Several months ago, Kyle forwarded the name of a store to me as a place I might enjoy: Lost Eras. He'd never been there, but he'd heard it had good vintage stuff.

That could be the understatement of the century.

One day this week, on a whim, I decided to walk there with my W's. 

It's only about half a mile from the house and it would take me new places, and I am always on the search for various things. At the moment, I'm specifically looking for either a Hoosier cabinet or a buffet/hutch/cabinet for my dining room. 

I'm also looking for something interesting to use as bedside tables and possibly for stained glass to use in my transom windows. I always have "things" I keep an eye out for.

Things like this gorgeous piece which had a little desk with drawers that opened up. 

I loved it!

I walked into this store and felt like I was in heaven. It spoke to me on so many levels that I could have cried with delight! Glassware, ceramics, crocks, china, teacups, sterling silver flatware, silver tea sets....I was fortunate that my stroller JUST fit down the aisle because this was happening. I WAS going to explore every nook and cranny.

Umbrella stand. $24. Love it!

A pair of Midcentury Modern night tables. LOVE THEM!

This piece may, in fact, be exactly what I'm looking for for my dining room. It meets all my color and space requirements, and the price is right. 

Check out the globe stand. Pretty great, huh?

In addition to having an overwhelming selection of vintage and antique things, Lost Eras is known for its costumes. You can rent or buy them.

There was a whole wall of masks, wigs, hats, etc. 

A funny side note: I have been trying to track down a certain Manuel who is working on a porch of a house further down Chase. He's been removing rotten spindles and replacing them on an old Queens Anne house. I walk past this house regularly and even got his phone number once, but apparently entered it in my phone incorrectly. And I want him to come look at my porch and give me a quote to fix its issues. But I keep missing him. 

I walk into Lost Eras, and there is Manuel behind the counter! Apparently the owner of Lost Eras is the owner of the Queen Anne house on my street and uses Manuel for various projects and tasks. Needless to say, I capitalized on his presence and got the right number for him, and he's coming Friday to look at my porch. Yeah! 

Once the W's and I gave the upstairs a once-over, I inquired about a basement. I vaguely recalled someone mentioning their epic basement.

I spotted and made a b-line to these fabulous green chairs. 

I have expensive taste. Apparently, these are the original Wrigley Field bleacher seats that had been removed when the stands were updated. Each chair costs $500.  No discounts applied for rotting wood, either.  Sheesh. I'm not that sentimental. I just thought they looked cool.

Epic was no exaggeration. The square footage of this basement space had to be over 3,000. It was a place you could easily get lost in. It also had a frighteningly low ceiling and I had to regularly duck for pipes. At one point, someone flushed a toilet or something and Wyeth and I screeched in fear - it sounded like a rush of water pouring near us. It was ok, though. Just loud pipes.

Immediately upon entering the basement, this was my view. Row after row of vintage clothing. Not necessarily costumes, just vintage clothing of every imaginable era and genre. 

That was just the beginning.

There were rooms dedicated to antique chairs and stools. 

It was like an antique hoarder's stash.

There were rooms dedicated to certain things like light fixtures, briefcases, steamer trunks, old tools, books, vinyl records, men's suiting, men's dress shoes...

A uni-cycle, metal washbins, vintage butter crocks, school house lighting...

Need an old telephone? Or golf clubs?

I later found out from my neighbor that many of these items are used as props for sets. 

Need a vinyl record? Or something on which to play one?

Wyeth found a stash of really cool walking sticks and some swords.

It was amazing. It made me happy in a way that very few things do. I called Kyle as I walked home, just giddy. It's the kind of place that descriptions don't do justice - you simply have to experience it.I could have spent hours there and not run out of things to explore and inspect.

If you're ever in the Chi-town area, specifically Rogers Park, Lost Eras is located on the corner at the intersection of Howard and Rogers Avenue. It's worth finding and checking out.

The other truly amazing thing is how well my W's hold up to such adventures. I usually bring my carrier and end up wearing Wilder who invariably falls asleep at some point. But Wyeth is just phenomenal. He sticks right by my side, offers up some comments at different objects and never touches anything. He's the perfect child. I kid you not. He never complains, asks for food or drink...just troops along and takes it all in. I'm so proud of him. Makes exploring Chi-town with my W's even more enjoyable. Until next time...