I Dream of Pyrex

Forgive me if this sounds weird, but I know some of you will understand!

I dream about Pyrex. I had a dream where I was looking for the charcoal Snowflake space saver and I went to this underground flea market (I know, weird) and saw it, but couldn't buy it.

Anyway, ever since then I have been obsessed with finding that Snowflake piece. I went to all the local thrifts, and didn't find it. You can probably guess where this is going...

I ended up buying it on eBay. I just couldn't stop thinking about it, and had to have it. The great thing about eBay is you know it will be available. The bad thing about that is that you really can't get a good idea of the condition. Sometimes it's hard to tell from a photo if a piece has been run through the dishwasher (and I have seen plenty of those on eBay- it makes me laugh at the seller's descriptions- 'marbled'? 'rustic'? LOL- as I'm crying inside for the poor Pyrex.) That, plus the risk of shipping something breakable makes it a bit too much of a chance for me sometimes. But like I said, I was obsessed!

So I bit the bullet and actually won an auction for this one. It's the smaller (shallow-er) of the space savers. Up until now, I didn't know they came in two sizes. I have to say I'm liking the shallow ones, because I can stack more of them in limited space ;). I paid $11.50 for it, which isn't too bad I guess, but certainly more than I would have paid in a thrift store. It was in absolutely mint condition, and arrived safely. Win!

While I was browsing through eBay, I also decided I wanted to buy the Butterprint butter dish. I have been looking for this in the wild for years and never seen it. I hate giving up on the hunt, but I have a feeling I'll never find it. (Of course, watch me find it in the next couple of weeks.) I put in a bid and then got caught up in my excitement of winning the snowflake and completely forgot that I had bid on the butter dish. 

Well, surprise! I won that too. Also in mint condition, thank goodness. 

So my dream came true in a roundabout sort of way...

It makes me really happy to look at my new pieces and I am sleeping better at night. :)

A long time coming- thrift scores!

Well, long time no post! I have been pretty busy and haven't had much time to blog or read other blogs, but I wanted to touch base and show you some of my recent thrift finds. In general, the thrift stores haven't been great lately, but over the last couple of weeks I have found some good stuff. I actually took a whole day off on Friday and went to some thrift stores farther away that I hardly ever have time to get to. And boy, was it worth it!

We have a Habitat for Humanity ReStore near us, but it is only open Wed-Sat. It's kind of tough to get over there on those days, and I've been meaning to go there for months. I really went hoping to find Pyrex; I've found some there in the past, and this time I had high hopes. But this time it didn't pan out as I had hoped. I did find some other things (more on that in a sec), but the only Pyrex in the place was this lone Butterfly Gold mug. This is not a pattern I collect, but I love Pyrex mugs, and I was desperate, so I bought it.

(The other Pyrex pieces in the background will figure in to this story a bit later.)

This is a refrigerator dish made by Hall China and is marked on the bottom "Coldspot Refrigerator Dish". It was pretty neat, and only $2. It's actually part of a 3 piece set.

These I bought after learning about Pyrex delphite (blue milk glass). I knew they weren't Pyrex, but I have never seen delphite in person before, so they had to come home with me. I collect jadeite, and really never even heard about delphite until I started collecting Pyrex. They are so pretty, I hope to find more! If anyone knows about the pattern or maker of these, I'd love to hear it, because in the little research I've been able to do, I've come up empty (they are not Jeannette Cherry Blossom- that I do know). They are unmarked on the bottom, except for the numbers 1,2, and 3 (presumably for the pieces in the set.)

I also bought this Otagiri Japan mug for a quarter- cute but not my style- definitely going to my Etsy shop.

Same with this Avon milk glass soap dish- really cute, and I am tempted to keep it...

This bunny planter is definitely a keeper and was only $1. I think he is Napco- there were many more Easter  things in the store and they were all crappy and more expensive than this one, go figure! I guess I have to start getting the Easter stuff out.

Haha, yes I bought this record. I put myself on a record-buying freeze about 3 years ago and have been pretty good about it (I have thousands of records- might even have this already- I have no idea) but fell off the wagon a bit this week. Besides this LP I also bought 4 45s, and one of those was "Karma Chameleon". Well, hey, it was my childhood...you can't put a price on memories...except they were only 99 cents.

Now I saved this one for last- I walked by it and didn't recognize what it was. But on my way back I caught a glimpse of some of the fabric, 

And hey, isn't that barkcloth....

Mint, in the package, never opened. 

Set of four panels...

$10......

Oh yeah....I just found new drapes for my living room! I promise I will do a post on that in the near future. Stay tuned...

Never Again, Sally Ann

I have used this space many times to malign my local Salvation Army thrift store. To me, it is like the Wal-Mart of thrift stores- huge, noisy, smelly and filled with junk no one wants. It makes even a die hard thrifter like me not want to go there- I almost always go somewhere else when I need a fix.

But lately, my two preferred thrift stores have not had much of anything vintage, much less clothing or Pyrex, the two things I buy most often. Such was the case yesterday when I made my weekly trip- I actually walked out of those stores with nothing. I can't remember the last time I did that.

So, I had some time to kill and thought I'd stop in at the Sally Ann, just for kicks. Well, darned if I didn't score. 

They had tons of Pyrex! Of course, I scooped up the only Butterprint, a 402 mixing bowl- and for only $2.49! I have almost completed my set of fridgies and Cinderella bowls in this pattern, but this is my first mixing bowl. I left a lot behind for someone else- a complete set of Forest Fancies casseroles with lids, a set of Town & Country Cinderella bowls, and a few others- I think maybe a Colonial Mist mixing bowl- as they are not patterns I particularly care for. (This is the same store where I found my turquoise 503 fridgie and my jadeite mixing bowl- why did I ever doubt it?)

I have also had good luck with blue Ball jars at this store in the past- every other thrift I go to prices the blue ones at $3-$5 each, which is a pass for me. I got this one for only 99 cents, so this was definitely a deal. And I use them all the time to store pantry staples- I was just thinking I could use another one.

The Tupperware ketchup & mustard dispensers were 25 cents each. Tupperware tends to sell well in my Etsy store so I definitely will list them.

But the most fun, and unexpected find of the day was a toy I remember from my childhood:

Remember Alphie the Robot? This version came out in 1983, when I was 8. 

I saw him on the shelf and had to bring him home for $3.99. I was hoping he would work and after a few tense moments because the batteries were in backwards, he came to life! My son, who will be 8 on Friday, really fell in love with him. I originally bought him to resell (thinking of Van over at Thrift Core) - because who doesn't want to buy back a cool robot toy from their childhood?- but have a feeling he may be sticking around for a while. He is so cute!

In case you don't remember, here is the original TV commercial from 1986:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=yhY0IUxCeM8

So, I want to take a moment and apologize for bashing my local Sally Ann, who has been so good to me of late. I'm sorry!!!!

Pyrex in Drips and Drops

Usually the late winter/early spring season is the best for thrifting around here. People are de-cluttering for their New Years resolutions plus getting started with their Spring cleaning.  I have been going out to my favorite stores regularly with high hopes for vintage goodies in general (mostly to stock my Etsy Store) and Pyrex in particular. And I have to say that I am less than impressed.

I went to two stores last week, both of which have been good to me recently in the Pyrex department. And I found some, but not what I have been hoping for. At the first store, I found a mismatched casserole, (bottom was plain Horizon blue and top appeared to be a very faded gold scroll design) but didn't buy it for $6. I also saw a ton of Glassbake and FireKing divided dishes and casseroles- maybe I need to start collecting those since Pyrex is getting scarce, LOL.

I did come away with what I thought were two Pyrex restaurant ware dishes and a Fire King mug for 50 cents each. I love Fire King mugs, and this one is such a beautiful buttery yellow. It almost matches the Pyrex primary yellow, but is a shade lighter, and in perfect condition. It makes me so happy to use these for my morning coffee. I wonder why Pyrex didn't make more of their patterns in mugs; I mean, wouldn't it be great to have a Butterprint mug or maybe a New Dots?

The restaurantware dishes I thought were the Bluegrass pattern, and I bet those of you who know your Pyrex would think the same thing. Unfortunately, the thrift store had a huge price sticker all across the bottom and it wasn't until I got home that I realized it was very slightly different and made by Anchor Hocking. I imagine a lot of designs were virtually copied by all the major glass firms so they would be almost interchangeable when a restaurant needed to order more. It's OK, though, I'm not a label whore and have already used the dishes a couple times.

At the second thrift I usually find good Pyrex, albeit expensive Pyrex. This time was no exception. I saw quite a bit of FireKing and Glassbake again- that dang green flower pattern is everywhere!!- and a few pieces of the good stuff. I left a Spring Blossom casserole on the shelf (don't collect that pattern) and it hurt, but I had to walk away from a Snowflake Garland loaf pan. At $9.00 I don't need it that bad. If it was a casserole or a fridgie, I probably would have sucked it up and bought it. 

The only other pieces of (not clear) Pyrex on the shelf did come home with me, though. Two yellow hostess dishes for $2 each are more in line with what I'm looking for. They weren't in the best of shape, but aren't too bad and are a size I use a lot. 

So, small potatoes in the Pyrex department. But it's better than nothing, and I will keep hoping that next time I go I'll find the Pyrex score of my dreams...