Snow go!

Darn it, Old Man Winter, you are seriously interfering with my quality thrifting time and motivation!

While on Sunday, my father and I did brave the icy temperatures for a mini-jaunt around the route 30 stores-- (Dad got an unopened season of MacGyver DVDs for... get this... fifty-cents!)-- otherwise life has involved going from home to work to home again, with some heavy-duty snow-shoveling in-between.

I have been trying to convince myself the shoveling is an important part of a 2011 calorie-burning regimen.

Of course, here in Pittsburgh, we haven't gotten hit with the white stuff anywhere near the way my further Eastern buddies have.

How have you all been faring? Do you have any winter landscape photos you'd care to share with us here?

My cat Alice was watching me shovel this morning through the glass front door. A gust of wind sent snow careening into me-- and sent Alice recoiling back from the door, even in the warmth of the house. Apparently Alice and the snow may both be white and fluffy, but the similarity ends there. :)

Oh, and while I remember, you folks also might enjoy my recent humor blog piece "What's Your Snow Removal Style?" Are you a Winter Warrior, A Free Spirit, the Guilt Shoveler or a 'More Power' Enthusiast? Find out-- click here.

Take care, stay warm, and well wishes for warm beverages for each of you!

--Jenn

Treasure Box Wednesday: Everything in its Place

To quote Popeye, "I'd had all I could stands, and I can't stands no more." This was Saturday, after days and days of snowfall, which had kept me indoors, staring at the walls.

I mean, I love my house. But there is such a thing as too much togetherness.

So in spite of continual flurries, I decided I would make a truncated trip down Route 30, as long as the roads were clear.

But the Thrifting Gods were kind, and I uncovered a number of things I knew just where they would go.

I'll start with my most surprising discovery. See this little handled green crock?...
The chartreuse limey color attracted my eye as I have quite a bit of this color in my kitchen, between my pseudo-retro coffeemaker and toaster, and some Lemongrass Fiesta ware.

But turn the bowl over and...
McCoy? I won't even make you guess the price, because it wouldn't be fair. I'll just tell you: $0.79!!

That would be my cheapest McCoy piece yet.

Interestingly, at another store, one of the workers there was talking about how he feels there's no market for McCoy anymore. That he has quite a bit of it in the store, but no one buys it.

I'm not so sure about that. I think it might have more to do with the color of the McCoy rather than McCoy itself. As a McCoy amasser, I noticed his pieces myself as I went a-traveling. And I personally wasn't interested in it because it was almost all yellow. I haven't spied yellow as being a particularly trendy color at the moment.

I wonder whether if it comes back into fashion, people will be more interested in his pieces for their decor?

I just thought it was interesting how markets change.

Anyway, at the L&L Fleatique, I found a great mint green vintage desk lamp I simply couldn't pass up...
In great shape, with lovely lines, and an $8 price tag, I had it in my hand pretty quickly!

On my journey, I also snagged a bunch of these lamp crystals. I knew just what I needed them for, the question at the time was only how many I needed. Fortunately, I guessed correctly...
You can see them in their new home here...
And last, I got this pretty hobnail Moonstone bottle. I have been swapping some of the dollar store bottles I'd had on my stained glass window ledge for more interesting vintage pieces, so the bottle now resides here...
It's missing its stopper, but I don't think that really detracts from it's beauty.

So that's the story for this Wednesday.

• For those of you who missed Sunday's post on Westmoreland County pressed glass, click here.

Have yourselves a nifty, thrifty remainder to your week!

Cold Weather, Warm Touches

Oh, the weather outside was frightful... "Frightful," in this instance, is defined as "having over a foot-and-a half-of-snow coating everything like a casualty in a Marshmallow Fluff plant explosion"...
In all the years I've lived here, I've never seen snow just sit straight up and pay attention like the snow is on my backyard fence...

So, since there really was no place to go this weekend, I decided to get some good old-fashioned cleaning and decorating done around the mini-manse. And for one accomplishment in the last two days, I have you good folks to thank!...

Yes, all of your input on Wednesday was not wasted regarding the desk I'd thrifted from St. Vincent de Paul thrift store. I listened to the Pro-Paint, and the Con-Paint sides of the Desk Improvement Dilemma we'd discussed.

And I decided that the outcome of a good cleaning and some scratch oil would determine which course I should take...

Well, as you can see, the desk cleaned up a treat. And the dark polish was just enough to minimize the dings and scratches to where they were no longer a focal point. So now the desk is residing happily in my blue sitting room...Along with, ironically, the pink needlepoint chair I'd thrifted at the Salvation Army years ago.

Where the pink chair had been, I moved in a brown tapestry chair that's a bit worse for wear, but I still like it a lot...
It's quite comfortable to sit in, and even though its seat is rubbed away in places, I think it's faded fabric has charm.

A small craft store investment in silk flowers that look dried have topped off this bowl that once held pinecones for Christmas...
And some becrystalled candlesticks-- also from the craft store-- now sit on the mantle mirror, along with some delicate rose garland...
Some serious pre-spring cleaning led me to swap some drug store painted bottles with some quirky hobnail glass pieces I've picked up over time...

And I decided the picture window might be the right place to display some Westmoreland glass vases I'd been storing. I love how the light hits the glass and lights them up.

Lastly, many long hours of cabinet purging has left my kitchen more organized than it's been in years. Anything surplus to requirement is being donated to the thrift stores-- meaning some of it technically will be coming full-circle.

The treat of the day, then, was finally getting this window display over the stove to feel cheerful and cohesive. You wouldn't believe the number of trial-and-error botched attempts, trying different items here.


Finally, when I saw this combo, I felt a lot happier and more relaxed about it. You just can't beat the clean sweeping lines of art deco pottery... And the Fiesta will be able to handle any spatters it encounters with a simple wipe of a sponge.

Well, that's all for me today. Between the heavy-duty snow shoveling and the cleaning, I'd say I'm about ready for a heating pad and a nice cup of tea right now!

• If you missed Wednesday's post, about discovering the desk that got the mini-makeover this week, click here.

Here's hoping tonight finds you all safe, with your heads above the snowline and power in your homes.