A Starry Tile

Just a pretty tile full of retro stars:

Wishing you a sunny day and a clear, starry night as this year comes to a close.

Cute Scotties

I imagine these cute little dogs are supposed to be ornaments, and I know Christmas is over - but they don't look "Christmasy", and they are so cute that I don't think I will pack them away:

I found them at a thrift store, and I actually hung them up on a big lampshade so I can enjoy looking at them.

Some crafty gal made them in 1972 (they are dated on the back in marker pen). Cute, huh?

For Yosemite Faith

Now that I know she has opened it, I can share with you this gift I sent to my friend Faith in Michigan.

The artist, Pat Gray, was selling her original watercolors right outside the door of the City Hotel when there was an art show held in the streets earlier this year. I couldn't afford one of her beautiful originals, but I did pick up this card made with a photo of her painting "Half Dome Across The Merced", and I managed to find the perfect mat and frame to put it in so I could send it to Faith for Christmas. Hope you like it, Faith!

A Sweet Find for Heidi!

Sis Lori here with a thrift store find for Christmas for sis Heidi. This had a few bumps and bruises but I couldn't leave it there on the shelf. It had to go live with the others at Heidi's home.

                                                               

                                                               Merry Christmas!!!!

Day after Blahs

Well, woke up this morning later than usual, 6:45 am, with absolutely no ideas for my post today.

We had a wonderful house-bursting Christmas, and I am pretty worn out.

So I am just going to share this great photo from 1952 of a few shivering children on Clay Street in Placerville and their slightly lopsided snowman.  That is about how I feel right now, slightly lopsided.

Hope you had a great Christmas day! Enjoy those turkey sandwiches.

Christmas Wonder

Wishing you all the joy and wonder of a child at Christmas.
Happy Christmas to all, from the Gold Country Girls.

Christmas Decorating With Thrift Finds

On this Christmas Eve, I wanted to share some little glimpses of decorations in our home. I just didn't have the time nor the energy to get all of my vintage Christmas decorations out this year. So I really simplified, and decorated minimally , using mostly "thrifted" finds found during the year - things that had not yet been packed away.
 My favorite thing may well be this ceramic lighted church - I have never seen another like it. Sorry I don't have a photo of it with the light on inside, showing the "stained glass" windows lit from within. It's so pretty though; the perfect shade of blue:

I found these Santas and the sweet candle holder at the thrift shop near where I work:

The beautiful little plate below was a birthday gift from my friend Jamie, and I thought the pyramid shaped modern style salt and pepper shakers looked like trees:

That may not exactly be a manger for baby Jesus, below, but He  looks so sweet with the hand painted wood figures of Mary and Joseph I found that I couldn't resist putting them all together:

This ceramic tree was filthy when I found it at a thrift shop for one dollar. It didn't have a base, but it looks pretty good atop one of my lamps after I removed the hurricane chimney. I am always so tickled when I find vintage figures like the angel and the pine cone snowman - especially when they only cost fifty cents or less:

A closer look at my two little treasures:

I simply fell in love with these next two large figures, and while they may not look "Christmasy" to you, I decided that placing them with my ram brought to mind the carol lyrics "There's a star in the east on Christmas morn........Leave your sheep and leave your lambs;  rise up shepherds and follow. Leave your ewes and leave your rams; rise up shepherds and follow..."

I found an incomplete canister of Tinker Toys, but luckily there were just enough pieces for me to fashion a little makeshift Christmas tree with them:

And I decided to decorate it with hand painted wooden ornaments - mostly bells and my favorite little birds:

I spent a fair amount of time one day last week scouring every inch of one of my favorite thrift shops, and I was ready to leave empty-handed (having found nothing at all that I couldn't live without). On my way out the door I saw that while I had been shopping, they had just put out these three adorable little musician/carolers, so I had to bring them home! It didn't hurt that all Christmas items were 50% off that day!

Hope today finds you singing a few of YOUR favorite Christmas carols; and that you have yourself a merry little Christmas eve!

Cutest Kitty Calendar Ever !

Sis Lori here: Heidi has had this kitty calendar for quite some time. I was jealous of hers, and wanted one for my own. I have color copied it onto card stock and recreated it. Here it is in all its glory!!

I especially like the last 2, for fall and winter. After the holidays I will have some copies available in my Etsy shop Hangtown Vintage.

A Vintage Christmas Card Tree

I found this vintage Christmas Card Tree" at a thrift shop:

The package is dated 1957, and inside was just an ugly piece of "tree-shaped" paper that I would never use in a million years. I suppose it served it's purpose back then, as it has most certainly seen use! With instructions on the back:

See? easy enough for little Susie to do it herself:

How do YOU display your Christmas cards??

"Peace" Of Work

Peace of crewel-work, that is!

Found at a thrift shop - so sweet and colorful for Christmas!

White Christmas, In The Coolest Way...

My stepmother Donna sent this to us in an e-mail yesterday. The Platters, singing White Christmas. I absolutely LOVE it! Couldn't figure out how else to share it, so click on the link at the bottom of this post, below - please! I think you might really enjoy it as much as I do!

 (Animation by Josh Held, I guess?  And I hope it's all right for me to share it here!)

 http://www.simplysally.com/arts/extras/white_christmas.html {Edited to add: I'm sorry it doesn't work to click on it! I don't know how to fix that....}

The Best Seat In The House

Good morning. Tina.

The Christmas tree is up.  Still a lot to do, but the glow in the dark ornaments are doing their job and it is wonderful to look to the corner by the stairs and see a bit of happiness in the room.

The weather has been black and blustery, then cold, clear and calm, then sloppy foggy, then torrentially wet and wild...

But inside, we stay warm and cozy.

But where is the best seat in the house?

Luna knows.  By the hearth, where the scent of oak and pine is strong.

Our kittles take turns owning the best spot.  Heaven forbid they should share...

Ishi watches carefully to make sure no other feline comes near.

Chessie sits for a while, cleans up, and then settles down.

A long winters nap...

Ishi, however, thinks he may change his mind about where the best seat is.  There is a lot to do under the tree, at least until all the ornaments have been pulled down.

Merry Christmas!

Flower Happy

I have been trying to find some of these vintage paper flowers for years. I remembered them from when I was younger, and I just think they're so pretty!

You cannot even imagine how delighted I was to find two packages of them at Mountain Treasures in Sonora! And they were very inexpensive, too. I had seen some on Etsy way back before I went back to work, and I couldn't afford to get them. When they sold, I was so bummed.
 And now I have at last found some of my own:

I did feel that they were waiting there just for me. Who else would appreciate them as much as me?
 Nobody.

Here they are in a Helen Gallagher-Foster House catalog from 1968:

This is the back of the package:

Vintage Takahashi.
 Flower LOVE.

A Christmas Cookbook

"A Christmas Cookbook", published in 1978 by Determined Productions, with recipes by June Dutton, and illustrations by Bruce Butte.

I love these cookbooks. I have shown you some of the others in my collection before.
 I just adore Mr. Butte's whimsical illustrations.
A Christmas tree:

By the fireside:

Little cakes - they look like petit fours to me:

Turkey Pie, below - sounds good! Wish I had found that recipe right after Thanksgiving:

Christmas kitties find the warmest spots:

Looks like that mouse stayed safe!

Not a creature was stirring....