Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Massive Holiday Update

Well, today in Northwest Arkansas is icy and cold, and for the first time in quite a while I get a "snow day"! No work for me, so I have no excuse not to blog. :P

EDIT: This is a kind of ironic beginning to this blog. As I was writing this on January 27th (today is Feb. 9th), the huge ice storm that came through the area caused my power to go out, and it was out for over 28 hours. We were actually pretty fortunate, many people were without power for a week or more. We had friends staying with us because their homes were so cold or the roads were so treacherous. President Obama declared Arkansas a state of emergency, it was so bad. Because the lab that I worked at had to close, they had us work through the weekend, and I haven't had a chance to finish what I started til now! However, barring other natural disasters, I will complete this post tonight! Warning: Since I haven't posted in a while, it's going to be mega-long... that's my own fault, I suppose. :)

Antique Store Finds 11-09-08

This photo was taken all the way back on November 9th. (I was trying to get a November post going but didn't quite get around to it.) These were all finds from The Rose in Rogers. The Designs or "Arches" casserole was a good deal at $7, and I got a non-original lid for it. Woodland, even though it is brown, has started to grow on me, and I've decided to start picking up pieces for my everyday kitchen use. I got the smallest round casserole with lid for $5. On the left, the blue flower "Corning" is actually from the Netherlands - it's labeled "Pyroflam". It's the exact same shape as US Corning. I thought it was a neat buy for $8. The casserole on the right looks a lot like Corning, but it was actually made by Anchor Hocking. I had no idea they made a similar material. I picked it up for just $4. CindyMuffin on Flickr said that when Anchor Hocking produced these pieces, they were sued by Corning. Corning won, so these AH dishes weren't made for very long and are probably fairly rare.

Pyrex Promo Labware

These were buys from ebay a while ago that I've neglected to post. I got a mint set of "blue butterfly", and I had to get the red snowflake beaker when I saw it, even though the pattern is pretty scrubbed. I haven't seen the snowflake beaker before... The snowflake is the same one seen on the turquoise and black Pyrex dishes.

Corning Black Trefoil & Vintage Handmixer

I got these a little while before Christmas from the Salvation Army. The one in Fayetteville almost never has kitchenware anymore since they cleaned that section out several months ago. I did manage to find this Black Trefoil casserole there for just $2, though. According the the Corning guide they are rare, as only 3 or 4 different dishes were produced with this pattern, so I couldn't resist buying it. The handmixer is from the SA in Springdale. I like the more ergonomic angled handle on it. Unusual for vintage wood-handled utensils, this one is painted black.

Vintage Black Rotary Phone

Vintage Mustard Rotary Phone

Ever since I was little, I pined for a rotary phone. Now I have two! I really am starting to love 70s colors - I adore the mustard-colored phone. Hey, looks kind of like the one the PyrexLove folks have... :) It was $7 at the Council of the Blind. The black phone is a little older. Instead of the standard phone jack on the base, it has a cord attached that has to be connected to a converter box before it will work with a standard jack. Luckily it came with all the parts for just $5 at the Peace at Home thrift store.

Gemco Tableware & Vintage Jar Opener

Here's some things I received for Christmas... I requested vintage, of course. ;) I was soooo excited when Leilani found the Gemco Old Town sugar and creamer. They seem to be unusually hard to find in that pattern, even on ebay. I was about to break down and buy some online (the price held me back) when she surprised me with them. She actually found them locally while she was visiting. Jason's mom drew my name for the family gift exchange, and I got the Gemco Country Festival S&P shakers that I needed. I had the salt, but not the pepper. She also gave me an extra metal jar opener that she had. She got one in her utensil color, so I got the extra, yay.

Vintage Snowflake Glasses & Cradle

Tupperware Cake Carrier

Leilani also got me these lovely snowflake glasses with the original cradle. I love these glasses, now I can have a whole winter theme with my snowflake Pyrex. I really like the Tupperware cake keeper also. I had a plain one that was broken, and I like the design.

Corning Country Festival & Pyrex Dry Measure

These were ebay buys, but I prefer to think of them as Christmas presents to myself. I've done really well cutting out ebay, so I got a few things before Christmas that I didn't think I could find "out in the wild." I got a Country Festival loaf pan and dutch oven, and an old Pyrex 1-cup measure that is actually for dry ingredients rather than wet.

Corelle Old Town Platter & Bowl

Jason's mom also came through and got me a couple of the Corelle serving pieces that I was missing from my Old Town dish set. I got a large serving bowl and a platter. This was definitely one of the best Christmases I've had!

Corning Wildflower Rangtoppers Set

I found all these when I was out with Leilani the day after Christmas at The Rose antique mall in Bentonville. These are all part of Corning's line of Rangetoppers, which have metal bottoms. I really bought these for my mom, this is her pattern. I couldn't believe that almost the whole set was in the same place at the same time! They're all in excellent condition, the metal bottoms don't even look like they were used, and they all have nice lids. They were all really reasonably priced too, ranging from $7 to $16 each.

Spring Blossom Tableware & Napkinholder

I also found more Corelle coordinates at The Rose when I picked up the rangetoppers. I have a set of Spring Blossom Corelle also, and the Gemco oil and vinegar cruets and Pyrex margarine tub complete my set. A week or two after our trip to the Rose, I was out with Jason and got a nice restaurant-style napkin holder from the Springdale Salvation Army for $2. It was marked $4, but the lady I see there when I go thrifting almost every Saturday gave me a discount because she didn't see me before Christmas. Awww, so nice!

Antique Store Finds With Leilani

Snack Set Closeup

These are the rest of my finds when I went out with Leilani. This was all pretty cheap. My personal fave is the snack set... The colors are just so great! It was at the Homestead antique mall for just $4.50. It only has two cups, and one of the 4 plates is chipped, but it was too cute to pass up. I found 3 of 4 matching Fire King mugs in the same day. Two were found at Helping Hands, and one at the Rose. They were a dollar apiece. The Joy Glasbake mug was also a dollar at Helping Hands. I also got a set of 70s fondue forks at The Rose for $2.

Vintage Dinette Table

This is what the Spring Blossom coordinates were taken on in the earlier photo, :P. I finally got a vintage dinette table! They come up so rarely around here, and usually they get snapped up pretty quick. Someone had one in the paper and I managed to be the first to call about it. I got it for $100 on New Years Day. I'm hoping that it might be a sign of good thrifting in the year to come.

Mikasa Montclair China Set

Mikasa Montclair Pattern Closeup

In January, Jason and I went out thrifting and we got a great haul from one thrift store - the Council of the Blind in Rogers to be exact. For about $7 I got this partial set of Mikasa. I found on ebay that this is the Montclair pattern. I'm hoping that I might be able to resell some of the pieces.

Vintage Nutcracker Bowl

We also got this nice nutcracker bowl. Jason likes to get nuts in the shell, and it wasn't too bad at $4.

Mikasa Saucers & Homer Laughlin Mug

I picked up some saucers that I liked the pattern of, and lo, more Mikasa! The pattern is Veracruz in the Mediterranea line. It's so cute I bought all 3 even though I thought they were a little high at .75 cents each. I also got a brown Homer Laughlin mug to go with. And because I need another napkin holder (read that part ironically) I picked this one up for $1.

Noritake China Flower Bowl

Noritake Bowl Backstamp

Ah, le pièce de résistance! Major props go to Jason for finding this Noritake china bowl. I really love the piece, the flowers are lovely, and it's still in great shape. According to the Noritake Collectors Guild, this stamp dates to 1918. A good deal for $5, I think.

Thrift Finds 1-18-09

The finds didn't stop at the CoB, however. I added more mugs to the milk-glass mug collection. From left to right: a pedestal Mickey mug, Fire-King Kimberly mug, Fire-King stackable flower mug, Hazel-Atlas 'I Love Grandma' mug, and an avocado Federal mug. I was in a bit of a spendy mood, so when we visited the Bella Vista Flea Market I decided to spring for a turquoise sieve for $5.

Corelle Plate Christmas 1986

One more find with Jason was this 1986 Corelle Christmas plate. It's not quite my year (1985 would have me super-excited), but I picked it up. Christmas stuff was 50% off or I would have left it. Grand total: .75 cents.

Thrift Finds 1-17-09

Old Marshmallow Fluff Jar

On Saturday, January 17 I swung by the Second Chance thrift store to cheer myself up after paying a $6 cover charge to go to a sale that turned out to be totally lame. I ended finding a bunch of nice Mason jars, although I'll admit, what got me were the vintage lids. I included a picture of the marshmallow fluff lid, because I find it amusing for some reason. Everything was only .25 to .50 cents, so I only ended up paying $3 for all of it. Better than that dumb sale, for sure. [Oh Leilani, that bowl is for you. :) ]

Military Dress Uniform Buttons

Jason and I discovered Ken's Auctionhouse in Springdale one Saturday, which is where we got these old military buttons. Jason wanted these and won them for $4. We actually did pretty well, and we're planning to go back soon. We got a huge box full of old board games for just $2. I didn't want to bother trying to photograph everything we got, but there was a 60s Candy Land and an old Yahtzee. We had fun there for a couple of hours watching the bidding. It made me like auctions better -- I've been leery of them since Leilani and I went to an outdoor one in the middle of summer a few years ago and about killed ourselves from the heat.

'Cuisinart

Lastly, I wanted to mention these although they aren't vintage. Leilani put me onto these utensils at Tuesday Morning. They're good quality, nice and heavy utensils made by Cuisinart called "Retro-Look". Tuesday Morning had a cream color and aqua, and I got all the aqua I could find. Nearly every piece cost $7. I fretted over the price, but Jason (who is my culinary expert) told me that utensils of this quality would usually cost much more than that. Eh, if I can justify it as a deal, I'll take it. They are nice heavy metal, and I like to get newer things for everyday use so that I don't have to worry about damaging vintage ones. I was amused when I went to the checkout. The lady was impressed that I was able to find so many of the same color in the mess of their kitchen section. Hey, digging for kitchenware is what I do!

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