Digging Out and Around After a Big Snow...

We finally got some snow!

Here it is February, and we really haven't had much snow here in Michigan. We got about 8 or so inches yesterday and last night and had the first snow day of the year. Since I don't have four wheel drive and live on a dirt road with only one other home, and we are usually the last ones to get plowed - I decided to stay home and take the day off work.

I got caught up on, and inspired by all my favorite blogs, snooped around on Ebay for a while, did some laundry, and had a pretty lazy day.

As I was thinking of people digging out from all of the snow, I thought about digging around in my cabinets to take a look at some long stored away treasures.

This is what I found:

Here is my buffet cabinet that I inherited from my parents. They actually bought it along with a matching china cabinet and table from my Dad's cousins. They bought the table first. And once they stripped all of the antiquing and paint off and saw how beautiful it was, they went back and bought the buffet and china cabinet. When they retired about 8 years ago, the set wouldn't fit in their new home in the U.P, so we are the lucky owners now!

What could be behind the first door?

 WOW! I had no idea that it was so precariously stacked in there! I'm lucky nothing fell out when I opened the door and that everything was still intact. When I put it all back, I did a much better job.

 

When you see how much came out of this tiny little spot...

All of this was crammed into that tiny little cabinet in the buffet!

The sherbet cups in the back as well as the relish dish and the green plates, all belonged to my Dad's mom. When she passed away, I was in 11th grade. After the rest of the Aunts and Uncles went through her stuff, all that was left was her dishes. I remember sitting in her house all by myself, carefully wrapping boxes full of dishes and thinking, I don't know why I am doing this, I don't even like this stuff! Little did I know then, that my curiosity would get the better of me about 5 years later. I stored the boxes in my parents basement until one day, I took a better look and absolutely LOVED what I saw. That was the beginning of my love for glassware. Since then, I have collected many different things-old and not so old. The handled dish was a gift from my mom last year. I'm not sure if it is old or not.

 

All of the green dishes came from my Grandma, except the reamer. I bought that at a flea market, and experienced my first "as is" moment. It was one of the first pieces I bought, so I was pretty naive, and thought I had found a great treasure for $4. I didn't look it over very carefully and missed the huge chip on the rim. It wasn't until I got home and washed it that I noticed the words "as is" on the tag and the chip. I was disappointed, but I really like the piece.

Here are a couple pieces of my much loved plum Fiesta, and a bag with a broken dinner plate (I am hoping to someday make a cool mosaic with the broken pieces) in the same plum. It was my first ever broken item from Ebay. The pink pitcher and vase were from Grandma, the platter was a gift from my friend Cindy (it was her Grandmother's).  The creamers and sugars were from my early collecting days when I was drawn to them like a moth to a flame.

What could be behind door number 2?

WOW! Almost as much stuff as the first cabinet.

  

How did all of that fit in there?

The relish tray and the boopie glasses were from Grandma, the rest I've collected over the years or it was given to me. See, another creamer in the middle?

The green is Grandma's the tea cup and saucer a gift from Mom & Dad, the rest, I've found here and there.

The big basket is from my Mom. she bought it from an estate auction for her Aunt when I was pretty young. I know she paid $15 for it, and at the time, Dad wasn't very happy with her for spending so much. That was about the only thing she could afford as a keepsake though from her Aunt's estate. The smaller basket was given to me for selling some household items for a friend of my parents in a garage sale when his wife passed away. You can't really see the detail on the funky little retro cup and saucer-but it is pretty neat! It was a gift from my sister-in-law.

The amethyst creamer I bought while we were on the World's Longest Yard Sale. It looks really old, but so far, I haven't been able to find anything out about it. I don't think the reamer and measuring cup is very old. Then there is the amethyst Moroccan-LOVE it!!!

I couldn't resist a chance to show a picture of  my vintage Pyrex mixing bowl set! I have small pieces of the pink foam insulation in each bowl to lift them up (thanks Anne for the tip!) so I can see all of them at the same time. Underneath is a Pilgrim glass vase (from my friend Anne) that I got for a gift (a second one I found for a couple of dollars), and a Blenko crackle pitcher that was a gift when I left my position as the Special Events Coordinator in the Children's Ministry Department at my church. I don't really like this display, it doesn't flow together, but for a couple days...I'll leave it like this so I can enjoy my bowls!

I've looked over all of the upcoming Estate Sales in my area for this weekend, and none of them seem worth the drive, so I will probably stay home...who knows...maybe I'll dig through some more cupboards and show you some more of my collections!