'Finnish-ing' first in mid-century glassware

Last year around this time I was looking around for some nice shot glasses (not that I drink a lot of shots; but we were using Sake cups for liqueurs etc.) and I bought a set of 8 of these for $12 at a consignment shop...

I was told that they were Kosta Boda, but through my research on mid-century glassware on Ebay and the internet, I've learned that they are the NIVA design by Finnish designer Tappio Wirkkala.  He looks so Scandinavian, like he smelled of fish, pipe smoke and juniper berries.

He had another design, called Ultima Thule which dates to the mid 1960s and is reminiscent of ice and wintery landscapes.  This is probably the best known design; Finnish friends had them.  And now I do too!  Yesterday, these beauty cocktail glasses were awaiting me on the shelf at the Salvation Army....

...for .50 cents each!  That beats the prices I see on the internet ($20 each on one site).  Meanwhile, the 'faux fancy' glassware of low quality and artistic merit were in the glass showcase.  I find in most thrift shops and at Value Village that they lock the 'showy' stuff away while the real treasures are still out on the floor.
The only problem is that now I'm going to always have to be vigilant in looking for new pieces!

This is all the stuff I would have written about....

...had I not been so lazy over the last three weeks.  


This post is going to be a little scattered.   Unless I've done some thrift shopping and have photos to show, I really find it hard to work up the motivation to blog.  But, today I did go, and will share my fantastic purchase with you tomorrow.

• On the theme of decluttering; we cleaned up our office a few weekends ago, and had two boxes of books, housewares and clothing to donate to the thrift shop (I saw today that some of it is still there).  This made us feel really good since I came across a statistic about storage lockers.  Apparently, there are so many storage lockers in the US that every man, woman, and child in the country could stand inside of one AT THE SAME TIME, AND have an average of 7 feet to themselves!
• On the theme of 'Reducing Myself' on weight watchers; I've been doing OK.  On Monday I was 135,but today I weigh 133.5 lbs!  I was down to 131-2 two weeks ago but got a little complacent about tracking and overestimated how much food the 35 weekly points allowed.  Regardless, I'm already at where I like to be at between 130-135 and am still fitting into the pants that were previously at the back of my closet.  I'm going away next week, so it is going to be a struggle to keep on it.  The worst part is avoiding cheese! 
• Valentine's Day.  We made a nice dinner at home. I had planned to post a picture of a vintage Valentine (from 1973!), but obviously never got around to it.  Maybe next year!  In the meantime, check out the hearts I bought at the Sally Ann today for .25 cents. I suppose if I don't use them at Christmas, I can find a use for them next Valentines!

Vera and Thrifted Accessories

I found my way to the thrift store today, with no particular thing to look for.  It ends up that the thrift gods wanted me to buy accessories....

I carried this .50 cent scarf around the whole store before I realized that it was a Vera scarf!  I also bought two belts for two dollars.  And I ended up back at Liquidation World at the bins of jewellery I was so captivated with this summer.  Only now they were reduced from .10 cents to .03 cents, so I picked up this blue Coro beaded necklace.  New accessories for $2.53!

Blog and Food Resolutions...with good links

Since it is already February, I thought I should recount a few of my resolutions and where I am with them.  


#1. Blog.  Restart the "reducing myself Monday" posts, to keep a focus on my eating and exercising. Add newly discovered blogs to my blog list.  The Monday posts are keeping me accountable, especially on the weekends!  Today I also added a bunch of new (to me) blogs on my blog list to the left.  Happy reading!  I have also changed the settings on commenting.  So for friends and family and general readers who are blog-less, you can now leave comments!


If anyone is about to start blogging, The Frugal Girl recently wrote a great post called Five Blogging Mistakes about what she wished she would have known when she started her blog. And now I wish I had had the insight of her experience, when I started this one. 


#5. Food.  Discover and cook new vegan recipes.  I sort of forgot about this resolution, but on Tuesday, I had no idea what to cook except that it had to use my rapidly-going-off broccoli.  While poking around food blogs I found this recipe for Hippy Rice on Mark Bittman's Blog.  Hippy Rice!  How could I not make it with that name!  Especially because the recipe only needed me to dirty one pot!  Even though it is very simple, and probably below 5 ww points, I loved it.  Something about the contrast between the toasted sunflower seeds and raisins made it so nutty and savoury.

Reducing Myself Monday

Today I weigh 134.5!  3 lbs lost since last Monday.  That is a little surprising since I haven't felt hungry or deprived, but I guess that is why WW is so effective and popular.  And I have really sore legs!  Because I walk so much I trick myself into thinking that I'm fit, so on Saturday, out of the blue, I decided that I would do a whole bunch of lunges and squats.  Now I've been literally waddling around, easing up and down stairs, and wondering when my muscles will feel better so I can do some other form of exercise!

Wardrobe Renewal

These are the used pieces I purchased when I was visiting my sister in the lower mainland, and one sweater that I just bought....

I don't have an exact total but all together it probably cost about $70 before taxes!  This includes a Mexx Blouse, a brown sweater, an angora-blend cardigan, Jacob casual pants, jersey navy dress pants, a Nygard flouncy skirt, brand-new trouser jeans, and a blue bracelet.  Not bad if I do say so myself! 
  But now where to put it?  So today I spent a few hours cleaning out my underwear and pyjama drawers, and most of my closet.  I don't have any 'before' pictures, but here are my colour-coordinated sweaters 'after'....

The best pieces that I culled from my wardrobe will go to the twice annual clothing swap I help plan. 
Another 'renewal' that happened in my wardrobe this week, is that my 'too tight' dress pants are no longer too tight!  So, those 6 pairs of pants that haven't seen the light of day for five years can come out to play again.

Reducing Myself Monday

Today I weight.....137.5!

So down 1.5 lbs since 2 weeks ago, and down 6.5 lbs since I started 'Reducing Myself Monday' back in May.

Hus and I have been tracking our meals based on the 'old' weight watchers points.  It took some getting used to at first, but we're getting the hang of it.  I love that there are no totally forbidden foods, so I was able to eat some dark chocolate, a friend's home-baked chocolate chip cookies, and drink some wine last week.  And the 35 weekly points are a lifesaver.  I have this week's reserved for Thursday night.  I've organized a 30 year anniversary party for our union local and have ordered a chocolate cake with a custard centre for it! 

Hus has also seen results.  He's lost 12 lbs since New Years.  Part of it has to do with energy expended at work - shovelling the massive amount of snow we've been getting, but he is also very stringent in counting points.