a tale of two mercantiles

I always feel a little bit guilty when I blog a post that is a bit of a downer like the last one.  But, I can't have you all thinking that my life is all sunshine and yellow roses, now can I?  No, indeed.  Life happens here too.  And although I try to keep everything pretty upbeat generally, the stresses and strains of it all seep in to my blogging as well.

And today is another day of juggling five balls at once and trying to be flexible.  I was working on another recipe post today, but well...its a busy day with starting to get all of our found treasures together and packed up.  The process of boxing our belonging up has begun in preparation for the 2-3 day trek to Virginia on Thursday morning.  So, I don't think I will be getting much cooking and pretty photo taking done this morning.  Boy has the time flown by.

I think I'll set up the recipes to post automatically while we are on the road, so that I don't have to worry about posting then.  Because I know for a fact that if I try to post via the wireless connection, something will happen to prevent it.  I know it for a fact!  It always seems to happen that way, doesn't it?    So I'm just not setting myself up.

Instead, how about a view of my mother's antique shops today?  She has two very different, but similar antique shops.  There is the first shop, County Mercantile that opened up on York Street seven years ago.  I has mostly western items and primitives.  Lots of cowboys, western dishes, ranch oak furniture, hides (yes, animal hides), and some great vintage cowboy kiddo books, costumes, toys, and the like.  If you ever want to do a little boy's room in a cowboy theme (or a girl's room in cowgirls) she would be a great resource, because has some great decorating pieces.

I guess running just one shop didn't keep her busy enough, because a year or so ago she opened Main Street Mercantile just two doors down from County Mercantile.  The new shop has a little bit of a different feel to it.  The furniture in this shop is a little "fancier".  She has more of a shabby chic vibe there and has also added some jewelry.  She has a great mix of newer gift items mixed with her old pieces for a really fun look.  This shop also has a "to die for" fabric room with lots of great vintage fabrics plus some of my A. Henry and Moda favorites, great tickings and chenilles.  If you are ever looking for cowboy/cowgirl fabrics, her fabric room rivals anything you would find in Ft. Worth or Dallas.  Moda has even bought several of her vintage fabrics to reproduce.

If you are ever in the area, stop by.  Or if you have seen something that you really like and need more information, email me and I'll shoot you her phone number.  It really is fun having all of this to browse through while we visit she and my Dad.  But don't for a minute think I get to just pick and choose anything I want from her shops to take home.  No, no, no!  She is a shrewd business woman with years of corporate retail experience.  I have to pay for every single thing I bring home.  I'm sure she gives me a little discount of some sort, but we have a running tally of what I owe her at this point.

Mom, I think this blog post counts as at least $500 of free advertising for you, so do you think we can call it all even?  Please?  If not, I might have to work in the fabric room cutting fabric for a few more weeks until my bill is paid.  Love you Mom!  And so proud of what all you have accomplished. 

**if all of these photos haven't been enough, if you want to see more visit the flickr set**