the cottage gals

Thank you!

2008-10-09T16:11:00.007-05:00

We want to extend a big fat t h a n k y o u ! to all our friends and customers who came out to help us celebrate our third anniversary! Hope you enjoyed our sale as much as we did!
Now that the dust has settled and the sold items have been picked up, it's time to hit the road and buy more stuff! We've brought in some great new pieces to fill the shop up. And can hardly wait to see what more we will find to layer the cottage with. Stop in soon and see what wonderful finds we'll have to help you ready your home for the upcoming holiday season!
Here are a few photos of what's new in store.
(Be back soon with more!)

countdown to Friday!

2008-09-27T14:16:00.002-05:00

Hope you're enjoying your weekend and getting ready for our big S A L E that starts in 6 short days! We'll be opening our doors at 10:00am sharp on Friday, October 3rd, to a store full of markdowns to celebrate our 3rd anniversary!Lots of folks are previewing this weekend! (Sorry, no early bargains.)
More new finds are coming in this week!
Hope to see you soon!
Ann and Linda

pumpkin people

2008-09-23T13:54:00.004-05:00

Long before the cottage was conceived, I used to make folk art and sell it wholesale to some of my favorite local shops. That is how I met Susan. The other day we were chatting about some jack o'lantern candy containers that we sell and thought what great doll heads they'd make.

Together with Susan's awseome collection of vintage baby clothes and shoes, a few little items from around the shop and needle and thread, we came up with this little pair of pumpkin people.

Hope they inspire you to repurpose some things you have around the house to usher in the Fall!
-Ann

we're ready for Fall!

2008-09-19T10:10:00.018-05:00

our dream car

2008-09-19T10:10:00.009-05:00

We also spotted a Robin's egg blue Studebaker pick up. Two please.

a litte piece of Heaven

2008-09-19T10:10:00.006-05:00

We spent a glorious day deep in Amish countryside. I felt instantly transported into another world, one of simple pleasures and God's graces. As well as taking in all the beauty that surrounded us, we found some amazing produce and fun old finds to layer the cottage in Autumn splendor.

We discovered rare varieties of pumpkins that I'd never seen before; Peanut pumpkins, Red Warty Thing pumpkins, One Too Many Pumpkins. It was a feast for the eyes. We tried to capture as much as we could; hope you enjoy the pictures until you can get yourself out to the countryside!

B I G news. . .

2008-09-12T16:25:00.014-05:00

Linda and I have spent the week trying to fit as much as we can in the shop. Next week we're heading out to fill our trucks with mums, cornstalks, guords and pumpkins. We can hardly wait!

Here's a few pre produce photos (insert mums, pumpkins and guords as needed).

Mark your calendar now -- our third anniversary celebration is coming up on Friday, October 3rd! We're having a H U G E storewide sale to mark the event. So don't miss it!

Our sale will run from Friday the 3rd thru Sunday the 5th, 10 - 5 each day. And we'll be open til 9pm on Friday!

Whatever you need, we'll have it.

Hurry before it's gone!

hold your breath and watch your step

2008-09-12T15:29:00.003-05:00

We're so full in the shop right now I can hardly fit in this blog entry. Pictures to come!

Have a great weekend!

Linda and Ann

happy weekend!

2008-09-06T10:03:00.007-05:00

We've been on a few shopping trips since our last blog and wanted to give you a little visual update . . .

more to come-

a welcomed rainy day

2008-08-28T09:48:00.005-05:00

It's a welcomed rainy day in Leesburg. The grass has been crunching under our feet and needs a lazy gentle rain, just like this one! Hope you're enjoying it too!

the cottage gals

Oh where, oh where has Summer gone?

2008-08-21T11:50:00.007-05:00

The new school year is in full view as the last lazy summer days float by. This has been a good summer all and all. Great weather, sleeping in, not packing any lunches for three whole months and eating my share of homegrown tomatoes!

Ann is off getting her firstborn settled into her first apartment as a college sophomore. My firstborn will be leaving for his senior year and has the moving-in process down so well, he doesn't need us to follow him there on Sunday. Long sigh.....

Whether you vacationed, stay-cationed or just got lost in a good book, I hope your summer was a good one.

We are slowly creeping into the changing seasons here at the cottage. We've started bringing in richer fabrics, warmer wood tones and anticipating ordering in our favorite potato-leek soup on that first brisk day. Ann and I have some wonderful buying trips planned in the next few weeks. We will certainly continue to share our great finds!

Take care,

the cottage gals

an unexpected find

2008-08-19T11:31:00.003-05:00

It really is true that you never know what you may find when it comes to repurposing old vintage treasures. Case in point; I had a lovely young woman in the shop yesterday looking for small vintage frames to decorate her wall. One of the frames she was considering had a framed photograph of two little Victorian boys. Because she was planning to use the frame without its contents, I assisted her in removing the backing and uncovered a little surprise. Inside was an envelope holding a letter dated 1927 and 2 buffalo nickels.

The letter was written by one neighbor to another returning money borrowed and requesting an end to a friendship. Apparently there had been some sort of scrap between the children of these 2 neighbors and a difference of opinion as to who did what to whom that caused an unmendable rift between the two moms. The two boys in the photograph were seemingly the ones belonging to the addressee.

It remains a mystery as to why the letter was saved behind the photo. It had been postmarked and opened and a copy of the handwritten note had been typed up in all capitals and placed with the original note, envelope and buffalo nickels. curious.

The first thing I did was look up the value of the nickels for this young college student. I found that nickels such as the ones in her frame had values between 35 cents and $240,000 depending on dates and conditions. How 'bout that? Not a bad investment for $20, eh?

Wouldn't it be fun to find out who these boys were? They'd be in their mid to late eighties now and they could tell us the rest of the story.

happy hunting,
ann

weekend update

2008-08-16T12:29:00.004-05:00

There's more in store for you this weekend with lots of old orchard signs, some fabulous architecturals, console tables, quilts and vintage tablecloths, columns, vintage suitcases and lots more.

Have a great weekend!

Ann and Linda

it's monday all over again!

2008-08-11T12:15:00.003-05:00

Here's hoping you're enjoying your day!

bedtime

2008-08-09T12:59:00.003-05:00

We just set up a beautifully rich, dark mahogany Victorian bed with the most extraordinary footboard. I love the detailed carvings on it, so ripe for the rich, warm tones of Fall. Don't you just love a freshly dressed bed?

BOO!

2008-08-07T10:51:00.007-05:00

Okay, we know it's August, hot, humid, August. But in here, well, we decided to join the madness! We've layered the cottage with sweet little handmade chenille pumpkins, jack o'lanterns, vintage witches' hats, black cats, lanterns, delightful Hallowee'en cards from one of our favorite artists, Hope Wallace and our wonderful handmade harvest signs to delight that little child within us all. So treat yourself to something!

more in store

2008-08-07T10:41:00.004-05:00

and then there was more. . .

Have you seen Earl?

2008-08-07T10:32:00.003-05:00

Lots of great finds have come (and gone) since my last post. Wanted to share some of them with you. Love the big green trunk. We can't get it open. For all we know Earl's in there.

Happy August,

Ann

look what Linda caught!

2008-07-29T16:19:00.002-05:00

Today's catch:

we have a new addition to the cottage

2008-07-29T13:33:00.004-05:00

One of the best things about having Linda for a business partner is the fact that wherever she is, whatever she's doing she always has the shop's best interest at heart. What I mean by that is, in addition to having great visions about what next to do in store, she is always shopping, always open to finding bigger and better things for the shop. It doesn't matter how early she has to start the day or how far she has to go or how much she has to lift. Her shopping rhythm is like the song by Dianna Ross and the Supremes, "ain't no river wide enough..."So I really wasn't that surprised when I saw this.

In the bed of her truck amidst cupboards, a console table, a garden set, a dresser, painted ladders and mirrors was nestled an old cement Doberman.

We have affectionately adopted her as our guard dog, watching over all our cottage treasure. Extreme yard art.

Happy shopping,

Ann

a little cottage update

2008-07-29T13:13:00.006-05:00

Here's a little peek at some of the new items that have made their way into the shop.

Here's hoping your week is off to a good start!

Ann