Where has the Summer gone?
We opened the Soulful Sparrow June 30th at 10 Douglas Ave. in Downtown Elgin IL ~ This GREAT town has welcomed us with open arms. We can hardly believe it's been two months since we went tromping around the English countryside in June, scouring the villages for wonderful items to bring back for the shop. Sharing our experience there is far overdue.
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| Sparrow Across the Pond |
Enchmarch Farm
Enchmarch Farm/Bed&Breakfast is a working dairy and sheep farm. It was our home base for the two weeks we spent there. The Enchmarch herd are milked twice a day and are a high merit Holstein Friesian Herd. The sound of their gentle mooing lulled me to sleep every night following the bountiful and scrumptious home cooked meals provided Sandra ~ our pleasant and witty Hostess/Innkeeper.
The views here are breathtaking... we will share more about the Farm in the days to come.
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| Enchmarch Farm |
The farmhouse was built in the 1700s and has many of the original features, set in the midst of the farm in the glorious South Shropshire Hills, 10 mins from Church Stretton, 20 mins from Much Wenlock and 25 mins from Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Ironbridge. The farm is an ideal base for walking or cycling and has numerous walks criss crossing the farm as well as only being 2 miles from the Lawley or Caradoc hills.
Car Boot Sales
In the UK, the trunk of one's car is referred to as the "boot". Therefore a Car Boot Sale is much like a flea market. When the weather cooperated we tried to get to as many as possible. They were awesome.
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| Car Boot Sale in UK |
Antique Market
This video captures the essence of the open air Antique market in Ludlow city center that was filled with unique vintage items. It was wonderful and magical in this old world setting shopping as the church bells rang.
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| Antique Market in Ludlow City Center - UK |
English shops
We were so inspired by the vintage shops we visited and we adored the shopkeepers... and yes we found so many treasures.
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| Zanies Warehouse, Ludlow UK |
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| Creative Decorating in Zanies Warehouse - Ludlow UK |
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| Vintage Clothing at Zanies Warehouse - Ludlow UK |
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| The owner of The Blue Door in Leominster - UK |
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| Vintage Suitcases Galore |
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| Shop in Hay On Wye - UK |
Roadside Impromptu Shopping and Country Generosity.
We took a road trip to Hay on Wye on the Welsh border. On the way, we discovered this wonderful road side gem ~ Utter Clutter ... {wonderful clutter}. It was so much fun getting to poke around these interesting and very old out buildings shopping for GREAT stuff. The owner of the property was busy flipping welsh cakes while we shopped, which she shared with us before we left. Some of our treasures came from here. If only the bike would fit in a suitcase.
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| Utter Clutter on the Welsh English Boarder |
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| Vintage Bike at Utter Clutter |
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| {Welsh Cakes} Welsh Hospitality at Utter Clutter |
Products from England we LOVE
Just before we left the US for England, we discovered some wonderful products we wanted to carry in our store. We were fortunate to meet the artist's who create the Merchant & Mills products we carry. Stop by and see their products featured in the store.
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| Carolyn & Roderick of Merchant and Mills from Hay on Wye. |
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| sample of postcards we carry |
Thank you for following and supporting our shop :)
Mary
