Starbucks City Mugs

At my favourite church basement, I came across two Starbucks 2002 Skyline Series City Mugs.

At first, I was going to choose the Chicago one but when I saw the pricing discount for the pair, I just had to get them both. I felt pretty cheap afterwards that I can be so easily swayed by a dollar. Ha!

I'm glad I did since the Victoria mug sells for $25-$30 on eBay.  I was surprised that the Chicago mug is not a high seller, but it is probably because it is more common. I guess lots of flights stop over in Chicago, so more collectors have access to that city.

I have always loved these oversized Starbucks mugs since my sister bought me the Santa Monica one from the original City series. I rarely see them at the thrift, so I was pleased to snag these, given their mint condition!

Love the Legislature buildings shown on the design!

Esquire Cook Book 1955

Last Spring, I picked up this great vintage cookbook at a United Church thrift sale in the FREE pile and forgot all about it. I took it with me because of the whimsical drawings on both the cover and inside of the book.

It is the Esquire Cook-Book published in 1955 and illustrated beautifully by American illustrator Bill Charmatz. Charmatz was known for his editorial sketches, and was featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated, and of course, Esquire Magazine.

He passed away in 2005 at the age of 80, but this wonderful book provides such a quirky look into recipes catered towards men... in the fifties!

I love this image of the poor fellow fretting over what he sees on the scale, while being surrounded by thoughts of all these tempting treats!

Like any typical recipe book, this one is organized with appetizers, types of meat, dishes for entertaining, etc. I love how this tuxedo-clad gent is kicking up his feet in anticipation for his party.

This book is going for big bucks on etsy, with some sellers pricing it at almost $70! I sure am glad I plucked it out of the free bin - it may have been destined for the dump otherwise.

There's also a neat centrefold set of drawings teaching the readers about butcher cuts of meat - my photos don't do them justice - they are worthy of framing and putting up in the kitchen!

Linking up to Vintage Thingie Thursday!

UPDATE: For some reason, blogger won't let me comment on my own posts...! Rest assured I am enjoying your lovely comments, but unfortunately I can't respond to them (this glitch has been going on all week).  I'll keep trying; in the meantime, please keep leaving me your thoughts!

Pyrex Pink Daisy

I love Saturday mornings, because that's when I get an opportunity to visit my regular church thrift stops. Last Saturday, the friendly volunteers mentioned that the proceeds from the sale were going to a Boys and Girls Club in their neighbourhood.

Instead of flying straight over to the housewares section, I milled about in a quieter area of the store when I first entered. I was rewarded with a Pink Daisy oval divided dish in pristine condition!

It came with its own clear lid and was priced at $3. One of the volunteers told me that she just placed it on the table. I looked around and realized that they were putting out all the new stuff in this area where it was nice and quiet!

There were some amazing treasures in that place. This magical new-stuff table had a basket labelled "Vintage Leather Gloves $2" with ridiculously buttery ladies' gloves. Not only were they the softest leather I'd probably ever felt, some had handmade embroidery-like edging details, cut-out patterns at the cuff, and came in blacks, browns, and whites. I know I am gushing here, but they were simply magnificent.

Luckily for the next person, the gloves were much too small for me. My hands are fairly petite, so either people were built differently back then, or the gloves were for little girls. Either way, I loved having the chance to admire them and appreciate the handiwork that went into creating them, and I happily walked out with my first pale pink Pyrex piece!

Vintage Pyrex Promotional Rooster Pan

After a delightfully lazy Saturday morning, we decided to visit the local church thrift store in our neighbourhood. Thinking that it closed at 2pm yesterday, we took our sweet time and arrived at 12:55pm. Eek! We realized that it actually closed at 1pm and raced in for a quick look.


Once we entered, a nice volunteer told us that they were closing up soon. We did one quick tour, and I darted over to the kitchen section. The clouds parted, the sun shone through and I saw a Pyrex promotional Rooster Black casserole pan with lid!


The pattern was in perfect condition. There was no fading nor colour loss on the nice roosters and sunflowers.


This is a really handy size and I'm glad to add it to my collection. It's similar in size to the yellow casserole pan / fridgie that is in my Pyrex Primary set. I like the contrast of the black design on the milky white background; it really emphasizes the good condition of the markings. It's hard to believe that the piece was produced in 1958, according to Pyrex Love.


This was a real steal for $3!


I'm sure glad we made it into the thrift store with five minutes to go, or I would have missed out on this nice piece. :)

Thrifted Basil Windowsill Planter

I was running some errands on the weekend and noticed that a church in my neighbourhood had a sign outside for a Saturday thrift sale. I screeched to a halt and popped in for a look. It is hard to believe from the outside, but the church has basically converted their auditorium/gymnasium into a thrift shop! The stage was being used for storage of stock that hadn't been sorted yet. It was much bigger than I imagined from the little sign outside on the street. Even though I love thrift shops, I found it a bit sad that they closed down a useful space and replaced it with a store.

The number of looky-loos confirmed that this is a popular hidden gem with the locals. I spotted a bundle of beautiful colourful fabric in a nice floral pattern. It was two drapery panels in a previous life and a lot of fabric for the $6 I paid. I'm still trying to figure out what I can make with them... I mean, have someone make for me!


I spotted a nice vintage red flour sifter too but I put it back since I'm not much of a baker. I did pick up a little wooden kids' stool for $1.50 since I think this will be nice to have in the garden when weeding. I might also paint it white and have it in the kitchen so I can reach the upper shelves!


I scored a nice aluminum vintage loaf pan which is now repurposed as a basil herb planter. It'll look great on the windowsill when my seedlings grow into larger plants. It was 50 cents, a great price for a new planter!