Something Red

I know I just had a post about the Etsy treasury recently. I really am not that into the treasury like some people. But, I had a cool idea for a treasury so I picked out some things. Then I went to the treasury to see when the next one expired. It was going to be 2 days so I started to back out when I saw a yellow star! That means I was being featured in someone's treasury! What a thrill. I only know of one other time I've been featured in a treasury but I really don't go checking for yellow stars or anything so it's possible I've been in others and not even been aware of it. The wonderful seller Munieca featured me in her Something Red treasury If you go check it out you can see the vintage red and white bead necklace that is for sale in my store . It has a very retro flair. There is also a cool red retro purse by CynContemporary featured in this treasury. Munieca has great taste!

Mod Madness

I just got a treasury on Etsy today. It is one of the first treasuries I've had in a long time. You can check it out at Mod Madness . It features lots of great retro items from great Etsy sellers. If you are not familiar with Etsy it is an online shopping venue for handcrafted items, vintage items, and crafting supplies. If you are not familiar with the treasury it is a really cool way for Etsy members to feature their favorite Etsy sellers. You can find some really beautiful things in the treasury. It was just revamped and seems to be a little buggy at the moment but if you check the link on the main treasury page you can get more info about the treasury and how you can feature some of your favorite Etsy sellers

Modeling Mid-Century Modern

Have any of you checked out the blog Modeling Mid-Century Modern? I love this place. This guy does technical drawings of Mid-Century Modern homes. But, in his off time he posts photos of the most awesome mod homes ever! I swear, he lives in Mid-Century Mod heaven! I think every single photo he posts is my dream home unti I see the ones he posts the next day! I could drool over these houses all day long. I want one sooooo badly! The one I posted in this blog is one of my favorites. I would love to have a house like this surrounded by trees off in the woods somewhere. If you like this kind of architecture you must check out Modeling Mid-Century Modern. His wife is a realtor that specializes in Mid-Century Mod. She has some great houses posted on her blog at 5280 Mod. I sure wish she worked in my neighborhood!

Mother's Day

I have been gone all weekend visiting my mom for Mother's Day. It is so hard for me to get stuff done on the computer at her house. She has not joined the 21st century so she still has dial up. It takes me 5x longer to do anything at her house than at mine. I beg and beg but she hasn't given in yet. She has her service with some little independent local company. She loves that fact that when she calls she talks to a real person who is nice to her. She doesn't seem to care that her service is horrible! So, here is my belated post in honor of Mother's Day. I thought I would post a few pics of one of my favorite retro moms. Carol Brady had some groovy little mod outfits! She had a few fashion moments I wasn't fond of but sometimes she was way cool! I love the color combination in this outfit. The blue in the necklace really brings out her eyes. I also like her sassy little haircut. I was never a fan of the long shag thing she had towards the end of the series.



Ah, here is the gross hairct in this photo but I had to post it because I like the blouse she is wearing. It fits so well and I love the retro look of it.



I love the mod looking top she is wearing in this photo and the color red is always great. I recently bought a very similar brown top at H and M . I actually wore it yesterday for Mother's Day with a pair of white capris. I hope you all had a good Mother's Day!

Dixie Square

As I mentioned in another recent post I have become totally enchanted with the blog Malls Of America, a blog about vintage shopping malls. I ignored this blog for weeks until I finally took a look at it. After reading a post there I have become obsessed with finding information about Dixie Square Mall. It is one of the most interesting things I've ever read about. It is a mall that closed in the 1970's (It was also the setting for the Blues Brothers car chase.) The mall is like a museum! Their are so many remnants of times past in this mall. This abandoned mall apparently has open (or non-existent) doors which allow anyone to wonder in. It is truly fascinating. I encourage you to read a little bit about it. I found this photo at Chuck's Photo Spot. It is a photograph taken in 2005 from a display in the Montgomery Ward's store in the Dixie Square Mall. I love the groovy, retro images. It's amazing to think something like this has lasted untouched for so long. If you are interested in this type of thing check out Chuck's Photo Spot. He has the best photos I've seen of Dixie Square Mall along with lots of other great photography. It also appears there is going to be a documentary film about this mall produced by Paw Filmworks.

Tag You're It

OK, this is the second time I have done this post. Right when I was about to hit publish I lost the whole thing because my browser quit! : ( Here we go again. Apparently, I have been tagged by Bellacolle and Saffron.

The Rules:

--List seven random facts/habits about yourself
--Choose another seven bloggers to tag and list their names in your blog
--Leave your seven tagged bloggers comments to notify them of their tagging and to direct them to your blog for tag instructions.

1. I collect Raggedy any stuff. The most recent Raggedy Ann purchase I made was from Recy Vintage. It was an old Raggedy Ann filmstrip. My favorite Raggedy Ann item is a bean bag doll that I got when I was a baby. It looks just like this one I found at DKK Dolls.



2. I still have my orginal SWATCH watch. I found one just like it in a photo at Vegas Jones. It is the blue and green one on the left. It has a clear face so you can see the gears inside.



I always wanted a Jelly Fish Swatch because it was all clear and you could see everything inside instead of just a little bit. But, I noticed after people had them for a while they started turning yellow. Gross! So, I settled on mine instead. I found this Jelly Fish at Watch Report. I had to find these photos online because my Swatch is in my violin case at work. So, now you know fact number 3.



3. I have played the violin for over 20 years. One day my Swatch was bugging me when I was playing so I took it off and stuck it in my case. It has been there ever since. I really have never given it much thought and I don't know why after that day I never had the urge to put it on again. Bizarre!

4. At one time I owned a pair of pink Nikes. I don't mean white with a pink swoosh. I mean pink! I have looked all over for a photo of them but all I can find is this white pair from The Daily Sneaker. My pair looked exactly like this (They even came in the same lovely orange box.) except they were a lavendery/ pink sort of color and had velcro. Oh my, why didn't someone stop me!



5. When I was a kid (probably older than I should have been) I had Rainbow Brite bed sheets. I was only reminded of this because they were on the dryer when I was visiting my parents this weekend! What!? My parents have been cleaning out my grandmother's house. I can only hope they had been given to her to use in her sewing.



6. I used to have a 45 of Material Girl by Madonna. Actually, it is probably still under my old bed at my parent's house. It was probably one of the last 45's made.



7. Chewing gum grosses me out.

I tag:

Finds
Mid Century Modeling
Patterns From The Past
Sophiagurl
Gail
Miss Mish Mash
Lyndon Maxewell

If you've already been tagged please don't do it again and.....if you tag me again I won't be doing it either!

Do You Fondue?

I found this great little mushroom pot at Nice. I love it because it is sooooo retro looking. The mushrooms totally make me think of the 70's. It sort of looks like a fondue pot I guess. I love fondue. My friend and I always get together for fondue when her husband goes out of town for work since he doesn't like it. I think men consider fondue to be unmanly or something. I tried to convince my mom to fix fondue one night when I was visiting my parents. My dad would have no part of it. He said there was no way he was going to eat meat that had been cooked over a candle!!! A candle???? OK, whatever! There is no way you can argue with that kind of logic! Her 3 year old son was into the fondue but I'm sure that will change someday. I think his interest in the whole thing had to do with roasting marshmallows and not so much with the eating meat part.

Get Electrified!

After I started looking at The Electric Company clips last night I decided I need to continue the theme for another day! They are ALL so great! I wish I could post all of them here!! That might get a big long though. Just hearing the opening credits gives me such a warm cozy feeling! It's so weird that something you hardly remember the details of can be ingrained so deep inside you somewhere!



I remember thinking The Electric Company was so cool! It wasn't babyish like Sesame Street. Did you know all the kids on the show were called The Short Circus?? I didn't know that at all! I always liked Julie the girl with the long dark hair. I thought her hair was the greatest! And......Irene Cara from Fame was also in The Short Circus.



There were so many famous people like Morgan Freeman, Joan Rivers, Rita Moreno and Bill Cosby on The Electric Company. I've always wondered if they were famous at the time and offered their services because they knew it was a good cause or did the creators of the show just know how to pick the right talent!



Even the PBS station promo at the end of the closing credits makes me happy. When I hear that I feel like I am 5 years old back in my safe, warm, cozy bedroom.

Laundry Day

So, tonight was laundry night. While I waited for the laundry to get done I was thinking about what my blog would be for the day. I started thinking about all of the great retro laundry detergent commercials. I found this one with a lady from The Electric Company! Do you remember her? She had such a distinctive voice but I can't remember any other specific clips she was in on The Electric Company.





And, how could anyone who was alive possibly forget ring around the collar!!! This is one of those commericals used to instill fear in people about their hygiene habits. Did anyone really ever concern themselves with ring around the collar before this commercial. How many people REALLY have a problem with ring around the collar anyway?? I can't say it's something I ever worry about! The screaming kids and the ladies shocked face remind me of a horror movie.



Speaking of laundry has anyone tried the Cheer dye free, fragrance free detergent?? I decided to get it. I figured no dye and fragrance was a good thing. I don't like all of that stuff. I DON'T THINK IT WORKS! All of my clothes still seem dirty! I'd like to hear anyone else's experience with this detergent. Anyone else have a dye/ fragrance free detergent that actually gets their clothes clean???

Summer Has Arrived

I think summer has arrived! We set a new record for the temp here today! Even my laptop is making me hot! I need to get one of those lap desks to put it on so I don't feel like I'm going to have a heat stroke every time I use the computer. It's time to go shopping for summer clothes (and a lap desk)! I found this beautiful dress at French Vintage Company. I love the way it fits. It looks so cool and delicate. I also really like the square neck line. Perfect for a day like today! French Vintage Company has a lot of nice items in their shop. Go check it out! If you know where to get a cool retro looking lap desk let me know!

Singin' In The Rain

It's raining and storming here so I was in the mood for vintage rain gear! I came across this cool site called Bella Umbrella. Who knew there was a business in vintage umbrella rental! They are all so pretty! I love this one. It reminds me of a ginkgo leave!



Here is a ginkgo leave I found at Words and Pictures. Can you see the smiliarities??



I like this one too. I thinks it's because it's green. I love green. This umbrella reminds me of oil on water.



This oil and water photo came from Woody Thrower Photography.



This one is beautful! I can just imagine Audrey Hepburn carrying it!



This beautiful black and white Audrey photo came from Leo Fuchs





These umbrellas are just amazing! This one looks like a mushroom.



This beautiful mushroom photo came from Nature Diary.



This umbrella is double sided!!

Finds

There is something about this pitcher that reminds me of being 5 years old again. I'm not sure what it is! Maybe it reminds me of the gigantic orange and yellow flowered wallpaper that used to be on my grandmas kitchen wall. Anything that reminds me of grandma would have to make me feel good. Whatever it is there is something about this pitcher that is so familiar! Do you ever see things like that? Do you see things from your childhood that look so famliar and make you feel so happy but you have no idea why!


This jewelry box makes me feel the same way. It is so familiar. It reminds me of a Barbie doll dress I once had or maybe an eye glass case my mother used to own. I can't place it yet it's so familiar and makes me feel so happy! Both of these great retro items can be found at Finds vintage store.

Jenn Ski

I have stumbled across this most amazing artist named Jenn Ski. She has these very retro, mod looking paintings called pods. I love the colors. She also has a background in design. She has a website at jennski.com but it's not finished yet. It just redirects to her design portfolio. Hopefully it will be up and running soon. You can see her work on MySpace
I encourage you to go check out her stuff. I can't wait for her site to be completed. I definitely plan to keep an eye on her. A piece of her artwork would look great in any mod home! I hope to be moving soon. If I can find my dream mid-century modern home I will HAVE to get one of these paintings to adorn it.

Finishing Touches For Prom Night

OK, I'm back with my finishing touches. I got a photo of my mom's awesome vintage patent leather purse! When I was a kid she always took this purse to church. I HATED it. I thought it was soooo uncool. It reminded me of the "stupid" patent leather Mary Janes she made me wear. These days my opinions on the purse have changed just a little bit. I will absolutely be taking it to prom! I remember entertaining myself at church by looking through my mom's purse. This purse always had wedding programs, funeral cards and weird things like that in it because that was the only time she ever used it!



My prom night will be starting early and ending late! With an early start I'm going to need some hip sunglasses. I really like these vintage bakelite glasses from Online Antiques.



I think I also need a coat for prom night since it SLEETED here last night!! It is April! It should not be sleeting! I'm ready for the sun! I'm not a huge fan of fur but there was something about this coat from Sydney's Vintage Clothing that I kind of liked.



I have looked and looked for some earrings! I can't find ANYTHING! If you know of some cool retro, mod earrings to go with my prom dress let me know about them! Now I just need my prince charming! If you hurry you can purchase my prom goodies before prince charming shows up at my door!

Accessorizing For Prom

OK, I absolutely love that black dress I posted yesterday from Buffalo Gal Vintage. I'm just going to pretend that my prince charming is coming to take me to the prom!! I'm gonna wear that dress along with these shoes from Prototype Vintage.

I absolutely LOVE these shoes and they are in fabulous condition! I have been searching and searching for earrings to go with this dress but I can't find anything I like! Ugh! I will have to keep looking. My mom has the PERFECT purse for this dress. I'm going to have to get a picture of it so I can post it here! I think I'm going to have to finish my accessory shopping tomorrow. The earrring hunt took me much long than I expected. I will be back soon with more.

Pattern Panache

I have a friend who has a degree in fashion design. I am so jealous! I wish I could just whip up the perfect outfit that I can't find anywhere at the mall! One day I was at her house and she was showing me this beautiful fabric she had purchased. She wanted to make a vintage 50's style dress out of it. She was trying to sketch a picture for me of the dress she wanted but I just couldn't picture it. She came up with the brilliant idea to jump on eBay and look for a vintage pattern in the style she wanted.


Until then I had never given vintage patterns much thought. But, I LOVE vintage clothes. Often times I will find something I love in the itchiest fabric imaginable! There is just no way I could suffer through wearing it for the whole day. These vintage patterns are the perfect solution!! You can make WHATEVER you want in the most comfy fabric around! How do the rest of you who love vintage clothes deal with the itchy fabric thing? Am I just too sensitive?


I suddenly thought of my grandma's house. I had been there about 2 weeks before and found out she had tons and tons of vintage patterns. They were the coolest styles. My favorite patterns are the 60's mod styles. Most of them are not in my size so I have them listed in my eCRATER store. I love the patterns that have drawings instead of photographs on their covers. The artwork is just beautiful!


I have seen people do the most creative things with vintage patterns. Of course, the obvious is making your own clothes. I have also seen patterns used as wall paper. I think this is such a unique and cool idea. I'm going to have to try it sometime. I have also seen envelopes made of the pattern instruction papers. They were the cutest looking envelopes I'd ever seen. What I Found has a wonderful selection of vintage patterns for anyone who is interested in trying out some of these ideas.

The Light Of My Life

Starting this blog has gotten me thinking about this lamp for the past few days. This is the lamp on my bedside table. I absolutely LOVE it! It has been there for 15- 20 years, long before the rest of my retro romance began! Don't you think this should have been some kind of sign of what was to come? It's kind of like the little gay boy who played with Barbie Dolls! Shouldn't someone have put 2 and 2 together?? (I know, I know! Playing with Barbies dolls doesn't mean you're gay! I'm just sayin!) My dad gave me this lamp. He calls it the mushroom cloud lamp. He got it at some antique shop. That is the cool thing about having a dad who is into antiques. If he gets something that I end up totally falling in love with he will give it to me! It doesn't matter what it is. If he knows I truly love it, it's mine! He isn't this way with everything! Just the antiques! According to him this lamp is probably worth a good amount of money. I'm no lamp expert so I don't know. I just know that every day I fall more and more in love with it. And.....every day I become more and more paranoid about it getting broken, especially now that I have a kitten that is in need of ritalin! This cat who can't weigh more than 7 pounds managed to knock over an entire dresser!! Yes, yes, yes, I know it sounds unbelievable but it's absolutely true. There was some complicated physics involving an open dresser drawer involved in the whole incident. Back to the lamp! Did I say I love it? Every time I move it gets packed in it's own box inside the biggest towel I own which is the size of a blanket. It gets its own special place riding in the car with me. There is no way movers would ever be permitted to touch the mushroom cloud lamp. I also have a fancy self defense plan which involves the mushroom cloud lamp in case some rapist ever breaks into my bedroom in the middle of the night. The base of the lamp is extremely heavy. So........I have decide that if I can keep my wits about me in the heat of the moment, gently remove the shade and place it in the safety of my soft fluffy bed the base of the lamp would be an amazing tool of death to wack some intruder over the head with! If you want your own mushroom cloud lamp you might check out 20thcenturydesignsny. There are some amazing space age items for the home in this shop.