Leesburg, VA--The Grand Tour

This morning, the girls headed to Leesburg, Virginia. I hadn't been there in years. To many residents of Maryland, driving into northern Virginia is not for the squeamish. There is the capital beltway to negotiate, lots of traffic, and an occasional semi that tips over with lots of messy cargo. But a Sunday late morning seemed like a good time to go. The boys (with a friend along, too) were heading for other amusements. Leesburg was ours!

Leesburg is west of Washington, DC. It's quaint with well-maintained historic buildings lining the streets. All shops we visited are either on or adjoin Route 15 (AKA James Monroe Highway). Some of them have blogs that you can access via their web sites. I know that you're dying of suspense, so let's take a look at some of the goodies we brought home.I was pretty tired when I took this picture and it shows!

Our first stop was The Cottage. This shop is in an old house with two floors of charming rooms decorated with vintage pieces in different themes and colors. Really cute. We bought a piece of ironstone, a small handpainted china dish, and some great lotion and other sundries. This was on the second floor:I loved the colors in this room.

We stopped next door in Rose Cottage (I think this is the right name!). We met the nicest lady there; she recently moved her business from Great Falls to Leesburg. Very pretty things here, too! She had a to-die-for gold-painted chair with a gorgeous green toile cushion, but it was out of my price range and it wasn't quite the right style for my house. Still....

I'd given Sue of Vintage Rescue Squad an e-mail alert that we were heading over to Leesburg. We missed each other last week at Chartreuse, but we met today! Here she is foofing her boof (this is Sue-speak) at Leesburg Antique Emporium:She is extremely nice. To me, she's a blog celebrity and has been blogging and selling her fun finds for a couple of years. Sue has two spaces in this mall; the newest is VRS al fresco. Very cute garden-related things. I bought a brown transferware ironstone platter from her.

Adjoining Leesburg Antique Emporium is Four Shabby Chicks. Nice things to tempt you here, too, like the pink wooden basket and two new toile-patterned storage doohickeys we bought (to organize our craft supplies we rationalized). I began thinking I was going to be out of money before I got back home. And we had a few more places to hit. We asked for a recommendation for a good place to eat lunch (as it was midafternoon) and these nice ladies recommended South Street Under, which was just a few blocks away. Our sandwiches were wonderful, but we did pay a tiny premium for not having McDonalds instead (we actually never saw a McDs)!

Before we left downtown, we stopped in Ekster. This shop has had a lot of press and we thought it was a cool place. Very European. The clever check-out area:
Dining ideas:
Garden delights:
We drove on to our next stop several miles north of town--On a Whim. They didn't allow photographs there, but go to their web site for a look. The pink silo with black polka dots is a great landmark (maybe that depends on your point of view). It saved me from flying right by. Inside, we found an antique oval picture frame with old portrait and the very fun vintage tin with handles. I have to admit: seeing the tin was an OMG moment and the price was right.

Last, but not least, on this Grand Tour was Lucketts Store. This place is amazing and overwhelming. The main building is a three story house with warrens of rooms. I was dizzy with the views. Beautiful colors here, too. We bought a few small pieces of ironstone, two small glass domes, and cold drinks. Outside are numerous small buildings loaded with more stuff. It began to sprinkle and purplish clouds were in the west, so we conceded that it was time to head home.

The boys loved the rollercoasters and we loved our country ride. With that, I could face the laundry ahead :)