A Shop Local Day

Yesterday, Duane, Linda, and I decided to make it a 'shop local' day in Duane's part of Tampa, Seminole Heights.  Lots of independent businesses in the Heights that I've blogged about here before along with great places to eat.  We started at the Bali Bay Trading Company.  (In addition to their website, here's their Facebook page.)  They've really expanded their furniture and home decor section along with their usual jewelry and accessories.  The owner told us that he's expecting two more shipments in June so Linda and I both decided we would wait on purchases we were just about to make.  Can't wait to see their new stuff before making up our minds.  All three of us have bought items from Bali Bay before and the owners are very friendly and inviting.

Our next stop was A Modern Line owned by our buddy, David.  Due to a fire a few months ago in his original location, David had to relocate but he's up and running again.  Great place for mid-century modern furniture and decor.  Linda and I have bought furniture from David and all three of us have purchased decor items.  I've even placed items on consignment in the shop.  There was a new watercolor dating from the '70's that Linda and I both had our eye on.  We decided to think about it.  In addition to his website, David also has a Facebook page here.

We noticed a new vintage shop that had opened next to A Modern Line and decided to stop in and check it out.  Frolic Exchange is a cool little boutique with vintage clothing, accessories, home decor and even some furniture.  Duane fell in love with a chair she saw but needs to make sure that the measurements will work for where she'd like to put it.  The decoration of the shop was adorable.  We complimented the young girl behind the counter and she said that she and her mother did it themselves.  Very eye-catching!  We recommend checking out this new shop.  They have a Facebook page here.  This mother/daughter duo have done a great job.

Our last stop before lunch was another long-time favorite -- D & D Antiques and More  -- which also has a Facebook page here.   Duane has purchased several large pieces of furniture from D & D and yesterday I got lucky with some smaller items.  I purchased a long scarf style necklace, two pink Depression glass dessert plates and a piece of Hull matte white pottery (yes, one of my obsessions and not the first piece I've bought at D & D).

By then we were ready for lunch.  We decided to eat at one of the many local favorite diners and went to the Three Coins Diner which also has a Facebook page (doesn't everyone these days?) here.   Three Coins is open 24 hours and has a huge menu of selections including breakfast anytime.  Duane and I both ordered breakfast food and Linda had a gyro.  Then we decided to splurge on dessert.  I thought I had left plenty of room but, let's just say that they don't skimp on portions at Three Coins.  My brownie sundae was HUGE.  I did manage to tunnel through it and only left a small piece of brownie.  Linda had a chocolate sundae and Duane had one of the diner's most popular desserts -- their rice pudding.   To say that we rolled out to the car afterwards would be an understatement.  But it was worth it.

We plan to have another 'shop local' day in a few weeks so that we can all go back and buy the larger items that we weren't quite ready to commit to yesterday.  I'm looking forward to it already.

My purchases from D&D Antiques and More.

A Shop Local Saturday Shop Hop!

As I've mentioned numerous times on this blog, Duane lives in one of the coolest parts of town when it comes to independent shops and restaurants.  Yesterday there was a 'Holiday Shop Hop' in her area so she and I set out early to take part.  Linda wasn't with us because she spent Thanksgiving in Michigan visiting family where we hope she's having a great time!

The first store we hit was one of our favorites that I've mentioned before.  A Modern Line is a furniture and accessories store that features mid-century modern items.  There are always new items when we visit and they're always pleasingly arranged in a decorative fashion.  I gave in to my white matte pottery obsession when I saw the tall piece pictured below.  A great way to start the day.

Into the heat!

Then we visited a shop I'd never been to before now.  I have a beautiful piece of glass that Duane gave me as a gift from The Phoenix Glass Studio but this was my first time as a customer.  The owner, Susan Gott, was there greeting people along with the most adorable little Yorkie named Ginger.  Susan's work is gorgeous.  Read more about her on her site.  Her work has been featured on PBS among many honors.  I bought a piece for myself and another piece I can't show because it's going to be a gift.  Duane found a lovely gourd with beautiful colors of blue wound through it.  We watched as one of the artisans created a glass ornament from beginning to end.  It's a fascinating process and we found out that you can sign up to make an ornament.  The glass furnace is a little scary due to  the intense heat but this guy certainly knew what he was doing.

Shaping the glass.

Duane and I were distracted at one point during the process when Ginger the Yorkie was dressed in her Santa outfit.  What a hoot.  She was an incredibly sweet dog who seemed to really like people.  

I should mention that every shop we visited had holiday treats and drinks for their customers.  We also carried cards given out at all of the shops where you could have the card 'stamped' after visiting each shop listed.  If you visited six you could then turn in your card for drawings held for special prizes.

Our next stop was D&D Antiques -- another of our favorite places to browse.  I found a darling little white bird for my home office.  

'Santa' Ginger!

At first I thought he was papier mache but realized that he was made of some type of resin after picking him up.  Great little find.

Duane and I both found ourselves using the day to scope out returning to some of the shops for items for others.  It was difficult to make a decision when we'd never visited a shop before but we both have ideas for going back before Christmas for purchases.  After D&D, we went to The Cleanse Apothecary.  This is another shop we've visited before.  It was very busy but Duane found a beautiful bamboo cutting board and some lovely handmade soap that she plans to give as a gift.

After The Cleanse Apothecary we headed to a store that neither of us had ever shopped before yesterday.  The Bali Bay Trading Company offers every possible color of beads and types of jewelry made from beads imaginable.  They actually have two sections to their store.  One is for retail (like Duane and me) and the other for wholesalers.  It was a bit overwhelming due to the sheer volume of pretty pieces.  Besides jewelry, they also offer women's clothing and household items.  I found a pretty woven mat to use to cover the top of a vintage desk that is in my guest room.  The desk belonged to George's father and the writing area is pretty worn from use.  This mat was perfect to cover up the distressed top.  Duane and I both can't wait to go back to this store.  Bali Bay will be enlarging to include furniture and homegoods in the near future.  We'll have to return when Linda can join us.

By this time our rear ends were starting to drag and we were getting really hungry.  We made one last stop at The Health Mutt.  A great store for shopping for and with your dog.  I found a Christmas present for my dog Sammy.  He loves anything with a squeaker in it.  Besides treats for their customers (the two-legged and four-legged kind), a local rescue group for Boston Terriers was there.  They had some cute little guys with them.  So sweet.  We wished we could rescue all of them.

After turning in our cards at The Health Mutt since it was the final place we visited, we were ready for lunch.  (There were actually nine shops participating so we chose six out of the nine for the day.)  We ate at Nicko's, one of our fave places for comfort food.  The 'Elvis' booth was occupied so we sat in a civilian booth and stuffed ourselves which included ordering dessert -- red velvet cake for me and chocolate cake for Duane.  We took our time eating but we were pretty well finished for the day.  Just about all of the stores we visited are going to have special days before Christmas for shopping so we plan to go back and buy for others.  I'm afraid we bought more for ourselves yesterday.  Oops!

My buys.

Duane's purchases.