After lunch, we walked down the main street and looked at all the antiques and collectibles, hand-crafted art and jewelry, clothing, accessories, furniture, decor, books, vinyl records, everything imaginable. It was leisurely and entertaining.
Naturally, Mom and I tended to gravitate toward the jewelry sections of the stores. (Ooh, shiny! 8D) In one of the shops, Mom found a beautiful antique amethyst & silver necklace. At first she wanted to get it for me, but I said as much as I admire the design (and color, of course), it just wasn't my style. M said the same, but Mom couldn't let it go because she liked it so much, so she ended up getting it for herself, and I think she could definitely wear it well. The store guy was very nice and knowledgeable but couldn't find enough information about the necklace. He estimated that it was possibly Mexican or even Italian, probably from the 1940-50s, before sterling silver, so it's around 80-90% silver, like the coins at the time, from which the silver likely came. Very cool.
We noted the old-fashioned cash register, and the store lady told us that it was an antique National cash register. Apparently, instead of being made in the U.S. like most, it was manufactured in Germany for a store in England and then somehow ended up in America. How about that.
I found something else I really liked at the cute clothing & accessories store Winters Past. It was a gold-tone pin/brooch shaped like a window with three cats sitting on the sill and looking out the window, while a fourth kitty is climbing up the curtain! XD I got a real kick out of it, but I don't wear pins, so even though it was awesome and so cute, I resisted. (Until next time, maybe, if it's still there..?)
Update: found it on eBay. it's a "Vintage AJC (American Jewelry Chain/Company) Brooch P8097-2"
One of the boutiques (Dakota Mercantile?) was like a vintage Bed, Bath & Beyond with artisan soaps, old-fashioned nightdresses, laces and ribbons, and Jane Austen-inspired books and memorabilia. There was a bed laid out with a white duvet, and as we passed, I was shocked when I realized there was a large cat sleeping on it! It was all white and completely still, so it blended in perfectly with the bed, lol. The cat seemed totally used to customers coming near, because he (we think) didn't open his eyes once and only barely twitched his ears when we meowed and talked to him, and even when Mom shook his blanket a bit to get a reaction. XD; Too bad I didn't bring my camera!
A few doors down, at Delectable Collectables, there was another sleepy shop cat, but at first we thought it was a dog because this cat was huge and so furry and fluffy! It was a (very) long-haired tuxedo cat named Abigail (according to her painted portrait on the wall ;P). The owner (who sells an amazing collection of cameos) said we could pet Abigail because she's friendly with everyone and loves to be pet. Abigail was very sweet, and big, with such long fur, her "bib" looked like a long, white beard, lol. Aww...
We also saw some beautiful pieces of art and decor at Shady Oak Gallery. My favorite was the truly unique and fascinating sculpted tree lamp with its colorful foliage lamp shade made out of geodes and mineral stones. The Tiffany style lamps and other stained glass works were wonderful, too, along with the geode slice wind chimes. Oh, and there was an acoustic guitarist playing live music out on the porch, which was very nice.
Had a pretty great time this trip, despite some...growing pains... >_>;; Later, I'd like to bring R with us to see Micanopy and try the new restaurants. =)
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