A Whole 'Lotta Stuff, Part 2 - Tennessee Edition

So yes, I suppose it's about time to post what I found during my vacation to Tennessee, woo! The thrifting there wasn't too bad at all., a little better than NW Arkansas, I suppose. I was ever-so-slightly disappointed, but that's only because it wasn't the super-cheap Pyrex haven of my dreams. ;)

I did, however, notice the same trend in Tennessee that I've seen here. I believe Leilani mentioned it in her last post. It seems like this year the pickings are pretty slim at the thrift stores. I really find most of my good stuff now at antique stores. Leilani and I were discussing this a while back. It seems that finding quality items at the thrift is harder, and the prices are going way up. On the upside, though, the antiquing is picking up. For not too high prices (in fact, some antique store booths can be as cheap as the thrift) I've been finding a good amount of nice quality items. We've definitely noticed this trend in the South, but from what I can tell on groups on Flickr that's not the experience for everyone. While I would jump on a nice piece of Pyrex for $6 at the thrift here, I see people posting on PyrexLove that find several items for half that. At least the thrift gods are smiling on them... Hmmm, what with me antiquing and Leilani estate-saleing, the name 'Thriftaholics' is becoming a little less applicable. But the 'Antique Store and Estate Sale Enthusiasts' just doesn't have the same ring to it. :P

So here's what I found at the thrift stores... it was all pretty cheap.



A lot of it was even cheaper than marked, because at this one store that I visited twice the guy at the counter ringing people up kept giving discounts. I'm not sure if it was because he just didn't want to add things up, or couldn't, or what. He would just look at your pile and give you a number. When I got the cookbooks, he only charged me for their marked price ($2), and gave me 2 mugs and the nutcrackers and cake server for free, basically. It was sweet.

The pink saucers are Pyrex. They are actually marked Pyrex in the mold, usually these had a gold stamp. I got those three from a thrift/resale shop for just 88 cents. And that was with tax. Those are officially my best thrift store steal. The mugs were either 50 cents or free from various places.

Mugs from left to right: Pyrex, Pyrex (Snowflake Blue), Hazel Atlas, Glasbake, Galaxy.

Cookbooks: Better Homes and Gardens Cooking With Whole Grains, Good Housekeeping's Cookie-Jar Cookbook.

Now onto the the antique store finds! This is actually a picture of just all the Pyrex I got in Tennessee, so ignore the mugs and saucers from the previous picture.



I think my best find was the double boiler. I've been wanting one for my baking projects, but they go for so much on ebay. This one is in great condition (just missing the lid) and was only $10. It's one of the more rounded ones with a blue tint to the glass and a green flame marking - my Pyrex book says the green stamp is from the first 10 years of Flameware production, 1936-1946, and the double boiler was first introduced in 1937.

I also got a replacement primary blue fridge dish for $10 (my old one was chipped), and it came with a lid, too! This one is in great condition, with an older stamp that matches my other primary fridge dishes. The lids on these dishes chip easily, but this one is still perfect.

I got also got the Zodiac casserole I had been wanting for a while. I couldn't believe I found one with a good lid (the gold tends to come off easily) and the candle warmer. The gold on the casserole is in excellent condition also. It was $20, which was better than the ones I lusted over on the internet.

Lastly I got the Pyrex measuring cup and matching Pyrex-branded beaters. I found the same one on page 40 of the 4th edition of the Mauzy guide. This one wasn't much of a deal ($60). I really wanted it but balked at the price. Jason decided to get it for me though. :) Good man.

A Whole 'Lotta Stuff, Part 1

As shameful as it is for us to admit, Leilani and I haven't been posting as much as we would like on this blog. That's the bad news, the good news being that the lack of posts hasn't been because of lack of material! I have enough for one extremely long post. But, since I know no one wants to slog through all that in one go, I've decided to break it up into 3 parts. I went on a week-long vacation to Gatlinburg, TN in the middle of last month. My first post (er, this one) will have everything that I found before my trip that I neglected to blog. The second will be the swag I got in Tennessee, and the third will have everything I've gotten around here since coming back.

So this post is one of my favorites because I can reveal (dum dum DUM) my brand-new PYREX HUTCH!!!!!!











I absolutely love my new hutch and shelving unit. The hutch is gorgeous, Dutch Modern style made of all teak wood, lighted with sliding glass doors. The hutch isn't brand new, of course. It's vintage! Even better! I found it on Craigslist for only $100. As Jason's mom would say, it was a "screamin' deal." We picked up the black bookcase from a booth at the Rose that was going out of business and selling everything. We got the solid-wood bookcase and two black wood cubes for $120. I was ecstatic, and still am. I thought I would have to use bookcases for a long time before I ever found a hutch I liked, much less one I could afford. I got super lucky. All my glassware is now either displayed or stored in the cabinets.



Up next are some Pyrex casseroles that I got a while back. You can see them all displayed in the previous pictures somewhere. :) This one is dubbed 'Frost Garland'. This was an ebay purchase. It was one of the last aqua promotional pieces that I needed, so I finally just gave in and bought it. It's a 1.5 quart rather than the usual 2. It's a cute little round casserole.



This on is referenced on the PyrexFiles. On there it's listed under the very generic name of 'Floral'. I really wanted to get this piece, because it matches very well with my Golden Honeysuckle casseroles. Yet another ebay purchase.



I couldn't resist this dish on ebay since it had the great box. Even the packaging of Pyrex is pretty! This pattern is called 'Embroidery'.



This is my last ebay purchase. This piece doesn't have the usual color scheme that I gravitate towards, but I really liked it, and I hadn't seen another one like it. It's a big 2.5 quart oval casserole with brown and orange floral print. It wasn't on the PyrexFiles or PyrexLove's pattern reference. When I got this casserole, I was struck by just how vivid the orange on this dish is. I decided to name it 'Tangerine Floral'. The moderators of PyrexLove actually added my picture and my name to their reference!



I got this Gemco server in the 'Country Festival' pattern from an antique store in Tontitown. If I remember correctly it was priced pretty well, around $6. I'd have to say Country Festival is my favorite pattern on Corningware. Typical me, since it is harder to find, as it was only sold for 1 year. ;-P So far all I have to go with it is a teapot.



I got these from an antique store neighboring the one where I found the Gemco server. The Hazel-Atlas mug was a couple of dollars, which is more than I usually pay, but it's so pretty and I have a pink one that matches it. The Federal syrup pitcher was right next to it, and was about $5, I believe. I couldn't not take it home! :)



I got this promotional divided dish (also known as Floral, ugh) at the same antique store as the Gemco server. It was about $14. Not super cheap, but better than ebay. I had been admiring this dish that other users had posted on PyrexLove's Flickr group, and thought it was one I would like to find someday. So when I saw it "in the wild" shortly afterwards I decided to go for it.



This Pyrex casserole is called 'Midnight Bloom'. I got this one from Yesteryears antique store in Tontitown. The antique store wasn't too bad, but unfortunately the last time I went a couple of weeks ago, I found out they were going out of business. I got this casserole before all of the going out of business sales, however. I always liked this piece. It's a hard one to photograph - it's difficult to portray the true color. The lid is a pretty purply-black, and the base is lavender/periwinkle. I never expected to find one of these in Northwest Arkansas, so I gladly paid the $22.50 to make it mine.



I got both these casseroles at the Rose when we found the black bookcase. The vegetable dish is English, marked with the crown, my first JAJ piece. The pattern is called Tuscany. It was actually 50% off in the booth that I got the bookcase from. The other dish is a promotional Pyrex casserole for Heinz. I think the deal was if you bought Heinz stuff you could send off and get this dish. It's a special shape, and a unique dark green/teal.



I got this Cornflower Blue electromatic coffee perk at the same antique store as the Gemco server and the Floral divided dish. I wish I could remember that places' name! This perk was really cheap, just $7 I think, and it came with all the parts, even the hard-to-find black plastic underplate.



My last find for this post... I got another vintage Sunbeam mixer! This one was sitting right at the front of the appliances shelf at Helping Hands in Bentonville. I was shocked no one had bought it, it was only $15! This one is a slightly different model than the one I already had, I think it might be a little earlier. This one was a steal because it came with the hard-to-find juicer attachment. That alone if I were to resell it would get me back my $15, easily. I haven't decided which mixer I'm going to keep (but I'll probably just end up keeping them both, heh).