Picking up housey things in a colourful thrift shop

Hello,

I hope this post finds everyone really happy and good. Today has been a lovely day and in a way has been quite spontaneous, as all the best days seem to be.

I’m writing this post in a cafe in Stoke Station whilst I wait for my train. They’re playing The 1975 songs on repeat, so whoever picked the playlist at Gourmet today, my hat goes off to you.

I thought I’d blog here, partly because I was three

minutes late for my train home and so have to wait another hour (oh dear) but also because I’ve found today surprisingly inspiring.

So my day started as usual, breakfast, a bath or shower and then whatever the plan is. Today it meant catching the train to Stoke and then getting the train to Hanley to meet my Mum. She’d had a dental appointment and we’d agreed to meet here to browse the shops, have a snack and then she’d go to Moddershall to meet her friend. 

I browsed the shops, not really wanting to buy anything more for the looking and shortly after met Mum who’d been very happy she’d bagged a bargain in the form of a H&M belt. We decided to grab some lunch at RAWR, an amazing veggie/vegan option cafe in Hanley. After consuming a really yummy salad, Mum had to bid her farewell which left me finishing my drink and thinking about heading back to the station. 

On the way back, however, a shop caught my eye. It’s a shop on the very corner between the street where The Sugarmill is and the street where The Regent Theatre is. I’d seen this shop so many times, 

with its bright and eclectic colours and strong smells of insense oozing out of the door, but never had the confidence to go in. I’m not sure why, perhaps knowing there was so many things to see, that I may knock something over, may have been a reason. 

Today, I was in search of candles but I didn’t leave with anything like that, I left with something completely different.

The lady behind the counter was warm and chatty as she greeted me. She was sitting in the sun when I entered and she followed me in, asking me about my day. She was so passionate about collecting her items in the shop, a shop she told me had been going for six years. I was instantly glad I ventured through the door, this wasn’t just a shop, it was years worth of collecting from an eccentric and lovely lady. A lady who had been shop keeping in some way or another for over twenty years.

As I’m (hopefully) due to move out in the next few months, I’m constantly looking for little bit’s to add to my slowly growing collection of ‘housey bits’. The amazing thing about this shop wasn’t just that it had items from all over the world, but that everywhere you looked there was something individual and unique . Much of it was heavily reduced and very affordable as I think the keeper wants to downsize a bit.

I left the beautiful treasure trove with a rustic stool, basket, 3 wooden bowls and a plate. Everything is so unique and I can’t wait to use each item! 

I finish this blog sitting comfortably at home, watching the Bake-off with a cup of tea so I can disclose that I did make it home!

Hope you’ve had a wonderful day!

Molly