anoka, mn

Yesterday I took a mini road trip up to Andover to visit a friend and her new baby. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some babies, but part of what excited me almost as much was how close Andover is to one of my favorite antiquing towns, Anoka. It has been over a year since my last visit because really it is completely out of the way from any direction I would ever travel on purpose so what better reason to justify shopping than with the birth of my friend’s son! (Yes, that reads as awful as it felt to type.)

Here’s the scoop on Anoka:

The town has a mainstreet (hoorah!) and cute little shops lining up & down it. Super easy to navigate and you could spend a couple of hours or up to a full day exploring. Ok, maybe a full day is a stretch but one of the shops on it’s own I swear I could spend a week in easy.

Stop #1:

Antiques and More in downtown Anoka (just off of Mainstreet). This little shop, which I came to find wasn’t so little, is situated in one of Anoka’s older structures and has a unique floorplan reminiscent of a house. I was actually quite surprised walking around inside because there are multiple floors and small rooms, which I would have never guessed from the outside. I actually prefer antique shops set up this way because the experience is less overwhelming (see stops #2 & #3 below). That being said, the store was definitely large enough to get lost in and I did just that a couple of times. Now, let’s talk merchandise:

Walking in there are cases & cases full of little knicknaks and actually a lot of dog themed items. This, of course, I was ecstatic over because anyone who knows me knows my obsession for the pooch. I browsed through these cases quickly to make way to the bigger stuff.

The goods:

These were the two prizes of the shop I found- an early 1900’s dressmaker form and a Norman Rockwell print of “Waiting for the Vet”. The dressmaker wasn’t for sale so of course I tried to sweet talk (it was in INSANELY good condition) but the owner wasn’t having it. The print I actually regret not purchasing. $15 and it would have looked great in my entryway. All in all, the store was worth the stop for small display pieces and prints. Lots of victorian-era pieces and although I didn’t find much for my personal aesthetic, I would have loved to have spent more time browsing. Time is of the essence however and stop 2 awaits!