When we lived in Orlando from 2008 until 2015, one tradition we had was to visit Mount Dora each year for my birthday. Mount Dora is a small town in the Central Florida area that is known for it adorable downtown streets filled with small shops and lots of antique stores. It kind of reminds me of Stars Hollow - the fictional town in Gilmore Girls. With it's homely feel, as if you're walking through the streets all in sepia tone.
One year, we took a day trip to Mount Dora for my birthday. We planned to go antique shopping, and the deal was that I could pick out any antique (within reason) as my birthday present. That year, we found a magnifying glass necklace from London. It was pricey for us, being college students at the time, but it was a beautiful piece and one that I still wear to this day. We spent the rest of the day exploring other antique shops, eating at a charming restaurant called the Goblin Market, and grabbing a pint at an underground pub. Ever since, we went back for my birthday each year. That is, until we moved away.
Now that we're back, it seemed like a good excuse to continue the tradition. We lost last year - we weren't too keen on making any day trips before we got vaccinated. But this year, we made up for it because the Renninger's Antique Extravaganza was scheduled for the weekend of my birthday!
Renninger's exists year-round, with a combo flea-market, farmer's market, and antique center - all in one, every weekend. We like to visit sometimes when we're in Mount Dora, especially because the vendor we purchased my magnifying glass necklace from now has a stall at Renninger's. But this particular weekend, it was the Antique Extravaganza, where they invite vendors from all over the country to showcase their antiques.
One of the perks of visiting for my birthday is the time of year. In January, it's cold to bounce from shop to shop up north. But in Florida? It's pleasant. Our favorite jackets get their chance to shine. At the event this weekend, there was furniture, artwork, vintage collectables, old books, jewelry, and even clothes. I had my eye out for a few furniture items, but of course instead fell in love with a Damascus tray table that we have no need for, but it was lovely nonetheless.
There was a lithograph toy trolley from the Chicago's World's Fair/World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. My daughter's room is themed after the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition since I have so many treasures from my days working at the Field Museum, where it all started. However, this collectable toy, nearly falling apart, the paper so damaged, was a pretty penny, and wasn't something I could justify bringing home.
There was a vintage TWA flight attendant bag, as well as a reproduction PanAm bag, both gorgeous but I don't need anymore vintage bags. I already have a reproduction PanAm bag, and at least four American Tourister luggage cases.
Lastly, the vintage circus wagon caught my eye. I don't know why, but I find that piece so beautiful! What on earth would I even do with it if I could buy it? Let my daughter host performances for her friends and neighbors inside? Doesn't sound all that bad actually.
Instead, we brought home an Art Deco Chinese calendar from the 1930's in it's original frame. The paper is so yellow, and so thin, it doesn't seem like anyone would have guessed it would have lasted beyond it's calendar year. But the print is so lovely, and it features a borzoi - a hound similar to the greyhounds we love so much. We didn't really have a place in mind for it, but we brought it home anyway. It's just one of those things.
It's currently in our kitchen, above the little table where we eat most meals together. It doesn't get too much light in the corner, so hopefully it's brilliance will last a few more years for us. Long enough to see us adopt a borzoi of our own someday? I hope so.
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