Harlequin Dreams

I posted last week that I have 'inherited' my mother's mother's Harlequin dishes.

Every Saturday my family heads to a local diner for breakfast. For years I joined them, but when I got married it was kind of a long drive, so Freddy and I make quarterly appearances. Topics of conversation include anything from politics to Jesus to medications to things that hang out in the basement.

Hence when the dishes were casually mentioned by my mother. "We have those fake Fiesta dishes from my mother downstairs. I never liked them." Whhhaaaaa??? We have faux-Fiesta? Like for realsies? Oh and they are turquoise and rose? And they've been in a box in the home I grew up in for oh, 26 years?? You have to be kidding me, Mom.

And when we went home there they were, wrapped in newspaper from 1985. 

I've had a little Fiesta obsession for a few months now. I'd go on Kohls.com and check out how much it would cost to get a turquoise collection of dishes. 

The answer was too much. Especially since I have three sets of nearly new Corelle. I just couldn't justify buying more dishes even if I loved them.


I had stopped dreaming of stocking my cabinets with multicolored goodness. And that's when these beatus entered my life.

They were scrubbed and rescrubbed. 

We thought they were worthless, but learned they actually are collectable (The yellow dish is authentic Fiesta).

They were made by the same designer as Fiesta Pottery and were likely made in the 40s or 50s. You can learn more about Harlequin Pottery here. 

My mother was hysterical laughing as I read the values of some of the items to her. She promptly called her sister who actually bought them and neither could believe they were worth something or that I would even want them. 

And that the teapot is legit valuable because it's in mint condition. And thus it will live among the collection of special treasures above the cabinets.

And so, something unexpectedly wonderful from my grandmother is enjoying a new home, being used and loved the way they should be.

Thrifted 9/20/11

It was another week of gorgeous milk glass finds at my local thrift store this week. 

 This Fenton hobnail basket will be my mom's birthday gift. I checked on eBay and it sells for 10 times more than what I paid...my brother thinks I should sell it, but mama will love it. She's always loved Fenton milk glass and specifically loves displaying baskets. So excited to give this to her next week. 

 The vase on the left is experimental Fenton that is unique and funky.

 The bud vase on the right now makes a pair in my collection.

 And this HUGE Fenton fluted vase is in a word stunning.

Weekend Finds

This weekend our church hosted a garage sale. My mom was a pro at garage sale-ing, but I never got the hang of it. That's why I liked this one. Tons of people dropped off their stuff and we only had to go to one location. I found two lovely vases that I scooped up all for two bucks.

Following the sale, Freddy and I decided to check out a local antique shop, Country Junque. 

It's packed floor to ceiling with treasures: dishes, furniture, and vintage gems. The owners are delightful, the prices are fair, you can find items for as little as a few dollars and browsing is welcomed.

I picked up a piece of green depression glass to go with my tiny collection and a little amber bowl.

My favorite piece was this gorgeous piece of carnival glass.

 Love its opalescent look and architectural feel.

Did you pick up any new-to-you treasures this weekend?

New to Me

 I am constantly inspired by the blog What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear  and the fabulous looks on Glee. I mean, who doesn't love the classically tailored pieces blended with funky vintage jewelry and retro-inspired accessories??  After our antiquing adventure last weekend, I started browsing Etsy and Ebay in search of some great accessories that might work well with my style (which I think it an attempt to mix modern classics with some quirky flair) and suddenly remembered that my mom totally has some vintage gems. Ebay and Etsy could go on hold (which my budget was happy about). 

When I asked my mom (I promise I did this nicely. As I type this, I know it sounds like I schemed to take her stuff, but my mom and I style each other a lot) if we could go through her vintage collection she laughed at me. "Why would you want that stuff? Most of it's junk." Oh no, Mom. It's far from junk. It is a collection of awesomely treasured sparkly wonderful items. She was delighted to pass some of it on.

So here's the loot:

 The Sarah Coventry necklace is probably my favorite piece. It sits so perfectly over a crew neck tee. And that sparkly brooch? Holy cow, does it shine.

 The bottom right piece is also Sarah. We found one of the clip on earrings to match, but will have to hunt harder to complete the pair.

I am so loving this new thrifting, antiquing, vintage-finding adventure I am embarking on. Most of all, I love that these new pieces were once donned by my mom in the 60s and 70s and can't wait to thumb through some photos to see if she wore them on special occasions. 

And I love that maybe, just maybe, those Jcrew strands or my Posy Pins can one day be cherished by someone else to jazz up her wardrobe sometime in the distant future.

Going Green

This past weekend, Paige and I embarked on our first antiquing and thrifting adventure together.

And we were awed and amazed.

Amazed by all the discarded stuff (it's so interesting how we believe we need it all and then just get rid of it!) 

Awed by how pretty, different, and eclectic everything was.

Enchanted by the beauty of how something old is made new.

And so, I now have an actual 'worth it' collection of green depression glass.

Love our simple bubble glass bowl (perfect for kisses)

And tea cups and saucers.

Being a crazy tea person, these were the right place to start for me. They now live on our little shelf above the sink brightening our space. Plus, it wasn't an over-indulgence, nor did I go overboard (which tends to be my problem). This little collection is perfect for our little apartment. Can't wait to watch it slowly grow.