Musings of a Vintage Junkie

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

You Know It's All About Getting One For The Land

Cleve-land, that is.

That's a HUGE billboard of LeBron James on the building in the background.

LeBron James said that about getting a championship win for the Cav's - the Cleveland Caveliers NBA basketball team.

But we weren't in Cleveland this past weekend for the Cav's game. We were there for the Cleveland Indians vs. the New York Mets baseball game.

Why go to Cleveland, Ohio for a Mets game and not New York City when we live in Upstate NY?

$$$ vs. $$$$$$......It is actually less expensive for the tickets, the gas, the lodging and almost everything else you spend money on for a trip. And it's closer.

It was a three game series for the Mets and the Indians and we had tickets to see two of them, Saturday and Sunday. This could have easily been a guy's only weekend for my husband and son but I like a live baseball game too! And I found out that the once a month flea market in Cleveland was to be on Saturday! We had all day to roam the city before the 4 p.m. game so we stopped there first.

Located in a parking lot behind some buildings in the city, it was full of all kinds of stuff, including my favorite....vintage. The railroad tracks were right there, with trains going by above the whole lot.

Not a lot was affordable enough for me to buy and resell but I did buy a few things. I paid too much but they were unique.

This was the best upcycle of vintage suitcases that I have seen yet! The music was very loud coming out of them!

With a few hours to go before the game, we decided to check out the Westside Market on 125th St. It is an indoor market with vegetables and fruit, meat and bakeries.

It literally blasted all your senses as you walked in the doors.

Ewwww.....

Italian goodies....

I am AnnMarie (no e) and my husband is Frank. How cool to see this cute dairy first.....

and then just to the left.....

It was so tempting to load up on all the food that surrounded us.....and how about those apple fritters?! But we were good and had juiced veggie drinks and some fresh fruit as a snack.

On our way back to the car we ran into Guitar Man, Super Hero for Hire. His slogan is "Saving Cleveland 1 Song At A Time".

We weren't quite sure how to take him but he was super fun to talk to.

Time to get to the game. The weather was gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky. Frank got us great seats, right on first base. It was a really nice field, called Progressive Field.

The Mets came out to stretch a little.

This struck me so funny. How many guys does it take to hold a hose?

Apparently 15.

Even though it was warmer back in NY, we all got sunburned from sitting out in the glorious sun for 4 hours. Not complaining!

Mets lost 7-5.

But we had some pretty good food. The best veggie pizza I have had to date!

The next morning our plan was to go to breakfast and then off to the second game. There was a Bob Evan's restaurant across the street from the hotel that the guys wanted to go to but I didn't want to go there. I wanted to find a cute diner to eat at. I googled a few places and we set off.

It would all turn into a comedy of errors.....three times!

Yours Truly was our first stop. When the GPS said "your destination is on the left" this is what we saw....

A building torn down to the studs.

I googled again. Another one that sounded cute....can't remember the cute name. This is what we found when we arrived....

Shut down for who knows how long.

Across the street was a grocery market with a huge Café sign on the building. We went inside to find out it too was closed down.

Guess where we ended up going to breakfast?

Yup, you guessed it, Bob Evans!

The game on Sunday was an early afternoon game at 1 p.m. The Cav's were playing at 3 p.m. The baseball field and the basketball arena just happened to be right next to each other. We got caught in the middle of two major sporting events going on and it was lively! Thank goodness for being able to make reservations for a parking spot online a month ago!

The weather was perfect again but we were on the third base side this time, in the shade most of the game. I was dressed in 3 layers with a scarf around my neck and a jacket over my legs. It was a great game though. Mets won 6-0.

On our way out, another colorful character was hanging out by the parking garage.

It's always a fun time in a big city! You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet. It was a memorable trip and I got to tag along with the guys!

What are you doing this weekend?

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up with these fun blog parties:

Thoughts of Home
Share Your Cup
Best of the Weekend
Anything Goes Pink Saturday

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Church Rummage Sales Are The Best

Small town church rummage sales are the best.

Especially when you walk in and there are sweet, elderly ladies chatting behind the check out table.

It tells me that it is an older congregation and there will be some good stuff!

This past Friday's picking falls into the thrifting on a whim category. I had my granddaughter Cassidy for the day and I had errands to do. Of course we had to stop at the church rummage sale around the corner first.

I scored pretty good!

I bought all of the large Pyrex glass percolators they had....

Available

These are such classic 1950's kitchen items. I just can't imagine having to clean them every day though! They are heavy Pyrex glass with a fragile glass stem and basket.

Postscript: I made a pot of coffee the next morning in the pot for my husband and I and we both agreed that it was pretty good. Not for a morning when you are in a hurry though!

This Pyrex Friendship Cinderella Bake Serve and Store Set are also a classic 1950's kitchen item. They are so pretty in their red, yellow-orange, and white and they are in perfect condition.

available

I will have to research them both over at Diana's blog, Adirondack Girl at Heart. She has a Pyrex Price Guide on her sidebar.

Train cases are great sellers so I always look for them at rummage sales and usually find at least one. This one is in pretty bad shape but for a buck I grabbed it anyways. I plan on painting it like Altered Art Works did and give it new life.

These sandwich makers for the campfire are very popular with buyers. This one is from Toas-tite. It is in great, usable condition too and just in time for pbj's by the fire.

Available

All of these great metal kitchen tools were in one bag for a buck. I think they are great collectibles to repurpose or use for their intended purpose.

When I got home with my goodies and started playing with them I realized that one of the percolators was missing an inside metal part. One of the sweet ladies at the sale tried to give me a bunch of metal parts but I didn't take them! I went back the next morning and got the whole bag for a quarter. I only needed one, but like the kitchen tools, I thought maybe they would be good for a repurposing project. There was an extra glass lid in there too.

I will be sorting and listing these things in my Etsy shop soon. If you are interested in any of them before they make it there, send me an email!

AnnMarie xoxo

I am linking up to these fun blog parties:

Thrifty & Vintage Finds Link Party

Let's Talk Vintage

Talk of the Town

Vintage Bliss Tuesday's Linky Party

Share Your Cup Thursday

Thoughts of Home on Thursday

Vintage Charm Party

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

DIY Miniature Fairy Garden Terrariums

This post is about my newest passion....making fairy garden terrariums.

It seems that when I see something I love, I have to make one and give it as a gift. It all started when my husband gave me a fairy garden kit for Christmas. It came out so cute.

It sits on the kitchen window sill so I can see it whenever I am at the sink.

When my daughter saw it she said "I want one!". So I decided to try and make one for her for her birthday. The first picture and the one below are of the terrarium I made for her birthday.

Can you see the green watering can and spade?

When I started to gather supplies to make terrariums, I bought any and every jar or container I thought might work. Any clear glass bowl, with or without a cover, will work. Make sure the jar you choose has a large enough opening so you can fit your hand inside to place the pretty accents! A covered jar works best to create the ecosystem contained in the jar that terrariums are made for. Of course I got them all at thrift stores for $1 or less. I gathered so many that I could make four different ones for four gifts.

The other supplies needed are potting soil, activated charcoal (purchased in the pet area of a garden store), small pebbles (Lowes garden department), large stones or glass beads (from my stash), Spanish moss (any craft store), fresh moss, and your decorations...ie. fairy house, mushrooms, little accents, and of course a fairy. All of the supplies come in containers large enough to make five terrariums plus extra for more. Most of the houses, a fairy and the accent pieces you will see came from Jo-Ann's. The mushrooms were found at Michael's. Of course you can find more online.

The first thing to do is to wash and dry your container. I used an open container for demonstration purposes.

Soak the Spanish Moss in water.

Fill the bottom of your jar with the small pebbles.

Add a layer of larger stones such as river rocks, or the craft glass beads that come in a variety of colors. I chose a mix of blues for this one.

Put a layer of the wet Spanish Moss on top...

Then sprinkle on some activated charcoal....

Put a layer of the potting soil over that. You can be creative and make hills and valleys if you'd like and have room in your container.

Spritz the dirt with water to make it moist. This is the view from the side of the glass bowl.

I then pulled small pieces of the fresh moss from the bag I ordered (see link above). It came in a ziplock bag in one patch of moss. It was enough to make four terrariums.

I tucked each piece of moss into the dirt to create the yard and left the middle open for a path to the house. I spritzed the moss with water and then added my accents.....a daisy stepping stone path with a ladybug, a wooden barrel filled with flowers and some mushrooms scattered around. Of course the thatched roof cottage is the focal point. No fairies in sight though (couldn't find one small enough!).

I wanted to thank my dear friend Kim for always being so supportive of the things I do so I made a miniature fairy terrarium for her, just because. It is in an apple shaped jar with a lid that has a stem on it.

What I didn't know, that Kim shared with me when she got this garden, is that our mutual dear friend Lora loves everything fairy! I was sick for her birthday party so hadn't been able to give her a gift yet, so guess what I made for her? Her terrarium is extra special because I found a small enough fairy to perch at the end of the path. This garden made it's debut in my last post.

I used terrarium moss for this one as opposed to live moss.

I just followed the same layering process for all of these. The fun is making them in

different shaped jars, using different stones and accents to make them unique.

You can even use an antique porcelain dish....

This one sits on my mantel in the parlor. Because it is open to the air it has to be spritzed every now and then. None of the terrariums should be put in direct light.

I hope you try one for yourself or a gift. They really are fun and easy to make.

The next thing I want to try is a fairy garden in my old dented, rusty galvanized bucket for outdoors this summer.

Stay tuned!