Treasures.

I took a few pictures of the cheap little tidbits I've picked up lately...they didn't come out very well, but I'm gonna make you look at them anyway. So there!

I went to this estate sale yesterday, as I said, and there was not a lot left. But I found two chipped, crazed plates (38¢ for both) and this painted tintype:

I saw the tintype in one of the rooms, and the kids' faces just grabbed me. I picked it up and saw what bad shape it was in and put it back down. I wandered around a little more and went into a different room. One of the auction house employees had picked up the tin type and moved it to this room and those kids' faces leaped right out at me again. I figured it was kismet. I think it looks pretty against the plate, too, one of those serendipitous combinations.

Here's the other plate, which is very badly crazed and stained in the middle...I put it on my little foyer shelf and I think it looks nice with the red berries in front of it.

I actually love crazing on china. It adds so much texture. Below is a very crazed and stained plate I bought at the Jefferson Ave. flea market last fall, intending to put it up on a wall, but I love it so much, I just keep it out on the countertop and serve rolls on it or eat scrambled eggs off it or just admire it.

This is the happiest plate ever. The shape, the bright flowers...I love it to death! It's perfectly imperfect. I've certainly gotten my dollar's worth of pleasure out of it, or whatever I paid for it.

Anyway, back to the estate sale...these cookie cutters were 50¢. I bought them because of the little biscuit cutter. I've never seen one that small before.

And I got this English tin (25¢) because it made me smile, even though it's a little later than the time period I usually like. That little lord and lady are too cute. I thought this would be perfect to keep the powdered sugar bag in or some such thing.

I also found this lovely little English china teacup and saucer. They look like springtime, don't they? My niece's 8th birthday is coming up, on the first day of spring, no less, and I thought maybe I'd gather together some more things that look like springtime and send them all to her for her gift. She loves Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime tea; I bet she'd have fun drinking it from this cup.

On Sunday I was leaving my friend Bev's house and I noticed a small antique mall around the corner. It was about a half hour before they closed, so I popped in and found a nice planter to add to my collection.

Also a china mug that I'm going to use to hold toothbrushes and toothpaste in our bathroom.

And I got a small purple dish that I'm going to use as a soapdish in the new bathroom, but I forgot to take a picture of it.

Those poor people at the antique mall--they stared at me like I was the first human face they'd seen in weeks. Maybe I was. Following me around, asking me questions about what I collect, knocking prices down...don't get me wrong, I like a deal, but there was a real scent of desperation in the air. Lousy economy. This probably isn't a great time for a lot of people to be in the antique business, and this shop was not exactly out there where people could see it.

Off to bed, night-night!