Something Creepy and Some Awesomeness

So apparently these guys are waiting for a friend to hatch....

Who painted this?!

And oh yeah! Show me the way to go home. Point me in the right direction. Which way to San Jose? And so forth.

I wish this had more glasses. But I really love the paint job on this thing!

A shaker or a juice jar?

I was watching The High Low Project on HGTV. I think the episode was from the 2nd season, and it was a 60s inspired living room.

They did a bar set for them on the cheap and she gave them this:

I saw it on the show and ran back to the thrift store to get the one I saw there yesterday. Good thing it was still there. (yes, I do still have my air conditioner in the window.)

This is the inside of the 'cocktail shaker'

Um, isn't it a juice jar? I'll do some research, but I left it at the store originally because I thought it was just a recycled jar. A fancy juice jar, but still a juice jar. It was $.50, I'll find out.

Liquor liquor, nothing quicker

I haven't been thrifting nearly as much as usual. I have held back! 

But I needed to go out today to get some other things...And I was passing one of my favorite thrifts....And my car just wouldn't obey me. It made me pull in.

I'm glad I did. These are very cool. I just wish they had their tops. Or that I knew what the tops looked like at least. But I will find out. And my dream of having a fully stocked bar will someday be a reality!

A fully stocked vintage bar of course. Although I suppose that it would be helpful to have a house to put it in. :(

I Glow!

Beautiful glass today. This one is green and glows in the light!

This is an Avon bath bottle. But it looks like an oil and vinegar bottle. So it's perfect.

I really love glass. I love the patterns and the colors and the way they reflect light...

Wait a sec, I think I waxed rhapsodical about glass jars a few months ago. So you've already heard that. Lets agree that I love them and let it go.

Hall Table-Scape

A couple days ago I showed you this little garden toad. Well, I just couldn't wait to give him a new home!

I had a nice spring/easter thing going on on this table, but that's over now! It was time to get the eggs off the table and put up something summery. Nothing says summer to me like flowers and frogs. That might be weird, but I was a tomboy who loved crawly things. I used to play with caterpillars for hours. I once saved a chipmunk from choking to death on a berry, and tried to get my parents to let me have a snake, or at least a turtle.

My favorite thing to do in the summer was take my bike for long rides. Someone had thrown out a plastic laundry basket and I strapped it to the front of my bike with a jump rope. I mean, lets face it, I didn't learn how to jump rope until high school. But they made awfully good rope. I would toss a PB&J sandwich and maybe an apple into my giant basket along with a book and go ride. I rode for miles. I lived in New Jersey then, in the suburbs, so there were lots of neighborhoods to go through. Also helpful, shoulders on a road. (What's with that PA?) 

I would go to one of the parks, or one of the schools and sit in the sun eating lunch and reading. Then I would go riding some more. I also always carried a pocket knife. Still do. I would use my knife to cut flowers to take home. I love wildflowers. Queen Ann's Lace is one of my favorites. Except for the little bugs that are always on them. Hate that.

One of the grade schools had this enormous lilac sitting in the sun. I would go cut great big bunches off and stick them in my basket and ride home, where my mom would say they were pretty and stick them in about 5 or 6 vases, because, really, I brought home way too much.

I usually also brought myself a case of poison ivy. 

Ahem. I started to tell you about the new hall tablescape and got distracted. I do that.

I have a large dresser, or buffet if you'd rather, but it's really a dresser, in the hall. I have a big mirror above and a little lamp on the one side next to the front door. I always keep a little bowl on that side so I never lose my keys, and lately, we've kept a jar candle there too. We keep losing power and it's nice to always know where at least one candle is.

On the other side are some of my decanters. How they sparkle, how they shine. How I love them. I have about five more, but these ones looked really nice together. And the toad was needed to balance out the feminine-airy-gracefulness. Or something like that. 

I think it looks spectacular. Even though the small clear and gold behind the toad was probably once held bubble bath. I don't care. It fits in.

Baskets and buckwheat

I scored a bunch of interesting things this week. It's hard to see some things in the picture, but that's because I have a crappy camera.

The tall jug with the rooster on it is an oil cruet, hand painted and from Japan. The creamer in front of it has a pattern that almost looks like a cross-stitch. So I think I'll use it for a pattern. It's also going to be used to hold thin ribbon. All you have to do it stick the spool of ribbon inside and feed the end out of the spout. It works better when you have a creamer with a lid, or a sugar bowl and lid with the notch in the side for a spoon, but it will do just fine. If you can find a nice soup tureen, you can use it for your yarn when you knit.

The blue pillow is a buckwheat heating pad. Pop that into the microwave and away we go. The egg is just pretty. The bowl that I have currently filled with styrofoam snowballs gets filled for easter with eggs. I have a bunch of jasper and quartz ones and a couple marble too. There are even a couple hand-painted wood ones. But I only have a few ceramic, and they are painted with flowers and things. This one looks like they took the red and swirled it directly into the ceramic. It's going to be very vibrant among the flowers.

There is a little carnival glass dish in the back and another stained glass pattern for my husband to copy. That one's pretty easy, by any standard. But it's nicely done. I found two still sealed up moleskin journals I'm going to keep to put down the addresses of all my thrift stores. One in the car, one at home. That way I'll never be without a place to go. And the two purple things on the table. The one in back that you can barely see against my new basket is a decanter. It's shaped like a bell and has no chips or cracks at all. The one in front you can clearly see is a big amethyst chunk made into a candle-holder. Boy does is glow when it's lit up!

And lastly on my useful list is this towel bar. It's meant to hold fingertip towels in your bathroom, but this one is going to hold some more of my bracelets. I'm working on dividing all my jewels into categories. The ones I don't wear often, will go on the dresser, the ones I do, will go on my little table. Since there are more that I don't wear, the bigger one I have already will probably stay on the dresser, while this will move to my table and hold my best beloved pieces.

Sliced Corks and Traffic

As you know, I have a terrible fondness for owls. This little guy is terribly ugly in such a cute way I just had to have him. Thinking about spray painting him some kind of interesting color.

The corks are going to a jewelry project. I just need backings for them. I have some corks all made up already and they look just great. My friend knows someone who runs a restaurant and asked them to save some corks too, but they end up with all those plastic ones. It's just not the same.
And you would think that with all those corks, a couple would fit on these vessels here, but they don't. Still looking for corks. Maybe the transparent green one will fit an olive oil spout.

I have decided that until January, unless I am already out side the home coming to or from work, I'm going to stay inside and hibernate. The traffic is horrible. And all my thrift stores are along major shopping routes.

So even more curtailed shopping to come.

Butterfly Gold

So I am really excited about my recent finds! Stainless necklaces, a green glass decanter, 2 buddahs, a larger cute cauldron.

I even found more of these awesome Corelle hook cups and plates. I love the way they fit on the hand. I have some in the Old Town pattern, but the ones I found this week are the same pattern at the dishes my grandparents had when I was growing up. Actually, I think my grandfather still uses them. Called Butterfly Gold.

My favorite thing is something I won't even use. When I make mixed drinks, I am not one to use a jigger, but I could not pass this up! Coolest jigger I've ever seen. If I could find the rest of this set, I would be too happy.

I also bought a bench. It's just too big to go in the photo. I'll post pictures of it once it's done being refinished. yay!