Starbucks Christmas Mug and Coffee Set

Here is my third and last thrifty find from the Holly Bazaar.

I normally wouldn't buy a thrifted food item, as in the bag of Starbucks Christmas Blend coffee but it was the brand new mug that caught my eye! I am actually not a coffee drinker but my dad is, so I figured for the three bucks, he could use the mug and toss the coffee beans.

When I got home, I saw that the underside of the mug was stamped 2012, so I thought maybe this coffee isn't stale after all. I let my dad decide, and he inspected it and concluded that it was sealed and probably ok... All in all, three bucks well spent, me thinks!

Thrifted Christmas Glass Ornaments Handmade in Ukraine!

So at the Holly Bazaar I went to last weekend, I figured we had arrived too late to snag anything good on the ornaments front.

Luckily, I am an under-the-table-box-rummager. There were half empty Martha Stewart decorations and boxes of mismatched ornaments, all marked $2. Then I spotted an unopened box of great looking bulbs.

Also two dollars! The box said that they were handcrafted glass ornaments made in the Ukraine and originally cost $25. Ulp.

I am still hoping to find a box of vintage Shiny Brites someday (I have never seen any in the wild) but these were a great score too!

Peanuts Snoopy and Charlie Brown Satin Ball Ornament

I have been checking out all the thrift eye candy from people posting all their Christmas finds, and it is making me excited for the holidays!!

I have a little Christmas thrift haul to share, from a church sale I went to a while back. Nothing too earth shattering, but I think I got a couple nice items. I love all Charlie Brown items, especially the vintage stuff, so I was excited to find this satin ball ornament from the 80's.

In fact, I snagged this $2 grab bag just for that ornament, really!

I also grabbed this box of nice red glass ornaments. Can you see the price tag there? When I went to pay, they charged me fifty cents EACH for the four balls... That wasn't really what I had in mind, but I don't mind too much when it's a fundraiser.

Poor ole Charlie Brown, he looks so cute and sad at the same time.

Out of the $2 grab bag, the three items above are what I kept. I have a thing for those old wooden ornaments.

And these four went back to the thrift!

I'm linking up with the great folks at http://sirthriftalot.blogspot.com, Apron Thrift Girl, and a-living-space.blogspot.com!

Christmas Decorations from the Thrift Store!

I made a point this weekend to hit up the thrifts to find more decorations for our first Christmas tree. =)

My favourite find at Christmastime are those glass ornaments with the glittery decorations. I was able to get three ornaments in this beautiful blue colour with snowy trees, and three pink ones with the snowflake design. Each ball was 35¢!

I also found a grab bag of goodies at the hospice thrift store... For a dollar, there was a small set of mini lights, along with some assorted ribbons and bows.

The last place I hit up on the weekend was the local church sale that happens every Saturday. I arrived bright and early and didn't find much, but noticed that the nice volunteers were just putting the new Christmas items out. I scored two sets of mini-lights in great condition for 50¢ each!

I really love thrifting at places where so much care is taken with the products being sold. The lights were in neat bundles, and had already been tested.

The other neat thing was how the lights were packed up in this old Lumberland hardware bag. Lumberland was the local building supply store that my Dad and I used to go to. They were purchased in 1997 by Revy, which was then purchased by Rona. Can you believe that was almost 15 years ago!? I doubt these lights are that old, but I appreciated the step back down memory lane!

Linking up to HLA's Flea Market Finds and the Penny Worthy Project!

Vintage Pink Apron

At one of my favourite weekly church basement sales, there is a section devoted to linens - tablecloths, handkerchiefs, towels, etc. and I always like to take a look to see what's there. The other day, I visited and spotted this beautiful vintage apron.

It's in great condition and I love the delicate floral pattern and eyelet trim. Not to mention the colours! The pale pink and mauves attracted me to pick it up in the first place.

Once I iron it, I think the pleats along the front of the bodice will look perfect. How could I resist for the $1 price!?

I wonder if this was handmade by someone? The size is a bit on the small side. I'm not sure if it's meant as an apron for kids. It is really too bad that these vintage treasures we find can't tell us their stories! I'd love to know how old this is.

Hope everyone had a great weekend of relaxing or shopping. I'm hoping to find some good Christmas decorations at the thrift this week for our tree. =)

Linking up to Flea Market Finds!

Pyrex Promotional Dandelion Divided Dish

There were some great presents waiting for me under the Christmas tree this year. Mr. SixBalloons surprised me with a great find he made at a thrift store just five blocks from our house... A Pyrex Promotional Dandelion Divided Dish!

The dish is in great shape, especially considering that the design is in the fragile goldleaf print. Not to mention it is from 1959! As a gardener, I am always on the hunt for dandelions before they go to seed in my yard, but I can still enjoy this print, especially if I call it Pyrex Thistles instead.  =)  I was able to pry out of my hubby that the dish cost him three dollars - almost as good of a bargain as the Rooster Promotional Space Saver that I scored a couple months ago.
 

There was no lid with this piece, but I do have one from my Acorn Gold divided dish, so I will use that one when needed.

We also received a great KitchenAid professional series mixer in the beautiful pewter colour:

I admit that my heart started racing at the prospect that perhaps, perhaps, inside the box would be the vintage Hobart avocado green mixer that's sitting sadly in the kitchen in Greece. One day we'll meet again. For the time being, we are really excited about the new mixer and are thinking up great recipes and new things we can do with this powerhouse!

Christmas Wish List!

I know it's getting a bit late in the year to be thinking of Christmas wish list items, but here's a few things I'm dreaming of.

I'm sure Le Creuset lovers will agree that bringing back the classic vintage versions was a great move. The beautiful Le Creuset Heritage Collection Cocotte looks so great in the timeless flame colour, plus the updated new shades. So shiny...

I definitely don't make pate nor terrines, but I could certainly see myself cooking up a delicious lasagna for two in this Le Creuset Heritage Collection Terrine.

Then there's the Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights Classic Set which has eluded me, despite being in my hands at a thrift store. Darn you, second thoughts! Look at that haunting image of Heathcliff on the cover of Wuthering Heights, hating himself and the world around him.

The not-so-vintage Fisher Bullet Space Pen for us geeks out there. This handy tool is great for those who travel a lot, or like to do crossword puzzles or sudoku anywhere, anytime!

 

Then for the kiddies in my life, this Super Cute Gardening Tool Set for Kids!

The Hunter Welly for Little Kids and Big Kids

And finally for the Little Chef in training, this Cute Desserts Apron with Chef's Hat!

I try not to buy too many things at Christmastime, but the most important rule for gifts in my opinion, is that the gifts should go on to create great experiences for the person who receives them. For instance, I love the idea of gardening or baking with my nieces when they receive new "tools" at this time of year! I can't believe Christmas Eve is just one week away!   =)

Thrifted Christmas Decorations!

I love shopping at thrift stores over the holidays. Shops seem to hoard all the Christmas themed items throughout the year and bring them out after Halloween (at least in Canada since our Thanksgiving is in October) so November is a great time to find holiday goodies.

I've always liked the warm glow of the older, non-LED Christmas lights and was tempted to purchase them new but found them instead at the hospital thrift store for $2! I tried out the plug and it lit up beautifully. I believe this set is either new or was barely used.

I couldn't resist these two packs of unopened tinsel strands. Such cute boxes and perfectly brand new for 25 cents each!

Same price for this card of 12 jingle bells. They made such a great sound when I picked them up. I think I'll either string them onto an ornament (one bell to an ornament with a ribbon) or attach them to Christmas gifts!

Christmas in May

A couple weekends ago, we had a nice outing at St. George's school "Mayfair". St. George's is an all boys, high end private school in the lush Dunbar neighbourhood in Vancouver. This is no regular school fundraising event. They were selling raffle tickets where the grand prize was a $40,000 BMW Coupe!

The fair includes many components - a midway for kids games, the international food fair, tents dedicated to plant sales, book sales, homemade baked pies, a "fashion mall" with lots of lightly used brand name clothes, and my personal favourites, the Marketplace with art, jewellery, household goods, and toys.

Aside from the delicious Apple Crumble pie that we brought home, we scored some great deals. My favourite find was a bag of wooden Christmas ornaments. Look at the cute faces on the angels!



Now that we are starting our new home together, I am really excited about building up my cachet of ornaments for many Christmases to come. These remind me of ones we hang every year at my parents' house. A bagful of these bells and angels was mine for 50 cents.



Hubby also scored a great find. He and his brother always pined after a slot car set when they were kids, but it was just too expensive. We definitely didn't have that problem at Mayfair, as we spotted a big cardboard box labelled $3 on the side that contained a double loop set with remote controls and a yellow Mustang. We know this is the Artin Wheels of Fire set because we found the exact same set at a Salvation Army store in February with the original box... but no cars... for $10.



So for a total of $13 we have gotten ourselves a set that would have cost a couple hundred dollars brand new. Woohoo!



We also picked up a couple of other knicknacks like some supplies for my edible gardening project. I picked up a little terra cotta pot for 10 cents and it's happily housing my Little Marvel heirloom bush pea seedling. I also got a bright blue melamine tray that is perfect for holding my seedling trays!