Saturday, July 28, 2012

New Finds and Old Treasures

Not long ago I spent the day with my dear friend Elizabeth, of Just Following Jesus In My Real Life.  We spent several hours thrifting and took time for a delightful lunch together.  Time with Elizabeth is like a breath of fresh air – a pick-me-up for my soul.  We have such a good time together and I always come home with new finds and some real treasures.  A few days before our thrifting adventure I found a blog I hadn't seen before.  As I browsed and read that blog I was drawn to a plate rack on her wall and I thought I would like to find one for my wall.  Would you believe I found one during my day with Elizabeth?  I was totally enchanted with it – it was just right.  Without hesitation I put it in my basket. It was half price that day! Two dollars and fifty cents.  It didn’t take me long to hang it on my wall when I got home.  Over the next few weeks I played with several possible arrangements of plates I already owned but none of them were quite what I envisioned.  A few days ago I stopped at a favorite Goodwill on my way home from an appointment and there they were.  Plates that were just right for my plate rack and they were half price that day!  Two dollars and fifty cents for four.  Just what I needed, plus one more.  As soon as I put them on the plate rack, I smiled.  They were just right – and they made my heart sing! (There’s no way to get a great photo on this corner of my living room that is filled with shadows – we have too much light coming from all directions.  Not a problem.  I like light!)P7284297Back to my day with Elizabeth. . .
At the next stop she found a cup and saucer rack that matched my new plate rack.  Just what I needed.  And the best news?  Half price.  One dollar and fifty cents.  P7284282I knew it would be perfect on the only wall in my dining room – above the picture that my sweetheart gave me several years ago.P7284280(oops – the picture is tilted a bit!)  Isn’t it perfect there?  You can see here what was above the big picture before I got the cup rack.  They were moved to a little wall in my kitchen.  I tried several different combinations of cups and saucers and I didn’t come up with just the right thing.  I stood on the other side of the room one day and studied it, trying to decide what I wanted to do.  All of a sudden, I knew!  I had the perfect plan.  My dear, little mother’s tea set was what I needed!  She had given it to me some time ago and she was keeping it stored safe and sound until I decided where I wanted to use it.  I knew now it was time to claim her gift!  And she was very pleased!P7284281The cups and saucers you see are the Royal Albert ‘Tea Rose’ pattern.  This is a set of six cups and saucers and one luncheon plate.  My father was a minister and for many years he travelled throughout the United States and Canada, preaching in different churches and Bible camps.  My dear mother travelled with him.  Before I was married a dear Canadian friend gave her the first cup and saucer that was the beginning of this set.  She received one or two more as gifts and then purchased the remaining pieces whenever she returned to Canada.  I would love to add more pieces to the set.  I’ll be watching for good deals online and in my thrifting and antiquing trips.   These cups and saucers are part of my history – old treasures that mean much to me.  They won’t always hang on the wall.  From time to time they will come down and be used to serve tea to my friends.  Maybe you could join me for tea one of these days.  I’d love to share it with you and let you enjoy my new finds and old treasures.P7284287There is a sad ending to this story:  in the unpacking of the tea set I discovered one carefully wrapped saucer had not survived the storage.  My dear, little mother had carefully wrapped each piece well and placed them in a heavy-duty box that was stored on an out-of-the way shelf that didn’t get much ‘traffic’.  What happened may never be known.  I’m hoping to find a lone saucer to replace it sometime.  In my thrifting stops I often find beautiful, single, orphan saucers that have been separated from their lovely cups.  I’ve seen this one in the past when I didn’t think I needed it – now I’ll wait until I find one again!  In the meantime I’ll enjoy what I have and I'll always treasure the dear ones who shared themselves with me and made this all possible.

15 comments:

  1. Love it and glad to finally see what you did! Love those cups and saucers!

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  2. I love when things like this happen. You see something you like elsewhere and wonder where you will find it and it just pops up! I saw a ruffled mirror on a blog and stumbled upon it on Ebay, not only that, nobody else bid on it so I got it for $5 plus shipping. :)

    Looking at that plate rack tho......its very similar to the ones I have that are gold. But somehow that gold really doesnt go in this house. However , after seeing yours, Im thinking I need to spray paint mine white and then it will be perfect. : )

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  3. Adrienne ~ what a wonderful and uplifting post. Just perfect. The Lord wanted you to have a lovely day and he definitely delivered. Praise him who always comes through for us, even in little ways. Your post has made me smile and thank him again for today ;-)

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  4. Oh my...one of my very favorite tea cup and saucer set is this very pattern! I have it sitting on a shelf in my kitchen behind a plate that has yellow roses on it.
    You know I always see it as a blessing straight from heaven when I find perfect things at the 2nd hand store or off Craig's List. My entire house is just about furnished from that.
    Hope you have a good weekend,
    Gayle

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  5. Hi Adrienne! How nice you had such a great time with your blogging friend! I love your plate hanger and the little tea cup hanger. I've seen one. What a sweet story about your beautiful tea set and I do hop you find another saucer soon.
    Be a sweetie and have a blessed Sunday,
    Shelia ;)

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  6. wonderful little cups and saucers and the rack is awesome too, I love a good sale. nice surprise.

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  7. Adrienne you've found some lovely things and wonderful ways to add them to your home. You and I have very different ways of decorating our homes (I'm more farmhouse/primitive) but every time you show pictures I think, "oh maybe I should change things and add some like that!" I love the way you put things together. I've read you last blog posts but at times when I didn't have time to comment. I'm so glad you've retired and can imagine your excitement at your husband's upcoming retirement. You're going to have such fun! I retired in 2003 and Jerry in 2005 and it's been such a blessing. Oddly enough I'm going back to work, just until Christmas, week after next. I'm helping out a local school district who needs my skills for a short time. I'm looking forward to it but probably because I know it won't last long. :) blessings, marlene

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  8. I adore the new plate rack! And the cup rack and collection above the framed print are perfect. The dishes are so cheerful. You might want to look on etsy for additional pieces too!

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  9. Of course, I love all the yellow. The plate rack and cup rack are just perfect with the plates and cups. You did find some great bargains.

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  10. Beautiful post! I have only one yellow Tea Rose cup. I purchased it at the shop in Vancouver on our recent trip. I will be blogging about it next week.

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  11. Just beautiful! I love the racks, plates, and tea cups! So cheerful!!!

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  12. Oh I love it all. So pretty and my kind of price! Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  13. oh how lovely and sunny those are..just beautiful..

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  14. Hi Adrienne! So nice to hear from you and how are you doing? What are you up to?
    Thanks for popping in to see my new canisters.
    Be a sweetie,
    shelia ;)

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  15. You certainly found some bargains. They are very pretty and I do like the picture, perfect for a dining room.

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I am grateful that you stopped by to visit me. Your kind and gracious comments are appreciated and treasured.