Tuesday, September 27, 2011

FTW? Tuesday!

God oh GOD why am I sooo tired? It seems that I maybe suffering from the seasonnal change (you know, shorter daylight hours....cooler temps). But as a matter of fact it is really warm here in the Montreal area....77 farenheit and with the humidex factor it's 88 F.

It may not seem hot to folks down south but to us Quebecers it's a bit unsettling! I'm still using the pool every day and totally enjoying it! Tonight the water was at a balmy 74 F!

Ok enough idle chichat! It's time to FTW!


This is bar none the UGLIEST sofa I've ever seen! I saw it in a Value Village in the north of Montreal.
Did you get a load of the lazy susan in the middle? YIKES!

I couldn't help myself I just had to take a picture!

I'm joining my thrifting pal Sir Thrift A Lot for the FTW? Tuesday! party, hope you visit!

Keep on thrifting!


Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Knight

I love exploring the neighborhood where I work and spotting mid-century treasures!

I saw this one last monday but I had forgotten my camera so I had to go back!

But first this totally fab entryway


I would totally move there just to see this everyday!

A couple of doors up is this....


 How funky/tacky is that? I love it! I want to live there as well, but to be honest the building is kind of falling apart....

Here's a bit of detail


.
Sorry about the flash, I couldn't take the pic any other way....

See? even the columns were covered in mosaic tiles!

Decorating tip: Painting mosaics is NEVER a good idea!

On weather news....it's summer again, it was super humid and warm today....I wonder what the weekend has in store for us....We will be painting, cleaning, re-organizing, and I hope to have time and inspiration to list stuff in the store. And maybe a bit of pool time!

Be well and keep you eyes peeled to vintage treasures!

Monday, September 19, 2011

FTW? Tuesday!

Well I know I'm early but it's monday night and I'm pooped! Monday is always hard. I re-applied for my job today....I can't wait to see how that works out.

Last week when I went to Renaissance thrift I was able to take pictures of really good stuff for this party! This party is curated by Sir Thrift-a-Lot .I'm being naughty, I'm posting before the party starts.....

This week's offering is along the same lines as last week's.....OH YESSSSSS!

I actually let out a little yelp when I saw this....Hold on tight! Here it comes....

EEEEEWWWWW! I hate those just as much as I hate clowns. And just what are they called in english? In french it's Pierrot, just like the children's song Au clair de la lune.
You want a closer look at that evil face?


DIE DIE DIE you horrible creature!

Believe it or not but my neighbour (the clown) has some in her house! I didn't snoop I swear! I just happened to glance throught her living room window while looking for one of my cats.


Well sleep tight and lock you doors and windows.....tacky stuff might come and get you!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Aaaaahhhhh! The weekend!

Today we had a very productive day!

A quick trip to the hairdresser, a touch of thrifting, we rented a carpet cleaning machine, the balance of the living room baseboard got painted, the hall got a big declutter, the heat registers got a good cleaning, we changed a curtain rod and many other tid bits were taken care of.....and I'm fighting a little cold.

Did I mention I made homemade chicken broth? and veggie soup too?

Here's what I harvested last night, we had a real hot and humid summer with periods of drought and big buckets of rain but the overall harvest is dismal. I thank God that we have other means to feed ourselves, otherwise we would have been skinny and mal-nourished.

The cukes are doing great we had about 20 so far, the green beans, shish....and to my great surprise we have oodles of cherry tomatoes. The italian tomato is a rogue, i didn't planted, it probably came from  the compost pile.

On thursday I went thrifting to Renaissance in Verdun, and I spotted this. This is a fairly rare JAJ Pyrex gravy boat, I was totally in awe. And it was just .99 cents! I forced myself to leave it there because it had 2 big chips on the base. Maybe next time! But I did get plenty of pictures for future FTW? Tuesday!

After all that hard work, I needed a break! So around 5pm I sneaked outside to enjoy the fading day....


 A cold one, one of my fave magazine and my latest Pyrex find!
 I found The Cracker Barrel and in very good condition. I'm guessing that it originally came with a plastic insert to make it more air tight as with the Stack'n'See storage containers because no way will this canister keep your crackers dry! And I hate a soggy cracker!
 However you have a tip on the side of the container.....If you want crisper crackers you can shove the crackers with the glass container in the stove minus the lid of course!

For supper we had grilled steak with Cow Bell Hell rub (from Maine), mushroom barley risotto and field tomatoes (from my CSA basket) 

The temperature has been very cold in the last few days and I'm worried my swimming days will be over soon, rats! I hope to take a dip or 2 tomorrow in between chores. Well they're not realy chores. I see it as TCB or taking care of business. You do what you have to do. Winter is coming so we must prepare!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

WTF? Tuesdays!

Well folks this day has been crrrrrraaaaappppppy at best. But I always feel better coming home and hanging out with my loved ones and of course visiting my fave blogs.


So since it’s Tuesday it’s WTF? Tuesdays over at Sir Thrift-A-Lot! I always enjoy seeing ugly/scary/crappy/tacky things ,it goes perfectly with my sideshow side.

So here’s my offering this week. I hate clowns, I never found them funny and some are sad while other give me the hibbyjibbies, think It by Stephen King.



I can’t believe that someone actually designed this for a child’s bedroom. Thank god that my parents didn’t buy that for my room! I’d have been even longer in therapy!

Well that's it for this week! Sleep tight and don't let the clowns bite!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Thriftastic Day! Part Two

We finally got around to empty the car trunk, however I was busy with the usual chores....cooking,washing, changing the bed, tidying the yard....and looking for Dan's glasses, which we found after 3 hours of on and off searching!

Here's some more goodies I found yesterday!

Yes I know that nobody smokes anymore, but really this is pink and Melmac and it makes me want to light up! It will bw in the shop any day.

I totaly fell in love with this.....


It is pristine! The glaze is perfect, no chips just like it was produced yesterday!
I don't know if I'll be able to list it...It's too delicious.


This frame I foun at the Montreal Mega Reuse Center. It was really cruddy and dusty and even came with it's own pigeon poop. It will look great in my living room with a coat of paint or dye (if Dan gets his way) and a new picture inside. It is soooo mid-century.

Now for a thrify find that I bumped into in New Hampshire...


It is a brand new still in box mug tree! From Kmart....SWEET

You get 6 mugs and the tree, all in mint condition.

Well that's it for tonight!

Have a great thrifting week (and working week). Be well my thrifty friends!  

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Thriftastic Day! Part One

Yes this is part one, because we were too tired to empty the entire trunk, as in car trunk.

I was up bright and early, i.e 6:00 am because I was sooooo excited about a big demolition sale at Beaurepaire United Church. We got there at 9:10.

I was unbelivably disapointed ;some little old lady know it all had decided to sell things at market price not at church basement prices. So the prices were C-R-A-Z-Y! 2 dollars for a wood hanger! PLEASE!

I spotted this poor little guy all by his lonesome....


It had a 5$ sticker on the dish and a 1$ sticker on the lid and it was chipped.
Unless they changed their price policy later I don't think they sold a lot...
I heard a lot of comments about the prices.

After we went garage saleing and I was totally giddy when I spotted these...

If you've been folowing for a while you know that I love Yankee Candles! Except the price of course!

The larger one is 29.99 retail here and the other is 24.99. That is nearly 55$ of heavenly scents. I paid 1.50$ for both, how is that for thrifty?
Both are brand new, never been used! SWEET!

It's getting a bit late so I want share one last find you and it's a doozy.


 A delicious splashproof red apple Fireking bowl that will be listed in the store shortly. How cool is that?

See you soon for more thrifty goodness from that enchanted saturday!

Friday, September 9, 2011

On Vacation Food

I remember a time, in the 70's, when it was said that you couldn't get great food in the U.S. Yes that was the consensus. I , however, never had a really bad meal there. The awful meals I had were i England in the 70's, those were bad, even breakfast was disgusting.

So this trip was full of discoveries and mourning. Let's face it things change whether we like it or not!

So the first change was to see that our go to restaurant Lupo's wasn't there anymore...Instead was Coconut's Bar and Grille. We did try it on our first night and it was NOT good. Not terrible but not really fresh, they didn't take the time, probably stuff came out of pouches and cans.

I had the pepperjack burger with bacon, the bacon was MIA, so was the heat in the cheese but the ONE redeemable thing was that the meat was really good. Dan took a roastbeef club and the meat was grey deli crap. But the worst was the building itself: It had been re-decorated in a hurry, the carpet was old,stinky and way past it's prime. The wall were half painted and they showed years of dirt....EEEEWWWW! But the worst thing was the coconutty smell on top of the kitchen grease!

NEVER AGAIN! Oh I forgot that the same elderly waitress was there....and you could tell that she didn't have any choice to work there. She looked sad and limped. I hope things get better for her.

A new spot was Ray's seafood in Rye NH. Where the big blue lobster is. The chowder was a bit thicker than we are used to but delicious. The fried clams and scallops were perfect but the real kicker? was definitely the tartar sauce!

The sauce is homemade and oh so tasty. You can buy a jar to bring home.

Another discovery was The Beach Plum also in Rye. Now I don't have pics because there are no tables inside and the sun had set.....


Yep it's me with the big lobster (What's with me and the big lobsters?) If you think tacky you are right, I'm tacky and proud of it!
They serve a great clam chowder and a dyn-o-mite shrimp and corn chowder with a bite! But the lobster roll was clearly the biggest I'd ever seen! It had the meat of three lobster rolls for the same price!
It was delicious!

We also returned to Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery, a diner visited by our friend Guy Fieri.

We had chowder and a round of Lillian's fried clams (they are dipped in wash then in flour, fried and topped with french fried onions). D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.

But what really cracked me up was this....

OH YEEEEESSSSSS! CRUNCHIFICATION!

I always enjoy finding new words.

Gotta go! Triple D is on!

  

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

WTF? Tuesdays!

Tonight I'm liking to a new party! WTF? Tuesdays! Hosted by Sir Thrift A Lot. Here you will see scary stuff that will keep you up at night or make you dream because what I find scary might make you happy!

Here's my contribution for this week

I've already posted this pic, but I thought it would fit perfectly in this party!

Here's a close-up


  Would would buy this? NOT ME! All I know is that the next time I went over it was gone....

And vintage fun was had by all....

Be sure to join the party right right HERE!

Monday, September 5, 2011

Atomic Treasures

We were making our way north from Hampton Beach NH to Old Orchard Maine on rte 1.....and we were specifically heading to the Bo-Mar flea (opened year round). Next door there's this really big old house filled with antiques but it's messy and you can't really walk around because there's so much stuff.

We had decided not to go this time and concentrate on the flea. We got out of the car and like being pulled with a giant magnet we ended up on their lawn where a big sign said VINTAGE STUFF. First thing we knew we were in the house hunting.....

Holy bubbly vintage atomic goodness!

And in turquoise too!

Can you guess what these are?

Let me tell you that when I spotted these I screamed and jumped! Look,look,look,look! Don't you see?
ARE YOU BLIND?

Here they are when I first saw them in the store....


Aren't these totally fabulous? But really! I was a bit sad because I found them too expensive. I was resigned to leave them there. Then Dan asked me how much I'd be willing to pay for them, I answered and firts thing i knew there was bargaining action downstairs.

OMG I'm not a bargainner by nature so I was totally petrified to witness Dan reeling in the seller like a big fish. We ended up buying the lamps at nearly 50% off.

Here are the atomic godesses in their new habitat...

I need to re-wire them but otherwise they are perfect!

Good night and sweet thrifting dreams!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Pyrex Joy and more....

It was a fantastic trip! We laughed, ate, shopped, walked, ate some more, napped, had snacks, saw the sights, thrifted, ate some more, swam, read and finnally ate some more. Let's just say that I'm done with fried whatever for quite some time! But boy was it ever good!

Speaking of thrifting....

 I've always bitched that thrift shops are a rare sight in coastal NH, well hello there! This Early American casserole was waiting for me.

Another added treat....A brand spanking new Salvation Army in Portsmouth! And guess what came home with me?

A 045 Promotional Casserole Hearts with warmer. The warmer rack was and still is soooo greasy sticky even after a good scrubbing....EEEWWWW!


  2 restaurant ware cups with dark turquoise bands and a darn I never remember the name of this one, I know it's not turquoise fern and Laurel is the red one....oh well!

Look at the logo! Strategic Air Command. See even military eat in Pyrex!


This is my favorite find? This avocado and turquoise mug (I've been aching for some for a while now....)

If I'd been a beginner collector our truck would have been filled to full capacity with Pyrex, but since I have soooo much (as Dan likes to remind me...lol)

Not for other finds!

These cute glasses for 1.40$ each

I just need to find the other 50!


A fantastic tin cake dome with plate sandwiched between the girls (Peanut on the left and Yoda on the right).

I did find other stuff and I'll blog about it tomorrow. A hint? Think atomic! ATOMIC! whoohoo!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

All Shopped OUT? NO WAY!

Today was way too cold for a dip ( I find I'm either too hot or too cold) so we headed north for some shopping.

We needed sneakers and affordable sneakers because in Montreal good quality sneakers are at least 120$ and up. So we were able to buy 2 pairs  for the price of 1 SWEET!

We stopped at Marshall's, it was our first visit but certainly not our last! I found some really cute leopard flats (aerosoles) for a bargain....

And on the way to Portsmouth we spotted a thrift shop! SAY WHAT? STOP THE CAR! Holly Pyrex!

I found a nice Early American 045 with lid for a song! And a paper back because I don't bring my ebook on the beach...no way jose!

More on Portsmouth in another post...Signs of the times...I guess.

Over in Kittery, one of Maine's outlet shopping mecca....well let's face it; we always go to the same places....Crate and Barrel, Yankee Candle....and usually Bass shoes but not this time. No Bass shoes, until next time.

I totally freaked out in Yankee candle because of the Samps & Tarts Palooza! All samps and tarts a buck each! We were siffing for what seemed for ever! I was able to fill one of their sample trays (12). And we even got a free preview winter smell votive.

We stopped for lunch at Bob's Clam Hut (it was featured in triple D and we visited in February 2011). the place was so crowded it was scary! But we were able to snag the last parking place and got served really fast. It was delicious! Lillian's fried clams, one clam chowder and one fish chowder, yummers!

We shopped a bit after that but let's face it we need coffee and to go back to the condo. Well, well what do you know? We found a Goodwill and a brand spanking new Salvation Army right one rte 1!

I'll show you the finds another day because now I'm just too tired, I'm in my pj's, sipping a cold one and watching Man vs Food.

We will be getting dressed in about 15 to head out to Rye for a prize winning foot long lobster roll! I can't wait to see it!

Later my friends