Miss Jean is a wonderful gardener and quilter. She shares her passions along with her love of family and the escapades of her Scottish Terrier, Maggie, on her blog,
"In the Garden with Miss Jean ".
Becky also has two Scotties, Mr. Duhgall and Miss Fiona. Her blog,
"Sweet Cottage Dreams"
is full of artistic photos of collectibles, cooking, decorating, do-it-yourself projects and of course those darling Scotties.
Sandi's blog
"The Green Pea Boutique"
is named after her store in Escalon, CA. She shares her love of antiques, unique finds and renovation. She and her husband have spent years transforming an old hardware store into a charming boutique with their trusty helper Barney by their sides.
We began our day at the Waffle Factory on Jackson Ave. in Escalon. It's a wonderful hometown kind of place where the patrons and employees all know each other. They seemed a bit concerned about the out-of-towner who wasn't sure if she was in the right place and didn't know the people she was looking for! Thank goodness Sandi showed up and put them all at ease by giving me a big welcoming hug. Then Becky and Jean came in and it was hugs and giggles all around! We had a great breakfast, nonstop conversation and a few more good laughs. Becky handed out some treats she made for all of us and took a few photos. I left my camera in the car at breakfast but I remembered to take photos of Becky's sweet gift when I got home. She baked wonderful little orange-apricot cookies and packaged them up with several ME items with a pretty little bow.
You gotta love a friend who enables your sweet tooth and your ME addiction!
That is Miss Jean on the left, Becky in the middle and Sandi on the right. You can see that this is a big store!
It's so big you almost need a guide. Who better than Barney the "Labrasset Hound". He can sniff out the best items and retrieve them for you too! Just don't expect him to do it quickly.
I spent some time just admiring the magnificent old building.
Break time already Barney?!
I had to get a photo of these great crocks for my hubby. We have several similar pieces that were made by the California Pottery Company in the Merced plant which closed in 1929 I believe. I think hubby's grandparents use them for processing olives from the two big olive trees on our lot.
Sandi had a lot of customers but finally got a chance to relax and visit some more. We enjoyed meeting her "non-blogging" customers and friends too, although I'm not sure what some of them thought about us giggly girls running around taking photos everywhere!
This is a sweet little vignette in the back of the store. Don't you just love that red window frame! Speaking of red, I found some great little red side tables for my living room. Sandi's husband and son even carried them across the street to my van for me. They were such sweethearts and I was glad we got to meet them too.
Doesn't Barney look comfortable just hanging out?
Dawn
