My life with SuzAnna's Antiques..............

I did not intend for this to be such a long post! I guess I got carried away as I often do when talking about things I love in life! It's rather dreary and cold out so I'd planned to stay home and attack my to do list. I'll be off on the road again very soon - more about that in a later post. Well, the list hasn't received many check marks yet, and you get to read my ramblings instead!

Corner of my living room

Those of you who have visited here over the past several years know about my delightful relationship with SuzAnna's Antiques, the owners Susie and her daughter Jenny, their charming Bruce the ever helpful husband/best daddy in the world (Jenny's words), former partner Anna whom we miss but who is now an important addition to the equally important USO where she works, and all the girls who work there including, on the weekends, my granddaughter Jasmin. What a great learning experience for a young teen who rarely gets the opportunity to 'have a job' making some cash for all the things young girls need/want!  I hope Susie and Jenny know how much their kindness has meant to Jasmin and our family. When SuzAnna's first opened in 2007 I was one of the first customers I think....and the then 'little girl' Jasmin often accompanied me, spending time organizing the large button container, all while listening to we 'big girls' bantering back and forth about our love of the old, chipped paint, yellowed lace, and decorating with items that had already experienced life years earlier. 

My dining room

Let me tell you, before SuzAnna's - and visits to the French countryside where my family live - I was a neat polished wood, mixed prints, traditional yet to me somewhat boring decorator, since then everything has changed.....for the better, in my home and in my heart.  We each know what we love and tastes are different, which is great. I learned to let go of many things I didn't enjoy resting my eyes upon in my home.  I painted everything I could in colors I love such as grey-blue, slate, cream and warm whites, as in this pic of my now dining room. I added lots of linen fabric on the beds and in simple drapery panels, covered chairs and pillows in authentic grain sacks I brought back from France or found here in antiques shops.  I had off-white slipcovers made to cover older but still good sofas and chairs. I have a great husband who didn't mind me changing things..........except paint the woodwork, sigh!  Oh well, a girl can't have everything her own way....and I did eventually get to hang a chandelier in the kitchen, a huge win!  Nothing I changed cost a lot of money because I bought nothing brand new, nothing from the very pricey popular home decor shops.  

My kitchen

SuzAnna's has also been the catalyst of so many of my precious friendships.  Because I started taking photos there, and I'm an amateur photographer who still uses just point and shoot digital cameras, I used my earlier blog Across The Pond, then this current one, as places to share them, what else could I do with so many pictures of old stuff?  I then had people come up to me in grocery stores, or stop me at the Post Office, or comment on my blog, saying they recognized me as Mary from Across The Pond and that they would like to meet up with me to shop at SuzAnna's. I made new friends who came from across the state, even out of state, all because of SuzAnna's Antiques.  So, I can't stay away for long, even though lately my visits have been too short, and far too few, as it seems I'm always off somewhere a bit exotic.....thanks to my friend Paula! Yes, Paula's even come from San Francisco and visited SuzAnna's, and brought her daughter, and her dear friend Kim.....imagine that, California gals coming East in the freezing cold of Winter to shop, ha! ha!

My daughter Kim, me, Jasmin, Kim and Paula from California - at SuzAnna's just before Christmas 2010

Paula and her daughter Julie trying on vintage hats at SuzAnna's - Winter 2010/11

Anyway, there's always something new and exciting going on there, and tons of antique and vintage treasures you want to bring home to start a new life in your own home.  Yesterday I stopped by with my dear friend Vanessa - she who keeps me young and active.  If you don't have friends younger than you........go out there today and make some, it's something really special and makes life wonderful.  We started out sharing a booth, then each had our own as we needed more space.  We shopped in a frenzy each week to find treasures to paint and upholster, turning them into pretty things we hoped customers would love. Miss it so much, but life got in the way for a while, meaning travel and school these next two years, but we may be able to do it again later, I really hope so.

At SuzAnna's I collected the two paper lanterns I've had on hold - the near and far ones in the photo.  They will hang illuminated in the gazebo come Spring, replacing the faded stars in there now.  I think they will be lovely while sipping a cup of Empress Grey (my new fave tea - only available from M&S so I'll stock up when I next go home) at 4 o'clock on a warm afternoon.  Later, while we sip an aperitif at dusk, watching the last birds of the day at the feeders, followed by supper as the garden fades to darkness and quietness settles around us, I know I'm going to love these lanterns.

I was loving this cute shelf painted a soft green - unusual shape looking almost like a corner unit but lays flat against the wall.  If only I had another wall...........it would've come home with me yesterday!

I always check this larger corner unit......because it's mine!  I used it in my booth and now have it at SuzAnna's Antiques on consignment because, not only do I not have any spare wall spaces, sadly I don't have an empty corner in my cottage either!  It hasn't sold yet so yesterday I marked it down.......it's a great solid wood piece, well actually in two sections which makes it easy to move, and I know someone out there really would love this piece in one of their cottage corners!

Above pic shows the corner unit when it was in my much missed booth. It's painted a cool white, with a little chippy distressing.  It has much of the very popular Gustavian/Swedish look, especially with the diamond-shaped panels on the lower doors.  Oh my goodness, I really want it for myself seeing it here in these old photos.  Bob, please build on an addition.....with bare walls and a couple of empty corners!

Before leaving SuzAnna's my eye rested on this adorable vintage panel - the colors on the embroidered PJ's and little dog are just beautiful..........I know a certain grandma-to-be(we had breakfast together just yesterday!) who is awaiting a new little boy's imminent arrival in her family......and this would be perfect for a pillow cover, or framed, in the nursery.
If you're in our area - Raleigh, North Carolina - and out and about this weekend, be sure to head over to the Vintage Village on Durant Road to enjoy SuzAnna's Antiques; The Two Old Birds; Vintage; and the other fun shops......you'll have great time and there's so much to see and buy at reasonable prices to get your home ready for Spring. Be sure to tell the girls Mary sent you!


Update:  A lovely lady, who knows me from my blog, apparently went to SuzAnna's Antiques over the weekend and took my cabinet home!  Wow, I'm so thrilled to know it will soon be snuggled in a special corner right here in town.  Thank you dear reader - I hope we get to meet soon.

Friends at SuzAnna's......

Me, framed in Vanessa's beautiful mirror - note her pretty tags.

This week, on a perfect sunny, wind free (we've been having a lot of strong breezy days and are expecting very stormy high winds tomorrow) Spring day, I had fun fluffing the booth, and catching up with friends at SuzAnna's Antiques.  I even got to meet a couple of delightful young gals who 'escaped' from their little ones for an hour or so and discovered SuzAnna's for the very first time. Squeals of joy were heard as they pounced upon vintage and antique treasures, announcing they had no idea there was such a fabulous shopping venue right here in Raleigh.

More from Vanessa's lovely new booth - we now have our own space next to each other.  She painted and reupholstered two of these beautiful chairs, recovered the burlap lamp shade, stitched the pillow, and brought in lots of delightful shabby chic items.

Dealer/part time SuzAnna's employee, Laurie, moved her antique finds from Atlanta to Raleigh last year, much to our delight...........such as this gorgeous hand built primitive wooden boat.  Definitely one of a kind, she has displayed it well with antique oars and life preserver ring.......makes one want to rush to the shore and hunt for a little fisherman's cottage to fix up!  

This farm table it's resting on is amazing.  It has old distressed blue-grey paint on the legs and apron, wide plank top........and I would love to have it for my kitchen if it was just a tad smaller!

Our wonderful Sam, a real life antiques dealer who knows the history of France from his amazing finds of many years (lots of his treasures have come home with me), still wowing us with beautiful items such as this sconce..............

..................and this fabulous solid cherry chest which has industrial iron casters to move it about easily.  Sam is having a great clearance sale to enable him to unload more stuff here to tempt us...........he's hiding tons of old, but new to us, French and European treasures in his storage place.  
Bring it on in Sam, we're ready!


Off to do more garden chores now - will show you how pretty it looks next time.  Spring has definitely sprung and, as long as the coming storms aren't too severe, the blossoms and blooms will be perfect for Easter.