Be still my beating heart...

I officially declare Saturdays' carboot haul my best ever!!! It was a gorgeous crisp sunny Winter's day, hubbie and H were off house-hunting further afield while the houses I was viewing were in our locale, to kill some time on the way I popped into my favourite carboot market with the littler ones and I am so glad I did...

Cute wooden cars, about a foot long each, perfect for little hands to grasp and push around - $2

Wooden doggie, makes a fun clacking sound when pulled (fun for the kids, not us, it's horrendously noisy) - $1

Vintage colouring pencils and wooden ruler - $1.50

Pair of red-gum candle holders, never can be too prepared for a power-cut - $1

I am obsessed with sky-scrapers, whenever I visit a new city I just want to go straight on top of the tallest building and look down (yet I get trembly on a 6-foot ladder!?!) I love this poster, it's a few feet long and features the world's most famous tall buildings - $3

A cute little shadow-box, just crying out to be painted, perfect for displaying the boys favourite tin toys - $2

I LOVE old filing trays and this is one of my favourite finds - I have spotted these on eBay but they always go for a lot so I couldn't believe when I got this one for $5.

I adore all things vintage and all things aqua - this old mincing machine is just perfect, complete with original packaging and instructions - $3

So maybe you're thinking - nice finds, but why the beating heart??? Well, here are the 2 BEST finds of the day!

I have been hunting down a giant wall map of the world FOREVER!!! I love the ones with the wooden rails on top and bottom but they always either go for way too much on eBay or are pickup only due to being too large to post.

I have S to thank for this particular find, he was rather cranky on Saturday and despite my several attempts to distract him with toys, food etc just got crankier and crankier. A 50 cent Dora sticker book distracted him for about 10 minutes, then it all went downhill. In a last ditch effort to distract him I gave him my handbag which instantly got chucked on the ground. When I bent down to pick it up I spotted a huge rolled-up something on wooden rails stuffed under a clothes rack at one stall, I unrolled it was there it was in all its glory - this gorgeous massive wall map, I asked the price - $10!!!! A woman standing beside me looked like she could murder me when I said I'd take it!!!

And finally THE find of the day...

Le Creuset cookware, made in France, is world famous for its quality. Here in Australia it is hugely expensive, cast iron casseroles cost hundreds of dollars.

Just as we were leaving the carboot I spotted the above beauty sitting amongst random piles of books, toys and clothes. Price tag - $15!!! This is not just any piece of Le Creuset, the company commissioned Raymond Loewy to design the Coquelle in 1958. He is the design genius whose work you see every day without realising it. He designed the shapely coca-cola bottle, the Shell logo, the interior of JFK's Air Force One, Exxon logo, Lucky Strike matchboxes, greyhound buses, the list goes on. He was known as the Father of Industrial Design.

The coquelle was manufactured from 1958 until the 70s. Another limited number of coquelles were produced in 2005 and sold to commemorate Le Creuset's 80 year anniversary - if you want to buy one of those online here in Australia you can do so at this website for $499. But why would you bother when you can pick one up at a carboot market for $15? I think mine is one of the originals but can't find out for sure*. Apparently the aqua one is pretty rare.

Not a bad day's thrifting at all...

*Since posting this I have been in contact with Le Creuset to see if mine was one of the originals, they asked me to email photos and confirmed that yes, it's one of the originals from 1958. Yay! Not that it matters, but I just LOVE old stuff.