I got a fresh, new Country Living magazine in the mail the other day, and for the first time in a long time there were several things that I really enjoyed. That makes me happy, because I miss all the wonderful publications that bit the dirt when the economy took a dive several years ago. Then when things started to pick up a bit, and there were a few new home decor magazines that started showing up again, I was really kind of puzzled and, maybe grossed out is too strong a sentiment, but really not connecting with or appreciating the turn decorating was taking.

Anyway, one of the articles they had in this month's issue was a collector sharing her top 10 best finds in all her years of collecting. I thought that would make a great blog post, and started sorting in my mind what I thought my 10 best finds would be.

And I thought, and I thought.

I've come to the conclusion that there is no possible way I can narrow my vast array of things down to gleen just 10 favorites. So, I decided maybe I could do categories of things, and list 10 +/- of my favorites in that category! And I have many, many categories of things in my house! So that should give me blog fodder for years to come 🙂 .

I decided to jump into it with my favorite lamps. Yup, they are yet another of my fixations.

This is probably my favorite lamp because not only is it pretty, and very old, it has a lot of sentimental value because it belonged to my Great Grandparents. My Grandma told me she can remember when she was a very little girl seeing her Mama doing her mending next to this lamp.

This teepee lamp is one of my all time best finds. For several years I had been coveting these same types of lamps at a very highfalutin furniture and interior design store over the hill, but they wanted nearly $200 a piece for them! Given, they did have Indian hyroglyphic thingies painted around the bottom edge which made them a smidgen fancier than mine, but I paid $192 less for my unembelished teepee lamp! The gal I bought it from at a flea market (they had at our civic center) had lived in Yellowstone Park for years with her Ranger husband. She had collected a lot of YNP memorabilia and said at one time, many years ago, Park officials had decorated the common area of (if I remember correctly) the Old Faithful Lodge with many of these lamps. Since they are fairly small and a bit fragile-ish, not many made it thru intact, given all the bazillion tourists handling them over the years. It is made of rawhide with metal poles, and holds a small watt light bulb inside. I feel super lucky that not only did I get mine for a steal of a deal, it is an actual YNP relic!

I got this lamp at a rummage sale a few summers ago. It has a leaded glass shade, and a bronze colored metal base. It has probably been featured in a few magazines because the folks I bought it from have a business called Head, Heart, and Hand, and they make phenomenally beautiful craftsman and mission style furniture (they have a web site, headheartandhand.com, you should look at how beautiful their stuff is – I'm not advertising for them, they don't know me from Adam, but their stuff is gawk-worthy!) and have been featured in several magazines, I'm sure using my lovely lamp as a prop! They had a small shop downtown for a short while, and this lamp sat on some of their gorgeous tables in their display window. So, yes, I do own a semi-famous lamp!

Made of metal with a rusty finish, I bought this lamp for $20 at a rummage sale. I think it is so pretty! (Remember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!)

Then, a few years later, I found this rusty metal fish lamp at a rummage sale, as the fellow was just bringing it outside. I told him he didn't even need to set it down, I would take it right then and there (very brave on my part since I didn't even know how much he wanted for it). He told me he couldn't sell it yet because his wife wasn't back with their change and stuff, and she was the boss of the sale. I asked him how much he was going to want for the lamp, and he said oh, about $2. I said, how about I give you $5 bucks and we don't have to wait for your wife? He said AOK, we were both happy, and I was on my merry way to find more bargains! (That cool little canoe, and all the fishes also came from various rummage sales later on!)

This photo doesn't show it too well, but this little lamp is a bear. I collect bears, too, so he was a must have. The shade is pretty nifty because when the light is on it shows trees and more bears!

I showed you all this cool lamp a few posts ago. It lives in my Cowboy/Indian bedroom.

And the beaver chewed log lamp that I got at the fancy pants thrift store. I love that no one else in the whole wide world will have a lamp like this one.

Last, but not least, this itty-bitty lamp I keep on the mantle in my bedroom for a night-light. Little lamps are the best to make even the dark corners of a room have a cozy glow.

I have lots more lamps in my house, but these are at the top of my list for favorites.

TTFN,

Teresa 🙂

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