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I grew up in Roanoke, Virginia where a neon sign of an H&R coffee pot loomed large over the historic downtown market and a huge neon star shown across the Roanoke Valley.  These two icons from my childhood led to my lasting love of neon signs.

When I was young I had no idea how the amazing colors were created or how neon could make it look as if coffee poured from a pot and into a cup.  I have since learned that neon signs are made using electrified, luminous tubes of light that contain neon or other gases.  Although only neon gas was originally used in “neon” signs, it is now simply used to make the reds and oranges we see. Argon, or an argon-neon mixture, is now used in most signs to produce a range of colors, along with adding phosphorous to sides of the bent glass tubing.  To improve the color of the light, a small amount of mercury can be added as well. When the tube is ionized by electrification, the mercury evaporates into mercury vapor, which fills the tube and produces strong ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet light interacts with the phosphor coatings in the tube to produce different colors.

As you travel around the country, you’ll find both old and new neon signs.  Of course, you’ll see dozens of neon signs for beer, but I’m a fan of the large, bold neon signs that take artistry to create.  And if you happen to be visiting Roanoke, Virginia make sure you look up on Mill Mountain for a glimpse of the neon star – then you’ll know you are in the Star City of the South.

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I fell in love with miniature rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago. I have seen miniature portraits before at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, S.C. but never an entire miniature room. You might think that a miniature room is simply a type of dollhouse, but they are so much more.

Miniature rooms are created on a scale of 1 inch in miniature to 1 foot in real life (or 1:12). Everything is precisely represented in this scale, from lighting fixtures to the minute decorations on dining room chairs. One of the most famous collections, created by Mrs. James Ward Thorne, is housed at the Art Institute of Chicago. Mrs. Thorne began creating the rooms in the 1930’s using a collection of English and French miniature furniture pieces she had purchased during her travels abroad. Mrs. Thorne employed craftsmen during the depression to create and furnish more than 100 rooms. Many are exact replicas from houses in the United States and Europe. The rooms faithfully depict the architecture and interior design of their periods and countries, including rugs that she had specifically woven for each room.

English Reception Room of the Jacobean Period, 1625-1655

After you marvel at the craftsmanship in the Thorne Miniature Rooms gallery, there’s still so much more to see at the Art Institute of Chicago. There are famous French paintings, iconic American works, modern collections and Asian ceramics to enjoy. Whether you live nearby or are visiting Chicago for a few days, make sure you spend time at the Institute. You’ll be glad you did.

French Boudoir of the Louis XV Period, 1740- 1760

I confess to having 8 quilts, 10 hostess aprons, 9 saltcellars and 2 chandeliers from antique and thrift stores.  I simply love to stop into antique malls in small towns and to slip into thrift stores in big cities.  I still miss the huge thrift store in the Mission district of San Francisco. I don’t know of anywhere else that has fun and funky clothes sold by the pound.

My latest finds are 2 cut crystal coasters that were made to hold drinking glasses on a table.  I realized when I picked them up that old coasters are the perfect size to hold pillar candles.  My dining room table now has two beautiful and elegant candle holders that were just 2 dollars apiece.  My guess is that so few people use the crystal or silver coasters anymore that there isn’t much of a market for them… but as candle holders, they are perfect.

I always keep my eye out for old silver plate flatware.  I have a collection of mismatched forks, knives and spoons that I use for backyard parties. This is a fun and inexpensive item to buy at flea markets.  Since I haven’t tried to match patterns and simple buy a fork or knife here or there, I have quite a collection now.

Shopping must be in the air, because the thrift shops and antique stores are calling my name.  I guess it’s time to hunt for more crystal coasters.

*Update- Here is a podcast with Elizabeth discussing Christmas visits to downtown areas small towns broadcast on XM radio Hidden America!

It’s the time of year when I am thrilled to get out and go shopping. It sounds crazy, but I enjoy the cold air and all the decorations. There are presents to buy, goodies to make and holiday meals to prepare for. With big shopping malls everywhere, it can be easy to overlook the local shops that line the Main Streets in small towns, but those shops can offer so much.

Here is Charlottesville, VA we have a vibrant downtown area. There are art galleries which feature regional artists, small bookstores that carry the newest writers, as well as hidden literary treasures, family owned pizzerias that make the best slices and an ice skating rink that’s open year round.

There are also many small towns around us with their own quaint and welcoming Main Streets. Culpeper, VA has shop after shop after shop. I love to have lunch at It’s About Thyme and then head down the block to one of several antique shops to hunt for a treasure or two. Staunton, VA, in the Shenandoah Valley, is a town with a rich architectural history and a downtown area with a great local diner and fun gift shops.

When you’re thinking about your holiday shopping keep in mind the wonderful local shops that are all around you.  You can take a quick drive to a nearby town or make a day trip out of it and really get to know a new Main Street near you.

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I took a little detour today from work.  I’m in Maryland for a meeting on technology innovation and wanted to see how well my phone would guide me on an outing for the day.  So, I Googled A Day’s Outing on my phone and low and behold it looks great.  I entered Potomac, MD as my starting location, asked for Antiques and said that I could drive 10 miles.  The search found 4 antique shops for me.  The map was a bit hard to see on our site, but it was easy to take the address and map it on Google.

And where did I end up?  I found myself in the town of Kensington. I had never even heard of it before, but it was a quick and easy drive from where I was.  The antique shop I was headed to was Acanthus Antiques. It has amazing furniture, but the treasures that struck me were jewelry, especially the charms.  There were simple charms and then there were ones with pearls, others with rubies and one amazing charm with a house, fence and tree on it, and it was encrusted with gems and pearls.  The old charms reminded me of ones on my mother’s bracelet.  I just loved them.

The area in Kensington with Acanthus Antiques, Grant Antiques and La Belle Epoque is what I think of as an old warehouse district.  When I turned on to the street I thought for a moment that I was in the wrong place. It took me a block or so to realize I was in the right place and that there were all sorts of shops around me.  After the antique store, I popped into Marco Polo Treasures. This shop is part of an old loading dock and is really cool.  There are accessories and furniture from Borneo and Bali, and the shop owner Deb Sagerholm was a delight to talk to.

All in all, my detour was fabulous.  I took and hour and a half and it felt like so much more.  It really is amazing what is right around the corner if you just look for it.