Holiday Shopping & Stuff

There's something going on around here. Little shops are springing up and it's exciting! Last Saturday, MJ and I galivanted about Williams County visiting shops. To give you a bit of background...Williams county lies in the very northwest corner of Ohio bordered by Indiana to the west and Michigan to the north. With a population of less than 38,000 you just know there's room to stretch. The county was hit hard by the economic woes the country faces and as of October 2011 the unemployment rate continues in double digits at 10%. 

So what's a rural area that relied on Detroit to do?

Get creative!  Set up shop! And oh how imaginative entrepeneurs are grabbing on to the possibilities and making them work...

Our first stop was at a holiday shop in West Unity.  You'll hear more about that shop in a later post, so let's travel down the road to Stryker, Ohio and...

The Green Awning

Yep, I've given you a bit of insight into the Green Awning in a previous post,but let me tell you...Kathy & Tom Short do it up right for the holidays.  Everything was bright, cheerful, and beautiful from antiques & old stuff in the window...

to the clove-studded oranges beneath an old stove...

After catching up with old friends and laughing at Kathy's Christmas hat, with a wave we were on way to Bryan and the...

East Mulberry Gift Cottage

What vintage love is found within the whimsical vignettes of Sharon & Gary Gyurnek's shop.  Birds in purses, perched on iron farm implement seats and everywhere creates a natural ambiance that pulls browsers and buyers into Sharon's world.  Look up....

  to find teacups hanging from twiggy branches on soft, silken ribbons.

Look down...

and there it is... a vintage suitcase just waiting to come home with me and be filled with dreams of far away places and crazy adventures.

Across the square sits Special Ocassions,one of my favorite stores in the area.  I'm saving this little gem for another post, so let's hurry out of town and to...

Fox Farms Christmas in the Barn

A clutch of hens and roosters greeted us as we walked toward the big barn.  Just outside the barn, a whimsical arrangement bid welcome and enter

Within the barn everlastings hung in huge bundles, ready to be crafted into wreaths, swags, garlands, and more. 

A loft circled with tiny white lights held more drieds

Karin Fox takes the everlastings and fashions one- of-a-kind-wreaths-and-designs. The Barn is open every Saturday through December 10th.

The Green Awning Gallery

Tom & Kathy Short

106 Defiance Street

Stryker, Ohio  43557

(419) 682-7432

E. Mulberry Gift Cottage

Sharon & Gary Gyurnek

847 E Mulberry Street

Bryan, Ohio  43506

(419) 630-0100

Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10-6  Saturday 10-4

Fox Farms

Jerry & Karin Fox

09 319 Rd 750

Edon, Ohio  43518

(419) 272-2278

Open every Saturday through December 10th 10-4

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A December Photo Challenge: 25 photos in 25 days

 December 1 Berries & Bokeh

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I'm not quite finished.  Don't forget about the Holiday Planner under the Gift for You page. You're welcome to download, copy it, print it, and share it anyway and anywhere you like. 

Have a delightful December Day!

Some Kinda Wonderful

I can't wait for the weekend to begin.  Tomorrow my dear friend, MJ is coming for a visit.  My daughter's friend from Dayton will arrive in the afternoon and we're all going to make holiday wreaths from fresh greens.  We did this last year and had such fun we just had to do a repeat.

We can't JUST create...oh no we're also planning to take in one or two local Christmas shops.  If there's time Special Ocassions in Bryan is filled with wonderful gifts and more ways to say it's the holidays than Santa has elves.

Another shop on my list of places to go is the East Mulberry Gift Cottage also in Bryan.  It conjures up visions of the past with vintage goodies. I wish the shops had websites to share, but alas they don't at this time.  I'm hoping the proprietors will allow me to snap a few photos to post.

We must stop by the Candy Cane Christmas Shop outside of Archbold.  The store is located in a defunct elementary school and filled to the rafters with everything needed to create the Christmas decor of your dreams.  The shop also carries charming toys not found in big box stores.     

Dinner and wine at Stella Blues, one of the swankiest restaurants in nw Ohio, is the plan for Saturday evening.

I'm brimming over with smiles and anticipation.  This is gonna be some kind of wonderful weekend!   

  

"A good friend is a connection to life -

 a tie to the past,

a road to the future,

the key to sanity in a totally insane world."   

                                                                           ~ Lois Wyse

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, too!