Some Thrifting Catch Up...

Having a hard time keeping the blog posts regular, but no problem with regular thrifting. I have a full time job and the photographing, researching and listing on Etsy is almost a full time job. Going to thrift stores and garage sales and antique malls is my release. I daydream about going thrifting. I wish that could be a full time job. Someday...

Anyway, whine over. Let's do some thrifty goodness catch up. Again with the Tupperware. I buy the Tupperware and then I don't want to sell it. I have a pretty good collection... in boxes. I only "use" a few Tupperware pieces. Weirdo. This harvest yellow(?) 1-quart pitcher with push button lid is in near mint condition. Looks like it was hardly ever used. Not stinky either. Sometimes used Tupperware has... an odor. I have a project in mind for my ever-expanding Tupperware collection. Stay tuned.

Got this "Run for President" board game because it's an election year. It's never been used, the bonus cards are unopened, the tally pad is unused, and the board is pristine. Very nice set.

I've got some other election-related items listed on Etsy and I found a couple president/White House books I need to get listed too. We'll see if people are buying election stuff.

Also found this "Game of Good Cooking" board game. It was put out by McCormick/Schilling spices in 1989. According to boardgamegeek.com it only rates 4.5 stars (out of 10), but it's vintage and kitschy and in great condition. So I bought it.

I found this quilted vinyl toaster cover at an antique mall for a $1.00. I like to browse the antique stores for things like this to flip. I get the feeling that some of the vendors in antique stores are of the "technologically-challenged" generation and don't know the potential value of some things. It was kinda grimy with kitchen grease but with it being vinyl, I just threw it in the washer and it cleaned up like new. It doesn't look all faded like it does in the photo, that's my goofy camera. If it doesn't sell, it looks cute on my toaster in my retro, mod, kinda 70s-ish kitchen.

How sweet is this Holiday Party Desserts recipe book by Edna Beilenson and published by Peter Pauper Press (started by Edna's husband in 1928). In the 1930s - 1950s, Peter Pauper's books were sold at "prices even a pauper could afford." This book sold for $1.00 in in 1958. Peter Pauper still publishes books, journals, and travel guides. Some tasty-sounding recipes in here, and some odd-sounding ones... Coffee Gelatine anyone?

An unopened package of Lite Brite refills in a Barnyard Fun theme. The farmer and the farmhouse are so cute. I totally want to open this and put these on my Lite Brite! Yes, I have one. Not a vintage one, a modern one. But a good condition vintage one at a nice price is on my list.

In doing research on these, I realized that the boy and girl on all the various refill packages and on the Lite Brite boxes are the same. They even look the same in different years, just slightly different hairstyles. 

And this set of Scholastic books. I found each one on a separate trip and decided to list them as a lot since they are all "boy" related. 

Remember those Scholastic book fairs at school or the catalogs that got sent home with us. I loved those! I remember in my elementary school the "fair" would line the hallways. The smell of all those books were so tantalizing. I was a frequent book buyer at Scholastic book fairs. 

In April, I blogged about a box of mini purse books I found at GW for $3.00, including the like new plastic tote they were in. There were 50+ in there and I listed them all. Those listings have all expired, except the 15 I've sold at $2.00 each! I'll be relisting those soon.

The Thrifting Did Not Stop

Been a while, I know. Although life got in the way of blogging, the thrifting did not stop. Let's give this another go.

Here is this weekend's haul. Some vintage, some not. Some I'm going to sell, some I'm going to keep. I'm starting to wonder why I shop in regular stores at all. People donate all sorts of brand new or like new things. The Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes sells for $12 on Amazon. I got it for BF's Son #1 for $1.00, it only has 1 one piece of paper missing. I've seen BF's Son #1 flipping through this at B&N and he loves everything military so I know he'll enjoy this.

I'm pretty sure those Spice of Life Pyrex canisters are unused. The glass is spotless, not even any water spots. The rubber (or maybe they're plastic) gaskets inside the lids are perfect. Sometimes those are yellowed, cracked and a bit sticky. These weren't that cheap (the prices at my local Goodwills are not that great). But I figure if I can't resell them for a good price, I'll keep them for myself and use them. Those 4 mugs say Big Dipper and Little Dipper. The Little Dipper ones are kid-sized. So stinking cute. The 8-track tape is Christmas Songs. I got a stereo/record player/8-track player a while back.

Got these Ohio Blue Tip matches at an antique store. There are 3 boxes wrapped in paper. I have an opened box of these matches somewhere. Can't decide if I want to unwrap them separately and sell each box or sell all 3 wrapped. 

Got this full bottle of Old Spice After Shave for $1.00. Wasn't sure in the store if this would be a seller or not. The box is dated 1990 and the bottle is milk glass, so with those, I figured I could at least try it out on Etsy. Some Ebay research shows the "Shulton" bottles sell pretty well, and this one is Shulton. Not sure what the Shulton meaning is, will have to research more on that. I wish the box didn't have that $2.49 price tag on it. Cheesy.

This Half Pint Soft-Serve Ice Cream Maker was one of the half-price color tags at Goodwill so I got it for $5.00. I saw it on my way out of the store and had to put all my things down to open it and check it out. Completely unused. I'm excited to give this a try. You put the freezer bowls in the freezer and then the lid is motorized and has a paddle on it and after 6-15 minutes you have soft-serve ice cream.

And of course, I bought several books. I say again, if you're thrifting with me and can't find me, check the book section - that's where I'll be. I'll have to do a book count someday. I'm guessing I've got 300-400 books. I thought the Seven Little Postmen Little Golden Book was an early vintage one because the gold edging is pretty worn and the story and images are so very retro, but alas, this is a reprinted version from the 1980s. The Question and Answer Book is from 1963. 

I also got a set of Tupperware Ice Tups. They were soaking in warm, sudsy water when I was taking pics. I'm guaranteed to buy at least one book and one Tupperware item on any one thrift venture. They are my all-time favorites.

Grandma Goes Shopping

My only daughter is going to have a baby in November and I'm going to be a Rookie Grandma!

Gotta get me this shirt.

In addition to the fact that I have a million things to list already, I decided that I'm going to try to not thrift as much so I can buy lots and lots of baby things. I love baby shopping. I love babies. Especially MY grandbabies. But really, I have a ton of things to photograph, research, and list, I need to set myself some listing goals. Spend a couple hours each weekend photographing, researching, and listing, listing, listing. And then perhaps, a thrifting excursion as a reward. So, what is the first thing I did this past weekend? Went straight to the Goodwill across the street and a few garage sales in the neighborhood. I was good though, only picked up two things. And one is for baby!

Don't know if my girl will have a girl. If not, I can always put it on Etsy. This is a Lefton Praying Girl night light, dated 1985 (the year my daughter was born). My daughter lives in California and I sent her a pic of it lit up and she cried. She's kinda emotional these days.

I also found this Recipe Lectern. So perfect for a mod, kitschy kitchen.

Gretchen & Gary, and Some Mini Purse Books

Gretchen and Gary, J. Ingwersen

I found these two little paintings in an antique mall a few years ago. They are quite popular in the antique stores, but you generally don't see them in this mini size. You'll sometimes see these listed on Etsy or eBay as prints by Judith Ingwersen, although this incorrect. These are actually paintings by James J. Ingwersen.

These prints have a strong nostalgic link to my childhood. They were hanging in our home when I was a kid for as long as I can remember. In our bathroom, which is where I have mine hanging now. My younger brother and sister have blonde hair and me and my mom and dad have red hair. I can remember looking at the prints hanging in the bathroom and wondering why my mom hung paintings of my brother and sister and not me!

Speaking of things in my childhood home, I found a box of 50+ of these vintage mini mags or pocket size "purse books." You know the ones at the checkout counter in grocery stores? It's been interesting to read through these books mostly from the 70s and 80s, but some from the 50s and 60s.

The Watson Calorie Counter for Reducing Weight,
Copyright 1953

This book has a 15 day diet on the first few pages. The lunch on the 2nd day consists of Combination Salad (without Dressing), 2 Hard Boiled Eggs, and Sauerkraut Juice. Not exactly sure what a Combination Salad is, perhaps a garden salad, but I couldn't find Combination Salad listed in the calorie section anywhere. And I suppose the Sauerkraut Juice is to be used in place of a dressing, but I couldn't find that in the calorie section either.

Some interesting items I did find in the calorie section: a Tom Collins cocktail has 182 calories; Muffets (shredded wheat cereal) has 86 calories per biscuit; Oreos are listed under Crackers - Sandwiches at 62 calories for 1 sandwich; Junket (a custard or very, sweet cheese dessert) has 107 calories; Bacon Fat has 126 calories per tbsp.; one piece, about 3", of raw Green Turtle has only 89 calories; Hershey's Syrup (used to be spelled Hershey's Sirup, in this book anyway) is 69 calories per ounce; 3/4 cup of cooked Swamp Cabbage has only 18 calories.

Lakewood's Tips for Easy Beauty
Copyright 1981

I'm pretty sure the "beauty" in the lower right corner is Sela Ward. Agree? A few beauty tips from the 1980s:

• Too much alcohol quickens facial aging.
• See-through clothing is no protection from the sun.
• Heating the tip of a hard-edged makeup pencil with a match will soften it enough to work with. (I kept a lighter in my makeup bag for years.)
• Spend at least 20 minutes a day on stretching exercises. The Royal Canadian Air Force program provides some good, basic ones.
• Beer straight from the bottle or can may be used as a setting lotion after shampooing.
• If you're having hair problems that don't seem to get any better no matter what you do, such as breakage, loss, dandruff, brittleness, oiliness, dryness; make an appointment to see a trichologist. A what?!

Dell Purse Book, Outdoor Cooking
Copyright 1964

Lots of information about the different kinds of grills, accessories, and fire starters. Some good tips on shortcuts, foil cooking and clean up. A section on safety suggests a "chief fire-watcher" be appointed at all cookouts and a safety kit is always available (burn ointment, gauze pads, bandages, aerosol extinguishers, etc.)

A few tasty recipes include:

Flambe Steak: Add 2 jiggers of whiskey or brandy to 1/2 cup melted butter. Warm; ignite and pour over sliced steak just before serving. (See page 14 for safety tips.)

Burger Pies: Make large, thick individual patties, forming a deep indentation on one side. Grill indented side first. Turn patties. Fill indentation with creamed or sauteed fresh mushrooms. Finish grilling. (This sounds pretty good.)

Liver Kabobs: Alternate liver chunks wrapped in bacon with tiny, whole (or parbroiled) onions. Grill. 

Tupperware

If I'm addicted to anything, it's Tupperware. Vintage and current. I like to collect vintage Tupperware. It's probably my most favorite thing to collect. I also like to buy new Tupperware to use. I haven't been to or hosted an actual Tupperware party in years. But every now and then, I'll catch a glimpse of a catalog and I want! Or sometimes I'll find a new, usually unused, piece in a thrift store for cheap and I score!

In doing some research for this post, I ran across this:

It's a Tupperware bread box (obviously) and it's called a BreadSmart. It's so retro looking. I've got to have one! But I've only seen them on international Tupperware sites... France, Germany, Belgium. How come we don't get them?? I've seen a couple keychains of them on our eBay. I guess I'll have to save my euros to get one shipped from France.

View this entire catalog in photosnack at the bottom of this post.

I love to collect vintage Tupperware catalogs, brochures and postcard invites. It's fun to see things I have and use in my kitchen that women also used years ago. My mom used to have Tupperware parties and we had all sorts of Tupperware in our house. Such a strong childhood memory for me.

Tupperware used to carry the Good Housekeeping Seal. I checked Good Housekeeping's list of products and brands and Tupperware isn't listed. Not sure why. Did you know that if a product carries the Good Housekeeping Seal, Good Housekeeping promises a refund or replacement of a defective product within two years of purchase? I didn't know that. Of course, they have a long list of exclusions, but still a nice thing to know. I guess I've always seen the seal as just their recommendation.

The black handles are called Carioliers. Why? Even in the catalog it says handle in parentheses right after Cariolier. To go along with the Handoliers, I suppose. I see these Carioliers in thrift stores sometimes, without the canister or Handolier.

So cheerful, Mrs. Mom is, in her peachy kitchen.

The hostess gifts back then were not Tupperware. You could get his and hers watches, a portable hair dryer, even Oneida silverware.

Cheery, Mrs. Mom again, showing off her well-stocked freezer. Not a bag of frozen veggies or a box of Popsicles in sight. Wait... is it the same woman? I'm not sure.

I so absolutely remember these brushes and always unclipping the bristle piece from the handle and fighting to get it back in.

Now this is kind of neat. Cordienne, Tupperware's fancy word for cordkeeper. You still see parts of the cord, but its not a tangled mess of cord. And again with the fancy words... Cordienne, Floralier. 

Tupperware is handy for many other non-food items. Utility Trays can hold Sister's makeup, Grandma's crochet, Dad's camera and film, Junior's fishing equipment, and... Mom's gun and bullets! Please do not store weapons and ammunition in Tupperware. If you have them in your home, keep them under lock and key in appropriate containers.

I noticed on the back cover that Tupperware used to be a division of Rexall Drug and Chemical Company, along with West Bend and Duracell. And that Tupperware used to be listed in the Yellow Pages. Nowadays, there are Tupperware kiosks in the mall and virtual Tupperware parties.