Cool Cool Cats

On Tuesday, we went to a neighboring city and stopped at a couple of thrift stores. I found some cats, which I collect (trinkets, not living ones). This trip was courtesy of Other Half, yay presents!

I found this 1998 Laurel Burch black & yellow 'Polka Dot Cat' teapot. I initially passed it over since it was covered with grimy dust, but later thought it was too cute to pass on. It was 3 dollars. Pictured with it is Cool Cat, half of the salt and pepper shaker set from Fitz & Floyd. The other half of the pair is a jukebox that was nowhere to be found. $1.05. Cool Cat has a treble clef on his lapel in white that washed off, so that will eventually get filled in.

After I washed it, I found out it was cracked. So I will perhaps someday replace it with the same teapot, un-cracked.

Here is the salt & pepper set together (this picture from Ebay)"

I found this brass cat that sits on the edge of your shelf, $1.05.

It was a fun trip, and we stopped at my favorite restaurant there. I've been dieting, so I cheated and absolutely loved it. I also found a crystal and a small slab of agate that I didn't take pictures of. Maybe next time :D There was another artsy kind of cat piggy bank that I foolishly left behind. I hope someone gave it a good home!

Kitsch-ee-kitsch-ee Coo

Today's trip found me leaving behind these 2 fabulously kitsch treasures. One is Peter Pan, and the other is a baby commemoration thing. I thought they were adorable, but as I downsize my collections, I must sometimes only take home pictures. I am a fan of kitsch, so these stuck out to me.

Grey Gardens at the thrift store

I am a fan of many things. One of these things is the story of mother & daughter Big Edie and Little Edie. They were the subjects of a 1970's documentary titled "Grey Gardens" (which is also the name of the estate they lived in). To put it shortly, theirs is a riches-to-rags Depression-era story. Socialite Edith Ewing Bouvier (yes, those Bouviers, sister of John Vernou Bouvier III and an aunt of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) marries up-and-coming Southern attorney Phelan Beale (grandson of John D. Phelan, an Alabama Speaker of the House and Alabama Supreme Court Justice). They have 3 children, oldest being Edith Bouvier Beale (Little Edie). When the stock market crash of 1929 happened, Phelan's law firm went under Phelan's philandering caused his marriage to go under as well, and that left Edith (Big Edie) living year-round in the former couple's summer home in East Hampton. Little Edie was coaxed into living with her mother, and they spent the next several decades destitute, with mother refusing to sell the dilapidating mansion. They were perhaps the original 'crazy cat ladies', living with dozens of cats in absolute squalor. Also featured as roommates were raccoons. One scene of the documentary has Little Edie reading aloud about astrology. Big Edie, a former singer, sings 'Tea For Two' haphazardly in bed.

The documentary has since become a cult hit, spawning a second documentary using unused footage from the original documentary, a 2009 HBO film production, a broadway musical, and, most recently, the release of another documentary, titled 'That Summer', which features footage recorded prior to the idea of the documentary.

This backstory is necessary to 'get' this entry's picture, a grouping of things I saw on one shelf at a thrift store. It includes some of the more celebrated moments of the film, outlined above, with the Scorpio astrological plate, the teapot (which incidentally is a typewriter with the header 'Garden Club'), the hand painted raccoon dish, and the 2 cats.

I bought the strange white cat holding mice from their tails, but left the other things to find happy homes.

Insecure Baker's Rack

Today's perusings...

Original art (which I brought home)

A Maxfield Parish print, which Other Half liked, despite the fading

A new tarot deck with a unicorn illustration (I collect them both; unicorns and tarot decks), and a gorilla

An insecure baker's rack that doesn't want to be touched (incidentally, I have the same vase that is pictured with)

And an accidentally hilarious toy placement (and the face he is making doubles the fun)

Garfield!

I found this awesome Garfield Enesco figurine. I love all eras of Garfield, and this is from his round-eyed era (I believe this was made in 1982). I have another figurine from this series, I can't recall the quote at the moment. I have a collection of Garfield stuff, I really got into him in the mid 1990's, and had a lot of Garfield t-shirts.

Whiskers & Mouse

I found this jar 'thing', hand-painted and sealed. It looks like it is a memorial jar in which you might store the ashes of "Whiskers" (a cat, presumably), but it is empty. It does not open. Perhaps it holds Whiskers' ghost...?

Somewhat related, I also found this ADORABLE little mouse figurine. At first I thought that it was the mouse from "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie", but after I got home and looked it up and that mouse is slightly different.

Indian Elephant

I found this awesome Indian sari elephant footstool thing.

I have named him 'Harry Elefante'.