Home again, home again, jiggety jig

     After a few days of playing in the snow near Bear Valley, we are now back home and settling back into our old routine.  It was quite an experience taking the new guy on vacation.  Some of our activities were cut short to allow for Kieran's nap time, and now that he's mobile, much of the vacation was spent keeping him out of trouble.  Still, the kids had a great time (I think), despite a few meltdowns (parents included).

    One drawback to the cabin we rented was there was neither trash nor recycling services.  We had to haul our garbage to the "refuse site" in the next town, and our recyclables came home with us.  Other than that, we liked the cabin and would consider renting it again in the spring or summer.  It sleeps up to 12, so we may do a joint trip with some good friends with kids the same ages as ours.
    Of course I had to check out the local thrift shops.  The shop in Angel's Camp huge, but the selection wasn't great, and it was overpriced for thrift shop merchandise.  I scored big at the Humane Society thrift shop in Arnold- small shop but a better selection and even better prices. 

Thrifted finds

    I've been looking for a big-ass glass juice reamer, and this one's the size of a boat (a gravy boat, that is).  And, yes, that is a vintage Vera Neumann scarf, as well as vintage Trifari Crown earrings.  Love! 

A treat for Martina

     Martina has been wanting to learn how to sew.  This, coupled with my fondness for vintage pieces, led to this purchase from a yard sale:

     It's a Singer 257, and it is heavy- I think I pulled a muscle putting it in the car!  The operating manual and accessories which usually come with a machine (screw driver, feet, extra needles, cleaning tool, etc) were not available.  The machine only came with the carrying case and foot peddle, so I was able to talk them down from $50 to $35 .  I gave it a good cleaning inside and out, oiled it and played around with the tension.  She's ready to go. 
     The machine matches Martina's room (which, I must admit,  did have somewhat of an influence when I made the decision to buy it).  Now to find space for it.

It's a family affair

We have settled into a nice weekend routine.  On Saturdays, we're up at 7 am and out of the door at 7:45 (7:30 if we decide to grab breakfast out).  At 8 am, we're arriving at whichever estate/yard/garage sale I thought was the most promising when I scouted them out on Craigslist.  We hit about 3 or 4 of them, and we're usually done by 10:00 or 11:00.

On Sundays, we're up at 7:30 am and out of the door by 8:30.  We grab a quick breakfast (usually a pastry and coffee, juice for the kids), then it's onto our favorite farmer's market in Campbell, where we have samples and buy our produce for the week.

This weekend's thrifting was quite successful.  We walked away with a fair amount of vintage Pyrex and other vintage kitchen items from one estate sale, thanks to the well-trained eyes of my family.  While I was happily building a small stash of kitchenware from a box I was digging through  on the front lawn, my industrious hubby was poking through boxes in the house.  Little momma screamed from the doorway that daddy found some "pay rex."

Here's what we bought for a mere $6:

Pyrex "Butterfly Gold" mixing bowls, casserole dishes, loaf pan, 8 inch baking dish and refrigerator  dishes

 Pyrex pie plate, Anchor Hocking custard bowls, Pyrex mixing bowls, glass juice reamer, scale,grater, Pyrex individual casserole dish

vintage sifter, Anchor Hocking baking dish

New obsession?

What started out as a thrifty and green way to redecorate my daughter's bedroom is quickly becoming a Saturday morning ritual.  I think I am an estate sale junkie. 

Surprisingly, the rest of the family seems to enjoy hitting up the estate sales.  I give them the option of coming along, and they actually seem to look forward to it.  Little momma enjoys looking for vintage items (she thinks she has an eye for it).  The big guy likes to look for puzzles and books.

This weekend we may graduate to church rummage sales.  That one may try the hubby's patience.

A few things we've picked up at the estate sales:

All of the items were under $5 individually, and the patterns were actually part of a 10 for $1 lot of vintage patterns.

Redesign on a dime

It's time for little momma to have a big girl room.  We will be ridding her room of her old Ikea disposable furniture to replace with this:

and this:

and this:

In the spirit of being thrifty and green, we purchased all of the above at an estate sale for just $75.  As you can see from the photos, they are in great condition considering their age.  I think the few scratches and imperfections they have give them character.  Or maybe I'm too lazy to try to refinish them.  Take your pick.

Taking our cue from the furniture, little momma and I are going with a vintage feel with the decor.  This should be fun!