Friday's Finds: The Pyrex Gods are kind!

Last week saw me with a lot of doctors appointments, blood tests and other such goings-on relating to my illness. There was a lot of running around town associated with this and so to break things up a bit, I decided to call into the op shops that are located around my specialist's office. Lately, I haven't had a lot of luck at the op shops as my local ones have inflated their prices a ridiculous amount for anything they think even might be vintage or collectible, but I was lucky on this day to find not one, but three things that caught my eye and were actually cheap enough for me to justify bringing them home.

First was the large Pyrex dish - I don't own any rectangular pyrex and so I had to bring it home with me! It's a little scratched up, but still in pretty good shape for something that  don't doubt was very well used! Then I found the gorgeous little orange and brown, retro Pyrex ramekins for just $1.50 each. There were only three which is a shame because I'm sure they come in sets of four and I would have loved a complete set, but they are cute nonetheless and so I had to have them! Just as I was about to walk out the door, I found that little retro saucepan hidden down on the bottom shelf and I just had to have it! I think I'll use it as a planter on my verandah. Perfect with the floral pattern, right?

Have you had any luck in the op shops lately? Have the Pyrex gods been as kind to you as they have ben to me? I'd love to hear about your finds!

Friday's Finds: adding pieces to collections

There is something wonderful about finding new pieces to add to existing collections in the op shops and I was incredibly lucky to pick up these two pieces in a half off sale at my local Salvos store on Thursday while out shopping with a good friend. 

I really love the floral motif on this little Arcopal casserole dish. It's the first I've found in decent condition in an op shop that still has a lid! 

I just had to bring home this Corning Ware coffee pot, too because it matches the tea pot from my last post! I don't drink much coffee but its hard to pass up a matching pair, right? 

The same Salvos store also saw me buy a very special piece of furniture which I would like to call the bargain of the century at just $12.50 which you will have to wait to see next week, as I need Jake's muscles to pick it up and so won't have it home until Monday. Rest assured it is an absolutely beauty, though. 

Have you had any great op shop purchases lately? If you write similar posts, please leave a link below. I'd love to check out your fabulous finds!

The Great Arcopal Haul of 2013!

Well, this post has certainly proved itself a struggle to write, hasn't it? I've had so much trouble with Blogger, first refusing to upload my pictures and then decided that it didn't want to save my draft, but finally, here it is! The Great Arcopal Haul of 2013!

Those of you who follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter will have seen my sneak peeks of today's haul, or perhaps just heard my whispers. Indeed, I got very excited last week when I headed out to a couple of op shops in my hometown and was met with the glorious sight of milk glass!

For those of you with no clue what Arcopal is (and here I must admit that a little over a week ago, I would have been one of you) I give you the following. Those of you who do know what Arcopal is, feel free to skip this next couple of paragraphs. I won't blame you :)

Arcopal France is one of the first brand names that had been launched by ARC International and has now been discontinued. The company is famous for other glass and dinnerware brands worldwide like the moderately priced Luminarc, the exclusive Cris d’Arques and prestigious Mikasa. Here is a little picture of the brands which ARC International represent today, off their website.

The Arcopal France dinnerware is a white opal, break proof, tempered glass which has a fire glazed finish. This material is 100% non-porous and is fully tempered to resist thermal pressure and breakage. The Arcopal France dinnerware is five times stronger than china. It is fully tempered break and chip resistant glass. The glass can resist thermal shock as well as impact and is completely microwave-safe, dishwasher safe and break and chip resistant. 

So basically, from what I can gather, Arcopal's milk glass is just the French version of Pyrex. Is is collectible? Well, yes, if you look on Etsy, apparently so. Is it pretty? See for yourself! I have somehow managed to pick up 6 different patterns, with one in three different colourways in the one trip to the op shop! All together, 59 pieces! Plus one piece of actual Pyrex, which I've lobbed onto the end of this post :)

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find names for the patterns which I have come into contact with, however I do know that some Arcopal patterns do have special titles. If any of you know the names of any of the patterns I have down below, please do let me know!

The patterns above and below are, on close inspection, actually different. There are 7 of those pretty bread-and-butter plates altogether, but curiously, only one bowl. I have no idea where the tea cup's saucers are!

These little daffodil tea cups are just so delightfully 70's! I love them! Again, they are missing saucers though!

This next pattern is again, delightfully 70's! Nothing says 70's, really, quite like the combination of brown, orange and floral!

The "Country Scene" pattern, as it is mostly referred to on the internet, is my favourite! I can just imagine a little girl sipping tea out of this cup at Grandma's, delighted that she was allowed to take part in such an adult activity, and feeling ever so grown-up!

And now we come to the pattern I have collected the most of, in three colour ways. Of the brown colour way, I have two tea cups, five bread-and-butter plates, two dinner plates, and seven bowls. Of the blue, I have three tea cups and saucers, and two bread-and-butter plates. Of the gold, I have just the one, lonely tea cup. I quite like the simplicity of this pattern.

Last but not least, I give you the Pyrex, which I have also been unable to identify the pattern of. It is marked PYREX (TM) Ovenware on the bottom, and again, any help identifying it would be greatly appreciated!

Well, there you have it! An Arcopal haul of epic proportions. Now I just have to figure out what to do with it all! Some will go straight into my cupboards, of course, even if I do feel guilty replacing brand new crockery with stuff thats about 40 years old! The rest, I'm not sure what I will do with. I mean, I hardly need 23 milk glass tea cups in my already overcrowded cupboard full of china! I just couldn't bear to leave any of this lovely milk glass behind! When I saw it, it unleashed a greedy, vintage-loving monster!

Pyrex and Arcopal spread over my floor while I decide what to do with it. 

Friday's Finds

I spent this week staying at mum and dad's place to get my back fixed, and while I was there I took a trip to Lismore with my good friend Alisha and her mum to hit up the op shops and have a little catch up. I must say, I am impressed with this haul, and equally impressed with the whopping $17 total that these items (including the double bedspread which I used as a backdrop) came to.

The floral mugs are bone china and were only 50c each, as were the Noritake tea cups. Anyone who knows me will know I am a total tea snob - very particular about the tea I drink, the way it's made and what it's served in. I won't drink tea out of anything that isn't bone china and these mugs are the perfect, pretty way to consume large amounts of tea in the winter months (which I am starting to sorely anticipate). The bed spread is currently covering my ugly lounge, until I either find a chenille spread for it, or get a new one. It brightens the room up nicely, having cream on the lounge. I love it. 

The divided dish was a practical find which will get tonnes of use, and the other dish is marked "Fire King" and I absolutely love it! Not sure if it will stay in the kitchen or find it's way as storage in the sewing room yet, but the pattern in beautiful. I realised today that none of my "pyrex" is actually pyrex, but I totally don't care because they're so pretty and practical. 

While I was at my parents' place, mum cleaned out her cupboards and gave me a tonne of antique serving ware and other tidbits that she doesn't want anymore. I swear it was better than Christmas, and I'll post a bit about it when it's all unpacked, because it's just so awesome! So many beautiful things which were totally off-limits when I was a little girl are finally mine, and I'm so excited to have visitors over and pull it all out. She even gave me two small Doulton plates, which is a big deal for mum, because she collects it and my dad bought her these plates when they lived in Toowoomba, which basically kick-started her collection. I feel so lucky to have grown up in a house which was filled with antiques, because it has really fostered my love for it all. I think it can go either way when you grow up in a house like ours - you either love and embrace it, or hate and shun it. I'm so glad that I fell in love with it, and I attribute my passion for history to this antique-filled upbringing. I always loved hearing the stories behind the things mum and dad found and collected, and I think that was my first real exposure to "history". 

Have you had any recent thrifty finds that blew your mind? Or perhaps some exciting hand-me-downs, like I received from mum?

Friday's Finds: Burleigh Haul

Yesterday I took the bus up to my Uni for a meeting with the student success adviser. It was my first time catching the bus all that way and the first time I'd had to make a transfer (in a suburb I didn't know, to top it off). I was extremely nervous about making that cross over and getting to the meeting on time. As my first engagement with the University, I thought it was incredibly important that I be there on time. Fortunately, my plan to get there 15 minutes early was the best forward-thinking I have ever done, because it saved my butt when my first bus was running late and made me miss my second bus and have to wait around for a further 10 minutes for another. 

The meeting was incredibly helpful, and I feel much more confident about starting this new chapter of study now I have met with the success adviser and learned more about what my first year in the School of Humanities is going to be like, what resources are available to me and where I can go if I ever need help with anything. 

I was much more relaxed on the trip back, having made my deadline and learned a lot of helpful stuff, and so I decided to take the bus I was on all the way to Burleigh Heads before changing, rather than changing at the designated stop. Boy am I glad of this little brainwave, because opposite the bus stop is a great Salvos store, and look what I found!

My first ever pieces of vintage Pyrex! Ooh, it is a happy day for this little blogger where I could tick "Pyrex" of my "to find" list at $2 a piece!

These books are what the TV series Bones is loosely based around. The writer is a forensic anthropologist and all the science is real, as in the show (which she produces). The books are basically a reflection of Kathy's life, and I can't wait to read them! If you're a Bones nut like me, you will be interested to note that the author's name "Kathy Reichs" is the name of the character in Brennan's book on the show! How is that for a cool Bones nerd fact?

I just love the chipper patterns on my pyrex! They're very "me".

I almost didn't buy this dress, because it was $6 and not something I would usually wear, but I kinda love the tie up front and am starting to crush on the khaki trend wayyy much lately, so bought it anyway. I think it would look great with a cute, lacy cami peeking through the ties, and will layer great for autumn and winter here in Australia. 

Have you had any simply amazing thrift store finds recently? I'm so glad I stopped at Burleigh on my way home. The fact that I now own vintage Pyrex has me absolutely bouncing with joy!