Need to Find Some Time!

I just picked up a big stack of vintage goodness---from the LIBRARY!!! Now I just need some time to sit down and drool flip through the pages!!!

 I know you know that I hate to sew, but I still love to look at what can be made!

 Two of my loves combined in one!!! Quilts and vintage tablecloths! I don't know if I could actually go through with cutting up a tablecloth though...

 I don't have any yet, but I do love them!

The cover is ruined on this little book, it is filled with all kinds of vintage food/kitchen advertising!!

I just had 5 minutes to share these great books with you, I'll have to read them another time-I have to get changed for my game. I'm glad it's just down the street tonight and not the one that's an hour away!!! 

Spring is in the air in Michigan! It was absolutely gorgeous today! Lots of mild weather and breathtaking blue skies and lots of sunshine! Don't blink!!! Tomorrow we're supposed to get a big storm with 6+ more inches of snow!

Stay warm and safe friends!!! Spring is on its way!!!

What have you been up to?

What have you been doing the past couple of weeks? I've been working a lot! We had two youth retreats, one each of the past two weekends, so that means I have to work on both of those Fridays to make sure everyone gets checked in and gets safely on the bus and headed to the retreat. In prepping for both retreats, I've had to put in a lot of extra hours before hand too.

So that means, no sales for me! On Friday, I went to Novi to help a friend from work get her mom's house ready for an estate sale. The roads were so snowy that it took well over an hour to drive what would normally take about 20-25 minutes.

We worked really hard and we got the entire kitchen organized and priced as well as the dining room and one huge closet that used to be the pantry. I think maybe one more trip and we should be able to get everything priced. If I didn't need to work for the retreat check-in, we probably could have finished it off, or at least the whole upstairs.

I found 2 vintage yard sticks in the trash, and asked first then snatched them up! She just chuckled and shook her head. I also brought home 4 super tiny bread pans. I've been looking for some for a while, but just haven't been willing to pay top dollar. I'm thrilled with the yard sticks, she probably doesn't get it because to her they were trash.

Today, after church, we power cleaned the whole house. We have an appraiser coming on Tuesday to give us an idea of what our house is actually worth. We are hoping for an offer soon from the township-the waiting is really hard! Sometimes it all seems like a dream...maybe it didn't really happen! Then we look at the township map and see the part that has already been purchased around us, and realize -it's for real.

I got our taxes done and filed today as well as stocked up on groceries and made breaded pork chops and mashed potatoes for dinner. Now I'm searching for vacant property...if we can get enough, we'd love to build! I've already found a house plan that is everything we could ever want. We won't give up looking for one already built, but if we get the chance, and the money, we're gonna build.

I played volleyball 7 times in the last two weeks-had one night off...I got a new knee brace that looks really transformer-ish. It has been perfect-it just looks weird! Last night one of the guys thought I had gotten a tattoo on my knee! I assured him that if I was to get a tattoo on my knee, it would be a whole lot prettier than the crazy brace!

So, I'm still here-just no sales lately. I've been looking, haven't seen any worth the time and gas money to visit though. Plus, thinking about moving a bunch of extra junk isn't very appealing, so I may limit my purchases for a while-we'll see. I still haven't decided if I'm keeping the booth, or if I'm going to give it up. It still continues to chug along...

I do get to check off my last #6 Fiesta mixing bowl--I got a great deal on one on Ebay, and it came last week-just as described, although the seller sent me an invoice for higher shipping after I already paid...even though I live in the SAME state! I didn't argue-I was gonna get that bowl-no matter what! :)

Hope you've had a great couple of weeks!

How much stuff can one person collect?

I didn't get everything in my last post...and seeing all of the great comments on the things you collect has inspired me to get the camera out again! Although, there are some things I just can't get assembled together right now-like all of the galvanized tubs, pails and buckets I've been collecting over the years for planted flowers. I'll take a picture of them when it's warmer outside and they are at their best-filled with gorgeous happy flowers!

Here are a few more things I collect...

 This is my second relish tray...the one I got a week ago was actually #3! I forgot about this work in progress. I'm slowly but surely getting the inserts-only 2 side pieces and a center piece to go! It's a good place for the Harlequin nut cups for right now...I still can't bring myself to remove the stickers because I might forget to pinch myself-I really got them for ten cents each!!!

 The cake carrier and the bed tray were bought to sell...as you can see...I can't quite part with them...yet.

 The coffee carafe just moved in this past week-my first. Got it for a steal because it was missing the lid!

 I am slowly going crazy trying to find the bowls with the big daisies on them!!  I can never remember which red dot Fire King bowls I have and which ones I still need-I should write it down!!

 At one point, I had 58 vintage tablecloths. I weeded through them and sold several of them in the booth. I think it's time too weed some more out.

 Vintage ornaments=LOVE!!!

 I picked these up mostly because I thought Kevin would like them...I really like them on the window sill in the sun room.

 I'm very lucky that soap flake pitchers are rare,(around here) and pricey...otherwise....I'd be in trouble!

 My favorites! 

 Chamber pot #1 with vintage kitchen towels and swanky swigs!

 I've been dying for these...got them...and now I don't know what to do with them!!!

 I'd LOVE, LOVE, LOVE a yo-yo quilt some day...I hope, I hope, I hope I find one at an estate sale at a too good to be true price!!!

 Chamber pot #2 with more vintage kitchen towels.

 Plum & chartreuse Fiesta with a couple lilac cups and saucers. Lilac is too pricey, but I wouldn't pass it up if I found it for cheap!

 Amethyst depression glass, and 60's and 70's glass...it has been neglected since I found Pyrex and Fiesta!

 The blue pitcher and glasses are what started it all! They were my grandmas. My dad says they used to have milk in them every Sunday for Sunday dinner! I got them when I was in 11th grade, when she passed away. At the time, I didn't even want them...but after I got married I decided I was glad to have something that was hers. I went through a salt cellar phase for a while too--remember that Auntie?? LOL!

 This dusty cupboard is the left side of my buffet cabinet! YIKES!!! These are all pieces from my grandma...They've gotten pushed aside for the Fiesta and Pyrex. Once we move, I'm going to make sure they come out of hiding so I can see them and keep them cleaner!

 More dusty, dusty stuff-these pieces are in the entertainment cabinet Kevin made for our t.v.. He made doors with wavy glass on each side so I had more display space for my junk treasures. I just don't spend much time in the living room, now that I have the sun room...I'd almost forgotten about them (as you can see by the dust!).

 This is the right side of the buffet, more grandma stuff, and the basket is from my great-great grandma's sister's estate auction. My mom bought it when I was probably 10. She is much better at getting rid of stuff than I am!

 Another jar of ornaments! I think I have 5 or 6 giant jars of ornaments now. I think I am done with ornaments. I won't get rid of any, but I won't (fingers crossed) be buying any more (I hope).

 Pyrex primary set #1-blurry and dusty from Adam's drywall work in the basement.

 Ever since Adam turned our walk-out basement into his studio apartment, I lost my beautiful display and booth storage area! Now, I'm crammed into 1/6 of the space and the cabinets are all moved to make a wall for his bedroom-facing in toward my storage area-away from his living area. I can't believe he doesn't want to look at my junk treasures every day! ;)

On the shelves are more Fiesta, Pyrex, aluminum dessert bowls (two sets) a little black Sambo book, and some other books.

 I have a whole set of these, but the drywall dust was too much, and I practically had to stand on my head to get this shot with how he has everything crammed into my tiny little spot!

 Two egg nog sets-both bought to sell, but I can't let them go! They look really fun at Christmas filled with vintage ornaments and bulbs!

 More grandma stuff...not really my thing anymore...but I can't ever get rid of it!

 Fiesta, Fiesta go-along popcorn (metal) set, and tree toppers!

 An ironstone platter that was Kevin's grandma's (she insisted it came over on the Mayflower!) More Fiesta, Pyrex primary set #2 and some hankies. The gold drink set is from the booth-it just got set on the shelves so it wouldn't get broken- can for sure get rid of that!

 Another bowl set...Kitchen Kraft.

 Pyrex primary set #3.

 Clear glass platters-from my catering days! I collected these like crazy to use for serving. I have a couple of bins of them in the basement...I can probably weed through them and get rid of most of them since I'm not catering any more...but what if one of the boys finds a girl to marry who likes old junk treasures, and she wants a vintage shower or wedding...hmmm...maybe I can hold on to them a little longer---just in case!

 Amethyst crackle glass...I have another pinch vase and a little basket with a clear handle on my mantle shelf. The pitcher was the first piece, and it was a gift from an old boss when I left working for her about 8 years ago. I never thought she liked me, so I was shocked when a co-worker told me they scoured antique malls until she found this for me!

Pyrex primary set #4!!! How many sets does one person need!?!? Obviously 4 is the magic number because I've sold all of the other sets, or individual primary bowls that have come home with me.

I was chatting with my friend Marie one time about how I have a big addiction to bowls (an addiction she admits she shares!) and we were trying to count in our heads how many bowls or bowl sets we have. I gave up counting after a certain number due to embarrassment modesty.

I'm thinking I should get a good count of how many bowls I have for moving sanity's sake, and maybe thin things down a bit.

I'm off for now to a celebration dinner-in honor of Kevin's 20th anniversary at U of M! The whole family is going out to celebrate! Those 20 years sure went fast! I can remember when he was in nursing school just like it was yesterday!!

I'll still be looking for pictures if you decide you want to share your collections-I LOVE seeing what everyone collects and how it's displayed!

Hope you've had a happy weekend! Stay warm & safe friends!

What Do You Collect?

Maybe I should ask, What don't you collect? I seem to have the type of personality that more is better. I see that in almost all areas of my life. I play volleyball not one night a week, but four! I collect vintage Fiesta, and vintage Pyrex. I collect vintage tablecloths, quilts, aprons and hankies. I've also been collecting vintage kitchenware and vintage ornaments.

I started a swanky swig collection and a vintage yard stick collection. I've also started picking up vintage soap flake pitchers and vintage dish towels. I'm hopeless! The more vintage things I find, the more I like love, and the more I collect! Am I alone in this? Or do you find yourself in the same boat?

I've been trying to complete my vintage Fiesta mixing bowl sets for a few years now, but haven't had any luck with #6's and #7's being in my super cheap price range. I've been trying to finish up my vintage Pyrex collection for the past few years too, and I'm almost there! That is, until I decided I needed the striped Pyrex bowls now too!

I have 2 ironstone chamber pots, and that's all I plan to get...but what if one shows up at a sale that I can't walk away from? Sigh, it will come home with me-just like everything else!

I know I will never collect old tools...but Kevin does that, so they are all around in his barn. I'm sitting here trying to think of other things I will never collect...hmmmm...it's not as easy as I thought!

I don't think I would ever collect milk glass. I'm more of a bright colors girl than plain white. I know some people like plain white-I have a friend at work who has all white Fiesta for her dishes and she loves them! I have all different colors and I love mine!

I picked up a few beanie babies back in their heyday, but I think that was just because my kids were little, and they liked them, and one of my co-workers at the time was crazy about them and I think it rubbed off on me a little bit. I've been slowly giving them away to little kids. I didn't get very many, maybe 10-15.

I have a small stamp collection that I started when I was in middle school-nothing fancy, just a fun cheap thing to collect. I used to collect teddy bears-way back in high school, but haven't bought one since I was 18. That collection has been disbanded and given away too.

I used to collect clear depression glass, then my taste changed to purple or amethyst depression glass, and from that my collecting has just blown off the doors!

Maybe I have an addiction to collecting...LOL!

I'd LOVE to hear about what you collect! Leave a comment, or send me an email with pictures! Some of my blog friends have sent me wonderful emails with great pictures of their collections over the years, I've loved looking at every one of them!

Here are some shots of my hoard collections...

Don't look too closely....I didn't get rid of all of the dust bunnies last week...some of them are visiting for a little longer-LOL!