Best Thrift Store Finds of the Year!

Now that 2011 is coming to a close, I've decided to start reminiscing about my "Thrift Hits of the Year"! It's been a great year of collecting goodies, and I hope you've enjoyed coming along for the ride. Click on each link to read more about it and see additional photos!

First up is this vintage Royal Quiet De Luxe Typewriter in amazing condition. I fell in love with the details found in the fonts and parts, and the sturdy construction of this piece... it was working perfectly and was a great bargain at $15!

This gorgeous vintage Le Creuset Flame Cocotte was found at my first-ever estate sale... I was so tickled to find a few months later that the official "True Le Creuset" site mentioned my post here.

At my favourite local church thrift, I picked up these Vintage Peep Toe Ballys... Yes, Five Dollar Ballys! In my size!

This little Danish Teak Bird Pencil Holder stole my heart at another church thrift sale... and at 50¢ was a crazy steal. I made sure to send some donations their way this year. I haven't found out any more information about it, except for someone who contacted me from Switzerland to tell me he had the same piece. =)

This Promotional Pyrex Aqua Blue Scrolls bowl is from 1959 and I cannot believe it was sitting on a shelf for two days at Value Village before I came and rescued it.

Even though I love many more things that I was lucky enough to find this year, these are the standouts looking back. Of course, thrifting is full of pros and cons... Last week I went through some of the Things I Regret Buying at the Thrift Store, but I don't mind donating them back for a good cause.

Linking up to Colorady Lady's Vintage Thingie Thursday and Vintage Scapes' Thrift Hits of the Year!

Pyrex Promotional Dandelion Duet 1959!

Christmas is just around the corner! I did, however, have time to stop at the church thrift and take a quick look around on my way home from the mall the other day.

I was rewarded by the sight of this beautiful Pyrex Divided Dish in the Dandelion pattern. You might recall that last year, Mr. SixBalloons purchased this same Pyrex Dandelion dish, with lid, for me at the thrift for Christmas... And now I have two!

I didn't get as good of a deal as Mr. SixBalloons did... I paid $4 for the piece without lid. It is in perfect condition, and I was happy to come upon this fairly rare piece from 1959.

We have lots of fun plans with family and friends over the Christmas break this year, and it's going to be great to get a little break from work.... Merry Christmas! I hope you all have a safe and restful holiday!

Promotional Pyrex Green Blue Leaf Twin Server!

I really have to say, Pyrex pulled out the stops with their promotional pieces in the late 50s. I was fortunate enough to find a great piece from 1959 in a beautiful milk glass with green and blue leaves on it!

This piece was originally sold as part of a set with a pair of bowls on a brass carrier cradle. The box set was referred to as the Pyrex Twin Server. I looked high and low but was only able to find this singleton... I purchased it during a half price sale and paid one whole dollar.

A friend of mine actually commented that the pattern reminded her of the Cathrineholm lotus leaf pattern. I think the blue and green hues make me think of it too! I like the way the blue fades into the green colour, and how the crisp lines remind me of holding a leaf to the light and seeing its spindly texture.

I am loving the way it looks perched on the classic fave, my blue fridgie that I like to use as a loaf pan...

I have been really lucky with finding some promo pieces over the last few months... If you are interested, check out my Pyrex Blue Scroll Bowl, my Christmas present Pyrex Dandelion Divided Dish, and my first promotional piece, the Pyrex Rooster Pan.

Pyrex Aqua Blue Scroll Promotional Bowl

My cup runneth over! I am very happy to report (while knocking on wood) that I have discovered another Pyrex Promotional piece. This time it was a $5 score at my neighbourhood Value Village, a turquoise coloured Blue Scroll Cinderella Bowl!

Doesn't it look great stacked with some of my other favourite Pyrex pieces? I have my Christmas-present Pyrex Dandelion Divided Dish and Pyrex Delphite Casserole supporting their new friend.

This Blue Scrolls bowl is from 1959 and I understand that it was originally sold with a clear glass dome lid and brass stand with candleholder. None of the accessories came with this great piece, but I was so happy to discover this bowl. When I caught a glimpse of its beautiful colour, I thought I was looking at the Balloons Chip and Dip set, then quickly realized it was a pattern I was not familiar with.

Pyrex also had a Green Scrolls pattern which had a similar motif in gold on a minty sage green background which is also stunning. I'm so glad they made a promotional piece with a variation of that pattern as this has quickly become one of my favourite Pyrex finds of all time!

Linking to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday!

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!

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. :)