Not Much Time for Fun

I really haven't had much time for fun this summer but I couldn't resist running in Goodwill recently. I hate the way they have rearranged the store. All of the dinnerware and glassware used to be in the back of the store in nice, neat stacks on shelves. Now it is scattered all over the store in wire baskets on top of the clothing racks. Unless you are six feet tall, it is really hard to sort through items that are at eye level!

Enough of the complaining! On to my treasure for the day - a Vernon Kilns platter in one of their plaid patterns with not a chip or a scratch! Vernon Kilns has six different plaid patterns so I am going to have to figure out which one it is. At first I thought it was the gingham but the gingham is yellow and green. This one is brown and green. (Note: Turns out it is rust, deep green, and chartreuse. Who knew??) I will have to do a little research.

Vernon Kilns' Tam O' Shanter - Doesn't this just scream 1950s?

A nice find for a quick stop, On the Backroads With Buster....

A Few Local Finds

I picked up a few local finds this week. First, I have to say that I am a big believer in the local library. Each spring the public library has a book sale. They get rid of the old to make way for the new. And, boy, does the public benefit while helping out the library. I spent $24  and came away with 18 audio books and twelve paperbacks. The audio books were $1 each and the paperbacks were $0.50. That should feed my need for reading material for a while. Why so many audio books? I listen to them on the way to and from work, and on long roadtrips by myself. Audio books are stress relievers on the way to work, and keep me alert on long trips. (Be prepared to fight the crowds and bring your own bags or boxes for your purchases.)

18 audio books and 12 paperbacks - $24

After the stop at the library, I decided to hit a few favorite stops and try out a new one. Relatively new, Heron House is located on Hwy 90 in an old pharmacy location. As soon as you step through the door, you are asked to stow purses, diaper bags, ect. in a locker with a key. You keep the key with you as you browse around the store. The store is arranged in little vignettes. As you wander through the store, you are gently guided through the aisles from the beginning to the end so that you don't miss anything. The items are a little more high end than I usually look for but if you need a whole set of bedroom furniture or a sofa and matching chair, you won't have any trouble finding it here. These items are in great shape and are ready for living - no refinishing needed.

On to America's Thrift Store in Tillman's Corner. My daughter was just telling me that it is just "so tacky" that she doesn't have a sugar bowl to match her Blue Heaven dinnerware. Lo and behold - a sugar and creamer (minus the lid) for $1.49 in America's Thrift! (Don't tell Buster but I stole a lid from his yellow sugar bowl. It fits perfectly!) I don't usually get that lucky to find something that I need when I need it. Next, I came across a bread plate in a mid-century pattern that I love.

The Blue Heaven sugar and creamer - $1.49. The "borrowed" lid fits just right.

Mid-Century pattern (Taylorstone Cathay) bread plate - $0.50

I have to run in Goodwill when I am out this way. I happened to arrive as they were putting furniture on the floor. I spied a small dresser that didn't even have a price yet. The young man rolling it into place said he would send someone right out. The man came out and eye-balled it, and said, "Mmmm, it needs a little work. How about $15.99?" Oh, my gosh! How did I get that lucky??? A new finish and a little loving care, and it will be as good as new - or even better than new! It is a nice solid piece. This little dresser is definitely my find for the week. I love Goodwill!

The missing knob was in the drawer - $15.99

One more stop - a new consignment shop in midtown - Divine Consignment, an electic shop with lots of furniture and housewares. My favorite was the vintage linens. Anyone with vintage dinnerware needs a few vintage linens to show them off. These linens were in near perfect condition. I picked up two cherry blossom napkins to go with my daughter's cherry blossom plates. She will be pleased and surprised. I know I will make repeat visits to this store.

Two cherry blossom napkins - $5

All in all, today was a successful day of thrifting! I may not have been on the backroads, and Buster wasn't with me, but it was relaxing wandering around town and browsing at my leisure.

Spring in the South

Spring is short in the deep south. We usually see a week of beautiful weather and it is gone. This year we have had an extra long stretch of spring temperatures. These mild temps are perfect for treasure hunting and poking through the flea markets that dot the southern landscape.

On a Saturday morning in April, we headed north on I-65. We soon left the interstate for better hunting grounds - the backroads. We took W-158 and then N-45 to Citronelle. We stopped at Citronelle Furniture and Appliance. It was closed! Buster says this little gem has tons of dinnerware and I was looking forward to perusing the patterns. Oh, well. Maybe another day.

Next, we went to little tiny Toxey on Hwy17. We stopped at Nelson's Fabric and Variety Store. This place was a goldmine. As long as you do not mind tightly packed aisles that you might have to turn sideways to squeeze through, you could spend hours and still not see everything! Linens, and quilts, and dinnerware, and the list goes on and on. I found some Russel Wright salad plates for a dollar a piece, a green glass salad plate, and an oval platter and cup - also green. Do you think maybe I like green?

Six Russel Wright bread plates - Iroquois Casual in ripe apricot - $1 ea

Green glass bread plate - 50 cents

Granada oval platter - $2

Granada coffee cup - 50 cents

We were getting hungry and there wasn't much to choose from. We stopped at Hardee's in Butler and had tacos. A word of advice - if you want good tacos, go to a taco place. Buster did enjoy his chocolate milk shake.

We started toward Linden on E-10. We found a new place to stop. In what looked like a converted service station was a pleasant little shop called Scavenger's. It is only open on Saturdays. Minette Henson, the owner, had arranged antique and vintage items on large open shelves around the edge and down the middle of the shop. No squeezing down these aisles! The items were a priced for a variety of budgets, from odds and ends to the serious collector. I found a cute little round green planter, a yellow teapot, and two figurines. I don't usually go for figurines but they look right at home with the green and yellow that I love. I would be interested to know more about the figurines - I am thinking they are from the 1940's but they are in perfect shape so they could be reproductions. They have no markings so if anyone has a clue as to their origins, please let me know in comments.

Round green planter - USA - $4

Yellow teapot - no markings - $5

Two green and yellow figurines - no markings - $4 for both

Well, for some reason, we didn't find a lot of places open today but we did end up with a few finds. And most of all, it was a great day for a ride - On the Backroads with Buster.

Quick Trip Through Baldwin County

The trip started out as a quick trip to a new vegetable stand but the day was mild and the perfect day to put down the top on the BMW. We don't get many of those since this far south we get three months of winter, a week of fall, a week of spring and all the rest is summer. It quickly gets too hot for daytime rides with the top down. And some of you know how painful that sunburn to the part of your hair or the tops of your ears hurts!

With the top down and my freshly fixed hair now crammed into a ball cap, we began a ride in the country. Of course, when we ride, we can't resist stopping at an interesting place or two. There are many over-priced antique stores in Baldwin County but we did find a couple of bargains.

Ballerina Ware, berry bowl in burgundy, only 50 cents

We stopped in thrift store but I was astounded at the antique store prices! They had a cute little cat teapot and creamer. It was $60 for the teapot and $35 for the creamer! I thought that a little high for a thrift store! Needless to say, the teapot and creamer stayed behind.

On to the next stop! Buster is always looking for plant stands. He scooped this one up for $5.


metal plant stand, $5

with plant at the near end of the bench



The day wasn't much for finds but it was wonderful for a ride, On the Backroads with Buster. 

Go West!

We decided to shake it up a bit. We usually head north when we take off on a trip so we jumped on I-10 and headed west. Buster had heard of a flea market just off the interstate reported to be the biggest in Mississippi. We thought we would go check it out.

After an hour and a half, we left the interstate and immediately saw the signs for the flea market. The surroundings were very pleasant - trees, benches on the front walkways, and canvases at the back of each booth to block the sun. We started down the first aisle.

My first find was a Russel Wright coffee cup in blue. (Iroquois Casual)

A bargain at $1!

Soon I came across a whole bag of red buttons for $2 to add to my craft room. Buttons are so expensive that when I come across a good buy, I snatch them up.

Next, Buster came across his find for the day - two little individual creamers. Remember when your mom and dad ordered coffee in a restaurant and the creamer came in little individual servings? My mom didn't use cream and always let me drink it. Funny how the little things are special memories now.

Hall individual creamers, brown with white interior

One more fun find - a green and yellow platter to add to my plate wall in the bathroom. Yellow chrysanthemums on a white background - I don't have a clue to the pattern but it will look beautiful with my other yellow and green plates. Also, the platter was only $1! I don't think I have ever paid a dollar for a platter in perfect condition.

We headed out of the flea market and stopped at the vegetable booth on the way out. The vegetables were no special deal so we got back on the road.

We took a right and started for the beach road. We had not been on the beach road since Hurricane Katrina and didn't expect to see much of anything. We were pleasantly surprised to see more houses than we had imagined would be there. We stopped at an ice cream shop with a little girl's birthday party happened to be in progress. As we enjoyed our ice cream, another little girl came through the door about fifteen or twenty minutes later. She put one hand on her hip and looked at her mom and said, "oh, great, we are late" before marching back to the party. It was just so unexpected, and she looked about fifteen at that moment instead of five!

We stopped at a thrift store. Buster had just asked me if Daisy Dot Dinnerware had saucers. We didn't have any and had never seen any on the road. I really didn't know if any had ever been made. I was shocked to see one right as I walked into the store. For some reason, the store separated the saucers from the cups. I walked to the back of the store and spotted the matching cup. I thought it odd that there was only one cup and one saucer but I was happy to find something that I hadn't found before.

Daisy Dot, Marcrest, cup and saucer

We hit a number of different little shops but you don't find many bargains on the beach road. Time to head for home and the end of another adventure, On the Backroads with Buster.

Fairhope Craft Fair

The craft fair has been an annual event for 60 years in Fairhope. If the weather is nice, the crowds are huge. We jumped in the BMW and headed across the bay. The traffic was at a standstill. We detoured to the causeway and kept moving. Parking is always a problem. We choose the easy way and took the shuttle for $2 per person. It is well worth the time it saves while looking for a parking place.

The crowds were huge and the weather was hot. The art was original and incredible. Handmade pottery was everywhere. We enjoyed perusing the stalls and wandering the streets. It was so hot that we soon needed to cool down. We chose to sample some homemade peach ice cream and found a patch of shade to get out of the sun.

The heat made us decide not to stay long. On the way back to the car, we stopped in an air conditioned store to get out of the sun. I spotted a Red Wing Bobwhite samovar in perfect condition! It was a bit out of my price range at $225 but amazing to get to see one. Maybe I will find one in a yard sale one day...

Buster bought a decorative plant hook and we headed back out into the heat. We made our way back to the car and onto the highway.

plant hook

A roadside antique and flea market is set up a few miles down the highway from the craft fair. They have it every year at the same time as the craft fair. It is small and fun to wander through even though the weather is hot. We rambled from booth to booth looking at the treasures. I picked up four silver plated spoons for a craft project I wanted to try. I didn't see anything else that caught my eye. We were ready to get out of the sun so we headed on down the road and called it a day.

Plymouth silverplate

The day was not an exciting one for finds but it was nice to get out and enjoy the weather, try some homemade ice cream, and spend the day together...on the backroads with Buster.

The Find of the Century!

This was the day of the Find of the Century! Well, maybe not the find of the century but top 10 on my list of finds!

The day started out with a casual stroll through the flea market. We found a few fun items - a brown pitcher, and a few pieces of the square plate pattern for my daughter. We ended by heading for the vegetable isle. We picked up bananas, strawberries, avocados, and a pineapple at considerably less than you pay at the grocery store. Can't beat fifty cents a piece for avocados!

unmarked brown pitcher

Syracuse Trend

Buster wasn't through looking and wanted to stop at a few places on the way home. We stopped at a yard sale. There were so few items that I am not sure why they bothered. A store had a bunch of stuff outside and Buster pulled over. I saw some really over priced items and headed for the car. Buster found two iron stands that I thought were holders with a base to sit on the table and a vertical piece with a hook to hold a lantern with a votive candle. Buster held them horizontally and wanted to use them to hang ferns. They were certainly heavy enough! Besides, he got them for a dollar a piece. Not much of an investment if they didn't work out.

fern hanging from the iron hook

We headed on down the road. Buster saw a shop that he thought looked like fun. After he pulled over, he said for me to look around for a while, he wanted to sit in the car. As I walked in the shop, the shop attendant made it abundantly clear that she was trying to move merchandise! Make an offer and she was willing to deal. Many items did not have prices on them. That always makes me a bit uneasy. I feel like they are trying to size me up before they tell me how much they want for it.

The shop was a little dark and it was stuffed full of merchandise. There was tons of stuff to look at but the things that were marked, were a bit expensive for my taste. The clerk said that she was willing to deal so I decided to ask how much she would be willing to go on a couple of pitchers. They were ball pitchers in bright yellow and bright blue. I have some of my grandmother's creamer sized ones and I think they are from the 1940s. I asked how much she wanted for the pitchers and she turned them over looking for a mark on the bottom. They were unmarked and she said $30. I thought she meant each but it was for both. I was interested! I usually see them for about $40 each.

blue and yellow ball pitchers

Next, I asked about a solid white teapot. I knew it was a Russel Wright Iroquois Casual but I didn't offer the information since I knew she would check the bottom. She retrieved the teapot from the front room while I continued to look around. She said she would take $15. I said how about $12 and I would take the pitchers too. She jumped on it. I noticed an old green pottery mixing bowl. It was probably from the 1930s or 40s. She wanted $60 for it and said that she couldn't come down on that one. I understood. It was much older than the other items. I will keep that one in mind for another day. I took my finds and headed out to the car.

Russel Wright white teapot

Buster had that look in his eye. He thought I was going to run in and run back out. When I stayed for thirty minutes, he knew I was making a purchase. But, all in all, he is happy when I am happy and I was grinning from ear to ear. I couldn't wait to tell him about the Russel Wright teapot! Twelve dollars for a Russel Wright teapot is unheard of! I was so excited! Buster was amused that I was so excited.

Of course, I had to get on the Internet as soon as I got home to research the price. Russel Wright teapots in white were offered on a number of sites for $200 dollars! There were lesser prices on EBay but you never know what the final price will be on an EBay auction.

The debate - is a Russel Wright teapot in white for $12 a pretty spectacular find? Enough to make it to the top ten list? What is your opinion?

Food and Vintage Finds

This isn't a road trip but I thought I would show off how I use some of my finds.

The warm brown of Marcrest Daisy Dot Dinnerware is perfect for comfort food. On a cold winter's day, I decided to jazz up the tomato soup a bit. Instead of adding water to canned soup, I added a can of diced tomatoes and some fresh basil with a healthy pinch of cracked pepper. What a difference! Then I grilled a ham and cheese sandwich and added some apple wedges on the side. Perfect meal for a cold day made even better when served on vintage dinnerware!

On to the Great Grapefruit Adventure! We have a grapefruit tree in our backyard. Just one. We had already picked a number of grapefruit and enjoyed fresh grapefruit for breakfast and snacks. Then a hard freeze hit. Grapefruit can handle an hour or two of 32 degree weather but when it goes down into the 20's for two consecutive nights, you have to pick them all.

We started picking. And we picked and picked and picked! Eighty grapefruit off one tree and we had already picked 30-35! What can we do with 80 grapefruit at one time???

Well, you buy frozen juice in the store all the time so why not freeze the juice? I immediately thought of my mother's juicer attachment for her stand mixer. I had kept it even though I wasn't sure if I would ever use it. I wasn't even sure how to attach it to the mixer.

I figure the little metal pin with the slot in it had to attach to something that rotated. If you rotate the handle on top, the juicer sits right on top and the shoot allows the juice to pour into the mixing bowl below.

My little kitchen elf got busy and sliced all the grapefruit in half. Then he started in with the juicer. If not for the electric juicer, I don't think he could have completed the task all at one time. We ended up with four huge stock pots of juice and 18 quarts of juice for the freezer! That juicer is an oldie but a goodie!

Now on to the orange juice!

This slideshow design customized with Smilebox

New Job and Little Time for Backroads

I have a new job that I love. The upside is that I am learning new things everyday and wake up thinking how lucky I am to have a job I love. On the downside, I don't have a lot of time for weekend get-aways and the blog is suffering for it. Buster and I did manage to squeeze in a day trip.

Buster really wanted to leave the previous afternoon but I thought we had given up on that idea and didn't rush home from school. He patiently waited for me to drink my coffee the next morning. (This is a major feat for him to be patient.) He had the car pulled up to the gate and ready to pull out as I finally made it out the back door.

The day was great for a ride but not in the way you might think. The sky was overcast but not raining. The day was warm - which was great for February. When you are in a convertible, sometimes the sun can make it uncomfortable so the day was perfect.

We headed up Highway 45 and began to stop at some places that Buster had previously scouted out. Here's what we found...

A free collage by Smilebox

I was excited to find the square blossom plates. (Berkley, Trend, Syracuse) I had been looking for these for my daughter and I don't come across them very often. They were manufactured for railways to use in their dining cars.

The fifties green and blue patterns is one of my favorites. We found a stack of bread plates and a stack of bowls, plus a creamer! (Taylorstone, Cathay)

The funky double cone with fish was marked Japan and like nothing I had come across before. I had to have it.

And of course I had to snatch up two green planters - the rectangular one is one that I already had but for $1, I couldn't pass it up. (USA, 75) The round one is small and cute and I couldn't pass it up because I had not seen one like it before. (McCoy, USA) (I always can come up with a reason...)

The round trivet was Frankoma. Love the details.

The gray sugar lid was only twenty-five cents and you never know when you might need a sugar lid. Okay, that one was a stretch but I bought it anyway. (Homer Laughlin, Harlequin)

We ended up in Selma and crossed the famous civil rights bridge before heading over to the interstate and starting south again. The trip only lasted a few hours but was long enough to wash away all my troubles and have a fresh start to the week. Nothing like a weekend adventure On the Backroads With Buster!