Wednesday, September 23, 2009

New Laptop!

My wonderful husband got me a new laptop last night! It is a mini notebook, made by Dell. I love it!!

I plan on using this to write my novel in November. :)

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

This week's haul

This is my haul from this past week's hunt. 12 pieces of pyrex, 3 vintage items, a lotus bowl, and 1 pieces of glasbake & 1 piece of fire king:


I really love this metal canister. It has the alphabet on it. The copper mold will hang in my kitchen next to my other copper molds. The green lazy susan thing will look cute in my cabinet with mugs on it. The lid is a pyrex lid, and I figure I will find a piece that matches it or another pyrex collector might need it.



The 2 orange dot bowls are from the New Dots set-they are 401 (the smallest) size. I couldn't believe the antique store Bonnie & I went to on Sunday had the 2 of them for so cheap!
I'm saving the snowflake dish for the holidays..and the spring blossom bowl just needed to be rescued.

I've been looking for this herb dish (the center piece) for a while-it is so cute. I have seen it on mugs and loaf pans. The 2 little square refrigerator dishes are adorable. The rectangular fire king dish I am thinking will be a piece up for trade..





Saturday night I made some blueberry muffins @ Bonnie's house, so we would have them in the morning for breakfast. I just had to take a picture of the batter in a pyrex bowl:

Thursday, September 17, 2009

I think I figured it out..

I'm pretty sure this is why I am so domestic.

When I was around 9, my mom got me this toy set for my birthday & Christmas one year. Each occasion after that I would get more stuff to add to this set. It was called Kitchen Littles, made by Tyco. The company eventually stopped making them but last year they started coming out again-a variation of the originals. I still have my original, which you can see below. I still have most of the goodies that go with it, too. The stove makes noises, like a timer, kettle, & sizzling bacon. The fridge has a light, and little ice cubes actually come out of the ice dispenser on the door. Water comes out of the faucet and you can also run a cycle on the dishwasher. Each cabinet & drawer opens, as well as the drawer on the stove. This is one of the few toys I still have from my childhood and I plan on keeping it and maybe one day passing it on to one of my own.






Here we are with a bunch of breakfast food laid out. Pancakes, french toast, toast, eggs, bacon, grapefruit, orange juice, milk, doughnuts, cantelope, & jam. Mmm!





Here is the inside of the fridge/freezer. Ice cream comes out of the Dreyer's buckets, chicken comes out of the chicken bucket, the hot dogs come out of their buns, eggs come out of the carton, meatballs off of the spaghetti, the sandwich & hamburger come apart so you can put them together the way you like them, the Italian bread comes out of the package, the birthday cake is sliced, and there's so many more little details like that which make it so much fun!





They sure don't make 'em like this anymore!

You can look them up on ebay and see they go for a lot more now. Toysrus and a lot of fancy toy stores sell the new kitchen littles sets, but they are not really the same..

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Inventory Time!

This needs to be updated..


It's time to take inventory of my pyrex and other glass pieces! My cabinet is just about finished, but before I start putting any pyrex on it for display, I want to make sure I list everything that I have. This will help me stay away from duplicating pieces as well as help others keep track of what I am searching for, if they just so happen to be out & about and spot some pyrex!

I plan on putting this into a spread sheet, with more specifics, just for myself. Crazy, huh?

Pyrex:

2 spring blossom small round casseroles with lids (size?)
1 verde larger round casserole with lid
1 spring blossom (white) medium round casserole, no lid
1 autumn harvest medium round casserole, no lid
1 bright green oval casserole, no lid
1 white spring blossom oval casserole lid-fits on the green oval casserole perfectly
1 butterfly gold cinderella bowl (size?)
1 small old orchard round casserole dish with lid
1 smaller old orchard round casserole dish with lid

404's:
1 old orchard bowl
1 primary yellow bowl
1 primary green bowl

403's:
1 primary green (turquoise) bowl
1 primary yellow bowl
1 autumn harvest (red) bowl
1 autumn harvest (orange) bowl

402's:
1 verde square bowl
1 old orchard bowl
1 autumn harvest (orange) bowl

401's:
1 blue primary bowl
1 autumn harvest (orange) bowl
1 orange bowl
1 woodland bowl

Other:

Glasbake w/ green flowers-2 different sized small casseroles, no lids
1 Nature's Bounty small casserole, no lid
1 milkglass bubble bowl
1 large white sunbeam bowl
1 white glasbake divided casserole, no lid
1 small orange rind bowl
1 milkglass sea shell bowl
1 strawberry glasbake mug
1 apple glasbake mug
1 virginia glasbake mug
1 zinnia glasbake mug
1 green design loaf pan dish
1 vegetable design loaf pan dish

Saturday, September 5, 2009

The Cabinet


This is the cabinet. We are replacing the side of it that was damaged, and I need to finish priming it. Today we are going to drill the holes in the new side so that everything matches up like it should, and then put it all back together again. I will paint it and then it should be all ready to go either tomorrow night or on monday. Yippee!!

Friday, September 4, 2009

My Pyrex

Here are some pictures of my collection:


My bowls: 3 404's, 3 403's, 3 402's, and 4 404's

My primary bowl set: Green 404, yellow 403, red 402, & blue 401


Greens: These are my spring & summer pyrex pieces.


The lid on this one was found by itself at a thrift store, but when I brought it home I found the perfect lidless partner for it. They were made for each other.




Browns/Oranges:



These are my fall/winter pieces.






Misc.:



My yellow 403 primary on top, and the yellow 404 primary on bottom. See the difference between the 2?

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Friendship vs. Twitter

I really like the Pyrex Friendship pattern. I don't like twitter.
They remind me of each other..so that's why I can't collect that pattern.




Pretty dumb reason but it's the truth. And it's a shame because I really like that bowl.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Why Pyrex?

Why is it that collecting or searching for vintage pyrex is so addicting? What makes it such a big deal to us? Is it because it reminds us of our child hood, or maybe of our parents or grandparents? Is it something we used in our first apartment as adults? Does it remind us of cooking and baking at home, with & for family and loved ones? Perhaps most of all, it is because it reminds us of simpler times. I know I'm pretty domestic-I love to bake and clean house and do typical house chores. It's something that is very relaxing and stress-relieving for me. Are other pyrex lovers like that? Probably not. But I am sure a lot of us are..

I'm not talking about new pyrex or plain pyrex. I mean the stuff I've mentioned earlier on in this blog. Vintage pyrex. Pyrex from the 50's, 60's, 70's, and even early 80's. Sure, I like all sorts of vintage items, but nothing calls attention to me more than pyrex does. When I go to antique or thrift stores, I am constantly scanning for vintage items that catch my eye. The thrill is probably the best part, especially when you can spot something from a pretty far distance. I catch myself racing to the treasure as if the fellow shopper next to me is also secretly a pyrex lover.

Okay so it's no secret. I love pyrex. I also think there are lots of ugly patterns, but it's so nice to see all of the other pyrex lovers on Flickr and see all of the photos of their treasures. It's cool to see complete collections, even if it's a pattern I don't particularly care for.

I can spend a lot of time on Flickr looking at pyrex galleries and slideshows. It seems like there is an entire group of people out there with a love for pyrex like mine. I am sure there are tons more who love it more than me-especially those who collect every single piece they come across.

Hoarding definitely isn't a problem of mine. Like I said in an earlier post, I usually come across pieces that are overpriced, so I just leave them behind. So far I haven't bought any on ebay, so it's not a huge obsession for me. It's just a very comforting hobby that I have. Why am I blogging about all of this? Well, I really just would like to know what it is that attracts pyrex lovers to pyrex.

People all over the world have different kinds of collections. Pyrex is just a very warm and home-feeling collection. It probably really does relate to the whole idea of home, family, comfort, etc. It's a very good thing.

I often wonder about the pieces I do find and end up buying. Who owned it before me? Was anything cooked or baked in it, and if so, what? Why is it here in this store being sold? What happened to the old owner? Did they clean out their cupboards and decide to purge some items? Did they pass away and family got rid of the pyrex? Was the piece part of a set that got lost, and was later found but then discarded in the donation pile? These are all things that go through my mind when I am purchasing pyrex (or glasbake, fire king, hazel atlas, etc.). Each piece has its own character and story, like all antique/flea market items do. That's what makes it all fun.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

PYrannosaurusREX

So, as you can see from my previous post, there are a lot of things that I really like. Pyrex is one of my obsessions. There is nothing like going to an antique store/flea market and finding that ever elusive piece you are missing from your collection. Especially if it's really cheap.

I don't buy every pyrex piece that I find. I only buy the ones I really love, as long as they are a good deal. If they are priced too high (which they usually are), forget about it. Thrift stores & yard sales are probably the best places to find 'em, though. The folks working at antique stores know the deal with vintage pyrex pretty well. And if not, well, then you've found yourself an awesome deal!

The patterns I collect:

Spring Blossom/Crazy Daisy/whatever you wanna call it; also Verde Green & Square Flowers

Autumn Harvest

Primary Color mixing bowl set


Patterns I adore but don't really collect:

New Dots
Butterprint
Butterfly Gold

There are also some Fire King/Glasbake/Hazel Atlas/Anchor Hocking pieces I really like..

It's actually kind of nice that they don't make this stuff anymore. It makes it all the more special when you find a "rare" piece out on a sunday afternoon.

A few of my favorite things

I couldn't help myself. I just had to do a post with some of my favorite things. So here we go:

vintage bowls. especially pyrex.
kitchenaid mixers.
baking
tiny little pies
diy vintage cake stands
Grandma's milkglass bubble bowl
retro kitchen appliances
vintage tin canisters
retro tupperware
swanky swigs
yarn
shark teeth
sea glass
origami
Fossil Beach
really old mansions
bakelite
kitchen littles
re-ment..miniature items


What are some of your favorite things?

Pyrex Cabinet

Since I'm still brainstorming some ideas for nanowrimo (and it's still 2 months away), I am also going to go ahead and blog here.

I scored a cabinet/kitchen hutch/pantry from a lady off of craigslist yesterday. For $20.
Sure..it needs a little work.. My plan is to repair it and repaint it..give it an entire new look. It will house my vintage pyrex!

So last night after we picked it up and brought it inside, I went to Home Depot. Picked up some primer, paint, new knobs for the doors & drawer..

When I got home I gave it a really good scrub down. Later today I am going to get a piece of wood to replace one of the damaged sides. It's totally salvageable..and is going to look like an awesome cabinet for my vintage pyrex! Just wait until you see the paint color I chose.

While walking through the apartment last night I could already imagine the cabinet in its place, with all of my pyrex on display.

Progress pictures soon!