My First Vintage Finds of 2018

A couple of recent short road trips yielded a few new vintage finds to kick off 2018, starting with two more cool TV lamps to add to my expanding collection (I now have a total of 10!).

The first is an African queen lamp with a curved paper/fiberglass shade edged with whip stitching. The unique ceramic form is tinged with green, so I put it on a shelf in my home office, which has a green and red color scheme. There are no markings on it but I suspect it may be a Royal Haeger, made in midwest USA back in the day.

The other lamp I found is the same size and shape, but with a plastic Asian pagoda scene shade, also edged with whip stitching. The ceramic part appears to be in the shape of a swan interacting with another bird, though it's tough to tell. This one has blue paint on it so I'm putting it in my kitchen, which has a blue, white and yellow color scheme.

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On a separate nearby excursion, I found a couple of vintage clothing items, starting with this acrylic zip cardigan sweater originally from a Montgomery Ward department store. I'm guessing this is probably from the 1960s or early 1970s.

I especially like the zipper with the round pull, the angled pockets and the stitched-on suede stripes at the yoke. Truthfully, I have never seen a sweater quite like this one.

It came with its original tags intact. It hasn't gone up much in value. I paid $25 for it.

The other clothing item I discovered is this vintage tuxedo shirt in white (more off-white, really). I'm guessing it's from the 1970s, judging by the collar.

I like that the ruffles on the sleeve cuffs and front placket are detailed with fine black/grey stitching.

The tag inside says Palm Beach Formal Fashions.
It's tough to read the printed words above the tag, but I think it says,
Permanent Press
65% Dacron Polyester 35% Combed Cotton
Large 35

There's also a Made In USA Union Made label near the shirttail hem with groups of numbers and letters above it.

Finally, a little bit of political humor spotted at this very same vintage clothing emporium in Cambridge, MA...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Phhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhttt!!!

Frosty In Boston: A Very Vintage Christmas 2017

On this last day of 2017, we're in the midst of an extended deep freeze here in New England, which can feel endless and uncomfortable, but can also add to the festive look of the season, both outdoors and inside. This is the current view from my kitchen window...

The frigid weather – 10 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny with wind chill of -2 – means more time spent indoors with my Christmas decorations, which, sadly, will have to be dismantled by the end of the week.

This year's displays feature a number of new vintage items purchased during the course of the year, starting with the light-up Alpine Village on my fireplace mantel, purchased at Brimfield for $15.

This is the box it came in (the white store price sticker says "Barkers" and the date is 1978). I had to replace the bulbs to get the lights to work.

I printed out online images of the Swiss Alps and glued them to foamcore to create the backdrop. I probably should have made it a bit higher, but I was in a time crunch and didn't want to spend too much time on it. The electrical plug is hidden by the mountain of cotton snow behind the church.

I created two ponds with tinfoil, and the monster-sized deer are from an antiques shop in CT. The bottle brush green trees are from Target and the white ones are from Michael's.

I also found Santa and his reindeer at an antiques shop in CT.

The fun thing about these villages is being able to add to them or completely change them around from year to year. One of my friends gave me two different village house ornaments for Christmas that happen to fit in really well so I added them to the scene.

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Due to a snowstorm, I purchased this year's living room Christmas tree at the local Home Depot, instead of cutting it down myself at a tree farm in CT as I usually do. Overall, I was pleased with how it looks, and the convenience. It's a 7-ft. Elite Silver Blue Balsam Fir imported from Canada.

For the first time, I used all C-6 white lights, including a couple of Reliance Krystal Stars, a pink rosette light, a few bubble lights, and a plastic angel light at the top, which I believe is from the 1950s.

I originally planned on draping gold tinsel garland onto the tree, but had already placed some ornaments on, so I decided to just add silver tinsel at the end to give it added sparkle. I like the cohesive look of all white lights, which also complement the frosty village on the mantel. Next year, I may do all C-7 white lights on the tree to change it up.

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Another cool vintage Christmas discovery this year: a black metal Christmas card holder with its original box.

This hangs on a wall in my bedroom with the box on the floor underneath. I found it at an antiques shop in CT for $15.

Cool box – it says "Brooklyn, N.Y." at bottom right.

Holder with cards. I'm old-school and still like to send and receive these every year.

From the same antiques shop in CT, I found this unusual bell cookie jar with metallic painted accents.

For my home office/guest room, I found this cool painted wood shelf with oval cutouts on the sides, perfect for my growing pixie elf family. This, I believe, is one-of-a-kind, from Cambridge Antiques Market.

The angry elf is new this year, and a natural reflection of so much that has happened around the world in 2017.

"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not gonna stand for it!"

Also in the same room near this shelf, hangs the lighted poinsettia star my brother gave me for Christmas last year.

This is the cool box it came in, which I have displayed on a table...

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No holiday season is complete without treats. Every year I make a pumpkin pie for Christmas. This time I decorated the top with a tree using mini vintage cookie cutters.

A couple of weeks before Christmas, I visited the Boston Public Library, which has a lovely tea room. One of the treats served was a gingerbread man. I think this one sums up the year pretty accurately...

Oh no!!!

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Happy New Year!

Peace.

 

My Maid Hasn't Been Keeping Up With The Dusting Lately...

’Tis the season for believing in spooks, and this year, I've made a few additions to my annual Halloween decor, starting with the fake cobwebs on my fireplace screen.

It has the same consistency of angel hair, that spun fiberglass stuff people used to put on their Christmas trees years ago. This stuff is made of a less harmful substance. Hopefully, I'll be able to get these cobwebs off after the holiday is over.

Also new this year from a popular discount department store... two black glitter twig trees.

I had the mini orange lights and Christopher Radko mini ornaments from a couple of years back, and they fit perfectly.

As it does for most other holidays, my living room gets the most decorations. Also new this year, from an antiques shop in Clinton, CT... two jack-o-lantern window candles.

The jack-o-lantern face is two-sided so the neighbors
across the courtyard can get spooked, too.

And, the jingle bells door handle decoration is new as well.

My kitchen centerpiece includes two new white cake stands with black grosgrain ribbon. I usually get both an orange and white pumpkin, but this year I just bought an orange one.

Finally, at the end of my hallway, I switched out red crystal teardrops for amber on my regal wall crown.

Sometime it's just little, inexpensive changes like these that can make your home come alive with the spirit of the season.

Happy Halloween To All

(Don't forget to Treat yourself)!