In my kitchen

Today I thought I'd share some nice additions to my kitchenware collection, some from Sydney, some from France, some from here...

I bought this beautiful vintage compote at a little brocante market in Paris on our recent trip. It cost 5 euro, they were also selling the most beautiful matching soup tureen for 10 euro but would have been way too big to carry on to the plane home, sniff..

I found this massive cast iron Doufeu back in sydney before I left but don't think I ever shared it on the blog, it cost 15 dollars in Vinnie's and is perfect for big roasts and slow cooking.

Another French find, from eBay this time. I still can't believe my luck finding these stunning vintage turquoise Le Creuset saucepans designed by Enzo Mari in the 1970s!!! They are in fantastic condition at a great price and the great thing is that postage within the European Union is pretty OK so I can now stalk fab bargains on eBay France to my heart's content :-)

A few more Pyrex cinderella bowls to add to my collection, the green shamrock bowl has been on my wishlist for ages!

I have started collecting the little round Pyrex casseroles also known as 473s. This gorgeous blue and white pattern is called "Colonial Mist".

So far I only have 4 different patterns but I'm patient :-)

These cute little JAJ Pyrex (English Pyrex) casseroles cost a total of 3 euro in Oxfam here in Dublin. The patterns aren't necessarily my favourites but they're great for storing leftovers in the fridge :-)

That's all for now, what fab things have you found lately?

Tropical

I often find that my mood or the weather can totally affect what I end up bringing home with me from a market or rummage sale. On a gloomy cloudy day I often bring home dark teals and blues and heavy wooden homewares or on days where I am in a fantastic mood I bring home bright cheery retro items. Today for example is a beautiful sunny day here in Sydney, it's the second last day of Winter and 25 degrees celsius! I visited a church sale this morning and it was only when I got home a while ago that I realised my purchases have a definite tropical outdoorsy feel to match the fabulous sunny weather :-)

I love French shopping baskets, they are very in style at the moment and can cost a lot, this one was $3.

This cute hurricane lantern was $1, it will look fab on our deck!

I can never turn down a gorgeous jar, I have been looking to find one big enough to fill with fairy lights and leave outside on our porch, this is perfect - $2!

I usually don't even bother opening picnic baskets to look inside anymore having found they are usually pretty nasty but the cute compact size of this one drew my interest, it's in fab condition and I love the palm tree motif on the fabric, so tropical! And only $2!

You know what's going to happen to this raw pine little key cabinet don't you? Yes, it's going to get a good old coat of Duck Egg blue paint and a cute new handle :-) It cost $2.

My boys have outgrown some of the cutie vintage items I bought when they were younger but no boy is too big for a boat - $2.

This bamboo trivet was $1!

Cute little wire home scene - 50 cents.

I bought 6 of these love heart wire hangers in varying sizes for 50 cents each.

And what have all these finds been sitting on for their photoshoot? This fab cane side table was $2!!! I put all my other stuff in it and lugged it home on the train and bus, well worth the effort.

So including the brand new black leather Kindle case ($2) and three Mr. Men books I also bought (50 cents each) my entire spend was only $22!!!

Now to hide all my stuff and hope that since it's been so long since my last post my hubbie doesn't bother reading my blog anymore. But I hope someone out there still does :-)

Fave Flea

Twice a year a nearby Church runs a flea market which is one of my absolute favourite haunts for finding lovely things. The market held a few weeks ago was no exception...

A beautiful pie dish.

A pretty tin.

Elegant salad servers.

Yet another wire egg basket.

A beautiful Royal Doulton plate.

More Pyrex!

These wine glasses are so pretty, it's hard to see in the photo but the glass is slightly bubbled.

And a cute, retro lamp.

The grand total for all these items was $15.50!

My boys always eagerly await my return from this particular market as I usually bring home pressies for them. This time was no exception - puzzles, Star Wars glow in the dark ships and Clone Wars walkie-talkies. Everyone's a winner :-)

$5

On the way to the beach one day, while my Dad was here, I mentioned a little rummage sale in a nearby church that happens once a month and my Dad said he'd be happy for us to stop off and have a look. This is how lovely my Dad is, he has no interest whatsoever in markets, lives with a serial hoarder (my mum) and is on a constant de-cluttering mission.

BUT he does read my blog and knows that my collecting habits are in control (for now). I am equal parts my Mum (bower bird) and my Dad (de-clutterer / minimalist). I think it's this combination that stops my "stuff" from ever getting out of control. Every few months I feel the "urge to purge" and either donate unwanted/unused items to charity shops or sell them on eBay. I have also curbed my buying in the realisation that I only have so much space for my things and there is absolutely no point in having heaps of vintage stuff tucked away in cupboards, unused and unloved.

Anyway, I digress...

Back to the afore-mentioned rummage sale. My middle munchkin was in tow which meant it had to be a quick dash (why do little boys hate shopping so much?)

I had picked up a couple of little things and thought that was that until I Dad pointed at a box I had missed and said "you like this sort of green pottery don't you?"

Look!

Better still, check out the price!

Only $5 for this dusty box full of beautiful celadon glazed pieces from Thailand. My Dad is right, I LOVE this stuff, I have featured some of my collection before on this blog and Dad was obviously paying attention.

They cleaned up beautifully...

Well spotted Dad!!! :-)

Stuff

It's hot here in Sydney today, I've spent the morning running around the garden and jumping on the trampoline with my littler boys and am totally exhausted, so forgive my inability to come up with a better post title. Say it like it is, here's some recent stuff I've bought...

The anglophile in me couldn't resist this Union Jack Tray for $5 at a market, very timely considering the recent royal engagement.

Another tray, this one was $2 at a market, it was made in Italy and features lovely botanical illustrations with latin titles.

This lovely rustic wooden model of a sewing machine was $2, it makes a nice display piece.

I really adore this sweet apple circular cloth, I think it's for a table as it's quite large, will look cute in the playroom. Made in Denmark - $1.

These pieces of fruit are really heavy, I think they're made out of granite or some sort of stone - $3 each for the larger ones, $1 for the small one.

Continuing on the fruit theme this beautiful large carved wooden fruit bowl was $5. There should have been 3 apples in this photo, after I set it up I went off to get the camera, when I returned there were only 2 apples. The distant sound of munching led me to D scoffing down the missing apple in the hallway ;-)

A fabulous casserole in the most beautiful green glaze. Made in Portugal -$4 in Vinnie's.

Another lovely glazed piece, made in Japan - 50 cents in Salvos.

I think these deer and bowl go really nicely together.

The bowl cost $2 at a market.

And I think I paid $5 for the pair of brass deer at the same market.

Head over to Sophie's to check out others' fab finds...

I'm going to go and climb into the fridge to cool down now ;-)