Belated September Finds

Sorry guys, it's been a while since I was intending to post about my birthday. Unfortunately, I was recently involved in a car accident. I'm fine, but my car was totaled, and I've been going through the process of getting a new one. That and getting my new job, and then having to adjust from training on 1st shift to working on 2nd shift, I haven't been doing too much on here. Finally, everything has settled down, and I've managed to get my photos taken and uploaded to Flickr. So, here it goes...



I got these back in September... The 'Green Wheat' promo was a local find at the Tontitown Flea Market. Jason bought this for me as a birthday present. It was about $20, still better than the internet. The 'Golden Classic' dish was an ebay buy, and kind of a present for myself, I guess. :) I really wanted it, I love the deco-style graphics and the pretty yellow color.



These were thrift and antique store finds from August 30th. I got the Flamingo pie plate for $3.50 at Samaritan thrift store. I then found the Golden Hearts casserole for $7 at Plantation House antique store. We drove from there to Rogers, where I got the Country Festival coffee perk for $7 at Homestead antique store. The white 401 is my first true Pyrex opal mixing bowl! It's marked only with the mold number "7" on the bottom. It was just $3 at the Bella Vista Flea Market. Country Classic Antique mall had both the Old Town blue sugar bowl and Chelsea JAJ dish. The JAJ was $7.95 and the sugar bowl $2.75. Lastly I got the Bride's casserole (which I absolutely adore) for $9 at the Tontitown Antique Mall, which was another birthday present from Jason.



This casserole was another ebayed present. This came from a seller in Charleroi, PA. They called it 'Golden Thistle', which is a good enough name for me. I fell in love with the big, bold thistle pattern. I haven't seen one like it before, and I had to fight to get it. It's getting harder to get good deals on rarer items on ebay than it used to be. More and more collectors are getting on there, and I know some people who want to buy every single piece of Pyrex just to say they have it all, I guess. I just try to get what I really love, and it gets frustrating to always have to come up against someone who seems to have no other life goal than to throw all their free time and all their money into buying up Pyrex on the internet, and then act like they know everything about it. All they know is how to use PayPal. Sorry for the rant, but it just irks me because I don't see how it's rewarding, and it's certainly not impressive.



I watched items on ebay for a while until I found this casserole, lid and stand for a decent price. I had seen several previous to this go for quite a bit of money, but I lucked out and the market had settled some. I really wanted to add this dish to my turquoise collection. The cradle is super-retro, and just so fab. This dish also came with the original care booklet.



Here's all of the Corning Country Festival pieces I've found so far. Everything was found locally, yay! Amanda got me the two casseroles on the left for my birthday. She also spotted the square baker they're sitting in when we were out at the Tontitown Antique Store together.



I got these the day before my birthday. I found the Tang pitcher at the Salvation Army and the turquoise thermos at the Council of the Blind for $2 each. Everything else was $1 each at an antique store's parking lot sale. I found the teapot in the 4th edition of the Mauzy guide, pg 91. Apparently it was made by Glasbake but with Pyrex glass. A teapot with the lid has an estimated value of $75-85. Not too shabby... now to find that lid!



I found these Spring Blossom coordinates at a Prairie Grove thrift store on September 13th for $10. I got a Gemco sugar bowl and S&P shakers, and a Dispensers, Inc. syrup pitcher. The unmarked milk glass zodiac mug was thrown in for free.



Here's the last of my September finds. I got these mugs at Country Classic Antique store on the 27th. I got 6 Federal glass zodiac mugs for my collection. I still only have 6, but I replaced two I already had that were in shabby condition. Only 6 more to go... :) And I added another one of the Corning-style Pyrex mugs to my collection. Still plenty of those left to get.

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).

What's Better Than Vintage Kitchenware?

SETS of vintage kitchenware, that's what! I noticed a trend when I uploaded my pictures to Flickr... I actually seem to have completed or acquired a lot of sets recently, rather than getting a bunch of random pieces. I'm quite proud of myself, actually. I vowed not too long after my descent into thriftmania and pyrexia that if I was going to be a kitchenware junkie, I was not going to have a completely random kitchen! I've managed to stick to my vow and I have only collected in my patterns in color palate (with only a few minor indiscretions). I'll start with my favorite:



The rectangular space saver dish on the very bottom of the middle stack was my last, elusive piece... I finally found a nice one on eBay and I had to get it. I just love this pattern, something about the color and the snowflakes just sucks me in! Oh, and I'm officially getting a larger apartment in a month, and it has a dedicated dining space (!) so they will be on display properly very shortly.





I had to get this carafe when I saw it on eBay... It started at $4.99 and I was the only bidder! It came with everything - candle-warmer, care instructions, original box, and even the tea ball! I loved that it had the same snowflakes on it as my turquoise snowflakes, also. I didn't realize it in the auction, but it has a combination of gold and white snowflakes, which is really pretty. When I got this beverage server, I really felt like my snowflake collection was complete!





I thrifted this carafe and candle warmer quite a while ago. I found out on PyrexLove and saw on eBay that it originally came with 4 mugs as a beverage server set. I had found the matching mugs at a few local shops, but they were in poor condition. The brown paint didn't seem to hold up very well, and forget about the gold design. I finally turned to eBay for these. I managed to get a deal by buying another set of mugs that I needed from the same seller, so I got combined shipping at least!



I only pictured one of the Peach Shell mugs, but I actually found 7 of these at an awesome garage sale for only $2! I happened upon the sale when Jason and I were driving to Pea Ridge to see his parents. The guy running it had a huge garage full of stuff! I also spied this adorable Fire-King mug. What a cute little mouse!



This is another cool find from the large garage sale. These disposable placemats are very 50's. I love how the packaging enumerates the many reasons why disposable placemats are such a good choice ("saves cost of laundering linens" "longer life for linens" "makes food look more appetizing" "decorates table" "saves work"). We actually got a lot more from this sale that I didn't photograph. Jason found himself an awesome vintage Atari with 2 controllers and paddles, with several games and even the original box for just $15! He's becoming quite the little thriftster himself. We also got quite a few LPs for our record collection, and a nice vintage Yamaha record player with groovy faux wood so we can actually listen to our collection now!



I've been wanting a Pyrex gravy boat for a while now, and I was lucky enough to find this one at the thrift store. It's not my pattern, but it is my mom's, so when I do get the one I really want, I can pass this along to her. She always serves mashed potatoes out of her Woodland mixing bowls, so the Woodland gravy boat will be perfect! I actually only thrifted the boat of this gravy boat, I had to go to The Rose antique mall in Rogers to get the underplate. This is how bad I am - when I saw the boat at the thrift, I knew immediately exactly where I had seen the underplate sold separately before, and exactly where it was. All together I paid $7.10 for it, which is not too bad, I'd say.



I got these from an antique store that Ifound with Leilani during her visit this winter. I hadn't been to it since then (I kind of forgot where it was), but I re-discovered it last Thursday. The Pyrex Cracker Barrel was actually there the last time I visited. I passed on it before, but I decided to go for it this time. It was $4.95. I also found a great Federal glass syrup pitcher for $4.99. I've seen a lot of these in some pretty blah colors, but I had to get this one with the orange lid. A lot of the kitchen gadgets that I've been getting are this color orange. By far the best deal was the Pyrex Pink Daisy dish. It's in good condition, and it was only a $1.99! I question the pricing at that store.



It doesn't seem like it because I haven't photographed it as much, but I probably have as much Tupperware as Pyrex at this point. I got a pasta holder in orange, which has edged it's way into my aqua-jadeite-yellow palate. I got another pitcher because they are just so handy. This one, although a little beige for my tastes, has a nice design on it rather than just being plain.



My last few finds are all additions to my mug collection. I picked up two of these mugs at the Council of the Blind in Springdale. Although they look very similar, the one on the left is Pyrex Tableware, and the other is Anchor Hocking. There were 3 of these together on the shelf. Two were Anchor Hocking with backstamps that dated to different time periods. jeffpyrex on Flickr, who is quite the expert on restaurantware, told me that Anchor Hocking made their line longer than Pyrex did, and because they were so similar many people used them as replacements for their sets.



I'm keen to get all the Pyrex cups and mugs for my collection. This pattern is called Burgundy. It was one that I had been on the lookout for but I hadn't seen it anywhere. I finally got this one for 25 cents at Helping Hands. Woo!



This makes Federal glass zodiac mug Number 2. Technically it's #3, but I have two Scorpios, so I don't count that. Only 10 more to go! :P



My last mug is also one of my funnier stories. I was driving down Main St. in Johnson, and I passed an empty lot that earlier in the week had sale signs up, but no sale. But that day tables were up, so I pulled in. The only good thing was this Fire-King mug. However, I couldn't find anyone to pay. Other people had pulled in after me and were browsing the tables. We all kept asking each other, "Are you running the sale? Do you know who is?" It looked neglected, it had rained the night before and things were soaked, like they had sat uncovered all night. I wanted this mug, so I even dared to go across the road to a rather run-down house and ask if the sale might be theirs. No answer. The people browsing were getting frustrated and leaving. I considered just taking the damn thing, but it felt too dishonest. So instead I went to my car and got a pen and a scrap of paper. I left a note "50 cents for mug" with 2 quarters on it on one of the tables. A lady that was leaving asked me "Did you leave a note?" I told her "Yeah, I figure if they're not going to man their tables, I can make my own price," which she found quite amusing. Someone probably came along and took their stuff and my money, but oh well. At least I rescued a Fire-King mug. :)