It’s tough to get back to reality after a rare girl’s weekend.   When you have 2 days to spend with a friend like Lori, you know you’re in for an adventure.  If you’re up for a colorful story and some great pictures, please stop by and read Lori’s post here.   I simply do not have her way with words! 🙂

When you think of a night out with your best girl friend, do you imagine a great dinner with great conversation mixed in?  How about ending the meal with a warm white chocolate bread pudding?  That dessert was so good I went searching for a recipe.  Anyone have a good one?  I found this online and just might have to try it (cutting back on the calories somehow if I can!).   The only way to top a night like that is to follow it with a day of antiquing!  Lori and I hit the DC Big Flea together and didn’t stop for five hours straight.  It’s great to have a friend who looks for your favorite collectibles, you look for theirs, and also enjoy looking for many of the same things.  My husband is the best antiquing companion, but let’s fact it, looking at antique buttons is pushing it.

We searched, dug through bins, examined, oohed & aahed and spoke with vendors.  The time flew by.  Here are a few of the small trinkets I came home with.    When I showed Lori the sweet little baby ring, Lori ordered me to get it.  She was well aware of the things I might regret passing by.  I’ve researched Gale-Ford Jewelers in Norfolk, VA and it looks as if they no longer exist.    By the hallmark inside the ring however, I was able to identify the ring’s maker as Clark & Coombs – jewelry manufacturers in New England.  I have found that the maker’s mark (c’s in a triangle flanking an ampersand) were used until 1915.

By the end of the day, I was the very excited/proud owner of two antique spool cabinets.  You may recall a recent blog post where I mentioned these old general store display.  Used not only to store spools of thread, the cabinets were used for marketing by many of the great manufacturers of the time.  The cabinets were frequently made from oak or walnut, with the manufacturer’s name stenciled on the sides and back, or in reverse-painting on the glass drawer fronts.  I’ve read an incredible amount about the history of these pieces of Americana, although I don’t even sew.  Can you see the drawers filled with beads by the type or color?  The vendors who came from Goldsboro, NC were so knowledgeable on the subject,  they shared that they were approached to write a book on the antique thread cabinets.  The tall, Belding Bros. cabinet was the first spool cabinet that the couple bought when they started collecting them 25 years ago.  I think they knew this special piece would be very much appreciated in my home (how could they tell I was so sentimental??).  I fell for the red-glass Clark & Co.cabinet immediately when I saw the Anchor drawer.  You may know my husband is a Navy alum and we have a Navy ties on both sides of the family. In fact, my dear brother is a Navy doc and absolutely loves his career.

With all of this great storage, there’s not excuse for me to not get my beads cleared out.  I am still slowly recovering from my Bead Soup creative frenzy.  Any one else with me on that?

I’m feeling a bit spoiled as I’ll be seeing Lori again next weekend for the long-awaited Metal Magic workshops with Stephanie Lee.   I can’t believe the time is almost here.  I’m looking forward to meeting some of you for the first time too!

P.S.  Just a little bit of trivia for you antiques-lovers out there – ever wonder what “O.N.T.” stands for on the drawers of Clark & Co. spool cabinets?  O.N.T. stands for “Our New Thread”.  Apparently George Clark developed a six-cord thread that was the first one suitable for use with a sewing machine.  Formerly thread was made of three cords, primarily for hand-sewing.  Not that I know much about sewing! 🙂