Anyone who knows me fondly considers me a grandma. I am a proud twenty-something grandma and frankly can’t wait till I become an old lady because I feel like I will finally fit in with my peers. Like all good grandmas I love antiquing and recently took a day trip to Galena to do just that.
Galena’s tag line is the “town that time forgot” and I have to say when you go there it really does feel like that. Driving in you see cozy cottages built in the mid to late 1800s within the nestled hills of Galena. The town was once a vibrant city and was an early competitor to Chicago. However due to environmental and economic factors the city stagnated and stopped developing in the early 1900s. As a result the town quite literally froze in time and preserves much of what I believe a late 19th century American town would look and feel like.
It’s the perfect place to go antiquing – my favorite shop is Peace of the Past. When you walk through the door the first thing one is struck by is the musty smell of time and the busyness of the space. Every nook and cranny is lined floor to ceiling with books and various historic knick-knacks. It’s a book and vintage lovers dream. My recent discovery was this green toile china set that looks more like it belongs in Versailles than a small town in the American mid-west.
My favorite find was discovering William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair for only $8. I can’t find a copyright date in the book but its definitely old and I just love the navy cover with the gold embellishments – its so timeless! I’m not sure if it worth anything (it probably isn’t) but I’m happy to have it!
I have spent hours going through this store to the frustration of any poor soul who ventures inside with me. But what can I say? I just enjoy thinking about the objects and their story and that is a process that can take some time – Who owned them? How did they get here? What kind of a world did these objects inhabit?
What are some of your favorite vintage shops and finds? Does anyone else enjoy antiquing as much as I do? 
