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Saturday, March 29, 2014

Sister Weekend Part 2

Happy Saturday!

Is it just me, or did the week fly by?  Nothing too exciting has been going on around here.  Torrential downpours have hindered any kind of fun, outdoor Spring Break activities.  But what can I expect?  I live in Oregon!

I'm still on a major high from that amazing Pyrex haul I found on Monday.  I can honestly say that even if I don't find anymore pieces in the thrift for the next several months, I'll be happy.  Between all of the Rainbow Stripes I found the other day and the Green New Dot I found a few weeks ago, I just don't think things can get any better.  I am passing my Pyrex Karma onto all of you guys now. Good luck!

Now, onto the last of what I found when Hanna visited a couple of weekends ago.


We hit a few antique malls on Saturday.  Jadeite is getting to be so expensive that when I find a piece that is priced reasonably, I grab it!  Vintage glassware is on the top of my list to look for, especially the larger sized tumblers.  The perfectly rusty dust pan will go outside with my Summer decor when I finally get to get it out!


Just in time for Easter, a trio of sweet bunnies with puffy tails!


I finally found some sweet Easter candles and in the original box!  And the vintage Easter egg decorating kit is what I hope to be the start of a new collection.  I love going to the flea market during the holidays!


We hit a couple of thrifts while we were out and about and these two mugs were all I found.


Maddie found herself some books at the flea market, including the one about the Dionne Quintuplets.  She studied them in school last year and has been very interested in them since then.


It's a rare occasion that I pass up anything cowboy/cowgirl related.


More flea market finds.  I love how the flower frog is still in its original packaging with the label still attached.  The door knob will be repurposed into something.  The last two I found I had Brian make into hand towel holders for the bathroom using old door plates.  I think I will have him do another one for the laundry room.


Another cute children's magazine (Easter themed!) and a box of vintage cards.



All of the cards are different and none of them have been used.  Here are a couple of my favorites.  I love how the Report Card on the "Hmm!  Could be better!" card is removable.


I think that vintage decorating supplies are so sweet!  These two sprinkle jars bring my total to three, an official collection!  This shaker matches one I found at an estate sale last Summer.  I really want to try and find some decals small enough for them.


I would love to find an authentic vintage Jadeite cake stand but like that's gonna happen!  Can you imagine if I did how much it would cost?  So until someone just gives me one, I have absolutely no issues with buying reproductions, especially when they are this pretty!


Lastly, after saying goodbye to Hanna in Portland, Maddie and I stopped at a little town off of I5 for lunch.  After we ate, we checked out a couple of the antique malls that they are know for.  Very nice things, but a little too Victorian for my tastes.  I did manage to find this perfectly pink and springy tablecloth though.  It's not like I wouldn't come away with something!

A really, really fun weekend overall!  Hanna, Maddie, and I always have the best time when we are together, even if we don't do anything but hang out at my house.  All of the treasure we find are just icing on the cake.  Can't wait for Plucky Maidens weekend!

Liking up with The Cottage Market for Junkin' Joe & How Sweet The Sound for Pink Saturday.

Have a great day!

~Erica

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Spring Has Sprung!

Good Morning, Friends!
 
Although it was the first day of Spring Break yesterday, Maddie and I were still out the door pretty early to get our errands done so we could come home and enjoy the 70+ degree weather we were expecting.  Our first stop was the DMV to pick up tags for Alex's truck.  I live an exciting life, I know.  Well, this particular DMV just so happens to be right next door to my local Goodwill.  So close, they share a parking lot.  So of course I had to go in.  Luckily, they were just unlocking the door when we walked up, otherwise I may have missed out on all of this absolutely, amazing, perfect, and Springy Pyrex...


I haven't found any Gooseberry in forever.  It's just one of those patterns that is pretty hard to come by around here, even at antique malls.  So to find 4 refrigerator dishes with lids at a thrift is super rare!


Horizon Blue is one of my most favorite patterns.  I use this style of casserole on almost a daily basis.  They are perfect to bake in, store leftovers in, and prep in.  I was stoked to find the larger 475 size.  That they came with lids was another bonus.


Rainbow Stripe Madness!  Can you believe that they had all of these taped together as a set for a whopping $7.99?  As I shared in my last post, I found the yellow 403 at the flea last weekend so now I just need the 401 and I will have another set.  I almost have two sets of the blue too, I just need to find the elusive 402.  I'm not a huge fan of the tan but I will keep it and try and put a set together.

So, everything I found was a duplicate but there was absolutely no way I was going to leave anything behind.  If I didn't buy it, someone else surely would have.  Plus, the Pyrex Gods must have been smiling down on my because my grand total for all of this beauty was $21.95.  CRAZY GOOD!!

I even did something I have never been known to do.  On our way home from running our errands, I stopped back in the same store to see if lightning could strike twice.  Sadly, the shelves were empty of Pyrex but I would really be a brat if I complained, right?

Oh Goodwill, my faith in you and your pricing is slowly being restored...

Linking up with We Call it Junkin' for History & Home

Have a great day!

~Erica

Monday, March 24, 2014

A Fun Thrifter Sister & Maddie Weekend!

Good morning, everyone!

Today is the first day of Spring Break and I'm ready for it!  I am missing the lazy days of Summer so this will be like a practice run.  It's supposed to be sunny and 70 degrees today so I'd say we are off to a good start!

As Hanna mentioned, last weekend she was down visiting Maddie and I while the boys were in Vegas.  We had so much fun!  It was a typical sister visit with treasure hunting, cocktails, and even an impromptu dog walk.  I have three giant dogs so that was no small task.  All in all, it was an awesome time and I can't wait for Hanna to move closer so we can do it more often.

Despite the Dirty Shirley's that were consumed the night before, we were still able to drag our butts out of bed Sunday morning and were on the road at 5:30 am to head to an out of town flea.  It's always worth the early morning wake up and drive for me!


These cute Holt Howard and Norcrest friends didn't even get a chance to hit the table before I bought them.


This is my second Davy Crockett glass that I have found. Almost a collection!


A drink caddy has been on my wish list for as long as I can remember.  Bonus that I found one full of matching glasses!  Hanna thinks I should paint it but I'm actually really liking the original shabbiness of it.


I always pick up the Morning Glory jars when I find them for a good price.  I actually found this one at an antique mall the day before.  The yellow Rainbow Stripe bowl was a flea market find from the same seller I found the cute Christmas figurines from.


I would love to find a couple more of these sweet Easter trays.  I am pretty sure I have enough boxes of vintage straws to have an actual collection now.  I am just going to have to round them all up.

It was definitely a weekend full of great finds, so much so that I think I will break it all up into two posts!

Linking up with Sir Thrift-A-Lot for Thriftasaurus.

Have a great day!

~Erica

Friday, March 21, 2014

An Estate Sale and Some Sister Time

Good Morning and Happy Friday!  Hanna here.  I'm about to head off for my last day of work before Spring Break so I figured I better share some of my recent finds before I head into vacation mode.  A few weeks back I actually made it to an estate sale that started on a Saturday.  I got there an hour early to find a line of 10 people already.  I was so tired with minimal sleep the night before but I had a great feeling about this sale.  I'm sure happy I took the time to wait, as I found a couple great treasures.
 I found some old cookie cutters with wooden handles.  I want a jar full like Erica's eventually.  I also purchased Erica the ugliest donkey I've ever seen.  You see, my rule is no donkey left behind, and I know Erica will grow to love it unconditionally.  I also bought the Pyrex refrigerator dish just for the lid.

I pounced on this Pyrex Lace Medallion right when I walked in the sale.  It is practically perfect and I was really happy to find a nice piece of Pyrex in a color and pattern that is actually coveted.
 I was pretty excited to add another set of bookends to my collection.  These muskets are marked Japan and have the same color scheme as the kitty cats that I got recently.
 I bought hoards of books.  Weird, right?  There were just so many to choose from.  I was really excited about the official bartenders guide, it goes great with all my bar ware.  I also love old science textbooks, and this one is full of experiments.  There were a lot of cook books at this sale, and this is just one that I purchased.
I also found a few bridge items that I bought because I liked the graphics.  I'm really drawn to the little big books.  I have sold an Uncle Wiggly book in the past so I picked it up also.
Eeek!  More books!  I came home with a stack of childrens books and these are a few of my favorites.
 Last week I checked out my GW and found that someone must have cleaned out their egg cup collection.  I'm telling you there were probably 75 and they were still putting more out.  I know nothing about egg cups but I do know that anything marked Japan and Easter comes home with me.  The yellow egg cup has 3 bears on it and is a type of English pottery I'm pretty sure.  The Humpty Dumpty has some crazing, but I love the back of this cup:

"How exactly like an egg he is!"  It is very sweet.  I can't find any information on this egg cup but I was happy to bring it home.
I went down for a visit with Erica this last weekend and she of course had some goodies for me including some duplicate cookbooks she had.
She also took me to the antique mall with the biggest pixie collection I've ever seen and bought me these 2 cuties.  We picked them together solely based on their stances.  Erica says I pose like the one on the right a lot.  I probably do.  I only bought two things when I was down antiquing and going to the flea markets and one of those items is the pheasant cup.  Erica gave Matt a full set of these juice glasses a few Christmas's ago.  What is exciting about this one is that it is the size of a swanky swig, perfect to drink wine out of!

I forgot to picture my other purchase, so I will have to share it next time.  There were lots of things I wanted to get at the flea markets but I'm headed to St. Thomas for a week on Monday and I'm saving all my fun money for vacation.  I wonder if I will find any thrift stores in the Caribbean?  Wish me luck!

Always a Pleasure,
Hanna


Tuesday, March 18, 2014

A Little Bit Here & There

Happy Tuesday, Friends!

It's been a busy week so far.  Last weekend, Hanna visited and we headed to a couple of flea markets and antique malls.  I got a pretty good haul but it is all still sitting on the table in my bedroom waiting to be photographed and put away.  It's a good thing I have some backup stuff to show you.


Last week, Maddie and I headed into town to get some frozen yogurt.  The shop that we stopped at just so happened to be right next to the new location of one of our local antique malls.  It's an awesome store.  Very MCM and industrial.  They don't have a lot in the way of vintage kitchen but they did have these!  Two souvenir glasses that didn't already have in my collection.


Last week when I picked up the Fire King Red Dots bowl, I also found this vintage Easter egg and globe bank at the same Goodwill. 


Since our laundry room has been getting a facelift, I've been picking up things here and there to decorate with when it's done.  I'd love to get a collection of the clotheslines going.  And I need to figure out how and what I am going to hang from the green thingie.


I had to go to the DMV the other day which just so happens to be right next to a Goodwill so I had an excuse to pop in.  I can recognize a Starbucks mug from a mile away.  The Fire King Snoopy mugs are always good sellers.


I couldn't resist the colors on this metal Address box.  I bought it off of Instagram. And I've been needing a new set of measuring cups so why not buy some Jadeite ones?  I won't tell that they are repros if you don't.


I picked up a couple aqua melmac bowls for my cat.  What, you think I have ugly food dishes for her?  I was super happy to find the Betty Crocker Dinner in a Dish cookbook at the same thrift.  It is one that I have wanted forever.


Isn't this a lovely stack of vintage sheets and pillowcases?  All thrifted!

That's all for now!  Have a good week :-)

Linking up with Sir Thrift-A-Lot & We Call it Junkin'

~Erica

Friday, March 14, 2014

You Guys Might Hate Me...

So in the last couple of weeks, I have been seriously lucky with finding amazing things at ridiculous (in a good way) prices.  Maybe this recent flux of beautiful weather has motivated people to do a little spring cleaning.  Or it could be that all of the (over) pricers at the thrifts have been calling in sick.  Or perhaps the Internet has been down for all of the dealers in my area so they are unable to inflate their prices due to what people are listing things for online.  Well whatever it is, I'll take it!


I found the Americana Blue 403 and mini casserole with lid at one of our local antique malls.  I have the full set of Americana but this bowl was so cheap (10 bucks!) that I knew I could turn around and resell it for way more than I paid (which I did).  I have bypassed another one of the mini casseroles at a different antique mall several times.  I have several of them already and didn't need another one.  But this one was only $3.00 with the lid.  I would have been crazy not to buy it.


For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you already know the story surrounding these finds.  I was meeting Brian for lunch and had some time to kill so I stopped in at a independently owned second hand shop that recently opened.  I really like the guy who runs it.  I talk to him at the estate sales all the time.  He likes to collect old toys and advertising.  So I found this Fire King Kitchen Aids bowl and pair of tulip shakers without prices.  I have a real knack for picking things up without tags.  I took them up front and asked him how much for all three.  He turned them over in his hands and I cringed waiting for his answer.  He told me $12.00.  For all three.  OMG.  He must like me :-)


Yesterday was so gorgeous outside that I decided to take a drive to see if one of our local farmers markets was open yet.  It wasn't but I found myself in the vicinity of my hometown Goodwill.  I never go to this one because it is a good 30 minutes from my house.  It is super small but I've always had good luck at it.  I once thrifted 3 out of 4 of the Friendship Cinderella bowls from this same store.  Anyway, look at what I found front and center on the single housewares shelf.  The largest of the Fire King Red Dots bowl.  For $2.99.  I was so excited that I called Brian to tell him.  He is in Vegas right now with Alex for the PAC 12 tournament and was watching Arizona play.  He still answered, said "that's cool", then promptly hung up.  I had to tell someone and Hanna was in meetings all day!

I've picked up some other stuff here and there at the thrifts but I'll save those for another time when I'm short on things to share.  But hopefully that doesn't happen!

Linking up with Junkin' Joe over at The Cottage Market!

Have a great weekend~

Erica

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Jackpot!

Recently, Brian and I were out running errands and I conned him into stopping at one of the thrifts that I never get a chance to go to because its clear across town.  I am still following my self imposed rule about not going into the thrifts unless I am already in the area doing something else.

Here's the thing with thrifting with my husband...he all but sprints to the glassware aisle hoping to be the one to find something awesome so that I can hear about it all day long and whenever I happen to use said piece.  Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that he doesn't complain about going into the stores with me but come on.  This is MY thing.  So this time, I didn't even try to stop him when he hurried in ahead of me.  He came back and said that there was nothing there. 

You didn't think I was going to take his word for it, did you?  Because had I listened to him, I would have missed these...

And these...
 
 
And OMG GREEN DOTS these...
 


Now in his defense, he was "tired and not on his A game".  Also, these were all nested together on a bottom shelf.  His other excuse?  He was "too tall" to see that far down. 

So I handed him the stack of bowls and without even looking at the prices (which ended up being really, really good btw), asked him to take them and grab a cart.  Can you imagine how much I almost freaked out when he came back empty handed?  Well, to let you all know how much Brian really does know about the importance and value of Pyrex to me, he told me that he just paid for them and put them in the car because he didn't want to risk someone else possibly getting their hands on them. 

I have created a monster.

Until next time...

~Erica

Monday, March 10, 2014

What I Bought at the Antique Show...

The weekend before last, Maddie and I headed up to Portland to the Expo for a huge antique show.  I've only ever been to this show one other time and it was held in a different location.  I was totally not expecting how big this venue was in comparison to the other one.  It took us a good 2+ hours to work our way through the crowds and booths. 

For the most part, the prices were pretty high.  I was telling Laurie of Magpie Ethel fame that the next time I come, I need to remember to bring Alex because evidently some of the sellers wanted my first born for their wares.  But a lot of the sellers were willing to barter (with Maddie who refuses to let me haggle because she loves to do it) and I was able to get some pretty great stuff. 


I have had this cake carrier pinned on Pinterest forever and was super happy to find it in person.


There was one booth that had literally hundreds of Golden Books and Rand McNally Elf books.  I would have loved to have had more time to dig through them.  These cuties were all right on top and could not be left behind, especially the one about No-Good The Dancing Donkey.

I am going to go off track for just a moment and show you all a couple of things that Brian found for me at an out of town thrift a while back

 
I was so excited when he brought these home that I snapped a photo before I cleaned them up which is so unlike me!  He called me from the thrift and said "it's not Pyrex, but it's an old bowl with that blue color you like".  He also told me he found a red "Fire King Chili Bowl".  How he knew it was a chili bowl is beyond me.



So ever since he brought those pieces home, I have been obsessed with finding more.  I grabbed all of these pieces made by Federal Glass from one seller who had the best prices at the whole show, almost like flea market prices.  The bowl set has 4 bowls so I am half way there to having the whole set

 

I also managed to find another one of the chili bowls, this time in orange.  I would like to get a couple more of them because they are a really convenient size.  Glasbake makes them too but I am going to limit myself to only buying the Fire King ones.  I have to set some boundaries!  I love how kitschy the notepad holder is and was giddy when I found my very first star Swanky Swig.  Miss Maddie got the seller down two bucks on it!


I found some sweet Easter plates along with some little boy and girl candle holders in their original boxes.  I bought the Junior Executive game from a really nice guy who told me it belonged to him and his sister when they were younger.  He said they spent hours playing it.  I told him that vintage games were my newest collection and that I would be displaying it, not putting it in a closet.  That made him happy.


There was tons of Pyrex at this show, most of it either grossly overpriced or a piece I already had. I have a small list of pieces I look for to complete sets.  I was happy to find this pink 404 and to be able to check it off my list. 


One more 404 to go and I will have put 3 complete sets together!  Aren't they so pretty?

All in all, this was a really fun show and Maddie, Hanna, and I plan on going to the next one this Summer.  Even if a lot of it was out of my price range, I still enjoyed looking at all the eye candy.  Plus, I got to spend time with my girl which is always the best part.

Linking up with Sir Thrift-A-Lot for Thriftasaurus.

Have a great week!

~Erica