Christmas Swap with Sam @ The Junk House

Last spring I missed out on the thrift swap that Lakota of Faith Hope and Charity Shopping set up and organized. So when she announced she was doing a festive Christmas swap, I was all up on that! My swap partner was Sam from the lovely blog, The Junk House. My package arrived yesterday and I couldn't be happier! The rules of the swap were something handmade, something thrifted and something Christmas. Three to five items, around 19 bucks USD. Here are the goodies I received:

Something handmade. I just love this. I love cooking AND eating and Julia is awesome. The colors and the frame are just lovely. Sam - you are amazing!

Look at the pretty detail on the frame.

I couldn't agree more, Julia!

Something Christmas - Vintage, yellow tree ornaments! I love them! How these are in such good shape is a mystery of the universe. I'm afraid to put them out this year because my 5 month old kittens would destroy them faster than a Sith Lord taking down a Jedi Knight. I'm teaching them to respect vintage, but some temptations are just too... well, tempting!

Something thrifted. Yes friends, hold on to your hats. That is indeed BUTTERPRINT Pyrex! I love the Corningware (I have see 'n store containers to match!) and the salt and pepper shakers but I about died when I opened the package and saw Butterprint peeking out at me. Sam, I'm going to say it again - you're amazing!

Such a cute pattern! I really like the size too, I'm thinking of some individual casserole dishes that I can whip up.

Wow! Just wow! I love it!

The whole kit and caboodle. I couldn't have done better if I were shopping for myself. Thank you so much, Sam! I also want to thank the incomparable Lakota for putting this whole swap together - organizing a ton of bloggers and bringing a lot of joy to people all over the world. I'll be back with regular updates again after Christmas. This holiday season kind of took me by storm! I hope everyone has a really lovely Christmas and a very Happy New Year =)

Thrift Share Smalls

I love "smalls" - they're cheap, cute and usually fill some incredibly deep void in my life!

Here is the perfect example! How was my life complete before this tiny, adorable vintage snail planter came into my life? This is the cool thing with smalls, sometimes you don't even realize how bad you've needed something until you find it!

Another cute example. This tiny box probably isn't vintage, but it's so pretty!

It has two compartments, and...

...a little note assuring me that my life will be much enhanced by simply owning a "Kobako". Happiness guaranteed? Awesome.

And who could live without this silver-plated, giant peanut candy/nut dish?

I think this is my favorite find of the week. Who came up with this?? I love it. It's just so random and of course it reminds me of The Princess Bride, one of my very favorite movies!

Thanks for reading!

Thrift Share Monday - Typin' it Up II

For years I've seen printer's type drawers on Etsy and I've been so envious! I'd been on the hunt to find one locally forever. Last spring, I saw one in an auction and decided to bid on it. I was pretty surprised when sold far above my range for bidding. I'm always surprised when people pay "retail" at auctions or estate sales. Oh well, my search continued.

Until this weekend, when I found not one, but THREE drawers at Goodwill for a screaming hot deal!

The wood is lighter than I would have liked, but they're in fantastic condition and very structurally sound.

The compartments have the letters they contained penciled in. I think this adds some character to the drawers (ha! get it?)

I like that the manufacturer's stamp is still clear and readable. I also like that these drawers have "legs" and could be used to hang or leaned against a wall. I think it makes them pretty versatile. I'm so happy to have three. I think all three would make a stunning display. Unfortunately, I don't have the space or enough items to fill all three drawers, so I'll probably keep one and ship two off to the shop.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I've been crazy busy here trying to prepare for this year's murder mystery party and take care of my sweet baby kittens. Thanks for all the kitten compliments! It's hard not to turn this into a blog about kittens for a few months!

Linking up to Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday! Also, if you like these type drawers, go check out Lakota's awesome blog, Faith Hope and Charity Shopping - she found one too and it looks hella cool!

Thrift Share Monday - Jewelry Boxes

Hey everyone! I know it's been ages since my last post. It's been mayhem over at AB's HQ lately. Little kittens with upset tummies making unhappy trips to the vet (They're just peachy keen now!), big dogs with arthritis also making trips to the vet, lots of medication for everyone (except for ME) and of course, lots of kitten photo shoots. So, forgive me for being absent from comments and postings. I have kept up with everyone's blogs via my Android but commenting can be difficult with security words, etc.

Today I'm sharing some items I've been stock piling for awhile. As usual, this collection started with just a jewelry box or two. I love old jewelry boxes and the surprises that await when you open one. After picking up a couple at estate sales, I got a little obsessed. Now my collection has far surpassed it's usefulness, so I'm trying to decide which boxes to part with. Here are some of the lovely candidates.

The exterior of this box is pretty in a very subdued way. The knobs are a little flashy and the light catches the lovely pattern on the box, but wait until it's opened.

So glamorous! The plush gold velvet, the soft pillow back for necklaces...so lovely. It's like opening this box makes you want to finally wear those over-the-top earrings along with that vintage brooch.

Let's take a look at this unsuspecting cream colored box next. It's not too fancy or over the top...

...a little decorative trim and some rather plain silver knobs... but wait!

Brilliant and bright red! Who knew?! Tell me that doesn't make you want to go all chic!

The details are just stunning. And it's in amazing condition. I realize these boxes were holding jewelry and not greasy lug nuts or anything but I've seen so many very badly beat up that I marvel when I find one so pristine.

Here's a rather small box with some very cute flowers on the outside.

I love this gorgeous blue and embroidered interior. You can tell from this pic that some of the velvet is smudged and dirty but I couldn't leave it behind. Anyone have any good tips for cleaning decades old crushed blue velvet? Funny, that's not something I thought I'd ever need to request. Let's finish strong, with a nice manly box!

This box has a few scuffs but is in pretty good condition. The crown detailing is very nice.

But like the very femineine jewelry boxes, this man box holds surprises of it's own.

A fantastic wood grain interior! I just love it. Thanks for taking a trip down jewelry box lane with me. Here's the funny thing... this post doesn't include the boxes from my personal collection, which number about five right now. I should be blushing but I'm not ashamed!

Linking up to ATG's Thrift Share Monday! Hopefully I won't be as scarce this week =)

I can't help myself! Sorry! Kitten pics, inc!

Eli wanted to demonstrate the proper way to behave if you're ever robbed while watching TV and playing with your favorite mouse. Stick 'em up, little baby!

Dolly insisting that Eli wake up for the next bout of Wrestlemania. Eli trying her very best to completely ignore her.

Thrift Share - Something Old and Something New

I'm a day late with my thrift share this week and near the end of this post you'll discover why. I had a very happy weekend and made some great picks last week at the shops! They're a little random but a lot of fun.

I scored this snack canister set at a used bookstore that I frequent. They have a little section in their shop where they sell very random housewares, also used. I was delighted when I spotted this huge avocado green cookie jar. It's giant. Who could ever eat that many cookies? Maybe Santa owned it in the 70s. I was even happier when I opened up the cookie jar to discover the rest of the snack set, Peanuts, Pretzels and Candy inside! Look at those little atomic toppers!

I did warn you this was random right? My next happy find of the week was this little vintage ceramic bull. He's very mid century looking but there are absolutely no marks and I'm not sure how I'm going to date him. He's also got a little swirly opening in his side. I'm not sure what he was meant to hold but kudos to the person who created this super sleek bull bowl!

I have other items to share but I can't wait anymore... I got two kittens on Sunday! EEEEEK! I'm so happy!

They're only six weeks old. Very tiny, equal parts super hyper and super sleepy, little bundles of total and complete happiness.

Meet Eli - pronounced el ee. She is named after one of my favorite poker pros, Eli Elezra, who is an ex-Israeli commando turned Las Vegas high stakes poker pro. He will gamble millions of dollars in a single night. He's fearless and so is my little Eli.

This is Doyle. She's named after poker legend, Doyle Brunson. He's considered the godfather of poker and just about the nicest, greatest man anyone could meet. He's an inspiration to poker players everywhere and I think our little rambunctious girl here will do him proud. Doyle Brunson's nickname is Texas Dolly, so we've already started calling her Dolly for short =)

Are you dying from the cute yet!? Okay, I'll stop! These two itty bitties are the reason I haven't gotten a single thing done since Sunday, and I couldn't be happier!

Hope everyone is have a great week! I'm linking up to ATG's Thrift Share Monday, albeit a little tardy this week!