Junk In My Trunk - A Blog of Thrifting, Yard Sales and Vintage Collectibles

Thursday's Vintage Thrifting Finds!

2011-01-06T20:16:00.001-06:00

This is the first time I am joining "Vintage Thingie Thursday", what fun!

I got an early start today - I only had time to go to 2 of my usual shops.... but will hit more tomorrow! :)

I love these roosters! They will make a great addition to the Rooster Collection, and they were only $1 for the pair!

A vintage Rooster egg plate, and a couple bags of old Hong Kong plastic strawberries - plate was 50 cents, and the strawberries were 10 cents for all...

An old set of 4 card games - I love the graphics on the cards....

And an eclectic mix of little vintage bird figurines, and a pair of owl salt and peppers too!

Will be back tomorrow after the day's thrifting is completed :)

See you then!

To see more wonderful "Vintage Thingies", be sure to visit Coloradolady

Rednesday - Vintage Kitchen Collectibles

2011-01-04T20:48:00.005-06:00

This is my first "Wednesday Is Rednesday" post - and I hope I am doing this right! :)

I would like to share a collection of red vintage kitchen collectibles that are sitting atop one of my old Hoosier cabinets. They include a big metal red and white platter, a Jewel Shortening pail, an old Saltine tin, an old Bon-Ami container (love that little chick on the can), a calumet baking powder tin, an old canister with strawberry decals on it, lots of wooden watermelon slices, a black teapot wall pocket with red cherries on it, and an anthropomorphic apple face cookie jar.

Just looking at all these items makes me smile - I hope it will make you smile too!

Please stop by It's A Very Cherry World! to visit with other "Wednesday Is Rednesday" participants.

Thanks for visiting with me!

Thrift Score! Vintage Christmas Collectibles

2011-01-03T13:04:00.003-06:00

A new Thrift Shop opened in town last month, and I made a quick trip over there this morning. So glad I did - look what I found!! All these vintage Christmas lights were in one bag that had no price on them - I held my breath when I asked how much they were. The shop owner asked me what I would pay for them, and I jokingly said $1.00. They said OK, and I had to hold back from doing a happy dance right there! :)

P.S. Sorry if you are sick of seeing Christmas stuff already, but I had to share this find with you!

The first pic shows lots of old glass light bulbs - I have to dig out an old light string to test them, if I can find it. I think they have a C6 base, but not sure. Also in the bag is a cute little blue pinecone bird ornament.

Lookie!!!! More vintage Christmas lights in the shape of stars, and an old tree topper with multi-lights on it. There is even a crystal Matchless Star light too!

And a bunch of old Bubble Lights too, I love the purple one!

I am going out again later and hopefully will have some new goodies to share with you tomorrow, see you then!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T21:24:00.009-06:00

Thrifting In The New Year!

2010-12-31T20:56:00.004-06:00

I was surprised to find several of my favorite Thrift Shops open today, as it is New Year's Eve and they usually are closed - but they were open! First thrifty find is the cute pastel bunny toy - I have several others already so he will fit in just perfectly.

So pink and adorable - this vintage ceramic teddy bear is. He kind of reminds me of the Snuggle bear in the TV commercial :)

Next was a very wise buy, a darling vintage ceramic owl to add to the continually growing owl collection I now have...

And I found another Tiki mug - ooooh, I just love finding Tiki items!!!

Found 2 cute little ceramic birds that followed me home also....

I jumped for joy when I saw the pair of vintage chalkware fish - they will go well with the mermaid collection I have.

One lonely little rooster salt & pepper shaker hitched a ride in my shopping cart too!

And I came across some great vintage Christmas decorations that came into the shop late, and they just put them out at half price!!! - I wish I could find a set of those Santa mugs with the pale green edging, they are so lovely.

I have taken down most of the holiday decorations already, and I had forgotten to take pix of them this year - I had one little area left to pack that had a few stragglers left - this is the top of a vintage Hoosier cabinet in my kitchen. I put the Pillsbury Doughboy ornament in the middle of the wreath just for fun :)

See you tomorrow with more thrifted finds!

Have a very Happy New Year, and I hope it is filled with loads of thrifty goodness!

New Thrifted Goodies!

2010-12-30T21:58:00.006-06:00

Yes, I know it is about time I started sharing pix again of all my thrifted/yard-sale goodies! :)

To start off, here is a beautiful red rose vintage tablecloth found at a flea market - it is gorgeous and in mint condition! It cost all of $2! As always, just click on the pic to see a bigger view of it....

Two sweet little bluebird figurines I could not resist....(and cheep cheep too!)

Vintage aprons! These were 50 cents each - I especially love the one with the pink butterflies.

Here are all 4 of them - the white one with blue trim is hard to see, and so is the chocolate brown one with yellow trim.

A set of vintage owl wall decorations for 50 cents - hoot! hoot!

Beautiful old Japanese cup and saucer with rose pattern - 25 cents!

Vintage Crochet Design booklets! I do not know how to crochet, but they were so colorful I could not pass them up...

Love all the floral design ones, and especially the Big Top in Crochet - too cute!

Sorry this pic is lousy, but the yellow pottery vase is really very pretty!

And the last pic for today is a rather odd little vessel of some type - it has a dimensional rabbit head on the front of it - kind of hard to see in the pic. Strange little piece but it had to come home with me :)

Lots more to come, will see you tomorrow!

Feeding The Squirrel Family, and A Merry Christmas To All!

2010-12-24T12:29:00.012-06:00

We have tons of birds and critters that visit daily. There is already about 4 inches of snow on the ground, and we are getting another 6-7 inches today. Yes, we will have a White Christmas!

I looked out the kitchen window and noticed many of the squirrels digging around in the snow trying to find something to eat. So of course I grabbed a couple of packages of buns I had bought to put out for the birds, and shared with the squirrels. I put out 2 packages and this is all that was left after about 10 minutes.

I had to take some pix to share with you, they were so happy to be munching away in the middle of the snowstorm. Be sure to click on the pix to get a bigger view of all this squirrely cuteness! :)

And I would like to wish a very Merry Christmas, and Happy Holiday Season to all!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T13:59:00.009-06:00

Thanksgiving Feasting

When the Halloween pumpkins are gone,
And the leaves have all fallen to ground,
When the air has turned windy and cold,
Then Thanksgiving will soon be around.

Thoughts of loved ones all feasting together,
Pleasant pictures from past times appear
To dwell in each heart and each mind--
Then Thanksgiving is finally here!

The kitchen has scrumptious aromas,
The dining room looks oh, so fine,
Decorations with pilgrims and turkeys,
And now we are ready to dine!

First the napkins are placed on our laps;
Now the prayer for the meal to be blessed,
Then we stuff the good food in our tummies,
And we hope for it all to digest!

Poem By Joanna Fuchs,
found at this lovely website www.poemsource.com

My Garden - Update

2010-07-17T11:33:00.009-05:00

Look at how much the plants have grown!! It has been so hot and humid here the plants are growing like crazy. Here are a few pix I took a couple weeks ago - they are even bigger now!

This picture (below) is the second garden in the back. I put in some extra tomatoes, squash and a few cauliflowers.

Here are some tubs of herbs I planted, they are doing great. I love fresh herbs to use in my cooking!

Planting The Garden

2010-06-05T22:31:00.008-05:00

I've been busy this week! Started planting the vegetables and herbs - can't wait to start eating fresh goodies from my own garden!

The first 2 pics show all the tomatoes I have planted - lots of different varieties and heirlooms, and extra cherry tomato plants - they are my favorite!

The picture below shows some of the cucumber plants I just put in. I hope they do better this time - last year some kind of bug attacked the vines and killed them. I do not use pesticides on any of my plants, so don't want to go that route.

I use large buckets to plant many of the herbs in. I like to be able to move them over to the patio when I want, so I can smell the heavenly fragrance from them!

More to come, and lots of thrifted goodies to show you too!

Getting The Garden Ready - Part 1

2010-06-01T01:30:00.007-05:00

I have been hard at work getting the garden ready to plant! It may seem a bit late to start, but I have been very busy and this is the first time I have had to really spend time working on it. My neighbor planted much earlier, and has already lost many of the plants because it still got too cold. There are 2 plots in the back yard - they are both about the same size, approximately 12' x 25'.

I will take you on a tour of the back yard, and will update as more things get planted. The first pic shows one of the spaces freshly tilled. (You can click on the pics to get a bigger view.) The garden spaces don't look that big in the photo, but they are quite a good size. And my aching back will attest to that fact! :)

I have made a board frame to surround the garden spaces, and have put in fencing rods and then attached chicken wire to go all around. Have to do that or the cute little bunnies will get in and chew everything in site. We have LOTS of bunnies around here!

The last pic shows some of the rows of additional fencing I am placing in the garden to help support some of the vegetable plants.

That is all for today, but I will have more updates on my progress later this week!

Memorial Day Remembrance

2010-05-29T19:41:00.006-05:00

Peace
by Amanda Bradley

Peace will come when people live
In friendship, side by side,
And cherish understanding
More than hatred, greed and pride.

Peace will come when people see
All people as the same,
And no one has to live in fear,
In ignorance, or shame.

Peace will come when people
Who are needy can reach out
For shelter, food, or love,
And no has to do without.

Peace will come when people
Learn to listen and to care
About the rights and dignity
Of people everywhere.

Peace will come when love and trust
And kindness know rebirth,
And on that day all people
Will rejoice in peace on earth.

Memorial Day
by C. W. Johnson

We walked among the crosses
Where our fallen soldiers lay.
And listened to the bugle
As TAPS began to play.
The Chaplin led a prayer
We stood with heads bowed low.
And I thought of fallen comrades
I had known so long ago.

They came from every city
Across this fertile land.
That we might live in freedom.
They lie here 'neath the sand.
I felt a little guilty
My sacrifice was small.
I only lost a little time
But these men lost their all.

Now the services are over
For this Memorial Day.
To the names upon these crosses
I just want to say,
Thanks for what you've given
No one could ask for more.
May you rest with God in heaven
From now through evermore.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T21:23:00.010-05:00

Hello everyone,

After a lengthy absence, I am happy to be back again! As many of you know, my husband has serious health issues, and these past months have not been good ones for him. Looking back over these months, it seems to be a big blur to me now. With much thankfulness, I am happy to say that his condition has stabilized, so I feel I can take a deep breath and try and resume where I left off. I have missed you all so much!

And I wish everyone a frightfully wonderful HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

PhotoHunt - Theme: Music

2007-09-07T13:43:00.000-05:00

PhotoHunt

PHOTO HUNT THEME: "Music"

Here is my hubby doing one of the things he enjoys most in the world (besides going thrifting with me...LOL) He loves to play his guitars! I have to do some "bragging" on my hubs, because he is extremely talented. He also has a vast knowledge of music and musicians in general, and can discuss for hours practically any musician in the world. His taste in music is also extremely varied, and includes rock, classical, oldies, and "cocktail music" too. Right now he is into vintage country music.

He takes great pride in his guitar collection, and I have shown some pix of his collection below. This one is a 1959 Les Paul Custom.

Here is a 1964 Fender Jaguar, I love the red color!
This is a 1979 Epiphone 12 String Guitar. This is a 1994 Epiphone Sheraton.

And a 1979 Guild S70. Hope I got all the names right!

Thrifting Finds - Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-04T13:18:00.001-05:00

I found some great stuff over the holiday weekend - there were flea markets and yard sales galore!! First pic is showing a big 'ol hard plastic light up Santa, that my hubby found, and was only 50 cents! Next to it is one of my finds at a yard sale, a very old Fisher Price musical chimes toy - it is so sweet, and I love the vintage images on the part that rolls over the floor.

Here is a closeup of the metal part, too darn cute for words! Oh, and it was only $1.00!!

Now this was the find of the whole weekend! I have been looking for another rocking chair for quite some time - I am pretty fussy about them because I want it to be extremely comfortable, and most of the ones I try out were not. This one was love at first sight, found at a yard sale for $10 - it is solid oak and one of a kind. It was handmade by a father for his daughter, and has been passed down in the family for three generations. It is super comfy, and has a handmade leather cushion on it too. My hubby cleaned it up as soon as we got home, and gave it a good oiling. It is beautiful, and I will cherish it for a long, long time. (Don't you wonder how someone could ever part with a beautiful item like this, that has been in a family for a long time?) Guess I am just too sentimental...LOL

And another great find - vintage Tiki mugs!!! These will be added to my ever-growing Tiki collection. A find at 50 cents each!

Here is a sweet little old porcelain doll, she is only about 4 inches tall. She was only 25 cents.

This cute doll was still in the box, she is missing one of her socks. I thought she was adorable and had to come home with me. She was only 50 cents!

Another favorite find of the weekend was this pair of swan planters - they are rather large, about 12" tall. Hubby spotted these and knew I would want them. I love the colors of them, although it does not show that well in the photo. They were $2.00 for the pair!

The Mother Lode of Collections !!!

2007-09-03T18:50:00.000-05:00

This weekend, the hubby and I were all over, visiting festivals, vintage auto shows, flea markets and yard sales. While visiting at one sale, we were chatting with the home owners and my hubby mentioned how much he liked some of the vintage Pepsi and Coca Cola signs that they had in their garage as decorations. The man mentioned that if we liked those items, then we should go and take a look through one of their windows of the house, and peek at their Coke collection room. So of course we couldn't wait to take a look, and I must say - what awaited me totally BLEW ME AWAY! We were oooh-ing and aah-ing at all the Coke memorabilia that we could see from the window, trying to take it all in. Then we started back towards the car to go on our way.

Luckily I had my camera with me, and I thought to myself - hmmmmm, I wonder if I ask them, if they would let me take some pix of their Coke collection? Hubby told me that that was kind of pushy *giggle* but I figured all they could say is yes or no - so off we went. The woman of the house was extremely gracious and let us go in and take some photos of the Coke room. And then, she directed us towards the kitchen, which was done in all Campbell's soup decor!!!! I almost fell over, because I love those Campbell soup kids! :) Then, she motioned for us to step into another room, and lo and behold, it housed an entire room of Pillsbury memorabilia, of course including the Doughboy!!! My hubby thought for sure I was going to keel over from my excitement - and I swear, I almost did! And believe me, when I say every single inch of the walls and surfaces were covered in collectibles, I mean it!

Let me tell you, in all the places I have visited, and magazines I have read - I have NEVER seen anything to compare to this woman's collections! There were tons of vintage and newer collectibles, taking up literally every inch of the walls in the rooms. But they were so tastefully done - every single piece you could tell was meticulously placed in a perfect arrangement. It was beyond amazing, I tell you! So I quickly started taking pix of the Coke room, and some in the Campbell Soup kitchen. I did not get any taken in the Pillsbury Room, wish I did, but I did not want to take up too much of her time. And if that was not enough, they also had a Pepsi Cola room, a Teddy Bear room, and a Santa Claus room! I do indeed think I died and went to heaven, it was a shame that I could not spend an entire day in each room inspecting and enjoying every single piece of her collections that she had so lovingly put together.

I asked her if her home had ever been featured in a magazine, and she replied that she did not want her collections in the public eye, and I guess I can understand why. So with all due respect I will not mention her name or location.

I must first apologize for some of the pix I took, not being very good. I did not realize that I had left the camera on a close up setting, and did not find out until I got home and looked at them on the 'puter. Ohhhhhhh, I could have kicked myself!!! LOL But I am posting them anyway, so you can get a small idea of the extent of her massive collections. Hope you will enjoy them!

The first 8 pix are of the Coca Cola Room, and the last 4 are of the Campbell's Soup Kitchen - you can click on the pix to enlarge them:

Antique Car Show!

2007-09-02T23:47:00.000-05:00

We had a blast this holiday weekend, traveled all around to various fairs and festivals, and one of the places we visited was an Antique Car Show (my hubby insisted :) I took a ton of pix, and will share some of them here with you. These are my favorites! I can't remember the names of them all, but they were spectacular, and they were spotless inside and out. This first one was an aqua and white pickup truck, it was so cool! Now if it were in pink and white I would be in heaven!

This car below, was another favorite of mine, and the hubby's too - a 1956 T-Bird, an exquisite car!

Now I would like to be traveling around town in style in this 1937 Packard, (below) such a classy car it was! I expected someone wielding a tommy gun to come barrelling out of the back of the car!...LOL

This car below was not at the Auto Show, but we spied it in a parking lot. I have never seen one like this before - it is an old El Camino - kind of part car/part pickup truck. I have seen newer ones but this was a first for me!

This orange one would be fun to tool around town in for Halloween!

PhotoHunt - Theme: Dirty

2007-09-01T06:52:00.000-05:00

PhotoHunt

PHOTO HUNT THEME: "Dirty"

This house just screams "DIRTY" to me - and no, it is not my house...LOL I found this house in a secluded area of the town, and from the looks of it, it may explode from being overloaded in junk. Look at what is supposed to be the front porch - there is so much junk heaped up all over you could not even move. And if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see the upstairs window is obscured by more junk. Tons of weeds and garbage all over. Ickkkkkkyyyy! I shudder to think what the inside of the place looks like, if you could even make it in the front door! So sad to see what could be fixed up as such a cute little cottage, in such disrepair. I have hidden the address of the house to protect the owner's identity. :)

Thrifting Finds - Roosters and Chickens and Sock Monkeys - Oh My!

2007-08-26T08:13:00.001-05:00

Here's a peek at some of the nifty vintage goodies I got this week while thrifting/yard saling - I am trying to put them together in some type of group, except for the sock monkeys that don't belong with the chickens - but, hey, they were so cute I had to show you right away!

These little rascals were found at a resale shop for 25 cents each....my heart went pitter patter as I quickly raced over to get them. One of them needs some repair stitching but that can be easily taken care of :)

Do I love this chalkware rooster plaque! Found at a resale shop for 50 cents, he will be a perfect addition to my rooster & chicken collection!

Here is a cute little ceramic lidded pot with a rooster design on it - not sure what it's intended use was, but it has found a home with me - only 10 cents too!

This fella looks so happy, and about ready to crow! I think he may have held salt and pepper shakers in his wings at one time, but they were not with him. I liked him anyway, and for 10 cents I am not about to complain :) Behind him is a cute little woven wicker spatterware coffeepot basket type thing that I thought was adorable. It was 5 cents at a yard sale.

I was about ready to crow when I found this vintage plastic rooster, he's an old Easter decoration. He is missing a red feather that was in the hole in his wing, but I just happen to have some here so he will be fixed up right away and added to my Easter collection. Oh, and he was only 25 cents!

Here is an old wooden snack bowl that happened to have roosters painted on it. I have a wooden knife holder with roosters on it in my kitchen, so this will go along with it. It was 10 cents at a yard sale.

Lots, lots, lots more to come - I just need to find the time to take the pix, if we EVER get some sunshine - have a great week everyone! :)

I've Been Tagged! Scattergories

2007-08-26T08:12:00.001-05:00

meeyauw tagged me for the "Scattergories" meme.

Here are the rules: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions. They must be real places, names, things . . . nothing made up! If you can't think of anything, skip it. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can't use my answers!

I am not going to tag anyone in particular, but anyone who would like, please feel free to play along - post a note in my comments so we can read yours!

Since my nickname is Sandy, I will go with "S" for mine - here are my answers:


   Famous Singer                   Sammy Davis Jr.

   Four letter word                soul

   Street                          Seventh Avenue

   Color                           sky blue

   Gifts/Presents                  silverware

   Vehicle                         Sentra

   Things in a Souvenir Shop       souvenirs :)

   Boy's Name                      Sidney

   Girl's Name                     Susan

   Movie Title                     Shawshank Redemption

   Drink                           Sunny Delight

   Occupation                      Stewardess

   Celebrity                       Steven Segal

   Magazine                        Seventeen

   U.S. City                       Sarasota, FL

   Pro Sports                      Saint Louis Cardinals

   Fruit                           Strawberries

   Reason for Being Late for Work  Slept too late

   Something You Throw Away        scraps

   Things You Shout                Sh**!

   Cartoon Character               Snoopy The Dog

PhotoHunt - Theme: Happy

2007-08-24T20:00:00.000-05:00

PhotoHunt

PHOTO HUNT THEME: "Happy"

So who's being a happy birdie?! It's Tiki, my Moluccan Cockatoo! Yes, she has her head almost upside down, while she clowns around for the camera :)

This Week's Thrifting Finds!

2007-08-21T20:18:00.000-05:00

This week I have been all over the place, the weather has been super-icky...first too hot, then cool and damp, now its hotter than Haities again and so humid I can barely stand it....oh, how I am so looking forward to the Fall! But nasty weather and all, could not stop me from my thrifting. Here are a few of my finds for this week:

This gorgeous vintage queen-size chenille bedspread was found at a resale shop that was having a "bag sale" - all you could stuff in a paper bag for $1.00 (and believe me, I know how to pack it in! :) It is in mint condition, and has blue and green flowers on it, along with beautiful fringe all around. It took up the whole bag, so it was all of $1.00 - yeahhhh!

Next came some jewelry finds from a yard sale, these were in a plastic bag along with a bunch of other stuff for $1.00, I was thrilled when I went through it all. I think the pin in the lower right corner may be bakelite!

A sweet black and red vintage dangle necklace from Hong Kong, and a little enamel pin of a rose - all from the same bag of jewelry.

At another sale I found these adorable miniature vintage Japanese ceramic shoes, they are too cute! The smallest ones are barely one inch, and the other ones are no bigger than an inch and a half. The lady said she may have more of them, so she will look and put them aside for me if she does. They were 10 cents each pair!!!

Now I almost tripped over my own feet when I went into one of my usual resale shops and found this darling vintage set of dishes with a barnyard theme - cows and chickens, what more could you ask for? :) This whole set was only $1.25 - I ran with them so fast to the counter!!

And I got lucky with a tin full of colorful old buttons, which I will be using in my crafting projects - 25 cents for the tin!

Thrifting Finds - Warning! Cuteness Overload!!

2007-08-17T16:41:00.001-05:00

I started to take some pix of this week's thrift/yard sale haul, and just had to post these guys together - they are so durn cute!

My ever-accomodating hubby found this little old lambsy squeeze toy at one sale (so adorable I can't stand it....LOL) He was 25 cents (the lamb, not my hubby :)

And by golly at another sale we went to he found this little squeeze vintage bunny - can you believe it?! - the thrifting gods were with us today! This one was only 50 cents.

And what I feel is about the most adorable canister set I have ever seen!!! I went ga-ga over this set with darling little painted chirping birdies on them - at first I only thought it was the one canister, then when I picked it up it rattled and there were the rest of them neatly nested inside....love the little song notes above them! I am not sure if the knobs on top were original, or if someone added them to the lids. They appear to be bakelite, and look like they might be backgammon chips cut in half and drilled and attached on top. All of this birdie cuteness for a mere $1.00!!!!

Next I found these sweet little fellas - I think they are Pekingese dogs with their little red tongues hanging out, they are S & P's. I don't know what they are made of, some kind of composition material it seems. A dog-gone steal at 10 cents for the pair!

Yep, another super-tweet vintage china birdie with a little flower on her head. Geeeez, I just can't get enough of this stuff! Isn't she adorable? 25 cents - sold!

Now this little bugger has some issues, mainly a wing chipped off, but I could not leave him behind. If you look closely, he has a camera on his shoulder, so this in fact makes him a shutter-bug ! He was so silly I wanted him, and the lady told me I could have him for free :)

Lots more thrifty pix to come!! Have a great weekend everyone!

Thrift Score! Vintage Clothing and Purses

2007-08-16T19:20:00.001-05:00

Well I have a heap of goodies laying around the house, just waiting for me to take some pix to post - it has been so dang hot and humid here I have not been getting much done, (except....wellllll... I can always muster up the strength to go thrifting and yard saling!) Today the heat let up - finally - and I hit one of my favorite thrift stores and they had a bag sale!!!! Yahoooooo!!! All you could stuff in a bag for $1.00! That's MY kind of sale. Hubby was with me and he managed to fill up a bag quicker than I did (I have taught him well...LOL).

I got loads of craft and sewing books, yarn, ribbon, lace and anything related to crafting I could get my hot little hands on. Actually, I have amassed so much sewing and crafting stuff, that not all of it I will be using.... so....... in the "not so far off" future, I have decided I will start having some giveaways! I just can't pass up all this great stuff when I know so many others can put it to good use. Maybe in a month or two, I'll keep gathering up goodies as I find them, and will let you know later on when I get the packages organized and sorted. Now on to some of the goodies from this week:

This week I found a yard sale that had oodles of fun stuff, and I couldn't resist picking up these great old dresses! These 2 below are vintage Hawaiian dresses, (I forgot who the maker was), but they were from Hawaii :) Don't you just love the fabrics they are made of? Makes me want to stir up a pitcher of Mai Tai's just looking at them - want to join me? *giggle*

Then I found a group of old woven purses, which also had to come home with me :)

I think this one with the black background is my favorite.

This one has a cluster of little shells woven into it!

A Tour Of My New Neighborhood

2007-08-15T13:48:00.000-05:00

I was driving around our new area (out in the country) and took pictures of some of the gorgeous houses that surround us, and I wanted to share them with you! One of the many reasons I love this area, is that it appears here they have respect for wonderful, vintage homes - people renovate and preserve the beauty and character of the city. Having just recently moved here, from living in the heart of a huge city all my life, was quite a welcome change. At first hubby and I were not sure if making such a radical change was the right thing to do, but now we know that it was!

In our previous home in the big city, we grew so tired of seeing wonderful old homes being destroyed and torn down to make way for those "mini" mansions and condo developments that seemed to sprout up overnight everywhere you went. The whole character of some of the older neighborhoods was being ruined. I would much rather see a glorious old Victorian restored to its former glory, than a bunch of new homes thrown together so quickly, and all looking so much alike. That's just my opinion :)

All I can say is that so far I have not regretted this move one bit, and neither has the hubby - we wish we would have done it much sooner! It was a big decision for us to make, because we both had lived in the big city all our lives. I do not miss the terrible congestion on the streets and highways, road rage, lack of parking, stores always being crowded, hearing police sirens all the time, and I can go on and on....LOL

What I LOVE about this small city is waking up to fresh air, birds and crickets chirping, peace and quiet, beautiful scenery, extremely friendly people who are happy to welcome a newcomer to their area, no rush hours, no traffic jams, geeeez - why didn't we do this sooner? :) Anyway, here are some pix of gorgeous houses in the area for you to enjoy!

Thrifting Finds - Vintage Planters

2007-08-14T16:03:00.000-05:00

Last week I happened upon a yard sale and my eyes immediately spotted a collection of planters on the table - I ran over and scooped them up, and found that each one was only 25 cents each!

I think this little donkey and cart planter is my favorite, I love the pastel colors!

I will have to "moooooooove" a few items around in my cow collection to make some room for this cute cow planter.

OOooh, this one I love soooo much too, a sweet little puppy next to a basket!

Will have to bring out this guy when it gets nearer to Turkey Day :)

This one is so beautiful, a swan planter, and it is in need of a bit of touch up paint on the beak area.

More of Last Week's Goodies - Vintage Hats!!

2007-08-06T16:01:00.001-05:00

I went to an Estate sale last week, and happened upon a glorious bunch of vintage hats - they are so beautiful and are in great condition. The first one is made of some type of black woven material, with little white flowers sprinkled in for interest.

This one is all feathers, in brown shades.
Another feathered beauty, in black and white!
Here is a pink turban in a textured fabric, adorned with a vintage rhinestone pin.
Here is another beauty in all blue feathers!
And this might be my favorite, it is all covered in vintage flowers and leaves. Aren't these hats adorable? I did not have many hats in my collections before, but I could not pass these up! It was a ready made collection :)

This Week's Thrifty Goodies - Part 1

2007-08-03T17:41:00.001-05:00

Lots of goodies to share with you this week, I've been taking pictures like crazy of the neat stuff I found! First there is a wonderful pink vintage lamp in the shape of an Oriental woman - I doubt this is the original shade, but it came with it and it works OK for now - the lamp and shade were only $2 at a yard sale.

Next there is a little lusterware incense burner, it is so sweet, and was only 25 cents.
This must have been my day for Oriental type items, I found a darling planter of a man and a rickshaw for 50 cents, it is in perfect condition too!

I always love to find things for my ever-growing Chicken and Rooster collection, and here we have a set of 4 Japanese (little paper tags still on them) mugs with chickens and chicks on them - too cute! $1.00 for the set at a yard sale.

And my hubby found some vintage men's ties - he does not wear them, but thought I might be able to make something from them. I already have a huge box of vintage men's ties and....someday......will get around to doing something with them :)

Our Weekend Travels

2007-07-31T08:51:00.000-05:00

One of the many places we checked out over the past weekend was the Galesburg Antique Mall, it was amazing! I loved the HUGE old vintage building it was housed in, there were 3 floors jam-packed with a fantastic assortment of vintage goodies! Below are a few pix I took while we were visiting - this is the outside of the building:

One of the things my hubby really enjoyed was a darling little restaurant called Rooster's,that was located within the antique mall (which made it easier for me to take my time shopping while he took a break to sip a big mug o' java :) The restaurant was sweetly decorated with an array of vintage collectibles, and had a nice selection on the menu.

I would have loved to bring home these little fellas for my salt & pepper collection, I don't have them - they are the cutest pair of anthropomorphic toothpaste tubes - but....they were priced at $125! So unfortunately, they could not come home with me....sniff...sniff - aren't they sweet?

Another of my faves was a showcase displaying a collection of vintage paper mache rabbits!

This showcase had a great assortment of vintage advertising tins, but most of them were pretty pricey - but I enjoyed looking at them anyway. Sorry some of the pix are crummy, I took them through the showcase doors.

More tins in the same showcase - my favorite is the Baker's Coconut tin.

Have you seen Thumbelina?

2007-07-30T15:20:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, I had a load of things I wanted to get done around the house....but, the weather was so beautiful and there was a break from all the heat we have been having, so we hopped in the car and took off for some adventure. We drove about 100 miles and visited some nearby towns, and at one of our stops we saw a sign that Thumbelina was in town for a visit!

In case you have not seen her, she is the world's smallest horse, and IS SHE ADORABLE! She is all of 17 1/2" tall, and only weighs 58 lbs. She tours around the country most of the year, and I was lucky enough to visit with her :) Here are a few pix of her, isn't she the sweetest little thing?!

After that, we continued on to another area, and found a fantastic antique mall - of course I had to check it out. My hubby really enjoyed the mall too. I took some pix and will post them in a bit. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Today's Thrift Score

2007-07-27T00:15:00.000-05:00

This is such a sweet find, a wallpocket in the shape of a coffeepot, with little cherries and leaves on it. Had a couple of nicks in it, but a quick dot of magic marker and voila! you can't even see them now. This little gem was $1 at a yard sale.

Here's another one to add to my S & P collection, it is in the shape of a mixer, and the salt and pepper shakers are the tips of the beaters. I have the box it came in too, but for some dumb reason I forget to include it in the pic...duh......LOL...I think my brain is dead from the heat....

This thing is huge!!!! It is a heavy ceramic ashtray with a big ol' Boxer ?? dog sitting atop it. I guess it is over a foot wide, and is quite heavy. (If the hubby gets out of line, I'll just whop him on the head with it, in case the frying pan is not handy *giggle*) Just kidding :) It cost all of $1.50 at a yard sale.

These little fellas just made my day! In case you didn't know, I am ga-ga over bird related items - (since I am owned by 3 of the most lovable, mischievious, noisy, talkative, feathery, and did I say talkative, bundles of joy on this earth :) These are darling little vintage bird toys, they were to sit on the perch in the bird cage for the bird to amuse himself with. They are in perfect condition, and were only 10 cents for both!!!

Will see you tomorrow with more vintage stuff!

Today's Thrifty Goodies!

2007-07-25T17:52:00.000-05:00

Here are today's thrifted goodies for your enjoyment, I will have more tomorrow...and the next day......and the next.....(yes I know I have too much stuff, I can't help it - these sweet old things MAKE me take them home! :)

This darling little vintage metal Police car was only $1.00!!!

This was only a partial set of tin doll dishes, but I think they are sweet anyway - they will look cute in the vintage toy cabinet we have. All of them for 50 cents.

A leather cup full of vintage dice for 25 cents. I will have to make something with the dice - not sure what, but I will put on my thinking cap and come up with some ideas :)

I love old pottery, and these hands were a find for 25 cents - I will probably use it on the dresser to hold small pieces of jewelry.

I can't resist these old spaghetti poodles, I have a number of them, so he will be among friends :) Someone glued some golden beads on him, not sure why, but I will leave it as it is. This little fella was 50 cents.

LOADS of Thrifted Treasures!! Here They Come!

2007-07-24T16:40:00.000-05:00

OK, yes I know it took me a while to get these pix to you, shame, shame, shame on me! - I am sorry! - I have been a bad blogger and keep getting caught up in working on stuff in our new home, the jobs seem neverending. But, alas, here they come - I spent most of yesterday taking pix of all the cool vintage stuff I have been finding since we moved to a new area, and have I had fun! :)

While downloading the camera, I found a bunch of pix I wanted to share with you that I had taken before we moved, and they were patiently waiting for me to post them. I am going to start with them, and then on to the newly acquired goodies - there are a ton of them. My hubby says I am crazy to keep getting more vintage treasures, after the "nightmare" we had of moving it all to our new home. BUT....., I see HIM finding things in the thrift stores/yard sales that he says we just HAVE to have....LOL....I am hopelessly addicted to vintage (and so is he) and will never stop, it seems the items just call to me to bring them home - you "Thrift-a-holics" know what I mean! :)

So without further ado, here come the pix!

Here is a cute little donkey, I think at one time he may have held salt and pepper shakers in the round areas. He was 10 cents.

These horses are made of some type of plastic, they have an art deco look to them that my hubby liked. I believe they were 25 cents at a thrift store.

Sweet little ceramic horsey with flowers on her - how could I resist at 10 cents?

This is a chalkware plaque that is in great condition, I think this fella was 50 cents at a yard sale. He came galloping home with me :)

I will be posting pix of thrifted vintage goodies every day now - YES, I promise, promise, promise I will !! :)

Love, Feathers

YAHOOOOO! - I AM BACK !!!!!!!!

2007-07-14T16:47:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone,

I am soooooo sorry to have been gone this long, I have missed all my blogging buddies so much - but the good news is that WE HAVE MOVED and are settling in to our new home and getting used to our new area - slowly but surely (actually wayyyy to slowly for my liking, but WE DID IT! :)

I have lots of pix to take of my new finds, (yep, it did not take me long to scout all the new thrift stores and places to discover in our new town) and will be getting them posted later this week, along with details of the "great misadventures" of our move....LOL

I have lots of catching up to do in all your blogs, so look for me in "your neighborhood" soon - it's great to be back, and (((((((big hugs)))))) to all!!!!!!

With love, Feathers

Thrifted Treasures From This Weekend!

2007-04-24T18:33:00.000-05:00

Here are the rest of the goodies from various yard sales this past weekend. I didn't have much time to shop, but managed to cram a few sales in on Saturday :) In the first pic, I found a set of old canisters that will be perfect in our kitchen. They are in need of a good cleaning, the lids are a bit hard to get off, but will have the hubby go to work on them. The set was $3.00.

I found a bunch of pieces of vintage satiny gold pleated fabric edging. I have no idea what I will do with them yet, but brought them home anyway. They were 25 cents for the bag. Below is a tattered old quilted potholder - I love the sweet fabrics they used to make it! 10 cents for the potholder.

I love this old shelf edging stuff, this is an old roll of Con-Tact Pleated Trim, in an aqua speckled design, originally priced at 7 feet for 49 cents. I got the roll for 25 cents.

I was "tickled pink" to find this large mixing bowl, it is gorgeous and I love the pastel colors used on it. It has a raised design of flowers and leaves on the pink background. It is in need of a deep cleaning, it has grungy junk stuck in the little ridges of the bowl rim. (Another cleaning job for the hubby...hee hee :) The bowl was $1.50.

This was so cool to find!!! A vintage 45 record holder, it is called a "45 Junior", the enamel paint on it is in great condition. I am not going to use it to hold records, but maybe a letter holder or something like that. This treasure was only $1.00!

One of the many things I love to collect is old advertising and packages, I couldn't believe when I found these at the first yard sale. A package of "Pulvex Dog Flea Soap", and a tiny box called "Save On Stockings", you are supposed to rub it on hosiery to prevent holes. Neither of these products have ever been opened! 10 cents for each of them.

Today's Thrift & Yard Sale Scores!

2007-04-20T19:46:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, hope you are all getting ready to have a great weekend! Sorry I have been "scarce" this week - we have begun our official "house hunting" phase this week, and took 2 lengthy road trips to search for a new home. We visited many nice little towns and are narrowing down the choices....actually the hubby and I pretty much have our heart set on one town, but will still continue to do some more searching just to be sure. We are taking another drive Sunday to start viewing some homes in the area we liked - please keep your fingers crossed & wish us luck! I forgot how tiring constant driving for a long distance can be, I swear I felt like I was driving for hours after we left the car. When I collapsed in bed, I closed my eyes and still felt I was in the car on the road...LOL

Well of course I had to find time to do a little yard sale-ing today, the weather was so nice out! Caught a few neighborhood yard/garage sales, and here are my
vintage treasures. First pic are the kitty cats - one is a little figurine with his paw up in the air, the orange one is a salt and pepper (my hubby is regluing its mate), the last one is a "gum holder". He is so cute, but ohmygosh - do people really re-chew gum????? Ewwwwwwww These kitties were all 10 cents each!

I could not pass up this adorable book, "The Three Little Kittens" the cover picture is soooooo sweet! It was 10 cents also.

Here is a darling little group of "green" critters! One vintage frog is smoking a pipe, the other is playing what I guess is a violin, there is a wee little turtle on his back figurine, and a tiny green glass rooster miniature. The frogs were 50 cents each, and the turtle and rooster were 10 cents each.

Is this little fella not the cutest thing? It is an itty-bitty little ceramic bird pitcher, not more than 1 1/2 inches tall! Maybe I will use him to hold toothpicks or something tiny. 25 cents for this little birdie!

I love the old chalkware stuff, this one is a little red bird, he needs a little touch up painting, and of course I could not wait to bring him home to the "flock" :) He was 50 cents.

I could not resist this salt and pepper set! A pair of "Florida Love Birds" made of hard plastic, sitting beak to beak on a green plastic branch. Awwwwwww :)

I don't think this tin is very old, but it sure was cute! (cuteness plays a big role in my purchases, in case you had not noticed :) It is a bird cage, and on each side are 4 different views of different birds. A mere 10 cents for all this feathery fun!

I have a few yard sales on my list for tomorrow, so hopefully will find some more vintage goodies. Will see you then! Have a great weekend!

More Goodies from Estate Sale

2007-04-16T19:20:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, I wanted to post these pix sooner, but I got wayyyy too busy over the last few days. They have been waiting patiently in the computer for you to see :) Here are the rest of the great items I got from the Estate Sale, I sure wish there were more sales like that - I lucked out and happened upon it when it just started, for some reason their ad did not get in the paper in time. Lucky for me, or it all would have probably been gone in a jiffy.

First pic shows a really cool plastic container that holds little pink, blue and white cotton puffs. The container has nifty gold glitter in the plastic, so 50's!!! It still has it's little tag and the puffs are in mint condition, not that I will use it, just too neat to look at!

Oh I wish, I wish, I could have found the rest of the set that should have gone with this brush, but this was the only piece that was there. Isn't is beautiful with those delicate little roses on it? It would make you feel like a princess with a vanity set like that, wouldn't it?

Next I have for your viewing pleasure 2 of the sweetest vintage little girl's headbands ever, they are adorned with vintage fabric flowers and netting in pastel colors. They are in super condition too. Underneath them is the cotton ball holder that I showed you above.

And lastly, a really sweet metal tissue box holder - it is an off white with roses and flowers painted on it. Here again, I wish I could have found some matching pieces of this set, but none were to be found.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, the weather is starting to warm up here again!

Update on My Questions

2007-04-16T19:02:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much to everyone who responded and offered suggestions to the questions I asked about Blogger earlier. Not even 2 hours after I posted that message, Blogger refused to let me sign in under the old system (which is exactly what "Mama and Jack" wrote that happened to her) Blogger must have known I did not want to switch over and just had to torment me... :) Well, I had no choice BUT to switch over, which I very nervously did. Good news, everything went fine, and it did accept my template since I had it in the system already. (When I had opened up a "test" site under a different Blogger account, it would not accept my template on a new account.) So after all, I was worried for nothing. I will get around to re-doing it on the new system, because I like the option to label your posts by category. I have temporarily implemented an option to that, by making a list of categorized posts through del.icio.us (it is in my right sidebar)

As for the e-mail reply question, everyone said that you have to have that option checked in your profile so others can reply to you. So if you want me to reply to you personally, you will have to send me your e-mail if you do not have it publicly listed. I put my e-mail on my front page for anyone who needs it. Thanks again so much for your help!

Vintage Dolls & Doll Furniture

2007-04-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

Here are some more goodies that I got at the Estate Sale this week, the same one where I got the wedding cake toppers! I found 4 little vintage dolls, 3 of them need a little TLC, but I could not pass them up (of course :) The first one's eyes open and close - too sweet!

This little doll says "Mexico" on her sombrero, I love her face.

Here is a little cowgirl doll, she has a bit of a problem standing up....(maybe she's a bit wobbly from getting off her horse :) Her hair could use some much needed attention, along with her hat.

Sorry for the crappy photo of this doll, she still has her little tag attached to her!

And then, much to my delight, I found some very old plastic doll furniture!!! The stove and fridge are old Ideal furniture, with the cardboard backs on them.

The dresser is Ideal, and the tub is Renwal I think - I know one of them is Renwal but I don't have it sitting in front of me.

And the best part, it was only $5 for the lot!!!!!!! All of it!!!! :)

I Have 2 Questions.....

2007-04-12T09:10:00.000-05:00

Good morning everyone,

I have 2 questions that hopefully some nice people in Blogland can help me with. They are:

1. I would like to switch over to the new Blogger, because I like the fact that you can label your posts. Has anyone had any problems with switching over??? Guess I am scared of losing everything in case it should go awry. I set up a test account with new Blogger and it won't accept my template I worked so hard to get the way I wanted it. Does anyone know how long the old Blogger will still be functional, before they phase it out? Comments anyone???

2. I like to reply to comments that folks leave for my posts - but there is rarely ever an email attached to the comment so I can reply to them personally. I don't like to post answers on the original post, because most likely they will not be reading the comments on an old post. How do you deal with this situation??? I feel bad that there is no easy way to do this - is it because of the old Blogger/new Blogger thing?

Thanks for any comments/suggestions you send my way :)

Snow, Snow Go Away!

2007-04-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

Can you believe this! Here it is, mid-April, and it was snowing like crazy here today......eeeeewwwwwwwwww.....huge, wet snowflakes everywhere....I almost fell on my rear end when I stepped outside this morning, it was so slippery. I hope this does not do any damage to the flowers and buds on the trees that have already started popping up everywhere. Crazy darn weather, go figure....hope it is warm and breezy in your neck of the woods :)

Vintage Wedding Cake Toppers

2007-04-10T18:35:00.000-05:00

Wow did I luck out today! One of the many (many....many :) things I like to collect are old wedding cake toppers - I guess I am just a hopeless romantic, but these little remembrances of love from the past just warm my heart! I happened upon an Estate Sale that was not advertised, and got a whole box of these toppers for $3!!!! My heart skipped a beat! I have many more of these toppers I have collected over the years, and also have some from my dear friends that gave me ones from their relatives - I promised to give them a good home :) The wedding "couples" are shown in the first picture, there are 3 "spare" grooms in the last pic - any takers? (Wonder if the brides got cold feet....LOL)

Will show more pix from today's Estate Sale luck over the next few days, as I get pix taken. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday - are you tired of eating eggs yet???? hehehe

Welcome to Virtual Blogger Potluck!!

2007-04-06T14:22:00.000-05:00

Hello, and thank you for stopping by - welcome to the heart of the Midwest! As you know, SHABBY IN THE CITY has hosted a Virtual Potluck for all Bloggers, and I hope you will enjoy what I have prepared for you on your way to visiting all the Bloggers who participated in this FUN event!

Yesterday, in anxious preparation for the event, I did my grocery shopping for the recipes I wanted to prepare. I know this is for a potluck, and I asked my husband what his favorite dish was, and he gave me more than one answer!....LOL....oh well, thanks to my hubby, you will be treated with three different dishes! :)) Click on any of the pictures, for a larger view.

The first dish I will prepare is Swedish Meatballs, and I will give you the instructions and recipe in case you would like to prepare this for yourself in the future. For the Meatballs, you will need:

4 beaten eggs

1/2 cup milk or cream (I used 1/2 and 1/2)

7 soft slices of bread, and tear them apart into bread crumbs - I just whirled them in my food processor.

1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped finely

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 large onion, chopped finely

1/4 tsp. allspice

2 1/2 lbs. ground beef (you can substitute 1 lb. pork for 1 lb. of the ground beef if you would like a mix of meats)

Mix all above ingredients well and form into balls. I like to make my meatballs larger, but you can make them any size you like. You can either fry them in margarine or oil, or bake them. I chose to bake mine. They are all ready to bake in the picture below!

I chose to bake mine at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the size you choose for the meatballs.

In the meantime, prepare one package of wide egg noodles according to package instructions. Drain well.

For our Swedish Meatball Sauce, you will need:

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 16 oz. carton of sour cream

1/2 stick butter or margarine

1 tsp. beef bouillon granules (can add more to taste if you want)

Dash of freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup milk or cream

Some of the pan drippings from the cooked meatballs

It is not in the recipe, but I chose to add some fresh sliced mushrooms to my sauce. I added 1 whole package of mushrooms because my hubby loves them :) Mix all ingredients well and simmer on low range setting for 20 minutes.

Oooh, the meatballs have browned beautifully!

When the meatballs and sauce are ready, simply place a "bed" of egg noodles on the plate, add your meatballs, and top with a generous amount of sauce....ooooh, it is sooooo good!

Now, on to our next recipe! This was a favorite of my mother's, and now my hubby - it is called Watergate Salad, and it is yummy yummy!

You will need for this recipe:

1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple (do not drain pineapple, use the juice too)

1 package Jell-o Pistachio Pudding

1 1/2 cups Cool Whip whipped topping (or brand of your choice)

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup chopped pecans can be added if you desire. (I did not add them today.)

Mix all ingredients in large bowl, then place servings in dessert bowls. Refrigerate for 1 hour. And enjoy!

Finally, after much begging and nagging from my husband, I gave in and also prepared his favorite deviled eggs. I do not have a recipe written down for this, I make it as I go. If anyone is interested in the recipe, I can jot it down next time I make them (and if my hubby had his way, it would be all the time! :) Here they are in the process of preparation:

And voila, they are done!

I am now ready to set the table for all my Blogger friends! The mouth-watering aromas have filled the kitchen!

Come on in, and have a seat - I hope you are hungry! There is plenty for everyone....

And here is a plate for YOU! Enjoy!

A BIG THANKS to Shabby In The City, who so graciously orchestrated this Potluck! I have had a blast preparing this meal, and I hope you have all enjoyed it - stop by again soon, my kitchen is always open :)

Jewelry I Made

2007-04-05T18:30:00.000-05:00

I do many types of crafts, but I have to say my favorite one is creating jewelry - I create fun and eclectic, one of a kind pieces, including earrings, pins, necklaces and bracelets. I also incorporate altered art into my jewelry work, there are so many possibilities! I LOVE Charm Bracelets! I have been making them for many years now, and I have made hundreds of them in every imaginable theme you can dream up :) Here are some of the ones I made for Easter - you can click on the pictures for a larger view. I love all the color and different trinkets that are on them, hope you will enjoy them too! :)

Retro Flashback - Chiquita Banana

2007-04-04T19:22:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I posted some vintage cookbooks, one of them being a Banana Cookbook. Ever since that I have had that Chiquita Banana jingle going through my head over and over...LOL....I could not remember all the words, so I looked it up. Here is some information on the famous Miss Chiquita Banana, that I wanted to share with you :)

Vintage Chiquita Banana Advertisement

Vintage Chiquita Banana Sheet Music

Here are the original words to the jingle:

I'm Chiquita Banana, and I've come to say

Bananas have to ripen in a certain way.

And when they are flecked with brown and have a golden hue,

Bananas taste the best, and are the best for you.

You can put them in a salad. You can put them in a pie - aye.

Anyway you want to eat them it's impossible to beat them.

But bananas like the climate of the very, very tropical equator.

So you should never put bananas in the refrigerator.

Below is an old Chiquita commercial, I love it! Click on the arrow to start the commercial.

You're Invited to A Potluck!

2007-04-04T19:10:00.000-05:00

You're Invited to a Potluck! Shabby In The City is hosting a virtual Potluck - what fun! Bring your favorite dish and recipe, and join us on Friday April 6th. See you there!

Thrifted Vintage Kitchen-ey Stuff

2007-04-02T19:42:00.000-05:00

Here is some neat vintage stuff that is grouped on top of one of my kitchen cabinets. All of the items have been bought from either yard sales, thrift shops, or found. The first picture shows a large round red and white metal serving tray (love the pattern!) that was bought for $2 at a yard sale. The Cape Cod insulated Cooler was found sitting on the curb on garbage pickup day (My kind of deal! :)

**Note** At first my husband used to cringe in embarrassment when I would jump out of the car to run to the curb, and haul something to the car that was waiting for trash pickup. Years later, he is now used to me doing it, and doesn't mind - especially if it is something that he is interested in. But he still asks ME to get it for him...LOL However there was a breakthrough! Just this morning he took our garbage cans out to the curb early in the morning. He was so excited to tell me that he found a 3 drawer storage unit on wheels that a neighbor had discarded, and he even hauled it in and cleaned it for me - I was just telling him a couple weeks ago that I wanted to get another one for some more crafting stuff I just bought. Wow - miracles do happen! :)

Back to the stuff - there is an old Calumet Tin that my mom had given me, a cute Lipton's advertising cup that was 10 cents, it's not old but it looks old, and two watermelon pieces that were thrifted for about 10 cents each.

In this picture, you can see my big old white ceramic hen, it is as big as a real one I think - it was thrifted for $2. A cute rooster planter that was $1 at a yard sale, and sweet vintage tin with little strawberry decals on it, it was 25 cents at a yard sale.

Here is a closeup of the rooster planter, along with a vintage Bon Ami tin that was $4 at an estate sale. Love that little chick on the front of it!

Vintage Glassware

2007-03-31T21:02:00.000-05:00

This must be the month for glassware! Everywhere I go I keep finding more of it. Below are some of my newest treasures - in the first picture are 2 Polynesian/Tiki-like glasses, or mugs with a wooden handle. Found at yard sale, $1.00 for the pair. I hope to find more of them for my future Tiki Bar :)

When I found these flamingo iced tea glasses, my heart skipped a beat! They are very large, although they don't look it in the picture. Aren't they great! I purchased 5 of them at a yard sale for $3, but alas, when I got home one of them was broken. sniff....sniff..... But I still have an even number of 4, and that is fine with me.

I love these cute flowery glasses, actually my hubby spotted them at a thrift store. The colors are so cheerful, and they go perfectly with our kitchen which is a jadeite green, with accents of soft yellow and red. We use these glasses all the time. Thrifted for $1.50 for a set of 4.

Here are a few "orphan" pieces of thrifted glassware that I have come across. I will keep hunting for a couple more of the yellow gingham ones, and would eventually like a set of the striped one. Love the colors on it! 25 cents each for the yellow ones, 10 cents for the striped one.

Find of the Week - Cookbooks!

2007-03-30T21:36:00.000-05:00

I have always adored those little cook-booklets that were so popular in the 40's-50's, I love the pictures in them, and especially some of the off-the-wall recipes that can be found in them :) Well you could have knocked me over with a feather when I found the mother of them all, this HUGE binder full of them! This binder is about 6 inches thick, and some of the books included in it are: 500 Tasty Snacks, 500 Delicious Dishes from Leftovers, 250 Classic Cake Recipes, 250 Ways to Prepare Poultry, 250 Superb Pies and Pastries, 250 Delicious Soup Recipes, 500 Delicious Salad Recipes, 250 Ways to Prepare Meat, 250 Fish and Seafood Recipes, 300 Ways to Serve Eggs, 250 Ways to Serve Vegetables, 250 Delectable Desserts, 250 Ways to Serve Potatoes, 500 Tasty Sandwich Recipes, 250 Ways to Make Candy, 250 Luscious Refrigerator Desserts, 250 Cookie & Small Cake Recipes, 300 Healthful Dairy Dishes, 250 breads, Biscuits and Rolls, 250 Sauces and Gravies, Meals for Two Cookbook, Body Building Dishes for Children, 2000 Useful Facts About Food, and Menus for Every Day of the Year......whew!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited?!?! More pix below:

Vintage Cookbooks - Part 3

2007-03-30T21:05:00.000-05:00

Here is the "Montgomery Ward Home Freezing Cookbook" from 1946. Next to is a really cool book from Armour and Company, it was a souvenir from the 1934 Century of Progress World's Fair!

And then there is "21 None Such Mince Meat Recipes" which has some really nifty pictures. But I have to ask - what IS mince meat???? Really - I know I have had it at least once in my life, can't remember it though, but nowhere in this book does it tell me what it actually is???

And next is a newer booklet called "A Season to Celebrate with Philadelphia Cream Cheese" I love that stuff! My granny used to make a wicked fruity-cheesy dessert out of it for the holidays. If you ask me, probably anything they could cook up would be good with Philly in it. I have to ramble on here for a minute - have you tried the ready made Philadelphia Cheesecake filling yet?? I recently found it in a tub container in the dairy case, and let me tell you - THIS STUFF IS ADDICTING! I had every intention of making the suggested Cheesecake out of it, but I must sadly report that it never made it that far...I ate it right out of the container! (I am embarrassed to say) but ohmygoodness was it tasty! Dare you to try it and not do the same! LOL

Vintage Cookbooks - Part 2

2007-03-30T20:54:00.000-05:00

Lookie!! Here we have none other than "The Galloping Gourmet TV Cookbook" from 1972 featuring favorite dishes from Deep South Pacific. Note on the cover Graham Kerr is holding a Macaw parrot on his arm (hope that is not part of his menu :) Next to that is another book, "Blue Ribbon Recipes - County Fair Winners" yummmmm-eeeee, those goodies on the cover are calling my name!

I love those spiral bound cookbooks that are put out by churches and community groups - this one is called "The Salem Sampler" and has recipes from the members of the Salem Covenant Church in New Brighton (wherever that is) and then an old Swedish cookbook, called "The Smorgasbord Cookbook".

Vintage Cookbooks - Part 1

2007-03-30T20:30:00.000-05:00

I hit the jackpot this week at a neighborhood yard sale, and got a whole box of vintage Cookbooks - for $2!!!!! I am in heaven. Now I did not NEED another cookbook, I have a ton of them already - and could never, ever make all the recipes in a lifetime, but I HAD to get them. It would have been a crime to leave them sitting there all alone, right?

Here is "Bananas...How to Serve Them", and "Southern Cookbook - 250 Fine Old Recipes" - and indeed they are. The Banana Cookbook is a hoot! - look at the second picture and they have all these little animated bananas doing wacky things in the book...you can click on the pix to enlarge them if you like.

Vintage Sewing Book

2007-03-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

Here we have "The Complete Book of Sewing" that I thrifted this week for 50 cents. It is a substantial book from 1943. Get a load of the picture, don't you just love it! It has some great illustrations inside too. I am not the greatest of sewers, much to the dismay of my grandmother who, along with my great-grandmother, owned a custom dress design shop many years ago. You would think it would rub off on me, wouldn't you? She always would come along and fix up my messes, rip out the stitches, and do it the correct way....bless her heart, she did exquisite work. Who knows, maybe this book will inspire me to hone my sewing skills? :)

I got a bunch of old cookbooks too, and will post them tomorrow when I get the pix taken. :) Yes, I CAN cook! LOL

Thrifted Potholders

2007-03-29T21:45:00.000-05:00

Got these earlier this week, they were 25 cents each. The first one is a little crocheted (at least I think it is crocheted) dress, so adorable! And then this darling owl embroidered on the round potholder. Old kitchen-ey stuff warms my heart :)

Thrifted Birdies

2007-03-28T21:12:00.000-05:00

Is this not the cutest little egg cup? It was only about 50 cents at the thrift store. I don't know about where you live, but around here egg cups have become very hard to find in thrift stores.

I'm not really sure what this little guy's use is, other than to be cute. It is too small to be a planter, and not an egg cup. He was $1 at a yard sale.

The birdie salt and pepper shakers were a find at $1. I was at an antique mall and the dealer was apparently closing his booth. Everything was marked so "cheep" I had to bring them home :)

Another egg cup, this one has a scalloped edge on top - I love the pictures on it!

Thrifted Lamb Cookie Jar

2007-03-28T21:07:00.000-05:00

When I found this cookie jar, I couldn't believe it! I was at the thrift store and almost jumped over the counter to get it. The place was so crowded, and it was at the end of the day - can't believe no one else bought him - guess he was waiting for me to take him home :) He was only $6.00, and is in perfect condition.

More Vintage Easter Collectibles

2007-03-28T20:57:00.000-05:00

Here are some super cute vintage plastic Easter decorations - I think this little chick next to the cup is one of my very favorite ones :)

Sweet little yellow bunny rattle.

Little yellow and red Easter chick.

Here is the yellow chick among a bunch of other red and yellow collectibles that I have perched atop one of my kitchen knick-knack cabinets. As you can see, I love stuff with cute faces - especially the "veggie people" :)

Vintage Easter Egg Decorations

2007-03-27T21:01:00.000-05:00

Here are some very old packages of Easter Egg dyes and decorations - the yellow box was full of egg decals, transfers and sticker type things, along with egg dyes. Some of them had been used already, but they were still in good shape, and of course, I kept them. The old Paas envelope had some water damage on it, but was still very cute :)

Vintage Easter Collectibles - Part 2

2007-03-27T20:41:00.000-05:00

Here come some more vintage Easter decorations - the first one is really neat, it is a complete Easter centerpiece, still in it's original envelope, it is a "Rust Craft Easter Parade Party Centerpiece"

Oh I just love this one, the little bunny in a honeycomb basket, with little easter eggs made of honeycomb tissue that fold out. It has 3 more eggs on the reverse side of the decoration.

Here is one of the old German egg candy containers, they are so colorful and sweet!

Here is another German egg candy container, it is huge! It is about 12" long, and I only photographed 1/2 of it because it wanted to roll all over the place. Some lucky child got one big haul of candy in this egg! :)

Thrifted Easter Bunnies

2007-03-26T21:35:00.000-05:00

These little fellas have come home with me from various thrifting excursions. This little guy is an old Japanese piece, his scooter is missing the handlebars, but he is so cute I couldn't pass him up.

Here is a little chalkware bunny that hopped into my arms from the shelf at the thrift store :)

This little bunny is only about 4" tall, he is carved wood and soooo cute!

I love this piece, it is a ceramic egg and the back is covered in amber rhinestones, and the 2 bunnies smooching are so adorable! (I am such a sucker for this stuff :)

This is a homemade piece, whoever made it signed it 1972. The top lifts off and you can stash goodies or candy in the basket bottom.

Vintage Easter Collectibles - Part 1

2007-03-26T21:26:00.000-05:00

Here are some of my collection of vintage Easter Decorations, they are so cute and I love the pastel colors. I will start off with the old paper mache Easter Bunnies. The whole gang of them are lined up in the photo above, I have been collecting them for a while.

Good to Be Back!!!!!!

2007-03-25T20:26:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! I am back :) It has been almost a year that I have been away from my blogs, and I missed them terribly, especially all the friends I had made through them.

What happened? My husband has several major health problems, and one of them got much worse. (I won't go into details at this time, because he may not want me telling the world his medical history).

Also, we have decided to move, and have been packing for awhile. (You have no idea how much stuff we have here!!! - in addition to everything in this house, we have a full basement, a 2.5 car garage loaded with stuff, and a 30' storage space) - and we are still not done packing.

Anyway, we have decided to move away from this area - it is a lovely area, beautiful and clean, and the forest preserve is very close by, which I love. However, this area has become really overpriced, and we feel it is time for a change. Also, our current home is too "modern" for my liking, I want a quaint older home with lots of character. All my vintage collectibles just never looked right in this home, as much as we tried. We need a bigger back yard as we plan on getting a dog - we have our heart set on a Golden Retriever :) Time to explore a new city/town, whatever we choose. We have been looking into several areas, and are narrowing the choices so we can make a decision and start house hunting.

So that is it in a nutshell, and although I am very busy right now (and YES I still find time to go thrifting...LOL), I really wanted to get my blog rolling again. I am only going to keep this one updated for now, and after we move and get settled, will get my other blogs going again. So glad to be back - I missed you all!!!!!!!!

Thrifting Finds #7 - Depression Glass, Flamingo Tray

2006-04-23T18:45:00.000-05:00

This is the last of the posts for today - I love everything I got, but these 2 are my favorite. I collect flamingos, so I was tickled to find this beautiful painted vintage flamingo tray! And also, a gorgeous pink depression glass footed candy dish, with lovely gold edging.

I think the total I spent on all these great items was under $15 - not bad!!! :)

Thrifting Finds #6 - Ballerina Prints

2006-04-23T18:42:00.000-05:00

Ohhhh, when I saw these I almost tripped on my own feet running to grab them! These are gorgeous, the picture does not do them justice. They are about 4" deep, like a frame set within a frame, in pink, gold and ivory. I love, love, love them!

Thrifting Finds #5 - Lantern, Stationery

2006-04-23T18:39:00.000-05:00

Found a pack of Dash-A-Line Stationery, and this cute little child's lantern - it is battery operated, with red and green sides, and never used. Looks like it was a sample, and it's original tag is still on it.

Thrifting Finds #4 - Owl Prints

2006-04-23T18:35:00.000-05:00

Are these guys not adorable?! I had to get them, but I am sorry I did not clean them first before I took the pix, some of this stuff I got today is pretty dusty :)

Thrifting Finds #3 - Cookbooks and Kitchen

2006-04-23T18:27:00.000-05:00

Found a great old sifter, and 3 cookbooks: one for the Sunbeam Mixmaster, "Dishes Children Love", and my favorite - "Magical Desserts with Whip n' Chill".

Thrifting Finds #2 - Books & Magazines

2006-04-23T18:23:00.000-05:00

Got a neat old Christmas Craft book, and 2 early 50's magazines - check out the pink kitchen on the McCall's mag! (I may scan some of the better pix in the books and post them later in a separate post, if I have the time)

Thrifting Finds #1 - Sewing Patterns

2006-04-23T18:19:00.000-05:00

Here is my haul for this week's Thrifting and Yard Sale finds: Found a bunch of cool old vintage patterns, love the Vogue one! More to come in next post.....

Turner Print Collection

2006-04-20T19:16:00.000-05:00

These are part of our collection of Turner prints, we have had them for a while. I got the Cockatoo print at an estate sale for $5, and somebody tried to grab it out of my hand. Not letting go of that one! LOL My hubby repainted all the frames in a glossy buttercream paint - it's a shame that the frames had lost the mirrored edging on them. We have some smaller Turner prints too, but these are my favorite.

This Week's Thrifting Finds

2006-04-15T18:43:00.000-05:00

I was able to make it to a few yard sales this week, as the weather was wonderful! Here are the goodies I got - above, an old Noma Christmas angel tree topper, she needs a bit of repair, but I had to bring her home.

This cool vintage ice crusher, it even still had the hardware to attach it to a wall. Also, 4 cute little red shakers.

2 old creamers and 1 sugar bowl - the sugar bowl is missing its lid, but I still liked it :)

This is a little set of guys on barrels, it is called the "Rag Time Band", still in their original box - too cute!

I ran over to grab these - a huge baggie full of vintage hankies - $1 for the whole bag!!!

I love Hawaiian themed things, so I bought this old LP for the cover art.

And last, but not least, I found some cute vintage kitties still in their box, a milk glass hand, and a ruffly blue glass vase. I spent under $8 for all of this stuff!

Chicken Collection - Part 2

2006-04-09T20:39:00.000-05:00

Here is the other cabinet with more of the chickens, I find them all the time at thrift stores and yard sales - the bottom shelf won't be empty for too long :)

Roseville and Hull Pottery

2006-04-09T01:31:00.000-05:00

Here is a cabinet that I bought at a flea market, I have since had a piece of glass cut to replace the missing shelf. It is in the front hallway, and houses my Hull and Roseville pottery collection. That is a stuffed Bobcat atop the cabinet, I bought him at an antique market. At Christmas time, I dangle a Christmas ball from his paw :)

Thrifting/Yard Sale Finds

2006-04-07T11:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday while I was on the way to taking my bird to the Vet, we passed a yard sale - I wanted to jump out right then and there but had to get to the appointment on time. Rats. But we did stop by on the way back, and also had time to stop at a thrift store too. Here is my little haul from the day:

I bought a crock to hold salt, has a minor chip but no big deal, a Campbell soup mug and a Kliban cat mug, and a flamingo cup for my flamingo collection. Also got the cutest little Hawaiian/Tiki plaque, that is edged in real shells.

Found a Josef lady figurine, so sweet!

Here is the little Hawaiian/Tiki plaque.

Also found some cute jewelry - a vintage owl pendant, some ladybug earrings, and cloisonne shell earrings. I am not going to wear the earrings, but will use them in other crafty things I will make.

Rooster & Chicken Collection - Partial

2006-04-06T19:49:00.000-05:00

Well I thought I had a picture of both cabinets of my chickens and roosters, but I goofed. Will have to go and get a pic of the other one later. They are not arranged the way I want them to stay, I just moved the cabinet and put them in there for now. I like to put doilies in the display cabinets - my hubby say I can "doily anything to death" LOL (he's right :)

Perfume Bottle Collection

2006-04-06T01:44:00.000-05:00

I love this old shelf I found at a flea market, it is perfect for my collection of vintage perfume bottles. The upper two shelves hold most of my Evening in Paris collection, I love them so much, my mom used to wear that perfume. I just found out that they started making Evening in Paris again, in case you like the fragrance.

Head Vases and Frilly Stuff

2006-04-03T18:49:00.000-05:00

Here is what my hubby calls my "Foo Foo" cabinet. It is full of vintage head vases, hand painted floral dishes, and other frilly collectibles.

Cows and Watermelons

2006-04-02T17:56:00.000-05:00

I have some of my cow and cow creamer collection on these shelves in the kitchen, mixed in with watermelons. I think they look cute together.

Collectibles In The Bathroom

2006-04-01T17:53:00.000-06:00

I have a shelf in one of the bathrooms that displays my vintage toiletries, perfumes, talc cans, and some of my Mermaid collection.

More Salt and Peppers

2006-03-31T17:45:00.000-06:00

Here are the rest of the Salt and Peppers, I have been collecting them for a long time.

Salt and Pepper Collection

2006-03-30T17:36:00.000-06:00

Here are some of my Salt and Pepper Collection, I adore the little fruit and veggie guys with faces.

Pixie Wall Pockets

2006-03-29T16:48:00.000-06:00

Oops, I found a few more of my little guys, these are my pixie wallpockets.

Cute Cookie Jars

2006-03-28T16:41:00.000-06:00

I love these guys! I got the McCoy kitty jar a long time ago at a yard sale for $1.25, and the adorable lamb jar for $6 at a thrift store.

Hubby's Newest Project

2006-03-26T17:02:00.000-06:00

He has been working on this for a while, and just completed it, and I LOVE it! It is a Hoosier Cabinet, from around the 1930's, and we bought it at an antique store about a year ago. It was in need of some work at the time, so hubby sanded it down, repaired any wood that needed it, then repainted it a glossy buttercream color. The picture does not show it's color that well, the bottom of the cabinet looks too pale in the pic. He put new red ceramic knobs on all the doors and drawers, and lined the inner part of the cabinet with red check gingham that we bought on Ebay.

We moved it into the kitchen and it looks great in the spot I chose for it. We painted the kitchen a light shade of jadeite green (of course I have a collection of Jadeite too :) and the colors work perfectly together. This cabinet is so useful, I can't wait to fill it up with all my knick knacks and doo dads!

Kitchen Collectibles

2006-03-20T17:48:00.000-06:00

Here are some pics of some of my kitchen collectibles. We built shelves near the ceiling in the kitchen too so I could display more stuff.

I LOVE Yard Sales!!!

2006-03-13T23:45:00.000-06:00

Well I just happened to come across a yard sale on Sunday, and even though we were on the way out to eat, I just HAD to stop. My hubby will do anything to distract me away from yard sale signs, but this one I was going to! Heck, there have not been many lately because it has been so cold, but this past weekend it hit the mid-60's, and spring was in the air.

So a junkin' I did go, and glad I am that I spotted a few really neat items. First I found one of those cool old Jefferson Mystery clocks, and it works great - just have to clean it up a bit. A pic of it is above.

I also found a really beautiful filigree choker necklace, a pair of little ceramic owls, a pair of adorable pewter penguin candleholders, and my favorite item, a gorgeous pink Cherry Blossom Depression glass footed bowl - woo hoo!!! I only paid $5 for all of it, and I will clean up the goodies and take them out to the antique store tomorrow.

I can never get enough of garage and yard sale-ing!

More Pixies - Part 2

2006-03-13T01:44:00.000-06:00

And here are the rest of them, at least I think that is all of them :)

More Pixies - Part 1

2006-03-12T01:38:00.000-06:00

More of the cute little fellas!

Pixies, Pixies Everywhere!

2006-03-10T01:30:00.000-06:00

My favorite (well, ONE of my favorite) things to collect are these darling little ceramic Pixies from the 50's. I started out with a few, and thanks to thrifting and Ebay, now they are everywhere. I have Treasure Craft, Gilner, Pixie Potters, and many more. They make me happy just looking at their sweet faces :)

Vintage Toy Cabinet

2006-02-21T01:25:00.000-06:00

This is a 3 door cabinet, and on top of it I put a part of an old church organ top, it works out very well. Inside the cabinet is my collection of old metal toys, and old dolls. It is so colorful and cheerful.

Valentine's Day

2006-02-13T00:55:00.000-06:00

This is a Hoosier cabinet in the dining room, I usually change the decorations for every holiday. This is decked out for Valentine's Day.

Kitchen - Christmas

2006-01-24T01:20:00.000-06:00

Here is a cabinet that I just bought from an antique store, I love it but it needs to be refinished. Hubby said he will do it next month. In the meantime, we have filled it with vintage Christmas stuff. In the top pic, you can see the Carolers that I bought from the thrift store, on top of the cabinet - they look so pretty lit up

Dining Room - Christmas

2006-01-15T01:16:00.000-06:00

Here is the Dining Room decorated for Christmas - I change the decor on the Hoosier cabinet for every holiday. We had shelving built up near the ceiling so that I could display a ton of my stuff. It is hard to get at to dust, but at least I can see it and enjoy it.

More Christmas Stuff

2006-01-10T01:12:00.000-06:00

This was a little grouping of things on the buffet. I love the fiber optic snowman, he is so cute.

Kitchen Windows

2006-01-06T01:08:00.000-06:00

My hubby decorated the kitchen windows for the holiday, and he did a great job! On the window sill are the collection of vintage ceramic boots, and the wonderful gold glitter bells and Noel sign were thrift store finds, I think they were $2 for all of them.

What A Find!

2006-01-04T01:05:00.000-06:00

I was in one of my favorite thrift stores, and I happen to spy these 3 vintage Carolers hidden in the corner. They are about 40" tall and my hubby repaired the lighting cords so that they light up. I only paid $1 each for them!!! Aren't they beautiful?

Christmas Shelves

2006-01-03T00:58:00.000-06:00

Here are my knick knack shelves loaded up with vintage Christmas stuff. You can see my old Christmas Pixies on 2 of the shelves, they are so cute! :)

Oh Christmas Tree!

2005-12-26T00:50:00.000-06:00

We had 2 Christmas trees, the real one in the living room sun parlor, and the small white one in a bedroom. Look at the old Polk Bros. Santa I found at an antique store - my hubby really wanted it so I got it for him as an extra present.

Christmas Cabinets

2005-12-25T00:44:00.000-06:00

Here are several of our cabinets that are full of vintage Christmas goodies. You can see part of my Snowman collection on top of the first cabinet.

Christmas Decor - Living Room

2005-12-24T00:37:00.000-06:00

We have a 25' long mantle with bookcases and the fireplace - the fireplace does not work so we filled it with candles. On either side of the fireplace, there are bookshelves that I have filled with vintage Christmas decorations. My hubby made the wreath. Above the fireplace is my collection of Christmas village houses. There are more but they would not all fit there.