Friday, February 27, 2009

For the love of Pete...


Meet Pete. We owned several parakeets throughout my childhood years and all, but one, were named Pete (why the long succession of Pete's was interrupted by a single "Bambi" escapes me right now...) In any case, it seemed fitting that I name this little guy Pete...


My Nana also loved parakeets, so they were very much a part of my childhood, way back in the 50's. I'm very nostalgic about that era and I love to decorate our little cottage with things that remind me of that innocent time.


So when I found this little Lefton China parakeet for $3 at a vintage shop, he made his way home with me. I have no idea if $3 is a good price or not. I'm not into 'antique' values. Apparently there was a minor 'glue/repair' job on this little guy (although I'll be darned if I can find it) so it lowered his value a bit. In any case, I thought $3 was a more than fair price to bring home this little piece of nostalgia...


This was Pete's former home. These photos were actually taken last September. If you ever find yourself in downtown Clinton, MA, definitely pop into Viviana's Vintage.


You never know what you will find... New things are always coming and going....


...like these round framed florals...


All kinds of jewelry, including vintage clip-on earrings...


How about this kids' pink kitchen set?


There are lots of vintage clothes to check out...


...and many unique, one-of-a-kind items...
Anyhow, I thought I'd share photos of Pete with you because I worked him into a kitchen counter vignette that incorporates Sally, my vintage cat planter from the Salvation Army (yesterday's post). Hopefully I'll be ready to share pictures of them both tomorrow!
P.S. Sally has had her bath, so the 'grunge' look is gone - she looks mahvelous!!!
Donna
P.S. It's 1:54 PM as I'm updating this... I just looked at my little sidebar Weather Widget and we are in the middle of a HEAT WAVE here in New England - it's a balmy 61 degrees (with some pretty fierce winds, I might add!)

15 comments:

Joanne Kennedy said...

Oh I had a bird that looked just like Pete when I was in high school. It seemed like a lot of people had those sweet birds back then. I don't know anyone that does now though...why is that?

I had a cat I named Pete when I was little. I named him that after the show The Mod Squad. Did you ever watch that show? Pete was one of the young cops.

Hugs,
Joanne

P.S. I think $3.00 was a very good price for Pete by the way.

Unknown said...

Sweet little bird. We call them budgerigars here in the UK. x

Kris said...

Pete is precious. Can't wait to see the photo's you post tomorrow. I would say $3 was a good price.
The store looks like my kind of shopping paradise.
I have an award for you that can be picked up on my blog.

Kris

Kathi said...

Rain or shine I'm going thrift store shopping tomorrow! Your little Pete is so cute! I love finding things that have a special meaning too. Right now I'm looking for plates and hangers for my "new" yellow dining room!
Hope you have a great weekend!

A New England Life said...

Oh how nice, Pete found a home. He should go nicely with your decor.

My parents still have an actual stuffed parakeet that was my grandfathers. His name is Jerry and he sits in the dining room hutch. Hopefully I will never inherit Jerry. lol!

I love the print of the hydrangeas. So pretty! Lately I've been making the rounds to the local antiques shops too. Haven't found much but it's interesting just looking.

Tracy said...

What a cute little bird! $3 can't really be beat, can it? I just hope Sally doesn't make Pete nervous in his new home!

Connie said...

I definitely see a few things there I would bring home, chick! That little desk and a few of those "play kitchen" items. Those are adorable and would be wonderful for little kid visitors to play with.
xoxo,
Connie

Nola said...

$3 sounds like a deal to me. I don't know about actual values, only what seems fair to me, so that's how I judge whatever I want.
Oh, I see the comment about the Mod Squad; they were Pete, Linc, and Julie, weren't they? I loooooved that show!

Lisa said...

GREAT LITTLE SHOP. LOVE THEM.

HUGS FROM MAINE

WHICH IS NOT TO FAR FROM MASS.

http://sophie4me.blogspot.com/

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Donna, Pete is beautiful, and I would certainly think $3 was an excellent buy! I enjoyed going to the antique store with you. That little pink kid's kitchen is adorable. Thanks for the shopping trip. laurie

Claudia said...

I love your little parakeet and the color is lovely. We had a little bird named Cleo when I was a kid. I loved her, but she caught a chill and left us too early. I love birds!

Oh, that store! Wish I could pop in right now!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Edie Marie's Attic said...

I LOVE that parakeet! What memories it brings back! My grandma Meme had a parakeet that color that she had trained to do all kinds of things. How sweet he was!

Have a great weekend!

Hugs,Sherry

Shabby Chick said...

Looking forward to seeing the pictures! I think $3 is a small price to pay for something that brings back such happy memories :)

mel xxx

Brenda Pruitt said...

If you truly like something, and can afford it, the price really doesn't matter.
Brenda

Missy Wertz said...

That was a great by. I would love to find something like that. I had a couple of Budgies that looked like Pete once. I knew nothing about birds at the time. Tweety and Candie had a son that is so beautiful. The people who have him named him Gabriel b/c he looks heavenly or like an angel. Weird that Tweety and Candie had a blue/grey (very light grey bars and wings also called lace wings I think) when they tend to have harliquin/clearwings. Gabriel is a pretty bird. We often wished that DD had chosen to keep him. But we do love our Elvis. He is a sweetie.
You got a pretty china bird there.