Old School

If you can't tell by our Victorian-style bathroom and 1909 Hudson automobile, Chris and I have a penchant for antiques. That with the patina of age, the markings of a well-used, well-loved item. Well, his is more of an obsession than a penchant, but that's a whole other story.

I love the uniqueness of each treasure we unearth. The story that it tells, the sense of history, of being tied to something more lasting and enduring than the latest mass merchant bargain buy. I love the feeling of honoring tradition, of carrying on bygone ways and practices, of remembering where one came from, and of, in a broad Adam-and-Eve-we-all-came-from-one-place sense, family.

Since we met, we have enjoyed antique shopping, thrift store bargain hunting, swap-meet browsing, and in the more modern ways of tracking down those wonderful heirlooms, ebaying and craigslisting... We have found some really neat pieces - an old typewriter for me (the fold-up type with carrying case), a melodian for our living room (with beautiful rosewood octagon legs and ivory keys), a shoe button hook, a Gibson girl blouse, spats, boater hats, a church bench (made by Chris' great-great-great grandfather), an old slot machine, a beautiful brass cash register, too-many-to-count phonographs, and all sorts of odds and ends.

Now, with a baby in tow, we are able to blend our love of antiques and our daughter into a new hobby. Finding items that we will enjoy sharing with her has already become a fun pasttime. Her nursery, while not yet set up, has been long dreamed about, and instead of some trendy, frilly, dime-a-dozen standard matching set, we've been accumulating hand-me-downs and family heirlooms to decorate it with. We have a lovely "Over the Rainbow" wall hanging my mother was given while pregnant with me (which hung in my nursery), some beautiful quilts made by Chris's Nanny, outfits we wore, and toys we had, as well as some new quilts that are handmade in the old style. Now that we're almost moved in, I've been allowing myself to look for items for her room, and last weekend was delighted to find this gorgeous little school desk and chair. It is just so quiant and perfectly suited for a little girl who I know will one day love playing school. It even has an old inkwell hole in it. This is a really unique desk - most of the desks of this era had the seats attached to the front of the desk, so to have a complete set, you'd need 1 1/2 of them. This one has a little chair that sits by itself, and is just such a cute little design, I couldn't pass it up. With a little cleaning and touching up, this will be great in the corner of her room, where I'm sure her teddy bears will sit studiously until she is old enough to play there herself.