Treasures from Grandma's Attic

Truthfully, it was more like “Treasures from Every Square Inch of Grandma’s House.”  Isn’t it fun that I literally have golden objects spilling out of a treasure chest?  Settle in, grab a snack or two, and be prepared for an onslaught of photos and more information than you ever wanted to know about my hoarding tendencies, especially when it comes to dishes and handkerchiefs of any sort.

When we were visiting my family in Arizona, my parents and I took a trip up to my Grandma’s house to check on it and collect anything I wanted before the family started dismantling her household.  Gram has been living with my parents for several years, and her house has been vacant since then.  Since no one else in the family shares quite the same love for old stuff, I was given free reign to take whatever I wanted.  Basically, I felt like I walked into a giant, well-curated thrift store where everything was free and as clean as imaginable (family germs aren’t really germs, right?).  Dangerous combination.  Good thing it was like 120 degrees both in and out of the house until we got the air conditioning running…otherwise I might have taken even more stuff.  But enough talk…on to the treasures!

 A vintage purse…it’s reversible, and black on the inside!  Will I ever use it? Probably not, but it was too cute to pass on.

Leather gloves.  I would be more excited, except I seriously already have a box of my grandma’s old gloves.  Again, just can’t turn them down!

I am in love with the ivory bangles, and the gold charm bracelet.  It was my great-grandma’s and on each circle the name of one of her grandchildren and their date of birth is engraved.  So sweet.  I’ve been wearing it incessantly and it makes a lot of noise every time I move, but I just love it.

More hankies…to add to my ridiculous collection.  Some of the prints are so sweet.  I wish I could think of something to do with them, but most crafts/decor involving hankies doesn’t quite fit my taste.  Oh well.  Ok, on to the decorator items.

Pretty picture with a lovely frame that I don’t currently have a place for.

Amazing frame…I have some ideas for this one.  As I was taking stuff, and starting to get overwhelmed about where to store everything, my mom told me, “Just get rid of anything at any time.  I release you from feeling like you need to keep all this stuff forever!”  Which felt great, until she saw this frame, and said, “Except that…don’t get rid of that!”  We started laughing and then she gave me permission to get rid of even this frame.

More pictures!  You’ll see some of these again soon when I show you my updated house.

Brass candle sticks, silk pillows, and on straw placemats.  I can’t wait to use the candlesticks for my fall and Christmas decor – my mom has had similar ones with her Christmas decorations and I always thought they were so festive.  And now they’ll remind me of my mom and grandma each year.  The silk pillows didn’t work with any of my decor, so I might ditch them (some of the buttons are missing), but the placemats are so cute and we’ve been using them every day.

Tablecloth, napkins, napkin rings, and a Mexican table runner.  Wouldn’t the runner be so cute at a party with Mexican food?

Why yes, I did bring home a pair of children’s busts (apparently from 1962, according to the back), and yes, I do realize they are rather creepy.  Don’t they look kind of like they belong in a haunted house?  As a child, I always thought that they were plaster casts of my mom and uncle, haha.  This isn’t the last you’ll be seeing of them, either.  I also brought back two new sets of idols, as my husband calls the birds, the amazing gold box, and on the floor on the right hand side is a fun pot for plants.  On to the dishes…

One thing you must know: I share a generational curse tendency to hoard dishes.  My grandma had more than FIVE full sets of china at her house…my mom has three…and my sister and I had already taken one set from my grandma’s house that we used in college, and which I refuse to let my sister part with.  Just a little context for what you’re about to see (and I’m only showing you one or two pieces of the sets I brought home)!

One of the things I wanted most from Grandma’s house was the set of drinking glasses she used every day.  I also found the bowl, which I can’t wait to serve veggies and dip or chips and dip in, and my mom found the amazing cabbage-leaf plate.  I love it so much I almost ate my lunch on it today, even though it’s a serving size dish.  So pretty.

I’m absolutely smitten with this set.  I have no idea what you’re supposed to use the pitcher for, and only have three plates to go with the four sunday goblets, but ohmygoodness, they’re cute.

A closer view of this little art deco beauty.

A complete set of Spode china.  It was my great-grandma’s.  Isn’t the lace detailing on the edges gorgeous?  I will probably hardly ever use this, but really, I couldn’t let it be sold at an estate sale…

The second set of ice cream goblets I brought home…good thing we eat a lot of ice cream. 

I also brought back LOTS more depression glass.  This is a tiny child’s play size sundae goblet – isn’t it seriously the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen?  I better have some little girls one day, because I’ve been saving lots of sets of children’s china for years for them to play with.

And last but not least…

Gram had this radio in the bedroom we would always stay in, and I always loved it. I don’t know if it still works, but I’m pretty sure it does…

I have a few more things (hint: they’re pieces of furniture!) that I’ll reveal soon.  I think the best thing about all of this has been that occasionally, when I walk into my house now, I’ll smell her house and think of her.  When I see her old pictures on my wall, drink from her glasses, and look around at the furniture that she lovingly cared for for so many years, I’m reminded of the incredibly sweet, loving, generous, homemaking, beauty-loving, dish-hoarding, fun Grandma I’ve been blessed with.  All of this stuff could disappear tomorrow (or in our case, be shattered by an earthquake…at least I’m pretty sure that’s what’s going to happen), it will all burn one day, but I will always, always have the memories and legacy of my beautiful grandma to cherish.

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