Happy Halloween From Barbie And Skipper

Wishing you a very Happy Halloween.......

....one that is only as spooky and scary as you want it to be!

 Perhaps your Halloween will be spent waiting for trick-or-treaters at the window with your Jack O' Lantern, like Barbie, Skipper and Scooter here on the cover of this Barbie magazine from 1965.
Happy haunts and a bit of the BOO to you!

A Few More Vintage Halloween Postcards

Here's hoping everyone has a great Halloween tomorrow night.

The Witches Are Calling

Sharing an image today from some vintage Hallmark Halloween bridge tally cards I found at a thrift shop:

And also, a little song from a vintage songbook:

Watch out - the witches are calling - yoo hoo! Yoo hoo!

What's Penny Wearing? # 98 A Nice Fall Coat

Today, Penny is wearing a very nice wool coat that I picked up at one of our local thrift shops.

 It looks awfully nice for fall and winter and is shown here today with an especially pretty scarf (also "thrifted", of course!):

 It has nice buttons and details:

 And a good sturdy lining in great shape:

 Penny rather fancies it......

...but  "she" won't be wearing it - I will!

Masquerade Party With Skipper, Barbie & Ken

My vintage Barbie wish-list would certainly include the "Masquerade" costumes for Barbie, Ken and Skipper.
I'd love to have them, so I could dress up my dolls for Halloween!
Shown below, you see the illustrations of them that can be found inside the little vintage fashion catalogs, staring with Skipper:

Barbie:

And Ken:

I found images of them online:

And even one of unopened original packages - totally cool:

Like I said - I only WISH I had them!
Have YOU ever gone to a Masquerade Ball?

A Couple of Favorite Gifts - And A Few More Pages To Share

Lori gave me this vintage Counterpoint owl key rack for my birthday.
She found it at a church sale.
She knew I would love it!

She was SO right. Thanks, Lor!
I also wanted to share a few more pages from the Charles Schulz book I showed you the other day.

So - I did have a pretty nice birthday. Mr Schulz said, "Happiness is lots of candles." 

 A cake for me would require lots of candles  these days - but you know what they say, right? They say, "It sure beats the alternative". Yep, I have a tendency to agree.
And what about "Happiness is getting together with your friends"?

 Snoopy's got the right idea....

I got to go see my friend Heidi on my birthday (she is at home recovering from surgery on her leg), and this is one of my favorite gifts she gave me - a super-cool cookbook, "Hello Jell-O!", by Victoria Belanger:

 Check out this "Classic Rainbow Mold". Gorgeous!

Lots of candles and getting together with friends....works for me!

Baker's Coconut Cakes # 1 The Witch

Today is the first in a series of Baker's Coconut cakes from a little vintage cookbook I found at a thrift shop titled "Cut Ups".
Just in time for your upcoming Halloween parties - The Witch:

And below, the directions for cutting up and decorating your witchy cake:

Happy Haunting!

Found : Books

I found some more books for my ever-growing collection at a thrift store last week.
I was delighted to find a copy of "Happiness Is A Warm Puppy" by Charles Schulz,
published in 1965 by Determined Productions:

Below, we have an appropriate sentiment and illustration for this time of year:

 Good old Charlie Brown.
The illustration and prose below were found inside another book I picked up. This perfectly lovely book is by Gwen Frostic.
 The artwork is just beautiful:

 I also found another copy of  "Smorgasbord", which I have shared with you in an earlier post. (Click here to revisit.)
You KNOW I cannot resist wonderful books - especially at bargain prices!

Happy Birthday Heidi!

My little sister Heidi Ann is having a birthday today.

When I was five years old, she joined our family. Cute little tyke, a perfect armload for a kindergartner.

She had an extra special name, always tied in my thoughts to Shirley Temple. When Heidi was still tiny, about 3 or 4 months old, we had a scare.

My mom always put Heidi down for her early afternoon nap in the front corner of the master bedroom in the bassinet.

This day, however, Heidi would not settle down. She fussed and cried until Mommy decided to move her into the other room closer to where she was working.

I was out in the front of the house playing in the yard and riding my tricycle along the sidewalk. I don't remember where Lori was, probably with my Mom and Heidi. (She was just barely two.)

All of a sudden, in the middle of the day, a drunk driver came swerving down the street and veered across our lawn, causing me to run out into the middle of the (thankfully not busy) street screaming and jumping. (A neighbor lady later informed my mom of all of this.)

The out-of-control car and its inebriated driver careened into the very corner of the room where Heidi had been napping until just minutes before.

We don't know what would have happened, but we can imagine, the car was part way into the bedroom and sheet rock, glass and booze littered the scene.  A bassinet wouldn't have stood a chance.

Did our little baby have a premonition? Was that why she wouldn't settle? We will never know, she was too young to ask.

It makes this day, Heidi's birthday, extra special to me. I am thankful my little baby sister had the chance to grow up and become a wonderful woman.

Happy birthday Heidi!

My Birthday Time Of Year

Tomorrow is my birthday! I am looking forward to a nice, relaxing day, because it falls on my day off.

I can at least hope for a "purrfect" day, right?
(Found this cute little glass dish at a flea market.)

A Tree Grows In Columbia

That's it today - just a single photo of a glorious-looking tree in Columbia State Historic Park.

Autumnal splendor at it's finest.

Blondies From The Cake Boss Via Rachael Ray

 I watched Buddy Valastro make these Blondies recently on the Rachael Ray show, and decided they sounded so good that I had to try them!
Click on the line below to get the recipe
Buddy Valastro's Red Carpet Blondies:

I actually doubled the recipe and made them in a jelly roll sized pan.
I also switched up the ratio of peanut butter chips to chocolate chips - more chocolate is ALWAYS better in my book!

Boy, were they ever good!
Try 'em.....you'll like 'em!

The Wedding Couple Was Beautiful And So Was The Venue

Lori and I had the honor of attending an absolutely beautiful wedding (nearly two months ago, now), and I am finally getting around to posting some photos. The eldest daughter of one of my dearest, oldest friends got married at the Grand Island Mansion in Walnut Grove .
I did not manage to get very good photos, but I think you can at least gather that it was a spectacular celebratory event from beginning to end.
Behold the splendor of the lovely couple:

An interior shot:

The tables at which the guests dined:

The ceremony was held outdoors:

Below you see a shot of a wonderful dressing area which was downstairs in this grand old mansion:

Names of some stars of the past painted on the "locker" doors nearby:

The elegant wedding cake:

The pool area on one side:

And the completely fabulous and gorgeous couple themselves:

This is the sweet thank you card we received for their gift:

What a special and delightful evening it was - I was SO happy that I was able to attend!