fab finds

Lately I have been finding these amber flower glasses at a couple of my local thrift stores. I have found one or two at a time, in three different sizes. I don't know anything about them, but I think they're super fab. Do any of you recognize them?

I found some other great pieces this past week as well, like ...

 this neat glass baking dish,

 a Pyrex carafe with original stopper, seen below on a 

wonderfully weird tunic that I thrifted,

 

 

two Delta Airlines coffee cups,

 

a pretty plate,

 

and my favorite find, these groovy fruit salt and pepper shakers.

Linking to Thrift Share Monday at Apron Thrift Girl, and to Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures ~ be sure to check out all of their fabulous finds!

left behind

Has this ever happened to you? You're in a thrift shop and as you turn the corner, your eyes set upon a glorious vintage piece. It's possibly the best thing you've found in a long while. The clouds seem to part and you'd swear you could hear angels singing. But then, as you get closer, your heart starts to sink as you realize that the piece is not in good condition. At all. Like, it's in really bad condition. Those angels actually start coughing.

This is what happened to me last night at Goodwill. I turned the corner to see this amazing vintage cake carrier.

Flower power! The blue and green colors were vibrant, the floral design was to die for, the shape was awesome. But a closer inspection revealed tons of scratches, dents, and rust ~ too much damage to forgive, and believe me, I'm a very forgiving thrifter! I just couldn't justify buying it for myself, much less for reselling. So, I had to leave it behind (sniff, sniff).

Luckily, I found this metal platter a few seconds later.

 

Sorry for the fuzzy, shadowy photo. I was kneeling on the floor of GW, trying to snap a picture with my phone with one hand, while keeping my two-year-old off the platter with the other hand, all while avoiding eye contact with the many other shoppers trying to come down the aisle. Isn't this platter sweet? It too had some scratches (and one rather big blemish near the curtains), but nothing too terrible, and in the end the little kitty on the chair won me over and I had to take it home.

Don't you wish you could magically lift a great pattern off a bad piece and put it on something else? The flower pattern on that cake carrier would be lovely on a pillowcase, or a tea towel, or a Pyrex dish. 

What near-treasures have gotten your heart beating fast, but then gave you second thoughts and were left behind?

farewell

fab finds

In my post about the Kiwanis Antique Show, I mentioned that I had managed to find some treasures to bring home (never a difficult thing for me to do!). Here are a few of my fabulous finds from that morning:

I was so excited to discover this amazing Swedish cup and saucer.

 

Also finding their way home with me were a white Haeger pot (love the texture), a mid-century glass tray (love the swingin' designs), and a 1942 yearbook from Visalia Junior College in California (love the grinning gent with the ascot in the lower left section of the photo below.)

 

I also found a sweet but frank 1950s book about the birds and the bees ~ I love how the back cover is a reflection of the front cover.

 

Linking to Thrift Share Monday at Apron Thrift Girl, and to Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures ~ be sure to check out all of the fabulous finds at their blogs too!

vintage veggie decals

Walking, galloping, smoking, biking ... 

which one of these comical veggie-fruit creatures is not like the others?

Moore, please

It’s a rare occasion when a piece of “junk” mail commands my attention, but that’s just what happened the other day when I received the Talbots spring catalog. I was immediately drawn to these Mert & Marcus photographs of Julianne Moore, the new face of the company’s spring collection. I love the vintagey vibe of the photos, and the retro yet modern portrayal of the clothing by Moore. Stunning!

an antiques morning

Last Saturday my husband kindly agreed to entertain our two kids at home while I headed down to the Johnson County Fairgrounds for the Kiwanis Antique Show. This is one of the few events in our area that appeal to true antiques collectors, with many dealers specializing in turn-of-the-century items. While my tastes tend more toward mid-century and later, I thoroughly enjoyed perusing the show and still managed to leave with a couple of bags under my arm.

I couldn't resist (politely) snapping a few photos with my phone:

Rows and rows of old westerns ~ their covers looked so beautiful together.

Large number blocks, and small word stamps ~ anything typography related always catches my eye.

A display of old weathered baseball gloves ~ I wonder
how many kids were excited to get these gloves new, and how many games were played with them over the years.

I smiled at these vintage Christmas elves, priced at $4 each, and then ...
I saw her.

  

Um ... yeah.

The dealer noticed my not-so-covert picture-snapping of the doll and came over to me laughing. She picked her up and asked if I wanted to see what she did. I wasn't so sure. As it turned out, this 1970s Mattel doll made a different face every time you cranked her left arm ~ and except for the face above, they were all really cute (and normal!). She was actually an amazing doll ~ not only did her eyes move in all directions, but her mouth took different shapes with each expression. I was momentarily tempted to buy her for my daughter, but ultimately decided that terrorizing my husband with the presence of a beyond creepy doll in our home just wasn't worth it ~ after all, he had just given me two whole hours of antiques-browsing bliss.