I Think I Need Rehab...

Saturday I went to the estate sale of a lady that I have known for years, a member of my church, as well as a lady that my grandparents have known since the 1950s.  My grandparents knew her husband probably as far back as the late 1920s or early 1930s.  (Grandma turns 90 this summer...)

Anyway, there were some incredible mid century finds at the auction, some not so great finds, and some of that more modern stuff that I was happy wasn't coming home with me.

So, here's a run down of my finds:

2 sets of lamps.  The first set was made by Colonial Premier, in a gorgeous green ceramic with brass finish.  They still have their original shades and small glass inner shades.  The set was in excellent condition.  After doing a little research, I discovered that Colonial Premier was a high-end lighting manufacturer from Chicago which was in business during the first half of the 20th century.  A little more than I normally spend, but I know exactly where to put them, $20.

The second set is this fun ceramic and brass set.  The brown ceramic part is flecked with gold, and the ceramic is fluted.  There is no manufacturer identification on this set, and one of the shades is bad.  It was the same price as the above set.  Not sure that this was as good a deal as the first set, but still very attractive.

A great little black iron and blond wood end table.  I think that I'm going to use it as a small coffee table in the den conversion.  $10.

I love this amazing Elgin starburst/sunburst clock.  I need to clean up the battery connections.  They are badly corroded...not sure if I can clean them up or I might need to replace the workings.  $13. (I was shocked to find that someone has this exact same clock on ebay right now for $130!)

I forgot to share a lamp! I picked up this floor / pole lamp with three adjustable lamps for $2.

Revolving kitchen utensil holder with set of vintage Flint Stainless utensils - $1.

Vintage Sunbeam Mixmaster - complete with two Glasbake milk glass bowls,  $7.  Now I have 2 of them...

Great mustard color retro Heager 4002 planter.  $5.

I also got these great Made in France (copyright 1967) bathroom swag lights...not sure why they were taken out of the house, as there is now no light in that bathroom...and the house is getting ready to be listed with an agent.

As you can see, I made up for the fact that I won't be retro shopping until at least mid-July.  I now know that I need rehab...sigh.

Check Out This Blog!

I was so excited to find this blog after 1950's Atomic Ranch House featured it on their blog.

I always get excited when I find other men getting into the mid-century vibe!

So, if you haven't already, check out Atomic Living!  Space Commander, who created this great blog, always has fun finds to share.  Hmmm...I'll try not to think of it as competition, but another ally in the mid-century dream!  Although...with him also having a 1958 ranch... :)

Congratulations on the great blog!

Mystery Photo Revealed!

There were just a few of you that decided to put yourself out on a limb and take a guess as to what the mystery photo is.  For your review, here is the picture:

Here are the guesses:

Leah@StorybookRanch guessed "....I do believe it is pottery of some sort?!"

1950's atomic ranch house guessed "Looks like naugahyde... =)"

Melanie guessed "Very tough to see on my laptop screen, but I'm going to guess it's the side of a dresser or other wooden piece of furniture."


So, I am pleased to announce that one of the above guessers had a great guess!

Congratulations Leah!  It's this fun little green flower put / planter that once upon a time belonged to my grandma.  Grandad gave it to her with a little plant in it back in the 50s.  It really is quite small, and it can no longer hold a flower because it is cracked, but I still use it...I keep spare change in it!

I went to an amazing estate auction yesterday...spent more than I should have...hopefully I can share with you tomorrow some of the fun finds!

Movie Friday: Schindler's List

"Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire."

I feel that today's movie is too powerful for me to add anything else here to distract from it. 

For more info on the film, click here.  Or here.

Beautiful 1952 Bedroom Set - CL Find

I found this amazingly beautiful mahogany / blond 1952 bedroom set the other day on CL.  The asking price for the whole set is $850...a little steep for my wallet, but still a beautiful piece of eye candy!

Here is some information from the seller:

"VINTAGE 1952 MAHOGANY/BLOND BEDROOM SET - 7 PIECES
made by AMERICAN OF MARTINSVILLE & MAHOGANY ASSOCIATION INC. OF CHICAGO.
this vintage bedroom set is in very very good condition....
comes with: bed, headboard, 2 side stands, highboy dresser, mirror, vanity, vanity stool
very nice vintage blond mahogany bedroom set and in super great condition, have to see to appreciate"

I had to make a couple of spacing corrections in the above quote, and correct the spelling of "blond" but the rest is word for word.  Just a note to all of you who might put ads up on CL: CHECK YOUR GRAMMAR!  ALL CAPS IS SHOUTING and rude.  If you want to sell your item, check what you have written in the ad...I am much more likely to buy from someone that sounds intelligent in their ad, or at least took the time to make it sound decent.  ("super great condition"?)

Okay, stepping off my soap box now...

2 more pictures for you to drool over:

Oh, one more tip...when you sell something, please clean all the extra personal items off before taking the picture...I want to see the item, not all the "extras" that you didn't clean up first.  I will have to say that I like that blue bedspread with the blond wood.

If you want to view the ad, you can see it here.

Yay!  It's Thursday!

Return of the Mystery Photo

Hey everyone!  Long time, no post!  Sorry about that, but my summer schedule for posting will probably be kind of hit and miss for a while.

Summer school is going well, that is except for the fact that I had a crash and burn yesterday playing tag with my kiddos...rubber gym floor plus shoes with little traction = disaster (what else?).  Anyway, now that I have a nice little floor burn on my elbow, knee, and hand, I will make sure that I wear different shoes today.

I'm not sure how many retro finds I will be getting for a while.  I just looked at my calendar, and this Saturday and July 3 are the only Saturdays that I have free until July 17.  It's gonna be a busy summer!

Anyway, due to the beginning of summer school, finishing up state paperwork, and having no time to find myself anything retro, I haven't had much to share (or time to do it for that matter).  I may have to start digging through my storage to find things that I might have overlooked to share with you.

So, today marks the return of the mystery photo.  I'm going to give you a few days to try to figure this one out, and most likely I will share it's identity on either Saturday or Sunday. 

Now, for you viewing (and guessing) pleasure, here it is:

Good luck!

Movie Friday: Cruel Intentions

Most definitely not a vintage movie, but I do believe that this one will be a classic.  Not the nicest theme, but still draws you in.  This movie came out while I was in high school.

This 1999 drama starred Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair.  A cruel bet turns deadly in the end.  Perhaps the things I remember most about the movie, or at least what comes to mind first when someone mentions it, is the song "Bittersweet Symphony."

You can read all about the movie here.

Have a great Friday!

It's the Last Day of School!

Okay, so it's the last day of school...I have been incredibly busy this week, hence the lack of a post yesterday.  I'm going to be out of town this weekend, and I start teaching summer school on Monday, so things might be a little spotty with the blog for a while.  Add on top of that a trip to the Casablanca, a conference, a trip to Colorado, and a mission trip to Memphis, TN this summer, and I'm starting to fear that the blog might become ignored.  I promise I'll try to keep it updated regularly.  Today's the last day of school!  Woo Hoo!

Here is some classic automotive eye candy for you to drool over today.

Have a great Thursday!  Tomorrow is Movie Friday!

Chevrolet 1952 - The Rainbow is Yours!

I always love these old sales videos.  "Yes, whatever Mr. and Mrs. America and their family want in motor car beauty and usefulness, they find in Chevrolet."

These old videos always make the post war era look so easy, happy, and carefree.  No wonder so many people are seeking to bring the 1950s into their homes, it brings back simpler times.

Have a great Tuesday!  1 1/2 days of school left after today!

Weekend Finds

Saturday I went to an estate sale, everything was auctioned off, including the house.  I have dreamed of owning that house for years.  It's a beautiful late 1930s or 1940s house, but I'm not sure what to call the style.  I failed to get a pic of it.  I'll try to go by and get one soon, the house is about 3 blocks from the Shack.  The house needed a lot of work, at the very least it needed new flooring in the whole house and paint.  4 bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, dining room, eat in kitchen, family room, fireplace in living room, two car garage, two story with 3/4 basement.  It sold for $48,000.  If I'd had any idea that it would have sold that cheap, I would have been up at the bank earlier this week to make loan arrangements.  Oh well, guess I'll stay put in the Shack.

Gnome? Dwarf? Not sure what to call these little men.  However, they are an authentic Russian matryoshka doll set.  They are stamped in Russian on the bottom and have the old price tag still on them.  This set has 7 dolls, from large to small.  Sets this large are not cheap.  When I went to Russia the set I bought was I believe 3 or 4 dolls.  I got these little guys for $1.50.

Two beautiful mid century paintings.  The first one, the calla lilies, is a vintage water color.  I think this will really go well with the vintage chair that I got at that estate sale a few weeks ago.  The second one is a vintage oil on canvas winter scene.  Both pieces have stickers on the back from being professionally framed.  I really like the frame on the winter scene.

This 1950 Marcelline Stoyke tray has three steins on it.  The colors are great.  It is really large.  I got it with three pieces of granite ware that I'm going to use for planting flowers in.  The tray and three pieces of granite ware cost a total of $2.

This old leg brace was in a bunch of stuff that I got when I somehow managed to buy the contents of a storage closet for $2.  I threw almost all of it away as soon as I got home - not interested in junking up the house again, so I just took the box of trash bags out to the curb and sorted it from the tailgate of the truck.  I kept just a few things.

Three old day planners, from 1938, 1939, and 1940.  The house at one point had belonged to one of the old time dentists here in town and then his daughter lived in the house until her death which was the cause for the auction.  These are the appointments for each person that came into the dentist office each of those years.  I can't wait to sit down with them and see if I can find the names of some people that I might know or might have known, or it family of someone that I know.  These also were found in the $2 closet.

Finally, Fickle Frankie was stuck in a box in that closet.  I think I'm going to find a little frame for him.

Have a great Monday!  It's the last week of school for me, and I have so much to get done still!

See Mrs. Gray she's proud today because her roses are in bloom

Okay, no roses here...actually roses are one thing that I never plan to plant here at the Shack.  Not my flower of choice.

What is blooming at the moment?  Honeysuckle!

My photos of my pink honeysuckle never look as nice as it does in person.  Oh well, that pink really stands out!

My white honeysuckle is just beginning to bloom.  Last summer it bloomed almost all summer because it stayed in the 70 most of the summer (it was a strange summer).  It is going to have to be cut back some - it's really starting to take over...which is part of the plan, I want it to hide the ugly chain link fence.  However, it is growing into my bee balm, which I don't want - so, time to trim it up!

Close up shot of the white honeysuckle buds and blooms.

Have a great Sunday!

This Kid is Amazing!

Don't know if you all have run across this yet, but he sure can sing!

Movie Friday: Fahrenheit 451

Yet another example of a movie that falls far short of the superior quality of the book, Fahrenheit 451 is still a classic movie that is worth your time to watch.  It's one of those movies that makes you think.  However, before you watch this movie, please read the book.

One of the best things about the movie, in my opinion, is the mid-century design of what the future would look like.  I always enjoy looking at old videos that predict how we will live in the future.  They are sometimes correct, most often wrong.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

For all the info on Fahrenheit 451 the movie, click here.  For info on Fahrenheit 451 the book (read it first, before watching the movie) click here.

Have a great Friday.

Practice in Time is Having a Giveaway!

Practice in Time is celebrating 25 followers with a fun vacation themed give-away.  Check it out, and enter here!

I've Got a Confession to Make...

If I were living in the mid-century era, and I was furnishing my home, I would most likely not go with a "modern" theme of furnishings for my home.  I love my Heywood Wakefield bedroom set, but my true love is the beautiful mahogany wood Duncan Phyfe style.  I love the richness of the wood, and the formality of it.  I have always preferred dark wood, with mahogany being my favorite.  1950s blond furniture was fun, bright, and forward thinking.  Duncan Phyfe styles of the time were traditional, grounded in history.  I like that idea.  I love being surrounded by rich feeling things, and to me, nothing seems more rich than the beautiful and elegant Duncan Phyfe.  Surprised?  Maybe you are, maybe not, but you have seen my French Provincial sofa, and I love the simple elegance of it.

I'm sure that if I had a family room that it would have had more casual furnishings in it, but most likely it would still be dark wood.  Maybe you remember last fall when I posted pictures of the different furniture refinishing projects I tackled last summer.  All of them were refinished in mahogany.  All were more formal in style.

So, are any of you hiding the fact that you like the traditional side of mid-century, or am I standing alone here?

Have a great Wednesday!

* please note, I do not receive any financial benefit for sharing the above eBay items with you, even if you purchase something by entering eBay through my site.

Weekend Finds

Somehow, through the incredibly busy weekend, I still managed to pick up a couple of finds.  I have really been cutting back on buying anything, and so I have passed up some neat stuff.  Here's what made it home this weekend:

Mom and Dad's ice cream maker has seen better days.  It's probably about as old as I am, and from all the years of use, the metal container for the ice cream has deteriorated.  It was time to be replaced, and Dad brought me a request "if you ever find a good ice cream maker, get it."  So, Saturday I went to a sale, and sitting there was this amazing Montgomery Ward (remember Wards is my favorite vintage store) Signature ice cream maker.  The wood is in great shape, the plastic liner is like new.  The metal ice cream can is spotless, the beater inside looks unused.  The chrome motor runs like a top, and looks just as good.  The seller plugged it in for me to confirm that it worked, and I happily paid the $5 they were asking for it.  I had to bring it home to get a picture, and now it's going to Mom and Dad's house, where it will be making ice cream for us on the 4th of July.  Yum!  My parents were amazed at how nice it is.  Much better quality than the old one.  It's survived close to 50 years, and I'm certain that it has many years of use left.

I found a set of three of these fun metal TV trays with stands.  The retro leaf pattern is great.  They need a good scrubbing, and a few dents popped out.  $1 for all three.

Of course I would find some vintage Christmas.  Well, it was really only one thing, this hand-made yarn wreath with vintage holly bunches and a couple of little elves.  25 cents.

That's it for this weekend.  I was pretty proud of myself, I managed to pass up so much stuff.  I am still busy clearing things out of the house.  It feels good to get rid of the unused stuff, even if it is vintage.  I'm donating some to a charity thrift store, and sending some to a box lot consignment auction.  Maybe I'll manage to get a few bucks out of it!

Have a great Tuesday!

Welcome to DeluxeVille is Having a Give-Away!

Would you like to see this beautiful lamp sitting in your home?  I sure would.  Welcome to DeluxeVille blog is giving this amazing lamp away to celebrate 400 followers.  You can enter to win here.  Good luck!

Cars of the Future!

After a Mother's Day with my Mom, today we have a quick post.  This video, circa 1949, made predictions of what we would be driving around 1960.  This great little video is even in color, a nice touch for footage from this era.

Have a great Monday...I've got an extremely busy week ahead of me...should go by quickly!

Hector the Collector

When I was just a little tyke in elementary school, my teacher had a copy of Shel Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings."  My favorite poem of all time came from this book, titled Boa Constrictor.  I'll have to share it sometime, but today, I want to share one that I feel is fitting to many of us retro loving people, Hector the Collector.

Hector the Collector
From “Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings”
By Shel Silverstein

Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string,
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.
Pieces out of picture puzzles,
Bent-up nails and ice cream sticks,
Twists of wires, worn-out tires,
Paper bags and broken bricks,
Old chipped vases, half shoelaces,
Gatlin’ guns that wouldn’t shoot,
Leaky boats that wouldn’t float
And stopped-up horns that wouldn’t toot.
Butter knives that had no handles,
Copper keys that fit no locks,
Rings that were too small for fingers,
Dried-up leaves and patched up socks,
Worn-out belts that had no tracks,
Airplane models, broken bottles,
Three-legged chairs and cups with cracks.
Hector the Collector
Loved these things with all his soul
Loved them more than shining diamonds,
Loved them more than glistenin’ gold.
Hector called to all the people,
“Come and share my treasure trunk!”
And all the silly sightless people
Came and looked … and called it junk.

Have a great Saturday.  It's Truman Days here, celebrating the birthday of President Truman.  My church is hosting a 5K Run/Walk, so I'm up early to help out.  Lots of craft booths will be set up as well, and I'm planning on walking with the candidate I'm supporting for district representative to hand out information during the parade.  Another busy day!  I don't know what I'd do with myself if my Saturday wasn't full!

Movie Friday: That Darn Cat!

Today's movie is a classic Disney film from 1965.  Featuring Hayley Mills and Dean Jones, the story focuses on tracking down some bank robbers / kidnappers.  Of course "DC" (the cat) discovers the secret of their location in his wanderings, and Jones, an agent for the FBI, gets assigned to track the cat after the kidnapped lady puts her wristwatch around his neck. 

A great adventure, this was the last of six films that Hayley Mills made for Disney.  To discover more about this movie, please read the Wikipedia article here.

Have a great Friday!

Blank

Ever have one of those days where you just come up blank? Yeah, me too.  See you tomorrow for Movie Friday.

A Little Love for AMC

I found these great vintage ads for the Nash and Hudson divisions of American Motors Corporation on YouTube, and couldn't wait to share them with y'all.

First up, a 1955 Hudson commercial featuring Donald Duck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Next, a 1955 ad for Nash featuring Mickey Mouse and Pluto.  Very mid-century renderings of these two well known characters in this commercial.

Have a great Wednesday!

What is...?

Yesterday in a comment on my post about the Master Gardeners sale, JKaye asked "What is the feature to the left of your front door -- is it a decorative wooden screen or something, or just a plain wall?"

So, I hopped outside, snapped a couple of photos, and here is answer to the mystery feature.

It's three diagonally placed 2 x 8's that create a nice midcentury screen next to the front door.  It just gives yet another item of visual appeal.  It's not really of much functional use, just decorative.  Originally the house numbers were where the mailbox is, and the mailbox was where my new house number plaque is.  Sorry about the overgrown mess.  I haven't had a lot of time to mess with the yard yet - in a couple more weeks school will be out, and the lawn will once again look amazing!

Here's another view:

Now you can see the angle of the boards on the side of the stoop.  The little silver thing just below the mailbox is the bracket for my flagpole.

A more straight-on view.  The sun created an interesting effect at the top of the photo.

Have a great Tuesday!

I Love the Master Gardeners Sale!

So, we were finally able to have our garage sale this weekend, and I'm happy that I made enough money to pay for my motel when I head to Texas in June for the celebration at the Casablanca.

While I was out early Saturday morning putting up garage sale signs, I drove by the pavilion downtown (covered parking during the week, a place for auctions and the Farmer's Market on the weekends, and it's main purpose for being built, a cattle arena for the town fair) and noticed that the local chapter of the Master Gardeners was having it's annual plant sale.  I spend a little money at this each year and all those starts off of other people's plants has added a lot of color to my yard.  Most of my flowering plants have been purchased this way.  I have only purchased the evergreen shrubs in front of the Shack and a clematis from a retail source.  I love getting starts off of old plants, it makes me feel that my home is more connected to the past, and that I am carrying on something that is almost historical in a way.

So, what are my finds this year?

Left to right: Chives, and two pink hardy hibiscus, the green pot on the right is spearmint.

Left to right: the same spearmint as in the first photo, another, better looking spearmint in the middle, and a Mexican Hat plant on the right.

The green pot is a Gold Flame Spirea, and on the right is a bee balm (I think this one is lavender).

The one on the left is the same lavender bee balm as seen in the above photo, the white pot is a red bee balm.

The one in the green pot is Sea Oats, and a planter full of Phlox on the right.

A bunch of blanket flower (free because it was wilting).  I need to figure out where to plant it and get it in the ground fast to save it.

I also got two more spearmint plants, two apple mint plants, two lemon mint plants, and two plants just labeled "mint".  I gave one of each to my mom and sister.  No apple mint or lemon mint for me, although I think that I'll take starts off them.  Mint can be invasive, so we're going to try them as container plants.

The whole bunch set me back $9!  What a deal!

Now, on to my next dilemma, the planter box.  The past 50 years have not been kind to the planter box that runs from the garage to my front stoop (around 22 feet or so).  I always love the way that it looks filled with flowers each year, but this spring I was cleaning it out and discovered that I may not be able to use it this year.  It is leaning and about to collapse in a couple of places and most of the mortar is missing between the stones.  I will either have to remove it completely and landscape the area between the house and the sidewalk, or rebuild it.  I'm torn.  I love this great midcentury detail on my house, but I'm not sure that I will be capable of rebuilding it and making it look right.  I can't afford to have someone come and rebuild it.  Either I rebuild it myself or I remove it myself.  I don't want to plant anything in it until I decide.  The price of the bedding plants would go to waste if I have to remove it.

Here you can see my problem:

Have a great Monday!