Goodwill Hunting - IV

Once again, another great find at Goodwill.  This time, I found a gorgeous casserole among a pile of pots and pans.  I wasn't curious at first.  I just wanted to pull it from underneath so it wouldn't get crushed.  I had a big surprise when I retrieved it.  It was a well made ceramic casserole with a pretty matching lid.  It was in mint condition and had a company mark on the bottom.

I was very happy to get it for $3.99 to add to my kitchen collection and I made a note to check out the mark.

The story a mark can tell!!  It turned out that this casserole was made by John B. Taylor Company, a well known ceramic maker in Louisville, Kentucky.  The company has been around since 1815 and was sold to Louisville Stoneware in 1970.  The company is still in operation, and most of the vintage designs are still in production today.

The mark on the casserole indicated that this was a piece that was made sometime between 1960 and 1970.  Here are some clues (learned from Googling):

• The John B. Taylor mark indicated that this casserole was produced before the company was sold to Louisville Stoneware, so it predated 1970.
• "Made in the U.S.A." was added after 1954.  If you see a JB Taylor ceramic without it, then you know it is an old piece.
• The pattern "Harvest" was introduced in 1954 -  mine said "Harvest".
• The pattern title was added to the mark in the 1960s, so mine was produced during the 60s.  Geez, it's as old as me!!

Isn't this cool?  This is why I love rummaging in thrift stores.   I never know what history lessons I will learn from the things I pick up.

Intrigued?  Visit your local thrift stores and check out the stuff.  Some of them may have a story to tell you.

Happy thrifting!!

Yes, I Scream

Few months ago I found a Cuisinart ice cream maker in a Goodwill store.  It looked very new and it was the same one I bought Jennifer few years ago for her birthday except hers was white and this one red.

Guess how much??  $5.99!!!  I scratched my head and checked it inside out.  Everything worked.  Nothing was missing.  Not even a scratch on the body.  I don't understand why people would spend lots of money getting a gadget then get rid of it just like that.  Hey, no complaint on my end though.  I happily took it home and my homemade ice cream was born!!

I googled ice cream recipes and found that there are easy simple ways and hard laborious ways.  I decided to stick with the simple ones.  If I have to make ice cream the hard way, then I mind as well buy them.

The simple vanilla ice cream recipe I found (courtesy of Cuisinart) is actually very good.  I think the secret is to use good whole milk and cream.  Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/8 cups granulated sugar (I cut back to 1 cup)

3 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 TBL pure vanilla extract

Whisk milk and sugar until sugar dissolves, then add cream and vanilla extract.  Pour into the ice cream maker and let it mix for 25-30 minutes.  Put in freezer, and voila, you made ice cream!

Many thanks to whoever donated the ice cream maker.

It's one fine toy!!

Simple Pleasure

It doesn't take a lot to brighten up my day.  A beautiful English plate that I got from Goodwill; a little cheese dome from another thrift shop.  They go very well with the day-old donut somehow and that makes me happy.

A Mug Shot

I love searching for nice mugs at the thrift shops.  Finding one that I really love is like winning the lotto.

Somehow, using a mug I like makes the drink tastes better.  Really.

There are tons of mugs at the thrift shops.  Big, small, tall, short, ugly ones, cute ones... For some reasons, people love to get rid of mugs.  OK, I can understand the ones with logos or writings, but I can't figure out why nice ones too.

Maybe nice is subjective.  What's nice to me may not be nice to other people.  But fine quality should be universal.  Why would people throw away fine quality mugs?  Some of them are so new and no chips nor scratches too.

No complaints though.  My gain.  Over the years, I have found mugs that makes me happy.  Best of all, these mugs cost less than a cup of coffee each.  See the blue heart mug on the right?  It's a Japanese fine bone porcelain and I got it for 49 cents.  The tall tumbler in the back was either 99 cents or $1.99.  It gets me 10 cents off per cup of coffee for using my own mug.  I got my money back already.  It used to be purple.  The purple layer of film peeled off over time.  I ended up stripping it off and it's now a silver tumbler.  The Starbucks mugs cost a bundle at the stores.  Not at the thrift stores though.  They are all priced the same and wait for people to rediscover them again.

Go mug hunting next time, peeps.  You never know what you will find.

Creative Solutions

Most of the elevated dog feeders sold are still too low for the big boys.  Robert and I have looked into buying the ones for big dogs but the feeders are big and bulky and expensive.  It's like highway robbery.  *sigh*

So Robert and I have been looking at alternatives.  He was even going to build something himself but we actually found something better and inexpensive!!

Solution #1:  Can you tell what is this?  It's actually a table without the glass top.  Robert got it at a thrift store for just few bucks.  Being a designer he just knew what to do with it.  Flip it over and use the legs to hold the bowls.  Easy!  Simple!  Isn't he just clever??

Solution #2: While browsing in Goodwill today, I found two tall cast iron plant stands.  I thought heck, if the bowls can't fit, then I can still use them as plant stands like they were originally for.  So we bought them, took them home, and tried the bowls.  It was a perfect fit!!

This is why we love checking out thrift stores.  You never what you can find and you can always come up with good uses with the finds.  

Let's give ourselves a pat on the back!!

Goodwill Hunting - III

Ta-Da!  See what else I have found in a Goodwill store! I found this little gadget at the Pinole Goodwill couple years ago and it was one of my best best find!!

What is it?  I was rummaging in a little corner and spotted this little odd shape box.  It was a six-sided box that contained a odd looking gadget.  It had 4 arms and a little window on the body to let you see the mechanism inside.

It had a long screw hidden in the bottom half, so I figured it must be a wine bottle opener. But, why so elaborate?  How does it work?  What the heck!  Since it was only $1.99, I figured I could buy it without feeling like a fool.

It was solidly built and made in Finland.  No instructions.  Are we supposed to just know how to use this thing?  I know, I know... don't bother to drink, if you can't figure out how to use this thing.  Well, it took me about 3 bottles to figure out.  Basically, you have to know the sequence of moving the arms.  Once you get the hang of it, it is too easy to use.  All bottles can be opened in less than 5 seconds even the most stubborn ones.  And, it spits out the cork effortlessly too!!  Wow!!

This is how it works:

1. Make sure all the arms are in upright position.
2. Secure the bottom half to the bottle by pushing it down.   You will hear a click.

3. Push the two short arms down together.

4. Then, push the two long arms down.  When the long arms are pushed down, the short ones go back up by itself.

5. Now, push the long arms back up.  And as you do that, the cork pops out!!

Voila!

Isn't it cool?  I love to show off this toy.  A great conversation piece and makes people work for their drink.  Yap, there is no such thing as an easy drink!!


This time: Suts scores one!

Goodwill Hunting - II

AWESOME FINDS EVERYWHERE! The strange thing is I always find exactly what I'm looking for.

Perk Perk Away. I love coffee percolators. The sound of coffee perking along with coffee aroma building up are what we wake up to in the mornings. Do you know that coffee percolators are very sturdy appliances? Our house has probably only gone through two since my teenage years. The one we have now is almost 10 years old. Although it still perks away, I have been thinking of buying another one as a backup - JUST IN CASE. I figure I'll wait for the 20% off Bed and Beyond coupon. But, HA! Guess what I found last weekend? Yes, a almost brand new shiny percolator for $12.99 and it was still in its original box. Best of all: made in the USA! A hand written date on the warranty card showed that this baby was originally purchased in 1996. Wow, history too!

Look at Me!! As I happily toted the percolator around the store, I spotted another neato thing that RK has been looking for. A compact meat slicer in a box that looked like from the late 80s or early 90s. RK and I gave it a good look over: hmmm... dirty for sure, but all parts there... the blade still sharp... made in Germany, and most importantly, YES, it still works!! For $5.99, what's there to lose?

So both of us got our toys for the week. I cleaned up my percolator and it was beautiful. RK's meat slicer looked perfectly brand new after a good wash and it worked flawlessly.

Yes, Goodwill is a good place for treasure hunting. You find all sorts of stuff. How about a brand new Le Creuset Square Grill Pan for $9.99??? I just saw one in the store the other day for $90.00. I'm still scratching my head why a brand new top of the line cookware would be tucked away in bunch of old pots and pans. But, who is complaining?

Happy hunting, people!

Goodwill Hunting

RK and I love checking out thrift shops on weekends - Goodwill in particular because they are quite a few around.

I like browsing in Goodwill because everything in the store has a story to tell. Whether it is a piece of clothing or a pair of shoes, you wonder whom have them belonged to... Were they worn to parties? To work? To school? What happened to their owners? Sometime I see a set of nice silverwares and can't help but to wonder what meals did they serve? Was happy time had by all?

Cool stuff can be found all over, you just have to have good eyes to spot them among the clutter and the dust. Remember the almost brand new all-clad frying pan I found in the pile of old pots and pans? I wondered if the person who tried frying egg in that all-clad pan has ever become good at it. That must have been an expensive experience...

It's a fun game of matching. Different things found in different stores on different days work perfectly together. Check out my tea cup set and the tray. How about the espresso maker and the milk frother? Just perfect!

Look at some of the other stuff I have found. Aren't they pretty? Most importantly, I'm giving them new stories to tell.

I found Riedel wine glasses in two different Goodwill stores. One set I got for $1.99/each and another for $2.99/each. The cool looking wine opener was brand new in a box tucked away in the back of one Goodwill. It was from Finland and it took me a while to figure out how to operate. It's much better than the Rabbit Ear. I swear!

This french press was in a box with two double layer coffee mugs. One shattered and the only perfect. I took them home and they live happily ever after.

I almost screamed when I saw this cake holder on one visit. I have been looking for one but I wasn't about to pay $25 for it at Williams-Sonoma. I got it for $2.99 and it was in perfect condition. Can't understand why people would throw it away? Don't they need it for cakes, muffins, cookies, bread.... Hello??

Found my beautiful enameled corianders at two different Goodwll. With good cleaning, they were as good as new.
How about my Japanese coffee cup and saucers? One and only!

Go goodwill hunting once in a while. Open your eyes and your heart and you will discover.