Finding Eleanor

Those of you who've read this blog over the years may recall that I like chintz tea wares. Alas, vintage chintz wares are usually far more expensive than I'm willing to pay, but I consider myself very fortunate to have acquired a full tea set of a newer chintz pattern, Royal Winton's gorgeous Welbeck chintz, many years ago. Those purchases were made largely thanks to my friend and eagle-eyed shopper, Sandra, who alerted me as pieces drifted in at our local T.J. Maxx. But vintage pieces? I just haven't seen them very often at all, and when I did, they were definitely out of my price range. So can you imagine how much I was jumping for joy when I found these two Royal Winton Eleanor chintz snack sets for just $5 each at a thrift store in Carrollton on Saturday?

It was one of those sightings where your heart speeds up, especially because that particular thrift store prices things very reasonably, so I had a feeling these pieces just *might* be affordable. When I got closer and saw they were $5 each, I literally sped to the back to get the manager to ring me up. I just knew some other shopper would be hot on the chintz trail!

I would have been tickled to find any vintage chintz pattern at all, but one with pink roses? I was beside myself! The sets have some crackling because of their age, which I actually like, but not a chip, dent, or ding is on the pieces.

At the store, I spotted the Royal Winton name and confirmed my suspicions. But when I got home, expecting to have to research the pattern name, I realized I'd overlooked it, and it was right there. So, meet my new friend Eleanor! (If you hear me speaking of Eleanor in the coming days, you can bet that yes, I'm talking to one of my new snack sets.)

And while I suspect the snack sets will end up being some of my favorite finds of the whole year, I also found a few other goodies at great prices.

This Salem China Co. English Village teacup and saucer ($1) and two delicate little bowls (25 cents each) are pieces that I'll use for styling food photos.

I also found a large heart-shaped candy tin (25 cents) that I wanted for storing small paper craft pieces.

Can you tell what really made me want this, though? (Hint: it's in the center of this photo.)

And of course, a 25-cent vintage Santa figurine was definitely going home with me as well. But if I had found nothing but those two Eleanor snack sets, I still would have been one very happy girl!