Slaying the “Beast”

OMG! I’m going to die one day…I will trip over something in the “Office” and piles of vintage will rain down and smothered me…..Okay….maybe that is a little or a lot dramatic, but seriously it is time to slay the BEAST.  The Beast being this….

I swear there are a couple chairs under there!!

I know I know… don’t say the “H” word…I like to call it Inventory. 

For the past couple of months I have been acquiring stock but haven’t gotten off my lazy bum to actually organize it, pack it, list it and stow it away in the carriage house.  Also it hasn’t helped that I’ve also done a task called “The ASSESSMENT!” (In my head this is said in a loud booming voice which may or may not sound like Charlton Heston)

The Assessment is basically going through all of my possession…and there are a lot of them…and making a decision….Keep, Sell, or Donate.  While this was really hard to do, it needed to be done, because while my collections keep growing the size of our house is staying the same….and organizing can only get you so far my friends.

That being said it is time to slay the Beast…wish me luck. 

nos morituri te salutamus

Becca

I HEART Asheville

 After being in Asheville, NC for a whole week there is no way I could NOT love this place.  It is the perfect getaway destination for us from now on.  The mountain were gorgeous, the antique stores were great fun, the food delicious, and don’t get me started on the French Broad Chocolate Lounge……a liquid truffle…need I say more!?! 

Also it wasn’t just me that found heaven here, but Jon (Mr. Honey) as well!  Turns out there are lots of local breweries….surprise surprise.  All of our vacations have at least one brewery stop…and this one had eight…that is right EIGHT breweries!   

Here are the ones we hit:

Craggie Brewing Company, Green Man Brewery, French Broad Brewery, Asheville Brewing, Highland Brewing, Pisgah Brewing, Wedge Brewery, Lexington Avenue Brewery (LAB)

They serious love their beer here; one bartender said that if there is a way to combine beer with anything Asheville will do it, there is even a laundry mat that serves beer!  Crazy!  But I guess you can work up a thirst with all that folding, ya know.

The only downer was well….the thrifting kinda sucked.  I’m guessing that is because of all the local antique and vintage shops in the area.  The only really great thrift store to me was the local Re-store. 
  

One busy busy busy Re-Store

 In the front there were the usual goods….toilets, trim, appliances, etc.  But in the back there was another store set up for furniture, house-wares, and such, plus there was a small vintage record shop and a silent auction!  The silent auction is where the good stuff was, when we stopped by the first time there was a Conant Ball chair on the block and when we stopped the second time later in the week a Paul McCobb dining table!

The Conant Ball chair....nice!

 But when you can’t thrift…you antique….and antique I did!!  I really have to give some major props to my then fiancé (now husband), because he did all the planning.  It actually work out great…I’m one to sleep in until he wakes me which is usually WAY earlier than I want to be up.  So this week I got to lounge in bed while he planned the day.  He would look up local antique shops that had some MCM booths, thrift stores, somewhere awesome for breakfast and lunch, plus a couple breweries…..then plugged everything into his phone app for turn by turn directions.  YUP I’m spoiled.  I mean how could I NOT marry him after that, definitely a keeper. 

So here is part of the Asheville haul:

Bennington Potters Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper.....I love these! 

Three piece Rosenthal-Netter set in perfect condition!

Super large Ultima Aluminum Ashtray...but I don't smoke.  too cool to pass.

A Seth Thomas flip clock at a steal!

Neat Walnut Whale puzzle...one of the few thrift finds.

More goodies to come, I think I will sprinkle some more finds into next weeks Monday Thrift Share.

Ciao for now,

Becca

The Results – my pearls!

Do you remember these guys from an earlier post?

Well shortly after that post and all the great comments I got (thanks everyone), I decided to have them appraised.  I did a little Google searching and found a GIA (Gemological Institute of America) certified appraiser in my area.  After a quick call I had my appointment scheduled...YAY!  I was a little surprised that it was two weeks out, but I guess there are other people needing their talents as well.   

Finally the day arrived and I went over on my lunch break and had a nice chat with the lady.  I was initially disappointed because she mentioned that these pearls are called rosebud pearls and usually not that valuable since most of them are Chinese cultured pearls (bummer!);  and also the gold toned shanks had no marking (craftsman or 14K and such)…but I figured I would take a chance and see since the detailed appraisal fee was only 56 bucks.  If I was lucky it would be real gold and I could recoup the fee easily.  The appraiser asked if she could have a week or so with them since she wanted to do some research, since this isn’t your average pearl…and that was cool with me.  I mean these had been sitting in a drawer close to a year I don’t think a week is going to kill me, ya know.

So a week later I went to pick them up and…

BAM

….does that say 8710.00 ?? WHAT ??  (what is with the ten bucks…8700.00 is rounder..so weird)

Oh yeah it does….NOW of course that come with a couple caveats. 

#1  This is an insurance appraisal….not a resell appraisal.  Ok I watch Antiques Road show so I know there is a difference.

#2  This is based on the pearls being American Tennessee pearls and there is no way to officially determine that unless they are X-rayed, since the Chinese are that good. But these are pearls are SUPER nice and have a good weight to them so she was pretty sure they are.

But still even with those conditions…I’m excited.  Plus the gold is in fact 14K and there is about a troy ounce of it.  YAY!  So so far my 5 cents is paying off!  With an appraisal like that I’m selling these bad boys eventually, after I have them X-rayed which is the next step. 

That just goes to show you NEVER know that you are going to find! Which is why we all thrift! 

Ciao 

Becca

Thrift Share Monday: Good Thrifting Karma

Man this weekend flew by...there was a lot going on this weekend, but I made sure to budget a few hours early Saturday morning to go thrifting with my best friend Sarah, and I'm glad I did!  The first stop was at my favorite thrift...simply called "The Thrift Store"  Now this is a great store, but always packed.  We arrived at 8:55...about 5 minutes before opening and we joined the other 20 or so people crowed around the door waiting for it to open.  The five minutes passed super slow....but finally the doors opened and we all piled in.  I did a quick round around the store and checked out with these beauties

More Iittala! A nice pair of matching candlestick

An Arabia jam pot! My favorite piece if Arabia I have found.

One thrift down many more to go!  Over the next couple hours we were able to hit another four thrifts before we headed home...Here is the rest of the booty:

Sea of Sweden vase...so cute!

Pair of Heller individual souffle dishes

Cool ice texture goblets!

I thought these might be Iittala Kekkerit goblet, but I'm not so sure.  Anyone know?

The mystery vase!  It is marked Leung on the bottom.  Anyone familiar?

I think this looks like a cloud...well a trippy cloud.

Super cute pottery piece.

Can't identify this piece but I also couldn't leave it behind!  It is signed K Lady on the bottom and of course the only thing my brain fills in is "Kat Lady" :)

A full set of pink Pyrex...that is right PINK!!  YAY!

And last but not least....the major find for the day...DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....

BAM!

More Arabia...an entire service of 4 of Ruija pattern.

I about flipped out at the Salvation Army when I saw this set....then I saw the price tag!! WHAT  14.99 for all 30 pieces....insane.(I had quick flashback of my find from last weekend.)  I didn't want to leave them so I grabbed what I could so to lay claim to them and asked Sarah to get me a cart.  (She rolled her eyes at me..lol)

A total Thift-gasm moment!

Man oh man....I was ready to head home....I didn't want to press my luck (No Whammies No Whammies)

I hope everyone's weekend was just as awesome!

Cheers!

Becca

PS:  My contest/giveaway ends on Wednesday @ midnight....so jump on over and give it a guess!

PSS:  I have been experimenting with some of my colored scarves when taking photos...is it too much??


Linking up with Her Library Adventures and  Apron Thrift Girl

What would you do? little pearl buttons

I’m in a bit of a quandary at the moment about these little guys…

Click on me! and see my beauty!

Me too!

Me three!

Seven unusual pearl buttons I found thrifting one day.  They were in a large bag of jewelry I saw at our local Goodwill by the pound store.  Luckily I was able to sift through it and make a nice little pile of goodies to which I paid only 26 cents…so all of these guys were less than a nickel!    I’ve had them for about 8 months and during that time they just sat neglected in a drawer never seeing the light of day. I’m in no way shape or form a jeweler, but they look to be excellent quality….real pearls with real gold mounts….and with the mounts that they have I can only assume they are buttons, vintage because who makes buttons like these anymore! 

 Now what do I do with them?  First off I wouldn’t use them as buttons since I fear they would be damaged (no washing machine for these!); I could have them made into jewelry, a ring or maybe a pendant, but truthfully pearls aren’t my style.  I’m more into large chunky statement pieces, or bright and colorful enameled stuff.  The only other option is to sell them.  I took them to a local jewelry and his opinion was the same as mine…real real real, but of course I would need to have them appraised before I listed them anywhere to be certain of their value (if any).  Of course if they aren’t that valuable I’m out the cost of an appraisal…so I ask readers….What would you do?  Keep them?  Or take a chance and have them appraised?


Ciao

Becca

PS: Has anyone seen these before??

Thrift Share Monday: Sweden..check... Finland..check... Denmark..check

This past weekend we were in Tampa for another beer thing, so I was very excited to be able to thrift in another city, which is one thing I love!  Now while I do have my normal haunts here in Jax, it is always nice to do some thrifting outside the box.

 I could barely contain my excitement when we rolled up to the first place! As soon as I saw it was an AmVet thrift store I started chanting “Yes yes yes!” and kicking my feet (My favorite place in Jax is an AmVet store too). When I walked into the front door my spirits sank….it was 85% clothes.  Boo Hiss.  So I made a beeline straight for the house wares (like I normally do) and started perusing the aisles.  Unfortunately there didn’t look to be anything good, in fact everything seemed rather junky and dirty.  Damn.

 I finished looking and started to leave when I saw that I missed one aisle across the room.  The first thing I saw were these…an entire bag of iittala ultima glasses….and yes they were just like this all tossed into a bag with nothing to protect them.  

  I stood there with my hands on the bag while Mr. Honey went and got me a cart, and then I VERY slowly lifted them up and put them in the cart.  I wheeled them up and paid for them…$6.60.  SWEET!  I didn’t even take them out of the cart, since I wanted to move them as little as possible; the lady had to lean over the counter to see the price tag.  Once I got my change and receipt I grabbed a few of the local free newspapers from the stand outside and systematically went through the bag wrapping each piece individually and checking for damage.  I was totally FLOORED that in the whole bag there wasn’t one broken or damaged piece.  There ended up being 30 glasses in total which is roughly 22 cents apiece.

Iittala Ultima glasses

This is the best find so far this year I think, but I didn't do too bad earlier in the week when I found these items...

Orrefors "Celeste" candleholder

Dansk Kobenstyle 2Qt pot

Matching piece... Iittala Ultima serving bowl

I hope your weekend was as good or better than mine!

Also I just wanted to let you guys know that I will be posting my first contest/giveaway tomorrow so stay tuned to participate!

Cheers

Becca


Linking up with Her Library Adventures and  Apron Thrift Girl

Thrift Share

I don't know about the rest of you, but I felt like a "Winner" this week at the thrifts.  It was just one cool thing after another...must be good karma coming back to me from going with Mr Honey to the beer release madness two weekends ago.  If that is the case then my luck is going to run out fast, especially since last weekend was AMAZING as well (Post on that soon to come!).  

Anyways lets get some thrift share on.....

Yes! Cathrineholm! I was in shock when I saw this thing on the shelf.  It was like the whole moment was in slow mo as reached for it. MINE! mine! mine!  AND 2 bucks.  Waaaaaaa.  The other items are Rosenthal custard cups, again another brand that I rarely see in the wild.  I actually passed by three of them at first and then picked up another set in a different section of the store.  As soon as I saw the mark on the bottom I took off to pick the first set up.  Luckily, they were waiting for me.

I'm really lovin' this clock even though it doesn't fit in the house anywhere.  Oneish, Twoish, Threeish....this is my kind of time.  Most people that know me will tell you that I'm always 5-10 minutes late.(Drives Honey crazy, he is a 20 minutes early kinda person....he also believes that you should get up on the first alarm ring.  Ummm no....that is what snooze is for!  Like 5 times)

Dansk, dansk, and more dansk.  I always pick it up when I see it.  A great cutting board, and four green candles holders.  Yes please. 

Ok so I'm alone in this house about the bull, since Mr. Honey had some interesting facial expressions upon seeing this...there was no need to ask his opinion.  I personally think it is super awesome, plus just the size of it is impressive.  Unfortunately this is heading to the shop, there just isn't a place in the house for him.  Sadness.

Oh so tiki....very Witco-ish.  Any ideas how to get all the wax off???

My first piece of Iittala glass found at the thrifts!  I was so excited when I saw this and it still has the sticker on it.  The organic shape really seems similar to the shape on this Poppytrail planter I found the same day.

 

This is such a neat Mod light!  The only information I was able to find out about it was that is was made in the 80s.  I'm so intrigued by it I had to add the extra pics.  Isn't that the tiniest bulb!  Seems like it would make a great night light.

 Oh yes! The sheet music to the theme from "Shaft's Big Score"  I cracked up....man the things you can find....


I hope everyone had a great haul!

Becca

First Thrift Score of 2012

My first score of the year are these awesome chairs by Selig Monroe. I haven't bought any new furniture pieces is a while, mainly due to not having space. But, when I turned the corner at the thrift store the other week and saw these babies sitting there, my heart started beating faster. I chanted to myself, 'Please please please let them still have the tags on them'....and they DID!  YAY!

 
The second thought was "Oh Crap, Mr. Honey is going to be PISSED if I come home with these....."  Cause well I sort of agreed to not buy any new furniture without talking to him.....but...but...these chairs are awesome....and and... my phone is broken (having dropped it that morning and it broke into pieces.)...and he was out of town.  What to do...what to do....after fretting over it for about thirty minutes I buy them.  Well I really buy one and the ottoman, my sister-in-law who was shopping with me bought the other for me as a belated birthday present (she is awesome like that).

So now I have some new chairs after two trips in the Prius to get them home.  I know the patten is a little wild, but I think that is what I love about them.

 

  As you can see they are Italian Greyhound approved, I couldn't keep the pups off them long enough to take photos.

The rest of the weekend I spent purging old stock and doing a deep clean so the house sparkled by the time Mr. Honey got home.  To soften the blow.....so to speak.  Here is how things went down:

Me:  "Ummm So I bought a chair"
Honey: "A chair...."
Me: "Yeah a chair and an ottoman, it is really awesome and I love it, I would have called but I dropped my stupid phone and it is a goner....don't be mad."
Honey: "A chair and an ottoman...."
Me: "Yes, it was a set and there was another chair which matched and M. bought it for me as a birthday present..."
Honey: "Wait....let me get this straight...first it is a chair, then a chair and an ottoman, now it is two chairs and an ottoman...."
Me: "Er....Yes"

At this point he is really quiet, then starts cracking up laughing and says,  Well let me see this "chair"
Yay! argument averted!  I think it worked in my favor that he had been gone all weekend and missed me.(Only the third time we have been apart in three years) 

So anyways, what do you think?


Becca

MUST...Fight...the cute.....

I MUST fight the cuteness of this coffee cup I just snagged at the thrift.

It literally jumped off the shelf into my basket!  Once I got it home and I started researching it; I found that there are many other mugs in this style.  Now I want them all.  BUT I do not need them nor need anything else to collect.  So currently I'm trying to fight the hippo's mind power which is trying to get me to buy other cute friends for her (Dottie...Yes I named it.....that is a bad sign right?)..... 

Staying Strong-ish

Becca

There is no place like home.....for thrifting.

Hi guys!  I have been missing for a little while because Mr. Honey and I have been on vacation in the Big Easy.  We had a blast and I saw some awesome stuff that I can't wait to share, one thing being the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.  Part of a museum dedicated to booze...Yes!  Anyways I'm saving that for a little later.

So on our route to New Orleans we stopped in Tallahassee for a night to visit with Mr. Honey's brother and his fiance.  They were great and showed us around to some of the local thrift stores.  It was nice to shop in new places for a change, but unfortunately most of the thrifts were picked clean.  Probably because all of the vintage resell stores in the area.  Damn you FSU college hipsters!  Sadly that was the majority of the thrifting that was done while we were gone, though we did hit one place in Alabama, and a couple in Louisiana, with nothing to show for it.

Since I didn't find anything while we were gone I was jones'n to go out and see what I could find in town... and man did I find some great stuff.  So now I'm starting to believe there is no place like home for thrifting.  Here is the haul:

Gorgeous silver band bar set...How awesome is this!

Scandinavian enamel bowl, creamer, and decorative tile

 Silver ombre glasses, Midwinter creamer, and Rosenthal cake plate

 

Teak cheese plate, Teak pipe holder, Dansk decanter, and a Heath chop platter

I hope everyone had a weekend as fruitful as I did.  Man it is good to be home!

 Linking up with: Apron Thrift Girl