Restoring the Old Girl

Bric-a-brac-ing
This morning we took a rain soaked drive to Warwick in search of some old iron gates for our driveway. Usually when we 'put something out there' it shows up, but not this time. Still, we unearthed quite a few other gems instead.
In our family we all have blue eyes (even the cat) and big appetites, so the first thing we did in Warwick was stop for breakfast at a little place we found called the Belle Vue Cafe.
It was gorgeous with a classic long servery and dinky fifties style chairs and tables.

The breakfast menu had crumbed sausages and eggs and lamb's fry. I had to wonder if it was some kind of themed restaurant, but it wasn't. It had just become wedged in time, and in 2011 it was refreshingly unpretentious.
On my way out I was inspecting the beautiful long counter, the likes of which you just don't see these days. 'Has this place been open a long time', I asked our waitress.
'Yes', she said 'about 101 years I think?'.
Next I found a hole-in-the-wall second hand shop called The Bric A Brac Barn. Now, if there's one thing I love, it's bric a brac. It's at 23 Lyons Street and is open from 9am Tuesday to Saturday.
I managed to get my black cat a couple of kittens, which are a perfect match. They were only $6 for the pair, so how could I leave them behind? That's it for the ceramic cat buying. The last thing I want to be is the lady who collects china cats.

I also got a delightful vase in the shape of a swan, $8.

This West German pottery vase travelled back with us also, $35. It's in mint, mint condition. I'm just about to try and find out what the numbers mean on the bottom. I've never seen any pink West German pottery, than again, I'm hardly an expert.

These tea towels are going straight to EAP as a shop-warming gift. I'm sure she'll turn them into something fabo.

The lady at the Bric A Brac Barn gave us a tip off that we should go down to the second hand shop at Aratula to look for a gate there. No luck, but I found this outstanding German medical cabinet. It was spectacular, but unfortunately, also sold. It was $2950 which I thought was an excellent buy....for someone else.

The shop is in Elizabeth Street, Aratula, just behind the fruit shop. They said they regularly get a shipment from Germany, etc.
Ok, that's it from me.