Sometimes I’m lucky enough to find cool retro products just by using the right search terms. Other times, though, I stumble across retro products that seem horribly misplaced. In general, I try to avoid the kitschy retro products that try a little too hard. You know the ones I’m talking about — the rusted signs that say “Mom’s Diner” or a clock styled like a jukebox. On the contrary, I love products that truly look as if they could have come from the 1950s. Some manufacturers are getting a clue that there is an honest demand for this stuff. Let’s encourage them, shall we? Take a look at what I’ve found via Amazon just by searching for the term “retro.” Continue reading “Shopping for the retro heart”
Goin’ shopping with a 1957 Sears catalog
I often peruse through my old Sears catalog and wonder: if this were indeed 1957 and I were really ordering things for my house (and my life, since Sears offered everything from boots to boats “back in the day”), what would catch my eye? What items would I be writing down on the order form and sending away to Los Angeles?
The clothing just about does it for me. I could order nearly every single dress I see in the catalog and be in heaven when they arrived. Was there ever a fashion that made women more feminine than the Midcentury dresses? Flouncy and floral, they could make just about anyone look about as girly as Marilyn or Grace (Kelly, that is).
Here are a few gems that caught my eye this afternoon: Continue reading “Goin’ shopping with a 1957 Sears catalog”
It’s that time again (retro clocks!)
I have to be careful not to become addicted to retro clocks. I love to look at them, especially the original oldies on eBay, but I have to keep myself from clicking “Buy Now.” If I clicked that button for every clock that struck my fancy, I’d have a garage full of clocks, and probably no husband.
In my previous post, I talked about the benefits of buying a new cracked ice chrome table rather than trying to find one that is in the desired color and is also in good condition. Buying retro-styled clocks for around your home is another area where buying new is almost as fun as finding an oldie but goodie. Continue reading “It’s that time again (retro clocks!)”
When it comes to a chrome table, buy new
A lot of people come to this blog looking for things related to chrome tables — particularly those chrome tables that are covered with the cracked ice Formica. I myself was in that same place about a year and a half ago when I first got a wild hair to obtain one such table. Red cracked ice is what I had my heart set on, and I’m a little embarrassed to say that it became somewhat of an obsession. I scoured eBay and local ads, pouncing on anything that said “50’s table” or “chrome dinette set.” But alas — as is the trouble with being an antique hound, it takes a lot of time and energy to find what you want. Even if you are lucky enough to find what you want, the other part of that battle is finding it in good condition. Continue reading “When it comes to a chrome table, buy new”
Going on the record about records
Just when I thought I had exhausted all my obsessions about all things retro, a new one popped into my head a few weeks ago as I was browsing old radios on eBay. “Wow,” I thought, “wouldn’t a retro-style record player look superb in my new kitchen area, by the fireplace?” Of course my inner retro guru immediately agreed with my thoughts, and I started browsing what was available on eBay. Predictably, I ran into a few problems: a) old record players are not in great shape b) the descriptions for the models frequently said that they were in need of repair or hummed and c) the really good restored ones are waaaay out of my price range. Continue reading “Going on the record about records”
A mini cracked ice table
I’m not really sure what this is. The lady at the used furniture store where I bought it had labeled it as a “gardening table.” When my husband called me and told me that there was something with cracked ice laminate at the used furniture store, I was all over it. Continue reading “A mini cracked ice table”
Oh, how far we’ve come
I was digging through iPhoto today and discovered this scan that I made a while back: Continue reading “Oh, how far we’ve come”
Hello, good friends!
There are few things that I take the time to collect, mainly because collecting takes, well, time. I usually don’t have the long-term patience to scour the earth looking for things that I admire. I have, however, finally found an object that fuels my eBay feeding frenzy: WNAX Neighbor Lady recipe booklets. Continue reading “Hello, good friends!”
The table has arrived!
I finally received the table today, and it’s a beauty! Despite a last-minute panic about how the semi was going to get up our hill (we have a very narrow and tree-lined road), I made arrangements for the table to be delivered to a friend’s house, where I picked it up.
A retro Christmas
Those around me have begun to find it fairly easy to shop for Christmas presents for me. Simply find a nifty fifties item and wrap it up! I love the stuff that people find in their travels to various antique stores. Here are a couple of presents I received this year that will look awesome in my “new” kitchen: Continue reading “A retro Christmas”