Shopping in Port Stanley and Sparta

The first stop on our excursion to Port Stanley yesterday was a former general store situated on one of the four corners of the intersection of two roads that makes up most of a very small place called Sparta.  The original wooden door was still in place and the floors inside creaked as old wellworn wooden floors do but otherwise, it was a shop full of new, cute, gifty type things, none of which appealed to me enough to want to take home.  I was quite tempted by the fudge under the old glass display counter but managed to resist...

Our next stop was a place called Winter Wheat.  OMG, what a surprising place.  It is located just outside of Sparta and it is an amazing property, with a long laneway lined with tall, tall pines trees that were making that special sound that pine trees do when the wind blows through them.  There is a large building that is the store, where Barb found the rugs she had come for and ordered one in a 4x6 foot size to be picked up in 6 to 8 weeks.  Then we had a walk around the grounds which were a bit muddy and not yet blooming but which are filled with interesting nooks and crannies filled with colourful folkart and found object sculptures made by the owners, Mike and Lucy Ogletree.  Quite a magical place.

In Port Stanley, our first stop was an antique store called Harbourside Antiques, where everything just happened to be 40% off this weekend.  Very tempting, but again, I managed to restrain myself.  There were lovely displays scattered throughout the large room and Guy Lombardo music playing to get us in the vintage mood.  A group of other ladies who were shopping there at the same time as we were suggested it would be a good opportunity to pick out a hat to wear for the upcoming royal wedding.

I thought it was interesting that hanging amongst this collection of handstitched quilts in a beautiful old armoire, there was also a Santa suit.  Quite a whimsical touch, I thought.

The kitchen korner was especially well stocked, if you are into the retro look (and if not, why not?!)

I very much wanted to buy the cupboard to hold the printers trays but only the trays themselves seemed to be for sale and I decided it would be better if I just didn't ask about the cupboard itself. :)

We visited several other stores along the main streets of Port Stanley, the type of gift and home decor shops that cater to all manner of tourists.  There was lots to tempt us.  On Tuesday, I'll share some photos of the items I brought home with me.