Fire King range set

Woo-hoo! I now have a compete Fire King range set. Granted, it is mismatch of the "Tulips" and "Dot" patterns. But still, I'm pretty darn pleased.

This polka dot grease jar was an antique store splurge, clocking in at the most money I've ever spent on a single piece of ANYTHING vintage. Tax and all, a memorable total of $34.34.

But on the flip side, I have a range set that set me back 37 bucks, total. Not too shabby, I think.

Buying this piece also solved a mystery I'd had for almost a year. I bought a milk glass lid for a quarter at a mom-and-pop thrift/junk/lotsastuff store that was going out of business. My justification was "well, it goes to something." Some months later, I saw a photo that made me think it was a Fire King grease jar lid. Lo and behold, it is identical. So I now know that I have a spare, and should I ever find a lidless grease jar for a nice price, I'll have a lid just waiting for it. Snazzy. And this is pretty much the rest of my Fire King pieces. I have a few mugs and plates in the kitchen - including a very recently acquired jadeite dinner plate that has seen better days, but I just couldn't pass up at 99 cents from GW.

And can I just say, it's a little surreal actually owning things I've only seen in pictures & collectibles books? Since my "junkin" budget is more in keeping with thrift stores than antique stores, there's lots of things that I think are lovely, but are just totally out of my price range. But when I've been lucky enough to bring some of these items home and put them to use - either as they were meant to be used or merely as eye candy - I feel very blessed.

Good stuff!