The Magic Cave

I couldn't believe my eyes when I found this little Santa for $6 in the glass cabinet at the front of a local op shop. He is like new and he is from the MAGIC CAVE John Martins era!

Father Christmas in action.

This Father Christmas toy was originally purchased at John Martins Magic Cave for $1.35 (still has the price on it!). So glad I found him.

John Martins was an iconic department store in Adelaide, South Australia that opened in in 1866 and closed in 1998.  John Martins would  hold the famous Adelaide Christmas Pageant every Christmas (starting in 1933). It still runs to this day but it is now the Credit Union Christmas Pageant. Once Father Christmas has appeared in the pageant he would set up in the Magic Cave at John Martins (or Johnnies as it was known). When we were kids we would visit the 'Magic Cave' and have a ride on Nipper and Nimble the huge rocking horses that  featured in the pageant, get a pic with the big man and wander around the Magic Cave checking out the crazy mirrors and animated Christmas scenes.   The Magic Cave is now located at David Jones  but hasn't really changed a lot from when I was young. This year Little Miss enjoyed her first ride on Nipper the smaller of the two horses.  Christmas starts in Adelaide once the Christmas Pageant has been.

Little Miss on Nipper.

John Martins Christmas Pageant 1966
This old footage is fantastic (apart from some politically incorrect costumes in there).

Nellie the mechanical elephant

 Source

My favourite (and many others favourite) in the pageant is Nellie the elephant. Best known for breaking down in the early days. She is powered by a vintage car engine. Her story below is quite interesting and worth having a look (don't worry it's short).

Nellie in action.

Wishing everyone in blog land a safe and happy Christmas! x

Thanks A Treasured Past!

Just a quick thank you to Tam from A Treasured Past.  We received a big parcel of goodies the other day which included my giveaway win and some other treasures. Check it out!

 Tam makes these gorgeous vintage stamp pendants. I chose the Wren, he is so cute. Here is her Facebook page. Have a look, there are some beautiful things to see.

  I can't wait for some quiet time with a cup of tea to have a read of my giveaway win!

Thank you Tam for the vintage decorations. They remind me of  'The Christmas Tree' which was a function that was held every Christmas Eve in our small town. It was held on the local oval at night and the Church would put on a nativity scene and Father Christmas would visit and give every child a present (that their parents had provided so there was a lot of variety in the size/price range of presents, hee hee). There would always be a huge real pine Christmas tree on the oval, the biggest I had ever seen. We would all drink raspberry soft drink in glass bottles. I remember dreaming of the day I might get to be the angel next to Father Christmas as he had one on each side of him every year. Mum later told me that I was asked but I had said no which would be likely since I was so shy.
When we would get home at night we would hope that maybe the 'real' Father Christmas had already visited us because it was dark. I always wondered why Mum and Dad were so certain that he hadn't been yet. I would go to bed and hear the sleigh bells - I swear! Did anyone else use to imagine they could hear the bells? :)

 

 A cute little book too! There was a little 'party in a box' as well but the kids already had gotten into it. :)

There was even more in the box! Some gifts for the kids, they were so excited!

Thanks Tam for it all, so generous. xxx

My little quilt.

Wow it's been a long time sine I was here. I have not been op shopping or to garage sales much at all which is a bit depressing. Little Miss touches can't keep her hands to herself in shops these days, I guess that's what it's like when you are two and a half. I am hanging out to get to some garage sales but the kids don't really enjoy it and Mr M is busy working on the extension. It is summer coming up though so I will have to try. No way am I missing a whole gs season! So jealous of you all and your finds. :)

Thought I would show you what I have done with some of my vintage sheets. Well...actually I can't take credit as my Mum made this. She had a small procedure and had some time to kill while recovering. In the past she has made my son, daughter and sister one so finally it was my turn. It still needs to be washed to fluff it up a bit but I love it!

I have just seen Tam's giveaway over at A Treasured Past (click here) and if I post this on my blog I get three chances to win. Couldn't go past that! I LOVE giveaways. It's a gorgeous blog too so check it out.

Hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend!

Vintage van pics!

Hey!

Took some more photos of my groovy caravan yesterday. The curtains are in pretty good condition apart from one that is slightly torn.  I am hoping they will all make it through the wash because I would like to keep them. I am not sure how much to change on the inside of the van because I like to keep things original. I think the fake slate floor will have to go and we will likely do a bit of filling in dents and painting the outside. Do I paint the cupboards or leave them? Mr M wants to get underneath and check it's all sound before we use it. Also check the gas lines or take it somewhere to do this. New foam for the beds of course, seems they lost their vinyl covers over the years. I am not sure if I should change the outside stripe colour or not, I think a 70s aqua blue would be cute but it wouldn't be original then. I figure we could take a photo of the colour it is now so if we did want to change it we could always go back. Hmm. What do you think?

I know that a lot of vintage lovers/sellers use these old vans to sell/transport goods for sale but we are going to holiday in it! I hate tents, but I love caravaning (hmm, spell check doesn't like 'caravaning' - lol). It brings back memories of being a kid, so many happy times (apart from when I got lost for an hour in the dark at a caravan park at 4yo, everyone was looking for me - had a had sense of direction even back then!).  It would be nice to make some happy memories for our children (but not like the holiday where I had a tooth ache and had a filling done while my brother had a boil in his ear). This is probably not the best time to take on another project (in the middle of the extension) but if you don't do these things they will never happen will they.

  Mel, (Bungalow Bliss) you are right I will be using my vintage sheets in here without a doubt. I also gave some sheets to my Mum recently as she needed a project while she was recovering from a procedure (will show you soon what she came up with, it's really cool).

 

When we pulled the foam bed out on the right we noticed there had been a small water leak but luckily it had been fixed before any major damage was done. It has been through two storms since we got it home and no leaks thank goodness. Will be sorting out shelter for it very soon.

                                          Hmm. This curtain looks upside down?! Strange.


Well there you go. The kids have loved playing in it as we have had some nice sunny days recently so it has been getting an air with the door and windows open. Can't wait to book in a short break away. :)

Have a great weekend.

Sherry

PS Has anyone got any suggestions for a name for the van?

My new baby!

Ahhh! I am so excited! I bought a vintage caravan!!

 1970 Franklin

Too cold to get out and about today, eek!

Hello to you lovely people! Today I decided to stay home for a change and loved it! The fact that it is about 9 degrees outside probably helped my decision (brrr). I think I should stay home more often. The house is actually getting tidy, fancy that. Washing done. I even had time to make an apple crumble to keep Mr M happy. Now I have a cuppa next to me and am relaxing.

Master M started school this term. My little boy is growing up. I must admit it it a lot easier at home with just my little girl and it's nice to get some one on one time with her but I do miss him (but not the fighting - lol).

Here are some more pics of my recent finds. I have found more since but they are still on the camera so will come later.

The fact that I don't need anymore Pyrex mixing bowls, and the fact that I don't use them often (because I don't want to ruin them with an electric beater), didn't stop me from buying more. But hey, I don't have any (plain) green ones like this so I guess it's OK.

I have always loved this pattern and this is my first piece to own. Please ignore the clone stamping in the pic, I was trying to get hide the price tag and did a quick and shoddy job. I would love a set of the matching mixing bowls. My Mum has a set but I think I would be fighting my sister for them and she has bigger muscles than me. :)

My sister and I went op shopping in Murray Bridge again recently and found one of the stores had 50% off  EVERYTHING! I picked up this Royal Doulton plate for $4! I love it's simplicity and this green is one of favourite colours.  It's in brilliant condition too!

At the same store I picked up this teapot but I can't read the back stamp. It is made in England though. Will be a seller eventually.

Some more vintage fabric (right) and sheets (left). Actually for my next post I will show you something funky that my Mum made for me out of my new (never used) vintage sheets. I LOVE it!

Have a great week!

Some of the things I found...more to come!

Howdy all. I have really been slack with my blogging lately. I think part of the problem is that when I put together an entry I tend to spend an hour or so on it. It seems these days that I don't have as much spare time. However Master M has started school this term and yes I miss him but just having Little Miss at home is soooo much easier! I work two days a week but the other three I am enjoying spending time with her (and the fact that she sleeps for two hours in the afternoon-lol). Yes I should be doing house work but I wanted to show you a couple of my recent finds. It has been a LONG time since I have been thrifting. To cut the time it takes for me to do my posts I have made it a short one and am hoping blog more often but with smaller posts so will put the rest of my finds up soon.

Some funky sheets and pillow cases.

Vintage Clover Pyrex mixing bowl (largest one)

Funky vintage apron

Vintage shoes. Very small...a bit granny but cute!

Another cute apron.

That's all folks! More to come.

Linking in with Her Library Adventures - Flea Market Finds

Long time no see.

I have been really missing blogging and reading your posts. For some reason I am just not finding the time and I guess my spare time has been going to listing on eBay. I have not been treasure hunting much lately which is probably a good thing. I have been trying to declutter a little and keep on top of the house work. Managed to get rid of three big bags of clothes to charity when I cleaned out our bedroom and hope to clear more soon. Feels good! I am working on getting Master M's room painted and then we will put in a floating floor which will be much better for his asthma. Have painted the cornice and Mr M did the ceiling so hope to start the walls tomorrow when Little Miss is in bed. She will be two in a couple of weeks and I can't believe it!

Thought I would show you a casserole dish I have listed at the moment. I nearly held onto it and may still if it doesn't sell. It is quite shallow so I t think it would be very useful for me.

 Denby Chevron dish  - designed by Gill Pemberton 1961

Gorgeous don't you think. There is just something about it that I love and it will be sad to see it gone. Unfortunately it has a tiny defect on the lid but luckily it isn't too noticeable.

 Yummy colours.

 Alcock, Lindley & Bloor (ABL) from the 50s.

Can you believe I manged to smash one of them!!  I think it may have been pink?? :(  These have been in the shed for a couple of years but I have decided I can't part with them yet. They would be great as a serving dish for snacks so therefore useful (that's what I tell myself anyway).

I have sold the Arabia plate and  vintage doll from my recent past post. The doll went to a  lady who is going to restore her broken fingers and give her a new wardrobe. She said she has read my blog so 'Hi' if you are reading and I hope the she arrived safely. I am so glad she is going to be fixed up.

The week that was:

I love The Farm. I love that my Dad and Pa left wood here that we can use to keep us warm. Master M loved helping carry the wood and doing 'a big work job because I can carry the wood  like this' (cradle a pile of wood in his arms).

Little Miss helped too...

 Well, sort of.

Linking in with Her Library Adventures - Flea Market Finds

Have a fantastic week!

Funky fabrics, pyrex and a first.

Hi all! Long time no see. I have been popping in and out of your blogs but have not visited as many as I would have liked to. Haven't done much in the way of thrifting lately just a couple of visits to my favourite op shops. Seems like things have been very busy around here.  I have been still been listing on eBay trying to make some dosh for our Melbourne Trip. I will have to start getting into the shed so I can find some more goodies to sell. I have made over $500 so far and this is just listing about three things a week so pretty happy with that.

 Here are some fabrics I found last week on my way to work. I am so bad, any time without kids is when I op but I am always later to work than I probably should be (luckily we are on flexi time). It does bite me on the bum though when I am still at work at it's dark. I seem to be hoarding fabric and have never actually sold any and don't think I will. I am still hoping to learn some simple sewing one of these days. My Mum started giving my friend and I lessons but it fizzled out. Might have to start them up again.

I was going to try not to add to my Pyrex collection unless I found something really special but when I came across this dish for $2.50 it had to be mine because I can't pass up a bargain.

And this one had the stand which I don't have any of so it had to come home with me too!

Well, that's a not much is it! I have sold the Arabia plate from my last post and all of the Villeroy and Boch. The coffee pot did quite well, I got a bit excited when I saw the ending price!

The month that was:

Three weeks ago we were at the beach. Tonight we have a fire going, brrr. Since Picnik has closed I am looking for another site to put together collages so here are just a couple family pics.

Little Miss had her first hair cut this week. My cousin is a hair dresser and she cuts my hair but I don't normally bother her with the kids. However Little Miss just needed a cut across the back so I asked her. Excuse the dummy she was a little unsure about it all and so I thought it may help. She nearly cried at the end but compared to Master M's first cut it went well. She is looking a little worried in this one. Deer caught in the head lights?

 Master M and Little Miss were invited to a pirate and princess party last weekend. Every time Little Miss puts on her crown she say 'arrrr', like a pirate. Hmmm, I think she might be a little confused. :)

Linking in with Her Library Adventures - Flea Market Finds

Have a fantastic weekend!

You can't beat a good garage sale!

I had the BEST thrifting weekend last weekend!! All on my own and off to the garage sales. The most finds were from a local town with fifteen households worth of 'junk' all lined up on the towns sporting oval! Yee ha! I found some new with tags clothes for Little Miss and other new brand name baby clothes to sell to go towards my Melbourne trip but also some fabulous things below.

Here are my finds:

Arabia of Finland Sunflower plate 1960s.

 

A bright orange retro vase. I love to have a few different vases in the cupboard.

This beautiful faced doll that I am still researching - stamped SFBJ 241 Paris. I am wondering if it's possible that she has human hair as it feels like it...which would be a tad creepy...eeek!  She has some broken fingers that I didn't notice before (but didn't really look either), I hope I didn't dothat to her.

Ain't she sweet.

 

Funky retro jar. Always handy.

Art Deco 'Baroness' bedside (?possibly Bakelite) lamp that seriously needs dusting.  This would be great in a colour but the ones I have seen on eBay are the same as this. Works well.

Something else that needs a good clean but another useful retro item.

I can't read the markings on the bottom of this bowl, still researching this one as well.

 

Some Villeroy and Boch 'Botanica' modern bit bits to sell (I hope).

Large pink Depression glass bowl for $1!!

The week that was:

One of the great things about Mr M's new job is the social club family outings. For example, the Christmas and Easter Shows.  The kids had a ball at their first Easter do.

What am I going to do when all the chocolate runs out? I am addicted!! I just did 6km on the treadmill just to get off and eat two Easter eggs!

-

Last change to get some sun and surf before the warm weather leaves us. 

I finally crossed something off the my Bucket List (well the list is in rough draft in my head) and that was jetty jumping. I was later told that it is very dangerous but we did it in deep water and hey it's only the once (x3). The big pic is my little sister and I am in the bottom right hand corner. You can see she got the lovely tan (natural) and I got the pale skin. I wasn't planning on swimming or I would have given myself a fake tan at least! My M calls me a 'fluro tube'. Nice. Hee hee. My Mum helped to babysit so made me feel a little guilty that Mr M was at work...but that didn't last long! I have a sick little girl this week so I wish I WAS going to work tomorrow (I only work two days a week). Oops, I just noticed I have two pics the same in that collage below...ah, too lazy (it's late) to fix it sorry so please ignore.

In other news, Mr M's sister had a little girl on Thursday night. So exciting!! We still have not met her due to Little Miss being sick, not FAIR!! There are nine cousins on that side now with three girls being born in a row and only one more needed to catch up to the boys.

-

Little Miss brought home her first craft from Day Care the other day and I just adore it.  She has amazing handwriting for a 21 month old don't you think?! Lol.

Hope you had a fantastic Easter! 

Linking in with Her library Adventures - Flea Market Finds.

Rainy day.

The weekend just gone marked Mr M's and my 11th Wedding Anniversary. Unlike last year we had a quiet day and didn't organise anything in particular. Our Anniversary fell on a Saturday this year (the same day we were married) and the weather was almost exactly the same as the big day 11 years ago.

This is what Mr M did on our Anniversary. Made this...

look like this:

Today I spent some time drilling holes into the concrete (Little Miss in bed), and I tell you it is so much more rewarding than housework. On the other hand I don't usually feel like this at night from housework...ouch!!

Anyway, getting back to Saturday. I though I might as well take Little Miss out treasure hunting because I can't really help Mr M when she is awake. I decided to go to a boot sale at a Church in a nearby town. This boot sale was advertised in the local paper. I was hoping for an oval full of cars... but there was only FOUR cars!!! Hmm, luckily the Church next to it was holding a sale too. They were selling off the old Sunday School chairs. I thought the metal ones below would be perfect for the cubby house that Mr M will finish one day (he just has so much to do but it's nearly done). He thinks the cubby should be mostly water tight so they should be safe in there. When I saw them I knew I had to grab some. I would have loved to buy all of them but I only bought four. $5 each.

 I also bought two of the wooden ones below (I would have liked to buy all of them also). Apparently the oldest Church members remember sitting in these chairs at Sunday School when they were kids. Most of them have repairs and they are so well loved as you can see. I love that they have this history.

 

How cute are the little worn feet rests. I wonder how many times these chairs were painted and how many children have sat in them. The one on the left has been repaired like almost all of the others they had there. The yellow one was the only one that did not have the side supports replaced or moved to a diagonal angle.

Next I found a Lions shed that I hadn't been to before. When I walked in and saw that nothing had a price I took it as a good sign. I had my eye on a retro sideboard in perfect nick that they wanted only $30 for! It stayed there though as we really need to de-clutter not clutter.

Speaking of cluttering I picked up the blue pie plate below in the city and it cost more than the yellow combined with a small mixing bowl and two Pyrex lids at the Lions shed. Love places like this.

One marked pie dish marked Agee Pyrex and the other Crown.

And this little cutie:

Linking in with Her Library Adventures.

Enjoy your week!