A couple years ago I wrote about Campbell’s soup ideas that sounded ridiculous and fairly disgusting. Today I ran across an article that made me giggle; obviously Campbell’s is not the only company out there who made similar errors in product creation. Read on: 13 Retro Products That Failed To Catch On (PICTURES).
For the love of old radios
As I described in my last post, I recently purchased a 1941 (or thereabouts) radio and phonograph. The cord’s been cut off (probably from safety concerns) but it is in terrific shape overall. I know boo about radios or their repair, but I am hoping that once the cord is replaced, the radio will work. Think it’ll be that easy? Stay tuned.
There’s something about the old wooden radios that gives me a nostalgic rush of emotion, which is interesting considering that when I was growing up, wooden radios had long been replaced by plastic and my teen years in the 80’s gave us radios that were lovely pastel colors. My father did, however, own some of those old wooden radios, and I used to get a thrill out of hearing the decisive click of the knob as the radio glowed and hummed to life. Even the static was endearing, and I used to marvel at the fact of how many years of history had been narrated through those speakers. Continue reading “For the love of old radios”
A couple of finds … and another birthday
This weekend brought some lucky finds on Craigslist as well as my local antique store, and I also happened to turn another year older. Perhaps the purchases were a way to offset the agony of getting older? I dunno.
Anyway …
I’ve been on the hunt for a vintage radio lately, preferably one that had a record player built in. Yesterday I was at the local antique store when I ran across this beauty. Continue reading “A couple of finds … and another birthday”
Tea Cart Love
This is a love story, really.
It all started in the local antique shop, where I spotted a tea cart with gold starbursts on both shelves. Anyone who knows me and my vintage tastes knows that this is not a good combination because it will take every ounce of willpower to hold me back from purchasing something like this. Continue reading “Tea Cart Love”
A long hiatus
One year and two months (to the day!). That is how long of a break I have taken from blogging, and now I’m ready to get back in the game.
Without going into too much detail, let’s just say that the hiatus was needed. Life took a sudden, rather violent turn and I’ve been hanging onto the steering wheel with white knuckles ever since, trying desperately to stay on all four wheels. Continue reading “A long hiatus”
And now, on with the show . . .
Although drive-in movie theaters were beginning to become relics of the past when I was growing up, I do have a rather clear memory of being taken to see Close Encounters of the Third Kind when I was about three. I haven’t seen the movie since, but there’s one scene that stays with me in that film because it’s been burned into my memory. Continue reading “And now, on with the show . . .”
The retro tree is now a reality
After my last post, I just could not get the image of my imaginary retro tree out of my mind. So I started searching the ‘net for either a silver tinsel tree or a white one. In the end, I abandoned the idea of a silver tinsel tree because I knew I wanted to add shiny ornaments to the tree, and that would all be a bit . . . much. Even for me. So I concentrated on white and looked around.
And looked and looked some more. Sheesh! I only wanted to spend, like, fifty bucks on this tree, since I had planned it to be a second tree in our house – one on which I could play around with decorations, etc. Needless to say, nearly everything I encountered was well over a hundred and almost everything is prelit. I didn’t want a prelit tree because I wanted to be able to change the lights around if I wanted to. Don’t force me to have white lights, people!
Obviously, this retro tree chase was not going to be easy.
Then last weekend I was visiting my sister in Minnesota, and we decided to take a quick trip to a certain superstore that begins with W. While we were there, I said I wanted to check out the Christmas trees to see if they had any unadvertised white ones that were within my budget.
And there, stacked alongside the green trees, was a simple little box containing a 6.5-foot white tree. Unlit. $40.
I tried not to do a little happy dance as I snatched it up. Next stop: ornaments.
It was getting harder and harder NOT to do a happy dance as I saw what the ornament aisle held for me: sparkly starburst ornaments . . . for a dollar. ONE FREAKING DOLLAR! I found the silver ones and tried not to feel piggish while I snatched up every last one. They had a whole slew of silver ornaments (and gold, and red, and green) so I grabbed some silver snowflakes as well. I remembered I had blue, white, and silver ornaments from a couple years ago, so planned to use those to go with the blue and white lights that I purchased too.
Behold: my creation.
The ornament above was one I found last year in a dollar store. Sadly, they only had three of them. But hey, they go nicely with the dollar starburst ornaments:
. . . and the snowflake ones:
. . . and the blue, silver, and white ones:
And the white and blue lights look so pretty nestled among the white branches:
The best part, obviously, was the price. In all, this creation probably ran me about $80 with the ornaments, lights, and tree topper. And although it’s not quite from my favorite era (too 60’s-ish and not 50’s-ish enough), I am in love with it. I can pretty much guarantee that my tree is unique.
Thinkin’ about Christmas trees
November has hardly begun, yet I am already feeling the urge to drag out the ol’ Christmas tree. However, I’m feeling that I need a change this year. I’m tired of the same old green tree. I’ll probably put it up, sure, but this year I’m thinking of buying a second tree — a white one — and making it my “retro” tree.
I think I’ve become spoiled by modern technology, because I was oh-so-sure that I somewhere there would be an online tree decorator program where someone could play around with different looks for a Christmas tree. No dice. If I were a computer guru, I’d jump on the opportunity to design one, but alas, I was not born with such a gift.
So, since technology cannot help me illustrate my thoughts in this instance, I’ll have to paint a picture with my words. Here’s what I’m thinking . . .
White tree, something like this:
Some pretty blue lights:
Some shiny retro-looking ornaments:
and a retro tree skirt:
And it will all look random and kind of crazy because that’s the way Christmas trees are supposed to be, in my opinion. Have you ever noticed that when looking at pictures of Christmases past? The trees were imperfect (because they were real) and the decorations usually did not mimic something from Martha Stewart’s living room. Now it seems that most people’s trees are competing for the cover of Better Homes & Gardens. I myself prefer the family Christmas tree to look as if the family participated in its decoration – which, of course, they do. We’re not perfect by any means, and neither is our Christmas tree.
Retro dress!
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!
Joy is universal
I have to admit — I have been rather detached to the plight of the Chilean miners. True, I followed the story, albeit rather loosely. The updates I’d get every few weeks would elicit the appropriate responses from me. The miners have been found alive . . . that’s miraculous! They are surviving . . . wonderful. A rescue is planned . . . feeling hopeful. The rescues begin . . . relief. I did not initially tune into the rescues because they mostly occurred during hours I was working or sleeping. Tonight, after I returned home from school, I tuned in and was instantly sucked in.
By that time, they were on the 25th rescue. I had missed the majority of the rescues, obviously, but the 25th struck me as strongly as if I had seen the very first. It was my first, yes, but not the nation’s first. I had been getting updates throughout the day, so I knew the rescues were progressing well. But seeing it live on the TV . . . well, I felt instant gratitude for modern technology.
I have never been to Chile. I don’t know squat about the mining industry. I don’t know anything about any of the rescued miners, aside from the tidbits the news would share. In short, these were strangers in a strange land, and I was a disinterested viewer. It only took a few seconds for me to realize that I was watching the best reality TV available — TRUE reality.
I cried when the 25th miner was rescued . . . then the 26th, the 27th, etc., and I saved the most for the final miner. Normally, I’m not a crier. I used to pride myself in being able to control my emotions when others crumbled. However, tonight I realized a simple truth: the range of human emotions is universal.
I didn’t know anyone I was viewing on TV, but I read the joy on their faces. I felt the relief. And as the news droned on with the details about how all these different countries came together in order to orchestrate this rescue, I felt a moment of clarity that only comes about every now and again. I’m not one to foolishly believe that if we just all try to get along that we can and we will, for human nature seems to demand a trip to the dark side every now and then, but the sheer beauty in what happens when the forces all point the same positive way is breathtaking in itself.
For a few hours tonight, I felt the joy of people I’ve never met from a country I’ve never visited.
Joy is universal.