Thursday, May 31, 2012

Out and About!

With the temperatures in the mid 80's a body begins to feel summer is only days away. With the warm days I feel myself being drawn outside more and more. So yesterday I had the urge to visit a quaint little college town and check out the shops I hadn't seen for quite some time. I called a friend to see if she wanted to meet me there and off we went to the Claremont Village. Claremont is a small town filled with private colleges. The village area is full of cafes, music stores, candy/ice cream stores and gift shops.
 This shop is my favorite. Not very big but chock full of everything wonderful! Americana ruled her front window and I was immediately drawn in!
 The glare is horrible but you are still able to see many Americana products! The bright sunny yellow sunflowers just put a persons soul in the mood for a picnic under a large cool tree. Oh I just love summer.
 
Doesn't this window just remind you of grandmas kitchen! The old Kitchen Aid mixer in the top right, scales, cherry aprons and cookbooks. I can almost smell my own grandma's cherry pies baking in her old wood burning oven. 
We wandered her store for a bit, found a few treasures to purchase and off we went to explore some other parts of town. Sadly, all of the shops I used to visit, Three French Hens, Karklesudie and the little Lavender House have all fallen victim to the recession/depression and all that is left are empty spaces.
We then headed west to another small town, San Dimas. This little western themed town was once dominated by antique stores but sadly there were only a few die-hard shops left and not much inside to tempt me. I guess that was a good thing!
Our final stop for the day was Tuesday Morning.
 Why is it called Tuesday Morning I hear you ask? Because every Tuesday, very early in the morning they receive their deliveries. I am told shoppers flock to the stores early to see the treasures held within. To be honest, I don't like these stores. They are messy, unorganized and you REALLY have to be in the mood to hunt for a treasure. However, I did not come away empty handed!
And finally I need to compliment our little shopping companion ...
Meet Gavin. He is 4 years old and Tanya's adorable grandson. This little guys has grown up tramping around with grandma and he is so good. In and out of the car, trudging though shops with two women and his reward at the end of the day was a funny looking fish that Gavin called his dinosaur. 
Enjoy your days like this, we never know how many are left ....

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