Luck on the Horizon

Today JB and I were both off (Holiday weekend, woo hoo!!), so we decided to take a lil drive down to the huge antique store in San Carlos. I lucked out to find yet another gem from the particular friend vendor there. I found this beautiful, mint Pyrex in Horizon Blue pattern for $24 (marked down from $30). Not a steal, but not a bad deal at all. :o)

This pattern looks European, or even Nordic to me...though I'm not certain of it's factual roots. Of course it caught my eye due to the blues, my color of choice. It's clean, very shiny, and has basically not signs of use. This dish must have been sitting in a cupboard for decades, perhaps saved for special occasions, but then forgotten. Well, it has now found a new home amongst bright, friendly dishes on my bookcase de Pyrex... I suddenly feel like whipping up something strictly for this dish.....hmmm :o)

Muppets, Star Wars and Charlie Brown glasses...blast from the past

Almost a year back I was out with Aaron and JB in a little toy store in San Bruno called "Just Things", where I stumbled upon an epic win- a vintage Star Wars glass..in perfect, brilliantly colored condition. $8 out the door and it was mine. Recently, JB and I were schlepping around a Stockton thrift store when we came across an entire set of Star Wars, Peanuts, AND Muppets glasses for about $20 (around 8 glasses). Boy did I feel dumb for paying so much for a single glass, but what a deal!!! Thank you Superior Thrift.....you rule! On that note, the next day we're in an antique store in Redwood City and see the same Star Wars glasses we just picked-up for super cheap @ about $10-$15/glass. It seriously does pay to thrift store shop. Especially for vintage finds.

These glasses were given with 1980s and 1990s kids meals at places like Burger King and McDonalds (see up-close photos). The scenic graphics are very nostalgic for me- I can remember watching all of these characters in their respected movies when I was a youngster. I love how vivid the colors have stayed! Someone's mom must have tucked them away a long time ago....for me! hahahahaa.... Anyway... cute, cute glasses. I hope that my kids will be able to use them some day. :o)

Strawberry Shortcake Pitcher!!

How reminiscent of growing up.... Strawberry Shortcake........ but- a pitcher? I was so shocked when I found this piece, I've only ever seen stationary, shirts, dolls, cups in this motif, but never a pitcher! It's in superb vintage condition, and has housed koolaid on a regular basis since I picked it up. I believe this was a Daly City thrifty find for a few bucks...not too shabby. Now I can't help but want the cups to match -ha!

three lil bowls

These guys are the best. I use one everyday for my cereal- totally practical. So, I came across these three bowls in the big lot. One is the famous woodland (white on brown), Butter print (blue on white), and a solid blue.

I totally dig the butter print because it's AMISH themed! Ever since I was in high school I've had an unnatural affection for all things amish...so I especially enjoy this pattern. It's got a man and woman dress in farming clothes, bales of hay, and roosters. Gotta love it. Super Americana. :o)

The blue bowl is SUPER worn (probably dishwasher wear over a couple decades)...it's flat mat blue now, with lots of scratches and bands of color missing. This has created an interesting depth in the paint....as badly preserved as this bowl is, it's one of my favs.

And of course the woodlands bowl is awesome.... always reminds me of home.

what I kept from the lot... surprisingly, not pyrex!

Check it out... 4 beautiful, peachy, iridescent, bee-hive shaped handled dishes! Too darn cute. Now, Fire king has a tendency to get mixed-up with Pyrex quite a bit, due to the pattern similarities and over-all look. These lil guys however, are unmistakably non-Pyrex...though I must admit I've used them more in the last couple weeks than most of my Pyrex all together! They're very practical- perfect size for fro-yo (I've been making my own every week), dipping sauces, soup, small dish of cereal, etc. I'd estimate they're volume at about 1 1/2 cups capacity. I love how the bowls have handles, so when you're eating something super hot, or freezing cold you can opt to hold that instead. I did this tonight with my fro-yo. :o)

The dishes are in fairly good shape- with minimal scratches and some paint loss. Overall, the inside white surface is clean and smooth. The peach color on the exterior is very shiny and has a luminescent quality, something you don't tend to see on contemporary dishes. I believe they go for about $5-$10/each if you were to buy them online. Not a bad deal since I bought the 33 piece lot of dishes for $50! hahaha.....good stuff.

Holy Crap- it's all mine!

SO...I officially bought the 33 piece $50 lot off Craigslist....and am going to pick-up/pay tomorrow afternoon. Since I'm headed to Richmond I'm bringing my trusty, slightly scary looking friend Matt. not that I'm worried. Honestly, I'm more worried about getting lost in the East Bay.... East Bay=ew. lolz....

SO, I'm getting at least 5 new patterns...which totally calls for some cooking this weekend. I'm even getting some casserole dishes, which I only have one of currently and it's smallish(brownies!). So last night, in preparation, I looked up casserole recipes. I found a great smoky chicken dish in my Betty Crocker Cookbook(thanks mama!). Perhaps I shall make said dish this weekend (which depends on whether my honey is willing to eat what I make :o)

Photos to come!!!

Big Bowls!

I Love these guys.... very practical sizing. Perfect for chips, mixing up cake batter, or even sorting our your latest oceanic finds. :o)

For now, I have 3 of these beautiful Cinderella bowls in: Homestead (brown and blue), Golden Butterfly #1 (goldenrod on white), and Early American (brown on white). At the bottom of this blog you can see a close-up of my favorite section of Early American ...to be honest I'm not too sure what these icons are...perhaps salt and pepper shakers, or olives and sugar cubes (kinda going out on left field there, but who knows!) Any thoughts? I just love the theme the Early American pattern runs with- eagles, cats, old coffee grinders, hand held fans, oil lamps, roosters, tea kettles, corn... somehow a list of such items is humorous, but it really is a beautifully, and intricately thought out pattern. Pyrex also made this pattern with gold(color) on brown instead of brown on white. I'd really love to come across an alternate piece. The gold just adds an element of nostalgia, value, and flair.

When I picked up the Homestead bowl last weekend, it was about $7.50, which is a bit much for a single item at a thrift store. Normally I can find bowls like that for $4-5. This San Bruno Salvation Army really knows what's up with the value of Pyrex, and they do not let you walk our the door without paying, lemme tell you! I actually found that bowl in a set of 3, but I didn't want to spend another $12 to buy the whole set...I honestly don't enjoy that pattern as much. I just know that down the road I'd like to own one of every vintage pattern they ever made.. (yes, it's going to take a whiiiiile!) Therefore, I knew picking up this bowl would cross one more pattern off the list so I can move on to new and more exciting pieces.

I've been drooling over a super rare pattern unofficially called "Berries". It's a white pattern of berries and leafs in white, on a pinky peach dish. Way too cute. Saw one on Etsy for under $20 and it is veeery tempting. ONE! Couldn't believe it...you know it's rare when.....lol. Maybe I'll have a streak of luck this weekend- who knows!