don't get it. How do you call someone?" Ah, yes, no one dials anymore. It's all push button or touch screen technology now. How times have changed. Yet, therein lies the history lesson, right? And now she knows things others her own age probably don't.
A quite serendipitous occurrence was yet to happen. Although the girls now owned a porcelain doll each, we hit the jackpot later in the week at the Salvation Army Family Store. As soon as we walked into the store, like bears to honey, the girls spied and rushed over to two beautiful Victorian-era dolls sitting on a shelf. They were affordable AND perfect — one in a lavender gown caught the eye of our oldest granddaughter, the other in blue was our younger's choice. These are the girls' favorite colors, and it was just so obviously meant to be. You never saw two happier little faces in your life! And now they are the owners of two porcelain dolls each.
We all recommend these real life history lessons you can give your children and grandchildren. Learning about the past, who people were, how things worked, and what life was like will give them a greater appreciation for their lives in the present and instill in them a desire to protect the future. Even if you never buy a thing at an antique store, the history lessons are there waiting to be learned. They are truly remarkable museums for everyone!