Thrifty Finds

I always say a little prayer to the Pyrex/Retro/Vintage gods when I head out on a thrifting expedition. And I've added : Please help me recognise treasures big and small. I never know what I might find...
This week I jumped on my trusty bike, that was really a bad idea because of all the snow and rain and I was sliding all over the place. It was real scary!

So this is what I found:

  A folding fruit basket, a small atomic fruit salad dish and a black bracelet.

The basket is made of bamboo and it seems this kind of thing was amongst the first imported here after the second world war. The dish comes from France. It was manufactured by Faienceries Continentales and the name of the pattern is Étoiles (stars). I'm guessing this was made in the 50's.
The bracelet looks like plastic but it's not. It stragely ressembles a bracelet my mother had that was from the 50's. I didn't look for it yet. If I find it it will make a nice set and I'm sure my Dad will be able to tell me about the material it's made of.

Here's a close up of the delicious dish!  

 . How cute is that?

Have a great day and keep on thrifting! :)

VTT: Nostalgia and Pink Spring

While I was looking to complete my Pyrex Primary bowl set; (see last week's post HERE)  I got a call…from my Dad.


And he told me that he might have the largest yellow bowl that belonged to his mother( my grandma) in the apt downstairs. My Dad owns a 2 apt house and he rents the downstairs one to friends from abroad that come to work in Montreal.

The downstairs apt used to be my grandma’s before she had to go to an assisted facility. So I take the train and go see my dad…and we go to the first floor and I’m all aflutter (you know the possibility of Pyrex, free and with provenance!). And we open all the cupboards and the drawers and NO yellow bowl; my dad is sure he’s seen it….But then we find this….

And this

And I’m so emotional. I’m getting an actual dish my gran cooked in. Dad says she made tuna casserole in it and the small one held salt.

And I go home with my heart full of Gran-Mimi. And everytime I open my cupboard I smile and think of her…

So this week I’m feeling a bit blue (like delphite) and I needed to invoke the Spring Gods

to bring in the nice weather. It has been slushing (rain and snow) for 4 days straight!


So I made this….

I don't know if the sun will shine but it sure cheered me up!

Have a fantastic VTT and be sure to drop by Suzanne's blog Colorado Lady !

Retro Wednesday 'coz everyday should be retro!!!

I want to welcome all my new followers : Mick, Thas Nifty, Keetha, SuKnitWitty, Cinnamon and Sass, JanJan, Jewelry Girl, Concrete'n' Primroses, Deborah, Patrice (Dahlin'). Welcome every one!!! I apologize for being a bad hostess...:(

I spotted some gems in LHJ 1941 (Ladie's Home Journal) that I wanted to share with you.

We all know that a lady had to be stylish even during the war...so it was natural to make one's hats....how nice of LHJ to give a lady some hat ideas and the pattern numbers...

I enlarged this one to give you a better view...My faves (funniest) are the second from left with the big flap in the back and the green crocheted number at right.

The red one with blue detail I call Inverted Robin Hood.

In this last pic they all look pretty standard to me except the pink one which looks like it's made with an old bath towel. I may not like the hats and I would look stupid in all of them, but I have to praise these very resourceful and couregeous women who could do anything with a needle and kept their family and their countries going during these very hard times.

Hats off to you Ladies!

Retro Tuesday: I'm in love with Fred Press!

Who's Fred Press? He was a houseware designer in the 50's. He designed glasses, bowls and I saw some cheese boards too. I discovered his work when I found this....

I found it on Etsy and got it as part of Dan's Xmas gift. I could not resist the turquoise and gold....After that I saw a lot of sets much too expensive for my taste...

The other day I was researching a FireKing bowl for my shop HERE and look what I found....

 

He designed bowls for FireKing! And look the 2 bowls with candle warmers match my glass! How cool is that? From what I could learn he did a line of bowls with warmers all decorated with gold. Anchor Hockings didn't make any other FireKing bowls with gold....So if you find one it's a Fred Press!

To all a happy Retro Tuesday! And for more retro fun be sure to visit my ever hilarious friend Tracy at Crazy Suburban Mom !

Triple D delight!

Triple D (Diners, Drive-ins and Dives) is my friday night must! I even watch it at 5 pm on saturday....I was pleasantly surprised by the Little Depot Diner segment. They make CRETONS!!! Cretons is a Québec speciality. It's a meat spread that I adore. It's made with porc. I was so glad that this reciped made it's way to Peabody, Mass. The only discrepency is that the lady said it was also called head cheese and no way it's head cheese. Head cheese is completely different and it involves actually boiling a pig's head. And we don't usually put it in the food processor, but it's a good idea; it would improve the spreadability. This recipe probably came by boat with the french settlers, I guess it's a version of paté or rillettes. They had to adapt their food because those first few winters were hell!

Here's the clip!



This might make some people (like me) nostalgic....

Shared things...

Bloggyland (the blogosphere) can be a delightful and wondrous place. You can meet people from all over, nice people that have similar interests,passions,sicknesses (Pyrexia,Buttonosis,Lampalia, Kitchenwaris etc...). People who lived similar things and people who went to the same places and took the same pictures...

Yesterday as I was doing my VTT (Vintage Thingie Thursday) social, I stopped by Maureen's blog The Green Suitcase (that you can read HERE) and lo and behold I found out we shared more than a love of vintage....

We shared a sick computer experience. Mine didn't have to do with marinara sauce or wine...but my first computer was pre-owned...and had a long and productive life prior to my owning it...One day I fried nearly everything! It was too full and poorly ventilated and after a couple of days at the doctor it came back but a shadow of itself! I had no sound and all my usb ports were fried, so I could not download pics or charge my ipod :(. I could not print...the only ting I could do was go on the internet and very slowly!

We also share this....

   

Mine is the old version before he became Le Geant Antiques. He was know as: Le gars avec un gros hotdog (the guy with a big hotdog). This was taken in 2006 and I must apologize about the quality. I had to copy the image from Flickr because I lost a lot of pictures as well in the great computer burnout of 2009.

So this guy stands by the side of the road with is big coca-cola and hot dog and what that means is that the border is getting nearer and that great fun will be had in the States! Beach,fried clams and Pyrex!

Have a great Friday everybody and for my fellow Canadians if you can tear yourself from the Olympics...Be sure to watch Guy Fiery on Triple D- Diners,Drive-ins and Dives!  

VTT: My first Pyrex

And a glorious VTT to you! Today I'd like to talk about my first Pyrex. The first one I saw. It was a familiar sight; that big green bowl. My mom would use it to mix ingredients or to bake. I always liked the color. I recall seeing the smallest one also, the blue but it broke. My mom was pretty hard with kitchenware!

It misses little chipits of paint all over and has some wear inside. I don't remember when exactly she gave it to me but it's been more than 20 years. I would use it quite often but didn't know it was a Pyrex! A couple of years ago 2005 I think, my friend Patrice showed me a set of Primary Pyrex bowls in eBay and like a bolt of lightning it was love at first sight with a tinge of deja vu! And I screamed: I have the green bowl!!!

The die were cast! I started obssessing on finding the missing pieces....The first one I found was the biggest one,the yellow 404. I found it in a flea market in Maine on vacation. The next year in Oxford, Maine I found the size under, but I got mixed up! I found it in blue and it really belonged to another set (Horizons). I was so sure the smallest one was red and the blue was next but it was the other way around! Oh well!

I finally found the right one in a Pierrefonds, Quebec fleamarket (opened year round)! I was on cloud ine a couple of days after that!

The last to be found was the cute little one. I had seen it in a couple of fleas but it was really expensive! I wanted a cheaper one! I found it on eBay. It came from Maine also. In my opinion Maine is like a great big Pyrex mine! LOL

So here they are reunited at last!

    

So for more VTT fun be sure to vist Suzanne the very famous Colorado Lady right HERE !

Retro Wednesday 'coz I had so much fun!

Boy oh boy am I sore this morning! I look like a big ol' piece of plywood; I don't bend! Since it was very mild yesterday I took out my trusty bike and ran some errands...which translate in 40 minutes of excercise! Working out the muscles that hadn't seen a lot of action since early December. I rode my bike a couple of times since then but never like this. Recently my excercise has been: from the couch to the computer, then to the kitchen then back again so it was high time I moved! Granted I line dance on Sunday but that is not enough...

Today I decided to show you where all those amazing (yucky) gelatin salads were probably made. In the November 1958 edition of the Ladie's Home Journal I found this fascinating article: Six unforgettable kitchens you'd like to cook in. These are actual kitchens! Here we go!

The John Spear jrs Long Island (5 minutes from the Atlantic)

  They obviously have oodles of money...but I don't like this kitchen. Way too much wood! And the chandelier??? PASS!

The Jerome Cardins Maryland suburb

The cabinets are violet, wild but it works for me. I could cook in there for sure. Dual ovens? I'm so there! And there is a microwave (that is scary!). My Dad pestered me for years to get a microwave and finally I gave in in 1989...I wonder how safe was the technology in 1958...Hey Betty is that a third arm coming out of your head?

The Charles Whitneys New York's Rockland county

Stone wall with a gazillion cast iron skillets? No thank you! I like the pale blue open shelves and I love the stove...I'd like one just like that for my kitchen! The Perfection salad (shredded cabbage that looks like worms) was proably made on the premises regularly!

The Edward Stones Mid-Manhattan

If it's pink then there's a really good chance I will love it! I really like the one piece stainless steel counter top and of course all the pink appliances. The grill work not so much, but then again it's mid-Manhattan!

The Irving Penns 200 year old house in the country

Ok there's a pink window treatment but that's not enough pink for me! This is definitely 1958's idea of country. I feel it's too woody and dark. The cucumber orgy salad would add a touch of freshness here!

The H.M. Dancers Virginia 

This one reminds me of my grandmother's kitchen (it's the yellow). These folks have a fireplace in the kitchen and a revolving spit on a charcoal cooking area. I hope they have good ventilation! Here I see the lime shrimp jiggly affair...

By the way I haven't seen a single piece of Pyrex! Don't these people know what's good for them?

Have a nice one faithful readers!

Retro Tuesday: Brought to you by the letter G!

The letter G for....You guessed it! GELATIN! On my last Salvation Army visit I was lucky enough to find the Better Homes and Garden Salad Book! This will be good for some laughs I said to myself....I had no idea how much!

For today's show and tell I chose 

some of the most pukalicious pictures....no jokes!

YUM! the shrimp-lime Double Decker! Do you realise that the lime is provided by lime Jell-o? Eeeewww! Lime Jell-o and shrimp? Where is a barf bag when I need one?

The Perfection Salad....Ever popular!  A hearty winter salad! I'm sorry but I don't associate gelatin salads with winter! BRRRRR! And check out the shredded cabbage it looks like WORMS! Double EEEEWWWW!!!

 

The Lemony Salmon Towers.....I'm speechless....I feel like throwing up right now on my laptop!

Last but not least the I can't believe they covered the table with cucumbers salad! And tomatoes.My mind must be in the gutter 'coz I can't help but find this phallic. They even filled the top of the center cuke with mayonnaise! And can you believe that they censored TV and movies....

I rest my case!

Be sure to visit another gelatin afficionado (NOT!), my pal Tracy in her oh so funny blog Crazy Suburban Mom HERE for more Retro Tuesday fun!

Cheesy!

I just this commercial on TV and I just about lost it! It was so cheesy and funny I could not believe my eyes!

Enjoy!




Have a great night and a super Saturday!

VTT: Little Shelf

It's VTT Vintage Thingie Thursday! And for more vintage fun be sure to visit Suzanne HERE !

Can one suffer from VTT burnout? How can I live in a house filled with vintage and antiques and not know what to write about?

I decided to give Pyrex a rest,LOL and I was sitting around looking everywhere trying to figure out what to blog about.....Until I saw it. The Little Shelf. Funny how we don't really see the things we have, I guess we take them for granted.

   

Most of the objects on it are vintage. The shelf itself was made by Dan in the basement. I started collecting vintage things in 1976. The first year we went to Maine. There were antique malls and shops everywhere we looked. I always had a thing for tins so I was estatic to discover tobacco tins....I remember paying a dollar each. I didn't have a lot of money (I was 11!) but those finds were the beginning of a lifetime of collecting.

The painting was a gift I received from some of my parents friends in Italy, it is of the Italian countryside.

I started collecting old medicine bottles in 1976 too. That was the beginning of my love of glassware. How can it be different? My parents loved antiques: glassware,dishes,paintings you name it they loved it! 

   

Of course I had to fit in a little piece of Pyrex! The cutte little delphite creamer added just the right touch of whimsy.  Last on the shelf is a picture of Donald who was such a good and loving cat, he went to kitty heaven much too soon. 

Have a happy VTT and keep on collecting!

Happy 101 Award

My friend Mub at The Misadventures of Mub gave me the Happy 101 award.

Here's what I'm supposed to do:



Copy the award image into a post.

List 10 things that make you happy.

Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day.

Put in a link to their blogs.

Notify the award receivers.

So here are (in no particular order) things that make me happy!
 
Cooking

Hanging out with the cats

A cozy bed                            
Looking at the river
Line dancing
Spending time with Dan
Hanging out with Dad
Thrifting
Bicycling
Writing

And now 10 blogs that put sunshine in my day!

Tracy @ Crazy Suburban Mom

Erin @ Toronto Yard Sale Snoop

Maureen @ The Green Suitcase

Sandy @ Aging Disgracefully

Heidi @ Kitschen Feast

Miss Indie

Sonya @ Dime Store Thrift

Pam @ One Gal's Trash

Thrifted Treasure

Mom Wald's Place

Have a nice day every one!

Retro Tuesday:New Vintage Ads...

As I mentionned before, I went thrifting with my Dad last Saturday. He brought me to one of his favorite places, one he has been going to for more than 40 years...  Turns out he donate/sold a lot of his overflow there...It's a magical kinda place, a mysterious treasure cave...3 floors of wonderful stuf! Most of it vintage and antique clothes ,linens and accessories but also glassware and kitchen stuff. I thought I would just drop dead of awe!

And there were vintage magazines....lots of 70's and 80's but I spied a couple of 50's and 60's beauties. And best of all since Dad is a friend they gave them to me! A gift of vintage joy! I spent all of Saturday night leafing through them....Good times!

Now for some ads! These are from a Ladie's home Journal November 1941. Yes 1941!

 Ok this first one floors me. Has anyone ever tried this? Itchy scalp cured with Listerine? Let me know. I have a feeling it burns like the dickens!Aren't all wieners skinless now? I found it funny. Look at the kid's face! All excited there's no skin.... Check out the serving plate with Mister & Misses Wiener that is priceless!

And last but not least...For all you gelatin fans out there....

Keep in mind that it has been voted America's no.1 salad! That is hilarious. It's a wonder the allies won the war....What about the ring of red stuff, probably ketchup but the recipe doesn't mention it. What about drinking Knox? That is a novel idea. Has anyone drank some? Let me know.

I look forward to posting more vintage mag snipits over the next few weeks... Have a Happy Retro Tuesday and visit Tracy (CSM) here for more cool retro stuff.

P.S: I'm really excited because I'm using the new blogger editor for the first time! It's a breeze! Thank Mub for the hints! :)    

Soeur Berthe Recipe's

I had a great weekend and I sure hope you had one too!

Saturday I went thrifting with my Dad. It was the best! he got me this book at Value Village.

I had heard of Soeur Berthe (let's face it I think everybody in their forties in the province of Quebec has heard of her). I had never made one of her recipes, I don't know if I will make some. What fascinated me was the pictures. What else?

Ok check out her hair! This book was published in 1974 so what's up with the bouffant do? Who would do that to a middle aged nun? Every time I see this picture I crack up I can't help it!

Something else that comes to mind is...Why everything is so elaborate? It's a picture of a picnic!

She brought serving dishes at a picnic! And the stuffed bread with the antennas....that spells: One of the kids will put an eye out with those!

Unfortunately this book doesn't have a lot of pictures. The previous owner actually crossed out recipes that failed or she didn't like...which is kinda weird because Soeur Berthe was Culinary Arts Director at a big chichi school....ok well! Maybe not enough testing in the kitchen.

I could not resist the last pic because...I'm sure you saw it...In the top left corner a plethora of Spring Blossom Green Pyrex (5 casseroles and 1 bowl).

Check out the de-boned stuffed chickens in the middle, talk about elaborate! Who had time to make that???

If I would make it the chicken would have time to reach the best before date before I could finish de-boning it! You don't learn that technique anywhere, you have to go to cooking school for that!

What about that big plate of sardines...LOL!

Don't worry there's plenty of retro stuff where that came from so join me tomorrow for more on Retro Tuesday!

I love me some good deals1

As a thrifty girl I love good deals...Who doesn't??? I was approched last week by a young artist in Etsy to do a trade...I traded a Pyrex bowl for this wonderful Mermaid bracelet-totally handmade!
It was my first trade and a total success! Cool! Also I love shopping at Maxi & Cie (Canada Superstore) when I go there I always head on to the liquidation racks...'coz there are some might fine deals to find!

Like the flannel pijama bottom....6.94$ How cool is that??? Look at those girly details...The little pink velour ribbon with the bow...Delicious!

And what about these goodies....Silver earrings at 2 pair for 1.oo$ and black/copper nail polish also for a buck!

I also find foods at discounted prices..brown rice,curry sauce and even some cats grass for the kitties....

I never know what goodies I might find in the liquidation racks....Happy weekend to everyone! And a great Super Bowl, may the best team win! :)

VTT: Vintage is the way to go!

What is this? What could that be??? Interesting box, vintage,colorful... Could it be? Pyrex? Be still, my beating heart!

Yes it's the Vintage casserole with cradle by Pyrex. It is a promotional casserole. Nothing is known about the year of production, my guess is late 60's early 70's. I got it through eBay in my NIB (new in box ) phase. even if the seller described the box as mint, it arrived all taped up and even had wrapping paper stuck on the box! When I complained about it, I was told it was my imagination, I was exaggerating! I left a real bad feedback!

But I must say the casserole is adorable....With it's little green cradle.

And it came with use and care instructions! Happy VTT to all! Be sure to visit Suzanne at www.coloradolady.blogspot.com for more VTT fun!

Thrifty Goodness

Last Saturday we hoped in the car and a thrifting we went! To Cornwall, Ontario land of plenty!

First stop Value Village...Dan spotted those FAB vintage highballs...I just had to get them! Still on the fence about keeping them, I love them but it's a space issue....

Ahhh! The decanter...I've been aching for one for a long time and I got this one at 50% off that is 2.50$ ! And it's all clean too! No pesky white ring that you can never remove...I got this at my favorite thrift store full of toothless old ladies reeking of cigarette smoke. Stinky but beautiful finds!

I got this vase/ice tea glass at the same place for .50 cents. I love the blue green color. I looked in my reference book and it might be a Diamond Point from the Idiana Glass Co, but nothing for sure!

Got the sea shells at Value Village too for 1.99$. I love the sea,shells and the beach. My bathroom is beach themed and so is one of my bedrroms so I just had to grab them!

We had an amazing lunch at Cornwall BBQ. That place was full 70's decor wise. Everything red and orange with roosters all over. the food was really good even the BBQ sauce was homemade. It's really rotisserie chicken and not bbq. It was amazing!

Well gotta go! I have some church basement to investigate! later Gators!

Retro Tuesday: Tardy but with Pyrex!!!

Yes I'm late. I was feeling under the weather and very lazy. I'm still in pijamas! LOL!

So today for Retro Tuesday I give you this beautiful and elusive Pyrex ad. It comes from the Ladies Home Journal. My guess is, it dates from 1960. How do I know that?

Every Pyrex nut know to go to the Pyrex Love web site for info and to drool on those beautiful pictures... www.pyrexlove.com

The only piece I have in this ad is the delphite veggie casserole on the bottom. The rest is still to be acquired...

I got this ad from eBay to match my kitchen and I must say it fits beautifully!

Pyrex ads are pretty rare to find in vintage magazines and I find that the Pyrex pieces were pretty expensive back in the day so the demographics targeted must've been higher than the Creamettes....For more on that do yourself a favor and visit www.crazysuburbanmom.com for more magazine demographics....

Have a great evening!

And The WINNER is...

Oufff! After a busy weekend : Thirfting 10 to 5 on Saturday and dancing my booty off yesterday (I can barely walk today...), I'm ready and so is Henry to draw the name of the winner to my FAB giveaway!
Henry dove right in! Head first in the pool of tickets!

And the winner is....

Drum roll please!

One

two

three!

Yay!!! Congratulations Cynthia! Cynthia has been a follower for a long time and I know she loves Pyrex! LOL

Please write me at valerie.barbeau@gmail.com to give me your info!

I want to thank all who entered and welcome my new followers! This has been a blast! Come back to morrow for Retro Tuesday! Bye y'all