Ruby Tuesday Too

Caffeine Classics

Long before there were K-cups and Starbucks, people brewed their favorite blend of coffee at home and the product came in tin cans. Well, almost everything came in a tin can at one time. I do remember Shurfine coffee. I believe that was a grocery store brand, like IGA or Safeway.

 

Wordless Wednesday - Flea Market Fun

The trend of incorporating vintage items into interior design elements and collections is something that I find most intriguing.  First of all, I love antique stores, junk stores, flea markets, auctions and estate sales.  Although estate sales can be a little sad because it usually involves a family disposing of the life long collection of a relative who has recently passed.

I am constantly amazed at what one can find at a flea market.  Virtually everything you can imagine will show up in a vendor booth at some point.  I mean, would you consider this couple collectible and exactly where you display these folks?

A little scrap lumber, few decorative items, a little imagination and you have a bird house that any city bird would die for.

Some of the items in the flea market booths bring back childhood memories and may be the reason that we find ourselves purchasing things that we don't really need.

Before plastic & foam, these double walled galvanized coolers could be found at the end of the bench on every little league field.  They could also be found on virtually every construction site in the country.  Yes, the water had a little metallic taste, but it was cold and it was how we "hydrated" ourselves before Gatorade.

Some items just make you wonder what story they have to tell.  Were these shoes worn by an entertainer?  Perhaps they were purchased for a very special occasion.  It is obvious that they were not worn more than a very few times.

If you collect something, a flea market might be the best place to find an item that you love for a bargain price.  This booth had the largest single display of Frankoma Pottery that I have ever seen.  This desert tan in one of the most popular glazes and this vendor is asking near retail price for some of the pieces, but I LOVE Frankoma and I just may have to return to this place and purchase an item or two.  Have a blessed day.

Flea Market Fun

Labor Day my wife and I decided to make the rounds of several Antique Malls/Flea Markets in the area.  I like looking at what others have discarded.  You can find almost anything in one of these places.

If you grew up in Oklahoma during the 1950's -1960's you know that this is Frankoma pottery.  This is a pitcher in their Aztec pattern and the color is desert tan.  As a youngster I had little use or appreciation for this stuff.  Frankoma pottery was located in Sapulpa, Oklahoma which is only about 15 miles from my childhood home of Tulsa.  I am not a huge fan of the Aztec pattern, and desert tan isn't my favorite color, so I left this one on the shelf. However, I have collected some other pieces in the past few years that I find very attractive.

 This is the real deal, Mission style student desk, and if I had a place to put it, it would be in my home at this moment.  I love everything about this piece of furniture.  I can tell  you, it was VERY reasonably priced.

If photography is your thing, this is an Argus C3, 35mm camera.  I don't know if it works, nor do I remember the price, but it is just plain cool.  Argus was one of the first popular 35mm cameras in the U.S. before Nikon & Canon became the gold standards for photography.  Again, I love the look of this camera.

Before ice makers became standard equipment on refrigerators, the aluminum ice tray was the way ice was made for home consumption.  This is the fancy 3-row model which made smaller cubes that better fit into ice tea glasses.  The 2-row model was standard in most refrigerators.

Children of the 40's & 50's lived a dangerous lifestyle.  This rocking horse would not be allowed into the modern home occupied by "attack helicopter" parents guarding the current generation of kids from all harm.  Those springs would pinch your fingers, legs, etc.  You could get the horse going so that the motion would actually buck you off.  This type of toy was not available again until the mechanical bull showed up in country bars in the 70's.  But guess what? We survived!

While not as free spirited as the spring loaded rocking horse, this horse was more for the trail ride.  Moving your feet forward and backward on the foot rest made this pony move forward at a fairly safe speed.

Hey, if you wander around in a flea market long enough, you're bound to find Nemo!