Lucky Finds

Since we've been here we've been hitting yard sales and estate sales, thrift stores and junk stores….looking for the special something that will fit our needs. Here are some of our finds.

We found license plates! This one is from the year our home was built and we found two more, from our birth years….not going to post those…gal has'ta have some secrets. Anyway, I plan to build something with these, so stay tuned!

At a yard sale I found an antique violin case, all wood. Needs a bit of TLC and to be relined. Anyone one have an idea where I can get self adhesive red velvet/felt by the yard? Also have some plans with this. Its all about repurposing! 

I love this pot, enjoyed many a cups of ice tea…but something is wrong with it. From the dark spots in the glaze it sweats sticky stuff….ick…I'm afraid of lead poisoning….something I learned about in ceramics class…. If the glaze is cracked or the surface is not totally covered, lead can leach out of the ceramic into your food or liqiuds….Maybe I'll use it as a vase for dried flowers??

A lucky find for 2 dollars at a garage sale. It is now in my craft room, used to store odds and ends.

This was something brand new - The cup in the middle is from my set of "good" dishes. Almost all of which made the move without a scratch…almost. I lost 3 soup/cereal bowls. I have been looking for replacements, but so far I haven't been lucky…till I saw these on sale at Ross. They are BIG soup bowls with lids that i can also put in the ovens for individual casseroles, deserts, baked over what nots….unlimited possibilities and the red matches the red in my dishes perfectly! Now I just need to finish refinishing the dining table….

Love the patina on this brass vase we found at our favorite thrift store….I just have to resist the inner urge to polish it!

I love the giant Cognac glass. It is mouth blown and very thin walled. So many things I could use it for…plan to have it out on our new porch.

I

 know, I said I have enough green glass, but it would have been perfect for lilacs….my bush out front was starting to bloom and I could just see them in there….

I didn't know that it would freeze again and we'd lose all our beautiful lilacs….there's always next year...

Now this was a great find, a 4 GALLON mason jar with lid - it is amazing. We are guessing that in some point in time it was used for pickles, right now it is our change collection jar - will just take us 3409193845904832759023 years to fill it - but boy when it's full, we can get something really special!!

There is more to share, but it will have to wait for another post. So for now Good night and

Aloha A Hui Hou!!

Got to Use Some!

Now with all these green vases, I hoped to get some flowers, and that I did.

I had a nice bouquet for our Christmas table

And a friend brought another

Can't wait till I can use the vases for flowers from our own garden.

Aloha A Hui Hou!

More Glass

I was sure I had enough green glass, I was really sure....but I couldn't help myself.

Two of them have the same coloring and I would say that they are originals, the third one is a different green and it's a good bet that it's a replica. But you never know when you need two of the same size and at 65¢ it was a steal

These two look like they are hand made. They have inclusions in the glass and both have a swirl pattern on the bottom.

I had one and now found a smaller one....never know when it will come in handy

You can't tell by the picture, but this vase is actually oval, the opening is round and the vase base is oval. Thought that was pretty unique.

This was a pretty unique canning jar. It has a peak - a - boo lid with a blue glass inner lid. It also has the good housekeeping seal of approval on it.

Have you every seen one like this? Know anything about it?

I'm going to have to research it a bit.

If I buy anymore green glass I'm going to have to find more storage!

Aloha A Hui Hou!

Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum

Back when I was living in Germany I used my fathers army chest as my couch table and loved all the extra storage.

I was hoping to find something just like it for the house.

When I saw this on Craigslist two years ago I thought it would be perfect.

But as you see, it's taller than the couch. Won't work.

On this latest trip we discovered an Antique Mall.

Oh My Goodness! What wonderful stuff!

While there hubby discovered this beauty

It's a ceder chest with a tray and a storage compartment. A great place to store our games and other things we might need in the front room.

Naturally I had to put my own stamp on it and decided to cover the tray with the same pleather to match the side tables I covered last Summer.

Also perfect for playing Yatzee!

Aloha A Hui Hou!

Put to Good Use

This trip I was able to unpack and put some of my finds to good use.

Here I used the antique silver tray and one of the blue vases we found at Savers for a little bathroom aroma therapy.

What do you think? Do you like it? Do ya? Do ya? Huh? I do!

I did discover that the little claw feet make dark marks on the sink top.

What to do?

They're too small to stick little felt pieces to them so I just put a dab of hot glue on the bottom and flattened them right away. Worked out great and no more dark marks!

Aloha A Hui Hou!

It's All About Storage

I'm all about storage. Everything needs to have a place. That's why I'm so happy with all the built ins in the house.

BUT we lost the built in in the front room where we now have the Vermont bun baker. So when I buy something for the house it has to pull double duty.

This trip we found a nice wood chest, on removable legs, at one of our favorite Youth Ranch Thrift Stores. 

Right now I have it between our two wingback chairs and my crocheting is in it.

Hard to say how old it is, but it is made of solid wood, not plywood. We love that.

Aloha A Hui Hou!

The Watchmaker in Me

Way back, the profession I went to school for, was sales and I worked in a jewelry store. I guess a little bit of that has stuck with me and I now have a "thing" for clocks.

For quite some time I have been looking for a antique alarm clock and on this trip I found one! Sure it was over wound, but I wanted to take on the challenge and fix it.

When I opened it up I discovered that the insides were not screwed together, but riveted together. Until I figure out how to open and close up the insides - there will be no fixing this alarm clock.

I still love the look and it has a place on my night stand.

On a different day we visited one of the antique shops in Caldwell and this beauty called out to me.

Now to the real cool thing about it, it's a travel clock! You can flip up the back and roll up the front.

Is that cool or what?

I don't know what it is about this era, but I love the design, and the shape...everything.

And you know what, the best thing about it is that it actually works and keeps time pretty good too!

Aloha A Hui Hou!

Hubby's Side

Since the bed is off center, Hubby has a lot of space on his side of the bed.

I didn't want to waste the space and get matchie, matchie night stands - so we were looking for a small antique dresser.

 On Craigslist I came across an ad for an 1880's washstand

I texted the seller for the measurements and it looked like it should fit.

Cool, huh?

So we drove over to Oregon....

oh, by the way. I just wanted to mention that it is amazing that we can actually drive to a different State

Just get in the car and drive to a different State.

In 30 minutes you're there...in a different State.

Amazing...

Double cool is that it is State where you don't have to pay sales tax....yup, double cool.

Now back on track to the washstand.

The washstand was really solid and a bit rough, very rustic looking and a great match for the antler lamp that Hubby wants to keep for his bedside light.

Of course we brought it home with us.

The wood wheels on the bottom were not totally intact. One wheel was missing and another was really worn down so I decided to remove the wheels and put sliders on the bottom so we don't scratch up the floor.

It's perfect for Hubby and his needs (a place to put his STUFF away)

no, there are no sockets on the wall behind the bed - I'm going to have to figure out what I can do here.

And Goldilocks said "it was juuuust right".

Aloha A Hui Hou!

Not Much Space

You might remember, this is our bedroom, we just moved the bed over there before we left last Summer.

Although both bedrooms look the same, they're not. The light room is smaller and it doesn't leave me much space on my side of the bed.

Hubby said "Move the bed over and you'll have room".

Well, I don't know about you, but I have issues with a bed in front of the window.  First it makes it hard to get to the window and second it just looks off balance.

I was thinking of building my own nightstand to get the size I need. On this trip I thought I'd look around and see what I might like and might want to give a shot at building myself.

Then our neighbor took me to Grapples. This is a "little" home decor business that is only open once a week, and it looks different every time you go there.

Staring at me was this little side table in the exact same green patina as on our bed frame.

I don't have to tell you, you know I took it home with me and it fits perfect!

As you see, I also found a lamp shade for the hobnail lamp I found a couple of months ago. 

Love the vintage feeling in the room now.

Aloha A Hui Hou!

And Then There Was Light

Hubby has developed a new hobby - collecting kerosine lamps.

Last summer he was just buying up what came his way and looked halfway decent.

We wound up with about 10 or so lamps.

Once we got back home he started researching it more, ordered books on lamps, on the history and types of lamps. He became a regular

Kerosine Lamp Guru

So on this trip we took a look at what we already had and only one was a real antique. The rest were modern kerosine lamps.

He was on a mission to find genuine antiques, and that he did.

All of the lamps he found are from the 1800's....Imagine the stories they could tell!.

The brass one is an electric lamp and not part of his collection.

This one is a special beauty:

This lamp can be height adjusted. Either low for reading or up high to shed more light in the room. Very cool. We also have a hand painted globe that fits over the top part, but the original owner dropped and cracked it. She glued it back together, but I'm not sure what kind of glue she used and if it can take the heat when the lamp is on so we'll only put it on there for looks, not for use.

Now all that's missing to make the room complete is one to hang over the dining table (that has been electrified). Happy hunting!

Aloha A Hui Hou!

Our Rooms Are Now Full

We never planned on a dining room.

Our table in the kitchen is enough for the two of us.

If, in the future, we entertain, it will be in the Summer months, were we can eat on the back lanai (your Hawaiian word for the day = porch).

So I was kind of surprised when hubby brought this listing on Craigslist to my attention

Real wood, chunky legs and unique wood work table top. We liked it and thought, for the time being we can put it in the wood room and at least have a place to invite our neighbors over for game night.

So it is now ours and standing in the wood room.

Phone pic - Thank you Peggy!

Don't you agree, it looks pretty good in there?

Can't wait to get my hands on it. Reupholstered the seats and see if there is anything else we might need to touch it up.

Oh and I did ask the lady that sold it if she has any info on the set. She told me it belonged to her aunt, who is in her 80's, and it was from the 30's or 40's. I'll be going over with a fine tooth comb to see if there are any stamps or labels that can tell us more.

There was a time when I wanted new, new, new....but now I am very happy to fill our home with history.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Fun Finds at Savers!

Things are getting back to normal and we have had the chance to go to our favorite 2nd hand store and browse around a bit. Look at our cool finds:

First, we found a Guardian Service coffee pot. 

Back in the day, the brand was the best you could buy. A pot set in todays money could run you about $2000.

You pour boiling water in on top and t has a forever filter on the bottom.

We could keep it warm by putting it on the bun baker in the cold winter months. 

I found a bit of history of the Guardian Service company and the pot:

"THE HISTORY OF GUARDIAN SERVICE COOKWARE

Guardian Service cookware (GS), aka Guardian Ware, is a highly sought after collectible these days. There are a variety of reasons: the heavy-duty construction of this hammered aluminum waterless cookware makes it almost "bullet-proof; the excellent way that the cookware prepares the food; and the nostalgia of cooking with the same type of cookware that your parents or grandparents did. The fact is, many of the pieces from the 1940s and 50s are still around, and people love it!Century Metalcraft Corporation of Los Angeles, California manufactured Guardian Service cookware from the mid 1930s until 1956, when the plant burned down. Independent salesman sold GS cookware similar to the way that Tupperware was sold during the 1960s. A hostess would host a party at their house, and invite several of their friends over. At these dinner parties, the GS salesman would prepare a delicious meal for the guests, all in hopes of selling them some of the GS cookware.GS cookware was considered to be an expensive set of cookware during the 1940s and 50s. It would cost about a month's pay to buy the full set. In today's dollars, that would be about $2,500! In many cases, the dinner party guests would only buy one or two pieces.

GS cookware is constructed out of hammered aluminum, and is considered to be heavy-duty in contrast to today's cookware. During the pre-WWII years, this cookware had metal lids. But, because of the rationing during the War, the lids were then made from oven-proof glass. GS cookware has the trademark Knight's helmet (looking left) logo stamped on the bottom of the cookware. There were 3 different designs of the logo: One had the Knight's helmet and crossed swords, the next had the helmet and 2 stars on either side, and the last version had the helmet and 3 stars on either side. The glass lids also were etched with the Knight's helmet, but they also had crossed battle axes."

Then we found a set of these. for $1.40 a piece - Look out Chinet!

We thought it would be a fun alternative to paper plates for Summer grill parties

Lastly, for $1.99, we found this cute little pitcher that I can use for a vase

(spool of thread so you get an idea of the sixe)

With it's imperfections I'm pretty sure that it is at least partially hand made. But in the end, it doesn't matter, I love it!

I did find something special on eBay too. A set of 3 Bratӓpfeln!

These are used to make baked apples. I had pizza plates from this company and I loved them. Can't wait to put them to good use and fill the house with the delicious smell of baked apples.

So, Have you found anything special lately?

Aloha a Hui Hou!