We actually started our fun day in the little town of Wake Forest {which, if you're from Raleigh, it's still basically Raleigh to you}. The brick building is Old Magnolia Trading Company, and the white one next to it is The Old English Tea Room. I love both of these places but for very different reasons. Old Magnolia is light and bright inside and you feel like the whole store is a treasure chest and I want to take home EVERYTHING in that store. I should have taken pictures on the inside but I will the next time I stop by. I guess I just got swept up in the moment!
{That's my cute little momma sitting out front.}
The Tea Room is actually just that! The main floor is a restaurant where ladies dress up their little girls to have tea, you can actually pick a hat from a box at the entrance to fancy yourself up for tea and ladies from the Red Hat Society have tea there everyday! It is a charming little place with an antique store downstairs. With a little digging you will probably come across a gem or two to take home. *Funny fact about the tea room, the Mr. actually lived in the apartment above it his freshman year of college at Southeastern Theological Seminary and the sweet ladies there used to bring him and his roommates all the leftover teas and goodies from the day. So I know that must be good people to feed poor hungry college boys :)
Lunch at Shorty's was one of my highlights for the day. I lived in Raleigh my whole life and had never eaten at Shorty's. Mom recommended it and I was glad she did...I think I could have ate two of those cheese dogs. YUM! It was fun to sit at the counter and feel like we had stepped back into time about 50 years. The guy above works at Shorty's and saw me taking pictures around inside and asked if I wanted him to take my picture. I said no, then he said, " You want to take my picture?!" he was so bubbly and happy I said Sure! I asked him if he was Shorty but he wasn't. Oh well, now I know when I go to Shorty's I'll be surrounded by sweet people.
Up until this point I had not found much. Just an old milk glass {I'll share all my treasures either tomorrow or Thursday, so check back to see them!} that I thought would be a nice vase or carafe. This was the golden nugget of them all! Suzanna's Antiques was my little playground for the day. They had beautiful things stuffed in every corner and I had to keep telling myself "you have a budget and a list, stick to them!" I could have bought so many cute things for my house but I was a woman on a mission! I'm happy to say I didn't stray, either.
The whole place was charming and full of things to make even the least creative person dream a little.
The booth in the pictures above was probably my favorite there. Whoever owned it certainly put a lot of time into staging it and "prettifying" it...and it showed! Very girlie and cute.
What a cute idea! All those pretty pearl buttons in a mason jar...easy, cheap and pretty, just the way I like it people. And y'all know how I'm a sucker for filling glass containers with something like buttons, or more recently...candy corn.
Gorgeous! There's just something about this image that I'm obsessed with.
Chandeliers {and my true weakness of the day} birdcages were everywhere! I really, really wanted to take one home but it is something that will just have to wait for another day. But they are there for you!
Not only do they have some of the best antiques in town, but they DEFINITELY had the best pumpkins in town! Just look at these beauties. The man working there said he just brought them in from the mountains that week...and he had a great price on them too, much cheaper than the grocery store.
I had so much fun exploring all these little places and most of all with my mom. I cannot wait to have another outing like this again soon. I hope if any of you are ever near that you would find one of these sweet little places that make Raleigh just so great.
oh, heather, you ate at shorty's. do you know how much my family hearts shorty's? well, it's a lot. i'm glad you enjoyed it! hugs from liberia
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