Monday, July 14, 2008

ANTIQUE SHOPPING AT THE ORANGE CIRCLE

Today I felt like getting out of the house and walking around a little bit. So I thought "what better place then the Orange Circle".

I got in my car and drove to downtown Orange, CA. I found a great parking place and off I went.
It's called the Orange Circle because it's in Orange and there is an intersection that actually forms a circle. Here is a picture of it. Sorry it's not so great but it was a quick drive by.

In the middle of the circle you will find a pretty water fountain and benches where you can sit and people watch or rest up before you tackle another street of shopping.


It has that old town feel to it. There are lots of antique shops and little eating places for blocks.


This happens to be one of my favorite antique stores. So, let's go see what they have inside. Come on!

Ooh! Look at this space has tons of vintage linens. Don't you just love the pretty fabrics they had back in the "good old days".

Some spaces are prettier then others. At least I think so!

Hey, look over here! There are tons of pretty lamps. Do you need or should I say WANT one? There are tons to pick from in this space.

What the heck! Why is there a chicken in here? Oh wait, it's stuffed. But still! Who would want a real stuffed chicken? I'm sure someone will.


There are vintage toys...if you are looking for those.


Another pretty space with painted white furniture and pretty crystal chandeliers.


I think this spot is my favorite spot. I could kick myself for not buying that pink pottery. I had it in my hands and then talked myself out of it. I should know better!

This ladies space always gets my attention. It is full of vintage Christmas items. She used to have a lot of vintage Halloween items too but now she is down to only a little cabinet full.


There is something about old wooden windows that I just love.


Depression glass in every color. I love it!


Another space I love has vintage kitchen items. Again, kicking myself for not buying the little pink refrigerator bowls.


More pretty linen.

I could spend hours going from shop to shop. I get lost in daydreams about what times were like.....back then.

I wasn't in a spending mood. WHAT! I must go to the Dr. I think I'm sick or something. OK, I did buy a few tiny things, but not much.

So, do you want to know what I ended up with?

This tiny little rose tin. Don't ask me why. I just thought it was so cute and I'll find something to put in it for my office. It was only $1.75 so I went ahead and got it.

I also found this cute little vintage hankie. I'm collecting blue and pink ones for my bedroom. I want to do a vintage hankie hanging like Cindy, over at Romantic Home, in her room.
This was only $2.00 as it was marked 1/2 off.

I saw this cute 1919 book. It was the blue cover that caught my eye. I've been looking for some blue vintage books to use as props in my bedroom. I opened it up and started to read it. It seems pretty good. I'm going to read it before I use it.

For $4.00 I couldn't pass it up. I'll not only get to read the story but I'll have a great decorating look in my room.



Looks like this little saucer was lonely without the cup that must have gotten broke. It was sitting there all alone. So I picked it up. It was only $1.00. SOLD! It will go with my other plates on the wall in my bedroom.


My favorite thing I got was this vintage lace runner. Another 1/2 off item and only $4.00.

There were lots of spaces that had 1/2 off. Now I'm one who always loves a good sale but today I was a bit sad by all the sales. Why, you ask?

Well, I asked the cashier why so many people were having 50% off in their spaces and she said most of them were closing down. With times being tight now most people just weren't making any money at the antique stores any longer.

How sad! I hope things pick up soon. To me, there is nothing like being able to walk around and look at all the pretty things in person. EBay is nice, but it's not the same.

Well, that's it for today. Hope you had fun walking around with me. Did you see anything you liked?

*** UPDATED: Not all the photos are from the Country Road Antiques. I did go to other shops. In fact, all the things I bought were at a different shop. The 50% sale items were NOT at Country Road Antiques but at the other shops I went to. It seems Country Road Antiques is doing very well. I don't recall seeing many sales in there at all. I should have made that more clear in my post.

Also, if you have not signed up for my giveaway yet, please do so if you are interested. Just scroll down to the post or click on the link to the right of my blog.

Hugs,
Joanne





26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joanne, Hope the pesto works out for you. My friend Vale in Italy sent me a lasagna pesto recipe that I tried. It was good too. I would love to send it to you if you want. Hope your brother is getting better day by day. Have a great evening. ~ Lynn

Darlene said...

You bought cute things at good prices. I think you should go back and get that pink pottery. It looks so pretty! Thanks for sharing your antique store trip with us.

Angie said...

oh joanne! i had so much fun peeking into this shop! i am a tad envious i wasn't there to go through those christmas decorations...i love vintage christmas!! i saw about 50 things at least that i loved...it is sad that this economy is ruining such a lovely gift like little shops...a big loss for everyone that is for sure..

~Angie

Unknown said...

It is sad that so many of them are closing. I talked to a lady here about a booth, and she said traffic is way down...guess the cost of gas is too much.

I really like your purchases! Antiquing is a fun way to pass the afternoon!

Janet said...

Joanne,

How funny; I was in that actual store when I visited my friend in Brea. We had fun, but I found the prices much higher than here. I bought a little bird to put under a cloche. Remember when TV ads would specify "slightly higher west of the Mississippi"?

Gone said...

Looks like my kind of Antique Shop!! Too bad antiquers are hurting because of the economy, cuz I love to go and look and buy.

Thanks for visiting and leaving your comment about my Doctor's visit. Blessings on your test results!

Jan

Linda said...

The Orange Circle...I haven't thought about that area in years and years. Thank you for the reminder and for the good memories I have of it.

Debbie Kay said...

Joanne;

I think I saw us in every picture in this post. I can't wait until we get together, I know we will have fun and find amazing treasures...

Lots of love to you my sweet friend.

Debbie Kay

Michelle said...

Thanks for sharing pictures of your little shopping trip with us...it was fun to see everything! Looks like you found some great things for great prices!

Hope you're having a great weeks so far!

Shannon said...

Ok, you come stay in my guestroom while I go and shop at all these stores!!! I want to go here! :)

Edie Marie's Attic said...

Hi Joanne!
Thanks for taking me with you! I had a great time!! Especially in that 1/2 off sale store. Too bad you beat me to that table runner, it's so gorgeous and only $4. You got the deal of the day girl! LOL (wish I could have gone with you)
I'm going to go on that free website and see what's there. I figure I better have some quality time for it! One of the "sweetie girls" is with us today so it may be tomorrow.
Glad you liked my "bubbly" post! We had such a good time, you would have fit right in!!
Have a good one!
Hugs, Sherry

Flower said...

I see many things in the walk around the stores that catch my eye. These kinds of places do take us to another time and nostagia sets in.
The pig...it's a lifesize resin pig and very cute!! It fits the farm scene and makes people smile! They put trays of cheeze and fruit on the truck bed along with the flowers and pig. You would love the decorating in the house!! It's very true to earlier times!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

What a wonderful antique store! So well organized and everything looked clean and well taken care of. It's sad to read that many shops are closing, but I can see how that can happen if they aren't attracting buyers. Aren't rents very high in CA?
You bought some lovely things!

Jillian's Bella Rosa Antiques said...

Thanks for sharing your trip to the antique mall! I enjoyed seeing all of the booths. We have an antique booth in PA...and have ups and downs due to economy issues. But, we're hanging in there. We always say it's because WE LOVE DOING IT...not because we make any money.

And I really enjoyed getting inspired by these pics! Thanks again!

Jillian

Vintage Linen Treasures said...

Hi Joanne,
I used to live in OC and miss going to The Circle every other week with my BFF. I just LOVE it there and the Country Store is one of my favorites. I can spend all day in there! Thank you so much for this great post.
Patricia

candy said...

I enjoyed this post Joanne :) :)
CANT WAIT til our family vacation!!!

Kristi Price said...

That chicken brought back a funny memory. My neighbor and I used to have yard sales together and she had a rooster named Rufus. You could sit down and call Rufus and he would sprint right over, jump up in your lap and sit there..lol! I think he thought he was a dog. She also had a pig named Pork Chop. ~grin~
Thanks for showing us the pics! Kristi

Anonymous said...

Now that first shop is my kinda shop. I especially loved the booth with all the white painted furniture and chandeliers. It is so sad that so many flea markets and antique stores are going down because of the economy. I just wonder what people are going to do. These are scary times. I'm just glad I know who my Savior is. Have a good evening.

Hugs,
LeAnn:)

emily said...

Great finds! LOVE the little tin and saucer. Looks like that antique store had some great stuff. Those booths are beautiful! Thanks for sharing your trip with us, it looked like you had fun!!
emily

Vintage Linen Treasures said...

Hi Joanne,
Thank you for stopping by my site. It's always fun to meet new people. To answer some of your questions:
I used to live in OC, now I'm in San Antonio, TX! The good thing is that now I have a huge backyard, the bad thing is that I have a huge backyard that needs so much work.

I will be selling those rose pillowcases probably towards the middle of August. They'll be on my eBay site starting for about $7.00 or $8.00 each. They're so pretty in real life! You'd love them.

I'll be adding you to my favorites, too!
Blessings,
Patricia :o)

PS: Garage sales, thrift stores, estate sales are great places to find linens. But so are CA's local flea markets(TONS of other great shabby cottage chic finds, too)

GARAGE SALE GAL said...

hi Joanne,
That was so much fun. I love going into antique stores and looking, buying and getting ideas. Thanks :)Warmly, Deb

Judy said...

Hi Joanne, I think my favorite piece is the table runner too. I just love lace as you know. I have so much that I don't use that I just look at and cherish. I use some of my linens but I think I keep my favs put away so I won't ruin them because they are so old. Silly I guess, but I do take them out and look and sometimes display for awhile.

Jackie said...

Oh! Joanne, wish I could've went shopping with ya! Great blog! Go back for the pink pottery! HELLO! we only live once, lol.

Wanted to see what you've been up to ... if you want: check out my July 2nd blog...You may have been mentioned there ??!! wink.....
Blessings!
Jackie

THE HOME THAT LOVE BUILT said...

This is such a delightful post. Thanks for sharing pics of all these pretty items!
Blessings
Brook

Football and Fried Rice said...

MY PINK PYREX!!!!!! That's it, I am looking up antique stores in my area as soon as I get off your blog. I loved ALL the goodies!! i want some too...

Anne Fannie said...

Everytime I drive on that street I am always with my husband and I just stare at that store thinking, I am going to come back here one day alone......now that does it, I have to go!What fun stuff!
Thanks for the tour!
Love, Ann