before the first frost

On the square a few days before the first frost, which is anticipated this weekend.

I have no idea what this first plant is.  Its yellow chartreuse colored pods have that glowy effect from the afternoon sunlight shining through them. 

 

I love these dahlias....

And these.

 

 I'm going to miss all of this.

sweet home

This is my friend John Bell's vintage shop located on Kavanaugh in the Hillcrest neighborhood of  Little Rock.  Sweet Home has great pottery, furniture, lighting fixtures, you name it.  I find something I love every time I visit.  

more fun stuff

framed needlepoint kitty.....mesmerizing. 

18"x18"  $34

70's turquoise glass dish

8" long  $9

retro floral pillow, in great condition

20"x20"  $36

the birds

Just got these from my friend, artist padee black, who forms them out of single strands of wire. Suitable for indoor or garden use. They look like scribbly pencil sketches against a paler background.

birds lg $22  sm $13

merchandise

small 3 1/2" decorative  

japanese plates 

$9 each

october fun

windowshop by day and by night

Yesterday I went to the shop in the afternoon to do some furniture arranging and ended up walking around the square with KPT to the bank.  The gardens on the square have that end of the season, full blown look that is not quite so tidy as their middle of the summer look and is therefore much more appealing to me.  

Back on E. Mountain, ddp, who was at the gallery hanging a new show that opens the 16th, agreed to take a break to walk with me to Little Bread on Block St to get some fresh bread and cookies.  We stopped in on the way to visit the new green clothing store--not sure what the name is--that is opening soon a couple of doors up from the bakery and then at the new Handmade yarn shop location, which is also on Block St, near Hugo's. I like strolling along Block St, and the addition of these two new interesting retail businesses is going to make it that much more fun.  

A little closer to home we stopped in  at Terra Tots, which is next door to Jammin' Java to see what was new with regard to green children's clothing and toys.  I love Terra Tots' stuffed animals and am thinking they would make good safe toys for my dogs.  

What a great place to walk!  I'm also close enough to Dickson Street to visit on foot what is the best used bookstore I've ever encountered, a warren of walkways with books to the ceiling on every subject imaginable. On the way back it's fun to stop by Flora, the smallest, loveliest, little box of a flower shop.  It is on Block St as well. 

When you go to Flora, don't get too distracted by all those great flowers to forget to look up at the ceiling.  Through the skylight embedded in the very peak of the roof, there's a surprising view of the sky.  It is an always changing, perfectly silent image.

On the Square

This couch in the east window was a great perch from which to drink prosecco and watch last year's Fayetteville High School Homecoming parade.

One door off the Fayetteville downtown square at #3 E. Mountain is where you will find windowshop in the storefront of an old three story building, which also houses Kathy Thompson's art class space, her huge art studio on the upper floor, and a music studio in the basement.  The ddp art gallery is two doors down.

The shop is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by appointment other times. I'm only a few minutes away and do most of my business in off hours.  Saturday is a great time to visit downtown Fayetteville because March through November the Farmers' Market is in full swing on the square.  My  corner of the square is home to the animal rescue operation's personnel and their pack of tail wagging adoptable dogs.  A Thai family runs a produce stand on this corner as well.  A good thing since their little girls love to pop in an out of the shop all morning for chocolates, to visit, and to sit in the pint size bentwood rocker parked out front.  

Close by in the next block are vendors selling coffee, baked goods, and a gringo in a sombrero who sells great breakfast burritos and tamales out of an ice chest. Music from the numerous street musicians fills the air.  I am always late for work and hurry to unlock and prop open the door, turn on some music, and drag some chairs out into the entryway for the many visitors who stop by to visit each Saturday.  

The shop is filled with vintage furniture, friends' artwork, and decorative items that I pick up at flea markets and estate sales.  I do consignment furniture sales for people, so I don't have to spend too much time looking for large pieces for the shop.  

I started the business a little over a year ago as a creative outlet and way to meet people since at that point I was a new resident of Fayetteville, having moved here recently from Little Rock with my husband who now works for the U of A.  I teach writing online, a solitary job, so the shop is a social outlet as well.