Joanne Rossman- Purveyor of the Unnecessary & the Irresistible

THIS SATURDAY the ever charming Sean Scherer will be signing his new book "Vignettes" at the store, Sept 28, 12-2pm. Filled with 150 gorgeous photos, this is a must-have for anyone who has a passion for antiques and collecting. Sean shares his secrets on creative ways to combine cherished possessions and flea-market finds. He is a true delight and one of the best designers in the business!

Drop by our doorstep for some great music Saturday, Sept 21st from 3:40 - 4:40pm!

Joanne Rossman- Purveyor of the Unnecessary & the Irresistible Drop in to see an irresistible, eclectic selection of gifts for all occasions!

Mark your calendars for Sat, Sept 28, 12-2pm when the ever charming Sean Scherer will be in the store! He'll be signing his new book "Vignettes" that shares his secrets on creative ways to combine cherished possessions and flea-market finds to make your home come alive with personality, charm, and memory. He is a true delight and one of my favorite people...you will love him!

Joanne Rossman- Purveyor of the Unnecessary & the Irresistible Drop in to see an irresistible, eclectic selection of gifts for all occasions!

The store is piled high with beautiful and intriguing books, new candles and soaps with scents that will carry you away, unusual antiques and a raft of wonderful finds. The shop is sparkling and the only thing missing is you!
New expanded store hours start Sept 4th:
Wednesday - Friday : 11 - 5
Saturday: 10 - 4
Sunday: 12 - 4

Purveyor of the unnecessary & the irresistible-unique gift shop-antiques Unique gift shop in Roslindale Village, MA. Anitques, art, jewelry, books, men's gifts, candle, lotions and all things irresistible.

Make sure to stop by before or after the Roslindale Farmers Market each Saturday...we're just a 3 minute walk away! Momo will be handing out copies of my delectable favorite recipes in her new summer frock...a sight not to be missed!!

Joanne Rossman- Purveyor of the Unnecessary & the Irresistible Drop in to see an irresistible, eclectic selection of gifts for all occasions!

Darlings, the store will be open on weekends only during August. The new hours are Saturday: 10-4 and Sunday: 12-3. We'll be closed Monday through Friday, but you can count on us coming back at full tilt after Labor Day. Make sure to come over before or after the Roslindale Farmers Market each Saturday...we are just a 3 minute walk away! Momo will be handing out copies of my delectable favorite recipes in her new summer frock...a sight not to be missed!!

Purveyor of the unnecessary & the irresistible-unique gift shop-antiques Unique gift shop in Roslindale Village, MA. Anitques, art, jewelry, books, men's gifts, candle, lotions and all things irresistible.

Annual SUMMER SALE starts next weekend!
July 27: 10am-4pm & Sun • July 28: 12pm-4pm
You won't want to miss Momo at the register ringing up sales in her new bikini! Come straight from the beach for deals hotter than beach sand! Everything in the store will be (at least) 15% off with selected items up to 75% off! www.joannerossman.com

Joanne Rossman- Purveyor of the Unnecessary & the Irresistible Drop in to see an irresistible, eclectic selection of gifts for all occasions!

Happy 4th!!! The store will be closed July 3rd and July 4th, but we'll be there Saturday and Sunday...drop by with your tales of summer celebrations with family and friends. Momo, Nicco and I will be celebrating with gusto!!🇺🇸

Today marks 26 years of a life gone by. Seems impossible to have ever know Byrd Swift, impossible so many years have passed, impossible how I can still be ‘holding court’ without her. This strange and wonderful little shop echos every bit of who she was. I opened the shop with some of an inheritance from Byrd. I traveled some, I bought four used cars over the years, rescued five pugs, sold a big house for a smaller one, ate dinners out, cooked meals for friends, and I wrote endless journals to make a little sense of dying, and, also the days while I am not yet dead myself. I came to no conclusions. There are no roadmaps to survival and to grief. Short of savoring memories and, in my case, the unexpected inheritance, the best one can do is write, and eat, and travel, and buy a car when the old one gives out, and you might just open a store filled with unnecessary and irresistible merchandise which you know, in your soul, is one totally foolish and irrational thing to do….but, you do it anyway. Byrd was an artist, she would love the shop at 6 Birch. She would have adored all the various pugs. Had she lived longer she would have loved Morocco and Turkey and Greece. Had she lived longer, I could have continued teaching her how to cook, which was a lost cause. A few years before Byrd died she bought me a sweet desk and chair from the Bloomsbury period. Not a particularly comfortable desk chair but beautifully detailed. On the drawer of the desk, wood burned into its front space, is a phrase “ Look then into thine heart and write” which is the best ever advice one could be given. The money doesn’t last all that long, the memories do. So, if your grieving the loss of a pet or a person or your independence…put it down on paper in pen and ink or pencil. Write to make sense of life, to be grateful or pi**ed, to start over daily with a fresh new page and delicious, kind, or difficult, memories.

I'm thinking about Dads...
Count your blessings if you still have your father. I know I miss mine everyday. Here's my favorite pick of the two of us...hard to believe I was every so tiny! Come around and tell us a favorite story about yours.

Purveyor of the unnecessary & the irresistible-unique gift shop-antiques Unique gift shop in Roslindale Village, MA. Anitques, art, jewelry, books, men's gifts, candle, lotions and all things irresistible.

I figure advice, sage or otherwise, comes with age. In truth, this could be one of the rare virtues of aging. You find you have lived long enough to have opinions on nearly every subject even if you know nothing about said subject…an opinion is often offered. The other virtues are more along the practical nature. Flat shoes a must for a speedy getaway, the knowledge that underwire bras are overrated, remembering all commitments and the names of others, though lovely, are less important. Learning to adore yesterdays outfit, peeled off hours before, as something OK to wear today. Accepting loss of all things and people and pets you hold dear. Remembering the early history of what the weather was like the day you planted the Cecil Bruner Rose bush and forgetting the reality of how poorly it’s sweet buds produced. Finding that it’s perfectly normal to loose your car in a big garage with more floors of parking than you recall because, when you parked, you were remembering candying those Cecil Bruner rose buds for a dinner party back in 1968. Celebrating birthdays and anniversaries of all past people and pets. Anniversaries of road trips and honeymoons included. Memory is such a virtue and a plus when making myth. As I age it all becomes a softer experience. The distance between cities much closer, the days of a week much shorter…how could it be Monday again? You get the picture if your over fifty, and, if your not over 50 scroll on today's post is not for the very young

Joanne Rossman- Purveyor of the Unnecessary & the Irresistible Drop in to see an irresistible, eclectic selection of gifts for all occasions!

Hanging around in the basement this morning, checking to see if I have mice, I found my mother Dora’s recipe file. One of many recipe collections she kept. In going through her house, hours after she died, it seems I saved all or anything that had her hand writing. Mostly anything about food and recipes. The recipe cards tattered and stained. Maybe a bit of a burn mark from her current brand of ci******es. Would that be her unfiltered, soft pack of Camels or might it have been her Lucky Strike period. There were Marlboro’s and a brand named Eve as well. She tried them all and swore she was ‘quitten’ before long! In this file are names of old friends…Ice Box Cookies from Peggy Millie, Sour Cream Apple Cake from Marie Hall, Roma’s Apple Sauce Cake, Oat Meal Cake from Eunice and a Super Fine Chocolate Cake from Joanne….swear to God...I don’t remember ever making this number which had one package of Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix! But, there it is, living proof in my own young-mother hand writing. That was before I gave up on Duncan Hines and decided writing on the provided line was much too confining. I believe that was the late sixties when I was (and still am) anti war protester, a legalize ma*****na advocate, and pro choice…so writing on the line, in small perfect script, is still not my style. Well, off to the shop where folks might just pop in for a visit. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers our there. Btw, no sign of mice today...might need a lunch martini to celebrate!

Joanne Rossman- Purveyor of the Unnecessary & the Irresistible Drop in to see an irresistible, eclectic selection of gifts for all occasions!

What a day! Thank you all darlings for coming to the Square, bright and early yesterday morning for the Garden Antiques event. It was a crazy, frantic, joyful day of sales and conversations. We all had a grand time. The jockey headed out, at the end of the day to his fine new home, the cement pig wandered off earlier and the cement lantern was first to go. So many new faces and many, many, loyal clients who showed up. Your superb taste rules! Another wonderful day of retail! I might throw on a pair of worn sweats and collapse in my pink chair in the store today. Momo will have to work the cash register!

THIS SATURDAY, April 27th! Here's just a taste of the wonderful garden antiques at our one day event in the store. We'll have everything from perfectly aged sculpture to paintings of gardens. Drop by anytime between 10am-4pm and join with me and my friends while we tell tall tales behind these objects we love. Those in the know will come early for the best selection...cash or check only!

When was there ever a time I won a raffle? I can answer that... NEVER! I have bought raffle tickets over the years…never won a bloody thing. But last nights raffle at the Social Restaurant & Bar
in Newton (besides being great fun, huge attendance, delicious food and drink, darling parents and supporters, adorable track boys, beautiful youth everywhere) I was a raffle winner! Shocked me to bits. I won! I won, a cap which so suits me, a pair of heart break running socks (on the day of the Boston Marathon, so that is a double win) and I won a Newton coffee mug from Greentail Table. Thank you! A big shout out to my grandson Reeve, the track coach and captains for this sweet night. No matter where you live support your local students…these young people might just save the world.

Rare Finds: Gardens
Saturday, April 27 • 10am - 4pm
The store will be bursting with all manner of garden related finds from perfectly weathered sculpture to dreamy paintings... for one day only!

Brian Skahan & Mary Jennings have a passion for estate sales and regularly sell out at the Rowley Market. I've wrangled up an array of favorite garden finds that need good homes...though I will miss them dearly.

Come with your tall tales of flea market victories. All three of us will be on hand and we'd like nothing better than to talk about the hunt. We'll also have a bit to nosh on while you make up your mind. Bring cash or a check only.

Purveyor of the unnecessary & the irresistible-unique gift shop-antiques Unique gift shop in Roslindale Village, MA. Anitques, art, jewelry, books, men's gifts, candle, lotions and all things irresistible.

New Spring Hours!
Wednesday-Friday: 11 - 5
Saturday: 10 - 4
Sunday: 12 - 4
Darlings...come with garden tips, pics of kids and grandkids and tall tales...I am ready for all of it!

Antiques alert! This Thursday, March 21st at noon check joannerossman.com for a small selection of new finds. First come first serve!

Purveyor of the unnecessary & the irresistible-unique gift shop-antiques Unique gift shop in Roslindale Village, MA. Anitques, art, jewelry, books, men's gifts, candle, lotions and all things irresistible.

It's leap day today! This being a leap year, you can step outside the norm. Not sure how far outside the norm you can venture, but, I say if there is a man or woman you have had your eye on this is the year to propose. Forget the dating…who has that kind of time. Step right into marriage and bypass all that sharing of birth signs and favorite colors and failures and the random success. Speed up the whole process of getting to know you. I wonder, now, who I would ever propose to. There was a time, years back, when I knew how to flirt and could spin a hoola-hoop on my, then, swivel hips. A time, long ago, when I had a fantasy or two. Now my fantasy’s are around food. The eating and making of same and far less so on partnerships of same or opposite s*x. I do have a fantasy, that should I sell this house, and decide to move on, my Wolf Range would insist on leaving the kitchen with me. I would replace the Wolf with something cheap and gas fed, it would have four burners and a clean oven. The Wolf and I would then ride off into the sunset together just like deeply married folks might do. Of course I would tuck in a pug or two on this leap year adventure! I am never going to be far from the joys of a fine range or the madness of two pugs. Live large my darlings…it’s leap year!

Jumpstart Your Memoir! A Writing Workshop with Celia Jeffries
Sunday, March 17 • 12-3pm
Our wonderful, complex lives can be difficult to capture when writing a memoir. What to include? What to leave out? Where to start? Celia Jeffries is a writer, editor and memoir workshop leader who can help you explore those questions. Become one of the lucky writers to begin this journey with her in the comfort of Joanne's home in Roslindale. Message me here to sign up!

Joanne Rossman- Purveyor of the Unnecessary & the Irresistible Drop in to see an irresistible, eclectic selection of gifts for all occasions!

Some nefarious person is asking for money in my name on facebook. Please be careful and know that I might ask for attention, but never money. 😮

Can you believe it...I turned 84 yesterday! It was a delicious day in the store with so many bouquets of flowers, chocolate bars, a superb book, endless cards all hand delivered and a fine oblong tablet with a pug image! There were trays of cookies and of mini cupcakes and a dish of clementines. It was a grand day of 17 degrees with lots of laughter and chatter each of us talking over the other! I love you all for celebrating my big day. My cup runneth over…I adore each of you.

ANTIQUES ALERT! On Saturday, January 13, 10am - 4pm, four friends, who happen to have a great eye for antiques, will be offering their favorite pieces for one day only in the store! Joanne Rossman, 6 Birch Street, Roslindale Village, MA. Cash or check only.

Brian Skahan and Mary Jennings troll estate sales and regularly sell out their booth at the Rowley Market. Bonnie Barnum is an antiques legend in Concord, and me...I am in the mood to purge some of my most sought after pieces. You'll find the best of the best...furniture, a spectacular dollhouse, antique quilts, dreamy paintings and all manner of wonderful objects d'art at decent prices. But no peeking...I'll be papering over the windows of the store until this Saturday at 10am sharp.

Here's to a New Year filled with hope, happiness and joy. Hearing your tall tales of travels, worldly insights and sweet pets have sustained me and Momo all year long. We look forward to another year of your kindness and friendship....and a good scratch behind the ears!🐾🐾

The store will be closing for a wee break January 1-17, reopening on January 18th. I'm going to restock, rest and return in my prime as a 42 year old bundle of energy. Happy New Year!🥂

Joanne Rossman- Purveyor of the Unnecessary & the Irresistible Drop in to see an irresistible, eclectic selection of gifts for all occasions!