Vintage Sesame Street Lamp Light Fixture Cover

I'm sure you all know how I feel about Sesame Street by now, so I was pretty pumped when I came across this sweet light fixture cover recently.  I believe they produced several designs in the Sesame Street series during the 80s.

It was marked with the princely sum of $1.00 so I tucked it under my arm and continued shopping. I once left a similar one behind at a thrift because it was too expensive for my tastes, even though it had a glum-looking Bert glaring at Ernie, who was up to no good.

With the name of my blog being Six Balloons, I also thought it was pretty exciting to have something vintage, Sesame Street-themed, and with balloons on it!

There are so many vibrant colours on the glass, and it was in perfect condition... until I accidentally snapped the corner off!! I fessed up to the church lady of course, and purchased it, justifying that I could at least share this depressing story with you readers.

The chip is right in the corner near Cookie Monster and it's too dangerous to keep as it's so sharp. I put it out in the Recycling Box this week with a wistful sigh! I'll chalk this one up as one of my Thrift Fails and move on!

Linking up to Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm!

Vintage Ball Mason Jars!

I had never found antique Ball jars during my earlier thrift adventures, but I am happy to report that I collected three of them over the past couple of weeks! Ball jars were produced between 1888 and 1961, so it is a real treat to find these in such good shape.

My first discovery was at a new-to-me thrift store I happened to pass by with my sister. The little charity shop located in Ladner had a large box full of mason jars, and I grabbed the one Ball Jar for 50¢. My non-thrifting sister was shocked to see on our way out that someone had purchased the rest of the box! Close call...

The next two were waiting for me just the other day at my local thrift store that's about 8 blocks from my house. They usually have some neat glass pieces, but nothing like these beautiful old mason jars. One of them even had its original zinc lid ring.

All jars of a certain size are priced the same, so I paid 35¢ each for my loot. Can you believe that used Miracle Whip jars were selling for the same price??

I learned that some mason jars were coloured to better preserve the nutrition and flavour of canned goods. It was thought that blocking the light would slow the foods from breaking down. Clever!

One of my jars has a light blue tint, and another has a brownish hue. It's the dark colours that are most valuable to collectors, so mine are on the ordinary side. It's perfectly fine with me though, I love how the volume markings are on the side of the jar, making them practical and nice to look at!

If you're interested in checking out the beautiful Super Le Parfait vintage jars I found in the past, please check out my post here!

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

Michael Jackson Greatest Hits Music Book

Can you believe that tomorrow will mark exactly two years since Michael Jackson passed away? The world was stunned with the death of the King of Pop. I remember breaking the news to two people - a generation apart, but I got the same reaction of shock and sadness.

Shortly after the news hit, I found a vintage Michael Jackson Greatest Hits Keyboard Music book from the 80s at the thrift for 99¢. I had to buy it.

I feel so bad when I reflect upon MJ's tragic life. He obviously had many struggles and issues, but what an amazing singer, dancer, and entertainer. Did you know that he did not write down his music on paper? When he came up with an idea, he would get out a tape recorder and sing some lines so as not to forget.

When I was a 5-year-old Kindergarten student, my Mom would pick me up at school at lunchtime. Being the youngest of four kids, my afternoons with Mom were rare moments of just the two of us hanging out. One of my favourite things to do together was watch the MuchMusic channel (the Canadian version of MTV), where we'd often marvel at the cutting-edge Michael Jackson videos.

The book contains many of my favourite Michael Jackson songs... There are so many amazing ones that get my head bopping but my current favourite is Man in the Mirror. I love the lyrics, the music, and the message!

Do you have an all-time favourite Michael Jackson song?

Linking up to Thrifty Things Friday at The Thrifty Groove!

Little Marvel Heirloom Peas Growing in the Garden!

I am growing an heirloom variety of peas this summer called Little Marvel, and the beautiful pods are emerging from the creamy white flowers.

I love seeing the delicate peas when the light is shining back behind the pods! Little Marvel only grows to about 4' in height and is well suited to container growing or on its own in the garden.

I staked about five pea plants around a green tomato cage, which acts as a trellis for the peas. This cluster of pods and flowers shows the little tips clinging on to parts of the trellis and each other.

The curly tips are so beautiful. They're reaching out for something to cling onto as they reach for the skies.

Also exciting to see in the garden is my garlic scapes, a SixBalloons garden first! Did you know that scapes tend to be ready for harvest around the date of the Summer Solstice? Interesting.

What's growing in your garden?

Linking up to the Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage!

Dru Holland Cast Iron Oval Au Gratin #36

I found my first Dru Holland enamelled cast iron piece this weekend, a beautiful oval au gratin roasting pan! I had seen photos online of the delicate tulip shapes, so when I spotted it, I knew right away what it was. The marking underneath of "Made in Holland" confirmed it, not to mention the fact that I could barely lift it. =)

I believe this piece was made in the 1950s; a similar piece in the same pattern was shown being used by Meryl Streep in the movie Julie and Julia.

The pattern came in other colours, like yellow with brown flowers, and turquoise with green flowers. The larger roasting pots had a big tulip motif within the pattern, but these shallow roasters only have the three-prong tulips seen here.

By the way, the cute padded stool was a $1.50 purchase from the old folks' home. I'm not sure whether to remove the upholstery and repaint the little bench or leave it as is.

I've shown my Le Creuset #20 Au Gratin for comparison on size. This #36 is a whopper, and I am a bit intimidated about using it. I figure a big chicken roast might be in order.

Unfortunately, another difference aside from the sizes are the conditions of the two pans. This Dru Holland piece has seen some better days and could use a good scrubbing. I still think it was a great deal at $4 from my local thrift store.

Linking up to Her Library Adventures' Flea Market Finds!

Purple Alliums in Bloom!

I had an interesting talk with my father in law this weekend. We drove by a huge swath of overgrown grass by some railroad tracks in Vancouver, and he sighed. He said that back in the old country, droughts brought on great struggles. Goats had to be herded to areas less affected by drought, and farmers had to pay land-owners for the "use" of their grass for feeding the animals.

He always found it funny that here in our rainy Spring seasons, we grow and mow our lawns, put the clippings into plastic bags, and dump them in the landfill... I think home gardeners everywhere can make a dent into this strange modern way of living with every bit of waste that gets composted, and every crop that is harvested.

For myself, I usually tend to go with veggies instead of flowers, but these hardy allium bulbs always make an appearance in my garden.

Back in the Autumn, I lined up the bulbs to create a little border. Check out this great splash of colour from my front yard alliums! It is hard to believe that just a few short weeks ago, they were waiting to burst forth.

I'm so relieved to report that I have transplanted most of my tomato plants now, after such a wet and cold month of May. I have a good combination this year of heirlooms and heavy-producing hybrids in the garden and can't wait to see how everything grows.
Better to be harvesting juicy fresh tomatoes instead of having a bit more grass to mow, right? =)

Cuisinart Chopper and Bodum Coffee Press Thrifted!

No vintage goodies for this post, but I do have a couple items from the thrift shop to share, at great prices. I considering purchasing these items at full price at one time, but was able to find them both for bargain basement prices!

I snagged a Cuisinart Mini-Prep Plus food processor at the Wilson Heights church thrift sale, for the princely sum of $4. I tried this little guy out at the church thrift sale to make sure everything was working well. The lid isn't perfect but I kitchen-tested it with a batch of white bean dip and everything turned out alright.

Another score at the old folks' home thrift basement was this Bodum coffee press for $1. Yahoo! I first came across the Bodum press when having tea at a local restaurant. It's perfect for loose leaf teas, and I like how this is suitable for single serve portions.

Although I'm usually on the lookout for vintage goodies and collectibles, I can't say no to practical items at the thrift sometimes. Hopefully I will get a lot of use out of these two new-to-me items, and at $5 for this thrift haul, they were cheap enough to justify. I'll be experimenting with whipping up dips and chopping veggies in my chopper, and enjoying some nice hot cups of tea. =)

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday and Her Library Adventures' Flea Market Finds!

Le Creuset 1980s Floral Design

I had a reader contact me regarding a great Le Creuset enamelled cast iron piece found at a yard sale in Florida. It is a beautiful white oval dutch oven from the 80s with a painted floral design.

This piece was purchased for $10 and looks to be in perfect condition! What a bargain.

According to Le Creuset, the design is called Petits Fruits by Perla Meyers. It was designed in 1983 and produced for about 20 years. The only thing I can find out about Perla Meyers is that she is an author of cookbooks, and produced one specific to Le Creuset recipes. I am not sure if she consulted on the design and lent her name to the line? That seems like a very modern way of using celebrity names for marketing... Like Graham Ramsay dinnerware for Royal Doulton...

As you can see, the sizing noted on the underside of the lid uses the vintage lettering convention rather than our numerical sizing we see on modern Le Creuset pieces.

I am actually working on a post that will provide sizing guides to all your favourite Le Creuset pots and pans! I think it will be a handy reference tool.

Thanks to CB from Nova Scotia, Canada for sharing this lovely find with us! I hope you are getting plenty of usage out of this beautiful piece!

Copco Michael Lax Kettle

I attended a popular Spring Church Sale recently, patiently waiting in a huge lineup to get inside to check out the goods. After waiting about 20 minutes, everyone surged in - it actually seemed borderline unsafe... I hate crowds, so I decided to have a quick look at housewares and be on my way.

One of the tables were lined with people and I craned over their heads to look, and found a simple looking kettle with a teak handle. It was in the style of the Michael Lax Copco kettles but there were many knockoffs made of this Mid Century Modern design. There have been many times when I turned similar kettles upside down to see "Japan" marked on the underside.

This time however, there was no mistaking it: "Copco Michael Lax Design - Spain" was written on the underside! Another beautiful sight was the little yellow sticker reading $5.00. I first came to know Copco pieces, some made in Denmark, when I discovered this lovely red Copco Skillet.

I should have known by its heavy weight that it was a quality made item. I have fawned over this piece in the beautiful blue colour, but this pale peachy colour has its charm too. The teak knob and handle are in fairly rough shape, however. I think I am going to try sanding it down and applying mineral oil to it, similar to how we refinished some pieces in the past.

I really love the simple look. In fact I am also loving kettles lately and seem to keep finding great ones. If you'd like to read more about refinishing teak and other wood kitchen items, read about using foodsafe mineral oil here.

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

Vintage Vancouver Canucks CCM Hockey Jersey

Regular readers here will know that I love my Vancouver Canucks. Tonight was the first game in the Stanley Cup finals and we came out victorious! The whole city is totally pumped.

A few months ago, I made my regular rounds at the Value Village, passing by the sports jerseys section. I saw a flash of my beloved vintage team colours on a jersey sleeve, pulled it out and found a nice CCM Canucks jersey with the old skate logo.

Priced at $11.99, I was alright with it until I spotted a hole near the crest on the front of the jersey. I decided that my local seamstress would be able to whip up a quick fix for a few bucks, so I brought it up to the till and mentioned it to the clerk. She comes back from speaking with the manager and says, "Would you believe that the new price is $7.99?" Woohoo!

I love the bottom trim on the back of the jersey with the stitched logo. I wonder why CCM lost the deal to be the official supplier of NHL jerseys... The honour now lies with Reebok and their Rbk hockey line.

Value Village pricing is an interesting (clever) place; when I visited the store just before the playoffs started,  I saw the same jersey in a different size selling for $49.99.  Talk about inflation!

The boys have won 13 Games so far... three more to go from here. GO CANUCKS GO!