Monthly Archives: October 2011

Basket Case

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I am participating in a ” 31 Days of…” series for the month of October. You see a whole bunch of sweet blogger buddies have been getting together the past few years to do 31 posts in 31 days. The topic is always something they have a passion for. This year they have invited all of their readers to post 31 days of their passions. If you are interested in participating in the 31 Days of…series, or you’re just curious about what everyone else is writing about, please visit The Nester, Jen, Melissa, Sandy, Darcy, Emily, and Emily. I hope you enjoy my series on finding treasures both vintage and of the heart. Let’s hope I can overcome my inconsistent blogging habit and share those 31 posts within the next 31 days!

Day 6 of 31 Days of Treasures, I hope you aren’t getting bored by this tour de junk, or report me to “Horaders”.  Call me a basket case if you want, but at least I’ve got my cool baskets to cling to.

A pair of old locker baskets to be exact. These were picked up for $5 each at an estate sale a few weeks ago. I love the metal tags that still plainly read “The Washburn Company, Worchester Mass, Rockford RI” with the locker numbers still readable.

They usually live under my coffee table in the living room. Which is a post in and of itself, it’s no longer dark brown I recently painted this table white so it didn’t blend in with the couch so much.

I temporarily put one of our new/old cookbooks in a basket when I was speed cleaning the house a while back. We have so many of these vintage cookbooks, the Bubba and I have had to dedicate a few shelves on our bookcase just for these guys.

I am still trying to figure out how to display my cute metal baskets, here are a few inspirational shots I found on Pinterest.

Locker baskets as shelves.

I could use them in the kitchen to hold my potatoes.

Or they could hold the shelter mags I’m currently reading.

There are so many options for these baskets. How would you use them?

Wanna go to the show?

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I am participating in a ” 31 Days of…” series for the month of October. You see a whole bunch of sweet blogger buddies have been getting together the past few years to do 31 posts in 31 days. The topic is always something they have a passion for. This year they have invited all of their readers to post 31 days of their passions. If you are interested in participating in the 31 Days of…series, or you’re just curious about what everyone else is writing about, please visit The Nester, Jen, Melissa, Sandy, Darcy, Emily, and Emily. I hope you enjoy my series on finding treasures both vintage and of the heart. Let’s hope I can overcome my inconsistent blogging habit and share those 31 posts within the next 31 days!

Day 5 of 31, not even a week into this little bloggie challenge and I’m already burnt out. Maybe it’s the weather, dark and rainy, very unusual for the always sunny New Mexico. Or maybe it’s the fact that it’s been nearly 4 months that I’ve posted more than 1 post a week. And I know it certainly couldn’t be the fact that I have absolutely no time management skills, and that none of the pictures I have stock piled for this series are appealing to me today.  And I’m really regretting not being one of those bloggers that pre-writes  (yes, that’s a word and if it isn’t a word I’m making it a word!)  all of her posts  a week in advance. So, what to share with you today? What’s the cure for these blog blues?

How about a little childhood nostalgia, from my era…

Ahh…that’s better, a 1980’s hero of mine, Strawberry Shortcake. I can almost smell that fake strawberry scent now.

Bubba surprised me with this little mug a few weeks ago. It takes me back to 1986 everytime I glance at it.  If you’re not familiar with Strawberry Shortcake, you can find out more here.

I always wanted that sweet smelling doll, but ended up with Rainbow Bright instead. Which was fine by me, since my sweet big sister took me to see all the Rainbow Brite movies and all the Care Bear movies, or any hokie kid movie that tickled my fancy. In fact, Rainbow Brite was the first movie I saw at an actual theater, or if you lived in our little town, it was the “show”. The local theater only had one  screen, so they showed one movie at a time, there was the 7 o’clock show and the 9 o’clock show. It was never ,” Ya wanna go to the movies?” it was always “Wanna go to the show?”.  I was 5 or 6 when my big sister who was either 17 or 18 at the time, took me to the show, and patiently sat through the corny-ness that is Rainbow Brite. She sweetly bought me a popcorn and soda, which I promptly gobbled up before the movie started. Then asked for a refill, which she politely denied me, in which I stated that it was time to leave since we ate our popcorn and drank our sodas, because that’s why you go to the show, you eat your snacks, then go home and watch the movie.  Imagine my surprise when the lights went out and I got see one of my favorite cartoons on the big screen! That certainly blew my little kid mind, I don’t think I blinked during the entire movie. There’s certainly something about seeing a movie on the big screen. I’ve been hooked on going to the “show” ever since.

What does that little memory have to do with Strawberry Shortcake? Absolutely nothing, I just thought it might be fun to share a little memory treasure with you today.

What are some of your favorite memories that you treasure?

Mindy the Mendet

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I am participating in a ” 31 Days of…” series for the month of October. You see a whole bunch of sweet blogger buddies have been getting together the past few years to do 31 posts about a topic that they have a passion for. This year they have invited all of their readers to post 31 days of their passions. The blogger that first introduced me to this series was The Nester, if you are interested in participating in the 31 Days of…series, please visit her site for more information. I hope you enjoy my series on finding treasures both vintage and of the heart. Let’s hope I can overcome my inconsistent blogging habit and share those 31 posts within the next 31 days!

Apparently, I’ve got a theme going on here, other than the theme of vintage treasures that is. I had intended on sharing this with you yesterday, but after I hit that publish button, I just didn’t have the heart to go back through and add this little treasure.

Mendets! Everyone should keep a package in their kitchen, for those leaky pot emergencies!

This is another Bubba purchase, apparently he found this treasure at a yard sale. The older lady who was holding the sale, told him that he needed to buy this for his wife. Obviously, she hadn’t met me, and had no idea how far away from domesticity I had gone. Or maybe she had a feeling I’d appreciate it’s vintage quality. Still, it gave me and Bubba a good laugh, and the packaging is pretty cool.

According to this site Mendets were first used in 1908, a patent was given to the Collete Manufacturing Company of Amsterdam in June of 1950. The patent expired in 1992 and has not been renewed, so if anyone is in the market for a new/old gadget to push I’ve got an idea! We could even use the old slogan:

“Don’t throw it away-mend it with MENDETS, mends all leaks instantly.”

I can’t attest to how instantly it mends leaks, I’ve never had a leaky pot and if I did I’d probably throw it out and get a new one. Goes to show how things have changed over time eh?  Back then, people tried to fix things and make them last as long as possible, now-a-days we just throw out the old and buy new.

At least some of us do, others sniff around yard sales, thrift stores, and roadsides hoping to find new life in others cast a ways. So, maybe it works to my advantage that we live in a disposable society. I’ve found some pretty awesome treasures in what someone else thought was trash. Unless it’s a leaky pot, because I’m not going to open my Mendets to fix it.

Got Pot

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I am participating in a ” 31 Days of…” series for the month of October. You see a whole bunch of sweet blogger buddies have been getting together the past few years to do 31 posts about a topic that they have a passion for. This year they have invited all of their readers to post 31 days of their passions. The blogger that first introduced me to this series was The Nester, if you are interested in participating in the 31 Days of…series, please visit her site for more information. I hope you enjoy my series on finding treasures both vintage and of the heart. Let’s hope I can overcome my inconsistent blogging habit and share those 31 posts within the next 31 days!

Of the cast iron variety! I’m not that kind of girl! And my drug of choice isn’t grown in someone’s backyard and sold discreetly at the 7 11 across the street. It can be legally purchased at Starbucks thankyouverymuch.  Although my jeans would argue that it shouldn’t be legal considering my drug of choice is usually bathed in sugar and topped with creamy goodness. If your completely confused by my tangents and have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a picture… (if I’ve still got your attention and you haven’t run off to get your own cup of sugar and creamy goodness.)

This pot is a Griswold Double Hinged Skillet. (Looks like he’s smiling for the camera doesn’t it?)  He was picked up at Goodwill for $30, apparently that’s a pretty good deal on a skillet from this maker. Honestly, I’m not the one who picks this sort of thing up. Bubba is the cook of casa de yellow so he’s usually the one on the look out for this sort of thing.

According to this site our skillet could be from 1940’s or later. And apparently, it’s not considered “good” metal since the Griswold is not in italic letters. After 1940, diminished metal was used to make cast iron pots, and Griswold stopped italicizing it’s name within the cross after that point. But again, I’m not an expert on cast iron, I just like old stuff and history. This little skillet wasn’t purchased for it’s monetary value, it was merely purchased for it’s unique quality.

See, it opens, and there’s not a lot of wear and tear on it. So, it must not have been used very often. This booger is pretty heavy too, so that might explain the lack of use. Or the original owner could have been a non-cooking April and only depended on microwave dinners and Lucky Charms to get by. Really, I have a hard time remembering how to turn the stove on. My mother thinks it’s hilarious, my Bubba not so much.

I never would have made it in the times before microwave technology, and when the women were expected to cook. My family definitely would have starved!

Well, I’m off to root around the kitchen for some Lucky Charms or maybe if I give Bubba the sweet eye he’ll make me some dinner.

Well Read

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I am participating in a ” 31 Days of…” series for the month of October. You see a whole bunch of sweet blogger buddies have been getting together the past few years to do 31 posts about a topic that they have a passion for. This year they have invited all of their readers to post 31 days of their passions. The blogger that first introduced me to this series was The Nester, if you are interested in participating in the 31 Days of…series, please visit her site for more information. I hope you enjoy my series on finding treasures both vintage and of the heart. Let’s hope I can overcome my inconsistent blogging habit and share those 31 posts within the next 31 days!

In yesterdays post you got to see my “new” old camera. Today we’ll talk about the books that were sitting under the camera and a few others. You may remember seeing them in this photo.

My favorite at the moment is the “Holiday Reader”, I picked this colorful book up at an estate sale for a quarter.

The Holiday Reader was used as a Social Studies book for elementary schools in Texas. It covers all the holidays, including Robert E. Lee’s Birthday, which may have something to do with the name of the school that is stamped at the front of the book.  It was first checked out November 22, 1966, exactly two years after JFK was assassinated. I only mention that, because along with a stamp indicating the book came from Robert E. Lee Elementary School, it was also approved through Dallas Public Schools. I love old stuff, it’s so easy to tie it all into huge historical events. It makes me wonder about the stories these old items have.

The stories and poems in this book are so old fashioned, definitely something that you wouldn’t find in a text book today. Like this little poem for instance:

Thank You God

Thank you for the world so sweet.

Thank you for the food we eat.

Thank you for the birds that sing.

Thank you, God for everything.

-Mrs. E.R. Leatham

Sweet isn’t it? If you found that in a text book today lawsuits would be filed. But let’s stay on the happy vintage topic shall we?

Along with the Holiday Reader,you will find a copy of “We”, by Charles Lindburg. Apparently, it is “The famous flier’s own story of his life and his transatlantic flight, together with his views on the future of aviation.” The copyright is from 1927, so it’s a pretty old book. I haven’t read it yet, so I can’t tell you what his views of the future of aviation were, but it’s still pretty cool to have in my possession.

But what made me giggle is what I found on the inside cover…

I’ve lost a lot of books who couldn’t find their way home. I just hope they ended up in a happy place where they are enjoyed! Oh, and I have to point out those cute little airplanes on the inside of the cover.

Another of my favorites, is a very old copy of St. Elmo. I loved the picture on the front, it’s so romantic and the wear on the book makes it that much more intriguing.

I have no idea how old this copy is, but it must have been given to Mrs. Little by Billy Gleaves for Easter, at least that’s what I’m assuming.

There was also a little newspaper quote that had been tucked amongst the old pages:

Don’t Be Discouraged

When you think that you are through

And laid upon the shelf.

Then don’t give up the struggle,

Think better of yourself.

No, don’t give up the battle

Because you’re feeling blue.

There’s all your blessing to think of,

Enough to tide your through.

If things look dark and bad today,

Another day is coming;

So, count your blessings one by one,

Ere long you may be humming.

Just turn the cloud, which you can do

And see the silver lining;

For God is surely with us still,

For you the sun is shining.

-Mrs. John A. Harris

The treasures that can be found within other treasures, that’s what keeps me coming back for more.  Hopefully, it won’t get me on an episode of “Hoarders” clinging to all of my treasures in my cramped house!

Just Shoot Me

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I am participating in a ” 31 Days of…” series for the month of October. You see a whole bunch of sweet blogger buddies have been getting together the past few years to do 31 posts about a topic that they have a passion for. This year they have invited all of their readers to post 31 days of their passions. The blogger that first introduced me to this series was The Nester, if you are interested in participating in the 31 Days of…series, please visit her site for more information. I hope you enjoy my series on finding treasures both vintage and of the heart. Let’s hope I can overcome my inconsistent blogging habit and share those 31 posts within the next 31 days!


If you are interested in reading what I had to say about vintage and heart treasures, please follow the below links:

Well Read

Got Pot

Mindy the Mendet

Wanna go to the show?

Basket Case

Sir Mix-a-lot

Television Visionary

Do the shutterbug

Milky Way Glass

Treasure of Being

The Air Up There

Why so green?

Sitting Pretty

Bloomin’ Mugsy

Abundant Treasures

The first day of 31 days, doesn’t it feel like the first day of school? Except there aren’t any new teachers to meet, or awkward seating assignments there’s only the fear of writing 31 posts in 31 days!  Although, I’m up for the challenge, especially considering I’ve decided to share 31 days of treasure hunting. No, I’m not talking about buried treasure on some deserted island, this treasure could be vintage treasures found at your local Goodwill or found-already-owned-items that can be re-purposed, or even heart treasures that the Lord has sweetly whispered. The topic of treasures could be too broad for this series, but let’s see where it takes us shall we?

On this first day of 31 days, I’ll share something old…

Can you spot it? Yeah, there’s some old books there that I plan on sharing with you later on, and there’s some ceramic pumpkins from last year, but I wouldn’t call them vintage especially since they came from the dollar store. Give up? Well, O.K.  You see that small camera there, on top of the stack of books between the pumpkins? Yep, that’s our first treasure, a 1930’s Kodak movie camera. I bought it at a local thrift store for $1.34 a couple weeks ago. And it still works! At least, something happens when it’s wound up and cranked! It’s missing a lens, and I really don’t know if film can be found for it anymore. But doesn’t it look cool sitting atop my coffee table accessorizing those books?

Here’s a side view…

And a detail shot…

You really can’t see it in the pictures above, but there are settings for different weather conditions like, bright sun on light sand or snow, plain bright sun, hazy sun, open shade in clear sky, and cloudy bright. Pretty high tech for back in the day if you ask me. The whole camera is made of metal and covered in leather, it’s a Kodak and dated 1937-1938. It’s beautifully old and one of my favorite pieces. And all for less than $2! That certainly makes for a treasure in my book.

What have you recently found that made your heart go pitter-patter?