Things Happen for a Reason (pretty long blog post but some good information!)

I'm the kind of person that doesn't believe that things *just happen* for no reason. I believe things happen because there's a reason and it's time for them to happen. I had that kind of day today.

I was teaching for an instructor that was on vacation today (at the *day job*) in Long Beach. Before I left home, I thought I would see if there were any vintage/antique places I hadn't been to in the area that I could visit. So I went on-line and googled antique stores and found a place called the Village Vault Antiques & Gifts that was less than 4 miles from the job. I printed out the directions and headed to Long Beach.

I couldn't locate Village Vault, but I drove past a bead shop called Pudgy Beads on the same street. It was on the opposite side of the street (East Wardlow Road), so I drove down a little further, made a u-turn, and tried to find a parking spot. Darn it - No luck.

I drove down to the next closest street (Orange Avenue) to turn around and try again. That's when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a little place called The Vintage Emporium. I turned around and found a parking spot right in front. Oh goodie! But then I saw a sign in the window that read "Open House 6pm to 9pm". Oh nooooo, I'm teaching from 6:30-8:30pm!

Oh well, I'll just get out and see if the hours of operation are on the door and come back when I'm in the area again. The door opened and I was greeted by a lady who was sweeping the floors with a smile on her face. I went back to the car, retrieved my purse, and was welcomed in.

The lady with the nice smile was Julie Woolley, the Proprietor of The Vintage Emporium. After talking for well over an hour with Julie, she asked if I would teach my vintage optical lens necklace workshop at her store. (Julie saw photos of my necklaces when I was showing her some of my Moo cards)

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This is a vintage clock I picked up at Julie's store for . . . well, let's just say that I got it for a really good price!

So what about the place I had originally been looking for??? Julie informed me that it has been closed for almost 2 years. Now was that fate or WHAT, that I ended up at her store?

Julie told me about another place in the neighborhood called Grandma Darling Antique Mall. They don't have a website, but their address is 2661 Junipero near Cherry and Willow behind Office Depot. I stopped in briefly on my way to the office.

Hey Julie, look what I found! Yep, another vintage suitcase *smiles*. And I got 15% off an already great price for this beauty. It's the 3rd one from the bottom:

Next time I'm in Long Beach I've got to stop by Junktiques Marketplace. Their postcard says they have an eclectic mix of items and bargains galore. No website, but the address is 1860 Obispo, Unit G in Signal Hill.

I TOLD you this post had a lot of good information! *smiles*