a special address label

Have you ever wondered where a vintage item that you own came from? Sometimes I do wonder. I am especially curious about vintage kitchen ware. If I find the item at a thrift store I think about who may have owned the item before me, how they used it and what their kitchen looked like. What kind of foods did they prepare in there? Was this casserole dish or bowl used at family dinners and holiday meals? I wonder...did they receive the item as a wedding present or buy it from Murphy's or Woolworth? Did they love the item so much that they ended up keeping it all of these many years until they died? Did their relatives not appreciate it and donate it to the charity store?

That is why I was thrilled to find this address label taped to the side of a piece of Glasbake that I bought from a second-hand store last month.

Mrs. Mary Wilkins owned this pan. She must have loved it enough that she decided to tape her name and address to it so that it would be sure to be returned from the neighbor whom she baked a cake for or the church pot luck, which was lucky enough to have one of her special dishes.

I'm sure Mary would be pleased to know that her pan has found a good home.

A great home to be exact.

A home where vintage kitchenware is loved - so much so that it is even put on display for all to appreciate its beauty.

A home that enjoys baking and cooking for the ones that it loves - especially when done in a piece of colorful vintage bakeware.

I love your pan Mary. I will enjoy it for years to come. It has already been put into service making a chocolate cake. I've even decided to keep your address label to remember where the pan came from. Maybe I'll even stick one of my own labels on the pan like you did to carry on your tradition of baking for others and giving of yourself - all the while expecting the pan to be returned empty, waiting be filled up again the next time.

With love,
Mrs. KayteeJane
Oakmont, Pennsylvania

Hello

Hello Friends,
I've been taking a little break from the blog. I've been busy with work and family and haven't made much time to post here. I have been posting a few pictures a day on Instagram. It is so quick and easy to just snap a photo on my phone and post it. If you are on Instagram please follow me! My IG name is kayteejaneshouse - easy to remember huh?

There haven't been any estate sales, church sales or yard sales around my area at all these past few months - just too cold and dreary I guess. I can't wait for spring to kick in so that sales pick up again. I'm also really looking forward to going to flea markets again. I can't wait!

This past weekend I did manage to go to a few thrift stores. Pickings at the thrift stores have been lean, but I did manage to find a few things after hitting about three different stores. Here is my haul from last Saturday.

Some of this will be for sale but I have decided to keep the milk glass basket - it already has jelly beans in it, the yellow Pyrex bowl and the drinking glasses.

I have also been playing with my Pyrex. Here is my attempt at a spring display. I added this cute metal cabinet to my dining room recently and I'm using it right now to hold some of my Pyrex.

 

I'm always on the look out for cool display pieces to show off my collections. I am maxed-out right now with furniture but when I see a great display piece my wheels start turning. Just this morning I saw this amazing old store display for sale as part of an estate sale ad on Craigslist.

Be still my heart. I love it! This is the picture that was posted in the ad. Of course the piece is miles away from where I live and also a tad bit pricey - so it is doubtful that this beauty will be mine. Oh well. I can dream right? I can just imagine all of the Pyrex bowls I could stack on there!

 



Until later - happy Spring and happy vintage!
Love,
KayteeJane

Vintage Hammered Aluminum

I found two vintage hammered aluminum serving dishes at the Goodwill a few weeks ago. They were only 99 cents each. They have very pretty floral designs on them. My daughter gave me an idea to use the tiered tray to hold perfume bottles on my dresser. Here it is ~

I decided to use the other tray to hold jewelry. It really is a pretty one. I love the twisted handle on this one.

So the next time you see a piece of hammered aluminum think about using it on your dresser.

KayteeJane

Recent Finds

I have been going to my favorite thrift store every Friday night after work as a little end-of-the-week treat to myself. I haven't found much. I did luck out and get 2 Pyrex casserole dishes. I was especially pleased that one of them was Butterprint and had the lid. It is in mint condition.

The other one is "Forest Fancies". It did have the lid but there was a big chip in it so I just got rid of the lid. I have extras so it wasn't a big loss.

At an indoor flea market I bought the 401 Autumn Harvest bowl. I love the color of this one. I plan to use it in the fall. Also found a Floraline planter in matte white.

I also bought this cute apron at the flea market.

Not a huge haul but I am still pretty happy with what I did find. All very cheap also!

KayteeJane

Thrift Store Finds - December

I have been doing some SERIOUS thrift store shopping over the last few weeks - and I've scored some amazing things! After months of finding nothing special, my luck has changed and I've been finding some good stuff. I've always thought that December is a great month for thrift store shopping. My theory is that while most people are out shopping at the box stores buying Christmas gifts, the thrift stores aren't as busy and the good stuff is ripe for picking. Just a theory - but I'm about to prove it right.

First let me begin with these. This has to be the BEST find yet from a thrift store in my shopping experience. Not vintage - but awesome still. The only thing to top these would be the Pyrex Christmas bowl (which I'm still waiting to find).

The back story on these is that my oldest daughter has been wanting a pair of UGGs for while and asked for a pair for Christmas. Now if you are familiar with UGGs you know how expensive they are. That is why I've not bought her a pair before - too pricey. The boots at the thrift store just happened to be in her size! And - here is the amazing part - I only paid $1.49 for them!!! I am not kidding. I decided to give them to her the night that I bought them - instead of for Christmas. I cleaned them up a bit and she has been wearing them every day since.

I also found this set of Hazel Atlas Crinoline dishes in pink this past weekend at a Goodwill store. Happy Christmas to Katie!! I am tickled with them. There are 12 dishes, 8 cups & 11 saucers. Plus a sugar and creamer that matches. (not crinoline pattern but also Hazel Atlas). I can't wait to use these on Easter. They are so sweet. Baby Shower anyone??

I decided to buy these Mary planters from the thrift store this weekend also. I've never collected Mary, but being that it's Christmas I thought they would be pretty on display. They are vintage Haeger pottery.

And these came home with me too. I have a weakness for hand crafted things at the thrift store. I envision some sweet grandmother making these - only to have her family donate them to the thrift store years later - oh how mean!!! OK I know I am insane, but I can't help but feel for these sweet granny-square stockings. They are hanging in my dining room as I type this. A new home - a new life!! ha ha

I enjoy thrift store shopping more than any other kind of shopping around. I love the hunt, the thrill of finding something vintage or getting an amazing deal. When I'm Christmas shopping at the mall or box store I don't enjoy it at all. It zaps all of my Christmas spirit (and my money). I'm telling you - you can find some awesome things at the thrift stores if you take the time to visit often. I believe that you could probably buy several items on your Christmas gift list from the thrift stores - and your recipients wouldn't be the wiser.
I did just that when I bought both my daughters a pair of Christmas jammies at the thrift. I actually hunted for PJs at Target and Kmart a few weeks earlier but couldn't find anything in their size. I was lucky enough to find some at the thrift store. I didn't have to spend a lot of money on them - which in the long run is great because I doubt they will wear them more than a few times anyway. I also found some great vintage items for a few people on my list who appreciate old things. I (can't show pictures because the people I bought them for do read my blog.) Anyway, you get the point. Happy thrifting!

KayteeJane

Pyrex Loaf Pan

As I mentioned in my last post, I was lucky enough to find a few pieces of Pyrex at the thrift recently - after what has seemed like a very long dry spell. This was one of two pieces that I bought from the same store. I don't usually buy Butterfly Gold because it isn't a favorite pattern, but I made an exception because i didn't own a Pyrex loaf pan. {This is the first one that I have found since starting to collect.}  Here it is in use. I made Banana Bread. 

I love it! I think it was only $1.99 too - which is awesome. I love it when I get lucky that way. 

KayteeJane

Week Night Thrift Store Run...

This week I needed to take a last minute trip to the thrift looking for something for a project. I didn't find what I went there for, but I did come away with a few things.

I bought these orange candles. They are the perfect color orange for Halloween. I think they look good against the white milk glass.

I also found this sweet little pitcher. It was only 99 cents. It will make a cute little vase.

These finds - which cost me next to nothing - made my Monday evening!

KayteeJane

Projects

Seems like I have bought quite a few "project" items lately. All of these were found in the last month or so at yard sales or thrift stores.

Vintage School Desk - desk & base to be spray painted.

This cute metal cabinet. It is a nice petite size. This will be spray painted & a new decal added. Might use this as a night stand in my daughter's room - or maybe not. I also thought this would be great in a play kitchen. Purpose to be determined later.

Cart with wheels. This was also only $2. Not quite sure why I bought this other than it was a good deal. I keep seeing similar style carts from IKEA on some of my favorite blogs. I plan to paint this a cute color and then either use it as a bar cart or craft cart.

This "chippy" mirror. The mirror has a lot of silver showing through but I am going to keep it intact. I am also not going to touch the frame - love the distressed paint. I plan on putting window screen over the mirror and using this to hang necklaces and jewelry.

And the best for last - this amazing metal glider.

This will take some sanding and painting to bring it back to life. I have a major soft spot for vintage gliders. I love them! I was very excited when my husband found this for sale online at great price.

Lots to do - but at least these are fairly easy projects to accomplish. I will show the finished results when complete.

KayteeJane

Retail Therapy

I have been engaging in quite a bit of {vintage} retail therapy these days. This may or may not be a good thing, but it sure does feel good when it is happening. The up side is that most of this stuff was purchased for far less than new retail - so of course I can justify buying it in that case right?

Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment which just happened to be located right next to a St. Vincent de Paul store {oh how convenient!}. So after my appointment I decided to reward myself with a stop there - just in case there was any Pyrex to be found. I lucked out! I walked out with 6 pieces of Pyrex plus some other stuff.
Here is my cart while wheeling through the store looking for treasures:

 Once home and washed up:

I can't believe my fortune at finding an almost complete Butterprint "fridgie" set. I have all of the pieces now except for the lid to the loaf-shaped one. I also bought some Butterfly Gold fridgies. This isn't one of my favorite patterns but I really like the small ones. I was able to find 2. Because I bought those I didn't want to leave the loaf-shaped piece behind. I don't know why I do this - as if the item has feelings or something - but at $1.99 I figured I would buy it and either gift it to someone or use it in some way.

Speaking of "fridgies" I have been using the small ones as bowls. I have a lot of them without lids. I do use these with lids to store leftovers, but I find that they make such a nice sized bowl and so cute too!

I also found some more milk glass. I think I have a problem when it comes to this stuff. I already had the bowl shown to the right. I use it to hold fruit. When I saw the mate I decided I just had to get it. The metal tray in the background was also found at this same trip. It was 59 cents.

Here is a picture showing a corner of my kitchen where most of this stuff sits ready to be used. I do use everything that I find. If I don't it goes. Period.

I also found this. If you have followed my blog for awhile you may have seen my pictures of another of these vases in pink that I received for Valentine's one year. There were two of these in white on the shelf. I bought them both! One is to keep and one to sell on etsy.

To top this day off Hubby found these two bowls at a church sale that he stopped at on his way home from work. What a coincidence! I didn't already have these two. I prefer this style of bowl to the princess style. I already used these for serving last night's dinner.

More finds from the same church purchased earlier:

Lastly I found this "fairy light" a few weeks back at a Salvation Army store. I have been casually looking for one for a short time. My mom had some of these when I was growing up with an owl face. Not sure what happened to them. Recently I saw people on Instagram post pictures of their fairy lights. I was inspired to try and find one for myself. I was super excited when I found this one.

 It looks so nice when lit. 

I hope you don't think of me as a hoarder! I promise you that I am keeping things in control!

Thanks for stopping today! I appreciate all of you for visiting!

KayteeJane

Vintage Children's Picture Books

Hubby was at a thrift shop recently (without me) and found these amazing children's picture books from 1949. I wanted to share some pictures of them with you. Each page is as charming and vibrant as the next. Since I love most anything from the 1940's and also children's toys & books these were a great find.

The covers:

Some of the inside pages:

 

And my favorites:

Tails Waved - Love that!!!!

If it wouldn't destroy the book I could see framing some of the pages. 


Sometimes you can find some real gems at the thrift!

KayteeJane