Why I collect vintage

I've always been a nostalgic person, I've always been a collector. When I was little I collected rocks and fossils and as a teenager it was Sailormoon cards. As I got older and got my own home I decided I wanted to fill it with good things. Things that had history, things that are made to last. I've always been interested in kitchen things.  I love to watch cooking shows, I love seeing how delicious and beautiful food is made.  I was instantly drawn to vintage Pyrex, it reminded me of happy memories. It was used at every major family function from a 4th of July BBQ to birthdays.

 

One of my favorite and best finds, a complete unnumbered primary bowl  set ( 1940's ) that I got from Goodwill for $9.12

 Hot air balloon chip and dip set ( made in 1958 ) I got the smaller bowl from a sweet old lady that dropped the larger bowl right before I got there. I was slightly traumatized and wouldn't stop lamenting over it so my Mom got me the chip bowl for my 24th birthday. I found the cradle locally. One of my absolute favorites, it's so whimsical.

 

Fire King jadeite swirl bowls and teacups, it took me two years to find these! A sweet old man was selling off his wife's collection, she had recently passed and he was moving in to a nursing home. He was a charming character. A great thing about collecting something is that you get to meet some of the most interesting people.

One of the best things about collecting something is the hunt! I love going to thrift stores and go once a week, normally on Thursday as that's discount day. I drag my Husband out with me and we troll through aisles hoping to find some goodies. Once I lifted a Pyrex bowl over my head like it was the Heisman Trophy. I often make very embarrassing squeaks of excitment as well. It's amazing how a crappy day can blossom in to an amazing one if you find the right piece of history waiting to take it's spot in your kitchen.

 These are some of my most recent finds from an estate sale I attended this past weekend. It was rare for Vegas to have a sale like this, most of the stuff was in a massive old barn. We had to wait in line for 45 minutes in the hot sun, everything was dusty and it was crowded but it was worth it.

 I adore these glasses! The riverboats made me think of sitting on a big wrap around porch and sipping ice cold sweet tea. They were made by Libbey in 1968 for Southern Comfort. 

 When it really comes down to it though there is one very simple explanation as to why I collect vintage, vintage to me is watching my grandmother stir the chocolate chips in to the cookie dough and giving me some of the dough on a spoon to nibble on. Vintage to me is sitting at the Thanksgiving table and looking at all the wonderful food my Mother and Grandmother made for my family. Vintage to me is eating that peanut butter and jelly sandwich and listening to my Grandparents talk about how they first met.

 That brown casserole at the top was my Nana's so it gets top billing that thing has seen many a yam.

 Last year's Christmas display.

 Also during last Christmas, I found that casserole at my favorite antique store named Goat Feathers in Boulder City, Nevada.

 My Beanie cat, in my opinion vintage and cats just go together.

For the curious I'll tell the story of how they met. My Papa had recently graduated from university and was in the ROTC program. He went in to the military as an officer. He was to be stationed in Germany and took a boat for his journey. My Nana was an officer's daughter, her father had also recently been assigned to Germany and as fate would have it they were all on the same boat going over. My Nana was 16 and bored, my Papa was 23 and awkward, they met up every evening to play cards. My Nana said she she immediately was taken with my Papa, she said she first noticed his handsome hands. They grew smitten with one another but realized that when the boat ride was over so was their budding friendship. Papa was being stationed in a different part of Germany than my Nana's father. They said their goodbyes, my Nana said she thought a lot about him in the following weeks as they got settled in to their new lives. Then one day on the street she heard someone call out her name, she looked around and saw my Papa. His situation had changed, he had been moved to Heidelberg, where she and her family were now living. A shortly after that they were married and a year after that my Mom was born.

 

Here is a picture of my Grandparents flirting shamelessly before they got married.

Their wedding, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last year.

 Fill your home with things you love, happy hunting.