While I certainly don’t have a library the size of MyVintageVogue, I do have a respectable stack of old magazines and what I love most about them usually isn’t the articles, but the ads! It’s about time I start sharing some with you guys. Let’s step into the WABAC machine and visit Montgomery Ward during the fall of 1952. (Click on images to see them larger)
I’m retiring some items in the Vintage Home category this weekend so if you’ve had your eye on any Melmac or the lovely Franciscan Ware divided serving dish in the Larkspur pattern shown above, now would be the time to buy! 30% off the entire category through Monday, July 4th.
NOTE: The sale isn’t yet live as I type this, but sale prices should go in effect at/around 9am MST today. Good luck getting what you’re after!
Filed under collections, kitchen, nostalgia, shopping, vintage
Hitting the road, 1995
A Twitter-friend wrote a post today about his 10 years in Boulder, and it occurred to me that this month marks my 15th year in Colorado.
In September of 1995, I packed up my belongings into a Ryder truck shared with two other wanderers (whom I “met” online, call me an early adopter) and headed west for what I thought would be a 2–3 year adventure before I either returned to NYC or continued on to San Francisco. But I never left. I called Boulder home until 2003, when I tired of renting and bought my own place in a suburb nestled just north of Denver.
In Ef’s post, he outlines some highlights and lowlights of his decade in the self-contained universe that is Boulder. My own memories are difficult to package so neatly. I’ve had five different mailing addresses. Every member of my immediate family has moved at least twice. I’ve flown in jet planes, turbo-props, and most memorably a Cessna. I’ve lost family and friends to age, disease, and tragedy. I’ve gained family and friends by birth, marriage, and sheer luck. I’ve had delicious meals, and regrettable ones. I’ve survived with only a scar what, by witness accounts, should have been a devastating car accident. I’ve been in love, and I’ve been heartbroken. I’ve visited other countries and other states. I nearly continued my original emigration to NorCal, albeit a decade late, but it wasn’t meant to be. Colorado will continue to be my home for the foreseeable future.
And I still can’t find my way around.
Filed under family, friends, nostalgia, romance, relationships
Jessica over at kusine.com is hosting a pattern giveaway, and all you have to do to enter is comment on this post and tell everyone what your first machined sewing project was. I’m posting my “reply” here, however, because the sundress pattern is quite fetching but I already have too many unsewn patterns in my stash and I don’t want to dilute the pool of contestants.
So yeah, that first project. Are you ready for this? A pillowcase. Woo. Heck, does it even count? Three straight lines. No closures. To my credit (?), it was a pillowcase for a very large pillow. 30″x 30″ I think. And I was at some age that was measured in single digits. In retrospect, I’m pretty sure it was more my aunt’s attempt to keep me busy and quiet for a brief period of time than it was her burning desire to teach me a new skill.
That bright red pillow cover was also the last thing I sewed for a good 10 years. My mom made a good portion of my childhood clothing, and all of my Halloween costumes, but never taught me to sew. (She did teach me a blanket stitch early on, as well as cross-stitch. Mom is an avid embellisher.) My seventh grade home-ec class taught only cooking. My closest friends (and roommates) during my first two years of art school were fashion majors, and so it was in college that I bought myself an inexpensive machine and taught myself bad habits how to sew. My first project-from-a-published-pattern was a hooded, ankle-length cape, which I still have. I did a good job, if I do say so myself, and it’s sturdy and toasty warm. However, I selected a completely inappropriate fabric. I went with fleece, to which has adhered every fallen leaf and cat hair EVER.
It’s been many years since that first Brother came home with me from The Rag Shop, and while I’m confident in the area of relatively simple dresses and have cobbled together many Halloween costumes, I still have much to learn. I’ve yet to sew pin tucks. I’ve never tackled ruffles. The one boned bodice I made was not a particularly good fit. I should really, really take a class and make myself a good pair of custom-fitted pants. And unlearn some improvised shortcuts while I’m at it.
It’s Friday, and I had cash in my pocket, so I decided to go to an estate sale that I’d read about. The organizer’s website was chock full of photos that scrolled way too quickly, but I did spot a Formica dinette set flash by, and I figured it was a good indicator of what else might be in store.
The dinette set was still there, at an unheard-of $135. Alas, I didn’t have that much cash, nor the tools required to disassemble it so I could cram it in my car. My bad luck, someone else’s good fortune.
I picked through a few things, found some earrings and a kooky little how-to-rumba pamphlet (oh yeah, that came home with me), and then walked into the kitchen.
Ohmigod, the kitchen.
The house was built in 1952, and the kitchen was NEVER REMODELED. Actually, that can’t be true because the Frigidaire Flair Custom Imperial range (AND IN PINK!!! COVET!!!) was only available between 1960 and 1968. So okay, the kitchen hasn’t been remodeled in 42-to-50 years. Everywhere I looked were strips of masking tape saying NOT FOR SALE and I tell you I would have rented a truck, maxed out my credit card’s cash advance option, and picked up that entire room otherwise. Pink refrigerator. Pink countertops with gold flake. Pink built-in banquette booth (with that same pink Formica surface as the counters). My heart was beating so fast!
I took my own crummy photos, ill-prepared as I was with only a cell phone and with people milling about and clutter everywhere. See teaser photo above. BUT… when I got home and looked up the address to get the build date, I saw that the house is for sale and the Realtor has provided some lovely photos. So here they are, and a bonus photo of the pink-and-black bathroom. [insert choir of angels here]
Bonus bathroom photo:
shoes and pie 