Lots going on at Bittersweet and Barbwire antique and vintage mall.  New dealers have moved in with more to come!  Booths still available, both 6' x 8' and 4' x 4'.  Bonus shelf above each booth. Call or come by to reserve your space!

Open daily 10-5.  Located at 2292 N. Truman Blvd., Crystal City.  636-638-2333

Sneak Peek at some vendors at Bittersweet and Barbed Wire

We are getting ready for opening day, early February!  I thought you might like a sneak peek at some of the vendors and their merchandise!

Bittersweet and Barbed Wire, New Antique Mall

Goodness, it's been such a long time since my last post!  Lots of changes since then.  I sold my home after living there for almost 20 years.  After a 6 month search and living in a tiny apartment,  I finally found a house.  My new home is not perfect, but seems perfect for me.

I have a  new venture that I am so excited to share!  I'm opening up an antique mall in Crystal City, Missouri.  It's about a 30 minute drive from St. Louis off  I55 south.  I'm calling it "Bittersweet and Barbed Wire". I'm looking for quality vintage/antique dealers.  Call 636-638-2333 to reserve your spot today.

Blueberry Tartlets by Butter, Basil and Breadcrumbs

I always wonder what people do with the items they purchase from me. Prudy from the beautiful blog Butter, Basil and Breadcrumbs purchased one of my vintage tins to display her delicious blueberry tartlets.  Look closely in the back left of the photo and you may see it.  Although Prudy used  a tin from my shop, this post is about sharing her blog and recipes.

I love the way she uses vintage items in her photos.  Not only are her photos beautiful and inspiring, the recipes are given as well. Here's the the recipe for the tartlet.

Here is the tin Prudy used, you have to admire the vision she had when she purchased it, right?   A nice tin, but fairly plain.  She had a plan right from the beginning.  On her blog you will see many photos of other vintage items she used for inspiration.

  

These old tins are great to recycle as gift containers.  Use a pretty paper liner, fill with cookies, candies or a little gift and embellish with old ribbon, millinery and a tag.  Who wouldn't like to receive a gift like that for a birthday, special occasion or Christmas?

 I know I will be visiting Butter, Basil and Breadcrumbs often!  Thanks so much Prudy for letting me use your photos.  I look forward  to seeing your future posts.

Sad To See It Go, But Glad It Found A New Home. My Kitchen Hoosier Like Cabinet.

Do you have things that you have mixed feelings about selling?  I've had this kitchen cabinet for so many years.  I've used it to display just about everything.  Here is a picture of it fully loaded when it was in my Kimmswick store.  It had a enamel top and was complete with a flour bin.

 I got a call Saturday night that this hoosier like cabinet had sold. I was shocked.  Someone just walked in a loved it.  I didn't know whether to be happy about the sale or sad.  Either way, I know I will miss it.

Same location but with a few different items.

         At times I used it for my candles, but really preferred it with kitchen collectibles.

 

Here it is when I was moving into General Grant Antique Mall a year ago, my last photo of it. My booth has evolved over the last year and  is packed!  It took me 4 1/2 hours to rearrange it yesterday, but that is part of the business.  I know the cabinet  went to a great new home.  It is gone but not forgotten!   I'll just have to hunt for another one!

Happy 4th of July! A visit to Stuckmeyer's Farm Market and Greenhouse.

Wishing each of you a happy and safe 4th of July!

Another day trip with my daughter.  I couldn't find any estate sales so first a trip to a bakery, then off to Stuckmeyer's   Farm Market and Greenhouse.   I have driven past here many times but this was my first visit.

This is my daughter's  first year growing herbs.  The rain ruined several of her plantings so we were happy to find a couple healthy Rosemary plants here to replace them at 40% off.  There is nothing like the end of season sales.

Inside we found fresh blackberries, squash, tomatoes, peaches and a watermelon for today.  It's just not the 4th of July without a watermelon!  I wanted to try their country eggs but they were out.  Maybe next time, I know we will go back soon!  I'm looking forward to visiting the pumpkin patch this fall.

Find more information here:
http://stuckmeyers.com/

4 PIECE VICTORIAN PARLOR SET FOR SALE

I am offering this beautiful 4 piece Victorian parlor set for sale. I used it for several years in my retail store as a display. It does need some TLC. The two chairs have casters that are not shown. Original upholstery and wood finish. Local pick up only. I will consider any reasonable offer, just leave a comment if interested.

My Son James

My son James passed on June 29, 2014. He was 31. This picture was taken several years ago but is a favorite. James is on the left, his brother Thomas on the right.

Words cannot express our feelings right now. Our hearts are breaking and our lives will never be the same. I want to thank everyone who came to his Memorial Service, especially the ones who traveled many miles. Contributions can be made to the CBC soccer program in his name. The outpouring of love and support has been comforting to us and is appreciated. It will not be forgotten.

My Storage Units

It's been one year since I closed my retail store in Kimmswick, Missouri. It was a difficult move and I ended up with 2 units instead of the one I had planned on. I just emptied the smaller unit which I think was about 10' x 10".

Some of these items were moved to the larger storage unit, but most were moved into my new booth at the new General Grant Antique Mall. More about my booth (booth #55) to come later.

Just to show you what is left to be done, here is the larger unit.

This unit is 10' x 30", the largest they have. Hopefully it won't take another year to figure out where to place all this merchandise. It is almost like going shopping again opening all the boxes and finding items I've completely forgotten about.

A LITTLE GREEN FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY

A green afghan to keep you warm since March has been so cold this year!

Some stirrers for those hot drinks!

Utensil holder.

Green buttons.

1960's Date Book. Make sure you mark March 17th!

Happy Valentines Day!

Is it really suppose to look like this on Valentine's Day? More snow on the way!

How about a few Valentine's to warm your heart? Isn't that what it's all about anyway? This one is sweet and most of us can remember exchanging these at school parties.

These are from a mid century tablet of funny valentines and are sure to bring a smile.

Last, but not least, curl up next to a warm fire with a cup of tea and read an ideals publication, full of heartwarming illustrations, stories and poems.

JOY OF COOKING AND OTHER GREAT VINTAGE COOKBOOKS

It's another cold, snowy day here in St. Louis. A perfect day to pull out all those cookbooks and find the perfect comfort food recipe. Of course, the Joy of Cooking is a classic, known to most people who enjoy cooking. This one is dated 1971 and is by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker. It contains over 4,300 recipes.

On a recent trip to Kansas City, I found 3 vintage cookbooks. There are great cookbooks being published now but many are more like coffee table books, full of large photos, not so many recipes. Not so with the vintage ones, they have page after page of tips on selecting, preparing, serving foods. Most recipes are basic and easy to make with ingredients you already have on hand. I have my mother's favorite recipe books and use them all the time. Maybe you will remember seeing or using a few of these.

The New McCall's CookBook by Mary Eckley. Dated 1973. Over 600 recipes.

The Redbook Cookbook by McCall's Publishing Company, dated 1971. It contains over 1000 recipes!

Larousse Treasury of Country Cooking. Contains French Provincial Recipes as well as recipes from 50 other countries by Vineyard Books. Dated 1975. Contains over 500 pages.

More information on these and other great cookbooks including The Settlement Cookbookcan be found in my etsy shop Antiques Galore Gal

SAYING MERRY CHRISTMAS WITH GOODWILL THRIFT ITEMS!

This beautiful tree is in my youngest daughter's apartment. She chose to use red and green colors this year. Not only is it beautiful, it is almost completely decorated with ornaments and trims from estate sales and our Goodwill Outlet. We visit the Goodwill Outlet often, it's where everything is sold by the pound. You just load up your cart, push it on a scale and out the door you go!

Most of the ball ornaments were purchased from estate sales we went to for $2.00 a box. This one, however, was a "freebie" given out by an antique store with purchase. They wouldn't let us buy it, but fortunately, my daughter found a set of dishes she wanted so it went home with her.

It's a heavy ornament, made of glass and opens to a Christmas tree. It will be treasured for many years, not only because it's a beautiful ornament, but the memories that will come with.

Did you get a good look at the tree skirt? It was a goodwill find. We thought it was an afghan at first. Can you imagine someone donating this? Of course, it went right in our cart and has found a home. In bright red, white and green colors, how lucky was that?

Now for the crocheted tree topper, also a goodwill find. I thought it was probably used to cover a bottle and used as a decorative piece. My daughter had another idea and it became the tree topper.

I just wanted to mention that everywhere I shopped this year, I was told "Merry Christmas", not Happy Holiday and I very much appreciated that! It's the first time in several years that this has happened. I vowed a few years ago to not send Christmas cards unless Christmas was mentioned. No Season's Greetings or Happy Holiday cards from me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!! And hoping you have the best New Year!