random thoughts and cool old magazines

Happy Cyber Monday! Thought I'd start with some random comments. Like....my Etsy shop has been syndicated! Hooray! That means my stuff now shows up in Google Shopping. Since I've only been on Etsy for three months, I hadn't even bothered checking on syndication in the last month since I've heard terrible things about it taking a year or more to get syndicated. But, it happened! Woot!

Also, I have surpassed 30 sales (now at 31). Now, before you think I'm crazy for being happy about such a low number, consider that I had one the first month and eight the second month. So, 22 so far this month is great in my book!

I'm sure there's something else I planned to say, but it's escaped me now, so on to today's topic!

Did quite a bit of thrifting this weekend. Didn't find a whole lot, but had fun. I thought it would be fun to get some old magazines to look for vintage ads to frame for my kitchen. We went to this new thrift store near our house and scored 12 magazines from the early 1960s for only $3! There are McCall's, Ladies Home Journal, Look, and Saturday Evening Post. Most of them have covers that are in bad shape or missing, but since my interest was the ads, I didn't care.

As I flipped through one of the McCalls, I found some interesting and cool stuff, so I thought I would share some of them with you today.

Here is the cover - this particular issue is from March 1962.

The accent color in my kitchen is red, so I think this ad would look nice: 

Did you know Campbell's soup came FROZEN? I didn't:



Apparently college students really dug baked beans in the early 60s. Hmmm...baked beans combined with all that dancing? Doesn't sound like a great way to improve your social standing to me :)

Here's the Betsy McCall paper doll going to dancing school. Now, I'm not saying they were trying to indoctrinate an entire generation of little girls, but if the toe shoe fits...

Chef Boyardee made spaghetti sauce? Guess it makes sense, but I had no idea:

An ad for vinyl flooring. I just love the decor:

Apparently stereotyping was not a big deal in 1961 (after all, political correctness was still decades away). This ad uses the phrase "Mamma Mia" more than once and explains how beef parmigiana is the perfect dish for "your beloved American beef"! Somehow, I don't think real Italian cooks actually used Hunt's tomato paste!

Here's an ad for Frigidaire. Did whole families really dress alike in the early 1960s?

Finally, this ad offers a whole house for only $17,750 (not including the price of the lot)! While you can probably buy a house for that much today in Detroit, you aren't touching anything in California for even 10x that today!

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did! Have a great day!

black friday

Ok, so maybe having a black themed gift guide on Black Friday isn't all that creative, but I'm still a little sleepy from all the turkey yesterday. Plus I wanted to get this done in a short amount of time so I could go thrifting today. No way you'd find me at the mall on a day like today, but I figure the thrift stores shouldn't be too packed!

So, without further ado, here are my black picks for Black Friday. Hope you enjoy!

Old cameras are just cool, whether you use them or not. This Brownie from Johnny Vintage is no exception.

If you are any kind of regular on Etsy, you know owls are hot. These cast iron critters from Uptown Vintage are adorable.

Ok, so maybe no one NEEDS a coal pot anymore, but this one from Kizzy Rayan 123 would make a fabulous planter.

These cute miniature iron chairs from Bellalulu could be used for a doll collection or to hold potted plants.

I've really been wanting a chandelier for our den/library (a nice way of saying the room where we store our books!) and this one from Chic Country Boutique is beautiful!

Although you have to pick this up in Boston, I had to include this exquisite fireplace mantel from Atelier No.22.

This enamelware coffee pot from Rolling Hills Vintage has a great farmhouse feel.

This classic wool coat from Fabled Fancy is beautifully tailored and very sophisticated.

Remember when you actually DIALED a phone instead of pushing buttons? This retro rotary phone from Olde Things has great lines and a wonderful classic look.

Finally, from my shop, I just love this fabulous Pyrex in black.

Happy hunting!

vintage glass

I love vintage glass, particularly depression glass. There's just something so amazing about something so fragile surviving so long. And when you consider how rough the depression was for so many people, I bet it was a tiny bright spot for a housewife to have such lovely items to serve on. So, for today's gift guide, I thought I would feature some beautiful vintage glass, some from the depression era, and some from

other eras. From fancy to farmhouse, there's glass to fit every taste and style. Here are just a few:

This ultramarine bowl from At Home In Napa is almost beyond description, it is that lovely. When I found it, I knew it would have to be the first piece I featured.

This vaseline glass berry bowl from Wuud Worx & Vintage glows under a black light due to the fact that it contains uranium. I guess uranium wasn't always just for bombs!

If milk glass is more your style, how about a lovely chicken bowl like this one from Timberstoys - I believe these were used to hold salt back in the day.

This gorgeous green candy dish from Rhapsody Attic has a lovely shape and color.

How much fun would it be to eat banana splits from these beautiful cobalt dishes from Rosie Moonbeams? A lot I think!

This exquisite Italian glass compote from Jolly Polly Pickens stopped me in my tracks! It is so beautiful.

Another beautiful milk glass piece. This compote from Barking Sands Vintage makes a lovely fruit bowl.

From my shop, serve your dinner guests dessert and coffee (or maybe egg nog) on this lovely snack set. Perfect at Christmas or any time of the year.

Finally, also from my shop, no gift guide on glass would be complete without at least one piece of carnival glass. This fancy three footed bowl has a beautiful intricate design and, despite being almost 100 years old, is in great condition.

There you have it. Hope you enjoyed!

fashion show

For today's gift guide, I thought I would feature vintage clothing and jewelry. First, a disclaimer note - I am a fashion disaster. My wardrobe consists of jeans, hoodies, and t-shirts. I have the least girly wardrobe in the world. From the time I started dressing myself, I have shunned dresses. I spent half of my childhood barefoot. So, I am by no means an authority on what looks good. So, in choosing items for this piece, I just picked what I liked and might wear if I thought I could pull it off. Hope you enjoy!

This fun sun dress from Timeless Vixen Vintage has a lovely full skirt and great color.

I've always thought cameos are just so elegant and sophisticated. This one from Tomato Red is no exception.

This belted coat from Afternoon Coffee Spoon is just fabulous!

This funky pendant necklace from Honey Pie Vintage is so unique.

The color and style of this cocktail dress from Traven7 is to die for!

This Hoffman hex ring from Catch The Eye is bold and beautiful.

This military style jacket from Mother Midnight is super stylish.

Finally, I think this brooch from Meemaw Vintage is so pretty!

Happy hunting!

gift guide for storage junkies

Happy Monday before Turkey Day! Before I forget, I wanted to mention that I have set up a coupon code for 15% off everything in my Etsy shop for readers of this blog. Just enter BLOG15 at checkout. Good now until I de-activate it, which I'm thinking will be the end of the month, but could go longer.

Ok, now for today's topic. Since it's the week of Thanksgiving and Black Friday is upon us, I thought it would be nice to have a gift guide for each day this week, or at least as many days as I blog. Today I'm featuring vintage storage solutions.

I love storage containers of all kinds. I'm a bit of a storage junkie, although inevitably I enjoy getting storage containers more than faithfully using them. But my intentions are always good. At first I worried that vintage storage was a strange subject for a gift guide. But I know that I can't be the only one who loves boxes, crates, cubbies, baskets, and the endless possibilities for these items. The great thing is that storage doesn't have to be ugly. There are lots of cool vintage storage solutions. And any kind of container can be used for storage. Below are several items from Etsy that caught my eye. I would be thrilled to get any of these for Christmas. But maybe I'm weird.

This tin spice box from Luna Park Foundry is oh-so-shabby-chic and could hold anything from spices to office supplies to jewelry.

This rustic tool box from Madison Rose Vintage would be really cute in a bathroom to hold sponges, washcloths, or loofahs.

Cubbies rock! Put this one from South Rose Window on your desk or hang it on a wall. So cute!

This metal file box from 5 Gardenias could hold recipes or magazines or bills. And the color is awesome!

This accordion craft box from 2 Bored Bunnies is a super stylish way to store your craft or sewing supplies. Just lovely!

This vintage locker basket from Tipple and Snack could be used for just about anything - to hold items in a pantry, to hold towels in a bathroom, as a magazine holder, or for sweaters in a closet.

This amazing vintage cabinet from Shop 13 is stunning and will hold a ton of stuff!

This lovely enamel bucket from 12karri would make great storage for dog toys or yarn.

This enamelware pot from Growing Places Farm would look fabulous on a kitchen shelf, perhaps holding bags of beans or rice.

This mason jar from Joie de Cleve comes with the buttons but could also be used to hold any number of small items like paper clips, push pins, or even paint brushes, scissors, markers, etc.

From my shop, these refrigerator dishes could be used to store leftovers or would be great in the bathroom to hold cotton balls, q-tips, or even cosmetics.

And last but not least, again from my shop, one way to use silver plate items that have suffered plate loss is as desk accessories. This sugar and creamer would be perfect for holding pens in one and paper clips in the other.

Happy hunting!

world's longest yard sale

After my post yesterday, I got an email from my Dad about two trips he wanted to take. One was a coast to coast trip on US 50, which was actually on my list as well (clearly we share genes). US 50 goes from San Francisco to the Chesapeake Bay and winds through 12 states including Colorado, so if I wanted to do the whole thing, I'd have to first drive to San Francisco. More realistically, that one will be done in two trips - one from Colorado to San Francisco and one from Colorado to Maryland. Unless we move someday.

The second he mentioned was the World's Longest Yard Sale. Somehow this gem had escaped my attention, so I looked it up today. It's an annual sale that runs for four days from the first Thursday in August through the first Sunday. And it goes all the way from Gadsden, Alabama to Hudson, Michigan. That's 675 miles! Vendors set up along the 127 Corridor and range from yard sales at people's houses to professional sellers.

There's no way to cover the whole thing in four days -- it's probably something you'd have to do a couple years in a row just to cover the whole distance once. And then there's the heat in the south that time of year. Being from Florida, I remember the high heat and humidity. That's one of the reasons I left Florida. So, I could see maybe starting in Michigan and working our way south. Of course, the prospect of getting some good stuff is incentive to suck it up and deal with the heat. After all, it's only four days. Even I can handle that.

If you are interested in the World's Longest Yard Sale, you can find more information at http://www.127sale.com/.

Happy hunting!