Vintage Doll and Pixie and Pyrex Friendship Cinderella bowls

Hello! What have you been up to lately? 

I been hanging out at thrift stores a lot this year, haha!

I found some great things including these sweet dolls. One is a Bendable Pixie that lays on your bed. I think her face is so pretty. Another favorite is this little blinking eye doll! She also has the sweetest face!

I discovered the red doll bed a while back! It even has a sweet little decal on it and it is red! I just had to add it to my collection of toys, which was small but is growing!

My sister blessed me with this beautiful set of vintage Pyrex Cinderella mixing bowls! Aren't they stunning? The pattern is called,  Friendship. It was such a generous and thoughtful gift. The color is vivid and they are near perfect!

I also have fun playing with the photo editors. I like this black and white version!

I been suffering from so many migraines this year and now they are up to 4-6 six days a week. So that is miserable along with Fibro, etc But I keep a positive attitude as much as I can. Tend to get behind on many things and that can bother me a lot, too.

But I always pray for tomorrow and that it will be better!

I pray you are doing good.

God bless you,

Little Susie Home Maker

Giving and Receiving

We baked up a storm and made candies galore! We gave baskets of food and much much more! Our lives are abundant and the blessings are full. I was so happy to share with others this Christmas.

 I know that receiving is fun, but I find giving so much more! The children and I had so much fun together creating love with food and crafts. 

We listened to Christmas music and danced and sang. 

It was fun putting our love in gift form.

Thank God for giving us the the gift of His Son, and the joy of giving!

With giving also comes receiving!

That is a blessing as well.

 Speaking of giving and recieving, that reminds me of Swaps! Swaps are such a fun part of the blogging community. We make new friends and share ourselves in really fun swaps. 

Debby at Cozy Blanket had such a fun swap called Cup Of Kindness. I hope you are following her blog already, but if not, she is a sweet woman with lots to share. She is a great crafter and she is a grandma and she is one of the nicest people ever!

My partner was Erica from Golden Egg Vintage and she also has a blog that you will want to follow if you are not already. Erica is one of the best vintage crafters and collectors and she specializes in Christmas theme!! I sent her my present and she sent me mine! Just look at her wonderful Cup of Kindness for me.

All so very Christmas Vintage!

Details! Make the cup even more fun! 

  I thought this was a lot to fit in one cup!! 

Erica, you must possess some Elf Magic!!

Vintage pipe cleaner Santa and cute Snowman, and decorated wreath! A vintage hand stitched Chicken /Scratch embroidered gingham apron!! Oh, Erica, you pay attention to what I like. You are such a sweetheart.

 See the pretty corsage that she made! 

Everyone loved this when I wore it for Christmas.

Thanks again Debby for being so kind in hostessing this 

Cup of Kindness Swap 2012.

Thank you Erica for being a wonderful Swap partner!

 Thank you to all my readers. So many have become friends and I am so happy and grateful for that! 

It was a good year and I am looking forward to seeing what blessings are waiting in 2013.

Live. Laugh. Love.

God bless you,

Little Susie Home Maker

Getting ready for T Day

Today I am starting to get out all my extra dishes and serving bowls and platters. Got to wash the stem ware and clean out any thing I don't need in the refrigerator for extra room for the Thanksgiving Feast! I am so thankful to God that I can be in my home and cook a Thanksgiving dinner to share with loved ones.

I have not had a kitchen that I could cook a big meal like this in for years, and this will be a first in a long time! My husband has worked so hard putting together my new kitchen and I am so proud of him, and to be able to use it!!

Now here is how I am going to be cooking my turkey:

 Doesn't that just seem dreamy?

And I won't do this with out stuffing the Turkey.

Oh, no, can I stuff M.C. Turkey?

 Well, I will do my best!

Smiles and love to you all!

Blessings,

Little Susie Home Maker

Thrifted Vintage Cosco Step Stool, Vanity Seat and more

Rooster Figurine

 I went out hunting for some fun at the local thrift stores, and I found it! 

Two thrift stores and four really neat items that make me grin from ear to ear! 

The first one is this lovely little rooster chicken pottery figurine! He sits about 5 inches tall and is the prettiest creamy color. There is a hint of yellow left on its legs and more on his beak. The red is a little worn on his comb and wattle, but for me it just adds to his farm house fun look! The little sticker on the front reads, "Carlsbad Caverns". That leads me to feel safe in assuming it was made as a gift store tourist item. I think he will fit in with my other chickens and roosters that I collect! He looks good in front of my cast iron cookbook holder, don't you think?

Vintage Cosco Step Stool

The next smile I got on my face was really big! 

I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this little  vintage Cosco kitchen step stool! 

Look at that pretty pale yellow. This stool is in such good shape! 

If you look at the ways it is constructed, you will see that it is not a reproduction, but a vintage one! This is completely metal with no plastic. If you look at the bottom legs, there are 6 not 8. If I understand correctly all the reproductions have eight legs. But I am not claiming to be an authority on this. They do have some really cool reproductions that you can get on Target online in red, yellow, and black for about $70.00. Etsy and E-bay have Costco step stools going from $60-$150 (Vintage or not).

 But I got mine at the thrift store, and only paid $10 for it! It only needed a quick wipe down with Windex!

Now that is something to smile about!

Vintage Cosco Kitchen Step Stool

 But the biggest reason to smile is I have wanted one of these for years. When I was growing up we had the phone in the hall. And me and my sisters spent hours sitting on my mom's stool just like this for hours talking with our friends! Remember those days? Unfortunately, my mom decided that she was tired of her old stool and threw it out for a new chair for the hall. "Mom, please don't throw any more out without asking if one of us wants it!" LOL!

My next smile that I found was another nice place to sit. I spotted this lovely little vanity seat. The silver circular swirled wire construction is just so feminine! The pretty little soft cushion looks pretty in gold velveteen out in my fall yard! I think it will be recovered though, not sure just how yet! Do you have any suggestions! I would love to hear any you have. 

This is something I will use for my kitty in front of the window to lay and look out the window. 

Or maybe as a seat in front of my large closet doors to sit and put on my shoes. 

So pretty!

Retro Vanity Seat

Then my last thrift store smile for the day would be this. 

A cute little garlic bulb baker. It has a terra cotta base and has never been used. It came wrapped and with the instructions. As much as I love baked garlic, I couldn't pass up using it as a little decorative cloche! 

What do you think? Cute again, huh!

Garlic Baker Made Cloche

I just hope you are smiling as much as I am, because all these goodies are something I can love in my home. They only cost me a grand total of  $25

Big Smile!

Have you found anything that has made you smile lately?

Bless you,

Little Susie Home Maker

Now be sure to follow the links to check out these really fun party hops! 

Old Time Party at Cindy's Old Time Farm House
Share Your Cup Thursday at Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Thursday Favorite Things  at Katherine's Corner
Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colorado Lady

Antique Folding Chairs

 I had a good time
 "Getting My Thrifting On"!

 I just had to make a trip to my favorite thrift store to see what might show up. 

 As I walked through, kinda looked through the dishes. No Pyrex as usual, not any fun vintage table cloths, etc. Wandered around looking at all kinds of stuff, but you know nothing too great was jumping out at me.

So just as I make my rounds back to the furniture and lamps etc, for the 2nd time. I see them unloading these folding chairs. I tell my daughter, "Look at what they are putting out!"

There were these two cute little chairs, and I knew I had to get them in my basket fast! Okay, I degress here.. Isn't it funny how when you see something that you know you love, you feel like you have to jump on it and fight others off? Or is that just me? LOL, it's like I have to defend my find!

So my daughter is learning this behavior as well, because this particular thrift store we have women trying to take things out of our basket quite often! Yes, really we do!  So she helps me start to pick one up, and we have hardly looked very hard before I have her hands on one and mine on the other, because yes, we already have people smiling and coming over saying do you want those? Well, yes, that is why we are trying to man handle them into our baskets! Haha!

 

 See these really neat cast iron hinges? They are not only beautiful, but heavy! The hinges work great and do not stick at all. They move so smoothly.

  The chair on the left is a chair and the one on the right is a rocker. They are pretty small, but surprisingly comfortable. I am not sure if they are school chairs, or from a theater or maybe a courtroom? But they are in really good shape. The hinges and the wood look great. They are missing a couple of bolts that I will have to replace.

Antique Chairs

 I am thrilled with the compact size of these, as I can keep them with out using up a ton of space. I put the rocking chair in a corner in my living room, and it is sturdy and very supportive for my back. I like it quite a bit. Does anybody think they know anything about these? I think they were a great find, and I am extatic! Price for both of them..$21
Yay!

Have you found any great thrifting items lately? Do people want to sweet talk them away from you?

Blessings,

Little Susie Home Maker

 Come visit the fun parties!
Old Time Party at Old Time Farmhouse
Thursday Favorite Things  at Katherines Corner
Share Your Cup Thursday  at Daily Cup w/Mrs. Olson
Junkin Joe Vintage Thrift Finds at the Cottage Market