Treasure Hunt

I planned a date with my friend to attend the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea market.  It’s always fun to attend and I just happened to have a list of several things I needed to get there – like two crystal drawer pulls for my entry way desk (it was missing two) and one drawer pull for the serpentine dresser (it came missing 1 out of 8 pulls).

Thing 2 and I have also been looking for the perfect mirror to put over the Grady Hunt desk .  Not even five minutes in, I found an adorable round vintage mirror.   It was a great deal so I went ahead and bought it.  That’s a little hasty but I knew in my heart it was right.  During the rest of our trek around the bowl I never saw another mirror that would have worked as well.

Then we came across a vendor selling vintage knobs and pulls.  I easily found two crystal knobs that matched the ones I had.  They also had a box of brass pulls and while I found several very similar to the Dixie pulls, none were an exact match.  I resigned myself to finding something new.  Finding the exact match might be impossible.

The other cool thing about the Rose Bowl Flea Market is that you get to see some creative uses of vintage treasures and furniture and other odd bits.  There’s also some interesting people there.  Like the character that was selling mismatched vintage jewelry.  My friend and I got waylaid at his booth.  He was hawking his wares like a seasoned Carney – yelling out different prices depending on the person who approached… In the end, he made us a great deal and she and I both found some great pieces.  I think I’ll incorporate mine into a bracelet or necklace…. or maybe even a purse.

I’ve been on the look out for a vintage bottle rack – I’d love to leave it on my counter.   This would be a quirky drying rack since I don’t own a dishwasher.

LOOK at these rusted horse heads – they were solid iron and weathered and just gorgeous!  I think I need one, my carousel horse needs a friend.

How lovely are these lighted pieces from Coppersmith Designs?  They  look simple in design; the lights are set in wood with a metal frame housing.   But when you turn the lights on, the lights reflect inside the frame.  I’m sure you could make one if you’re the slightest bit crafty, but they were so reasonably  priced.  The star might have to live on my back porch.  It would be a fun way to add lighting back there.

Not on my list but definitely fun were these tables made from metal saw blades.  I didn’t particularly like the base they were set on but the blades used as a table top had a great patina and a lot of interest.

Up for consideration were these steel cases with metal drawers.  Each drawer is wide enough to hold  8 ½ x 11 paper.  The kids always need lined paper or printer paper on hand.  Think of all the craft supplies that could go in here!  Their pieces ranged from $200 to $500.  While I love the industrial look – I’m not in love with the bare stripped finish.  Maybe a deep golden brown finish would blend it in a little better?  Or painted a bright color?  Open to your suggestions here.

At the end of the day we stopped by one last vendor and searched through his bins of mismatched pulls.  Unbelievably, my friend’s quick eye found the EXACT match!  That’s why she’s my wing man for Rose Bowl!

Can you tell which one is the original?

I can’t wait to go back!

Vintage Tray Message Du Jour Boards

I’ve been looking and looking for some old vintage metal trays.  I thought they would be cute with their inner sections painted in chalk paint.  Cute to display around the home – handy for whatever the “Message Du Jour” is!  Thing 1 and Thing 2 always have fun with things like these and there’s no telling what message someone might leave, tempted with a blank slate and piece of chalk!

The weekend garage sales hadn’t turned up anything.  My search of the local thrift stores turned up a few items that were too much money and just really not what I was envisioning.  I was really looking to pay no more than a $1.00 (or even less).

Are you familiar with “the Secret”?  It’s a philosophy where you put a message out to the universe.  Basically you manifest your desires.  I’m familiar with the concept only.  But I will tell you this, I do seem to have this gift!  Need a new Cuisinart?  I’ll find one, brand new at an estate sale for $25 complete with the extra blade set.  What about a Barbecue for the rental house in Palm Springs?  How’s $20 bucks sound, gently used with a filled propane tank to boot!

Yeah, lucky me.  This is my gift in life – it couldn’t be something cool like winning lotteries or finding diamonds.  But finding that certain something that I feel I need… it comes to me.

Sure enough, sooner than expected, someone moved out of one of the apartments where I lived.  They left a bunch of kitchen goods, stacked neatly in a covered area next to the recycling.  Three darling little vintage trays yelled out to me and caught my attention.  They were not too big!  Not too small.  EXACTLY what I was envisioning!

After cleaning up the trays and applying a couple of coats of chalk paint, I had three festive little message boards, perfect for any occasion!

Naturally, Thing 2 was the first to grab the chalk and leave her message!

Vintage Kitchen Wrap Dispenser

I got this beat up little kitchen wrap dispenser at an estate sale.  The sale was MOBBED with resellers and while they were gunning for the silver and china – I discovered this sweet little piece.  I’d never seen one of these before and just fell in love with its handiness and charm.  The words “Saran Wrap, Waxed Paper, Aluminum Foil and Paper Towels” mark the compartment lids in a great cursive font.  Wrap dispensers like these were probably made around the 1950’s and usually came a shiny aluminum chrome finish.  The shine had long ago lost it sheen and I’ve never been a fan of Stainless Steel appliances for the kitchen.   It clearly needed some love and a new look.   To give this little guy a new life – I had it sand blasted.  After a light coat of primer it was ready for my favorite accent color – Nicolean Blue.

I originally envisioned this mounted to an inside of a cabinet – jauntily dispensing spools of ribbon.  But it really just wanted to hang out in my kitchen with me – just to the left of the sink.  And its proved itself handy for whenever I need a piece of aluminum or plastic wrap.  Modern day paper towels don’t fit in the compartment marked for paper, but that’s okay – I stash zip lock baggies in there which makes it super easy when I’m making lunches for Thing 1 and Thing 2.