REDNESDAY: The Gift of Friends :)

I'm sure that most of you would agree that the friends you've made through blogging are some of the most generous and kind friends you have. I for one have found this to be the case! And while we may not see each other in person, we still find ways to help each other out!

Jill of "A Little Bit Of Everything" was my very first blog friend. I'd say she mostly helps me by brightening my day with her fun emails. She's also taught me a lot about collecting vintage Pyrex! We also like to send each other fun packages!

Jill sent me the Blue Fridgie to complete my Primary Set! And look at the darling card that she included!

I've been really good about not letting myself buy vintage children's books the last few weeks! Thank goodness Jill sent me these to feed my addiction! They're so perfect for my collection!

Seriously?? Jam jars on the window sill even! Haa!

Look at the purple flour sifter!

Isn't he gorgeous?

OK, then Jill also sent me this!

This is a big deal! To me anyway! haha I have a large collection of vintage Strawberry Shortcake items. I didn't have a coloring book though! They get pretty pricey on EBay. I love that this one has "French" on the front too (since Jill is up in Canada).

Now doesn't that make you want to color?

Thank you so much Jill! I appreciate each gift that you send and you are a great friend!

Another friend sent a great little package the other day!

Dorothy of "Hen's Rule" sent all these beautiful art supplies! The lot included vintage library cards, patriotic papers, candy colored buttons, and really cute cherry printed fabric!

I put the buttons right to use on my Friendship Banner Tags!

Dorothy is a real sweetheart, and we have something in common...WIENER DOGS!

She's got little Ms.Wilma and I have Noel. Noel doesn't go by Ms.because she's too wild and crazy!

Thank you so much Dorothy. I loved everything that you sent!

Speaking of Friendship Banners, mine are finally done! I'm mailing them off tomorrow.

If you were trading with me hopefully you got my email.

 The tags are kind of funny! It's me at the Flea Market! I managed to get my ever present iced coffee on there, and Wellie made an appearance too. Haaa!

 The "Golden Eggs" are of course my vintage finds!

If  I could I would have ALL of my blog friends over for iced tea and cookies! Or lattes and chocolate cake...your pick!

I'm sorry this is a very long post! I just wanted to let you all know that I'll be away for a few days, and then probably "down for the count for awhile".We leave for Rochester in a few hours for my foot surgery. I'm actually looking forward to getting it over and done with! I wanted to thank you all for your well wishes and PRAYERS too! It really means a lot!

Erica

I'm linking up with SUE for REDNESDAY! Visit "It's A Very Cherry World" for lots of RED!

REDNESDAY: Christmas Things and a Giveaway!

It seems that I've been finding little Christmasy things at the Goodwill and thrift shop lately. How about you? Have you found anything for your holiday decorating this summer? Here's what I have found in the past couple of weeks.

This Golden Book is the perfect addition to my Christmas book collection, and it's a 1951 edition.

What cute illustrations!

Do any of you have these snowman lite covers? They probably aren't that old...maybe from the 80's. They were at the Goodwill for $1.99. So what the heck! I'll see if they look cute when they are lit!

This is my favorite find! The cutest ever cookie tray! Though maybe it was meant to be a chip and dip, I'd never put dip in it. What I love is that it's heavy, not that flimsy plastic stuff.

At the Goodwill for $1.99!

OK, in my last post I said that I'm NOT going to be someone who collects "figurines"! Haha! Truth be told I have been hunting for a "December Angel" because that's my birthday month and of course my love of Christmas decorating. Although they aren't marked "December" they are marked "Lefton", and they were $2.99 each at the thrift. Had to take them!

This guy is not something I found, rather something that I made. His body is pure cotton and his arms are chenille stems. He sits on a vintage poker chip and is holding a great old candy cane. I've made him a sign using a vintage Christmas seal.

He stands about 3 inches tall.

Next is an original painting that I did last year. It was inspired by a favorite vintage Christmas card in my collection. I've made prints of this painting and sealed them on wood, added  hangers, and dusted each with mica flakes.

THE GIVEAWAY

Because I'm reaching 100 Followers (Yay!!), I wanted to say thank you!

Become a follower, and leave a comment on this post! When I reach 100 I'll use Random Number Generator to choose TWO winners. One for the Snowman and One for the Reindeer.

I'm linking up with Sue for REDNESDAY! Be sure to stop by "It's a Very Cherry World" for tons of wonderful RED's!

The PYREX Fairies

The Gift Of Pyrex

Lately I've really been having a difficult time getting out to my usual treasure hunting spots. My ankle has pretty much had it! Though I feel like I "won" because I pretty much pushed it as far it would go. I made it through the summer! And that was my goal. And although the flea markets go through September here in MN, my 2012 season will have to end next weekend, since my surgery is Aug. 23rd.

My Mom and Sister have been keeping an eye out for Pyrex for me!

My Mom brought me these 4 bowls home from up north last weekend! I FINALLY have the two largest Butterprints! And the other two are my first in the Friendship pattern. I love you Mom! And not because of the Pyrex...you know that. :)

Excuse the terrible pics. Right now I do everything when it's dark outside...except sleeping!

My sister Angie found the Turquoise Mixing Bowls and the Yellow Gooseberry at an antique store in southern MN. My mom found the cool orange bowl at the Goowill for .99!

OK so I better show you what I was able to round up myself! Because I'm not down for the count YET!

The square baking pan is not red, it's actually really cute pink! I paid $12.95 for it at an antique store because I LOVE IT! And I will use it a ton for brownies! I found the 2 Bake, Serve & Stores just yesterday at the Goodwill for $4.99 total! And I still can't believe that I own that UGLY "Old Orchard" little bowl, but when it's in a display it will look better!

OK Here is confession time. Because I now had the two smaller Gooseberry bowls for dirt cheap, I found a listing on Ebay that had just the two larger ones...and I now have a set! I also found the turquoise pie plate on Ebay. But I happened apon a Buy It Now for $10!

This was the "Summer of Pyrex" for me! And it was so much fun! It was like Easter egg hunting. I managed to collect just under 100 pieces in about 4 months! And the only pieces I bought on Ebay were the ones that I just showed you.

There are a few specific pieces that I would still like to find. But otherwise I think I'm going to wrap up this collection. Wish me luck! I hear that it's very difficult! :)

Wellie and I wish you a great weekend and thank you for following!

Erica

REDNESDAY: Last Summer At The Thrift Store

Hi Everyone. I scanned my room for something RED today and here is what I came up with. This little shadow box holds lots of "littles". I know it seems like I'm someone who would collect figurines...but I really try not to be. Haaa! Last summer is when I accumulated all of these little guys, and it happend because I had a crush on Frozen Charlotte Dolls for quite a few months! I still love them, but really felt the need to compartmentalize, and not get a cluttery look going on.

This shadow box was at the thrift store for like $3 bucks. I should probably paint it a cute color. Oh well, I'll add that to the list! The red bird whistle reminded me of a time when we stopped at a flea market on the way to the cabin when I was a little. My sister and I each got one of these whistles and I think we spent that whole week up north making them chirp!

The antique bunny candy container was an Ebay splurge a couple years ago. I keep him out year-round instead of just bringing him out at Eastertime.

My mom was the world's best Easter Basket maker and Christmas Stocking Stuffer. My sister and I would always look forward to our stockings even more than what was going to be under the tree. Anyway, the pink rocking chair with the bunny is an 80's Hallmark ornament. I can't tell you how much that little pink rocking chair got played with when my sister and I would play what we called "miniatures". Sometime when I got older, it got LOST! So imagine how excited I was when this little bunny on her rocking chair was at the flea market!

Last summer this pair of 1950's lithographed bird prints were at the little thrift shop in town.

They're big! And I've put one on each side of the window in my bedroom.

Nicely framed, with glass.....$7 EACH! I raced home to see who the artist was, and if they had any value. I knew I was keeping them so I don't know why I cared about their worth, but it's just fun to know I guess. And yes, they did have some value!

"Scarlet Tanagers & Wild Cherry" cr 1950, by James Gordon Irving

"Bluebirds & Dogwood"

 I love that these aren't just plain botanicals and the birds are so pretty. Best of all I now have some real art for my bedroom!

I hope you are all having a great week. Ahhhhh! The Olympics are nearing the end! We have enjoyed them so much around here. It's become my evening ritual!

I'm linking up with Sue for REDNESDAY! See lot's of beautiful red treasures over there!

Lets Go To An Estate Sale!

Yesterday morning I set my alarm for 5:00. This was kind of a joke since I don't go to bed until about 3:45. I laid there in anticipation for my first Estate Sale of the summer, and then just turned my alarm off at 4:50! Haaa!  Yes, can you believe that I haven't gone to any estates? Just one back in the Spring (that was really really good)!  Around the Minneapolis area we have lots of estate sales this time of year. But I keep getting comments from my followers that there aren't these type of sales in their area. So I brought my camera with! I found the sale through Craig's List, and it was Titled "The Ultimate Vintage Sale"!

As I backed out of the drive way the moon was still high in the sky.

 The sun was just coming up. I have to tell you...this is when I'm at my happiest. : )

I'm alone, and it's peaceful, out on an adventure. I have my coffee and my music on. And I might come home with some great things that I never knew I needed, but it's honestly OK if I don't too.

OK, Number 10! I did well. If you don't know how this silly thing works, here's how it goes. This sale started at 9:00. So I got there at 7:00, and there were already 9 other people waiting around. Someone always puts a plastic baggie full of numbers out front two hours before the sale. This is your "Pre-Number, Number".  Then I'm suppose to go sit in my car for another hour until I can get my real Number. At 8:00 I can exchange this paper for a playing card with the number 10 on it. THEN I can leave if I want, and be back at 9:00 for the sale!

But I didn't sit in my car because of this...

I had stumbled onto my "DREAM STREET"! I'm serious, this was the cutest darn street ever. Every house was unique and old with hydrangeas and vines growing everywhere. And it was quite! At the end of the street there is just a little pond, so no traffic.

Even the name of the street "Cottage Down" was perfect. As I waked around with my camera, "The Other 9" gave me the strangest looks! Haaa!

This is the side of the one above. My heart beats fast when I look at it. It's not even like it's a huge house! I don't ask for much!

I'd also be open to taking this one. Look at the little dormer up there!

This one was actually really amazing, but the picture doesn't do it justice. To the right there is a huge curved staircase, lined with hostas.

Someday Cottage Downs, Someday.

OK...The funny thing was that there was one little shabby house on the block.

Hahaha! Yep! The Estate Sale House!

When I got back from my little photo shoot, they were dragging things out into the driveway.

Those Coke crates were $15.00 each, so that gave me a feeling that things were going to be pricey.

But wait! Now it's only 8:15, and I have another 45 minutes to kill!

 I rushed to "BREADSMITH". Luckily I still had all of my weekly W.W points remaining!

 It's just Heavenly here!

I opted for the large version of this instead of the mini, as I'm not sure the smaller version would taste as good.

OK, Here we go into the sale!

Turns out that the entire sale was vintage toys and sewing stuff! Ahhhh!

But it was really hard to take pics because I had to move F.A.S.T.

It's hard to tell, but there are 4 tin doll houses in this stack! They were $20 each. I had one in my arms but I made myself put it back. I have nowhere to store things like that at my parent's place right now.

There were dozens of these little sewing machines!

So sorry for the bad pic.

These were cheap and nobody was grabbing them. I have a blue one out in the garage though.

There were also lots of these little cash registers. Does anyone know about them? So cute!

There were tons and tons of old dolls, but I put away my camera at that point. I needed to start grabbing some things! Almost everything I bought is for re-sale. Here's what came home with me...

Haaa! They are about 15 inches high. When I got home I did some research, and they are worth about $100.00 for the pair!

This is so darn cute. But I'm a little bummed because I realized later that it is missing it's little top piece.

This is a tin closet by J.Chein & Co. There is even a little clothes bar inside!

 These cute little chairs are about 7 inches tall. I need to research them a bit. Made by Strombecker?

I like the rocking chair with the 3 Little Bears.

And then there was this guy. The only thing I'm keeping for myself. He's going into my "Future Baby Box".

But the clock's really ticking now, so we will see about that one!

All in all I spent $22 at the sale. Not too bad huh? I hope you had fun coming along!

I'm linking up for PINK SATURDAY at "How Sweet The Sound"! See lots of pink cuteness over there!