A Weekend of Antiquing

I first want to start this post by thanking all of you kind ladies who left such sweet comments on my last post.  I appreciate all the kind wishes and prayers for success in my job hunt.  Even though I'm very frustrated about how difficult the job search is, I'm just trying to focus on making the best of the situation: looking for different ways to bring money in, looking for creative ways to keep too much money from going out, enjoying the free blessings that I do have, and, of course, hunting for available jobs anywhere and everywhere.  That's really all I can do.

Now for the fun stuff.  I had mentioned in my last post that I went antiquing with my visiting family over the weekend.  Although I wasn't able to spend much money, I did find some very inexpensive treasures, enjoyed exploring a couple of small towns in this area, got to spend time with family, and, of course, enjoyed spoiling Mia the Wonder Dog.  She already knows where I keep the treats, and would try to "herd" us (okay, mostly me) over to the cupboard so she could get a snack.  I am SUCH  a pushover!

For the antiquing, we went to Exeter and Clovis, which are a small towns (at least by the urban California standards that I'm accustomed to) here in Tulare County.

Exeter is a darling town, and I took lots of pictures.

Exeter's motto is "Citrus Capital of the World".  In the background are the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

Downtown Exeter boasts its own outdoor art gallery featuring 29 murals depicting local history, folklore, and culture.

This mural depicts a 1930's fruit packing plant.

California Poppies, our state flower.

This area of California also produces a lot of grapes.

I love when the old buildings have advertising painted on the brick.

We went to this darling shop, By the Water Tower Antiques (and yes, it is literally right next to the water tower).

This set was in the courtyard of the antique store.  I love wrought iron patio furniture.

At another store, I found these treasures.  They were waaaay beyond my price range, but it was fun to look.

I love the sewing box and the mirror.

The roses painting is gorgeous, and the pink tin can dollhouse furniture is just darling!

This 1940's chest of drawers was covered entirely in pebbles.  At $695, it was definitely out of my league.

And this fireplace mantel was covered in seashells.  Just gorgeous!!!  I was afraid to ask its price.

The next day, we went to Clovis for an antiques street fair that is held four times a year. Plus, they have several streets of antique stores. Normally, there are six streets blocked off, with booth after booth of antiques and collectibles. Unfortunately, it rained fairly heavily, and we Californians are wimps when it comes to less than perfect weather. I'm sure those of you who live in moister climates make fun of us, because we do become childlike idiots when any moisture falls from the sky.  So, the few booths that had not already packed up and gone home did not do well.  I felt so badly for them, I bought two things, both at ridiculously low prices:

Such a sweet face. I had to add her to my collection of spaghetti poodles.

I love the color of this covered glass dish.

Unfortunately, I had forgotten my camera, so I have no pictures of Clovis.  I wouldn't have been able to take photos inside the stores, anyway. They were extremely crowded because of the rain outside.  And I guess I'm as wimpy as every other Californian, because I wouldn't have wanted to take any photos out in the rain. We become that which we mock : )

We also enjoyed a movie night on Sunday.  I can't believe that my sister, brother-in-law and nephew had never seen "Singin' in the Rain".  I can practically mouth along with the dialogue, I've seen it so many times.  We also watched "Rear Window", another favorite of mine.  All in all, a nice end to a good weekend and good company.

(By the way, the freshly squeezed orange juice in the morning is heavenly. A fresh orange, or a glass of juice is a wonderful treat!)

Thanks so much for your visit.  Have a great week!