Thursday, October 28, 2010

What I left behind

Well finally I was able to put my hands on the couch's bill ! The name of the darling store it came from is
BC Ameublement 22 rue Ellice, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. They don't have a web site. I'm not getting paid for this. I love this place and the owners are really nice so I decided they needed a shout-out.

Here's some of the things I didn't buy while I was there...

That is one caliente lady!

Ok this dish set was totally amazing, I don't know how many place settings but it had hard boiled egg plates,candleticks,casseroles,vegetable bowls...the WORKS! 

And how much was the whole set??? Twenty bucks! Yep you read that right!
Now why didn't I buy it? First there is the Martha thing and second how much would it cost to ship somewhere if I would put in Etsy?

This painting was really adorable, I love the way the hood is crooked. This is definitely homemade!

This cute little bowl is Beauceware and I decided to get it for the shop.

And this sugar dispenser would fit right in the store too!

And guess what?

The owner gave it to me because we bought the couch!
How nice is that?
So if you like thrifting and are in the greater Montreal area or if you're in eastern Ontario and on a saturday drive , do yourself a favor and stop by you never know what you might find!

So this morning has been strange so far....My antique armoire opened by itself and spat Pyrex lids at us! Holy haunted armoire Batman! We picked up a lot of broken glass! Dan broke a drinking glass and threw water allover! Is something wonky in the stars? LOL

I want to say hi to my friend Johanne (Dan's sister in law). Tomorrow is her last day at work, she will be retiring after 30 years of work at Desjardins (a financial institution). WOOHOO! You earned it girl! Enjoy your retirement and we'll see you soon!  

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

OMG! Black Vinyl Deliciousness!

I was worried about the 'new' couch. I thought it didn't have any arms....Even if I took some pics, there was soooo much furniture in the store I couldn't really see it!

Here it is in all it's black vinyl deliciousness...

See? It has arm rests! YAY!

I totally love the bottom curve, it's so,so AMAZING! lol


There's just one little nick on one of the arms that I will fix soon.
We cleaned it with an eco friendly version of windex...There was a bit of loud talking when Dan accused me of removing the sheen....OMG!

The cats (after being scared shitless) gave it 2 thumbs up!
It kinda smells, yep a chemical,garage kinda smell. On the good side I'm sure it will take our smell in no time! And I'm really glad it does not smell of cigarette smoke! Of course when we bought it we were too excited to smell it....
It's a real manly man couch! You know Don Draper's kind, unfortunately I was disappointed to see he has a fabric couch ditto for Roger Sterling. Rats!

I'm guessing it's from the 60's. If anybody has info on its origins or any thoughts for that matter please leave a comment.

Have a great day :)   

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Stuff I didn't buy!

A I was perusing my picture library, I noticed a lot of pics from fleas in Maine. Here are some of the stuuf I didn't buy....



This lamp was a riot! If my decor was red and black and had the price been a LOT cheaper, this gorgeous piece of man would've lighted my boudoir!

At the front 2 Pyrex cups. Now I had to explain to Dad that I didn't NEED every piece of Pyrex under the sun. He proceeded to explain his vision of a collection...LOL

I love that chippy blueish turquoisy scale but I already have one, sigh!

This teapot is a showstopper!

22.50$ for a green bowl??? Are they out of their minds???

This is another of those TBNT Pyrex pieces (to me at least). So if you MUST have it, it still might be in Scarborough, Maine....One never knows! 

Is this a cool dish set or what??? 19$ for the lot and the booth had a 50% off sale too, so that is 9.50$ for the lot! I didn't get it because I have a Martha Stewart Everyday white dish set and I'm scared that if I gave it away, she would find out and send her minions. Yes she has minions! That comedian is their leader. So don't mess with Martha she sees, hears and knows everything!

I still haven't asked Dan for the sofa receipt so I can see the store's name and blog about it...but the sofa full of vinyl deliciousness is arriving later tonight! I can't wait! giggles!

Friday, October 22, 2010

I would NEVER thrift this

I always enjoy myself whenever I visit all my fave blogs and very often I burst out laughing! On a recent visit to Erin's blog Yard Sale Snoop , she wrote about stuff she wouldn't thrift and it was hilarious!

Yesterday on a surprise thrifting trip I saw this....

 And it comes with all the attachements! I was really excited to see this and at the same time totally grossed out!

We know it has been other places than her face, right ladies?
I'm pretty sure Betty Draper would've wanted one...It might've given her a smile!
So I would NEVER,EVER,EVER thrift this! NEVER!

We did break one of our never thrift rules...We actually bought this sofa! It is beautiful,vintagy and we saw a brand new one in a furniture store flyer for 1800$, we bought this one for 85$. Unfortunately I had no space to take the pic, so you don't see the legs. I'm not worried about cooties,we don't have an epidemic here.
This thrift store is a treasure throve of deliciousness. When I find the bill with the name on it I'll write a post about the other stuff I saw there. And the owner is really nice!

Later faithfull readers!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

I'm expiration date crazy!

More tales from the postal counter....Maybe 10 years ago Canada Post decided to sell franchises to make money, ergo the postal counter was born! Which means that Shopper's Drug Mart who bought most franchises has a postal counter in most stores. It also means that people working at the PC (postal counter), get paid the Shopper's salary (minimum wage)  compared to Canada Post salaries which are at least 2 or 3 times more...Same stress,mini paycheck.

Now I don't know if it's the same for all PCs but the store manager didn't want 2 employees behind the counter, not enough work it seems. I was there to replace EPM (evil post mistress) during her very long lunch break , but when she came back they had no use for me at the PC, so my other job was to go on the floor and check expiration dates.

Now I know that EPM and the lady whom I replaced disdained that job, they made pukey faces when they talked about it. During my 'training' I was told to check the baby products and health supplements and nothing else; when I checked with the manager I was told to check dates on everything I would put in my mouth!

I tell you it was my favorite part of the job! First of all I didn't have those pesky,bitchy,nosy,stinky people in my face, nobody bothered me and it aloud me to think about stuff! And it was FUN!

Now the lady I replaced was the sweetest but it was obvious she didn't like checking dates! I found stuff so old I was surprised it didn't run around in the store!

So I started with health supplements, meal replacements etc....I threw thousands of dollars of expired products in the bin to wait for the inventory adjustements.

Same with baby products! I then went on to skin care (ok I don't eat skin care) but I wouldn't want expired stuff on my face. After a while it got pretty boring, I was supposed to tour the store every month. The most boring things to check were toothpastes and mouthwashes.

The dust was unbearable! I asked who cleaned the shelves, it seems they get cleaned once a year, but I could do it if I wanted....Hum let me see....minimum wage,EPM, I'm already doing a job no one likes and I can clean the shelves too? NO THANK YOU!

I got to think that I should check condoms and other personnal items, because truth be told I wouldn't want expired product near my girlie bits!

I got to see all the products sold in a pharmacy and I was flabbergasted to see all the diet aids, they actually sell health supplement to make your boobs grow bigger! UNBELIEVABLE!

I would come home in the afternoon and do what? check the expiration dates! I still do all over the house!

So dear readers,please check all your products! Not just food! Some companies have freshness codes intead of expiration dates so in doubt, don't be shy and call them up to ask! 

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Retro Tuesday: START THE CAR!!! START THE CAR!!!

This is an in between weeks in Maine find. I had come to Montreal for some R&R; which in my case includes: walking, walking, still more walking, thrifting, walking, thrifting, food, more walking and more thrifting.

I'm starting to believe that the Pyrex craze is starting to catch up in Montreal because Pyrex is harder to find!
 So I'm hitting the thrifts, minding my own business, when I see a store I passed many times over the years but have never visited...

I go in and it is strangely clean, I kidd you not.And I see there's another room, I can spy some goodies through the door but it's locked. I ask if I can go in. The owner says sure, I'll unlock the door.
Ok I pause here to give my 2 cents: Antique shop owners are ALWAYS characters! Not in a bad sense but definitely colorful!

So by now I feel feverish, don't know why I didn't see any Pyrex! And I tripp over my feet as I enter. A voice SCREAMS in my head: DON'T BREAK ANYTHING!!! And then I see it!

OMG could it be? I come closer. Yes by jove I think it is! I look at the price; a steal for this! I must know for sure!

Is it 15$ each or for the pair??? I ask candidly...For the pair; answers the colorful seller.OMG! I'm having difficulty swallowing! MUST BUY!MUST BUY! TOTAL GLASSWARE OVERLOAD!
 I grab them and run to the cash. The dealer has trouble keeping up with me. He asks: Are you in the movies?

Uh? no, why? It's only movie people who buys these when they build sets like vintage kitchens.

At that point he was wrapping my precious find, and not fast enough! I just wanted to scream: SHUT UP! WRAP FASTER! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND I HAVE TO START THE CAR AND RUN AWAY BEFORE YOU REALISE YOU DIDN'T CHARGE ME ENOUGH!

FASTER!
FASTER!

Must run away with my FireKing Range Salt and Pepper Tulips Shakers!


They look gorgeous in my kitchen! I was never a big fan of FireKing but I was longing for some shakers for quite a while now!

 There is a bit of corrosion on the salt shaker lid but I don't mind.

And to think that they sell between 80 to 120$

This girl spent her money wisely!

I don't think my pal Tracy will be doing the Retro Tuesday thing but just in case drop by and say hi!

Tell her I sent you :)



Monday, October 18, 2010

Just for Tracy!

Ok so I toyed with the idea of posting something but I got side tracked by the day. You know just the day to day stuff: laundry,racking leaves,cooking. I did take pics this morning but quickly forgot about them.

And I took a HUGE nap, yes guilty as charged! Even if the house in Saco was wonderful, the mattresses left something to be desired....With Dan in the full bed I felt like I was falling; and as a matter of fact it was true! One side of the bed was crooked, so it was uncomfortable for 2. I can also add that the Danmeister had a bad cold and was moaning and coughing most of the night, so I moved in to another room which had 2 singles so I had to buy single sheets (I love you Target). The house was a bring your linens deal and bring your soap,garbage bags and TP!

So after dinner I checked my blog and saw that Tracy my dear pal from Crazy Suburban Mom had left me a really cute comment about being in withdrawal from my blog and heaven forbids that Tracy should have convulsions or puke on her doody rug!

So I'm not making this up I actually bought some Pyrex on my vacation.

I got those 2 little fridgies. The one on the left has a banged up lid :(

5 Butterfly Gold Compatibles napkin rings  

 And this cute Cinderella Spring Blossom Green 441 bowl

Each piece was less than 3$ and the napkin rings were 1.75$.

I can't wait to use the napkin rings.

In case you're wondering: NO I don't have ALL the Pyrex pieces made. It is a common misconception! And No I don't buy all the piece I see, even if I don't have them. I try to get the smaller missing pieces. Once in a while I will get a fixation on a pattern or a piece ad then try to get it no matter what.

There was the Pink dinnerware fiasco. I decided I NEEDED (a deep deep need) for a 4 place setting of Pink rimmed Pyrex dinnerware. So I started slowly...I got the cream and sugar....some cups ans saucers and then I spotted some bread plates and saucers on Etsy and I bought them. Unfortunately the seller hadn't taken the time to go to the post office and have the parcels properly weighed and priced so she freaked out at the real shipping price ( a life lesson she won't forget soon). I got 2 plates and then I waited and waited and the seller asked me to be patient and I was r-e-a-l patient.

Then one day after a shift at the PCOU (postal counter of unjoy) I saw a yellow sticker from UPS on my door. They had come a-knocking but I was a-shipping! And they wanted 22$ of my hard earned money. No way I was going to pay duty on vintage plates! So I wrote the seller informing her of the situation and my refusal to pay additional fees. Well UPS came a couple of times and I was never there so the plates went back, I guess...I got some of my money back after 4 months. I felt bad for that clueless seller, it ended up costing her more than she made on the sale.

So I'm off the Pink dinnerware (for now) lol!

Wow I really rambled on!

I really have a good find for tomorrow...I'll give you a clue...It's glassware but not Pyrex and it was a definitely a
START THE CAR  !!! START THE CAR!!!
moment

Friday, October 15, 2010

Man oh Man I miss blogging!

Hi everyone! I'm still on vacation and the weather has been BEAUTIFUL! No kidding! The kind of nice Fall days people dream about!

The house is something else too! Really big and clean and 4 bathrooms! The internet access is in my Dad's room...It was supposed to be WIFI but I tried and I tried and could not get it to work! So I plugged it in old school, which cuts down big time on my internet use. I sneak maybe 15 minutes everyday; just enough to scan my emails and check to see if the house sitter had somekind of disaster.

Thank God everything is well. Minimal use of the internet really puts things back in perspective...I read a lot and took MEGA long walks on the beach with Dan looking for some sea glass...I also gorged myself with the Travel channel....Anthony Bourdain, Man Vs. food, extreme you name it, Bizarre Foods....Also some Martha on the Hallmark channel (by the way we don't get any Martha in Canada anymore) and Beverly Hills 90210 on Soap channel. Dad is always asking what's playing on TCM (Turner Classic Movies).

Today we had some kind of big storm and some streets were floaded. What do people do when the weather is MEGA crappy? Shop of course!
We had another run of the Christmas Tree Shop and I actually bought a Xmas decoration for outside my house!

I saw those beautiful pumpkins outside a supermarket in Scarborough....Everything is pumkin spice flavored here...fudge,coffee,desserts,salt water kisses....

Also I want to welcome my latest follwers! Yippeee! 92 followers! I should reach 100 by Xmas!

Thank you for joining  hope you'll enjoy your visits. I should drop by as soon as I can!

Have a great weekend!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Here we go again!

Ok here I am running all over the place like a chicken without a head....Re-packing the luggage, briefing the house sitter, doing laundry....

We are heading out to Maine (again lol) but this time with my Dad!

Where I hope to see more of these guys!

Old Orchard beach is slowly gentrifying itself...is it good? Not always!
A lot of really old signs will be replaced, like this Chop Suey sign. Not tell me, just who craves chop suey at the beach? 

I try to immortalize these old gems as much as I can before they disappear....Ok I find this one really funny...Patate Frite means french fry in french, they put that translation for french canadians who used to make the bulk of the Old Orchard tourist trade. Now I ask you why a translation just for french fries? Why not for fried clams? Are french canadians not allowed to eat fried clams? Makes me wonder...

I will be stopping here for some apple pie....

And here for some spring water


                                     And definitely enjoying a lot of this! I pray for some sun....

I also blogged @ The Pyrex Collective this morning so just go HERE for some Pyrex adventures!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Vacation Tidbits

Last week was wonderful and very different at the same time. We both got a nasty colds. The temperature was just a nasty; cold and damp except for the day I forgot Henry!


OOB was like a ghost town


We finished the puzzle

What's up with the pink cake? Has anybody tried it?


These muffins crack me up, they are pistaccio something....I've seen some of those green monsters since 1998....Just who buys those? They are soooo eeeewwww GREEN!


Henry went fishing...Here he is posing with his catch...
Yes Henry we'll have it mounted and installed on the wall in the living room.... 

Dan the loves these desinfectant wipes at the supermarket(we don't have those in Quebec). Everything gets a wipe down; I swear if we had a kid he would get wraped in the stuff!

The jury is still out on the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks...Is there any coffee in that brew?
 As a rule I don't like Starbucks, their coffee gives me heartburn and I don't like their fucked up sizes. Here's Henry next to a Grande (small). The prices freaked me out; can you believe that the beautiful caserole in the un-opened box costs less that that drink?  

I had some steamers, I hadn't had some in AGES (ok like 3 years)
To me steamers are something I eat in Hampton Beach NH, don't know why...
It is what it is

Aren't those the saddest Pyrex EVER? They were 6$ each
Seen in a flea

On the way back we stopped at the source. Every year we see bunches of people bended with empty gallons getting their fill....

Henry had a drink too!

We shopped a lot too (Bad weather). I love going at Target, it's sooo cheery! I bought a lot of cute sweaters.

Walmart was boring, but the food section OMG! We don't have those in Québec. There is a bit of food in Walmart but not an entire supermarket in it!

The Christmas tree shop is always to die for, I always buy WAY too much stuff there!
Crazy Miss V!
So dispite the weather and the cold, last week was really fun!
And guess what? I get to do it all over again starting this coming Saturday!

People of Maine! I wanna see TONS of yard sales and more Pyrex on those tables! Mouhahaha!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Once in a Lifetime

Hello my friends! Maybe not all of you know that when not blogging here, I'm hanging out @ The Pyrex Collective.

Click HERE to read my latest Pyrex adventure (I promise, it's a doozy!)

Hint: It involves this...



Happy reading!