Tons of antique cast iron planters - large - small - in between - you name it! A fabulous completely restored green 3 pc. wicker set with pink scenic floral fabric, a 5' tall green metal plant stand, a couple of huge wooden planter boxes, a great little 3 pc. bistro set with an unusual strawberry ornament, an absolutely perfect 19th century cast iron rococo revival bench, a great cast iron grape vine motif standing planter,a pair of great big cast stone planters with good old paint and a little lichen and moss, a very nice intermediate size crane motif fountain, a whole pile of nice small plant stands in all kinds of colors, a very cute 1950's cast stone girl statue and a nice little "Putto and dolphin" fountainhead.
Click Here For Garden Items In Catalog

Wrought and cast iron garden gates from Germany and Ohio, massive cast iron gate posts from Chicago, a great 24' set of cast iron roof cresting, an amazing 19th century porch railing set from the home of of a founder of the Chicago Bridge and Iron Company, and several arched German window guards with cast flower ornament.
Click Here For Gates and Ironwork In Catalog

We've also got an Italian white chinoiserie chandelier, a vintage Gothic iron chandelier swagged with chains, a vintage iron chandelier with white glass drops, a 12-light black and gilt iron chandelier covered with huge cut crystals, 1930's floral wrought iron lamp and shade, three different cast iron candle lanterns and several different Italian floral and leaf chandeliers and a whole pile of assorted wall scones in gilt, silver, Italian painted metal and wrought iron.
Click Here For Lighting In Catalog

Beaded flowers in a tiny vase, vintage gilt metal brackets, vintage Italian porcelain fruit and vegetable centerpiece, red firehouse lantern top with eagle, old white plaster cherub, set of 6 tall silver plated julep cups, a darling 1930's cast iron squirrel paperweight, vintage Italian metal flower arrangement, a cool old green paneled pedestal, a 1930's chalk-ware figure of a boy eating cherries, and a charming faux bamboo chinoiserie desk.

As usual twice as much stuff has come in than I have time to list - so this is just the tasting menu. If you are looking for something specific on the website, just type a keyword into the search box and everything we have online with that word in the description will pop up. Remember, remember this is not everything!!! Much more is in the store and at the Garden & Antiques Shop at the Chicago Botanic Garden

For those of you who've been pestering us about our kitchen light fixture - here's your chance(click here for catalog listing). We found a big brass billiard light with nice tole shades that really fits the narrow space above the kitchen table better so Nancy says old faithful has to go!

I bought this nice grape leaf and tendril chandelier on an icy New Years day at the old Maxwell Street flea market back in 1991 before we were married. It was the first thing we worked on together for our new apartment on North Wells in Old Town. Man what a mess - It had been sitting in water somewhere and was mostly a rusty mess and it had been frighteningly re-wired by a weekend electrician. I cleaned it up and painted it with a black base coat and Nancy added the gold highlights to the leaves and tendrils. After a more professional re-wiring it has followed us from house to house for almost 15 years.

Oh well, easy come, easy go. The only thing that stays the same with us is that we're still working together. I guess that's really the important thing to keep.

As Nancy and I parked in front of the Rose and Kettle last Tuesday night , we felt like those smiling people always pictured in Gourmet or Bon Appetit stepping from their European SUV's and into some charming little bistro recently opened in an old Napa valley dry-goods store or some such. Okay, it was an old Dodge pick-up and we were just barely smiling after a long day re- arranging cast iron planters and benches in the back. Napa-smapa, we were thrilled to be in the Catskills and not California. We first got to Cherry Valley, New York because on one of my many travels through the area, I spotted a beautiful, wooden Italianate house nearby that I had wanted to show Nancy for years. I has delicate square towers at each corner and an absolutely crazy number of windows for a dwelling built in upstate New York in the 1840's.

How Dana Spiotta and Clem Coleman ended up in town is a mystery, but the place seems custom made for them. The restaurant occupies a charming old house on the town's main street facing a great old stone bank that dates from turn of the 18th century. Cherry Valley kind of fools you, although seemingly remote, it's only twenty minutes from Cooperstown and right down the road from where the Glimmerglass Opera summertime opera festival takes place. Clem's food experience is innate - his dad's a butcher and used to be in the seafood business. Dana is a natural at running the front of the house.

You know something is up right away - as you go to wash up, you find the bathroom walls are papered floor to ceiling with vintage Gourmet magazine covers. The have a fun, little real bar - not some afterthought to appease the locals. It has a nice selection of Northeastern beers, real cocktails and long list of tasty wines by the glass. The menu at the Rose and Kettle is at once homey and just a little challenging, studded with interesting and unusual combinations without being condescending. They make great use of fabulous local and organic, but they are not ashamed to bring in something great from outside. We started with the Wild Alaskan king salmon tempura in a panko crust with garlicky aioli and a local blue cheese with tiny pickled beets and local organic greens. For dinner, Nancy had a fabulously fresh fettuccine with garlic & cracked pepper and tiny bits of anchovies. I had hanger steak au poivre with a bourbon-peppercorn sauce, mashed potato, crispy onions, and creamed spinach.

We timed it perfectly as we rolled out the door just after 9:00, the late crowd was rolling in from the opera. As we were getting in the truck, we noticed that Alex and Ika's, another place across the street that had been closed when we arrived, was lighting candles and setting up for what looked like an after show cast party. We'll defintely be back to see what it's like.

Two other places you have to stop and try when you're in the Finger Lakes area are the The Aurora Inn A beautiful, historic hotel and restaurant on the shore of Cayuga lake in the tiny town of Aurora. The whole place has been marvelously restored and redecorated by it's new owner, Pleasant Rowland - Founder of the American Girl company and an alumnus of nearby Wells College. There is a really lovely restaurant with a patio overlooking the lake and wine list that contains lots of interesting local wines from the burgeoning New York wine industry. The other place we tried is The Restaurant at Elderberry Pond The Restaurant is located in a 10 acre woodlot near the center of a 100 acre certified organic farm. The restaurant is an integral part of the farm operation and was designed to be the showcase for the fresh, organically produced salads, vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs they grow there.

In response to popular demand we have made all of our old newsletters available online... You guys must be gluttons for punishment.

You'll notice that in some instances pictures are missing or links are broken. This usually indicates that we've sold the item I was mentioning or a referenced website has changed since we sent out the newsletter originally.

Enjoy, it is kind of funny to see the progression of the letters.
Click here to reach the archive or in the Useful Links below where it says "Past Newsletters"