Category: Retro finds!

If you’re an Etsy addict like I am, don’t you absolutely love how lucky you feel when you start sorting through the thousands of items, only to find a great new listing that you pounce on?

Yeah – I felt like that the other day.  I had sworn off buying retro dresses for awhile, because it always seemed that the measurements weren’t quite accurate and I ended up with a dress that didn’t fit.  But hey, I’m not one to learn from a few similar experiences, so I had to snap up this dress as soon as I saw it.  I won’t quite look like Mad Men’s Joan in it, but oh, it’s so perfect . . .

There’s something about that collar and those cuffs that make it so deliciously retro.  I’m considering wearing it to a Halloween party this weekend.  I’m sure the retro look has not quite caught on as a mainstream costume choice.

At least it hasn’t yet in the middle of Iowa.  I think it’s safe to say that.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Ok, so I don’t know the secret lives of chalkware fish, but I am fascinated by them.  Ever since I stripped off the ugly basket-n-bunnies wallpaper off my bathroom walls and painted the walls blue, I’ve been on the lookout for some blue chalkware fish to adorn the walls.  No retro bathroom is complete without them, in my humble opinion.

I hadn’t had the best luck finding the exact fish that I wanted.  The ones I found were either the wrong color or were in bad shape, and I wanted to wait until I found the right ones.  Well, my husband came to my rescue once again, for when I came home from work the other day, I found two little blue and gold fish lying on the counter.  He scored them at a local thrift shop.  And that’s why I love him.

Ok, there are other reasons as well.

They look quite at home, swimming in their blue-walled world, don’t they?

I saw this posting on Etsy this morning and I just had to feature it.  Any readers from Nebraska desiring a chrome table?  This one is so unique — from the black trim to the crazy pattern on the Formica.  Even better: the seller will deliver it within a 100 mile radius of Fremont, for a small fee.   Even if you don’t live in NE, it’d be worth the shipping costs to bring this baby into your home, methinks.

If I had to name this Formica, I’d name it “Party People.”   😀

Yes, it’s a bit of an odd thing to write an entire post about.  Normally, I don’t give much of a thought to magazine racks, but a recent visit to the local antique store changed that.  As usual, I found something that I liked, but didn’t buy, because I wanted to “think about it.”  Then I went home and thought about it and realized two hours after the store closed that yeah, I wanted it.  Too late!  My adventure will have to be continued another day.

Truthfully, it wasn’t that I wasn’t sure if I wanted the rack, for I liked it well enough.  But the top part of the rack has a shelf with a hole in it, designed to hold an ash tray (of course).  The original ash tray had been replaced with a really ugly ’70s one, and I hesitated in buying the rack until I could be positive that I could find a replacement ash tray.  Etsy to the rescue!  I found several that I think might work.  I just have to confirm the measurements.

I was surprised to find one on Etsy that is almost exactly like the rack that I’ll be buying.  Here it is:

Almost everything is identical — except for the lines on the side of the rack.  What caught my eye to the rack in the local store was the way the lines started off wider apart at the top, then converged in a near-V formation toward the bottom.  Hellooooo, atomic lines!  This one has everything but that.

So I’ve been spending some time on Etsy, messaging random sellers with requests for the specific dimensions of their ash trays.  There’s a chance they think I’m nutty, and I’m OK with that.  But hey — if I can find a replacement and have this rack sitting in my living room, I think it’d be a nifty thing.  This rack may already be affecting my choice of adjectives.

If you have fallen in love with this little magazine rack, you can have the one on Etsy.  Happy ash tray hunting!

Three . . . more . . . days!  That’s the mantra that runs through my head as the school year of 09-10 comes to a close.  The papers aren’t all graded yet, but I see that tiny, tiny light at the end of the tunnel, and I’m spring full force toward it.

Last weekend, my mother earned her Saintly Grandmother duties and took my kids for the weekend, so I had some of that stuff that other people call “free time.”  This time of year, free time is a precious commodity, and since ol’ hubby and I hadn’t had a date night in eons, it was a welcome change of pace.
Continue reading “Stress-relief shopping”

One of the aides who works in my room at school gave me a great gift the other day: an old bakelite Airline radio, sold by Montgomery Ward. He presented it rather nonchalantly in a Wal-mart bag, but when I saw what was inside, my heart lurched. I have searched for a few years for a functional radio to give that special little detail to my 1950’s style kitchen, but a multitude of factors usually prevented my buying one. For the functional radios, price usually scared me away. Still, though, I wanted that special look, and this little radio has it all.
Continue reading “The ambiance of old radios”

In a post last year, I was feeling rather lustful for some vintage items I saw in a 1958 John Plain catalog.  Lustful?  Is that the right word?  I suppose so — if that word can be used to describe how much one wants an item, human or not. I remember admiring some vintage electric razors that were made just for women.  Here is the shot from the John Plain catalog:

Continue reading “The art of being girly”