Labor Day of Love
After our weekend in Fredericksburg, we decided to take it easy for Labor Day. Brett had a few things he wanted to get done for our home in Chesapeake and our kids were both working all day. So left to myself, well you know what I did… antique shopping!
I only made one stop today, but what a great stop it was! I headed to downtown Norfolk to a store called Harper’s Antiques. I had just been there a weekend ago. I had seen a couple items I wanted, but needed to wait until I had my pennies saved. It was a small silver tea set with a teapot, creamer and sugar bowl. I really loved this set because it has the grape detail on it. That reminds me of the vineyards we have around us at Belle Grove.
The other was a silver teapot that reminded me of a teapot I saw at Kenmore Plantation. When I saw the one at Kenmore, I remembered this one in Norfolk.
Teapot at Kenmore Plantation
After paying for my items, I stayed and talked to the owner, Richard and one of his friends about the plantation and how these were going to become part of the history that includes James Madison. Just as I was about to walk out, Richard asked me to walk to the back room and look for a silver punch bowl with some other items in it. He told me if I liked it, he would give them to me. I pulled them out and brought them to the counter. Being the bargain hunter I am I accepted his offer. Free is always good when you have 8,000 square feet to fill!
When I got home I spent about 3 hours cleaning each piece. It was a very messy job that required a lot of “elbow grease”, but to see them now, it was truly a labor of love.
Gravy Dish
(It was almost black when I brought it home)
Punch Bowl with 12 silver cups
If you are ever in the Norfolk area, stop by Harper’s Antiques on Granby Street!
I plan to return again very soon!
beautiful pieces………..i am so proud of your find!
I am too! It was like it was meant to be.
Wow! What a gift! Makes the elbow grease worth it 🙂
Yes, I kept saying as I was scrubbing, “This is worth it.” 😉
It looks worth it! You were very thorough 🙂
Beautiful pieces…my folks married in 1939 and I have lots of the silver pieces they had as well as my Grandmother’s pieces from the late 1800’s and into 1900’s. Truly they are beautiful from an era w have lost…that being sitting at the dinning rom table for our meals with civility and grace….linen napkins and table cloth as well as china dishes….it was elegant….that is how both my parents grew up…and every summer when we visited my Grandmother we sat at the dining table all three meals:) It was beautiful to be part of civility and to understand that we get to know like minded people.
My family doesn’t have that history, sadly. My grandparent on both sides were poor and Brett’s family was the same. I wish I had that kind of history to pass to our children. Maybe I can start the new history for us. I bet it is just grand to have around!
You really scored on the silver. A little elbow grease and underneath a beautiful treasure. Good Hunting !!! Virginia
Thank you! Let’s hope that I have a lot more of that kind of surprises!!
Hey while I am thinking about it, do you have a good recipe for Blueberry Scones? I have looking around and I haven’t found one that I really like yet. I need one for the B&B. But I also have been craving them lately!
Yes I do have a fabulous recipe for scones. It is so light, rich, and delicious it simply floats off the plate. I shall post it in the next day or so. Tomorrow the flooring people are laying a new floor in our kitchen/family room. All of a sudden our room looks forlornly empty. But.. the pantry is suddenly very full. Virginia
Sounds good! Hope your flooring comes out will! I might be hitting you up for lots of recipes in the coming months as I prepare for the opening! Thank you!
Beautiful pieces!
Thank you! I think so too!
Those are beautiful! Can I bring my few pieces of silver (not nearly as nice as those) and let you polish them? 🙂
Oh well…. I have to say I am paying for that labor yesterday! My hands are so sore! But they really were worth the time and effort! Thank you!
What generous gifts, and you brought them all back to life.
It really was a wonderful gift! It was worth the sore hands today to see how beautiful they are!
I remember polishing silver. But it’s so much fun when you see the shine come through!
It was exciting to see. I got down to the 12 cups and thought, I am going to wait to do them tomorrow. Then I thought about what the cups looked like clean so I thought I would clean just one to see. Next thing I know I have all 12 done.
Nice job! I love the reward at the end, when you clean a REALLY dirty piece of silver — such a transformation!
It was exciting to see it come out so nice. But my sore hands say “don’t do that again soon!”
I bet!
Incredibly beautiful silver sets and what a gift!! So generous, these will look amazing gracing the tables at your B&B.
It was such a wonderful gift! As I was cleaning, I was thinking about how nice it would look on a sideboard in the formal dining room.
It will be the perfect addition and what a wonderful story to go along with it. What a nice shopkeeper.
I agree. He was really nice to do that for us! Let’s hope we get some more like him as we start to fill the house! 😉
beautiful – you have an eye for antiques!
Thank you! 😉