Portobello Road Find

One of my destinations in London was Portobello Road Market to browse its vintage and antique shops.  We got there on one of our last days!  Here is the picture I made Hus take (we only had to wait for someone else taking the same picture to get out of the way).

Unfortunately, we didn't have incredible amounts of time that day, nor luggage space to do extensive shopping.  We took only one carry-on bag each.  I was, however, able to ferret away one small and cheap item - only 20p (about 30 North American cents).

It is a bread and butter plate by Biltons.  I am not planning to use it in the kitchen, but I loved the colours and have had a decorating project in mind using colourful and unique plates.  I want to use thrifted plates to add colour to my stairwell.  Here are a few pictures of what I have in mind...

I guess I have a lot of thrifting left to do since I only have this plate and one other for my project!  Hopefully I'll be able to find a Catherine Holm plate like the orange one in the top photo

Container Collection

So in having a look around to post some of the collections I've amassed over the last three months (of not posting) I found I had purchased a few containers.  

I just bought the jar in the back for .50 cents last Sunday at the flea market, the Avon owl at a garage sale several weeks ago for $2, and the tin at a thrift shop in the lower mainland several months ago for $3.
Have a closer look at this happening tin...

It is labelled 'Riley's Toffee Halifax England' on the bottom.  At first I didn't know what to do with it, but I recently filled it with toffees (Kerr's brand) and set it in our living room.  I have plans with the other two containers as well.  This is my third glass jar like this, so this one is destined to hold bulk nuts once I clean out my pantry.  The hole opening in the Avon bottle is quite large, so I will use it in my bedroom (which I'm currently painting and redecorating) to hold bobby or safety pins.

I'm back...with vintage bowls to share

I can't believe its been three months since I've posted last!  I didn't mean to totally abandon my blog, but I also wasn't reading anyone else's during that time.  May and June were incredibly busy with many meetings and trips to Vancouver and back, and in July we took holidays to England!


But I was still able to keep thrifting and rummaging.  So over the next few days I'll post what the thrift stores yielded over the last three months, and I'll post a little about our vacation, and a few other things.


So now onto the 'bowls' referred to in this post's title.


Back in May, I was thinking that I should probably search ebay for the matching bowls for my large 'Forest Fancies' pyrex bowl.  A few days later, I walked into the thrift shop and found a set of the three smaller bowls for $10.  This was a better price than I could have found elsewhere, including Value Village, and the bowls were mint!

Now I'm so happy that I have a complete set and these have become my 'go to' mixing and serving bowls.

Isn't it funny how the thrifting gods can summon up just what a person was looking for?  


And sometimes you think that you will never be lucky enough to come across something you've only seen in pictures.  That was the case last Saturday when I was in my hometown and at Value Village with my mom.  Something caught my eye in the housewares and I had to do a double take, since I really didn't believe it.  I flipped over the bowls and yes indeed, they had the 'Arabia of Finland' stickers on the bottom.

I've become very familiar with these enamel bowls designed by Kaj Franck in researching mid-century Scandinavian housewares on the internet.  So, I know that they can net over $80 for a bowl.  I scored the large one for $5.99 and the smaller one for $4.99.  And they are in pretty good condition, only a few minor chips on the rim.  I wasn't sure where I was going to put them but I wasn't about to leave them in the store, so as you can see, they sit on my island holding fruit and veggies.

Urban Rummaging

One of the advantages of having a spoiled pooch who demands two walks a day, is that Hus and I get to know our neighbourhood very well - and benefit from its bounties.  Although we haven't done it yet this year, we usually collect bottles in the spring, pick apples from old orchards, collect Saskatoon berries in greenspaces in the summer, and come across all sorts of things on the paths and roads on our regular walking routes.  I found $2 last week!  


But this week Hus took the cake.  We've noticed an abandoned wheelbarrow in a bit of bush that we pass. Its been there for about a month.  For those who don't live in Canada 'the Bush' can refer to pristine wilderness, or can refer to any space that is unoccupied, wild and used as a common space (sometimes, unfortunately, a dumping place).  Yesterday, Hus came back with the dog pushing the wheelbarrow home!  It is a really nice 'vintage' steel one.  He put it into use right away.

I think a month is probably long enough to determine if it was dumped.  If someone comes to claim it, we'll give it back, but from the reaction of one of our neighbours - we weren't the only ones who were keeping an eye on it!

Homemade Granola Bars

I've made granola bars over the last few weekends to add to work lunches.  I've used this recipe for Playground Granola Bars with great success.  

The recipe is very forgiving since you can make additions and substitutions.  I've added coconut and nuts and chocolate chips at times, and it takes relatively little time to make a batch.  This is about the only baking I've been doing lately!

Feeling Crabby this Spring

It really is spring!  Today I bought some freshly-caught and cooked Dungeness Crab from Haida Gwaii.  I already had half of one for lunch today and will have the other half tomorrow.  The rest are destined for the freezer for now, since Hus (luckily) doesn't like crab.

Maintaining Myself Monday

Yes, I have been steady at 130 lbs for the last few weeks.  Now the hard part is to keep it off!  I plan to still track my daily WW points to stay on course!  
I also had to go buy new jeans this week, hoping that a size 8 would fit nicely.  The award for vanity sizing goes to....(drumroll)....Mark's Work Wearhouse where I bought size 4 and size 6 jeans!  The number is nice, but I don't think it really reflects reality.  For those of you outside Canada, Mark's Work Wearhouse is a large chain that sells casual clothing besides things like steel-toed boots and leather gloves.
As for exercise, I raked the yard this weekend!  The snow is finally gone in Northern BC and spring is here.  I took a picture of the weeny flowers I found on the lawn....

 Happy Spring!