Another Before And After! This Time It's A Clean-up Tip. Ever Had Bar Keepers Friend Recommended To Clean Knife Marks Off Your China? Guess What, It Works! Status: Skepticism Fail.

Years ago I found a pair of yellow Fiesta dinner plates at the thrift store with utensil marks all over them.  Some kind soul recommended that I try Bar Keepers Friend to clean them up and I passed, choosing instead to use 0000 steel wool, baking soda and a lot of elbow grease to achieve the same result.  Today, I eat crow.

Well...This Little Group Of Franciscan Duet Is The Last Of The Sunday Columbia Mo. Booty. It's Not So Impressive Except That I Actually Need That Salt / Pepper Shaker Set And Those Ladles Aren't Exactly Easy To Find. Status: Added To The Collection.

So these were actually two different lots from the same vendor.  I wasn't sure if I needed the Gravy Boat but I wanted that ladle.  The salt and pepper shakers where a shot in the dark too.  Turns out I needed 'em.

I'm Sorry!! This, The Blog And Work Are ALL I've Been Doing For The Last Week! But Looky, I'm Just About Done With This Space! Status: Open For Business.

I told ya it wouldn't stay nice and pretty. I just HAD to put More Stuff in there! And I'm not done. I've got some more art to put up high on that back wall and some shelves to install on each side of the chrome and glass unit.

You Just Gotta Be Gettin' Sick Of Seeing This Booth By Now, But This Is What I'm Up To At The Moment. Plus, I Can't Really Be Buying Up Much Right Now...Moving The Shop Stock To A Space Half The Size! Status: Gettin' There.

::sigh:: Honest, I really do wish I was capable of keeping booth 195 this uncluttered. It's just not gonna happen. I got too much stuff and not enough space...anyone could see there gonna be trouble.

I Won. I Think I Made The First Sale At Our New Shop: Fleur De Lis - Home Source! Had A Customer While Setting Up Yesterday. Status: It Has Begun.

I was at the new shop yesterday afternoon hanging some artwork when our first cash in hand buyer walked right in that front door.  I'm not certain but I'm pretty sure I sold the first item!  The Franciscan Salt and Pepper Shakers are officially Gone!  The buyer also gave the Drexel Profile dining set a good looking at and I expect it to be gone soon to as it's garnered quite a bit of interest lately.

OK, Here We Go! It's Not A GRAND Opening But We're Going To Be Welcoming You To Stop By Tomorrow (Saturday 02 / 02) To Take A Little Look 'Round At Fleur De Lis - Home Source. For Those Of You Who Can't Make It, Here's A Preview. Status: Almost Ready.

I've been busting my hump trying to get things setup and solid at our new shop this last week or so.  I was there cleaning up on some of my wares and delivering more stock last night until 3:30am!  Gotta say, I like that I can do this since I am not a morning person and I've got a day (well, second shift) job. 

Well, It Seemed Like It Was Time To Take Stock Of My Franciscan Starburst And See Where I Stand. Dragged The Whole Lot Out. Status: Wow!

After acquiring another dinner plate from the thrift store a few days ago I got to wondering how many dinner plates I actually had.  Uhm...a lot.  A Whole Lot.  Time to take inventory.

It Ain't Much...One Silly Little Plate...But What A Score! Having Quite A Sizable Collection Of Franciscan Starburst, Do I Need Another Dinner Plate? Status: Yup.

I was gonna feature this lil' beauty yesterday but those amazing Giancarlo (coolest designer name ever?) chairs showed up and I just couldn't wait.  I found this Tuesday morning before heading in to work having popped into the two remaining Florissant thrifts to check the local traps.

State Of The Union...Or What Was Buried Under All That Mess. Nightmare Before Christmas Party Tonight, Had To Clean Up. Took Some Pics Of The Joint. Status: Believe It Or Not - Much Better.

Tonight was our annual "Nightmare Before Christmas" party that we throw between Thanksgiving and Christmas every year as a way for all our friends to have a break from family obligations and such.  The living spaces in the house have been in such a major disarray that it took a LOT more effort to get the house into some semblance of order, or at least enough so that it wasn't Totally embarrassing.

This HUGE Set Of Canonsburg Temporama Dinnerware Popped Up On Craigslist Friday Afternoon. I Couldn't Resist. Status: Added To The Vast Collection.

OK, so I talk a big game about searching craigslist without using keyword, but for real...I still do it. I DO, in fact, miss a thing or two by plowing headlong through reams and reams of ads to find those what lack the oh so useful keywords. Would have missed these had I not...and that would have been sad.

The Visit To Broadway Antique Market In Chicago Yielded So Many Pics That I Thought I'd Split The Lot Up Into A Couple Of Postings. Here's The Smalls. Status: So Much Good Stuff!

I still find it amazing that there are "antique" malls in Chicago that deal almost exclusively in vintage modern.  I wonder if they curate their vendors in a way to ensure this great selection.  In any event, the selection is absolutely amazing.   But this serious Mass and Quality of selection comes at a price.  Although I was able to pick up a couple nice bargains here, most of these vendors know Exactly what they have and have it priced accordingly!

The Green Shag Parking Lot Sale Was (IMHO) A Success...AND I Was Good, Mostly! But The Dishes, They Was A Callin' My Name. Status: "Against Which, No Can Defend" - Mr. Miyagi

This was it.  This was ALL I purchased at the (what I'm hoping will be just the first) Green Shag Parking Lot Sale.  Success (ish)!  C'mon, I was there to SELL, not Buy!  But Rocket Century...those bastards...they had my number....and that number was M - C - C - O - B - B and T - E - M - P - O - R - A - M - A.  What?  Oh, yeah...not numbers.  Sorry 'bout that.

Oh My Stars! What's This? More Franciscan Starburst Dinnerware For The China Cabinet? Yes, Virginia...Craigslist Does Provide! Status: Taken.

A nice lot of Franciscan Starburst dinnerware popped up on craigslist a few days ago and although not stupid bargain priced, I thought for sure they would be snatched up tout de suite.  I even called a friend of mine who also collects the Starburst (Illuminate) to give her a heads up as her collection isn't yet as sizable as Mr. Modtomic's.

While Not An Actual "Best Of" List...This Is A Compilation Of The Most Viewed Posts Over The Last Year. Status: The "Best" (As Always) Is Yet To Come!

Here we are again.  Last year I made a list of "best" scores or fails.  I hadn't been blogging for a whole year back then so I couldn't do a "best" of my blog.  This year I scrolled back through all the post and tallied up the most viewed and well, here it is.  Most viewed Postings by yours truly for the last 365 days!

Pulled All The Russel Wright (Whew...) And Dragged Out The Franciscan Trio. Status: Keepin' It Real.

I got bored with all the Russel Wright in the china cabinet and since we're having a change of season, I thought it might be time to change up the display.  It's all Vintage Modern Franciscan now and for the time being.  I was surprised how much R.W. I had to put away!  I got LOTS.

Estate Sale Box Of Booty With A Surprise Inside! Status: Available...Mostly.

While I was at the Belleville estate sale last weekend I kept passing by this box of dishes without giving it a second glance. I was busy buying up the goodies and then taking pics of the joint. But then I stopped long enough to notice that even though I'm not much into the mustard yellow color there was a little something else about this box-o-dishes that didn't quite add up and maybe I had better take a closer look.

Zero For Three. I Am SO Done With Auctions. Status: Why Even Bother / Fail?

I spotted this fantastic Jere "Birds In Flight" sculptural piece in the pics for a local estate auction. Nearly nothing else at the auction seemed like it related to this piece or it's style and the auction was on a Thursday morning so I was hoping there wouldn't be many other bidders for it. Pphhhh...whatever.

Saturday Morning Estate Sale Booty! Sleep? SLEEP? We Don' Need No Steenkeen Sleep! Status: Sleepy.

Was is worth staying up all night and further messing up my sleep schedule? Yup. It was Not the score of the year such as the Amazing Franciscan Starburst Haul from last year but neither did I submit myself to possible frost bite. No, this was a more civilized stake out for a more subtle prey.

I Opened The Door...Spotted This Table...Turned Around To Get The Camera Out Of The Car. Status: Lucky Find!

Yeah, we totally lucked into finding the Antique Warehouse Mall in Memphis TN. We were just winding up our vacation and accidentally drove through Memphis. The Girlfriend had talked me into staying overnight in the area and while we were absorbing the last of cable TV we'd be enjoying for a while when I found this place on the internet.

Let It Never Be Said That Mr. Modtomic is an Ungenerous Man. Status: Finally Thoroughly Thawed.

The evening went pretty much as planned. Arrived early enough to be there before any sane individual. Sat in the car until bored. Jumped out and pissed off the second person to arrive. Froze until morning.