Sunkist Snacker - Vintage Orange Peeler

The hubby and I were getting some quotes on upholstery one day and walked past a St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store. He looked at me and said, Wanna go? I said, Yup! and in we went.

It's funny that going thrifting has become so natural; I think it's because we have learned that there could be surprising treasures lurking inside. I had no luck at this particular store, but Mr. SixBalloons found this snazzy vintage orange peeler made by Sunkist.

The kitschy package reads "The Snacker: Fastest Peeler in the West"! I wonder what they marketed this as on the East Coast... I really love that old Sunkist logo. It takes me back. Can you believe this was still in the original package??

There's some instructions on the back, which I think are pretty funny. Not sure why, I guess it just seems so obvious what you could do with the peeler...

We didn't find any fabulous treasures in this store, but I thought this was a pretty good bargain for 25 cents. We're a little reluctant to open it up because the packaging is so retro and cool, but how else will we find out if it's really the fastest peeler in the west??

Linking up to HLA's Flea Market Finds!

Vintage Pan Am Purse Bag!

With the popularity of the new TV show Pan Am, I was reminded by a great purchase I made at a garage sale almost 10 years ago!

My Dad and I have this thing where we drive around on the weekends in the summertime and shout "GARAGE SALE!" in unison when we'd spot a sign. On one such occasion, we came across a lady selling an assortment of goods laid out on tables. We were her only customers, and most of the items were a bit boring until I spotted this sweet vintage Pan Am purse!

I casually asked her the price and was pretty pleased to hear it was $2.  =)  Don't you love garage sales?

I was always fascinated by this old airline, not having known much about it, but having been intruiged by the luxuriousness of airplane travel at the time. My mom used to check the zippers on clothes when we were kids - she told us that if the zippers said YKK, it told her the materials used were of high quality. I love the quality of the grommets and zippers on this bag. Everything is very sturdy and smooth.

This purse is pretty handy for toting around every now and then. I have to say though, I probably liked it a bit better before they started making reproductions of Pan Am bags!

Linking up to Her Library Adventures and ATG's Thrift Share Monday!

Skillet Cookie Baked in Antique Wagner Cast Iron!

This summer, I purchased an old Wagner Ware cast iron pan at a Japanese Community Centre rummage sale for two bucks! It was dirty and grimy and the seller looked almost embarrassed to be selling it. I happily bagged it up to avoid getting greased up, and carried on.

The underside of the pan reads Wagner Ware Sidney -O- which signified its factory which was located in Sidney, Ohio. Mr. SixBalloons used a lot of elbow grease this summer to clean up this cast iron pan, and we seasoned it to a beautiful shine. I decided to bake a big skillet cookie this weekend using a Martha Stewart recipe.

It was definitely fun to make a huge cookie and cut it into wedges. I left it in the oven a bit longer than I should have, as the edges continued to brown in the hot and toasty cast iron pan. It was tasty and fun though, and I can't wait to try out more recipes in my new pan!

Just a note, we had a lot of fun this summer restoring our vintage cast iron pieces, including the valuable Griswold pan I found a while back. Perhaps I will blog a tutorial sometime indicating how we were able to get these in cook-ready shape!

Linking up to ATG's Thrift Share Monday!

Pink Pyrex Loaf Pan

I found a great deal on a piece of Flamingo Pink Pyrex at my local weekly church thrift sale. I know that pink and red clash but I did use my new little loaf pan to harvest some tomatoes so...

What a bounty! I was pretty satisfied, since this is definitely the most ripe tomatoes that I've ever grown.

Back to the loaf pan - the rectangular fridgie is one of the sizes I use the most frequently, but realistically it is a bit small for baking banana bread. This size and shape seems ideal to me.

Even better? I only paid $1.50 for this piece!

Linking up to ATG's Thrift Share Monday!

Vintage Le Creuset Bean Pot!

On one of my road trips to the Okanagan this summer, I made a great find at a local thrift store. We checked into the hotel and I threw open the drapes to look out the window. Believe it or not there was a huge sign painted on the side of a neighbouring building that read: "Thrift Store - Next Right"!

Of course I skipped over there shortly after putting down the luggage, and reached the store about ten minutes before closing. This was one of those sad little thrift stores, with intimidating-looking people hanging around outside, and awful furniture everywhere inside. I had low expectations, until I caught a glimpse of that flame coloured cast iron I love so much.

I went closer and saw that it was a well-loved bean pot. At first I couldn't believe I'd find a classic Le Creuset piece in a random thrift store. I thought to myself, "This must be a Descoware!" and "It's probably unmarked!".

Then I turned the lid over and ...

... saw a sight for sore eyes! A hard to find bean pot, marked Le Creuset, and priced at $5! Le Creuset currently offers a stoneware version, but I believe it's quite rare to find the vintage cast iron versions. I have seen these sell on ebay for between $100-$200. Yeowch!

The lid does have a couple chips on it and there is crazing on the interior enamel, but this is just such a beautiful little pot. The colour gradient is just beautiful.

It just goes to show you - you really never do know what you'll find in a small town thrift store! This little treasure was located on the lower shelf in the last corner of the store that I looked.  =)

I am linking up to Sophie's Her Library Adventures!