...Bucky and Becky.

I'm really going out on a limb and dating myself here... Does anybody else out there remember 'BUCKY & BECKY'? As in the mascots for W.T. Grant's little Restaurant/Diner/Coffee Counter - 'THE BRADFORD HOUSE'.... ANYBODY? ANYBODY? Made a quick stop into one of the usuals yesterday on my way home from work, and I spotted this stack of Restaurant China... PYREX... .

(Now, don't get me wrong, but THANK the THRIFTING POWERS THAT BE I have NOT been bitten by the 'Pyrex Bug'!!! I DO appreciate it for what it is, and will pick it up at sales when I see it for a good price - but am NOT tempted to keep it!. Living in Central Upstate NY - very close proximity to Corning, there is an abundance of it, and we all grew up in houses where it was used on a daily basis, and everyone knew someone or was related to someone who worked there...).

Upon closer inspection of the plates, I discovered the BRADFORD HOUSE LOGO 8-) . OH, the memories! I used to spend quite a bit of time with my Grandparents when I was little, and on shopping trips, we always made a stop at GRANTS - quite often eating at The Bradford House! Somewhere I have a photo of a Breakfast with the Easter Bunny that I won through a coloring contest sponsored by Bucky & Becky. To eat? ALWAYS the clam strips. Anyways, back to the plates - there were 9 plates - even numbers sell better, I picked out the eight best, put one back on the shelf... but I couldn't leave one lonely plate sitting on the shelf, so they all came home with me. They even inspired me to go dig through my 'stash' and see what other pieces of PYREX I had that I could put on at the same time...

Turns out I had quite a few. ( I WASN'T PLANNING on keeping them - REALLY!! I had just been too lazy, and needed some motivation...) but now those Bradford plates gave me inspiration ('cause I know if they hang around they may cause temptation!). PHEW! They are A.L.L. on ebay now (free listing of 100 items this week- YEH!!), and if they don't sell (shipping is WAY to expensive!!) they ARE getting donated and OUT.OF. HERE.! (one little blue snowflake fridgie without a cover has a small thin chip to the rim - I'm gonna toss it, anybody want it for the cost of s/h?)

These are my only PYREX 'must-haves'... In our family, Mac-n-Cheese just doesn't taste right unless it is made in 'The Large Red Bowl' - and THAT is the only thing that is allowed to be made in that bowl!!

But then there is still the issue of that Ninth Bradford House plate...

...bring on the...

GUMDROPS!
because we all KNOW, no matter how BAD the thrifting is,

or how BAD the Day in general has been...

a GUMDROP can't help but make you smile for a minute...

(and a GUMDROP TREE, now that's just icing on the cake!!)

...so what's a girl in need of a 'stuff-fix' to do??

I've shown you the results of a few VERY Lackluster days of thrifting last week, and when my Friday morning 'usuals' only yielded this grapevine wreath, it was barely enough to keep me from 'throwing in the towel'.

Friday night, after work, DH & I had a 'Hot Friday Night on The Town' - ran errands, visited the inlaws (which now includes a stop at the Nursing Home - always a Fri. night treat!), dinner... . Got home and settled in for the evening with warm comfy clothes and slippers. DH was working on a project on the computer. All of a sudden I put my coat and a hat on (still in slippers) - DH looked up "WHERE are you going??" SILLY! Of course he should know the answer to that, dressed the way I was, at that hour of the night... " To the ATTIC!" (aka "fairweather STUDIO".



Oh, EVERYONE should have an 'ATTIC' or a place of retreat when thrifting gets dire, (or when thrifting is Very good for that matter!!). 'MY' attic is 'MY' haven. 'MY' studio. 'MY' storage. DH gets the garage. I get the attic. No, I have not broken down and let DH finish it off and climate control it... YET. It is still in it's unfinished glorious form. Yes it has full insulated wood floors, new windows & new roof; but the rafters are all uninsulated & exposed, yielding it about 15° warmer than the exterior in the Winter, and much warmer than the exterior in the Summer. Spring and Fall are Wonderful though.

I digress, so I was on a mission to the Attic. I had remembered the Grapevine wreath I had purchased that morning. I grabbed a basket and went 'shopping' in my massive stash.

Silver garland - check

'Junk' RED ornaments - check

'Junk' PINK ornaments - check

Hi-temp Hot Glue Gun - check

Lotsa Glue - check

can't feel my fingers anymore, gotta go back downstairs......

So, this snowy weekend was spent 'destashing' - thanks to inspiration from Sonya over at Dime Store Thrift. What do you think - an improvement on the 80's grapevine wreath? I personally prefer it this way!

Oh, I guess I could have spent the weekend doing something productive like cleaning or putting things on ETSY - but isn't this FUN?!!

Hope you are having FUN even if 'the stuff' is eluding you!

"...the council is NOT amused."

Does anyone remember that famous line from the old Bewitched series, when Samantha would occassionally have to appear before the Witches council? Well, that pretty much sums up 2011, thus far, for me in regards to 'stuff'! The 'weather' didn't hit our area until sometime early this morning, so this past week I was out scouring the thrifts, junk-shops, 2nd hand shops, next-to-news, consignments, and any other 'Port in a Storm' that I could find to fill my need for a GOOD FIX. But, alas, I hit a record (for me!) eleven different stores within a week with VERY UNREMARKABLE results!!!! Here is the loot that I brought home in it's unedited form... (are you ready for the excitement???)

scarf and fleece hat to brighten up the day to day wardrobe

a couple of Retro Geiger tops, coming soon to an Etsy shop near you

a bag full of vintage seam bindings, new & used, priced too good to pass up, can never have enough of this stuff - can you?!

OH - there was ONE SCORE.....

VERA! 2011 #1... a Bunch of Grapes!! (perfect for the FingerLakes where we Love our Wine!)

*Another purchase, but that was SOO NASTY & TACKY, purchased with a direct project in mind - and already partially rehabbed- that it shall wait until the 'after' photos are ready, so you don't think that I have completely lost my mind!

Come on 2011, you can do better than this ~ Right?!

...2010 - The year of the TIGER.

My Holiday Celebrations 'officially' came to a close on 1-2-11, after a girls' day with my bestest buddy! One of my gifties from her was this 21" tall Royal Haeger Cat in my beloved Mandarin Orange glaze. (2011 #1)The Chinese New Year doesn't begin until 2/3/2011 and is the year of the Rabbit.

2010 was the year of the Tiger, I guess this is an appropriate way to see the old year out 8-) !!