Vintage Industrial Bread Pans

Hello!  My hubby was looking through our local metal scrap yard a couple of weeks ago, with permission of course, and came across a couple of old rusty industrial bread pans.  I loved the old patina they had.  They were lovely and since I also make bread boards and love baking bread, I thought they couldn't be more perfect for our kitchen. 

I've never really blogged about this little cabinet before so I thought I would now.  A couple of years ago we were out for one of our summer bike rides and came across a yard sale.  There were only a couple of things left, one of them being this cabinet.  It was filthy and yellow and definitely needed a makeover.  It was only $15 so we couldn't pass it up.  I cleaned it up, painted it white and added crown molding to the top.  I usually use it to store my spices, flours and pasta, but decided to give it a little better organizing and put a few of my favorite things in it for display as well.

I put some of our long bread boards in the bottom, along with an industrial rolling pin my hubby found and a bread basket.

I love the way it turned out! 

See you next time!  Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Take care,
Diana

Vintage Schoolhouse Map and Our Grand Opening

If you have read our blog for awhile, you know that I have a love of vintage pull down school maps.  I've even made a few myself since they are usually way out of our price range.  Imagine my surprise when my hubby came home with 6 of them a couple of weeks ago that he picked up at a garage sale in the rain.  Talk about luck.  We kept 3 and the other 3 are going up for sale in our shop.  They are all absolutely gorgeous and date from the 1940's to 1960.  And their condition is amazing.  So are their colors.  One of the maps is exactly the color scheme that we have in our master bedroom/home office. 

So, of course, that's where I put it.  I don't usually include this little home office corner of our master bedroom in photos because, well, I've never been very happy with it. I mean, who wants a computer, printer and all that mess in the bedroom.  Not me.  I'd love to have a separate room for our office but this is what we have and we just try to make it work.  But I am loving the map in this space.  It's the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning which makes me happy.

These photos aren't the best because I had to take them at night.  We are working day and night practically to have our shop ready for it's grand opening this Saturday, October 13.  Wow, I can't believe that it's almost here.  :)

We are trying to make our Grand Opening Celebration really special.   I showed you this table in my dining room fall decor post that I put together using bowling alley floor remnants and plumbing pipe.  We will be giving it away during a drawing in the store Saturday. 

We will also have snacks and beverages for those that wander in.  This will be a very special day for us and we want our customers to feel special, as well.

I will be sharing photos of the store later in the week.  We aren't quite finished setting everything up so stay tuned.  And I really hope some of you will make the trip and stop in and say hi!

Have a wonderful day....
Diana

Beautiful Vintage Coffee Grinder and More

Happy Friday!  I don't know about you but I'm so ready for the weekend.  

Today I wanted to blog about a few cool pieces my hubby 

picked up at an auction last weekend. 

The first is this amazing 100 year old Hobart industrial coffee grinder.

This thing weighs around 90 pounds!  And the best thing is that it works perfectly.  

I had asked my hubby to keep an eye out for a cool vintage coffee grinder for our shop because we are wanting to have coffee available to our customers and I thought it would be really fun to freshly grind the beans in a vintage mill.  

Then he came home with this beauty and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to give it up.  :)

I love the lines.....

Another piece he brought home is this steamer trunk.

We've always wanted one and he loved this one.  It needs a few minor repairs 

but I can't wait to find a special place for it.

And he also found these vintage wool Navy blankets.  They are so soft, believe it or not.  I'm not usually a fan of wool but I love these.  

I also wanted to share with you a new member of our family.

I'm the first to admit, I'm not a cat person, never have been.  But a couple of weeks ago, when I went to open the blinds in the kitchen one morning, 

this was what I saw on the table outside.

He seemed to be a stray and without a family and had made himself quite at home in my little toolbox.  He was so sweet and we all immediately fell in love with him.  I don't know much about cats but he is so lovable and really loves attention.  

He crawls up in our laps whenever we sit down.

And whenever I'm outside working on a project, I look down 

and this is what I see every time....

Those sweet green eyes looking up at me. 

He lays at my feet no matter what I'm doing.

He has stolen our hearts, already.

And he loves to play for the camera.

Silly cat....  :)

We've never had pets (except an outdoor rabbit)

because our kids always had allergies when they were younger. 

Now that they've grown out of them, we've decided to adopt this little guy 

and they are so happy.

How can you not fall in love with that face?

Have a great weekend!

Diana

Vintage Walnut Rolling Pin and Shop Update

Howdy friends!  I love when it when I come across a great bargain, especially when it's on Etsy and involves something I adore collecting.  Now, let me back up a bit.......the good thing about being sick in bed.....online shopping.  The bad thing about being sick in bed.....online shopping.  And I did a good bit of it while I was laid up with the flu a couple of weeks ago, but shhhhh, that's a secret.  Every now and then a girl just needs to shop to feel better.  In my defense, it doesn't even count if each thing you buy is under 10 bucks, right?!  :-D

One of my favorite places to shop is Etsy and during my little shopping spree, I came across this absolutely wonderful solid walnut rolling pin for only 6 bucks!  

 I could NOT pass that up because if you read our blog or visit my Etsy shop, you know how much I adore walnut and also how I adore rolling pins and collecting them.

What a treasure this thing is.....can you imagine all the wonderful stories behind it in the kitchen, families making pie crust or bread dough?  I'm sure there is a lot of love behind it, too.

And it will definitely make rolling out dough for a pizza a lot more special and fun because of those things.  I just love that.

 The almost black aged color of the walnut is gorgeous.  And I love how it is all one solid piece, instead of rolling handles.

Any of you collect rolling pins? 

Shop Update:

We haven't gotten much work done in our shop because of, well, life getting in the way, but our goal is to open up at the end of April.  We're gettin' busy and hoping to share some photos soon.  We'll post the address as soon as we're ready to open, for all those that have emailed asking.  We appreciate your support in this huge adventure we are taking on more than anything and it never would have been possible, or something we would even consider, without YOU!  So, thank you!

Found Ironstone

Digging through crates of junk covered in filth a couple of weeks ago acquired by hubby, 

this is what I found lurking in the bottom.

8 gorgeous very old ironstone platters and a lovely little bowl.  Can you believe the luck??  

I certainly couldn't.  In fact, I almost overlooked them because they were covered in so much dirt, they weren't recognizable.  It's amazing what Mr. Clean Erasers can do.

I was so excited to add these to my tiny collection of ironstone.

Any of you collect ironstone?  What are your favorite pieces?

Vintage Dental Cart/Table

Happy Monday!  Last week my hubby purchased the contents of an old home and while a lot of it was junk, we did find a few goodies, one of which was a very cool vintage metal cart/table.  I immediately remembered seeing something similar at Pottery Barn, so, 

I was pretty happy that this was among all the junk.

We thought this was the perfect space for it.  And I thought it would be great to use as a snack or drink cart for our own kiddos or when we have guests over since this is usually the room we entertain in.  

 Another special little find was this set of glasses with a "G" on them, perfect for our family.  I almost didn't find them as they were in the bottom of a box covered in ick.  But after a couple of hand washes and a go through the dishwasher, they are like new.

The cart is metal with castors and the shelves are heavy porcelain, maybe?  I'm not really sure, but they are very heavy.  I didn't have to do anything to it other than give it a good cleaning.

We also found this cute little silver bowl that I filled with pumpkin seeds,
one of our favorite snacks.

We're just crazy about this nifty little table and think it fits in perfectly with the rest of the room.

I love little surprises like that.  What do you think?

Dining Room Finds

Hey there!  Happy first day of the LOVE month!  Speaking of love, my amazing man brought home more loot this past week from his picking adventures and put it in storage.  I was able to go check it out over the weekend and pick what I wanted out of it.  I came across this huge wood frame that I HAD to have.   As soon as I stumbled across it, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

Yes, I know, chalkboards are everywhere but I really don't care and this thing makes me so happy.  Plus, I am so inspired by this quote from one of my cookbooks.  I have this quote on another chalkboard at our shop to inspire me while I work on bread boards.

I also picked out this vintage wood cutlery tray and silver tray.  I didn't get a good shot of the silver tray but I love it and that sucker is so heavy.  And it goes perfectly with our vintage silver flatware.

I think this might just be my favorite corner of the house. 

To make the chalkboard, I simply attached a piece of plywood that I had painted with chalkboard paint to the back of the frame and stapled.  Voila.

Getting ready to give the kids rooms an overhaul and I. Can't. Wait.  

Still working on the stairs, too.  I loved all of your suggestions on our stair project, thank you!  I think we've decided to stain the treads a dark color and paint the risers a decorators white.  But that's not a done deal yet.  Stay tuned!

Have a lovely day!

New Finds for The Kitchen

Hey there!  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  My hubby brought home some things the other day for me and this one particular thing, I just fell in love with.  And it's perfect for Valentine's Day.

How cute is this old coffee tin??  So cute!  I filled it with one of my favorites, tulips.  I just love that you can find fresh tulips in my local grocery store during late January and February.  So, I treat myself to some each week when I shop for groceries.  They are such a cheery addition to the house during the drab winter months.  

My other find is from Etsy.  I just love Etsy and always try to support handmade when I can.  There are some wonderful sellers there and I could spend hours looking in their shops.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love to cook.  It is one of my passions.  I have a couple of knives that I've had forever and they were always getting thrown into the drawer with my other kitchen gadgets, dulling the blades.  So my hubby had my knives professionally sharpened for me for a surprise.  

Well, now that they are perfectly sharp and slide through a tomato like butter, I didn't dare throw them back into that drawer, so I went looking for something to keep them in.  I've always loved those magnet wall knife holders and found the perfect one on Etsy.  And the best part is that it's made from sustainably harvested walnut, my favorite.  And did I mention, it's gorgeous!?

It goes perfectly with my walnut cutting board, also a gift from my hubby many years ago and such a cherished piece in my kitchen.

I'm in love.....

The walnut knife block can be purchased here.  There are also other selections using different woods if you prefer lighter colors.

So that's it, just a couple things I added to our kitchen that make me smile.

For those of you that don't follow us on Facebook, here is the latest photo update on our stair project.

 I still have to sand the top of each stair and figure out what my next step is going to be from there.  But I'm loving the carpet gone.  I'm curious, what would you do to the stairs??  Do share!!

Have a great Monday!

Vintage Wardrobe

My man has found himself in the middle of a vintage furniture smorgasboard getting ready to open our new shop.  The furniture and other items he has found are amazing 

and hard for me to let go of.  

This wardrobe is one of his finds.  I just love it and get to keep it. 

It definitely needs some love so I can't wait to see what I can do with it.  I don't want to use it as a wardrobe, but instead, add some shelves to the inside and use it for storage in our laundry room, which we desperately need.

And I'm also thinking of giving it a paint job, but haven't decided on a color.  I think I've narrowed it down to white or gray.  What do you think?

Amazing Find

My hubby surprised me today with something we've always wanted.

I'm so overwhelmed that I'm just going to show you the photos.

Vintage railroad carts.  3 of them.

I can't wait to get to work on these bringing them back to their original beauty.  

Vintage Cabinet and $50 Visa Gift Card Winner

Happy Monday everyone!  Did you have a good weekend? 

My hubby is in the process of cleaning out a few storage units he purchased so he has been bringing home fun things for me to play with.  His latest find is this cabinet that I've not figured out what to do with yet.  Here it is in it's original state.

I think it is beautiful but I'm not really sure what it is.  Does anyone know?  The end reminds me of a little pie safe with it's tin sides and shelving.

 

The hardware is beautiful but I'm not sure I want to keep the hinges.  However, I love the door handles so they are staying.

The top has a hole in it and will have to be replaced.  And I haven't decided if I want to paint it or just improve it's original features.  

 I'm also not sure if I even like the tin sides.  I love the aged tin sides on this piece from Anthropologie.

via

 I wonder if there is some sort of treatment I could apply to the tin to replicate that look.  

Anyone know?  Lots of decisions, huh!  What do you think?

P.S.  The random number generator has selected 199 as the winner of the giveaway and that belongs to:

Gail who's comment was: 

"I found the blog site, Yeah!!! LOl. I love the end tables...I must also say, I liked the swirl...haha But I would never have had the forsight to turn them into end tables with reclaimed wood. They are beautifyl!!!"

Congratulations!!  Please email me your address info via the contact page and we will send this to you so you can enjoy it!  Have a great day all!

Vintage Flatware

Hey there!  My hubby recently purchased the contents of another building to "pick" and has been bringing home all kinds of fun things for me to play with.  One of which was a big box of vintage silver flatware.  I just love vintage flatware and this particular group happens to be from the 30's.  Imagine the wonderful history it has.

I was torn between leaving it as is or polishing it up as very old flatware patina really appeals to me.  But after polishing one of the spoons, I decided I had to spiff it all up.  It took an entire morning but I'm sure glad I did.   Here's what it looks like after all that work.

The picture here really doesn't do it justice.  They are perfect and I'm crazy about these fork and spoon collections, as well as, this collection of odd shaped spoons on the end.

And these larger forks and spoons are just lovely and sparkly.

There were also this collection of serving pieces that I was so excited about.  I'm crazy about the pie server because I don't have one and so this beautiful piece will come in very handy. 

I didn't want to just put all of it away in a drawer to never be admired, so, I decided to do something special with it.  I grouped the forks, spoons, small and large, together and tied them with jute twine, kind of like a flatware bouquet.  :)

Then I took an old bushel basket and lined it with part of a coffee sack.  I tied a piece of rope around the overhang and attached this cute little merci clay tag to it.  Then filled it with our white cloth napkins and all the beautiful vintage flatware "bouquets."

I placed it next to the small pedestal chalk board I made, as well as, the wonderful french wine box I received.

I am loving warm wood tones with whites and light grays right now.  I put my our wine collection in this wonderful wood crate that hubby found.

Love it!

I'm also working on another piece for the dining room that hubby brought home that is getting a total transformation.  I'll give you a sneak peak of the before.

Can't wait to show you what I've done with it!  Stay tuned!  Wishing you all a happy day!