Thrift Finds Yet Again

Yes, Easter is quite some time away, but I couldn't resist these pretty painted eggs - nor the lovely little tablecloth beneath them:

The way this little bridge set was packaged, you couldn't even see how cute it was inside:
Only one deck of cards remain, but they're adorable:

Nice pair of maracas!

And I found this cool vintage chair a while ago:

It actually looks better in person than in these photos:
I really want to keep it, but I'm just not sure where I could put it. So, it's up at the shop for now.
Do you remember when I showed you the group of quilt squares I found? Here's what I did with one of my favorites:

Oh - and , um, yes, yet another pillar candle holder for my growing "collection" (she admitted, sheepishly), pictured below along with a gorgeous painted pot from Mexico:

Also, here is one more of my "thrifted" combos - this Old Navy shirt is such a gorgeous color, and I have paired it with a beautiful paisley scarf and vintage flower pin - also from thrift stores, of course!

More to come, soon - because I do have a tendency to stop at every thrift shop I possibly can manage!

The Great Big Car And Truck Book

Sis Lori here:
I found this book recently at a thrift store and thought I would share. It's A Golden Book from 1951, pictures by Richard Scarry. My intent was to show a few pages, but honestly, every page was so cute, I couldn't decide. So here you go:



This is one of my favorites:



Isn't this a "kick" with the family inside the car being towed?!


Love this one:



How cute was that? Hope you enjoyed it!

Lovin' These Great Vintage Shoes

All of these vintage shoes were found in Seventeen Magazines from the 1970's:

I like them a LOT:

Totally digging all of these great suede wedges:


I think any of these would still sell in today's stores, don't you?
Or is it just me?

If I didn't think that I'm probably too old for them, and if they were available, and if I had the money - and if I thought I could walk in them....
...I would buy them.
'Cause I think they're super cool.

Then And Now #81 Lipton Iced Tea

I found another Jane Wyman ad - I KNEW I had seen another one. No matter, I wanted to do a post about Lipton Iced Tea anyway.
So here it is "Then", back in 1948:
I think this one is from the sixties:
And the 70's (sorry, I forgot to make a note of the year when I took my pictures!)We used to make sun tea by the gallon when we were growing up.

I don't drink as much tea now because I'm very sensitive to caffeine. But sometimes, I do have decaffeinated, and when I do it's nearly always Lipton that I want (unless I'm in the mood for herbal tea).
So, as always, I leave you with the 'Now", two packages of Lipton Tea that are in our kitchen cupboard right now:

I truly do think of iced tea as one of the most refreshing drinks for summertime. Do you?

Snapshots

I took a few snapshots around the house.
We're running out of display space:

Some might say my collections are out of control:

Here's a shot of some of my vintage frames I have shown you numerous times before:
And Cheshire Cat has found a new friend:

Side by side.
Out of control?
Oh, I don't know.....maybe a little?
Whatever.

New Summer Cocktail

I finally found Skinny Girl Margarita at Safeway, and it was on sale at the time, so I "had" to get a bottle to try it:
No, I do not need all of these bar "accoutrements" to drink it. It's actually ready-to-drink as is, although I liked it better when I poured some into my Diet Squirt on ice. I just felt like taking a picture of some of my vintage barware because I like it:

And besides, a little bit of Old Blue Eyes while you sip your cocktail is never a bad thing.
Bottoms up!

A Visit By A Newt, or a Salamander Drops By

Good morning, Tina here.

A couple of weeks ago, we had quite a rainshower overnight. It really came down, washing the pollen off the trees, sweeping the gullies in the roadway free of leaves again. When I got up, the world smelled fresh, like the old Herbal Essence shampoo...
I grabbed a cup of coffee and looked out the slider onto the deck. I spied a lizard.

Wait, it's not a lizard, it's a salamander! I hope it's okay out there.

Try to sneak up on it, open the door, walk quietly, don't want it to scurry away.

Wow, it let me walk right up to it, it isn't even scared! A lizard would be gone the second I touched the door handle.

When we first moved into our house, over twelve years ago now, it was very early spring. We had to do a lot of clearing out of places under decks and porches. Under our front steps was a large blob of concrete, left over from pouring a foundation for the stairs perhaps.

Under the steps under the blob was a very pregnant newt. She was a beautiful bright orange with lilac tinges in the creases. She was slow as molasses, and just as sweet. It was our first "wild animal" we had found living close to our home. Perhaps she was an ancestor to this newt who visited us this summer.

My salamander finally took a step toward its home as I watched, afraid to move or breathe.

A hose becomes an obstacle to climb over.I hope he found a good meal out on this slimy slab of cement.

I finally had to get up close and personal. I just wanted to feel its coolness and its semi-rough little body, solid but tiny. It didn't seem to be bothered by my handling it.

When I was in first grade at the little two-room Summit School on Springer Road in Placerville, we didn't have a large playground or ballfields to keep us busy outside. But we did have a lovely little brook across the road from the school, and we had a lot of fun beside that stream. We found all kinds of treasures: tadpoles, watercress, polished stones, water skimmers, and salamanders. I think that is when I decided my favorite color was orange. There are not many orange animals in the world.

I was so happy this little guy let me enjoy him for a few moments before he went on his way.

Back into the lair of the toad, along with the dark scurrying beetles, and the lizards, safe from the cats and the corgi.

Bye bye little guy. Come back again sometime to visit me in the early morning. I know you are a night creature, so I appreciate you staying up late to see me.

Fare thee well, my tiny orange buddy.