Old Schoolhouse Antique Mall

 I try to make a stop in Washington, La a couple times a year.  It's right off I-49 just six miles north of Opelousas and the town is an antique shoppers dream.  The former high school houses a 40,000 square feet antique mall and Front Street is home to many more.  You will not be disappointed by taking this detour!

Exterior

Here are a few of the goodies I spotted while there earlier this month.

Mid-century candle sticks 

Only thing I walked away with was this pitcher from the 1960's.

Found this adorable butter dish on main street at one of the many other shoppes.
Out of my price range but so cute!

This Art Deco light fixture is only $100, what a find.

My kiddos posing as this St. Francis of Assisi statue.  Only $175!!!!

Seaside, FL

Seaside, Florida looks like it could be right out of a scene in a movie! As a matter of fact, it is! I recently visited Seaside for the first time and fell in LOVE! Besides the fact that everyone here rides their bike everywhere, the scenery, architecture and vibes of the whole town are just perfection.

 Seaside is an unincorporated master-planned community on the Florida Panhandle between Destin and Panama City! Being one of the first cities in America designed on the principles of New Urbanism, the town has become the topic of slide lectures in architectural schools and in housing-industry magazines, and is visited by design professionals all over the United States! Sweet little Seaside rose to global fame as being the main filming location of the movie The Truman Show!

(Truman's house from the movie!)

The idea behind Seaside came from 1946, when the grandfather of future founder Robert S. Davis bought 80 acres of land along the shore of Northwest Florida as a summer retreat for his family.  In 1979 Davis inherited the parcel from his grandfather, and aimed to transform it into an old-fashioned beach town, with traditional wood-framed cottages of the Florida Panhandle. Davis, his wife Daryl, and architectural partners Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ), toured the south studying small towns as a basis for planning Seaside.

Individual housing units in Seaside are required to be different from other buildings, with designs ranging from styles such as Victorian, Neoclassical, Modern, Postmodern, and Deconstructivism. (per Wikipedia, of course) 

Seaside has no private front lawns, and only native plants - no sod - are used in front yards.

Seaside is Home to one of Florida’s first charter schools---big white school houses with a perfectly groomed courtyard and what must be the greenest grass on the planet.

The house we stayed in was great---Just a short bike ride (or golf cart when we were feeling lazy) from downtown Seaside, the white sand dunes and the BEACH!

The Post Office, one of the most photographed landmarks in Seaside, was just the cutest little thing you’ve ever seen.

The food and drinks were great!

Food trucks, paddle board yoga, and record stores---We had so much fun exploring shops, admiring design and  soaking up the sun!