I ♥ Vintage

Sigh...it's Friday again. Oh, had you noticed, too? For me, that usually means
what has become a somewhat bad weekly habit for me: the flea.

I speak here not of little parasitic creatures, but the flea market. You see, I love vintage things.
Adore. I love them because they are unique, quaint, cute, charming--but part of it is
also the hunt; stumbling across that too-cute tschotske that you (or maybe just I) have
to take home. The bad part is, I often find A LOT of stuff in the "take home" department
(Especially because the flea market trip is often interspersed with a lot of yard sales!).

Nonetheless, with all the events coming up, I will have to say good-bye to my little
guilty pleasure, at least for now. But not without sharing a few of my recent finds,
that is...(insert maniacal laughter here).

I'll start with this painting :) I don't know what about it caught my eye exactly, besides
being beautifully painted. It just makes me feel good! The back has the artist name and
the year: 1979.

I'll move on to some kitchenware--because what proper housewife doesn't indulge in
household-y vintage purchases?

I have no idea where or how I'll use the bowls, but they were so cheerfully painted (and cheap)
that I had to get them.

This canister I will use to hold my baking stuff--rolling pin, whisks, etc.

And aren't these vintage utensils cool? Our kitchen is red, so they'll be perfect
to display somewhere!

I love that their labels are still on...

...but what is this for? I looked up the words and it means "cup parsley" in French. Huh?
Okay. I wasn't going to use it anyway ;)

A cute old red chicken to match the afore-mentioned utensils, of course. Shelf company!

This is a cool ladle-thing that I saw Martha Stewart using on her show. Doesn't she make
just about anything seem so practical and necessary for a well-run kitchen?

These are the things you find yourself buying as a mom: "baby" cake pans. Because you
know your daughter will LOVE them :)

I'm going to share the following item even though it may be a little hard to...
because Jakey broke it :(

It was a beautiful pottery bowl and cup, in one of my favorite colors--the softest,
palest blue.

This sisterly, shabby chic-ish little pair of bowls don't even begin to make up
 for it, but it's a very small start.

Plus, who could resist the price?

Here he is getting on another find, a vintage stool in the best condition ever...not that it will
last, with those tar-black feet of his.

Oh Jakey!!! Lol ;)

 On to other miscellaneous curiosities...

I didn't know I was in a bit of a yellow mood until I got home, but I'm glad I was.

I liked this happy little family portrait as soon as I saw it. Aren't they cute?

And the mama! Don't you just know she was a spunky one?

I've always been enchanted by old black-and-white photographs. My family
never really had a lot of old family pics, so maybe it's wishful thinking? To me,
an album full of pics from, say, the 40's is a magical thing!

Next comes this brass candleholder. Like the style, not the brass-ness so much.
So I'll just paint it! White would do nicely.

As long as there are little girls, there will be fancy little china tea sets.
Thank goodness.

 Cute cutlery and all.

 And for when we need a slightly larger basket to lug our lunch and other
tea cups in?

 A huge, bulky picnic basket, of course! Because mommy thinks it just the bees knees.
And so, even if it is completely impractical, mommy will dutifully pull it out for the next
picnic.

Okay, I've saved my favorite find for last! It is sort of a children's item, although
not these--

 (Like-new pajamas for a dollar?? Bibs for 50 cents? Only at a yard sale! That's why our
 philosophy is: if it is in good shape and can be washed, scoured, bleached, or scrubbed--
we'll take it!)

My favorite recent find is...my new LeSportsac diaper bag!

 Ok, maybe it's not meant to be a diaper bag. But as soon as I saw the colorful pattern, I knew
that's what I wanted it for. I added some little pins I had for added spice :)

I always drool over these cute bags, but they are usually a bit pricey, even at
discount stores. I've noticed they sell similar knock-off type bags, but the quality
in this one is so evident. It's a good thing I stopped at the small little yard sale where I found
it, because the nice lady there had so many cute things in pristine condition.

This bag came with another matching cosmetic-type bag inside--for $1!

Yep, there certainly is an allure to finding second-hand stuff!

Have you found any good scores lately?




p.s. I have to confess this post was totally spurred on by Carol
and her charming blog, Old Glory Cottage--visit her for more thrifty-n-cute finds
at oldglorycottage.blogspot.com!