A landmark today for Maria and me and our marriage.

This is the first piece of furniture we ever bought together, we bought it this afternoon at the Shiny Sisters, a rescue, re-imagination and restoration store that opened in an abandoned store front on Main Street in Cambridge, N.Y., our town.

The shop is run by Leslie Green-Witham, she and a friend had been rescuing beautiful and unusual pieces – furniture, tables, chairs, lamps, vases – for years.

She decided to take the plunge and open a business devoted to what she loves doing. Good for her, and good for us.

We need a dresser, and we both spotted this beautiful old – we think Eastlake – chestnut piece from the 1880’s – at about the same time.

There were a dozen things I wanted to buy (I did buy three of them). When Maria and I got together, she moved into the first Bedlam Farm.  I had already bought all of the furniture there.

And Maria isn’t into buying things. She lives like a monk.

When we moved here, we took that nice old stuff with us.

Eastlake furniture altered the way Americans thought of furniture, Leslie finds pieces like this and “re-imagines” them, she has a great passion for what she does, she talks about every piece as if it were one of her children. I admire people like Leslie, they pursue their dreams and live their lives.

In the Victorian era, people had filled their homes with large pieces of carved furniture, thick upholstery, and heavy draperies that collected dust and germs and kept out healthful air and light.

A new and simpler style of interior decoration was sparked by an idea from an architect and writer named Charles Eastlake, an Englishman. He wrote the book Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details.

This style of furniture is my taste and Maria’s, every piece in our home is at least 150 years old, and is simple and spare.

I was startled by the price – $175. I shudder to think what that dresser would have cost in New York City. This was probably the only chance we would have to get a dresser like this.

Leslie says her pieces tend to find her, rather than the other way around. It’s just something she loves to do. If you love collecting strange things, she’d love to talk with you, she’s [email protected]. She’s one of our tribe, a creative who makes the leap of faith by choosing to do what she loves rather than what fills her retirement account.

We bought it on the spot and picked it up today, also buying a pink “retro” vase, perfect for Maria’s eclectic taste and a refurbished old table (now painted green) for $75.

The Eastlake piece seems so inexpensive I almost felt guilty about it, but I got over that, and Maria glowered at me to stop buying stuff, which I did. And Leslie is just fun. We gave her an old mirror to “rescue” and sell, no charge.

It was exciting to buy our first piece of furniture together, Leslie and her husband Cliff just came over and delivered the dresser to our house and helped us carry it into the bedroom. They refused to take any money for the delivery.

Knowing Maria, this will trigger a vast re-imagining of the upstairs and downstairs furniture. Hang on.