A gratitude blog

I believe I'm always complaining on this little blog here how challenging the search for vintage goodies has become.

It has.

But then I follow that sentiment with pictures of the goodies I adore and have found reasonably priced.

So today, I'm going to scrap my complaining and instead say that I feel fortunate and blessed that I'm still finding neat stuff I love, and have the money to spare for it. I'm going to try on an attitude of gratitude, instead of my usual just-plain-ole attitude. Lol. :-)

First up, this is what I believe to be the Glasbake answer to Pyrex primary bowls.

I found just these 3, no larger yellow bowl with them. But I'd never seen them before, only online. And I was really happy to bring these home with me for less than a 20, tax and all. Yay!

These bowls are not marked Glasbake. Just a "J" and a mold number, meaning they likely were produced during the later era of the Glasbake name, 1961- 1983 when Glasbake was owned by Jeannette.

An original sticker of this set from a flickr picture shows a label which says 'ONE OR MORE OF THESE BOWLS WILL FIT MOST OF THE POPULAR ELECTRIC MIXER TURNTABLES'.

(Edited to note that the next picture over from this same flickr member shows these labeled as McKee division of Thatcher glass - an earlier era of the confusing Glasbake history. I can't tell if those bowls in the picture have the "J" mold mark characteristic of other Jeannette-made Glasbake pieces or not. Meaning this particular set might have been in production in a transitional period when the Glasbake changed ownership. That's just speculation on my part, but I love piecing together details whenever I can.)

Another detail I love is the fired-on measurements inside the smallest green bowl. Mine are faded, as you can see, but still plenty nifty.

And more Hazel Atlas cuties! The two pink and one turquoise boomerang glasses add to my small but growing collection of this design. I decided to make these my go-along glasses for my pink, turquoise, and plain white Hazel Atlas Ripple dishes. I don't have enough glasses to really make a set yet, but it's fun to hunt these glasses when I only find one or two at a time every once in a while.

And the pink dancing pigs coctail shaker just spoke to me. Super cute. And pink! Did I mention it's pink? Lol!

Another rarity for me to ever see in the wild, Fire King Swedish Modern mixing bowls in turquoise blue. And actually, I'd never seen this color in the wild before. Just a couple of jadeite ones in a rather expensive antique booth when I first started collecting. And honestly, I paid a middling retail price for them. But still consider myself lucky to have found them considering the dealer working the register that day told me I must have beaten their regular Fire King collector customers to them. I have been told this by more than one dealer in my area that there are a number of Asian collectors that are pretty much strictly Fire King collectors that will buy up pretty much all the jadeite/azurite/turquoise blue they see, even if it's pretty high priced.

But rather than worrying about such things, I'm going to instead try to be happy I found something nifty that has never presented itself to me in the wild for a price I could see paying.


And also, I have absolutely no idea where these guys fall in the size range of the set. They seem like either the largest and next size smaller or the middle two. Either way, I'd say they have room for at least one other bowl to nest inside. If there is indeed a larger bowl, it must be pretty huge. I need to do some research! :-)

And finally, this is a clear glass fired-on red bowl I believe was made by Jeannette, but is unmarked. I believe it is also what could be considered a primary colored bowl set, though the colors are different and could actually pre-date the ubiquitous Pyrex version.

I also suspect this fired-on clear glass was made potentially several decades earlier than when the company purchased the Glasbake name in the 1960's.

It was a lucky thrift store score for 3 dollars. Yay for bargains!

Well, that's got me caught up on my finds of late.

Hope you're finding nifty, cool treats and treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

It's a sickness

You know it's a sickness when you like something so much you just keep buying it again and again. That's how I felt when I bought home these canisters from one of my favorite local antique stores.

Coffee here has seen better days, and the sugar canister is missing altogether. I already have the complete set of these as far as I know - which is flour, sugar, coffee, tea, and a cookie canister the same size as this largest-sized flour canister. I've never seen any sign of anything else, like spices, salt, pepper or a grease jar. But who knows, they could still be out there. Anything is possible!

I've also picked up one lone tea canister in this turquoise color that has silver lettering. In person, I've seen (and have) white lettering & silver lettering. But in pictures I've seen gold as well as black. And as far as colors, I personally have pink, turquoise, white and pale butter yellow. I also had an avocado color once upon a time. In pictures I've seen what appears to be bright yellow and red colorways.

I seem to have luck finding these unmarked canisters. Must have been local favorites. I've learned from the fabulous blog Farmgirlpink.blogspot.com that these canisters are Stanley Home Products. Always great to solve a vintage dish mystery!

I picked up these two Glasbake pieces the other day. I adore the bird pattern. I'd only ever seen in on blogs before now. I suspect this pattern was only available as bakeware. I've never seen any evidence of mixing bowls. I think - but don't know for sure - that several Glasbake patterns were only sold as a box set of bakeware with different variations on what all came with. I think this particular pattern might have come with glass mugs.

I wish Glasbake held up as well as Pyrex. Some of the patterns are really great. I just don't think the glass itself has survived the years with nearly the prolificness of Pyrex.

And finally, a couple more thrift store treasures. You can never have too many refrigerator dish lids. It had a chip I smoothed out with super fine grit sandpaper. I also picked  up this small round Horizon Blue casserole. It was 6 dollars at the thrift, a price I was so not thrilled about paying.

And after I washed it up and put it in my daily users cabinet, I noticed I could make this little configuration here.

It's like a fantasy primary set! The colors of course are a bit off from the original primary bowls, but I couldn't resist putting them together. From top to bottom here are Horizon Blue, Friendship, and Daisy, just in case you are like me and get confused about the solid color pieces.

Well, that's all for now.

Hope you're junk runs have been productive and cool!

Happy Thrifting!

Recent finds

Finally it seems Spring has sprung, and the world of vintage goodness is opening back up again. I added two expensive pieces to my collection lately, both of which I'd never seen for sale before, so I splurged on them.

The Verde baker was a hard one to pay $ for, but I think I'm secretly wishing to be able to have the complete stack of these bakers. Still missing even after 6 years of hunting in the wild is Butterfly Gold and the Rust colored one. And they'll probably be a billion dollars each when I do find them, lol.

And this Spirograph base is such a pretty color - much prettier than how it looks in this picture. Killed me to pay 38 dollars for it, knowing that the chances I'll ever find the lid are slim, but no way could I have left without it. It turned out to be my only purchase of the day I spent in numerous antique stores and large flea market, so it didn't really hurt that I'd spent most of my fun money on a single piece.

And yay for all thrift store finds! My husband found this Daisy oval casserole for me at GW for $3.99. Happy Happy! The unmarked yellow canister is a duplicate, but I couldn't resist it for 99 cents. Each of the Hazel Atlas pieces were also 99 cents. I'd never seen this yellow and pink colorway before. I have a stray pink and black plate from this same line, so I suppose I'm very slowly collecting the different colors.

Technically, this is my husband's find, but he never blogs. Plus, I was the one who insisted he couldn't leave without it, I'll take the blame. This was a GW find for $14.99, which I thought was an ok price, but my husband thinks is gold and diamonds money, so I had to pull the trigger for him. He's collected Fisher Price stuff for a few years now, along with vinyl records, and coupled with my Pyrex addiction, we've done nothing but watch the things we collect and love go up and up in price. I suspect many of you feel my pain there.

The only new addition here is the Glasbake Have a nice Day mug. It's in rough shape, but was too cute for 99 cents, same day I bought the little Hazel Atlas teacup & saucers. It looks just fine with my other dishwashy tulip mugs.

I bought these for my mom. Both are Jeannette glass but different patterns. The large bowl is Iris & Herringbone, the small bowls Floragold. She collects carnival glass and I thought this would dovetail into her collection quite nicely. It was 5.99 for the 6 pieces, which I thought was a good price.

An antique store find and a little oddity. I was super happy to grab up this pink 503 refrigerator dish for 15 dollars in an antique store. Wasn't so long ago that 15 dollars for this piece without a lid would have seemed kinda expensive to me. Now I'm like OMG THAT'S SO CHEAP.

And these little mugs are Butterfly Gold, but marked Termo Rey made in Brazil. Oh I miss Corelle Corner! I know absolutely nothing about how these knock-offs came about. The glass itself is much more similar to Fire King than Pyrex. Another odd Butterfly Gold that I'm keeping for myself. (Sorry, mom! Lol!)

And finally, my one score from a Friday spent yardsaleing all day. I spotted this from a moving vehicle in the bed of someones trailer. It was filthy black and behind a tub, to boot, so how I saw the thing at all beats me. Best part is the guy sold it to me for a buck! Cheapest Pyrex I've ever yardsaled!
And it cleaned up great.

Well, there's my finds for now. I'm hoping to yardsale again Friday. Fingers crossed for some awesome loot!

Hope you're finding great goodies where you are!

Happy Thrifting!

Flea market finds

All of these are flea market finds, except the semi-tragic Kit Kat Klock I hemmed and hawed about coming home with. And mostly, they were all cheap and cheerful, my kind of prices!

I added a Country Calico tray to my CC/Heartland horde, small fridgie lid, and two sweet little pieces of green depression glass for just a couple of bucks.

Spent a little more for this turquoise mixing bowl and unusual - at least to me- Pyrex Corning belt buckle.

Didn't have a chance to clean it up yet when I snapped this picture. I'm not sure what the 42 commemorates. Though I did see that the 'reverse dollar sign' symbol is actually the letter "P" for Pyrex on top, with the letter "C" for Corning below it.

The "C" begins right above the bottom of the "P", so that is actually two little lines instead of one straight across. I feel silly now that I never released that's what the 'reverse dollar sign' actually signified!

My one antique store purchase, this poor (formerly) pink Kit Kat Klock. I thought someone had bedazzled it themselves but once I got home with it I see that it's actually orginal. It doesn't work, is missing a hand and tail, and the jewels just put it over the top, but it's going into my crazy clock collection regardless. At least it was really cheap!

And finally, a couple more cheap and cheerful flea finds. Another Language of Flowers Glasbake mug for my unintentional collection, a sweet somewhat rusty unmarked Ransburg match holder, and two Pyrex lids. One is square and belongs to the old 1920's refrigerator dishes. I've never seen the bottom of one for sale but this lid will go into my stash because you never know what you'll see at the thrift.

Hope you're out finding snazzy treats and treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

Flea Market finds

Hit the flea market this weekend. Was excited to see quite a few new dealers. Outside buildings that are normally closed up over the winter were bustling with new folks moving in, bringing fresh new old junk. Exciting!

I bought four of these Glasbake Lipton mugs for ten dollars. And the best part is that one of the four was the pink one I was missing to complete the set I had at home. Now I'm halfway to a duplicate set!

I picked up the recipe tin to the left at the flea market for one whole dollar, and it reminded me I'd bought another one from Goodwill the other day.  These are both marked Ohio Art. Practically every recipe tin I've ever seen was made by this company, seems like. They are also makers of Etch A Sketch toys!

And finally, I added a big two-cup measure to my mom's Foley measuring set, plus two extra one cup measures. I think I ended up with a partial set when as a teenager I got my first apartment and needed kitchen stuff. Of course it took me years and years to actually appreciate them. And since I've been picking up the odd measure or so whenever they've popped up at the thrift. I'd never seen the giant two-cupper before, so it's a nice addition. And for a dollar, I cannot complain. 

I am supremely excited about the nice weather, hoppin' Flea Market, my favorite Ace Hardware is getting in all sorts of neat starters that are so much better and cheaper than the same ole Bonnie starters everywhere else has. Spring has Sprung! Whoo-hoooo!

Hope you had a great weekend!

Happy Thrifting!

A few finds

Got a chance yesterday to hit up one of the small church thrifts we don't get to often, and it paid off with these cute (and cheap!) finds.

The diamond mug is Federal and was just 10 cents! Altogether, the pink syrup, mug and glass cost less than 2 bucks. My kind of prices, for sure!

This cameo pattern Glasbake was a touch more expensive at $1.49. I fail to grasp the logic of thrift store pricing sometimes, especially for similar items. But still, I thought this pattern was a little unusual - I usually just see these in solid colors - so I wanted to pick it up.

 I guess this is my Butterfly Gold Corelle. My mom told me she's had enough. LOL. I reckon these will join the Woodland/Old Town/Spring Blossom party I've got going on in my spare room.

I've definitely been on a roll finding Heartland items I don't have and have never seen before. This is one of the metal bowls from the mixing set. There's also a ceramic set I'd like to have. This one was from the same thrift and was just .79 cents.

And finally, remember the vintage ads I found the other day? Well here they are all framed up. The turquoise frame was a Hobby Lobby splurge, along with the matting on both, but the Fire King frame was a Goodwill purchase.

Sorry for the funky angles, I can't find a place to hang them that doesn't make them glare horribly (in addition to my already less than stellar photography skillz, lol)

Hope you're finding great stuff!

Happy Thrifting!

Yard Sale bounty!

This weekend has been crazy. My husband and I hit the yard sales pretty hard and for once I actually have something to show for it! Might even have to break this up into a second post I really did buy so much. My very best deal was the first stuff I bought just about two miles away from house!

These canisters and the pink Pyrex dinnerware were from a make-a-pile-and-I'll-give-you-a-price place. You just hold your breath a little bit and hope for the best. 5 bucks! Heck yeah! I kept looking for the teacups, but they just weren't to be found. It's been a long time since I've added a piece to my Pyrex dinnerware collection, in any color.

I was doing the happy dance when I saw these Horizon Blue casseroles. Even in a yard sale they were 10 and 12.50, so not dirt cheap but not highway robbery either. And on the Daisy casserole it was actually only the lid for sale, but I had the base already, so it worked out great. The couple yard sale-ing the Horizon Blue really were more antique dealers than yard sellers. They had so much good glassware. Fair prices, but they knew their stuff. Teased me that I could take these casseroles and sell them for double my money. I told them they were for me and me only! I am so ridiculously infatuated with these lids right now. Love LOVE Love them!

This Glasbake mixing bowl was produced in 1961 as a go-along for Jewel Tea Autumn Leaf. Had to have it. The chalkware cats were from the same yard sale. Not super cheap, but I was pleased.

Prices varied a LOT on the rest of my Pyrex purchases. The Butterprint is a duplicate I've wanted for a while to have as backup. The delphite is my first solid delphite bowl. This guy was filthy when I bought it, but it cleaned up well.

I even bought vintage Fiesta at a yard sale! There's a first for everything, seems like. 

These are all the odds and ends I picked up at various places, mostly for 50 cents a piece. The paint on the red Pyrex hostess is in very bad shape, but it was a dollar. I'll clean it up with Bar Keeper's  Friend and it will improve the looks of it somewhat.

And these odds and ends were an even better price -  FREE. We caught a yard sale just as they were quitting for the day. They told us to just take what we wanted, so we made a little pile of random odds and ends. We gave them a dollar anyway.

And my final loot for the day. The morning started off so good, I hate to end it on a sour note, but perhaps you've had an experience with a similar seller yourself.

The person I bought these from wanted a blue fortune for these. This was the end of the day, I was sugar-crashed and all I could think of was how much I wanted a nap and a 3 Musketeers bar. I thought I recognized the woman, but my brain wasn't working fast enough. I tried to haggle to no avail, then looked pleadingly at my husband to tell me not to buy them at that price, which I KNOW he's never going to do, cause he's a big old sweetheart who'd spend his last dime on me.

I'd be lying if I said self-restraint was a strong suit of mine, even under favorable conditions. But I was hungry, exhausted, and confronted with things I collect and want, so I bought.

The whole time she's wrapping the things up, she's babbling about when she first started collecting and how she bought so much stuff that was chipped and broken, etc. but these were in great condition and how she tried to only sell the good stuff.

I'm not feeling fantastic about my purchases anyway, cause I feel like I paid too much. And as she's talking, I remembered exactly why I recognized her.

I bought something from a flea market several miles away from this yard sale and she was the lady we paid. I don't even remember what we bought, but she handed the change back in a stack instead of counting it back to us, and it was 5 dollars short. I asked for the 5 dollars, she did a stammery thing that wasn't even an apology. I felt like she did it on purpose, but like I think most folks do, I gave her the benefit of the doubt and thought of her not-apology as embarrassment instead of assholery.

On the way out of that flea market I saw 3 Pyrex lids. Of course, no price, so I had to ask the same lady. She starts in with the deep breath and then "Oh, I'd have to have 5 dollars for them." At the time I really, really wanted that big 475 lid I was holding in my hand. I hated to paid that, but I agreed. And you know what she said to me?

"See, I got that 5 dollars anyway."

I don't really curse on my blog. I keep most things PG. But I could so go Parental Advisory right now.

Anyway, this was that same lady. Miles and miles away from the flea market. And out of context and worn out, I didn't think of who she was until I was paying the B-word.

So she babbles about chips and cracks and how nice everything is that she sold me. Then I realize later as I'm washing the teacup, it's cracked. I checked it out before I bought it and I obviously missed the crack then or I really wouldn't have bought it.

So yeah, she could have missed it too. Same way she 'accidentally' miscounted my change at the flea market.

***

So that was my fine fortune yard sale-ing yesterday. Highs, lows and a lot of other little nutty things that I didn't manage to mention in this post.

I am still completely exhausted, but optimistic that there is still hope at yard sales!

Hope you are finding fantastic treats and treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

Last nights thrift finds

We almost didn't go out last night (I've been saying that a lot lately). We're still broke from our Valentine's Day splurges. But the only thrifts that were open were Goodwill, and I had some loyalty points burning a hole in my pocket, so we went anyway.

I couldn't resist these seahorses. So sweet and so utterly tacky. My husband kept accidentally calling them sawhorses. I told him that these sawhorses might just be hanging up on the bathroom wall when he gets home from work ;-)

Funny thing about the chicken mug stand - it's actually a matching Sears Chicken Little item to the very canisters behind it! Believe it or not, I didn't even put that together in my head until this morning. A little poking around the net led me to this page from the 1976 Sears Big Book. This page has tons of cute stuff, including a whole range of Merry Mushrooms items.

It was Corelle night. I bought the stack of hook handled mugs all taped together with the matching creamer. No sugar bowl. I always wonder when I find odds & ends like this if there was more donated and someone else just beat me to it, or if these were it. Worse still is when the cashier says something like "Oh, someone else just bought a whole bunch of this earlier."

Isn't that just the pits? I just try to smile it off, knowing that there are times I'm sure I was the other side of that equation.

Like when I bought these bowls, the cashier said "Oh, I know someone who comes in here looking for this very thing." I'm not sure if she meant the Spring Blossom pattern specifically, or if she meant Corelle in general. I didn't ask. I felt somewhat guilty, like I was buying the phantom other persons Corelle bowls.

I have never even seen the larger of the two bowls before. It's the same diameter as a dinner plate. HUGE bowl.  Even if Crazy Daisy Spring Blossom Green isn't my favorite pattern, it sure is useful. In fact, I'm certain my husband prefers to mix/heat things up in Corelle serving bowls when possible, just so there's no chance he breaks one of my Pyrex mixing bowls.

And finally, Oh my very Goodness. I could.not.love.these.more.

These so-sweet little Glasbake custard cups were all taped together for 99 cents. If bowls were as cute as baby kittens, they'd be these bowls.

Huh?

One is in better shape than the rest and one is more worn. These will probably never be used again. They are just too precious. And it's unfortunate, because I'd use them in a heartbeat, but some of these vintage treasures just do not have the ability to withstand everyday use and wear.

This pattern dates back to the late 1930's as seen in this amazing advertisement. And this site itself is a fantastic resource for vacuum coffee maker fans like myself :-)

Anyways, I'm really glad we got out. Now I'm cash-poor and with no more loyalty credit until payday!

Hope you are finding the snazziest stuff!

Happy Thrifting!

Christy Jordan's Southern Plate Magazine

I first learned of Christy Jordan when I saw her on an episode of Paula Deen, who, if you can believe it, razzed Christy about her Southern accent. (If memory serves, Christy is from Alabama).

Her recipe for Splenda Cream Cheese Pie has worked its way into regular rotation at my house. It's the jam, seriously. And one of those simple, simple recipes that is actually fantastic as opposed to just lazy. Haha.

I read her site for a while before I came across her Pyrex Hoarder post. (And she promises a Part Two in the future. I'm looking forward to it!

Oh my. Look at that kitchen.

Pyrex Friends, she's definitely one of us. Here, she tells the story of family pieces that started her love of vintage kitchen.

And on this page, she gives some tips on what to look out for. I was also glad to read her warning that many of these dishes were made before dishwashers were common in the kitchen, so hand wash these beauties if you want to keep them looking shiny and new.

And one of the things I love most is that she's a fan of it all. Not just Pyrex. The rest of the magazine features Fire King, Glasbake, Hazel Atlas, Federal, etc. It nice to see other glassware getting some attention as well.

Anyways, I just wanted to make a post about this magazine while it's currently on newsstands and easy to pick up.

Happy Thrifting!