Hey all. Sorry things have been a bit slow on the blog lately. Getting married very shortly. Lots of to do. Been busy.

But not too busy to thrift!

In fact, I had a very successful thrifting day about a week ago. In addition to a couple of dresses and some bits and bobs for Will & Bequeath, I came across a great find I just had to share with you: an Erkers enamelware bowl!

My bowl is yellow, with a black rim, like the yellow one shown above. And I looooove it.

My obsession with vintage enamelware started fairly recently, with a piece of Catherineholm that I blogged about here. Since then, it's grown, and now I have several different pieces scattered around my apartment. But this is my first Erkers. And it was only $2.02!

According to a profile on Design Arkivet, "Arne Erkers was born in Leksand and at the age of 24, decided to move to Stockholm as he for a long time had been interested in drawing." He worked as a gold and silversmith and a freelance designer, and founded the Erkers Design Studio around 1955. He designed my bowl (and the Raff pitcher, which obviously influenced similar designs currently at IKEA) for Kockums Jernverks AB in Kallinge. (My piece, like all similar pieces, is marked "Kockum Sweden".)

"Function is an important aspect of Arne Erkers design. His view of his profession was that the task of the designer was to design objects as simple and practical as possible. With this as a starting point he created articles as diverse as ball bearing joints and stackable saucepans but also had bold ideas about more practical cars and lawnmowers, sadly never put into production."

Erkers lives into his 90s and passed away recently, in 2010.

If you're looking for vintage enamelware, search online for Cathrineholm and Finel, and add words like "Scandinavian" and "enamelware" and you should come up with a lot of options. But don't discount Erkers. While less well-know, his work is just as nice.

I like my bowl because of it's unusual rounded-triangular shape and low profile. I also love the tone of the yellow. It has one flaw -- a hole in the enamel -- but I just keep that bit turned away and never think about it. (Remember, it was only $2!)

Super find! Yay!

As some of you may know, I'm getting married soon. And with a marriage (whether you give in to having a "real" wedding or not -- and we're not) comes gifts. Gifts come no matter how much you discourage people.

And I have to say... it's not all bad. While I feel a little awkward about people spending money on me, there are a few things I want, and it's lovely to get them.

Case in point: my soon-to-be aunt Elaine and her partner Archie wanted to get Nate and I flatware, and they asked us what sort we might like. This gave me the opportunity to get something I've wanted for ages: a set of vintage, "Thai Bronze" flatware, via an independent Etsy seller in Iowa.

The set is so beautiful and unique. I've been shopping for flatware for a long time and I've never come across a set as unusual as this one. The whole shebang comes in its original box, and includes more than 140 pieces.

Considering that my current flatware is from Canadian Tire ($9.99) and sports cracking plastic handles and flaking metal that is probably giving me cancer, this gift is even more awesome.

We ordered it more than a week ago, and it hasn't arrived yet. The photos shown are from the original Etsy seller: Debby Does Vintage. I have to be patient, because when items like this cross the border, they're often held up at customs... but I'm super excited.

Thanks to Elaine & Archie, and to Debby too. I can't wait.

Yesterday, I went to Goodwill to buy books for our upcoming beach vacation and while I did find some good reads, I also found some great stuff for my kitchen that I absolutely. didn't. need.

And once I got it all home, I realized there was a bit of a theme at work. A French theme.

Tell me if I'm wrong. Here's what I bought:

1. A set of four Midwinter Stonehenge dishes, Spring pattern. (See potteryhistories.com for lots of background on this and other Stonehenge lines.)

Sure, these dishes are English, but along with the other stuff I bought, they feel French. Maybe it's the blue and white thing. From the aforementioned "Pottery Histories" website: "[The] range had a glossy ‘oatmeal’ glaze where reactive particles added to the glaze cause an irregular speckling over the surface of the ware. The wares were finished with hand-applied iron oxide banding to the edges that contributed to the ‘studio pottery’ look..."

And it's that studio pottery look I love. So... success. Thanks Mr. Midwinter.

But onward.

Next, I bought a set of three shallow copper pans like this one:

And if copper cookware isn't French, I dunno what is.

Finally, I nabbed two adorable little Herbs de Provence spice jars. Empty, but too cute to pass up. My spice jars are for pizza and poisson (fish).

Am I wrong about this French thing? i feel like there's a trend here, but maybe I'm crazy. I watched Julie and Julia over the weekend. It's quite possible I'm crazy.

I have so many posts in the hopper right now, it's not even funny. But so many of them require just one more picture, or a bit of staging. So in the meantime, I'm going to tell you about the number one item on my current wishlist: a door knocker.

We live in a rental with an old doorbell. It's probably been broken since the 1950s. But people always push it, not realizing that it doesn't work. So I thought a knocker (perhaps with a little note telling folks to knock) would be a pretty solution. But I'm finding it really hard to find something!

Here are a few of the ones I've found (online). I like these, but I don't love any of them. And without seeing them in person and testing the heft, I'm just not sure I want to buy one.

What do you think? Do you like any of these?

This "Sly Fox" knocker is from Anthropologie and is $24.99, but it looks a little small and I'm not sure about the tail.

This vintage cast iron knocker is from JunkFromMyTrunk on Etsy. It's $28. But I don't think the seller ships to Canada (and that would up the price too much anyway).

I love Victorian-style hand knockers like this one, but there seems to be a massive price range online (say $10 to $300). I can't tell what's real and what's reproduction. And I can't spend $300. (My budget for this is $50 max). Plus, as I said, without seeing the knockers in person, I can't be sure I like them.

Anyway, what do you think? Got any advice for me? Should I go with an animal, a regular knocker, or a weird shape like a hand? And I need local help: know any Toronto brick and mortar places with good knockers? (No strip club jokes, please.)

Sometimes I think I only want to have kids because I want to decorate their rooms.

There, I said it.

Kid's stuff is just SO CUTE. And I see things I want to buy for wee ones ALL THE TIME. But I can't. Because not only do I not have the space. I don't have the spawn.

(Now, before you flame me, let's note the following: 1. I'm kidding (kinda). And 2. You probably had some selfish reasons for having your kids too. So there.)

Anyway. I was in my local Goodwill the other day and I saw an awesome little mid-century modern desk, with a world-map top. It was kind of like this:

Here's a different, similar one:

I would have bought it in a SECOND (only $20!)... if only I had a kid.

Here's some other kid stuff I've been eying and/or wanting to make:

A teepee or tent like this one made by Lindsay over at the Little House Blog

The LEKA CIRKUS mobile from IKEA:

Or this EKORRE rocking moose (also IKEA)

And for art, maybe I'd frame up some of my favourite vintage children's illustrations, like these, from Kartusch (Serendipity Books) by Stephen Cosgrove, illustrated by Robin James. 

Or perhaps something a little less intense? Like these French Barbapapa illustrations!

And while we're talking books, I'd stock the shelves with all my favourites!

And I'd throw in some truly classic toys, just for good measure.

Yes sir. I would have a darn good time doin' up a baby's room.

Of course, then I'd be stuck with a baby. And who needs that?

Hey friends. I know I haven't gotten to the dark paint makeover yet (be patient!) but in the meantime, I didn't want to leave you hanging with nothing to read. So I thought I'd post about the adorable little bit of vintage depression glass I snagged last weekend.

It's a Fenton piece and it's opalescent, which means that it's a bit milky looking. My research tells me that this opalescence was achieved by a combination of adding bone ash to the molten glass and repeated firing.

This piece was made during the late 1800's and early 1900s. Have something like it and want to know if it's real? Here are a few tips:

1. Hold it up to the light. Experts say you will see a red or fiery gleam, regardless of the colour of the actual piece.

2. Check it out under a black light. Opalescent glass from this period was made with uranium dioxide, which glows green under black light.

3. If your piece is an early Fenton, it will likely be white, blue, green or amethyst. I've read that these were the most common (possibly even the only) colours Fenton issued pre-1930.

I feel great about this find because from what I've read, it's rather uncommon. It appears to be an authentic 1911 Basket weave Open Edge Bowl, which, in the Fenton catalogues is sometimes called a "basket" or "flared bowl". Of course, after 1930, more of these bowl were produced, but I think mine is one of the old ones. Hurray!

What should I do with it? Nuts? Candy? Jewellery? If it's gonna stay in my life, it's gotta be USED. That's my motto.

Anyone else snag anything interesting lately?

For the past few years, I've been spending time at a cottage at Sauble Beach with Nate's family. And at his rental cottage is a mug. A mug I want.

I've considered stealing it, but while I often think such things, I never follow though. (Don't worry, my kleptomaniac tendencies are kept in check by my strong moral fibre... and a fear of getting caught.)

Anyway. This year, as I sipped my morning coffee from "hoot" as I've come to call it, I thought it might be time to stop plotting theft and start doing research.

From what I've gleaned online (in particular from this page from the Canadian Design Resource), this mug is part of a set that was distributed at gas stations in the 1970s. However,  each mug is marked in a way that doesn't make this obvious. (Wow. That pic is blurry, eh?) The bottoms read:
Royal Alma, Ironstone Made in England, Staffordshire.

Despite the British stamp, I believe the idea was to make something with a distinctly Canadian theme, hence the Northern animals. The plan seems to have been to encourage people to collect a full set of six, which would include:

• a pale green reindeer mug
• an orange walrus mug
• a blue beaver mug
• a blue goose mug 
• a brown/tan polar bear mug
• the yellow owl mug

Here's a photo of a few of the other colours, as shown on the Canadian Design Resource page:

I've NEVER seen these guys at Salvation Army, Goodwill or Value Village, but from what I hear, they do appear from time to time.

I don't know why I like them so much. Maybe because they're so clearly vintage, but graphic and modern at the same time. Maybe it's that they're just slightly awkward. Maybe it's the candy colours. I don't know. All I know is that I want them. I want them bad. Especially hoot. I think I want hoot the most.

Isn't it so much more fun to find something like this (even if it WAS once a gas-stop-giveaway) than it is to buy some lame, un-ironic knockoff at Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters? I think so.

Am I weird to love it? Isn't there anything cheap-o and old that you love? Especially at the cottage?

Since I posted about my new Juice-O-Mat already, I thought it only fair to post about the reason the Juice-O-Mat was a ridiculous purchase: my brand new/old amber depression glass juice reamer, or juicer, by Federal glass.

I nabbed this guy from a little thrift store in Port Rowan, Ontario (one of my favourites). Unfortunately, the church ladies who work the counter knew they had a winner on their hands, so the reamer was priced at a whopping $10 (which is wildly expensive for Port Rowan). Nonetheless, I decided it was worth it. After all, depression-era Federal reamers sell online for $40+.

I won't be selling mine, of course. It's got some flea-bites in the rim anyway.

It will live in my cupboard, and with any luck, will ream for many happy years to come. I drink a lot of vodka sodas (with lemon).

Who knew my imbibing would allow me to justify yet another addiction (thrifting)? Turns out, I drink for a reason.

And if all else fails, I could always open a lemonade stand, right?