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!

Chicago Chic

I spent the weekend in Chicago which explains the lack of blog posts the past few days. In honor of my trip I thought I would do a few Chicago shout outs in my blog. I just came across this cool shop located in Chicago called Lasting Values There is some nice bakelite jewelry at this shop. I really like this green marbeled bakelite bracelet.



Speaking of bakelite.....I love the work of this artist I found on MySpace. She has a business called Bakelite Couture. She makes the most beautiful jewelry out of vintage bakelite. I really like this mod looking ring.



These bracelets are just beautiful! If you want to buy me a Christmas present one of these will do!





OK, back to Chicago. I wish I would have had some time to see some Frank Lloyd Wright houses while I was in Chicago. I LOVE his architecture. I would like to see the Robie house sometime. It was completed in 1910 and it looks like it was built yesterday! Talk about being ahead of your time!

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!!

Celebrate Earth Day In A Retro Way

I decided I should do a blog in honor of Earth Day. While trying to think of my angle I thought of Smokey the Bear and Woodsy The Owl. When I was a kid I remember how huge these 2 characters were in promoting care for the Earth to kids. I think at one time or another I owned every piece of Smokey the Bear advertising in the photo below. Do these 2 characters even exist anymore? I never see them on TV or any of the other places I saw them as a kid. I found these vintage Smokey and Woodsy advertising items at Vintage Depot Direct. There is a lot of really neat vintage advertising in this store.




What about earth shoes? Did you ever wear a pair of those things?? For your sake I hope not! They are as ugly as can be. But if you are really think you need to have a pair to round out your wardrobe you can get a vintage pair in the orginal box at Dress That Man. They have lots of other cool vintage items also. Take some time and shop around!


I have recently stumbled upon a world of crafters who recycle vintage items to make some of the most amazing art! In the process they are also doing their part to help the environment. One of my favorites is Lori Marsha. Here is some of her amazing work!

Vintage Malls

My blog today was inspired by Vintage Malls of America. When I started my blog I spent some time Googling other vintage and retro related blogs to see what else is going on in the vintage blog world. I kept coming across this blog called Vintage Malls of America. It was really annoying me because it was coming up at the top of all my searches. I really wasn't interested at all. I couldn't think of any reason why I would be interested in a bunch of big old boxy buildings! What was I thinking? Apparently, I wasn't thinking!

I came across Vintage Malls of America again last night and I finally surrendered! I was drawn in by some creepy store mannequin in the dark and I didn't turn back! I spent more time looking at this blog last night than any other I have ever looked at. I saw an image of a deserted mall with a beat up theatre sign that just made a pang in my stomach. I have no idea why! I think it reminded me of the old mall we used to go to when we would visit my grandparents. We always ate dinner there and got to go shopping for some kind of little treat. It is now on the list of deserted malls. Then I saw more pictures of more malls that made my stomach drop. There were memories of the mall I went to as a kid and the trips we took to the mall in the city. Then there was a picture of an old Sears store from 70's. Again, it resurrected more memories of going to the Sears by Grandma's house. This was back in the day when Sears was a stand alone store. Vintage Malls of America brought up so many memories and emotions. I never realized how many of my childhood memories were connected to malls! It really is so obvious but I just never thought about it!

I was then reminded of some photos I took in the fall. My Grandma had just passed away and we were in town cleaning out her house. We went downtown and I took some photos of the old Kresge store we used to visit as kids. I really don't remember a lot about this store. But, the image of what it looked like is still very vivid in my head. Kresge was a five and dime incorporated in 1912. Kresge and K-Mart were the same company. In the late 1970's K-Mart began taking over. In the late 1980's the last of the Kresge stores were sold to another company. In the late 70's the Kresge near my grandma's house closed. It was like an old fashioned store with a soda fountain and a little eat in dinette. To this day the location of the store is still empty. Someone has painted a mural on the windows of the store. It looks just like it used to. If you look at the mural it almost looks like a real store inside. You would never know that it has been empty for 30 years!

Twelve

How could any kid not love math with videos like this!! If you watch this video you will be singing the song for days! I never knew it was the Pointer Sisters who sang this!

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.