Odds and Ends

Well, I did actually find some Pyrex at the thrift - though not at Goodwill. Both of these pieces were found at Habitat for Humanity ReStores, but one different days. The Autumn Harvest Cinderella bowl was a reasonable 3 bucks, but the Butterfly Gold II was a more flinch-inducing 5 bucks.

And I'm still picking up Butterfly Gold place setting pieces, despite my mom's protest that she's had enough. I think she told me she's up to almost 40 dinner plates now. (And I'm the one that bought every single one of them).

Ooopsie.

This Strawberry Shortcake glass was 99 cents. Couldn't pass it up, despite the fact that I've pretty much decided that character glasses are the devil. I've just bought too many and a pairing down is in order, despite the fact I'm totally lousy at pairing down anything.

And how sweet are these tiny little guys? The kitten is actually half a shaker set. The kitten/puppy pair are thimbles. These sweet trinkets set me back 49 cents apiece at GW.

I have these owls already, but Hoooo could resist them at 50 cents apiece?

And finally, these two pieces are part of my Grandmother's china set. They were a bit pricey for Goodwill, but I wasn't going to pass them up. I'll be giving these to my mom, who owns the set now.

As a little girl, I used to admire these dishes so much. I was allowed to play tea party with them from time to time. (No doubt this is the origin of my obsession with dishes).

This set was actually made by Enoch Wedgwood, which if my understanding is correct, was actually a relative of the famous Wedgwood China makers. And apparently that was something of a common problem for the original Wedgwood family - relatives going into the china trade to cash in on the family name and reputation.

Wedgwood at some point bought out Enoch Wedgwood and seemingly put them out of business. But in a roundabout way, legitimized presenting these dishes as actual Wedgwood china.

I still think they are just as lovely as I did when I was a little girl. These will always be "the good china".

Hope you are finding thrifty treats and treasures!

Happy Thrifting!

Thrift roundup

Pickin's have been slim for the last couple of weeks. I've been out hitting up yard sales, flea markets and thrifts only to come home pretty much empty handed.

Here are a few things I did buy:

This is the figural canister set from the Heartland by International China set I collect. It actually paid off that I've spend hours perusing the page after page of photos of various Heartland items on the Replacements.com site, because these canisters are not marked at all other than a Made in Japan sticker.

Had to show it with a piece of the set so you can the surprising amount of attention to detail they actually paid - where the doors are, what color they are, etc. I think they had to fudge it a bit to include that little tea canister, but it's kinda hard to do a traditional 4-piece canister set out of a dish motif that is specifically 3 little houses.  I didn't realize it at the time, but there's also a utensil crock and cookie jar that look just like two of these houses but instead of flour & sugar they say Hardware and Bakery. Too cute. I'd love to find those as well.

I bought these because they were very cheap. They seem sweet and well-made. I've never bought or even used Pfaltzgraff before. What I've seen of it in thrift stores has almost always been the pattern Folk Art, usually for sale as a large set and at a premium price.

I don't know what's more tragic, the fact that this poor refrigerator dish is so dishwashed or the fact that I bought it. Part of me felt like it was some sort of synchronicity owing to the fact that I had just been talking to my husband the day before about one of the first times I ever stepped foot in a thrift store just to look for vintage dishes/Pyrex.

I saw this same fridgie, only in much better shape, marked 2.99, which at the time was outrageous. ( I was buying most Pyrex pieces for a dollar or two, Pyrex mugs were usually 29 cents. I feel like I'm talking about the 1800's or something, but this was just 3-4 years ago!)

I remember I held it in my hand and showed it to my husband and said "It's so cute, but just too small to be practical. What would you put in it?" (Oh the days before I became such a shameless hoarder of the Pyrex)

Had it been even a dollar less, I probably would have bought it anyway. Worse still was the fact that back then, when things were overpriced, they just sat there. People would leave things til Half Off Day.

So I'd just been thinking about that when I found this poor, sad dishwashed little red. Bought it anyway, for the same price a good one wouldn't sell for in the same store just a few years ago. At least the lid is perfect.

The blue glass is my only yard sale find yesterday. It matches two red ones I found at a GW a while back. I've seen these glasses online in a green colorway also that goes from light to dark. Maybe I'll have a set of these some day. I'm trying in vain to keep my vintage glass collection to only polka dots and stripes. There are just too many pretty glasses!

The blue Ball jar is only my second. It was a pricey GW find at 3.99, but that's probably less than half what they're all marked in antique stores around here.  The Brim coffee cup (sorry, hard to read) is something I had to buy because I have a small accidental collection of other Brim coffee items. My husband's grandparents must have drunk Brim decaffeinated coffee by the case full, because we have tons of nails, knobs and miscellaneous household items in Brim coffee tins. So it just brings a smile to my face to find an oddball Brim item to add to the collection.

And finally, antique store Pyrex.

Neither came with lids, but I had some at home. The Verde fridgie was a 5 dollar purchase and technically it finished my fridgie set. I also have the square flowers version of the largest 503, so I'd considered this complete done a long time ago, but it's nice to have both.

This completed my Daisy 470 set, despite the fact that one is the clear patterned lid. Daisy hasn't always been one of my favorite patterns, but it's just so undeniably cheery. I'm liking it more and more lately since I've found more of the pieces with decorated lids.

Hope your yard sales and estate sales are yielding lots of treasures!

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!

Thrift Roundup

Well, thrifting for Pyrex has been a total bust lately. All that I find these days are lids, usually expensive lids at that. But these were 49 cents a piece, so I scooped them up.

Also really happy to find my first bubble lights. No date on the package, but they look 1980's-ish to me? These will be on my tree this year if they are all working. I haven't tried them all 3 strings out yet, just the one (which worked fine but was missing one) due to the pain-in-the-toosh factor of removing them from their individual little cubbie holes, plugging them in, holding them upright to get them bubbling, then carefully placing them back in their packaging. Just lighting the one strand took me and the husband both, they just would not bubble hanging upside down.

So this next item, a clock, may just be the kind of thing only a mother could love. Or me. Cause I'm nuts?

This is a molded plastic, faux wood, faux window, country barn scene clock. It works, too. There is even a faux tree painted on the faux window. My first thought when I saw it was, it would look so cute painted white. Is that even true? Or have I fallen into some thrift-induced object dysmorphia that sees beauty that isn't actually there? 

Oh, and here's something else totally 1980's and totally wood grain:

Two more Heartland items I didn't have - a towel bar/paper towel holder thingy, and the 3rd set of salt & pepper shakers I've picked up, all different. Both of the shakers are setting off OCD I wasn't even aware that I had, because the pattern isn't lined up beneath the S or P, and is only on one side so there's nothing you can do about it other than just accept that if you collect Heartland, your pieces are going to be a little wonky. And maybe, just maybe, you're just a bit wonky yourself ;-)

These are my husband's finds. He's not going to blog about them, so I will. He has an Andre the Giant that is just like the Hulk Hogan. He scored the Hogan for a buck. Wish we'd find duplicates of both of them so he'd finally use them. Ever since breaking his prized McCoy Star Trek glass, I think he's afraid to use any more of his favorites. Poor guy! I was in the kitchen when the McCoy glass broke. He just went to set it down on the table, normally, and it just shattered like he had Hulk strength.The dangers of collecting vintage glassware. Sometimes glass just breaks, no matter how careful you are with it :-(

And finally, I picked up this set of Woodland Corelle with Pyrex teacups at an unusual Sunday yard sale, day after Mother's Day. I have a problem I think. This stuff used to be so plentiful around here just a few years ago. At Goodwill, I'd find the teacups for 29 cents, plates for 99 cents or less, and everything else some price in between. I bought a lot of it, got overwhelmed with it all, and donated it back to another thrift store.

Now this stuff is getting hard to find and expensive when I do. I guess I have a now-or-never mentality about it when I do find it for cheap. Purchase in haste, repent in leisure? I don't know. I like the pattern on Corelle. On a white background - as opposed to white on brown or caramel - the pattern seems understated. Now I'm finding myself wanting a cabinet just for my Corelle, and I'm positively marveling at myself that I am.



Hope you're finding great Junk this weekend!

Happy Thrifting!

Birthday shopping

We didn't get to go out last weekend for my birthday, so we rescheduled to yesterday. Low and behold, I found some more pieces to my Snowflake Blue Corelle set I've been building lately. This is the 1 quart bowl, 2 quart bowl and the oval platter (it doesn't look very oval in the picture, but it is). I also picked up the oval platter in Butterfly Gold for my mom's set.

These were pretty cheap - and one of the more unusual Corning Ware patterns I don't see often. This is the green version of Medallion. There is also a blue version. Corellecorner.com calls these Shell Oil promotional pieces. These and Country Festival are the patterns I'm actually collecting, though I've also managed to amass a stock of Wildflower I don't know if I'm keeping or not. I already collect enough Pyrex to run Corning Ware out of the kitchen, trouble is, I like them both. I just need a bigger kitchen!

These were my Pyrex finds for the day:

I love the vivid orange Daisy 403 bowl. And the best thing about it is it finishes my set!

The larger-sized pressed flowers casserole also finishes something of a set as well. Again, according to Corellecorner.com, these casseroles were the first pieces of promotional Pyrex that featured a pattern.

And these were my two biggest SQUEEEEEEE's for the day:

I have this set plus spares already, but it took me YEARS to complete that very first set. Plus I paid a good bit for that last piece because it was the last one I needed. So now I find the whole set at once, with lids, for what I think is a fantastic price - $29.75 (35 minus a 15% discount). No way I was going to leave without them.

And speaking of Pink Gooseberry, I've been actively searching for this pattern in particular and buying anything I find even remotely reasonably priced because it's the other pattern besides Butterfly Gold that my mom really loves. I've bought nearly everything I can get my hands on, in triplicate - one for me, one for mom, and when I find it again, a spare for either of us.

That said, yesterday, I could have come out of my shoes at the prices I saw. I saw more Pink Gooseberry in a single store than I've seen the whole time I've collected, and other than my surprisingly cheap complete fridgie set I just bought, the prices were NUTSY BUGGO. A greatest hits of Pyrex prices I saw was a set of Pink Gooseberry Cinderella bowls for $175, two different sets for $199 each, and get this one - a Daisy divided dish for 99 dollars.

I also saw some fair prices on pieces I kind of hated to leave behind, but that's not unusual either. All in all, I really didn't see anything uncommon. And though I got some great deals, I still feel like if I'm ever going to have a Starburst or a Rooster space saver or Pink Butterprint someone is going to have to deliver it to my doorstep. Pyrex prices are definitely in a state of flux right now. Some dealers seem to be pricing it the same as years past and some seem to think they're going to get rich off of it.

And one final SQEEE:

My second piece of Cathrineholm! And I found it at Goodwill for 2.99!!

It has a touch of damage on the handle, but is in good condition. I love it, I love Cathrineholm, I just can't do the online prices. But I'll very happily treasure the rare and few pieces I find afforably.

That's all for my belated Birthday treasures.

Wishing all you Moms out there a wonderful Mother's Day. Moms make the world go round!

Happy Thrifting!

Playing catch-up

These are my finds from this last Saturday.

The owls are metal, made in 1970. Them and the two blue individual casseroles were my only yard sale purchases from an entire day's worth of driving around. 2 dollars for all.

And my only thrift score this whole week - 8 pieces of Snowflake Blue Corelle. 6 Dinner plates and 2 luncheon, which practically doubled my Snowflake Blue collection.They were 99 cents apiece and the price stickers were dated my birthday, so it seems they were meant just for me.

I must admit, I went back to the same thrift the next day in the hopes that anything else from this pattern might turn up, like bowls, cups or the thing I want most - the matching Pyrex mugs - but alas alak, no additional pieces.

Hope things are picking up where you are!

Happy Thrifting!

Since Saturday

This is the hodge-podge of things I've picked up at thrift stores since Saturday. This grouping was right at five dollars for all. I've never used a pie funnel or pie bird before, but I had to have it because it was Mason Cash.

My first exposure to that company was that I had taken a liking to a fruit decorated mixing bowl on The Pioneer Woman cooking show and started doing a search to see what it was. Turns out it was Mason Cash (a UK company), and the bowls come in Lemon, Orange, Strawberry & Lime. I've yet to see one in real life - or even know a store where they are sold, so it's one of those things I think I'd have to buy online just to decide whether or not I like it. When I was searching, I discovered the company had been around for a very long time, still making some of the same original designs. In fact, I'm pretty sure these are the bowls used in the kitchen on Downton Abbey.

The next few things came from a local sale. We didn't buy much, but I like what got.

These electric Christmas lamps were taped together for 2 dollars. They have glass globes, still intact. The bulb still worked in the one I took out of the box and plugged in, so I'm optimistic they'll both work.

These slides were also taped together for two dollars. And technically they are my husband's score, but he's a big ole lamey McLamerpants who never posts about his cool swag. So I will. I think these are simultaneously cute and gross. I've been looking on ebay at the other ones that come up and they are all equally cool, cute and totally gross - such as Organs of Mammals or Structure of Blood. My favorite one online was Blood Suckers and Noxious Insects. Totally cool.

The Fiesta Latte mug in Peacock was the only other item I picked up. It was just a dollar! Normally these Latte mugs are a Kohl's exclusive and they cost about a bazillion dollars apiece. I have two others, one in Marigold and the other Turquoise. I bought them when they were on sale (which is STILL like 16 dollars) and I had Kohl's Cash I needed to use. But I still have a hard time forking out more than about two bucks for a coffee mug.

The yellow Pyrex bowl was from a nearby antique store. I have it already, but I couldn't resist. It was 8 bucks, which is slightly lower than average price around here. Perhaps the patches of sunny weather we've had here and there are actually shaking loose some good Pyrex?

And finally, I stopped at a new-to-me thrift store and saw this bowl set the minute I walked in the door. 8.99 for the whole set. Can you believe it? Had this been at Goodwill, they'd have had it in the fancy antiques section and had full ebay price on it.

Over the years I've completed this set for my mom, who only had two survivors from her original set. Plus I've probably picked up duplicates. But now that she has practically everything in this pattern, I've been keeping the pieces I find for myself. This set is in fantastic condition and it got washed up and put away in my users cabinet pretty much immediately. I'm really hoping that 8.99 price is a sign of things to come!

That's it for today. I may be going out for my birthday weekend or delaying it until next week, but one way or the other I'm looking forward to more yard sales, estate sales and hitting up the more distant antique stores in the area.

Hope you're finding snazzy stuff!

Happy Thrifting!