Frozen in Time

We stayed at this heritage home in Mytilini, the capital city of the island Lesvos in Greece. It belongs to my husband's family who made this house a home from 1984-1989. I learned that there are several families who emigrated to Canada, then missed home and brought their children back to the old country. Some families realized that their "new" life was in fact better, and made a more permanent move to Canada.


This has meant that some family homes in Greece are stocked with "vintage" North American goods from the 70s and 80s. Because the homes remain in the family but are not necessarily occupied full time, much of the kitchen wares and textiles are preserved in great shape, and not thrown out and replaced.




I love the attention to detail that you see in older homes. Even the mouldings around a door are something to stare at in appreciation of the work that was put into it.


Speaking of work, my father in law spent countless hours in the 1980s restoring the interior of this house. He tells me that the woodwork on the staircases and interior doors were painted over and over like an old boat. He used a torch and scraped all the paint off by hand to recreate and salvage the natural beauty of the house's staircases, banisters, and interior window/door frames.


We stayed at the house for about two weeks, admiring the details and using appliances from the 80s. The North American washing machine for instance, had a mailing address for any customer service enquiries to the General Electric company - these days we'd pick up the phone toll free or just email!


It was a great experience to live like a local in a place that felt like home and was full of surprises and delights behind the cupboards, in the attic, and in the travel trunks. The view outside our windows of the orange and lemon trees out back is something I won't soon forget.

Thanks everyone for indulging me in my vacation report - next post will take a look at what I found behind the cupboards!

It's All Greek to Me!

Hello Readers, I'm back refreshed from a great trip to Greece! I've missed home, and of course, blogging and visiting everyone's websites. We have lots to catch up on.


There are certainly beautiful sights in Greece - from the clear blue waters to the bustling markets, my trip was like a feast for the eyes. There were also vintage treats in old kitchens, with colourful pieces like Tupperware and Pyrex!


These shots of the Aegean are taken on the island of Santorini, formed by volcanic activity. It is amazing to see the villas, hotels, restaurants, and pathways carved into the cliffsides.

The beautiful streets were lined with vibrant flowers, and the markets bustled with fresh fish and produce.



There were modern features to be seen at the HeliExpo in Thessaloniki, like this solar tree:


And not so modern features at the White Tower!


Most of our time was spent on the island of Lesvos where we stayed at a heritage house with a vintage kitchen full of beautiful pieces and lovely textiles. More on those in an upcoming post!


Goodnight for now!

Off to the Greek Islands!

SixBalloons is leaving for vacation tomorrow! The excitement is kicking in - we are off to the Greek Islands to soak in the sights. I can't wait! Hopefully I come upon some neat finds, but for the next three weeks, I don't expect I'll be able to post. Amidst the packing, I was able to squeeze a little visit to Value Village yesterday.


When I arrived, the clerk was unloading new goods in the kitchen area. Yeeps! First I saw an Opal White #441 cinderella tabbed mixing bowl and then... a stack of four #401's: two in the light pink colour, one Butterfly Gold, and one Friendship. What are the odds?


After much consideration, I only picked up the Friendship bowl. I love the clean look of the Opal White but I already have this exact same bowl, in much better condition. I know light pink is coveted, but the colour was quite faded, and get this: I think the previous owners used it as a bowl for paint. The interior was rough and there was dried paint left on the rim of the bowl! Oh that poor Pyrex. I am pretty proud of the restraint I showed. Best to save my hard earned money for vacation treats!

Have a great three weeks everyone! I hope to have some great photos to share!

Found and Lost in Mexico - Silk Jaeger Scarf

I had a great day thrifting a couple of months ago with a couple of unexpected gems... Diamonds in the rough. The first was a set of vintage orange Tupperware measuring cups. They were so cute and colourful and best of all, in perfect condition. A quick look on etsy tells me that two of the smaller sized cups are missing from this set, but I'm happy with my find.



The funny thing is that these cups were buried in a cluttered plastic basket of not-so-goodies. Ick. I also spotted a yellow plastic grater labelled in lower case: "got-relb made in germany". I have never seen an item like this before and am a bit perplexed on what to do with it. A google search didn't show me much, other than a white-coloured one that some website in German was selling.

As I was paying for my loot at the till, I noticed a little drawer of used scarves. Usually I shy away from clothing items but I noticed a beautiful pattern and couldn't put it down after taking a quick peek. The beautiful floral pattern, soft feel in my hands and great condition drew me to it. I quickly paid for it and left, and when I returned home I noticed a tag that read JAEGER London / Milan / etc. Some googling tells me that Jaeger scarves were sold at Harrods and Harvey Nichols stores back in the day. Huh. Not sure if that's all accurate but it's still a nice scarf.



So fast forward to last week when I was in Cabo San Lucas for a vacation... We went for a walk along the beach - the wind was crazy! At this spot on the tip of the Baja Peninsula, the Sea of Cortes meets with the Pacific Ocean and creates huge waves. I was using my great scarf to protect my neck from sunburns, and it was doing the perfect job keeping me cool and covered. When we were nearing the part of the beach near our hotel, my hubby says, "Hey, what happened to your scarf?" Groan. A light scarf during face-whipping winds could travel a far distance and when we turned around to look it was nowhere to be found.



I wish I had some better photos of the scarf but now it's gone to where the wind has taken it! I suppose the best thing about thrifting is that I spent $2 on a wonderful scarf that did its job. The worst thing is that I likely won't see that nice pattern again.