A Little R-n-R, part 1

Last week my husband and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. While that's unbelievable in itself (has it really been 10 years already?), what might be more surprising is that we have never taken an overnight trip on our own, without kids, in seven years. So it was high time to remedy that situation.

Once Grammie was settled in and taking care of the kids- bless her, it's not easy to get a 3 and 6 year old off to school in the morning- we set off on a little trip to Lancaster County. Our itinerary was to spend Thursday shopping in Adamstown, PA -the antique capital of the world- and stay overnight at an old hotel in Lititz. Friday we would spend some time in Lititz, then make a stop at a farmer's market on the way home.

Pennsylvania's Lancaster County (aka "Amish Country", for those of you in parts far off) has always felt like home for me. My family has lived there for generations, since the mid-1700s. My grandmother lived in Lititz for much of her life and I spent many happy weekends there visiting. So I wasn't exactly the usual tourist (something there are lots of, this time of year), but it was a little different to actually be there as a hotel guest.

Adamstown is a little over an hour's drive from our home. But it was well worth the trip to do some shopping at all the antique malls and stores there. We spent hours poring over the booths at the Mad Hatter, Pine Hills, Adams Antiques, and others. I bought some goodies, which will be part 2 of this post!

We ate lunch at a great brewpub, the Union Barrel Works in Reamstown. It's a little off the beaten path, but well worth seeking out. The food and the brew were incredible! We had originally planned to eat lunch at Stoudt's in Adamstown, but they are not open for lunch during the week. Quite a few of the antiques shops in Adamstown are also not open during the week, so plan your visit accordingly. It wasn't a problem for us, because there were plenty of other places that were open- more than we could do in a day!

This was my outfit for the day- a Lilli Ann knit suit with a 1940s collegiate look (the skirt is pleated, hard to tell in the photo) and saddle shoes. It was the perfect outift- quite comfortable for a day of shopping.

Then it was on to the General Sutter Hotel in Lititz for our overnight stay and dinner.

Our room was beautiful- nice and roomy with antique Victorian furnishings. It was just our style; we don't really enjoy the corporate hotel chains, and try to stay in places like this whenever possible.

I loved the "TV lounge" just down the hall- it was really a library/sitting room for the guests. I was daydreaming about how to turn this old "portable" TV into an aquarium....

We ate dinner there as well; the food was out of this world. I had a NY strip with an Asian soy-ginger sauce, and my husband had crab cakes. We dressed for the occasion- my dress is the first piece of vintage clothing I ever owned. It's a black velvet wiggle dress with the most incredible beading detail around the neckline and front pocket. I think it dates from the mid-late 1950s. It was given to me in high school by a friend of my mother's who knew I needed a black dress for a concert. Needless to say, this dress is a little over-the-top for concert attire, but still one of my favorites for dressy occasions.

Halloween at Chez QT, 2011

These last few years I have really been getting into the Halloween spirit, and decorating up a storm around Chez QT. I think it is one of the few holidays I enjoy as much, if not more, than my kids.

Since my kids are so small (6 and 3) I try to stay away from the blood and gore, monsters and such. They're too young for that sort of thing. I focus instead on generally creepy things, like bugs and naturalistic/decayed things. I'm big on groupings of slightly weird objects as well, like last year's display of stopped clocks (up again this year).

My kitchen sideboard. It's nice to get out some silver and not polish it for a change, LOL. The pumpkin on a candy dish pedestal is a real pumpkin from last year that we hollowed out down to the skin and dried in the oven. It's basically ever-lasting now, and filled with faux leaves. 

I love bugs this year! The branches are curly willow from my brother's tree, spray painted black. We used a lot of them all over the house.

My son found these skulls in the woods- one is a fox and the other a coyote.

More curly willow stuck in a fat lava pot with a mum. This is probably one of the best shots of the new TV aquarium, with its new test-pattern backdrop. (Why I couldn't get a decent shot before, I'll never know...)

I love this idea- reminds me of something out of a magazine. Normally I have cornstalks on the front porch, but ours were all ratty after the hurricanes and not fit for display. Thank goodness for the curly willow! (And did I ever mention how much I love galvanized stuff? The bucket is an old sap bucket I trash picked from a dump in the woods ;) 

Jayson grew all of our pumpkins in the garden this year- it was a very good year.

Also note my Halloween blowmolds, all lit up and happy at night (like some of you are, I'm sure, LOL)! I put orange flicker bulbs in the front carriage lights also- that is such an easy, cool effect, I wonder why more people don't do that.

And finally, RIP Dracula...

While it looks nice and sunny, I turned around and snapped this picture of the cold front coming in!

If that's not scary, I don't know what is!

Stove update #2

Hi everyone, things have been kind of crazy around here (it's deer hunting season- I am a hunting widow...). But I do have a stove update, since that's what I've been focusing my free time on.

I found a great place for parts and wire, and best of all it's local! Bergey's Electric in Hatfield, PA was a life saver for me so far. At the urging of my mother-in-law (the Bergeys are her cousins) I gave them a call searching for the right wire (heat resistant, right amperage, etc.). I highly recommend them, and if you're tackling a similar project, do not hesitate to give them a call: 215-723-5518.

I had not had much luck with the other local places I had called, so I was not expecting much. (Because no one actually repairs appliances anymore, they just tell you to get new ones!) I know some of the parts are available over the web, but I much prefer to support local businesses and it's so much nicer to deal with people face to face.

Not only did they have the right, OEM wire in stock, I had the owner and the appliance repair man there to help me get the rest of my shopping list. I needed the burner wires- they had the original spool wire there and cut it to my measurements- the heavier gauge wire that goes to the oven elements, the connectors, and also as a bonus, an original ceramic recepticle for the burner itself.

The burners plug into a ceramic connector which is wired directly to the knob. I had one that was cracked and they just happened to have an identical one on the parts shelf. And guess what? They gave it to me!

And here's the neat part- know why they happened to have that original part on the shelf? They were the original and only licensed Westinghouse dealer in the area. Chances are that they were the ones that sold my stove when it was brand new. The owner said that if I can track down the name of the original owner, they can probably locate the original bill of sale. Now, if that's not a reason to shop local, I don't know what is!

A hole where the heat should be

Here's the first stove update:

Egads! Major dissassembly. I've pretty much removed everything I could get off for a thorough cleaning and investigation. I've taken off the drawers, the burners, the chrome rings and all the back panels. (That 1946 GE radio is for listening to playoff baseball while I'm working- go Phils and Tigers! On a good day I can pull in WJR from Detroit.)

Thank goodness I have a garage to work in!

The door handles are going to get rechromed, and I'll be re-wiring the burners. Here's why:

Those tangled up wires are all dry rotted and brittle. Not something I want to cook on! 

Hopefully rewiring will be straightforward- I can clearly see where all the wires are supposed to hook up to and where they come from. As long as I can get the right wire this shouldn't be too hard. I have a little experience in rewiring and my brother is an electrician so if I get stuck I have some help. The burners themselves are not as bad as I thought they were- I am planning to put them same ones back in.

I'm hoping not to have to do much to the oven wiring- that looks pretty good from what I can see. I'm excited to get past the cleaning stage- that was pretty yucky!

Check one off the bucket list

Ain't she sweet?

As she sat in the seller's basement- obviously this is not my kitchen!

I have wanted a vintage stove forever. Certainly as long as I have lived in our current place -going on 9 years now. With the vintage kitchen I have, it was one of the biggest missing pieces.

But I had a modern stove that worked fine and was perfectly acceptable until recently. As a matter of fact, it still does work, it's just not pretty to look at. So this was the perfect time to start looking for the vintage stove of my dreams! I can have the luxury of taking my time with a restoration project, but still with the motivation that it needs to get finished and get put in ASAP.

Plus, it was relatively easy to convince my husband that we shouldn't spend so much on a brand new stove that I didn't really want anyway. I used my own money on this stove and will continue to do so for the restoration, which probably will include new counter tops, since this stove is 10" wider. (Thank you to those of you that have shopped my Etsy store- your purchases made this little project possible!)

So what did I get? A 1950s Westinghouse stove with double oven, three burners and a deep well cooker. I haven't figured out the exact year yet, but I'm guessing sometime around 1954-56. The double oven was #1 on my list of "must haves"; the deep well cooker, not so much. I don't yet know if I'm going to love it or hate it. But it does have plenty of "counter space", as well as two outlets if I decide I want to add an extra burner or two.

It works great- the knobs are super cool. They change from green backlit to yellow to red as the burner gets hot.

I do want to completely rewire the burners, and probably the oven elements, though, for safety's sake. And I have already taken some of the chrome pieces (door handles) off to get re-chromed. (We have always wanted to restore an old car, and this is kind of like my own version of that.) So it will be a bit of a learning process for me. Hopefully everything isn't too tricky to find and to fix; I really don't want to spend tons of money on professionals.

I will keep everyone updated on the progress, and hopefully you all will be as interested in this as I am! In the meantime, enjoy this c.1960 commercial for Westinghouse appliances featuring the cast of I Love Lucy.

Pyrex Done Deal.

Alright, OK, you win!

Behold- the primary color mixing bowl set. I went back this morning and paid $30. They are absolutely mint, with no scratches, chips or marks at all. I know they're very early because they have that deep shape, plus they are thicker than the more modern primary bowls. They have the earliest mark on the bottom, the kind that says only "T.M. REG." and "U.S. PAT. OFF" in a circle around "PYREX", with no numbers.

I had almost talked myself out of them, but all of you that commented have such great taste that I knew I had better listen to you guys! :) Plus, I knew if they were still there today, she'd be in the mood to deal. I think the price is pretty good, and I will be listing some other Pyrex in my Etsy store to make some room on my shelves for these. 

I guess that makes it official. I collect Pyrex. There, I said it. ;)

I actually went to another estate sale today to look at a vintage stove (with double oven!) and will know late tomorrow if they accept my offer on that. Hopefully I will be 2 for 2 this weekend!

Flea Market Friday: Salad Days and Pyrex (This post brought to you by the letter K)

Those of you with more than a preschool education may be wondering why I've posted this Friday update on a Thursday. I'll get to that later.

I happened to stop by an estate sale today after dropping my daughter off at school. Those are the best times to go shopping- on a weekday when I have no kids along!

I picked up this 1940s wooden salad set in mint condition for $4. It has the wooden bowl with hand painted veggies, salad tongs and six bowls. I have been wanting one of these sets for a long time; as a matter of fact, my mother has one. We grew up using it a lot as kids, and it always makes me a little nostalgic. I figure that I will eventually inherit that one, so I hadn't bought my own.

But when I saw this one, I couldn't help myself. It has literally never been used! And my mom's is all chipped up and worn. Plus the little old lady selling the stuff was so sweet, and we got to talking... and I had to have it. For $4 I think it was well worth it. Now I just have to clear some space on my shelves! That is after we use it tonight, probably the first time it will have seen lettuce in 60 years.

I also bought this metal letter for my daughter Kate, which originally was a medallion for a screen door. She is three, and yes she is learning the days of the week in preschool this month. I'm probably going to put it on her bedroom door.

I had actually been to a yard sale at this same house a few months ago (where I bought this galvanized tub) and left it behind that time. I regretted not buying it since then. For 50 cents I should've bought it the first time. When I got a second chance at it today, I didn't think twice!

And that brings me to second chances, and why I'm posting this on Thursday instead of Friday.  Also at this estate sale is a set of Pyrex primary colors mixing bowls. They are in great shape, and have the earliest hallmark at the bottom, from the 40s. The lady wants $45 for them. After hemming and hawing, I decided to leave them there. I have lots of bowls, including a couple Pyrex mixing bowls, like the large yellow one from that set. I have never felt the desire to own the complete primary color set, although the colors do appeal to me and they are so iconic. I do have some other primary color stuff, like fridgies, but I buy them to use, not to complete a set. I hesitate to call myself a Pyrex collector, although I do own quite a bit and really love it. (They just take up so much darn space! :)

However, the bowls are in such great shape, and I know it is a good price. I think I could probably go back and get them tomorrow for $35 or $40. If I buy them I would not sell them; I would use them, though I may sell some other pieces to make room and might just about break even eventually.

So what do you guys think? Should I go back and get them if they're still there tomorrow?