First piece that started it all

Isn't it strange the thing that bring you so much joy and that just one piece can start a hoarding problem?

This piece my mother gave me. It was one of my firsts if not my first ever. It started it all.

The large bowl from the "pineapple party" chip and dip set.  It must have been my grandma's Pyrex at one time. That is where my mom has got most of not all of her Pyrex and she gave me a few pieces as I moved out.

Who knew one of my firsts was a chip and dip, and not a real easy one to get ahold of.   I'm looking for the small bowl (401).

What was your first piece? Something common or something hard to find?

You can read more at Treasure my Husband Hates. 

Packing up the Pyrex

Being a military wife, I am not unfamiliar with moving. In my brief four years married to my love, we have moved eight times. Oh yes. EIGHT times. And in May, we will move a ninth. We bought our first home in December, and have been paying a rent and mortgage ever since (ouch). But the difference between this move and our others is that now? I have my precious Pyrex to move. I began collecting a little over a month ago, and embarassing, my collection has grown rapidly. In the excitement of being a new collector, I went a bit crazy on Ebay and Etsy. After the first bit of collecting, I slowed down and began thrifting alone. But the damage was done. I haven't displayed any of it. Instead, everything that arrived packed nicely has stayed packed. There's no point in displaying when your home is so temporary.

Y'all? I have a heck of a lot Pyrex to pack.







I am scared. Very scared.

If any of my Pyrex breaks? I might cry. Previously when we've moved, I didn't have much I cared about being destroyed. Most of our furniture has been hand-me-downs. As far as dishes go, well, they're just dishes. I have a few nicknacks that are important, and I always just tossed them in my car to make sure they weren't hurt on the moving truck. But now, I'm terrified that the collection I have spent money on (probably too much, please don't mention it to my husband) will be destroyed. So, I've been using a generous amount of bubble wrap and plan on putting it all in my trunk. Any other tips? Who else has moved with Pyrex? Were you as scared as me?

XO,
Sally @ Exploits of a Military Mama

What Is It About Pyrex?

Hi There!  I'm Stacey Johnson, and I'm new to the Pyrex Collective III.  I've been head over heals with vintage Pyrex for about a year.  It all started with a Pyrex Spring Blossom bowl I spotted at Goodwill for what???...$2!  It brought back memories of my childhood in the 70's and it was just so cheerful!  I was hooked.  Now I search thrift stores looking for hidden treasure.  I started out limiting myself to mixing bowls but that went out the window when I found a mint condition Snowflake Blue casserole with the lid for $4 hidden in a pile of pans at a St. Vincent De Paul.

This is on my coffee table.

My family thought I was crazy at first, but now my husband is one of the best Pyrex hunters I know.  We often go thrifting on his day off, and he's found at least half of my goods.  My kids and I were watching an episode of the 70's show "Sigmund and the Sea Monster" on Netflix and what did we notice?  The mom in the kitchen mixing up something in a Pyrex cinderella bowl of course! 

The $4 find that pushed me to branch out beyond bowls along with a vintage patterned towel made by my 92 year old Grandmother.

The mix and match of cinderella bowls I mix up my gluten free goodies in.

I love Pyrex because it's a piece of the past.  It captures a simpler time when food was mostly homemade and served with love.  It reminds me of home and family, and taking time to just be together.  That's a priority in my own life today.  My blog "GF Pastor's Wife, Living the Simple Life", is all about vintage, the simple life...and gluten free.  (My daughter and I are both Celiac so I whip up homemade GF food from my cookbook, "It's All Good Without Gluten!" in Pyrex bowls.) 

A plant stand I picked up at a yard sale become a display for my finds.

The bowl that started it all.

Little v. Big Pyrex

Sally (of here and exploitsofamilitarymama.com) mentioned in her earlier post that she was trying to stay away from filling up her house with little pieces. On one hand, I totally relate--I'm basically out of room at the moment and really should put a moratorium on any more Pyrex-shopping (which will probably not happen). On the other hand, I'm finding that the little bits and pieces of Pyrex are the ones that get the best display in our little home. For instance, my super-random mug and teacup collection:

...and my equally random collection of fridgies, casserole dishes (the largest being a 473), and my precious little dip bowl.

Gazing at these collections is almost as fun as looking at pictures of Pyrex online (something I never knew I would do as an adult). But the only reason I'm able to display these is because they're so tiny. Having four children plus living in a medium-small house plus being an inveterate thrifter of children's items means that the majority of our shelves are filled with books, games, toys, more books, stacks of books, and books hidden behind books.

This relates to my recent finds ($2.99 and $4 in scroll-down order):

The "Americana" 403 is in pretty nice shape, and it will get use as a mixing bowl at some point, I'm sure (though my mixing bowl supply is getting way too big). But it's pretty big and as a result, it'll be kept in a dark cupboard, protected from my toddler by child-safety locks. The Buffet Twins Round Promotional Casserole, however (a 473--originally part of a set produced in the spring of 1959, according to www.pyrexlove.com), is already on display with my other tiny, adorable finds. As a result, I'm leaning more and more towards only getting the small stuff (unless the design/condition is just too amazing to leave behind).

What about the rest of you? Are you out of room, Pyrex-wise? Is size a factor when you choose your pieces?

~Margaret Ann

Shades of Beige

I haven't had tons of luck thrifting Pyrex since my big New Dots score. Recently, it's been a bunch of lids with no matching counterparts and the occassional coffee mug. I'm trying to stay away from buying up random plates and mugs as I have already amassed quite a bit of Pyrex. I'm scared of running out of room by filling my house with little pieces here and there.

I'm pretty sure both my boys are sick of thrifting with me. We've been almost every day in the past couple weeks and have found nothing.


(Christmas PJs in April. Epitome of coolness.)

Today, however, I drove a good thrifty minutes away from our usual haunts and stumbled on some well-hidden thrift stores. I managed to snatch up a set of Woodland bowls (though, one is a Cinderella and one a nesting bowl), and two casseroles. Being relatively new to Pyrex, I had never seen the casserole dishes prior to today.


The set of two bowls was $8.00.




This beauty is the Golden Branch or Hospitality Casserole, according to Pyrexlove. It was made in 1959. It's a round casserole dish and it came with the matching lid. According to Ebay and Etsy, it doesn't seem particularly popular. I'm not sure why because it really it pretty, but I guess most people love the bright colors better. It was $6.00.



This one is the Regency Lidded Casserole. Apparently it's supposed to come with a cradle and was a promotional piece in 1965, though I haven't found much about it. It's very formal, don't you think? Again, it doesn't seem to be particularly popular, but I don't mind. I bought it to keep rather than sell anyway! It was $6.00, too. That price seems to be pretty standard for thrift stores around these parts.





I think this weekend I may try to tackle a few yardsales. I've avoided them so far because getting both the babies out early enough on the weekends is kind of tough, but since the thrift stores seem to have dried up, they may be my only luck! Hope y'all have some lovely Pyrex luck this week!

XO,
Sally @ Exploits of a Military Mama

Meatless Monday in Verde

Another divided dish. I swear they are following me around! But I do love the Olive lid. Another Salvation Army find. I didn't realize the bottom was a very ugly yellow green color as I had never seen a Verde in person. I do like a good ugly color though.

Do you do Meatless Mondays? 

That night we had Corn and Tofu Lettuce wraps. 

For the recipe and to read about it: Treasures my Husband Hates

BFG

I always think of this:

image source

when I hear of BFG.

I love Roald Dahl.

 

But, I really mean this:

 

Ah, yes. Butterfly Gold. BFG.

And definitely not BFD. Don't even ask.

Anywho, I've been collecting Butterfly Gold for my sister-in-law as a birthday present. 

Yesterday was her birthday, and she was very happy.

This was her first Pyrex (she drools over my Pyrex), and she said I did good.

  Meet my weekly Pyrex finds.

I've been looking for a Butterfly Gold (I mean BFG) 943 for awhile, so I'm happy I found one at the newly opened Goodwill in my town.

The Pink Daisy 548 is the second one I've found, so I may be hoarding them....or it may go to a different home. Either way, it was the first one I'd seen on a thrift store shelf, and I scooped it up.

My Friendship mixing bowl holds my crochet, and together they act as a centerpiece on my dining room table. 

For more of my weekly thrift finds, please visit froog and doog.

Happy hunting!