Antiques for Rainy Days

The wife and I work different schedules, and our days where we are off usually do not match.  I work when she is off, and we have to work hard to make sure we do have some days to spend together.  When I'm home alone, I get bored because I am like a child during summer break.  Today was a day where I was home alone, so I decided I was going to make the best of it.

I had a list of stores I wanted to check out, but I have not had a chance with my busy schedule.  As I have mentioned before, the wife is not super adventurous when it comes to finding new places.  I love finding new places.  It makes feel like a miner, looking for that next mountain to find my riches in gold.  Days where the wife has to work are perfect days for me to find new shops.

The first shop I hit was Itchy's Flea Market in Lee's Summit.  I have been wanting to check out this place since I saw it was in the works when I talked about us going to the one in Columbia.  Yes, it is owned by the same people, but it is a completely different feeling.  The one in Columbia has a garage sale feel to it, but the one in Lee's Summit is a little nicer.  Lee's Summit Itchy's is in a strip mall next to a Salvation Army store.  It is a single story building but has several booths in it.  There are some consignment items in there, such as a booth that is all DVDs for sale, but there are some nice items worked into the mix.

Mariam's Memories was next on the list for Lee's Summit.  The outside of the building made it look small, but I was surprised at how much stuff was inside. 

The store was packed with breakables, so leave anything bulky in the car.  Since it was raining, I had a coat on, and I felt a little nervous wearing it in the store.  The store has a main portion and then has a back room as well.  There is a lot of glass and jewelry in the front section.  The back section had more glass but also books.  There were complete sets of interesting books I would have loved to read, but I will leave that to a time when I have more time in my life and a library to store all of my books.

When I asked around about good antique stores in the area, everyone asked if I had been to the church.  I got directions, and I visited the church, the home of Henry's Antiques & Collectibles.  It is an old church building which has antiques on the first and second floors and a tea room in the basement. 

The merchandise was a little more fancy than what I prefer, but it was still fun to look.  The first floor had a small room which had kitchen items in it. 

There is a second floor, which is only a half floor, is found by following a step lined with old radios.  I had a lot of fun looking through the place, and I know that the wife will enjoy it as well.

Since I was in Lee's Summit, I decided to head to Greenwood to see what was there.  My parents have mentioned there are a few stores there in a cluster, so I thought it would be worth a shot.

As Time Goes By is the first store I found in the cluster.  There is a front porch, and it is full of stuff the wife would love to dig through, like old doors and windows.  The store has a main level and a basement.  The main level has several rooms to explore.  For the most part, the merchandise is separated enough to not cause an issue.  I would be worried to see the place with much traffic.  Some of the areas would cause quite a jam.  The shop is decorated well, and it is definitely a place for anyone who is pinning things to Pinterest.

Down the road is Greenwood Mercantile.  The shop has achieved the primitive feel very well.  Anyone who has read these posts knows that it is not my cup of tea.  However, I say that this shop did the feeling very well.  I felt like I walked into a little cabin.  There is a large, main room and a small room in the back.  The wife will definitely have to go to this store.

Greenwood Antique Mall & Tea Room is right across the street from the other two shops.  This is the typical antique mall with the typical feeling.  It is very nice size with plenty of things for everyone.  It felt like it was three separate buildings, and they utilize all of the space very well.

There is a fourth antique store in Greenwood but I missed it.  When the wife and I go back, we will definitely swing by and see what it is like.

My adventure then took me over to Grandview to a place called Joe's Town.  Joe's Town is a flea market/furniture store, and a shop owner suggested that I tried it.  If you are deciding on going over there, be warned that it is in a little rougher area.  I don't think the wife will ever see this location because the area would make her nervous. 

Joe's Town has a place for people to get their bills paid, so that kind of gives you an idea of what you are in for at the location.  However, it isn't a terrible place.  It is very large with a lot of furniture on one side of the store.  It would be a place that someone could dig and find something awesome.  Most of the places like that, in my book, are hit and miss.

The final stop of my adventure was Brown's Emporium in Independence.  This is definitely familiar shopping for me, but it is a fun shop to stop into to see what is different in the inventory.  Brown's Emporium is in a shopping center off of Noland Road, and it is a large store.  I wish I could remember what used to be at that location.  There is a section off to the right of the store, where there is an odd little hallway with antiques in it.  I cannot figure out what it used to be, but in antique fashion, Brown's has filled that area with antiques.  The variety of merchandise is pretty awesome, and it seems like it is constantly changing.  Therefore, if you see something you like, buy it; it might not be there the next time.  We learned that the hard way.

So, I have some new locations to share with the wife, and I killed an entire day doing what I love.  Until next time... Happy hunting!

Columbia, MO

Last weekend, we made a trip to Columbia, Missouri (and surrounding area) to go to some of their antique stores and flea markets.  This, by no means, was uncharted territory for us, but it is a location we don't frequent since it is a quite a drive from our home.

Our first stop was Artichoke Annie's, a favorite spot for the wives of the trip.  It is a clean location which opens at 8am, which gets the morning to a early start.  It should also be noted that it stays open until 8pm, so it actually makes a better ending to a trip since most shops only stay open as late as 7pm.  My dad always claims that Artichoke Annie's is set up for the women shoppers, which is probably fairly accurate.  It is a fun shop to look through, but I have never found anything to purchase on the trips there.  My wife and mother have purchased things from there on several occasions (this occasion was no different).  The shop is a great place to find quilts, glassware, kitchen oddities, and doilies/handkerchiefs.  Guys, you will find something to look at, so don't avoid this place.  They have comic books, vinyl albums, and odd gadgets scattered throughout the shop.

Next, we traveled down I-70 to a shop called Apple Wagon.  I will admit that this is not my favorite place at all, but we still always go since we are in the neighborhood.  The part that puts me off about this place is that half of the location is Fiesta factory seconds and "home decor".  We ignore this section of the store and walk through the other side.  This place is a little more disorganized than the other shops, but they still have some interesting vendors.  The vendor that sticks out to me is the antique fishing vendor.  The shop has depression glass, antique toys, and odds 'n' ends.  The wife and I have never purchased anything, but we have seen some things to keep in mind for when we move out to the "farm".


 Veranda Antique Mall was the next stop.  I'm not sure why, but I love this antique store.  It isn't packed to the brim with stuff, but it does have some interesting items.  One thing I always love to see is the antique pinball machines (added bonus: There were five or six on display which included a button on each to have a free play).  This store has quite a bit of furniture, which is becoming rarer to find in the antique stores.  There is a vendor who is selling vinyl albums.  Most of them looked to be in decent condition, which is a plus when looking for vinyl.  I did wind up making a purchase at this store.  I purchased a Riddler glass and a Penguin glass from the 1970s' Pepsi promotion.  I also snagged a box of 42 vinyl albums for $2.  They are not in the greatest condition, but $2 is not a huge risk when the box contains albums from Marty Robbins, Lawrence Welk, George Carlin, Eddy Arnold, Al Hirt, and several compilations.

It was then lunch time, and a wrong turn led us to Itchy's Flea Market.  This is a shop to make a quick run through to see what kind of buried treasures can be found at bargain prices.  This is a shop where you never know what you will find, and it is surprisingly large.  It is not as antique-filled as the other shops, but it takes on the feeling of a large garage sale.  However, that is a chance to find some amazing deals, which I did.  I picked up a Robin glass and Aquaman glass at a fraction of the cost found in other shops.

The next shop we went to was Market Place, and I like this shop even though they do have the "home decor" corner at the front of the store and the random pool/hot tub corner at the back of the store.  There is no real flow path either.  See, so logically, I should dislike it.... but I still enjoy it.  They have stuff for the ladies and stuff for the gents.  It is a good mixture, and the prices seem to be very reasonable.  The only purchases made from there this trip was a Dukes of Dixieland album and a Reader's Digest compilation album.  My dad purchased a Polka Party album.  All three albums were $1 each.

The final stop was Midway Antique Mall, which is part of the travel center that was featured on Truck Stop Missouri on the Travel Channel.  The antique mall has been expanded and has two sections.  The second section does not have air conditioning (not that it was needed this trip but much needed when my wife and I went last June).  The goal was to find more of my superhero glasses since I saw them in June, before I was actually buying the glasses.  The vendor I was hoping to be my honey hole was actually rather disappointing.  However, I was able to find a Superman glass and a Flash glass from another vendor.  My wife also found some blue Ball jars complete with the lids at a great price, which will be used in her brother's wedding.  I also bought a Jim Reeves double album for $1.

It made for a long day, but a fun day.  Until next time... Happy Hunting!