Getting Into the Swing of Things

Hello!

This weekend Thom and I found more records. This time at the flea market. One of the vendors had cleared out an old estate and along with the fine china and silver entertaining pieces (Thom and I refrained from adding more silver to the collection) there was a box of 78 rpm records.

We picked up two "books" with four records inside each book. One book contained hits from Glenn Miller and his orchestra. It's got all the hits such as In The Mood, Tuxedo Junction, Stardust, and Little Brown Jug. The other book we picked up is a compilation of songs called "Smoke Rings". This book has Once in a While by Tommy Dorsey, My Reverie by Larry Clinton, All the Things You Are by Artie Shaw and a couple of other hits.

Thom looks over our records while sipping on his agua fresca.

Thom and I picked up the books for only $1 a record which is pretty good. Plus they are in super condition. Now if only I can find a Cole Porter compilation with Let's Misbehave in it!

We also found a couple more glassware pieces at the thrift store which was good since I felt like we were going to be short.

-HWC

Swing Heil!

I think KBD and I will need to brush up on our dance moves. It's been a while.

-HWC

Table Karma

Hello!

Well, it's been a busy week, but that doesn't mean I haven't had a chance check out our local thrift stores for more picnic items. The thrift gods were smiling today as I found the perfect wooden table base for one of our orphaned brass trays. It is simply perfect for the theme of the tent.

On top of the table base, I found another tiered server. Unfortunately this one is not silver plate to match our other piece, but it will look just fine with the Blue Willow and full of delicious desserts!

-HWC

Have Liquor Cabinet, Will Travel - Part 2

Hello!

The weekend started out great with finds at and estate sale in Alameda on Friday. This Saturday there wasn't much with the exception of pieces for the travel bar that I've been working on revamping. Thom found a set of crystal cut stemware at one of our local thrift shops. We've been scouring the shops for weeks trying to find stemware of a particular size since the travel bar has slots of a certain size.

These are most likely champagne coupe's, but they are the perfect dimensions for the stemware slots in the bar. I'm not certain who produced this set of crystal, but at $2 each, you can't beat them.

As for the bar, as you can see I've added and replaced a few things since last you saw it. A trip to the local Ace Hardware store in town yielded a lot of, well, hardware.

I didn't know what was really out there in terms of decorative hardware and I would prefer to see in person what I was buying. This is why I decided to source from our local hardware store instead of online. I found some great brass handles, decorative corners and feet that fit the look I wanted nicely.

The leather straps are just two belts I bought at the flea market and attached them with brass upholstery tacks. The buckles Thom and I picked up at a yard sale months ago just for the hell of it. Luckily, there was a matching pair.

I also found some nice decorative hinges at the hardware store. I had to replace the ones that came with the bar because the metal they were made of was much too soft and the hinges were warping. These solid brass one's fit just right and almost have the same flair as the originals.

The decanter I found a couple of weeks ago, also at a thrift store. It's not crystal, but pressed glass, but it fits the bill rather well. I'm going to keep searching though only because the slot allotted for the decanter is much larger than the one I have. Bigger decanter, more booze!

I still have a few more things to do before it's complete. I need to order some Eastlake ring pulls to replace the one's on the drawers. I also need a new brass plate for the front of the bar and finally I'll need to line the floors of the glass slots with velvet so as to protect the stemware in transport. KBD suggested I put some period decals, either travel or otherwise in the interior. I'm contemplating this, but don't know what theme to pursue.

-HWC

Lookout Weekend Cause' Here We Come

Hello!

It's the weekend again and that means yard and estate sales! Today there happened to be and estate sale down the street from where Thom and I live (about four blocks or so). So we braved the overcast morning and rode our bikes down to the Gold Coast. They call this part of Alameda the Gold Coast because of the number of very old, very expensive, and very beautiful houses found in this part of the island. Today's estate sale happened to be in one of the oldest houses there, built in 1916 I believe.

Bikes full of treasure

Fortunately there was not a lot of people at today's sale and the house was huge (an Alameda mansion) so it was a good and easy day to shop. I found stuff for my Etsy store (seller; Sewmanity) and Thom found three picnic baskets for the Gatsby picnic. We have so much to pack and carry for the picnic that we've been hoarding good sized baskets and trunks whenever we run across them. This particular estate sale had great prices so we picked up three baskets to add to our arsenal.

Thom with a lot of junk in his trunk

We managed to strap everything down with bungee cords and rode home (I think Thom's bike looks great with a basket on the back). More sales and treasures tomorrow!

-HWC

All Work and No Play...

Hello!

Funny, we've been fiddilin' with the Gramophone now for a couple of days and we're obsessed! We as mentioned before we found a stack of old 78's at Pauline's. Now we're on the hunt for specific songs. We especially want the one one below. Sound familiar?

-HWC

The Band is Here!

Hello!

Yay! Our Gramophone came! We were so excited this weekend when the FedEx man delivered our package. We unboxed it and cranked it up. It totally started to spin!

Our lovely online find

After inspecting our new Gramophone, I suspect that most or all of the mechanical parts is new old stock. The mechanical pieces are made a lot better than some of the other metal pieces found on the player. Also, all the mechanical pieces have show some patina from age. The horn, tonearm, crank, horn bracket, and case are all reproductions while the voice box, turntable platter and motor are all vintage old stock. I'm not surprised that the motor still works, they made then sturdy back in the day. The Gramophone came to us from India, via the port of Los Angeles, with a vintage Indian 78 rpm record. Though the music on the provided record would have fit our theme nicely, we were all excited to find more 78's. So that afternoon we ran over to Pauline's.

One of many treasure alcoves at Pauline's

A mix of 12", 45's & 78's

As you can see Pauline's is definitely a place you have to dig and search, but it's our favorite way to shop. I knew Pauline's would have exactly what we were looking for. As KBD, Thom and I combed through the stacks, we looked for period appropriate music and of course songs that we just plain love.

KBD & Thom get excited

We ended up finding a whole book (about 12 records) full of jazz, swing, and fox trot's from various performers and a few other records of songs we love. I'll see if I can post a video of the gramophone in action. It was a fun afternoon. Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with lunch and beer. It was a hot afternoon that day in Alameda.

-HWC