Tag: shopping

J P Doyles Pub – Tarrytown New York

After a long day of walking through the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery we decided it was probably a good idea to find something to eat before heading the 3+ hours home. At first we had a hard time figuring out where to go as it seemed most eateries in this area were swank and out of our price range but then we came across this little pub in town and we were not disappointed!

It was as small place, dimly lit as a pub should be, and the staff were exceptionally sweet. The menu was very small and simple (which is GREAT if you’re one of those people who have a hard time making decisions!) We decided to try their spinach dip first and it was sooo good I ate way too much! I had ordered the grilled chicken sandwich and my partner in crime was intrigued by the Horseman Burger which read, “As seen on Man v. Food!”

That had to have been the best grilled chicken sandwich I’ve ever had at an establishment like this. It melted in my mouth and popped with the flavor of red peppers and soft brioche bread. Sadly, I ate literally three bites before I couldn’t eat anymore. The waitress came by and asked if something was wrong with it and I emphatically said no, that I’d just filled up on the spinach dip before giving her a big smile. She started to laugh, patted me on the shoulder and brought out of a box. Little was I to know that in that big smile was a piece of spinach the size of Kentucky. She knows I wasn’t lying!! Meanwhile the burger was indeed big (10 oz) but was pretty standard fare for a pub – which isn’t bad but that grilled chicken sandwich was way better!

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Endless Treasures – Jaffrey New Hampshire

Its funny when you finally notice the things you have passed by dozens of times. Endless Treasures was deffinately that but to be fair I dont think its been there for that long.

This place was an absolute trip. The sign out front reads, “Group Shop – Consignment – Vintage – Collectibles – Antiques – Thrift Items.” And it didn’t lie! Never have I seen a shop so uncertain of what it actually was. Was it an antique store? An artist friendly market? A thrift store? ALL OF THE ABOVE!

And because it was having such an intense identity crisis it was an adventure walking through the isles. I must say there was a surprising amount of nice furniture for exceptionally decent prices. Mixed in with these were genuine antiques like a series of old wooden canary cages whose labels read bafflingly, “European bird house.” And then there was an assortment of bizarre DIY folk art and retro Halloween decorations dotting several of the vendor booths.

And then I found the weirdest thing to take home. It was so funny I took a video.

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1810 House B&B and Antiques – Wolfboro New Hampshire

Main street antique stores with well-arranged display cases are fun but as for myself I prefer the quirkier establishments – basement antiques, mill antiques, and of course barn antiques. Much to my delight this store was in a barn out back of a cute little B&B. It was so quintessentially White Mountain-y.

And for being a barn it was WELL ventilated and cool. We saw all sorts of antiques, most of which were clearly linked to the local area. Ancient toys, old farming tools, a couple accordions, even a wooden opium pillow. What wasn’t to love? It was halfway like shopping and halfway like visiting a roadside country museum. I loved every bit of this place from its rustic inventory, to the chickens out back, to the cute little inn next door. It was the perfect way to end our journey into the white mountains and if you’re in the area go check it out! It’s a lot of fun!

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Rockin’ Thru the Ages Antiques and Collectibles – East Laconia New Hampshire

We were having such a great day we weren’t ready to go home just yet so we looked up another antique store and found the Rockin’ Thru the Ages Antiques which was… an absolute riot. LOVED this place! It was the only antique store I’ve ever been to that had mini golf course out the back door. And inside? A rock wall. Clearly this place used to be something else but now it was an antique store I was loving how quirky it was.

This place was after my heart when right at the entrance there was two ventriloquist dummies sitting on the floor, slack-jawed, just gawking at people coming in. One was a Howdy Doody and the other was the same dummy I keep finding and not being able to buy. He was fully intact and only $35 and obviously almost came home with me. Only reason he didn’t was because he ended up being a pull string doll instead of a proper ventriloquist dummy. SIGH. SO CLOSE.

The main floor of this place was nice, spacious, good variety of things. My companion was a little weirded out by the display case of Nazi medals at the back. I was more freaked out by the wrought iron handcuffs that had a little label stating they were from a prison back in the day. Clearly an otherwise bright and happy store had this weird corner of human depravity. We shuffled off.

Downstairs was more fun because it was the epitome of basement antiques. SO MANY CLOWNS. And they were all hobos. Why? NO IDEA. I was already working through my own hobo related trauma after learning Candy Mountain, that sweet, adorable children’s song, actually had several lyrics that were censored from the final cut. Basically, it was narrated by a runaway boy telling a hobo pedophile to fuck off. And that’s what I was thinking about when I saw the hobo clowns. Adding clown make-up to the mix did not help.

All kidding aside this place had some weird things including a leather wine holder in the shape of a rooster. And the prices were unbeatable. I found an antique ceramic Jack-O-Lantern and brought him home for $5.

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Defiant Records and Craft Beer – Laconia New Hampshire

You find the weirdest things when you’re not looking for anything in particular. I remember reading something that was basically a whole belief system based on the power of going on daily walks. And you know what? As kooky as it sounds I’m not going to disbelieve there isn’t some whimsical hand of chaos at play here.

A great example of this was Defiant Records and Craft Beer. I am a teetotaler. I do not go to bars. But on this day we were walking down the street exploring and on the look out for a bathroom. We thought this establishment might be obliging to such a thing and they were! ‘Course there was only one stall so as I waited for my companion I was left to look around and this place… it was nice! A sweet little hipster bar in the middle of Laconia selling used records in the back for five bucks a pop. How cute is that?? Also loved the bloody Jason mannikin at the entrance.

I don’t know man, if I were into alcohol or looking to cruise for a date in the area this might be a fun little stop.

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New Hampshire Vintage Vinyl – Laconia New Hampshire

After spending a delightful afternoon in the Laconia Antique Center we decided to continue the day by taking a stroll down the street to see what Laconia had to offer. It’s always a fun way to get to know the personality of a town. So, with nothing in mind we ambled aimlessly and found a sweet little record shop.

I love going into these places. They’re usually super small, cramped, dark little dungeons full of old records in milk crates. This place… it was quite a bit more modern. It was well lit with an open-air feel. Records were scattered in various parts of the shop but the rest had musical instruments, supplies, CDs, and other media. It was like a tiny musical Woolworths. With interesting decorating style as the walls were plastered with music posters and similar imagery.

I don’t know if this place takes part in Record Store Day but it should. It’d be a nice stop!

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Innisfree Bookshop Laconia New Hampshire

The last few independent bookstores we wandered into were… underwhelming. I think they were going out of business. So, it was refreshing to find a little bookstore that actually seemed to be doing well. This was an adorable little main street bookshop. It wasn’t big but the variety was nice. They even had a small game section, some plushies, and children’s room out back but I was too distracted by the local history section. What a selection! This place knew I was coming!

I ended up with THREE local history books relating to the cemeteries, folklore, and fantastic events. I felt that they might be great inspiration for further travel adventures. And we shall see! I had to leave after finding three books because if I didn’t, I would have bought that whole shelf.

The woman at the counter was very sweet and gave me a cool extra sturdy bag because I said I was just travelling through and walking through the streets finding different shops. It was great because we weren’t anywhere near the car anymore and it held all my books with ease. I think I’ll be stopping in here again in the future to paw through the local history section again. Never have I seen such a great selection!

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Laconia Antique Center – Laconia New Hampshire

Sometimes we end up at destinations just because that’s where our lazy google searches suggest. This one came up because it was the largest antique center in New Hampshire and we figured it’d be worth the drive. And it was! My goodness!

It was two VERY full floors and some of the things here were definitely different from other antique stores! One corner seemed to have a collection of automatic playing pianos, organs, and an old timey wooden telephone booth that looked like it may have been ripped from someone’s 1930’s parlor. Just aside that there was a FULL 1950’s SODA FOUNTAIN COUNTER with stools, shiny equipment, and an endearing menu that included milkshakes, frappes, and root beer floats. I have no idea when they had a server around but it wasn’t today. Sadly. I wouldn’t have minded a root beer float. I was fondly remembering the first time I ordered one in front of a group of horrified Europeans. Apparently, the rest of the world does not lob gobs of ice cream into their soda. Their loss! It’s a fun way to get diabetes. Did I mention the music they were playing here was mostly 1950’s hop music? So. Flipping. Cute.

The rest of the first floor was filled with the usual vendor booths and small items. A lot were clearly marketed towards bikers which made sense as Laconia Bike Week is huuuge every summer. Other books included a fascinating volume of English history, a book on cryptids, and lots of weird recipe books. Scattered among them were a lot of plastic dolls in varying levels of creepiness. There was even a possessed Snow White with red eyes. Why red eyes? No idea. Maybe she was getting ready for Halloween. There was also a tub of 30 naked Barbies for $45 which I had to debate not buying because I really want to start doing creepy doll make overs… the artist in me is bored. Or just procrastinating being an adult. Whatever you believe.

Speaking of letting my inner child play the upstairs was ADORABLE. There were a series of fully set up model trains with complete villages. And hidden among one we found Ninja Turtles protecting the streets from… bad guys? I forgot what Ninja Turtles fight but they were there! So were some dinosaurs. Because we like to be historically accurate these days. There were signs up letting you know when the trains run – only a few hours every weekend. It’s a bleeding shame we were there on a weekday because I think my heart may have melted if they were running.

We left empty handed that day but that’s mostly because I don’t have a cabin in the woods to install an old cast iron cook stove. This place was wonderful and well worth the drive. If you are looking for a little antiquing adventure punctuated with lots of nostalgia you absolutely should check this place out!

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Green Fields Market – Greenfield Massachusetts

It’s kind of funny, I am a bit jaded because I have been so many places and done so many things but it’s always a real joy for me to bring someone along who hasn’t. After enjoying quite a good chunk of time at Whitney Hall Antiques we decided to amble up the street a bit and see what was there in the way of shops and whatnot. And the first we came to was a grocery store. My companion was curious so we went in.

We were immediately greeted by an impressive produce section for a city market. It seemed to have everything – loose hot peppers of all kinds, fresh full figs, several other fruits and berries I had little to no recognition of, and all the usual things you find but so fresh looking! I was impressed. This was almost a farmer’s market.

As we walked in further I found the first fresh kombucha machine I’d ever encountered with no less than four flavors to choose from. As much as I appreciate the health benefits of a good kombucha I had to pass. That stuff really smells. But to each their own! Around the corner there was a grind your own coffee bean station with several different varieties to choose from and there was a whole isle dedicated to bulk things which included but was not limited to carob chews, granola, various oats and grains, dried beans, nuts, really anything you could think of being dispensed in such a way.

I’d been to these little hippie/hipster markets before and I absolutely adore them. I used to get granola at a place like this to put on top of my yogurt in the morning. It’s these simple luxuries that can make life so worth the little moments.

ANYWAY, if you’re in town check it out! Never know what delicious thing you’ll find. (And also props to the giant paper mâché cow sitting above the dairy! It was adorable!)

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Whitney Hill Antiques – Greenfield MA

One thing about exploring new places is that if you do it often enough you will run out of things to poke at in the area and will have to travel farther and farther away. That’s when it’s nice to have stops along the way! On this particular venture we wandered to a different corner of Massachusetts, one I had very little familiarity with. At the end of our destination, we were promised a large antique store, and we were not disappointed!

Whitney Hill Antiques is a multi-vendor antique mall that spans over three eccentric floors. As with every antique store we go to this one had its own character and on this particular day that would be because it was LOADED with paintings, photos, and other portraits of probably long dead children. You know the sort of thing you hang on your wall as an insta-ancestor or to beckon a haunting at your place. Seriously. Creepy, haunted, children. Swarms of them.

Not to be outdone there was also an assortment of terrifying dolls – one was even three feet tall. Don’t do that. Don’t make dolls 3 feet tall. It’s alarming. Another bizarre find was the first porcelain doll I have ever seen that possessed a mask. Why, I could not tell you. Perhaps it needed to hide its identity while haunting some poor child’s bedroom.

With this many vendors there was A LOT to go through and we spent a few hours here just overwhelmed by the variety of weird things. And most were pretty decently priced too. This definitely wasn’t a high-end market. I didn’t bring anything home this time, but this is definitely somewhere I would visit again and suggest to others who may be in the area.

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