General Store Vignette Vintage Can Labels and How a Tornado gave me a Nest

Something about old time-y general stores appeals to me greatly. Maybe because it is the polar opposite shopping experience to the modern grocery store. Creaky wood floors, natural rustic grains, sugars, coffee and produce nestled into neat rows of barrels. Jars of peppermint sticks behind a bead board counter and fresh meat wrapped in butcher paper and twine. And of course canned goods and household necessities lining the tall shelves around the rest of the one room display. 

I borrowed this Library of congress photo from HERE, a great blog post about the history of the antiques inside CB restaurants and how they are acquired. 

It's no secret that I haunt my local Cracker Barrel restaurant. True, it feels a little kitsch and granny-ish, but it's the retail equivalent of the food they sell- pure comfort. If my kids knew I was in there without them they'd be pretty upset. Maybe I can get a seasonal job there doing displays? Have I told you that my dream pantry will look like a general store?

♪♪♪ Ok so before you read on, press play and turn on the music . It enhances the experience of old time-y ness. I I just love this song...♪♪♪

 As a kid did you ever imagine being locked in your favorite store overnight? I think there was a movie like that. Anyways, this is where I'd want to be locked. I could be blissfully content with the nostalgic candy, plush country blankets and glittery candles and lights and bluegrass cd's to entertain me. And then there's the lovely porch full of rockers and chess boards...ahh.

I wonder if I can rent it out for slumber parties. Slumber party in the Cracker barrel gift shop!! Who's with me?

Ok,ok. Stay with me here, there is a point to my Cracker Barrel ramblings. I made a little vignette in the corner of my kitchen dinette area that I'm calling "the general store". It all started with these vintage can labels. 

These can labels are actual real food labels from the 1940's and 50's. I recently acquired a bunch of them. A factory went out of business back in the day, and somehow some stacks of these labels ended up stored away all these years. I have enough extra ones, in fact, that I'm going to sell them in my etsy shop, for those of you who are into these also. But of course I'll be saving a bunch for myself. They are just too authentically cute!! And this is only a third of the designs I have. 

So "Driving Miss Daisy" dont'cha think? I simply attached them to new cans of green beans. Some are empty and I think they'd look darling with little flower arrangements in them, or as herb planters lined up in a window over the kitchen sink, or holding bright yellow pencils on a desk...

Squeal...clasp hands next to face...

Tell me this isn't Cracker Barrel General Store worthy! 

Disclaimer- no biscuits were harmed during the shooting of this post. In fact they were quickly devoured 2 hours later with our Pioneer Woman chicken and rice soup. And yes, eating it in "The General Store" did make it that much more scrumptious.  I made everyone wear bonnets and petticoats...

MMMM- Little House on the Texas Suburb Prairie...

Do you like this polka dot towel? I received it from Aunt Ruthie of Sugar Pie Farmhouse. It was made by Sweet Magnolia Farms Etsy shop. Thanks to Aunt Ruthie I am hooked to SMF now!

Better use a flame-less candle inside an old wooden pie safe. The key word is "safe" after all...

Now...I took this next photo AFTER dinner. 

I wanted you to see how the display will REALLY look on a daily basis. I can't leave a colander of fresh baked biscuits out everyday for heavens sake! Our baby fur monster (aka Junebug, the 17 week old yellow lab) would help herself to every last biscuit in about 5 seconds flat...

...and then would probably help herself to the flour sack dish towel...and the pie safe...and anything else that had the faintest molecule of biscuit scent on it.

And because I know you are extremely concerned about what I did with the little white shelf that had been in the dinette nook before,  I included a photo of it in its' new home. In the "White" dining room.

See that big birds nest? It fell out of a crape myrtle at our last house during a tornado. We lived in Bedford, TX at that time and a small F0 tornado came down our street. I was in the closet with the kids and dog, we all had helmets on, and we were watching David Finfrock (I sure do miss my old news crew on nbc5i DFW. Isn't it funny how you feel like you know them after watching them for so many years?). Anyways, he was actually showing the rotation and saying our street NAME. That is SO SCARY, let me tell ya! We could see power lines breaking and I thought I was going to have a heart attack!

Luckily it only blew down trees and fences and unfortunately, beautiful bird nests. So every time I see this nest it reminds me that God protected my nest and my baby chicks that day. And that we are extremely blessed and lucky to have such wonderful shelter in a world full of disaster and uncertainty.

Wishing you warmth and love and beautiful shelter in your nest today!

Love,

Linsey

*I was in no way reimbursed by Cracker Barrel for this post, nor am I affiliated with them in any way.

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