Merry Christmas!

From our home to yours!  

Every year I'm faced with the task of finding the perfect gift for the man who fills my every need and wish. Christmas decorating this year was delayed until Christmas Eve because I was still adding the finishing touches to hubby's Christmas present. Welcome to Birch Corner. 

There is little room in our home now for much more than wall art. Over the years I've created many landscapes, still life, and decorative art pieces. Wall stenciling was also a fun hobby. Only recently have I mustered up the courage to attempt wall art. 

I'm very pleased with the way it turned out and it warms my heart when I catch hubby staring at this corner with a small smile on his face and a definite dream in his eyes. 

Merry Christmas everyone! 

May your days be filled with peace, love, happiness, wealth and good health. 

Huggs, Joanie

Hard Boiled vs. Raw

Hubby could have had a real mess on his hands this morning. Thank goodness he asked before he cracked! I'm back into my daily baking routine and it's more convenient for me to store the eggs I am using in an open container rather than an egg carton. They are much easier to grab now that carpal tunnel has affected my pinching technique.

He loves hard boiled eggs and I try to keep some on hand for quick snacks. Today I decided to make up the batch with a twist. I added vinegar and food coloring to the cooking water as an experiment. Sure enough, the eggs colored while cooking. Now all I have to do is train hubby to look for colored eggs if he wants hard boiled.

Patting self on back here.  :)

I had this cute little egg crate sitting on a shelf. I put a handful of  natural Easter straw in the bottom of the basket as a cushion before placing the hard boiled eggs. There shouldn't be any question now which eggs are hard boiled, and the egg crate adds a welcoming smile to the shelves.

I also saved the colored water for my next batch.

Thanks so much for stopping by. This was a fun solution to share.
Enjoy the day!

                    Huggs,
                           Joanie

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a happy and bountiful Thanksgiving. 

 A big Thank You and God's blessing to all those who aren't able to spend the holiday with friends and loved ones because they hold a position that requires them to be elsewhere, caring for others or protecting our freedom. 

May all be safe at days end.

2 CHEFS AND A WINE CHEF IN MY KITCHEN THIS THANKSGIVING!

I finally managed to pull everything together! Here they are! Three of the latest additions to my French Cafe collection.

I couldn't be happier with my Madame Alexander Pat A Cake and Chef Alex dolls. Don't they look adorable together! They were a great find on E-bay. He's missing his lobster, but that's OK. I love him just the way he is!

The Yankee Candle Wine Bistro Chef tea light holder is another "can't live without" I picked up at our local Goodwill. 

The Chef's Hat I purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond. 

Together they make a wonderful little display on my corner hutch. What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by.

Wishing everyone a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

                                                 Huggs!
                                                    Joanie

1983 Madame Alexander France 517

My newest addition arrived today. I think she's adorable and she fits right in with my French theme. I've named her Joannie. That's how my mom always wrote my name. I dropped the 2nd "n" because everyone always pronounced it "Jo-Ann-ee" and I'm not a Joanne. LOL  Actually now at the age of 65, having figured out who I really am, I'm tempted to legally change my name to Naojie, because I am the total opposite of the person I thought I was 40 years ago. I call Naojie my twisted sister name. With all of that said, please meet Joannie (pronounced Joan-ee), the new Queen of the Hurst Family of Dolls.

She's 8 inches of sweetness and dressed in my mom's 2nd favorite color for me. Red was always her first. Oh we are going to have so much fun playing hide-n-seek in Grandpa's vineyard!

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Have a safe and fun filled Halloween!

Huggs!

        Joanie

Madame Alexander McDonald's Collection

It took a bit of web surfing and shopping before I was able to complete this set. Unfortunately I'm missing Toto and Oz. I have a feeling that unless I find them at a tag sale, I'm going to be paying dearly to complete this collection. I started the collection with the Guard and Cowardly Lion that I got with Happy Meals. The rest I bought off of E-bay and Amazon. It actually turned out cheaper than making the 12 mile trip to our closest McDonalds and buying the meals.

I should stick to doing just one thing at a time. Writing about the collection brought me back to E-bay. I just purchased Toto, The Winged Monkey, and Kitty Doll to add to the collection. It looks like I'm going to be ordering more stands.

Here's the collection as it stands now(no pun intended) in their 5-1/2" glory! I was thrilled to find doll stands to fit them.

Thank you for stopping by. I've collected a couple of Liv dolls and accessories that I'll post in the next few days. Wait til you see what fun I've been having!
Enjoy and have a blessed day!

Huggs,
Joanie

Christopher Robin N Friends

Another can't live without!

When I first saw Christopher Robin at the Madame Alexander Museum during my visit, I fell in love with him. He looks just like my oldest grandson Gabe. My budget wouldn't handle him that day as I was buying other dolls as gifts. I was telling a friend about him today and decided to do a search on e-bay. What a find!  I couldn't pass it up. He is currently selling at the Madame Alexander Museum store for $139.99. I got this little one for $39.99 plus shipping.

Aren't they beautiful!  Gabe - Christopher Robin, just in case you couldn't tell.

I can't wait for the dolls to arrive! Hubby is going to have to get my display case out of storage, or I'm going to be forced to pack up my holiday dishes and put my dolls on display there. Decisions, decisions.

Thanks for stopping in.
Stay safe! God Bless
   Huggs,
            Joanie

Marme, Linda and Patsy

 

Hubby asked me today how many more of these I'm expecting to come in. I very quietly told him that I ordered another today. What can I say??? I started the Little Women collection with the purchase of an unknown male doll which I have since determined by the set of his hair and his face that he is Laurie. This appears to be an 11" Lissy faced Madame Alexander Little Women Jo doll. She was auctioned on E-bay and her final cost was $13.49.

    Correction... since posting I have discovered that this is "Marme" from the Little Women collection. She requires a dust cap.



 

 

Jo arrived tied together with string. Other than that she is in perfect condition. Her hair net is still in tact. I'm thrilled with her. She arrived yesterday from an e-bay seller in a box wrapped in white paper with pink hearts pasted all over it. My husband commented that my boyfriend sent me a present, because he surely could not wrap that nicely. Beneath those wrappings she was wrapped in white tissue paper tied with a beautiful white ribbon and bow. Her clothes were packed in a baggie also wrapped in tissue and tied with a white ribbon. I am very impressed with this seller.

Here she is after I restrung her. She looks perfect and it only took a few minutes.

This is the outfit that she came with. The petticoat needs a new waistband. Other than that the clothes are in perfect condition. She needs shoes and a hat or dust cap. Not sure which I'm going to make for her. Time will tell. The fun thing about dolls, like sisters and best friends, if the size is right, they can share!
To finish my Little Women Story, I won the auction for an 11" Little Women "Meg" doll. She cost me a whole $15.96 which also includes shipping.

 



 Linda arrived today. Chelle looks a bit forlorn. I'm thinking she needs a frilly dress too. Christmas is just around the corner. Linda is everything I expected her to be and more. She's a beautiful doll in excellent condition. She is a 1994 19 inch vinyl  drink and wet baby doll by Cititoy. I was told that her drink and wet still work, but I won't be testing that out any too soon. Her final auction cost was $22.50 with shipping.

 Little girls need toys to play with. Next trip to the store will provide a bouncy ball. In the meantime I gave them a couple of my teddy bears to play with. Stars was born on July 4, 2002. I adopted him when my son was shipped to Iraq. My son sent me Hero while he was in Iraq. Hero was born on March 12, 2003. My son's birthday is March 21, 1982. Coincidence??

Isn't he the cutest little guy! 
This is a 13" Effanbee Patsy African American Boy Doll 1986. He has the same face as the Joan Jumping Rope doll that I posted earlier. His total cost was $23.74. My sources tell me that in his condition he is worth between $700 and $1250. He has a sister that I am now looking for. I do everything in pairs here, if you haven't noticed. Hubby is already aware that I'm looking for the sister. It was his idea that I get the pair of them. Isn't he sweet!

Thank you once again for stopping in. Time to stop playing here and get down to the important things in life... making dinner for hubby so I can continue to buy these little treasures for myself.
Take care and stay safe!  God Bless
                  
                         Huggs,
                                Joanie

Effanbee Patsy Joan Jumping Rope

Realizing that my budget would not allow me to adopt any of the 1955 Madame Alexander Joanie dolls listed on E-bay at $200 and up, I decided to search for another Joanie doll. Hoping I'd find one within my budget. I spotted this 16" doll on E-bay. She was one of 3 up for auction or "buy now". Fortunately for me, no one wanted this little girl. I placed my bid during the last half hour of the auction and held my breath. I topped my bid at $30 just in case someone bid against me. I won her with my original bid of $19.99. That was 3 days ago. She arrived in the mail today. She was in her original box.

 



This little girl is a 16" vinyl doll, with jointed head, arms and legs, and painted hair. She is stamped "Effanbee 1994". She is in excellent condition.  The Dawn Herlocher "200 Years of Dolls 3rd Edition", which I purchased from the Goodwill of Northern New England, Gorham, ME E-bay site for $3.99 states that the value of this doll in this condition is $750.  Needless to say, she's back in her box where she can stay safe. I can't believe I've made such an incredible find.





 

She caught my eye because she is wearing my favorite color. Mom always dressed me in red. She's also special because she's holding her favorite jump rope. I can remember many, many sunny days playing jump rope with my mom and sisters. What fun we had. My brother also joined in sometimes. He preferred being designated rope turner.

So many wonderful memories wrapped up in one little doll! She's a keeper for sure!

 

 Doesn't she have the most precious face.

That's all for today. I have one more doll on her way. I'm in the process of designing outfits for everyone and accumulating fabric and trims. I believe that's going to be more time consuming than actually making the outfits. One can hope any way!

Thanks again for stopping by. Stay well and God Bless!

Four Generations

Four generations of needlework washed and drying. This is a small part of the collection. My mother had hundreds of doilies that she and her mother had made over the years. When I married, she gave me a small collection as keepsakes. She kept the kitchen towels that I made for her. My oldest daughter and I have since added to the collection. I plan on displaying the doilies in my china cabinets. They should look pretty and be safe there. Don't you think?

I still use the embroidered dresser clothes that I made, but my pineapple ruffled doilies are a bit too fancy for a house with 6 dogs and 2 cats. Maybe I'll starch them up and show them off this Christmas.

Mom  & Dad on their wedding day, September 13, 1947
with my maternal grandparents.
The people who inspired and guided me into adulthood.

Barbara

My very talented daughter who inspires me today.

You are never too old to learn, and never too young to teach.

Madame Alexander Little Men Laurie circa 1970 ???

My latest doll arrived with no information other than the Alexander® stamp on his back.
He is 7-3/8 inches tall and straight legged. He's got a glued wig, sideburns and full bangs that are slightly curled upward.

Here's a picture of my guy standing next to the doll that I have named Midge. Don't they look cute together! Can't wait to get their outfits designed and made!

Here's the 1970's Madame Alexander Little Men Laurie doll that I found on E-bay. He's advertised in several ads as being "about 8" tall".

I'm a bit disappointed that all of Madame Alexander's male dolls appear to be a tad shorter than the girls. I have a feeling that she did this purposely. She was a strong woman, and I get the impression that she wanted her girls to stand out. Just my opinion of course.

That's all the news for now. Time to get back to my design board. Have a wonderful day and come back soon!

Huggs,
    Joanie

65 Years Young

On August 3rd I celebrated by 65th birthday by playing with my favorite doll. I believe my parents gave her to me as a Christmas present in 1958. I know she was a Christmas present, just not 100% sure of the year. She's a Madame Alexander Cissy 21" bent knee doll and she was the envy of every little girl in the neighborhood. I tell no tales. She was actually doll napped and my parents had to get involved with her return. It was a very traumatic time for me, as we were not a wealthy family and my mom did a lot of scrimping and saving so that I could have her. She also made her a wonderful wardrobe that was also taken. We got Cissy back 2 weeks after she went missing. It was quite the fluke that I found her. I was visiting my neighbor friend's home when her mother asked me to go to the basement and bring up a basket of clothes. There were 2 baskets of clothes in the basement. While I was looking through the first one for the item that the mother wanted, I found the clothes for my doll, but no doll. Like any 10 year old who found a missing toy in someone else's house, I told the mother what I found when I went upstairs and SHE lied and said they were her daughters that a friend had given her. That's when Mom and Dad got involved and confronted the neighbor. Cissy wasn't damaged thankfully, although the other little girl decided to comb her hair out. Mom spent many hours putting her little curls back in place. Unfortunately her beautiful wardrobe and original outfit did not fair as well. The neighbor child cut them to shreds. The dress she is currently wearing is one that my mother made for another doll of mine. Cissy has always been under my watchful eye since her return. I haven't done much else than protect her. Leaving her as she was after Mom "made her better".

Two summers ago... for my 63rd birthday... my oldest daughter and I took the bus into New York City and visited the Madame Alexander Doll Factory and Museum. It's something I've always wanted to do. Seeing all of the dolls that I have drooled over for a lifetime got me interested in trying to find out more about my doll, and searching for duplicates of her original clothes. I was disappointed that the museum had only 1 pair of the original shoes left which I quickly scoffed up. They told me the only place to find items now is from collectors or on E-bay. I did make her a pretty straw hat while I was there though and have been looking for the right red fabric to make her a new dress. I have a picture in my head, but I can't find the fabric that is going to make the perfect dress. I'm not giving up though.

The internet is a wonderful resource. I've lost track of the hours I've spent looking at vintage dolls, doll clothing, accessories and patterns. Over the past few weeks I've tagged at least 50 dolls that have been in the E-bay auctions.  I've been lucky enough to win a couple of the auctions without having to give up my first born. My grandsons would be very upset if I did that.

Now I consider myself a Madam Alexander Collector, and have several "nude" dolls to dress and a couple to find shoes and socks for. Every day or two for the past 2 weeks a small or sometimes large package arrived at the house. My dear hubby watched as I opened yet another Madam Alexander doll or a package of goodies to "make a doll better". This has actually been the best birthday ever because I've gotten every doll I ever dreamed of owning. Well... almost every doll. I'm still waiting on the delivery of a nude male doll. He's a Madame Alexander doll, but uncertain as to which doll he is. I'll have some fun trying to figure that one out.

Thanks for stopping in. I'll have another post soon about one of my dolls. I'm still waiting for zippers to finish Sam's jacket. I did get him a pair of dark glasses though. He looks so cool now with his biker shades.

Stay safe!
Huggs,
               Joanie

New topper for Sammy!

Aimee thinks Sammy looks real cool in his new hat. This will give you an idea as to what type of jacket I'm attempting to make for him. We're waiting for the zippers to arrive. I made use of the down time and designed the hat using pictures from the internet.Yes, I made patterns. I'm sure I'll come up with other styles in time.

The jacket is half done. Another creation in process. I have an idea as to what the finished product will look like, but with me, everything is subject to change. Zipper arrival is about a week away, so I'll be coming up with another project to fill in the gap. I've got an idea for an outfit for Midge. Now to find the right fabrics. I must have something in my huge stash.

Some how I'll have to manage to squeeze in cooking, housework and playing World of Warcraft with some really great on line friends.

Got to run! Time to make dinner and get ready for an evening of WoW. Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy the day!

Huggs,
             Joanie

PS: You know I'm opening up a can of worms here. Hubby is going to want me to make a hat for him now.

Chelle is Pretty in Pink

I can't remember dressing either of my daughters in pink after growing out of the "newborn" size, but this little doll is another story. Pink looks so nice on her that I decided to stay with it. I made her a multi-colored sweater coat to wear over her original pink dress and another pink knit dress with multi-colored bodice and pink satin ribbon. She's so proud of her new eyelet edged slip she just had to show that off too.

The sweater is a favorite one that I've made for quite a few babies. I just made it a bit smaller for the doll.

This dress is another item that just popped into my head and developed as I went along. I'm thinking that it needs some little pink flowers on the bodice though.

Surprise! Surprise! I turned her around to take a picture of the back of the dress and realized that she could probably wear it backwards for a different look. I think I like this better.

Chelle is done for now, other than making her a pair of booties or shoes. I'm waiting to be inspired. While going through my scrap box, I found some interesting material that will make an awesome jacket for Sammy. Now I can't wait to get started on that!

I hope you've enjoyed my little wardrobe update. Thanks for stopping in. I hope to have a new project posted in a couple of days. In the meantime, stay safe and enjoy the day.

Huggs,

    Joanie

New Clothes for Alphonse

I’ve taken a break from painting and renovating for a while and have been spending the last couple of days working on and playing with my doll collection.

My mom started teaching me the fine art of needlework at the young age of 6. She is a saint and had the patience of Job. She tried to teach me patience, but it was easier to learn how to sew. I’ve always wanted my projects over and done with. If an idea pops into my head in the morning, I want to see it finished by the end of the day. I doubt that will ever change, but at least now I can be satisfied with an in progress project at the end of the day that is well done.

My Gram lived with us when I was growing up. She was an artist at everything she did. She was an accomplished pastry chef and seamstress. When she wasn’t baking, she was sewing or crocheting. She never used a sewing machine. Everything was hand sewn. Her stitches were perfect. Countless times I had to tear apart and redo a project because my embroidery wasn’t perfect or my sewing stitches were uneven. Of course I did it begrudgingly, but 60 years later I appreciate that she was a stickler for perfection. Proof is in the pudding… Practice makes perfect.

It’s been a good 15 years since I’ve knitted anything, and I wasn’t sure that my arthritic fingers would survive the project, but they did. They are actually thanking me today for the variation in exercise.

Here’s my latest project. Alphonse now has a new hat and sweater for the upcoming fall days.

Alphonse, Aimee and Chelle

Hubby just looked over my shoulder and said they look like tourists and I need to place them on a street in Paris. Now he's got my imagination running back to childhood days when my dolls had their own little lives and we pretended we were playing hide n seek with Gram in Great grandpa's vineyard in France.

Back to reality. The pattern for this outfit is in my head. I had a vision, I picked up needles and yarn and this is the result. Things happen with me that way... I really do hate to follow instructions and only do it as a last resort. I did keep notes though, as I'm planning on making something similar for Aimee, just different colors. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the outfit also fits her. She's 2 inches taller than Alphonse, but the difference is all in the legs. Body, head and arm sizes are all the same. Hmmm much like real life. Alphonse would be a "regular" and Aimee a "tall".  Ok... so now I'm being silly, but playing with dolls does that to me.

Bye for now. We're off to the Eiffel Tower!

                         Huggs,

                                     Joanie

Bootstrap Dan

The newest addition to our Pirate theme wall. BLACK BEARD 18in Porcelain Novelty Doll ~Retired by Duck House Dolls



Hubby dubbed this guy Bootstrap Dan because he reminds him of his brother Dan. I have to agree with him.
Harr, Harr, Harr  



I think we need to get him a fishing pole!

I doubt that our home will ever be visited by the folks from House Beautiful, as we are way too whimsical and lived in. We do have quite a few fun conversation pieces though.

No matter the weather, we look forward to our monthly day out visiting little hole-in-the wall shops hoping to find yet another treasure we just can't live without.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you've enjoyed your visit. We've certainly enjoyed sharing with you!
Stay safe and have a wonderful day!
                                                                  Huggs,
                                                                            Joanie

Gold N Oldies

Please excuse the play on my age old AIM id Goldnoldee but it is more fitting than ever today.
Painting the inside of my corner hutch inspired me to add color to my two knick knack shelves. Again, antique gold brightens the wall space, shows off my items much better and ties everything in with the Amish boy and girl checker board that I painted many moons ago.

I'm loving this little corner of my kitchen more today than ever, now that I can see all the details of my collections from afar. Isn't it amazing what a little bit of change can do!

A small sampling of my collections. I've collected cows and salt n pepper shakers forever. Over the last 10 years I have added cut glass and crystal.
My daughter Barbara made the ceramic cow bowls on display in the corner hutch. Of course they are my favorites!

Won't you please share some of your favorites with me.

Huggs,

Joanie

Goodwill finds and a facelift

I couldn't pass up this wonderful apple tea set. I'm going to have to start drinking more hot tea!

There were two of these butterfly n wheat cruets. I'm kicking myself for not getting the 2nd. Hopefully it will be there on next trip. I couldn't pass up this pot iron decorative tea pot.

Doesn't everything show up so much better on the antique gold background! I've been toying with painting the background of this cabinet for several months now. The apple tea set clinched it. Antique gold it had to be. It's so much richer looking now.

 

 

Thank you for stopping by!

Have a wonderful, creative day!

Huggs,

 

Joanie

Gardening is a way of showing you believe in tomorrow.

I am thrilled with how this wall turned out. Aside from the inhabitants of our happy little home, this is the first thing we see when leaving the bedroom. It surely brightens the rainy days we've experienced lately.

Hubby started working on the striping that will frame the entire wall. It's also going to set the theme for the striping throughout the rest of the house.

Ants, bird tracks and honey bee finished off the upper left quarter.

A closeup of  my male and female garden faeries.



More ants, bird tracks and a honey bee in hiding.

My finished wall art. Paw prints added for our furry kids.

The scroll tells it all. We obviously believe in many more tomorrows because we are constantly adding to our gardens. 

Thank you for your service!

I hope everyone is enjoying a pleasant Memorial Day.

I want to take a moment to thank my hubby for his service in Vietnam. I didn't know him then to welcome him home. It's an honor to welcome him home now. Welcome Home Bill! You're the greatest!

Thank you also to my son John and daughter-in-law Nely for their service during Iraqi Freedom and currently. To all of my nephews who have served in Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and those currently serving here and abroad. Thank you for your service! Stay safe and hurry home! Love you! ♥

A special thank you to all those who gave their lives so that we can enjoy the freedom we have today; and to all those who have served and are still serving. May you return home safely.

Wall Art

This week I added Bugle Boy and Wild Rose to my wall painting. Bugle Boy represents my husband and is carrying his favorite walking stick. As Wild Rose, I keep everything stirred up in our little fantasy world.

Bugle Boy

Wild Rose

Completed and signed top portion of the wall art.  

I hate to admit it, but no project in this house is ever completely done. I'm sure that I'll add a tweak or two here or there somewhere along the line. I'm still contemplating what additions I want to make to the bottom portion of the wall art. I hope you've enjoyed what I've done so far.

Huggs,

Joanie  6/7/13

This has been an ongoing project for the past month. Hubby will be adding striping along the ceiling and wall edges. I haven't decided whether the wall painting needs a few little embellishments or not, so I'll live with it for a while and see how it feels.

You can see the step-by-step progression at Mirror Mirror On The Wall.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Wishing all a beautiful spring day!

Mother's Day 2013 Shopping Spree

It was a beautiful day here in Colebrook yesterday. Hubby and I decided to go to lunch and do a bit of grocery shopping along with stops at the local hardware and auto supply stores for items we needed. 

Over the weekend I uncovered a long forgotten crystal pedestal cake plate which I decided needed a glass dome. I've gotten back into my pastry baking mode and had this urgent need for a covered container to store my pastries in. While hubby was in the auto supply store I decided to visit the thrift shop next door to see if they had anything that would fill the bill. Not exactly what I was looking for, but the glass and aluminum cake holder caught my eye and it's $3 price tag was something I just couldn't pass up. The $1 etched server next to it was also an immediate "got to have". I walked out of the store thrilled with my purchases. :) Hubby wasn't all that thrilled with the cake holder and suggested we check out the Goodwill in Torrington.

$4 purchase at the Winsted Thrift Shop

After a quick stop at the hardware store for bolts and nuts, we headed to Price Rite to pick up fresh fruit and vegetables. They have the best fruit for the lowest price in the area. A large tag sale by the side of the road caught our eye as we passed by, so we quickly decided to stop. I'd just given hubby the last of my cash for his purchase at the hardware store, so all we had on hand was about $4 in quarters in the console that we keep handy for the city parking meters. Our walk around the tables and furniture was uneventful, but hubby noticed someone taking items out of a storage building on the lot so we ventured in.

This bisquit jar caught my eye. It had a $5 sticker on it.  It's in perfect condition and  hubby loved  it too. So off  he went to find an ATM. I stayed behind holding onto the jar and "window shopping". The seller asked me if I wanted to buy the piece and I told him I did but that hubby went to find an ATM as we didn't have enough cash on hand for it. He replied that I could have it for $3. I chuckled and thanked him, adding that hubby had gone to the ATM to take out $100. His reply... "OK, $100 it is then!". LOL

By the time hubby got back I found this lazy susan for $5. He is always looking for revolving things, and the bearing mechanism on this item is worth more than $5 so I thought it a good deal. Hubby agreed and now I have a very sturdy lazy susan for our dining room table.

Isn't it beautiful!

Now with more funds available we decided to  look  around the building  a bit more thoroughly.  Hubby spotted this brass lamp base sitting on top of this cabinet that we eventually did purchase. He inquired as to the price of the lamp base and was told it was $5. We decided it was worth it just for parts without the globe so said we'd take it, to find out that they did in deed have the globe in a "safe" area. What a deal!

The lamp was on top of this cabinet. There is a little blue sticker in the upper left hand corner of the right door. It says $35. I figured someone stuck it there by accident. A helper came into the building so I inquired about the price. He shook his head and said he'd ask the owner. In retrospect, I think he thought I wanted it for less, as he came back and said I could have it for $30. SOLD!!!

This little pitcher with silver cover was one of several items in the cabinet that  had to be removed so we could take it.  It had a $10 price tag on it... I just had to have it because the pour spout is a lion's head and I'm a Leo, and grapes decorate the sides. My kitchen theme during summer and off seasons is grapes. When we went to settle up I was told I could have it for $5. DOUBLE SOLD!  5/27/13 UPDATE:  Today I found this same pitcher for sale on e-bay for $135. I'd say I got a super deal!

This 6" dome has a small chip on the knob and no matching plate, so this was thrown in for free also with the cabinet.

So far we've spent $4 at the thrift shop and $43 at the tag sale. I'm in 7th heaven! I'm still pinching myself about picking up the cabinet for $30. I know the guy I usually buy my antiques from would have charged me at least $200 for it.

We walked into Price Rite with bargains on our minds. Odd that we can buy a beautiful cabinet for $30   yet 6 boneless chicken breasts cost us $12. ???? where's the sense... or cents??? Wait til you see the fruit basket/orange ratio! Our carriage of groceries at Price Rite rang up to $98. They would have cost us around $200 at Stop & Shop, so we had savings there also.

Hubby still wanted to check out the Goodwill for the cake dish that he "Knew" they had! So we headed to the other end of Torrington.

Here are items that we picked up at the Goodwill...
6  GlassCorn on the cob dishes - $6
6" Cloche with plate - $2

8" Hand Painted Grape Vine Cloche $8.00
Another "got to have" kitchen theme item! I love it!

12" Cloche $6,
14" serving plate $3
SEE!!! Hubby just KNEW they had it! and I'm not going to be allowed to FORGET it. hehehe

Iron fruit basket - $2 at Goodwill
18 Navel Oranges - $9 at Price Rite

Reed Diffuser - $3
My daughter got me hooked on these and I couldn't pass this one  up.

Santa Snow Globe - $3
I spotted this and knew hubby would want it, but left it for him to discover.  He did  and no... we couldn't pass  Santa up.

Goodwill total..................................$35.00 plus tax   $37.21

Grand total for "just got to have" items..... $84.21.

When we ended the day hubby said he's not going to take me "window shopping" ever again! Wanna bet???