The Stillroom

The days are getting longer and I am definitely one of those people that will watch the sunrise and sunset times on my phone.  I am always happy this time of the year.  The winter solstice falls on my grandmother’s birthday so it’s like my own little celebration.

Today at 22 degrees, it felt like a heatwave compared to the past few days.  I can say with confidence that tea weather has set in hard.  For me, when I take tea it is usually herbal and almost always the Stash Chamomile Nights.  This cup, I am sure I write about it every winter, is my go to when I feel like something is coming on.  It’s easy on the stomach and gives me a sense of some comfort.  It is an herbal tea so there is no tea in it. It is actually called a tisane.

My favorite quote is “Herbs do comfort the weary brain with fragrant smells which yield a certain kind of nourishment.”~William Coles 1856

For me, this really holds true.

New Year Resolutions

One of the things I resolved to do this year was to teach my senior rescue chihuahua, Angel, (who really should have been called Diablo)  how to “go” on a pee pad in the garage.  So, in October I started out with the pieces of turf “as seen on shark tank” and the transition from outside to inside of the garage was easier than I thought it would be.  I am so happy I made this move because this crazy little dog that weighs four pounds and has bad back legs had to be bundled up last winter, layer after layer. She really did look a tick about to pop.  We had a nice sheltered area last year but with the removal of all of the really old trees on the property, it turned into a tundra.  This was not going to work for me or Angel. So, that was resolved.  I guess that’s not so much a resolution but more of a solution to my problem of not liking waiting for the dog to take care of business.  And you know they will walk in circles for days looking for a good spot.    lol oh well.

I resolve to be more involved in the women’s movement.  So if anyone out there needs a pink hat, (you know what I mean) I am crocheting like a lot.

Thats about it as far as resolutions go for me.  That one is a pretty important one.

Stop in The Stillroom Gift & Tea  shop.  Resolve to consume some lovely tea until the weather breaks!

Remember we are just inside the door of Diamond Antiques & Gifts at

 311 East Sixth Avenue, Tarentum, PA

Open Wednesday through Saturday 10-5 and Sundays from 12-5 

We are always happy to see you!

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“I heard a bird sing in the dark of December.  A magical thing.  And sweet to remember.  We are nearer to Spring than we were in September.  I heard a bird sing in the dark of December.” ~Oliver Herford

When we turn off the lights at the end of a work shift now, we walk outside into the darkness of early winter.  Today is the winter solstice and Christmas is almost here!

Christmas past.

Christmas past for me and perhaps like a lot of folks my age,  is always bitter sweet.  Oh, the things I remember.  Things like visiting Santa at Hornes department store, the smell of a new baby doll, craft kits to make hairbands, colorforms like Miss Cookies Kitchen, a set of paint by numbers, mom baking the ham, my grandma baking paska and making horseradish.  It was all good.

Christmas Eve at my grandma Pastrick’s house was the best.  The excitement and buildup for this one evening every year when I was a kid was magic. We would put on our very best Christmas clothes and my mom would give us marching orders.  Those orders, if not obeyed, would result in a stocking full of coal.  It happened to my Uncle Steve when he was a kid and it could happen to us.  (I wonder what he did to deserve that life altering experience). It was so hard to contain our excitement!  But, we would walk into grandma Victoria’s  home in an orderly fashion and greet the grandparents with the grace of a person meeting the King and Queen of England.

We would be very stoic until we hit the top of the game room steps then pretty much all hell broke loose as we tackled each other to get to the rumpus room.  Yes, the rumpus room!  This was the place to be! This was the beginning of the festivities that we waited so long for! Aunt Betty played the old upright piano and my Uncle Steve and Aunt Nora Ann would be singing Christmas carols until all were summoned to the dining room where my grandparents hosted The Feast of the Seven fishes. After this special feast, everyone went back to the rumpus room where we would discover Santa had quietly come and gone while we dined.  Amazing stuff for a kid.

After we settled in, my grandmother would give the word and wrapping paper started to fly around the cramped room as the marching orders from my mom flew out the window.  The drinks flowed, kielbasa, kishka, ham, cabbage and noodles and homemade nut roll and poppy seed roll were feasted upon.  These were the delicacies that we loved.  We were like the Cratchet kids fawning over the Christmas goose.  We partied like it was 1899.  The best times.

Christmas Day!  It was here! The morning was spent opening presents and then being bummed out because at some point we had to get ready for church.  My mom spent weeks shopping, baking and preparing the house for our guests on the Ameel side of the family. This was my Belgian and Polish side of the family.  I really don’t know how my parents pulled off such great Christmas Day gatherings at our house.  I guess looking back they had a schedule year after year.  Kids up at seven, church for ten o’clock and the party started around one.  Great grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles cousins…it was a giant  party in a middle size house.  The Polish dishes were presented on the buffet that included my Belgian great grandma’s anisette pizzells.  Drinks flowed, kielbasa, kishka, ham, cabbage and noodles and homemade nut roll, poppy seed roll.  The Christmas Day feast had finally begun!

The whole family was in my parents house.  The cousins were always great to be around.  We would go into the “formal” living room and go through all of our loot while the older kids played records and tried to escape the younger kids. The guys usually separated at some point to watch  football (that way they wouldn’t have to talk to each other about anything other than who was destined for the playoffs in the coming weeks of the new year).  The women hang back  in the kitchen to get caught up on life events like how many times has Elizabeth Taylor been married now? surrounded by the picked over buffet on the table.  The last vestiges of Christmas were closing in on everyone. Weeks of preparation was now a pile of wrapping paper, a hambone and a busted toy or two. No holiday was ever complete however, until one of us kids would wake up in the middle of the night and throw up in our beds.  Now Christmas was officially over.

Christmas Present

Here I am. Now.  I’m collecting social security. Say what?  How did I get here? Just wow.

I am beyond blessed to have my immediate family around me.  My parents are 88 and 89 and they still do Christmas Eve at their house.  They have a rumpus room.  We are all older now, which is actually a good thing when one considers the alternative.  No holiday is complete without the Christmas ham, which is my oldest brother, Bill, who always brings the ruckus to the rumpus room.  Weeks before Christmas Eve my sister and I shop with our mom for everything needed for a family gathering.  We dust off the bar and set up the cookie table and the buffet table.  It is a pot luck dinner.  Drinks flow, kielbasa, kishka, ham, cabbage and noodles, homemade nut roll and poppyseed roll.  The feast is the same as it has always been.  The best of the combined  talents and traditions of my brothers and sister and our parents that we hold so dear to share, still, to this day is the best gift I could ever want.  We are rich.

It is bittersweet.  My oldest brother got a movie camera in 1964 or so and he filmed all of those Christmases. When we walk into my parents house on Christmas Eve, those movies are all transferred to tape and that tape runs all evening on their tv.  It is the most beautiful back drop to a beautiful evening with my beautiful family. The ghosts of all of our Christmases past are there with us.  Great grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors that have passed on.  They are still there.  As we raise a glass and a ruckus.

Christmas Future

My hope is that small businesses will not only survive, but thrive in the future.

Diamond Antiques & Gifts         311 East Sixth Avenue    Tarentum, PA

Come in and visit us.  If you want to make a memory, give a piece of the past for the present.

The Stillroom Gift & Tea Shop is located right inside the door of Diamond Antiques.  The holiday teas are stocked and the whole store is having a “thank you” sale the month of December.

Try and stop by.

“Don’t forget them, please.  The sweeter memories”~Todd Rundgren

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“In October, a maple tree before your window lights up your room like a great lamp.  Even on cloudy days, its presence helps to dispel the gloom”. – J. Burroughs

I think I have to agree with that quote.

SEPTEMBER~

was full of activities and the one that vendors at  Diamond Antiques love the most is the annual Antique Appraisal Fair.    This annual event is always so well received and fun!  Last year we had a woman that came in with a picture that was valued in the thousands!  No one hit pay dirt this year but that’s ok.  It is an educational experience that is enjoyed by many inquisitive folks that share a love of the history of “stuffs”.

OCTOBER~

It’s dessert tea, weather! Stash dessert teas are here and they are terrific for those chilly autumn evenings that will be upon us sooner than I’d like to think.

The most popular dessert teas are by far the fall flavors, particularly pumpkin. I remember when pumpkin tea was first introduced around 2008 or so.  It was so exciting for pumpkin fans.  Kind of like the year we discovered oreo ice cream at Swensen’s at the Inner Harbor back in 1982.  What a concept!

Something I noticed this year is how anything pumpkin is no longer really original.  We have been swamped with everything from pumpkin corn chips to pumpkin yogurt to pumpkin spa treatments.   At the end of the day, it’s really all about the spice that makes up the flavor of pumpkin and you either love it or hate it.  I happen to love it.  A warm blend of spices makes up the flavor that is referred to as pumpkin.  The Stillroom dessert teas are a treat.  We have pumpkin, chai, double chai, holiday chai, chocolate hazelnut, vanilla nut creme,   chocolate orange, chocolate chocolate, vanilla chai and more!  What makes it a dessert tea, you ask?  Add a touch of sweet along with a dab of whole milk and you will have a most delightful dessert in a cup.

The Stillroom Gift & Tea shop located right inside the door of Diamond Antiques & Gifts and is full of cool gifts, oils, herbs and assorted, unusual candy treats and is dotted with a few antiques and collectibles.  In stock now are essential lavender and peppermint oil.  We have fragrant dried patchouli, organic culinary lavender along with recipe cards and the subtle, beautiful naturally scented oakmoss.  Organic catnip toys which are made in the workshop, are ready for your kitty to play with too!  Violet candy, sanded clove drops, choco rocks with recipe card for a chocolate martini, green tea latte candy and natural horehound throat drops are here in addition to honey sticks, local honey bears and rock candy crystals to sweeten your tea or add to a gift basket.  Nutmeg graters come with nutmeg and are here for all of the baking we will be doing soon.  Crystalized ginger just came in and is on the shelf now. Crystalized ginger may be used in baking or you can nibble on a piece for a tummy upset.  Look for our Sunny Ginger tea too!

The Stillroom carries a limited variety of Harney & Sons loose teas.  The most popular is the Paris and you have to taste this to believe just how delicious it is.   We have African Autumn, rose scented, blooming tea pods as well as chocolate.  They are all top notch!

Come in and star gaze at The Stillroom!  Beautiful punched tin stars (with fresh batteries) are lighting the way as we start to watch the sun go down earlier as the days roll by.  These are so pretty and make a beautiful decorative statement any time of year.  Beautiful handcrafted lighted paper stars just arrived and will be hanging around the shop in the coming weeks.  These stars shoot in from Hawaii and are just so unique you must come in and have a look.

The Stillroom Gift & Tea Shop is celebrating 15 years in business this fall!  I’d like to say “thank you” to 15 years worth of shoppers who have graced my space in the world.   Nothing like a good cup of tea to bring people together.  Tea has been given as gifts for birthdays and as hostess gifts for the holidays.  Tea has been taken for fluee funks and tummy gunks and most important, tea is taken to feel comfort.

“Herbs do comfort the weary brain with fragrant smells which yield a certain kind of nourishment” – William Coles 1856

My favorite quote.

Diamond Antiques and Gifts is located in the riverside borough of Tarentum, which is located just north of the city of Pittsburgh.  Diamond Antiques and Gifts at 311 E. Sixth Avenue offers a fabulous  array of beautiful furniture. Some is locally handcrafted and let me tell you, these pieces do not last.  If you are looking for repurposed original designs, look no further.  These handcrafted furnishings are worthy heirloom quality pieces.  Diamond Antiques and Gifts carries antique, mid century, rustic, primitive, vintage and the ever dependable and always stylish shabby chic.

You could easily come in here and furnish a living space that looks like it popped right out of a decorating magazine!  Our vendors take great care in searching, prepping and displaying some of the most beautiful and original furnishings that you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else in the greater Pittsburgh area.  From the kitchen to the backyard, it’s no wonder Diamond Antiques has been awarded the best place for antiques in the area six years in a row!  That really says a lot about the care and pride our vendors take in presenting the best in furnishings, decorating and service.

Come in and check out the newest co op members Antique & Chic.  Their space in the shop is beautiful so come in and see what awesome furnishing they have to offer.

NOVEMBER~

OUR OPEN HOUSE WILL BE HAPPENING WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 8th from 5-9.  This annual event is THE event of the season! Discounts, Chinese Auction, Wine Tasting and more!  The Stillroom will be featuring fresh baked cookies from Koski’s Corner so be sure to grab a sample cookie and keep the lovely Darnica in mind when you need a cookie tray for the upcoming holiday season!  Kosky’s is located right smack up against Diamond Antiques and The Stillroom.  Insert smiley face here.

Diamond Antiques will be closed during the day Wednesday, November 8th so we can transform our beautiful 100 year old building into a holiday wonderland.  Join us for the comforting sense of community at Diamond Antiques and Gifts  starting at 5 p.m.

You can shop on eBay and Amazon if you want to and get stuff, but what you don’t get is us!  We are a great group of collectors, pickers and hobbyists that are always happy to help you find just what you are looking for to help you create your vision and space.  It’s all about you!

In the meantime,  enjoy the harvest days that are sure to grace us before fall and winter fully sets in.  When the days grow chillier, that’s the time for dessert tea after a fine meal.

Blessings

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That line is from the 1969-1971 tv show HeeHaw and my family usually watched it because we kind of had no choice when we were kids.  That line is from the joke segment of that show.  It featured (I have to now admit as an adult) the talented Buck Owens on his red, white and blue guitar, along with Jerry Reed and Roy Clark. They were country music royalty.  I dislike country music to this day.  That is to say I literally like every other genre of music.  However, I will admit, they were very talented.

This musing is about being an inexperienced picker.  Which is why this blog is titled I’ma pickin’ and you’re a grinnin’.  I usually don’t find the cracks in the pottery or the half attached leg of a table until its paid for and put into the car.  AND when I do find the perfect piece, I sometimes break it as I transport it to The Stillroom Gift & Tea shop at 311 East 6th Avenue inside of Diamond Antiques and gifts in  Tarentum next to Massart’s diner.

I once had purchased a beautifully handcrafted stained glass jewelry box that survived Mt. St. Helen’s when I lived in Oregon.  This was a picker’s dream piece.  I had it packed away and over time forgot about it.  Recently,  I came across one of my moving boxes that I thought had office supplies.  You can’t imagine my joy when I discovered this forgotten treasure. I thought this would be a perfect piece to put in the shop.  I put it carefully back into the bubble wrap and wrapped it back up in a towel and set it on the front seat of the car.  I even buckled it in. I went to the shop and as I unwrapped it I was scanning my shelves to see where it would look best.  I set it on a table while I started to arrange the perfect spot and  my butt hit it and it crashed to the floor.  It survived a volcano and I destroyed it with my butt.

Anyhow, the vintage pieces that I find and don’t break are inside of Diamond Antiques and Gifts.  Some treasures just need a polish or a soak or an occasional dab of glue.  I do the hunting and the buying and you reap the benefit of my found treasures that I lovingly part with.  The hardest part is not the hunt or the prep and transport, the hardest part it is not keeping all of it.  Parting really is sweet sorrow.  Tea is really more my thing and my vintage and antique finds are to complete the charm that is The Stillroom Gift & Tea Shop.  The Stillroom Gift & Tea Shop will be coming up on 15 years in business!

Don’t forget there is 20% off at The Stillroom through the end of August and you can continue the savings throughout Diamond Antiques and Gifts.  This is the time to come in and save on some pretty awesome furnishings.  Vendors are offering 20% off on any purchase over ten bucks!  Whether you are furnishing a dorm room or your first off campus apartment or are striking out on your own with your first place, you owe it to yourself to come in and check out the really great pieces that are throughout the store.

We’re a pickin’ and you will leave a’grinnin’.

Don’t forget The Stillroom for all of your tea and tea accessory needs!  It is a great place to shop when you need to pull together a gift for the tea lover in your life!  If we don’t have it, check out Margaret’s Fine Imports on Forbes Ave.

Diamond Antiques is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10-5 and Sunday’s from 12-5.

YES, I AM YELLING.  THE ANTIQUE APPRAISAL FAIR IS COMING YOUR WAY!  FEATURING JEFFREY POOLE OF VICTORIA’S LOOKING GLASS.  SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH  FROM 10-2.

JEFFREY WILL BE OFFERING HIS EXPERTISE AND THE PRICE IS STILL ONLY FIVE DOLLARS PER ITEM.  IS IT TRASH OR TREASURE?  DON’T MISS THIS SUPER POPULAR EVENT RIGHT HERE IN TARENTUM!

YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS EVENT!

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“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” – William Shakespeare

You know, one of the cool things about shopping on Amazon is that you get things delivered in such a short amount of time.  Online shopping has absolutely changed how we purchase pretty much anything.   As I’ve gotten older, I have taken advantage of having things brought to my door.  I like seeing a box the size of cereal on my stoop. I love opening it up and emptying the contents.  Best of all, I love puncturing the plastic to watch it explode into a queen size mattress.  You have to admit, that is kind of cool.

Now I will tell you what is not cool.  NOT cool is that online prices are now coming into question as far as “are you getting your best deal?”    Well, I suppose it is innocent until proven otherwise.  This news made me really think of how shopping has changed over time.  Change is good but then again, so many things get lost along the way.

Diamond Antiques is here to be sure you don’t get lost.  When a little kid looks at a rotary phone and says, “how do you use this?”, I realize just how easy it is to forget what it feels like to take a minute to actually do some real shopping.  By that I mean you walk into Diamond Antiques & Gifts at 311 East Sixth Avenue and when you do you begin to realize that you have entered a very special place.  Diamond Antiques & Gifts is a blend of old, vintage, retro, new, repurposed, primitive and also includes a special array of the unusual and useful.

Besides the offerings of over 25 vendors in the co-op, Diamond Antiques & Gifts also houses the longest running retail tea shop north of the city.  The Stillroom Gift & Tea shop has been around since 2001 and in this charming space besides an excellent assortment of Stash and Harney & Sons tea, you will find anything from a pair of delicate gloves to a groovy assortment of odds and ends.  If I don’t have the tea you are looking for, you will most likely find it at Margaret’s Fine Imports on Forbes Ave.

The great thing about coming into Diamond Antiques and Gifts is that you see the prices and you know exactly what you are getting.  There is no guess work here. There is no disappointment. There is no question.  On the chance that you have a question, there will be someone here to help answer it.  Diamond Antiques & Gifts has been voted the numero uno place to shop for so many reasons.  It’s a helpful staff, the vendors have exquisite  taste in what they offer, the shop is huge with two floors of shopping heaven and we keep it clean!  PLUS AUGUST IS OUR ANNUAL MONTH LONG SALE WITH SAVINGS UP TO 20%!  That is a nice savings to reap.  We go miles around the Pittsburgh area on the hunt for the pieces of the past and tow them back to the shop with occasional pit stops for polishing and primping.

We are housed in a  beautifully repurposed building that was built in the early last century and I only remember it as the former Van Sciver’s wallpaper store.  We do carry local history books for Alle-Kiski area and they are awesome.  These are a great way to take a trip down memory lane as you flip through the multitude of old photographs.   Proceeds for these sales go to the local historic society.

You got what we need. The way the internet experience is changing our lives and shopping habits, I sometimes fear that brick and mortar stores will be a thing of the past and places like Diamond Antiques and Gifts will end up in the history books. It is you, the customer,  that helps to keep stores like Diamond Antiques and Gifts doors open year around.

Some of us are old enough to remember how each community had its own little city-like hub.  There was the local bakery, Isaly’s, Murphy’s, Hart’s Home Store, Hart’s Bridal in New Ken, The Acme where Wile E. Coyote bought all of his gear.  Then, slowly, it all just went away.

Things are cyclical.  What is old becomes new.   Where there is abandonment, there is resurgence.  People that will roll the dice and say, “I want to offer something to my community here.”  “I want to make this place my home.”  “I want to make my livelihood here.”

From the beautifully maintained Tarentum Park to the dice rollers that dot the town, you got what we need.

Diamond Antiques & Gifts is open

Wednesday- Saturday from 10-5 and Sunday’s from 12-5.

Visit us at the Tour Ed Fleatique every third Sunday of the month!

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“Don’t worry, the fans don’t start booing until July”. – Earl Weaver

Lightening bugs and mosquito bites,  gardens preparing to burst, the smell of charcoal, Pirate baseball on the radio and the pungent odor of a skunk under the air conditioning unit that wakes you up like smelling salts.  It is summer once again.

Off topic-At the shop the other day while soaking in the dreaded humidity of the afternoon as the fans were blowing warm air, I discovered a radio station on Pandora.  I did a search on Paul Simon and the songs coming from the speaker took me to another time in my life.  Did you ever hear one song in particular that really sparks a memory?  I do.  Every time I hear Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John it takes me to the midnight shift at the former Liberty Mirror in Brackenridge and the year is 1973.  (One advantage of the midnight shift was we could play a radio).  I was a fresh graduate of Highlands High School and was given the choice to go to business school or go to work.  I was so done with school and I wanted the cash so I could move across the country to Oregon, which I did.

I’m back.

One of the things we pride ourselves in at Diamond Antiques and Gifts is keeping the store tidy.  We clean the windows and the glass doors.  We keep the shop floors swept and the displays are always very well done from vendor to vendor.  We have little fairy lights in the window that light the streetscape at night giving the shop a charming and inviting look.  The one thing that presents a challenge is keeping flowers in the urns out front.  It was difficult keeping the geraniums watered in the growing season so we switched over to really very nice artificial ones.  Well, some jag off took the flowers out of one of the urns.  Looks like cactus will be the way to go with that.

In spite of our loss of balance with only one urn sporting flowers, we shall persevere.  Diamond Antiques is in full bloom with so many cool furnishings and decorations your head will explode! One thing to keep in mind when you go to Diamond Antiques and Gifts facebook page to peruse the pictures of current listings is if you see a piece you fall in love with, it is best to call the shop for prices and measurements on a piece.  It’s also good to be sure the piece is still in stock.  The furnishings are awesome and as a rule they don’t stick around very long.

I guess I am kind of known as “the tea lady”.  I’ll take it.  But hey, guess what?  I don’t sip tea.  I am strictly chamomile and chamomile blends.  When a “tea” is made of herbs or flowers only it is called a tisane.  I also start my day with coffee and decaf coffee to boot.  I know, I know.  You think ewwww, what’s the point.  I consume Trader Joe’s french roast decaf and it’s terrific!  I’m jumpy enough so the trade off is nice.

July and August are the best times of the year to brew up some awesome iced tea!  Here is my go to recipe for a fast, thirst quenching beverage.  Boil water and fill a large mug about a quarter of the way up and add your favorite bagged tea flavor.  (I am on a strawberry tisane kick).  Sweeten the hot water so  it dissolves.  After brewing time, fill the mug with lots of ice.  The ice will melt a bit as you add it to the hot water. Then top off with cold water and there you have it.  Summer is a great time to take advantage of the huge selection of tea flavors at The Stillroom Gift & Tea Shop!

The Stillroom Gift & Tea shop is located inside of the fabulous Diamond Antiques and Gifts at 311 E. Sixth Avenue in Tarentum, PA.  The Stillroom has the best tea selection of tea north of the city.  If you need more selection, I’ll send you to Squirrel Hill to Margaret’s Fine Imports on Forbes Avenue.  Margaret has an extended selection of loose teas and a variety of tea from many different tea companies.

Alas, The Stillroom carries only Stash bagged tea and Harney & Sons fine loose tea.  We have tea accessories, local honey, hats, gloves, teacups, teapots, culinary lavender and essential oils of lavender and peppermint.  Locally made goodies include lavender sachets, organic catnip toys, tea wallets and greeting cards.  The Stillroom is a cool little space with fun and unusual touches of vintage and new decor.

If you really want to step back in time and shop at your leisure, do stop by.  The clerks are knowledgeable and helpful.  If you can’t find it here we are happy to tell you where to go.  We don’t know everything in the book but we sure try and help you while we learn something new too!

Give a piece of the past for the present 🙂

Have a safe and happy summer and stay hydrated!  Keep check out the blog for updates on summer happenings at Diamond Antiques and Gifts!

Hours-Wednesday-Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 12-5

Remember we open at 8 a.m. on Fleatique Sundays

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“Spring, being a tough act to follow, God created June” – Al Bernstein

Indeed.  The mornings are cool and give way to sun and rain and roses.

Last year I found a rose bush (more like a stem) overgrown with rose of sharon in my yard.   It was mid to late summer when I discovered this gangly twig and it was too late to really do much with it.  (We recently purchased a home built in 1960 and inherited all of the overgrown and dead plantings that came with it).

This spring, I attacked the overgrown rose of sharon to expose several spindly yet healthy looking rose thingys.  I trellised the rose thingys  as they sprouted out of the ground and to my happy surprise, it produced tiny, tight pink roses.  The fragrant oils that these little flowers produced was incredible.  I love June.

One of my favorite things in life is floral fragrance that you sip in the way of rose, jasmine, and lavender.   The Stillroom Gift & Tea Shop is in full bloom with our Harney & Sons loose Rose scented black tea by the one ounce package or the four ounce tin.  Beautifully scented Jasmine green tea is available in 10 packs by the Stash Tea Co. and the wonderfully fragrant Lavender Tulsi (also known as Holy Basil) herbal tea is here in sample three packs or by the box of 20.

It is not so much a flavor as it is an essence.  They all produce a really nice bouquet.

Speaking of lavender, The Stillroom has culinary lavender by the ounce.  Make sure you grab the recipe card for Lemon Lavender Poundcake and Lavender Lemonade.  The poundcake is fabulous!

The summer months bring all of the fresh, clean herbal flavors that are terrific iced.  The Harney & Sons Verveine (lemon verbena) tea is light and crisp and the Stash Strawberry tea brews up a pretty pink and is a perfect thirst quencher on those days when summer heat hits.  Strawberry Fields forever.

When I served tea at The Stillroom years ago, I did custom iced summer tea by the cup.  It is so simple to do.  I would take the flavor of choice and put the bag in a medium size mug and brew in about a quarter cup of really hot water.  That created a concentrate of sorts.   Brew according to flavor because different teas have different brew times.  I would add sweetener if desired so it could dissolve in that concentrate.  Then I would start topping off with plenty of ice and add a splash of cold water.  My favorite flavors iced are strawberry herbal, white peach, chamomile or chamomile nights.  There are about 35 tea selections at The Stillroom!

The Stillroom has so much more than tea!  Vintage, old, new, tea gear, hats, gloves, some cool old books, and general cool stuff.  There are a few antique pieces that I use for displaying merch but they are for sale.

Stop in and visit the shop located at 311 East. 6th Avenue in Tarentum, PA.  We are sandwiched between Massarts classic diner where you will find good eats and Koskey’s Korner where you will find desserts that will knock your socks right off.  (if you miss the good old days of the Tarentum bakery, you need to get there).  We are across the street from Tarentum Station fine dining, up the street from Seita Jeweler’s and a few blocks from the Tarentum bridge and Gatto’s Cycles.

The Stillroom Gift & Tea shop is located inside of Diamond Antiques and the hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10-5 and Sunday’s from 12-5.  Look for the black and white striped awnings!  That’s us!

We throw the doors open at Diamond Antiques at the 311 E Sixth Avenue shop at 8 a.m. on Fleatique Sunday’s. The Fleatique takes place  at the Tour Ed mine which  is located off of the Tarentum exit on route 28.

Fleatique happens all summer, every third Sunday of the month and the next one is June 18th from daybreak until 1 p.m. Diamond Antiques sets up there along with several other of Diamond vendors.

Looking for treasure?  Want to get some steps in on your fitbit?  Want to get some vitamin D?  Want to shop until you drop? Or maybe you don’t mind the rain on your skin and sloshing around in a puddle on a rainy, summer  Sunday morning. (that occasionally happens on Fleatique Sunday) Want to be the early bird that gets the worm or the second mouse that gets the cheese?   (Both are good choices).

Experience the A-K Valley’s favorite place to shop…the award winning Diamond Antiques   brick and mortar store or shop al fresco where Diamond sets up on Fleatique Sunday’s.

Amazon schmamazon. Phfooey.

Long live Wilco 🙂

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I can not believe that two months have passed me by .  I apparently have slacker tendencies.

That was my gift to me in my New Year resolution.  Me first.  So I decided to throw caution to the wind and take up yoga.  It went pretty well until around March.  But, every day is a new day and I am working on getting myself back on track.  With so much life swirling around me in so many ways, I found the most difficult part of learning this practice is sitting still for twenty minutes and learning how to breath.  Breathing is kind of an important function and I think that is what I miss most.  Breathing and standing still.  That was my idea of me first.  How can I take care of life in general if I can’t stand on one leg for a ridiculous amount of time?

On that note, before I head to the shop to do what needs to be done this morning, I figured it is time for an update since I will be running a three month ad in the Willow Tree. (just in case anyone actually reads this and if you do, thanks).

Here is what’s happening.  The Stillroom Tea shop has left the building.  The winter has passed on and spring will be soon nearing it’s beautiful and fragrant end.  With regret I have closed up the satellite shop in Saxonburg for the summer months ahead.   Starting today, May 1st,  The Stillroom teas will be gone from the shelves at Mimi’s on Main in Saxonburg with the hope of returning again for the fall and winter months.  That’s the current plan unless life throws me curve.

In the meantime, The Stillroom is in full bloom at Diamond Antiques and Gifts in Tarentum so stop in sometime and treat yourself to a great selection of Stash Teas and Harney & Sons loose teas along with tea accessories.  A day with out a good cup of tea, hot or iced, is like a day without a good cup of tea, hot or iced.

Did you know that Diamond Antiques & Gifts has been voted as best antique store about as many times as the Steelers won the Super Bowl?   Truth. So we are the champions of the most awesome place to shop for awesome decorative, functional, antique, vintage, rustic, quirky, breathtaking, beautiful, locally made furniture,  teas, lotions, soaps, hats, gloves, purses, jewelry, culinary lavender, organic catnip, essential lavender oil and I’m out of breath.

Did I mention there are chocolate bars at the counter and the proceeds go to the Animal Shelter?  That alone should entice you to come and see just what we are all about.  Diamond Antiques & Gifts is a treasure.  Did you know that when movies shoot in our area Diamond Antiques is a hot tip for prop shoppers?  Say that three times.  Prop shoppers prop shoppers prop shoppers.

Fleatique is starting up soon!  Remember Diamond Antiques will be there starting May 21st!

Diamond Antiques & Gifts

311 East 6th Avenue in Tarentum

Wed-Sat 10-5  Sunday 12-5

Sunday 12-5

Remember the store opens early on fleatque days too!

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It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. -Charles Dickens

That is a near perfect description of the weather coming this week.

Hey, guess what?  Diamond Antiques at 311 East 6th Avenue in Tarentum is coming in like a lion with a week long storewide sale!  This is a great time to come in and take advantage of the first storewide transformation of the 2017 season.

I am continually amazed by just how creative our staff at Diamond Antiques is.  The store is stocked with just the coolest items from architecturally salvaged goods (which come and go like the wind), awesome locally made furniture, old and repurposed  furniture that you just have to see to appreciate.  You will find antique and vintage everything with some new items in the mix.  Candles, lotions, soaps, dry goods, art, cards, glassware, pottery, essential oils, vintage jewelry, hats, purses,gloves, vintage cars, pins, whew!  People are always so impressed when they walk through the doors of Diamond Antiques and Gifts. I still am and I’ve been a part of the co op for just over a couple of years.

The nice thing about Diamond Antiques besides the helpful staff, is that there is a lovely retail tea shop located inside!  The Stillroom Gift & Tea Shop has been serving up a a great selection of tea since 2001.  We stock local honey in the form a cute little mini bears.  These are so sweet to give as a gift with a package of tea.  We have honey sticks, rock candy, green tea latte candy, violet candy and clove candy.

Choco rocks are back!   These are so cute for an Easter basket for a kid.  Add a matchbox dump truck and a bag of chocolate rocks together and there you go!  If you don’t want to give them up, come in and pick up the recipe card for a ChocoRock Martini.  mmmmmm

We have pure Chocolate tea.  Don’t even get me started on how excellent this dessert tea is.  A touch of sweetness and a splash of milk and oh my.

You will find locally made organic cat toys, cards. organic lavender sachets, essential lavender oil,      herbal tea, black tea, green tea, oolong tea, white tea, tea blends and blooming floral teas.    Holiday tea is in stock all year.  Why stop at Christmas?  The Christmas Eve herbal tea is heavenly.  Looking to fuel up?  Try the Super Irish breakfast.  It’s the espresso of the tea world.

Tea Wallets are not in stock just yet.  I have to find some awesome fabric at my favorite independent store, Loom.  Look for them by the end of March.

The shop carries tea filters, tea bags that you can fill, a limited variety of awesome Harney & Sons loose teas by the ounce or the four ounce tin.   We have tea strainers, tea cups, tea pots, tea cups with strainers and lids.

If you enjoy treasure hunting for that special piece, you need to start it here.  If you can’t  find it here, we will direct you to other local possibilities.

Come in and save a whopping 20% on any purchase over $10.00 now through Sunday in The Stillroom.

The storewide sale runs from Wednesday, March 1st to Sunday March 5th.  Store is open Wed-Sat 10-5 and Sunday 12-5.

Don’t forget to visit Mimi’s Memories in Saxonburg and check out The Stillroom satellite store where you will find a limited but popular selection of tea and accessories!

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Well, it’s time to move on to the next sport not to mention the next season.  Daylight savings is around the corner in early March and soon we will ordering fish sandwiches from the area churches and various organizations.  Paczki (pronunciation is poonch-key , or better yet, “I’d like a dozen.” are already showing up in the local bakeries and our attention will soon be turning to affairs of the heart on Valentine’s Day and soon after, Easter.

Speaking of chocolate, The Stillroom Gift & Tea shop  has Harney & Sons Chocolate and Roses tea as well as Chocolate tea in stock.   OMG! If you have not had  either of these dessert teas and you are a chocolate lover and have never had a dessert tea, this is a great place to start.   The aroma alone is just like a milk chocolate bar!  A touch of milk and a sprinkle of sugar, this is a calorie counter’s dream.  Don’t deprive yourself of this chocolate treat.  The Stillroom Harney & Sons chocolate tea and Valentine’s Blend tea are available by the 4 oz. decorative tin or the 1 oz. package.  It is a loose black tea. These tea treats are available until Easter and just like the bunny, poofkah, they are gone.  Paris  loose black tea is also back in stock.

If you are not familiar with Harney & Sons teas, it is important for me to tell you that it is a family owned top of the line tea company here in the north east.  So, through purchasing this tea, you are essentially helping the economy locally as well as this top notch tea company.  The Stillroom carries a limited amount of loose tea and Harney is the only one we sell.  Available in Rose, Chocolate, Paris and Valentines’s Chocolate and Roses.

In the meantime, the shop is slowly being restocked with our handmade, organic catnip pillows, lavender by the ounce, lavender essential oil, hand-sewn organic lavender sachets and a colorful line of greeting cards.

New to the shop and coming soon will be our really terrific Yoga DVD developed for senior citizens, people recovering from injuries or anyone who is new to exercise.  The main reason I love this DVD is because as I have gotten older, the one thing I have been noticing is my balance is really out of whack.  That is the one thing that we lose as we get older and so far this Yoga for the rest of us is helping me gain strength and balance.  For once this is something I can really get behind and be excited about.  I love it so much I decided to bring it in to the shop to make it available to you.  I’m addicted.

Also, The Stillroom Teas are now available in a basic limited assortment in Saxonburg at Mimi’s Memories on Main Street.  Here you will find an assortment of black, green and herbal teas as well as tea accessories and a few vintage pieces.  Harney & Sons loose black teas are also in stock.

The full  Stillroom Tea shop is available inside of the most awesome Diamond Antiques and Gifts.  Boasting a great group of 26 vendors we are located at 311 East Sixth Avenue in Tarentum. We are located right next to Massart’s Historic Diner, across the street from the fabulous Tarentum Station, up the street a block from Seita’s Jeweler’s and a hop skip and a jump away from Gatto’s and the Tarentum Bridge. Don’t forget to hit the Praha for those Funzi Wings and generous helpings of bar food faves.  New to Tarentum?  Check out the one and only Koski’s Corner.  They are a full service coffee shop with a complete coffee menu and a growing selection of wonderful treats including ice cream.  Pretty cool.  Looking for all of the above?  Find Diamond Antiques centrally located in the middle of the business district and under the black and white striped awning.  Diamond Antiques and Gifts is closed Monday and Tuesday (restocking days for the shop) and is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10-5 and Sunday from 12-5.

It is tea weather so come on in to Diamond Antiques and search for something just for the sake of getting out of the winter doldrums and treat yourself to a fine package of tea while you are in there! Nothing like a hot cup of tea to drown our sorrows in after the Steeler’s loss.  I knew those Patriot’s would win.  Oh well. Go Pens!

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