Wednesday Wish list: Retro Kitchen/Dining

Retro Kitchen/Dining by sunae-reilly featuring yellow kitchen towels

So, now Jake and I have been in our home a few months, we are starting to nut out how we would like our home to look. Jake hates isn't a very big fan of the chintzy, shabby chic, vintage look I love so much, so in the spirit of compromise, he is allowing me to still decorate in a vintage/retro theme as long as I stick to a more gender neutral colour scheme and make it what we call "mid-century industrial kitsch". He doesn't know what kitsch means and I'm not sure he would approve of those salt and pepper shakers, but since I know I'l be the one spending the money to make our place look nice, I like to think I should be allowed a few kitsch and novelty bits and bobs of my choosing! Most of this stuff is from ModCloth. I deliberately chose stuff from an international store so the postage would put me off spending all my savings on everything in one go haha. I would really like to get bits and pieces here and there though, and will mix this stuff in with vintage stuff I already own and stuff I find along the way.

What do you think of this kind of style?

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: Ticking something off the wish list

Remember back in October when I wrote about my ultimate thrift wish list? Well, I recently was able to tick one of those very special items off the list as I came into possession of a set of vintage Nally Ware canisters!

I bought them off ebay for a pretty reasonable price, and they are in good but well used vintage condition. The set is missing the flour canister, but I'm confident I can pick a lonely one up some place or another. I'm convinced they are the perfect addition to my future kitchen, and I can't wait to get my own place again so I can get into decorating mode!

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. 

In Amira's Closet: Retro Leotards

So, here is the first installment of the photos from the weekend. This part of the shoot was inspired by the 80's and we all dug into Amira's vintage leotards for a bit of fun :)

I am so in love with some of these photos, especially the black and white ones. I am also totally in love with our gorgeous photographer, Amira, who I am in the process of coercing into starting a blog ;)

That girl has some real talent, and I can't wait to show you the rest of the photos, which include some rather surprising and awesome props!