~treasure hunting~

Saturday my friend and I went to an antique mall near us that opened shortly before Christmas. It was a cold, blustery day, perfect to be indoors strolling through aisles of old treasures. I found the tiny celluloid Santa (not quite 2&1/2" tall) in a display case of vintage Christmas ornaments, candy containers and other small Christmas items. Then I found two graniteware pieces, a blue and white swirl-patterened cooking pot with handle and pouring spout and a small white, blue-trimmed strainer. I love the pattern of the holes in the bottom of the strainer.

As we wanderd up and down the aisles we saw lots of wonderful old pieces, many I would have loved to have brought home (not possible this soon after Christmas,sadly!). I fell in love with an 1800's blanket chest with the original worn green paint and a faded, red grain bin. If I had dollars to spare they would have both come home with me.

In other aisles we found booths filled with a variety of old dolls, children's books, farm equipment and old tools, all kinds of kitchen gadgets, yellowware, a few crocks and even old furs!

I think the most fascinating thing we saw was a complete, all original (right down to the booklet that came with it) Hoosier cabinet. We happened to see the dealer offering it for sale. It had been in his family for 91 years. He told us neither of his two children were interested in it so he decided to try and sell it. It was priced at over seven thousand dollars. I was so glad to have the chance to see it, I had never happened upon one that was complete right down to the glass containers that came with it.

Needless to say we both thoroughly enjoyed strolling through this new treasure trove. After lunch out, I dropped Winnie off and headed home to find the perfect spot for my new finds all the while planning a return trip...afterall you never know when you'll find that next, much-needed, got-to-have-it treasure!

~Diane~