Under a Blue Moon

Yesterday I spent the day in San Francisco.  I always feel like such a grown up when I can manage to get there, find the parking garage, do my shopping and leave the city without getting lost.  And I did it!  Yay me!

I always park at the Sutter/Stockton garage because it is right there by Union Square and that is where I do most of my shopping when in San Francisco.  It’s also right by Chinatown which was my main destination on this particular trip.   The touristy, shlocky shop part of Chinatown because I wanted to buy some paper wallets.

What are paper wallets, you ask? 

They are the perfect size for your checkbook.  I also use mine to store my receipts and those frequent buyer cards everyone seems to have now.  I’ve carried a paper wallet in my purse since the late 70’s – my Mom bought me one and I just replace it every couple of years when it gets worn out.

They open up just like a regular checkbook cover only they have two compartments inside. 

I really just like the imagery.  What’s funny is that the selection hasn’t changed in the past 25 years.  Every five years or so I go and buy a few to have on hand and the same ones are always available.  The price has gone up.  They used to be about a dollar and now they are $3.99 each.  Still a bargain for a little loveliness if you ask me.

I also stopped in a linen store while there and bought the sweetest pair of pillow cases (you can see a glimpse of it under the wallets on the left). 

I really didn’t have any other shopping in mind so I just wandered around the Union Square area and window shopped.  I did pop into Britex which is a marvel of a fabric store.  Four stories of fabrics, trims and notions.  The entire third floor is all notions.  You should see the wall of buttons they have.  And the ribbons – oh my.   If anyone watches Project Runway you know how they always have the designers shopping in this fabulous fabric store (well, when they are actually allowed to use fabrics) – Britex is like that.  Bolt after bolt of unusual fabrics.

On Monday I was finally feeling almost human so I decided to spend a few hours at the 57th Street Antique Mall in Sacramento.  I was there a month or so ago with Rick but I do so much better at shopping when I don’t feel like someone is keeping a close eye on my wallet.  Not that Rick ever does that ~ surely I’m projecting ~ but still.  I do like to browse and take my time and not feel like someone would much rather be anywhere else and is just indulging me.  Again with the projecting.

So before we head off on this little adventure I have to explain a slight character failing of mine.  Ever so slight.  I have the worst sense of direction.  If I can get lost I surely, and most spectacularly, will.  So I Google mapped the driving directions to the antique place since it is way the heck on the other side of Sacramento from where I am.  Directions are straightforward and simple – two freeways, one exit, two rights and I’m there. 

I’m typing this from a little cafe in Montana while I wait for Rick to come fetch me.  Okay it wasn’t quite that bad and honestly Google gave me totally bogus directions.  The exit it said to take doesn’t even exist.  So I ended up in, I don’t know, Stockton or something and finally had to call Rick to get me out of this mess.  He is used to these calls.   It took me an hour and 40 minutes to take a 30 minute ride. 

Finally I pull into the parking lot and would you look at that – the parking is awesome today.  Suspiciously awesome.  The stupid place was closed.  Hello?  People go antiquing on Mondays, don’t they?  Evidently not.

So I went out again today with better driving directions and made it unscathed and the doors weren’t locked.  I brought my camera with me because I wanted to take a picture of a cabinet full of doll parts that we saw the last time were were there.  It was just so freaky looking.  But it was gone.  I did buy a pressed glass egg plate that I saw last time and have since thought about a great deal.  I was pleased to see it still there since I generally don’t have that kind of shopping luck. 

I wish this picture turned out better but I’m always self-conscious about taking pictures in stores.  It was so pretty in person.  All that sparkly pink and green glass together. 

I love pressed glass.  I love the whole idea behind pressed glass.  A way to mimic the look of more expensive cut glass so the masses could enjoy pretty glassware.  It’s just so humble and accessible.

The ladies at the 57th Street Antique Mall are totally on to me too.  They knew what I was really after and kept directing me to certain booths with secret drawers and boxes.  "Pssst – over here.  Come see this.  Surely you can’t resist these lovelies…."