A Few Small Things

This is the Royal Bayreuth Sunbunnet Girls candle holder I found at the Allegan Flea on Sunday.

LOVE Sunbonnet Girls!

And the Zell's pitcher that I also found there is in the upper right hand corner.

At the Downtown Market Vintage Flea a few weeks ago I found the small creamer at the bottom right, and another cup and saucer.

I'd like to think that this shelf looks complete now.

But I seem to like to think a whole bunch of crazy things.

Only time will tell.

I also found the framed tile at the Vintage Flea.

The two  Dutch scene cups were found on our vacation in Traverse City a month ago.

 The tile above goes nicely with this one, that I found in Wisconsin on our fall trip.

Can't get enough Dutch stuff.

Or so it seems.

These two do not look Dutch.

They are the Fisher Price babies I found Sunday at the Allegan Flea.

These are for me.

I plan to play with them every day!

I might.

You don't know.

And the aluminum toy kitchenware set?

I've seen them for so much higher.

All this was only $4.00.

How could I NOT buy them?

Well, I couldn't not.

So I did.

Have I mentioned lately that I am desperately trying to scale back?

Ask me how THAT'S working out, why don't you?

Sunday at the Flea

Sunday was THE PERFECT DAY for wondering around the Allegan Antiques Flea Market.

If you've never been there, it is definitely a good one to go to!

It was surprisingly mild weather for the last Sunday in June.

Maybe not too great for the outside sellers, as it was a bit on the WINDY side.

But for meandering up and down the rows and rows of merchandise, it could not have been lovelier!

Oldest Son came along with us.

Between the three of us we each have our own interests to pursue.

I especially enjoy a well put together display.

Even if I'm not particularly interested in what is being displayed, I do love the art of the display.

If that makes sense.

I remember discussing "MEN WORKING" signs with my mom once. She told me that they only made "MEN WORKING" signs because women were always working, so they didn't require a special sign to announce it.

She was brilliant, my mom.

And of course, RXR signs always remind me of my dad (who,  by way, was also always working!)

See what I mean about it being a perfect day for it?

Just look at that sky and those puffy white clouds!

Lately I've been getting into purchasing old glass bead jewelry.

But I didn't even look for any here.

I only took a picture of it all.

Apparently, I DO have SOME restraint.

I'm not a vegetarian, and I'm not at all opposed to hunting for food, but hanging the leftovers on the wall does not appeal to me in the least.

 Sigh...

The Kalamazoo River is just on the other side of that tree line.

It's a beautiful setting.

But all good things must come to an end!

Oh, and if you are wondering if we bought anything?

Oldest Son did not.

THGGM bought a very old wooden box.

And I got a Royal Bayreuth Sunbonnet Girls candle stick, A large Zells picture with two Dutch guys on it, two small baggies with Polly Pockets with CLOTHES (for two girls I know), a set of children's aluminum kitchen ware (from 1923), and two Fisher Price Little People babies. But that's all.

Be Nice to the Girl with the Headache

I have a headache today.  After decades of being tormented by migraines, it's been nice to be free of those for awhile.  But, today a headache has found me, so I feel a bit weird and talkative.  Now with that as your warning, I shall ramble on and on about my unique thrift find from yesterday.
Mostly, I was looking for roller blades/skates as a few of the grand kids have taken an interest in that. And, I DID find a pair that looked to be in good shape, and for only $4.00.  That made me happy in that "thrift store find" sort of way.  Then I sauntered over to the antiques section, where I rarely find anything that is my idea of an antique.  And did you see what I found there?!

Oh, I bet YOU see a box of weird vintage-y record coasters.  And of course, you would be correct, as they are exactly as the box states.

Now guess what I saw?

I'm waiting...


Still waiting...


I saw a record collection for the American Girl doll who now lives in a very nice room in my basement!

Do you see it now too?!

Okay, well maybe not.  I'm sure this is just another one of my weird Judy finds.  Truly though, it made me insanely happy to find something that will work so well!  I've already shown them to Famke, and she thought they were cool too!  So, at her next sleepover we shall pick out a wooden box (i have many, many shapes and sizes of small wooden boxes) and see if we can turn it into a record player.  I think we will be able to do that.  Famke is very creative that way.

I just hope she lets me play!

Oh, and just out of curiosity I checked Ebay to see if anyone had a set of these for sale.  I found one.  They were asking $30 MORE than what I paid for the same set.  I did think about selling them, but when I saw that Famke saw them the same way I did, I knew that we would keep them for our dolls.

My Weekend Treasure

It was Kado's turn for a sleep-over.  This worked out great, as his family had tickets to a hockey game, and Kado does not enjoy hockey.  So, there was an open ticket for Jonge to bring his hockey loving friend.  Everyone was happy!
Since Kado likes to do the same things on his sleep-overs we went to Arby's for dinner, then to Micheal's for a bit of craft shopping, and on Saturday morning we went to my favorite thrift store store.  And that is where I found these two pretty treasures!  They are stamped Royal Ironstone China.  I also found a nice size piece of upholstery fabric in the shade of blue we just painted our entryway.  As soon as the painting is done around here, I am going to have a great time rearranging everything.
Maybe after Christmas.

Treasures Found Along the Way

When we returned home last Saturday, I unloaded all of our finds onto the coffee table.  

My normal habit would be to put them where I want them to go, but we (we = thggm) are painting over here.  One wall at a time.

This means that it may be sometime before things can go where they belong.

This tiny cup and saucer match the dishes I found at the thrift store last fall.

So fall-ish!

I found this at a new antiques mall in Waterford, WI.

Of course, I could not resist the picture of the little Dutch girl with her kitten.

So cute.

And only $5.00 at Benson Corners Antique Mall, a great place to shop!

See in the back there?  It's a 1969 vintage Fisher Price doll house.  We are already playing with it here. That came from the newly opened annex next door to the Benson Corners Antique Mall.
The word tiles, vintage top, and the board book came from a newly opened St. Vincent DePaul thrift store in Waterford.
The stack of books are from the new antiques mall.  I've been looking for these, so was especially happy to find them!
 

My new favorite antiques mall is in Gurney, IL.  

There I found this adorable Zells bowl.  In the past it was priced nearly out of my reach.  This piece was not.  Of course, a deal gives this Dutch girl a particular thrill.

(In this picture you can see the walls.  Most are still green, some are now freshly painted.)

This is a picture on a dinner size plate.  It isn't marked Zells, but it certainly does match all of my other pieces.

Not sure where this girls is pointing, but I'd like to think I would have followed her there.  (Here's hoping she is pointing to a thrift store!)

I'm getting excited to put this stuff on shelves.  Maybe that wall will be painted tonight.

 On our way home last Saturday we stopped at an antiques mall in Indiana.  It's another great one, like the one in Gurney, that has only REAL antiques.  This narrows down the clutter one usually has to look through before finding the good stuff.  Not that I'm against clutter, but I go to thrift stores expecting that, not antiques malls.  ANYWAY, there I found this baby bowl.  I don't really think of myself as a collector of baby bowls, but I do have a few, so I guess I must be one.  This bowl is of a smaller size than any of mine, and the pictures are still so clear!  It's stamped Germany, and was only $6.00.  I already know where this one will go as soon as I empty out the cabinet, move it, THGGM paints behind it, moves it back, and it gets reloaded.  I'm tired just thinking about that.  But won't it look cute?  I'm thinking it will, next to the doll head wearing a silk bonnet.  We shall see...

 This Johnson's Brother White Regency sugar and creamer set was a happy find too.  I'm learning (learning IS a process, isn't it?) to limit myself on this particular pattern, but I did not have a sugar and creamer so I bought it.  And since OFTEN I use paper plates, it WILL go with those also.  I believe that is some good thinking on my part, collecting serving pieces that match the paper plates.

I thought those little glass creamer bottles would work great for the creams I make out of coconut oil and essential oils.  I'll top them with a cute button.  At least in my imagination I will do this.  In reality, it remains to be seen.

One of the booths in the Indiana antiques mall had great deals on silver plate.  THGGM picked out eight spoons.  For some reason our silverware tends to get lost around here.

And aren't those cute blue and white mugs?  They are Dansk  and were a mere 59 cents at St. Vincent's.

This tiny cup and saucer is also Johnson Brothers.  The detail is so much clearer on these older pieces.

Someday, when I no longer have truck loads of young children around, I will set these out on stacks of vintage books all over my house.

And then I will have a good cry, because these wonderful days will be over.

Best of all, THGGM found this useful machinist box at Benson Corners.  It's a beautiful piece, which he found on a half off sale.  Although we are not sure yet just where we will put it, he did say that I could fill it up!  Picture me happy!  But, you know, happy in that superficial sort of way.  Yes, sometimes I do go there...

Wednesday Fun

Back when I was buying books, I picked up as many Klutz books as I could find.  I have a shelf full of them in my basement, but every once in a while I will bring up a few different ones and leave them out to see if anyone picks up on them.  Sometimes it DOES happen.  Like today.  Jonge found this one and was intrigued by some of the pictures.  So, I asked him if he would like to try it for himself.  He said YES.  While I located my old camera he rounded up his siblings, who seemed more than happy to cooperate!  And these last three pictures are what they came up with.  I had NOTHING at all to do with this.  They were on their own.  I think they did pretty well for their first attempt!

Antiques Mall vs. Thrift Store

Friday I purchased this Needlecraft Magazine for $3.50 at an antiques mall.

One of the local thrift stores has been selling these for $12.50.

Is it thrift, or is it antique?

Why was it cheaper at an antiques mall than at a thrift store?

I don't get it.

Lately I've been finding better prices on the kinds of things I like (weird old junk) at the antique venues than at thrift stores.

Anyway.., in it was a wonderful full page advertisement for Listerine.

So hand sanitizer is nothing new!  People have been using it since 1929!

Oh, the things I learn.  Anyway, I would have paid $3.50 just for the cute little picture on the cover!
Now I am off to bed.  I'm almost done with "Grant Takes Command" and ready to start "Stillness at Appomattox" which is the next one also by Bruce Catton.  I found it yesterday at an antiques mall.

Sleep Over for Two

This is how we have fun on a Saturday evening!

I'm SURE that Jonge and Famke think that all we do is eat at Wendy's, shop at Michael's, watch "Toy Story 3", and read "Good Night Richard Rabbit".

Really, it's not such a bad plan...

If You Give a Boy a Box

Yay! We got a new dishwasher!

It is soooo quiet.

And the dishes are actually clean after the first go-round.

Of course, we recycled the box.

These pictures are actually from the second day of cardboard box play.

There's been more fun had with it since.

They did require a second box to keep out Zeke.

This was Famke's idea, as putting up with two boys in need of diaper changes at various times during the afternoon was enough unsavoury odor for her.

Beauty Everywhere

I pulled the wagon around the yard while they hunted for 'beautiful things'.

I found her.

Over My Pink Toilet

(Still think that's a great phrase, "over my pink toilet'". )

I had a lovely day Wednesday going to lunch at the Olive Garden with both of my sisters, then shopping at World Market. It was great fun.

Of course, you know that while I am out and about I have to stop into the local thrift stores too. At one of them I found the hands vase(www.simplythrift.blogspot.com). So, of course I needed to find a place for it in my pink bathroom. It has found a home, over my pink toilet.

THGGM does not like it. Not at all. He said his grandmother used to have one. Anyway, I usually do care A LOT about what he thinks, but he has his own bathroom and will never have to look at it if he doesn't want to.

The Berry Pickers

They've learned that goodness can be grown in one's own backyard, and it is worth the pain!