Vintage Fans

I love vintage fans.  My father gave me this one that I've previously shown in my new basement office space.  He was a tinkerer and would often make some scary electrical connections.  This fan once had a cord and it worked but due to the questionable safety of the connection, I removed it.

Over the weekend, we cleaned out the garage at my parents' house and one of the items that gave us a little trouble was this vintage fan.  Pop hanged it up on a wall by it's base and the screw was so deeply into a stud and stripped that it was tough to remove but we finally got it down and I'm so glad we did.  I remember days when this fan was on while Pop worked out there.  

This one has a cord, but I will never plug it in.  Again with those electrical connections.  I did remove some electrical connectors and replaced them with electrical tape just so it blended a little better.

I do think it looks good in it's new home.

 I had to remove my birdcage from this spot to place the fan here, so that's now the centerpiece in  my dining room.

I also brought home the plant stand to the left.  I am doing my best to care for Pop's plants which he loved.  I also think having all the plants here brings a little spring inside.

Speaking of spring, it's going to be in the 70s here this week and "spring forward" is on Sunday.  I'm so excited to get outside digging in the garden.  I went for a run this morning for the first time in a month and it was wonderful.

Happy Tuesday!

Linking to

Home Sweet Home 

Make it Pretty Monday

  Wow Us Wednesday 

And

Thoughts of Home on Thursday 

Another Weekend, More Vintage Finds

I just returned from yet another weekend of cleaning out my mom's house.  We made major progress and managed to clean the entire garage - a huge undertaking.  

The attic, which we previously attacked, still needs work, but I've found some great things up there.  I went up there yesterday and came across this.  

A Singer sewing machine from 1950(?).  It's in fantastic condition.

I took it out of the case (which was very dusty and worn).  I plugged it in to see if the old light bulb worked (it did!) but I couldn't get the machine to work.  

When I unplugged it, one of the prongs for the plug stayed in the wall!  I managed to get it out without electrocuting myself, but this machine would obviously need some electrical work before it would be functional.  

The case held the instructions and several bobbins that still had the thread the previous owner must have used for their projects.

I also came across this photo.  I don't recognize either of them and wonder if it's either the previous owners of the sewing machine or their relatives.

In the end, I decided not to keep the sewing machine and placed it in the "sell" pile.  It's very tempting, but I don't really have a place for it and I think someone else out there might.

I found a couple of smaller things that I have decided to keep.  This old postal scale.

It's not perfectly zeroed, but it's close and I wonder how close it is to accurate.  It might be completely off, but I still love it.

I decided to add it to the basement office space along with my dog nutcracker, Edgar Allen Poe books, Eiffel Tower and Empire State Building.

I left this coffee grinder behind, but when I got home and showed my husband, he told me I was crazy to leave it.  I didn't want to, so I'll be picking that up on my next trip.  My dad had a few of these.  He collected them.  He collected a lot of things.

Finding these things is a lot of fun, but we have done well with progress on the house.  Now that the garage is mostly done, the rest of the house feels less like an insurmountable task.  It is sad that we need to move everything, but I'm happy that I'm able to keep some of these items that were very "Pop" and had been around for so many years.

Tomorrow is Monday.  Ick.  Back to work.  At least I can look forward to Downton Abbey tonight.  Can't wait!

New (to me) Finds

I mentioned in a previous post that my father had a vintage phone.  I forgot it on my last trip but I picked it up over the weekend.  I paired it with the vintage typewriter which are both on top of the old sewing machine base - all his.  He had some good stuff.  The wooden top looks dusty, but it's just a little worn. I've been meaning to repaint it eventually.

I also took a small table he had.  

I thought the chair in the corner was looking kinda lonely and wanted a small table just like this so it's perfect.

That's all for today.  Have a great week!

Linking to Inspire Me Monday at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
And
The Scoop at Stonegable. 

Lucketts - May 2012

I went to Lucketts today with my friend Nisha to see what was new.  The last time I was there was February, and I knew that there would be much to see since then.

Good stuff indeed!  On their porch I admired this old stove ...

... and fridge.  It would be fun to have a home to have functional items like these.

My friend Nisha accompanied me and she found this fabulous suitcase that was in incredible condition.  The satin inside was like new and it even still had the original key!  She is a pin-up model so she will certainly get some use out of this.

Lots of bird items for spring ...

We couldn't tell if the transferware here was purple or blue, but I think it was blue reflecting purple off the items around it.  The little creamer with the purple flowers nearly came home with me, but I restrained myself.  So many dishes ... so little space.

Silver teapot and creamer ... love!

I tried to squeeze myself into the black top on the right to no avail.  I've decided that these things were made for children rather than adult women.

 My one and only Lucketts purchase of the day ... The vintage 60s bronze shoes.  So pretty and comfy!

Simple but good advice ...

 Loved this, but I've sworn off pillows due to lack of storage.  Covers only for me and they're surprisingly hard to come by, unfortunately.

Some garden pretty on the way to the Design House.

 Cheery yellow on a gray day. 

I have long admired ruffled tablecloths like these.  Alas, it is unlikely one will ever fit my budget.

 Love her!

Head right this way!  (Sorry.)

 I have about as much space in my garden for more plants as I do in my dining room for another dish, but I've been scheming to find a spot for knock-out roses and this is why.  So beautiful, so fragrant and so easy to care for.

Fountains on the porch ... Bubbling water - such a soothing welcome.

This is fantastic.  The red door and the black and white striped curtains.  It kinda reminds me of a circus, but in a fun way.  If only I had a porch ...

Really, really wanted one of these huge letters.  Must investigate alternative (and more affordable) means of acquiring ...

Loved so many things in this room ... The massive pendulum clock, amazing floor lamp and union jack ottomans.  Now that I look at this photo, I also love the desk chair.  Such and inspiring office space.

Pretty pale blue square bowls. 

I don't think I've ever visited Lucketts without admiring some owl art. 

Well, those are just a fraction of the photos I took at Lucketts.  On the way back, we stopped in at Beekeeper's Cottage.  I really liked these for the garden.  I just planted a veggie garden in front of my house and these would be a lot prettier than your average tomato cage supports.

This photo doesn't do it justice, but this wedding dress was really pretty in its simplicity and I nearly brought it home with me for Grace.

That's it for Lucketts.  They will be closed for the summer so my next big adventure will take me back to the Big Flea in July.  Who knows what I'll find between now and then?

Spring Tea

For my daughter's 6th birthday, one of my friends suggested that I have a tea.  I'd thought about it, but never followed through so her comment gave me the bit of motivation I needed.  As usual, I was far too busy to take pictures so once again, huge thanks to my friend Jeni for capturing all these photos while I ran around being a server for the day.

I used my white vintage 50s dishes with a few of my blue teacups mixed in.  Looseleaf tea strainers were gifts that also acted as placecard holders.  I also printed some menus.

My dining room isn't big enough to accomodate all my guests so my living room became my dining room for the day.

I've had this sugar pot for a while and have never used it so I was happy to be able to fill it sugar cubes and I added the necessary sugar tongs. 

First course - Roasted Tomato Basil Soup.

For the finger sandwiches and dessert, I stacked some of my favorite dishes.  I didn't want to purchase towers but I think this worked well and I don't have to worry about how to store more dishes. 

The guests provided several deserts including these beautiful lemon tarts ...

Jeni made these lovely (and delicious!) individual cheesecakes and even made the sugared flowers on them.

Part of the fun was the opportunity to wear a hat ...

Why don't we wear hats anymore?  So elegant ...

... and fun!

I was too occupied with the entertaining aspect to find the time to shop for a hat but I came upon a somewhat expensive but fun fascinator while perusing ideas online.  I later realized that I had most of the materials to make something similar myself.  A raid of my craft closet and a $3 headband later, the result ...

So, if my living room was my dining room for the day, what did I do with the furniture?  My dining room became a sitting room for the day.

Here are most of us at the end of the day.

I think we all had a lot of fun with this.  For our next tea, I'm taking a break from the kitchen and we'll be gathering at a local garden with a historic house that has occasional tea events.  I'm very much looking forward to it!