I'd Like An Electric Blanket Like They USED to Make - Is That Too Much To Ask??

I found this vintage advertisement for a NEW Simmons Electronic Blanket from 1946 in a magazine.

 With "the miracle of electronics", this was a blanket that would have given "you comfort and safety never know in a blanket before".
Well, I really like the sound of that.

 I want to wake up raring to go.
I want to wake up full of zest for the day.
(I don't sleep well so I'm not sure a blanket could help me with that - and yet, wouldn't it be nice if it could?)
I want fleecy luxury.
I want a blanket that can be easily hand-laundered (smirk).
You know, $39.50 was quite a lot back then.

But I would gladly pay that and more for an electric or electronic blanket again that is soft and nice.
Just NICE - you know?
Do your remember them? The way they used to be?

You see - I basically hate our electric blanket.
I'm not going to say the brand.
It's just weird. I hate the light on the control, it disturbs me, so I have to put it in a weird place so I can't see it at all. The lights on the old type of controls were dim and not obnoxious.
I hate the texture of the blanket. It isn't strong enough to tug on.
And it doesn't seem to want to stay pulled up to the point where I need my covers to be. I'm thinking there is no cotton in it, no natural fibers. It's sort of a stretchy velour type of stuff?
It is soft - but not in quite the way I like. And it's not as thick as the old type of blanket, either.
So I don't like anything about it, really - except that it's warm on a cold night. Sure, there's that.
Oh, and they are quite expensive, too.
If our old one still worked, we'd still be using it.
I don't know if anybody makes them like they used to be. We haven't seen any.
And it would be great if it was made in the good old U.S.A., too - while I'm at it.
Yes, so I'm picky.
And I'm a dreamer, I suppose.
Because I guess it probably IS too much to ask.
I'm done.

Little Bo Peep On A Painted Plate

My friend Heidi gave me the cutest plate for Christmas:

Little Bo Peep and one of her sheep - isn't it adorable?
I think that looks like rickrack on her apron:

I love it, Heidi - thank you!

Lounge Chair Road Trip No. 11: A visit to Auburn, Placer County, California

Good morning, Tina here. It is a beautiful morning in Kelsey, and it isn't raining, so I thought it would be a good day for a lounge chair road trip to Auburn. It is about 2 1/2 miles to highway 193 and we can head north to Cool and hit highway 49 and follow it to Auburn. Then if we just go back in time a little...

The old firehouse above is a well known sight just off highway 80 as you drive by old town Auburn.
It is a lovely area. The Gold Country Girls used to always hit the Antique Street Faire in April and September and found lots of nice collectibles there.

The upper and newer section of Auburn still retains a lot of the old buildings.

I am especially fond of  "Bird's Eye Views". This one is from the high school, I believe looking north. I just love all the old homes. Auburn still has a lot of great older homes.

Auburn has one of the most beautiful old courthouses in California. It stands out, sitting on a hill above old town. This postcard shows the fountain which I believe is still there.

Above is the old Methodist Church. Heidi and I once went to a thrift store next door to an old church, but I don't think this is the one.

This is the view (a bit different now in 2016) from Highway 80 as you go past old Auburn. You can see how imposing the Courthouse is.

I am pretty sure the J. C. Penney building is still there, but other businesses are now inside.

Another of my Bird's Eye Views. It is interesting because it shows a few houses under construction. I have to share that I found this real photo post card on ebay for about $6.50. I just saw another copy for sale today for about $34.00. Glad I bought mine first, even if it does have a few problems on the edges.

There are a lot of train bridges in Auburn, at least if you compare it to Placerville. I had a good friend move to Auburn in the early 1960's and to get to their home you took a road off highway 49 which went under a small curved railroad bridge tunnel. I have never forgotten that bridge, it really made an impression on me.

A far "Bird's Eye" view of the Courthouse.

I am ending our road trip with this lovely picture of a water canal. What a beautiful spot to take a walk and maybe dangle a few toes in the water (don't tell!)

What Are The Odds?

I found the little cream pitcher on the right in the photo below a couple of years ago at a thrift store.
I bought it because I LOVED the design of the artwork on it, the flowers and the ladybug:

 Now, what are the odds - I ask you - that quite some time later,
 I should happen upon an Instagram post with a seller offering the matching sugar bowl with lid, salt and pepper shakers?!
 Are you kidding me?

Had to have them.
You understand that, right?
 I mean, come on - just LOOK at how cute, bright and colorful they are:

I should have gotten a photo of the signature of the artist.
 I cannot quite make out what it says.
(Maybe I will try to add a photo later and somebody out there might know something that could help.)
All I know is that I was delighted to find more pieces, and I think they are fabulous.

New (Vintage) Counterpoint Favorites

I've unearthed a few more vintage Counterpoint items recently.
We will begin with these fabulous mushroom canisters, below:

The three that match were purchased at The Emporium, a huge and wonderful antique store next door to A. Flowers, where I have my booth space in Jamestown, California.
I was excited to find them. I had found the other canister you see some time last year at a thrift shop. I found out later that the owner of the antique shop had actually purchased them herself when she was a teenager! That makes them even more special to me - and believe me, they ended up in the hands of the right person!
Love them.
I found this next photo in one of my vintage magazines. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may remember my fondness for both the paper flowers and the colorful cardboard boxes with the drawers.
That house looks pretty darned cool, too:

I found this clown Counterpoint pencil box at another shop in Jamestown. It slides open and also contains a pencil sharpener.
It still has the original "Counterpoint" sticker on the bottom (as do the canisters).

And then, just the other day, I found this vintage house vase/planter:

While it does not have a sticker, I believe it to be a Counterpoint item, also.
I have a small collection of the houses, and this one is ready to join their little neighborhood!

Just one photo: Gualala Hotel

Good morning. Tina here.

Just wanted to share one great picture. It is the Gualala Hotel on an old real photo postcard.

I would love to take a road trip there. A real road trip, not a lounge chair road trip! And soon.

Short and simple for this Wednesday.

What's Penny Wearing? #132 Bohemian Sunshine Daydreaming Dress

I found this beautiful garment when I was out shopping one day.....

It's an absolutely fabulous vintage dress!

It certainly looks lovely on Penny.

Luckily the sun was out the day I photographed it outside....

We have been getting a fair amount of rain, which is wonderful!

So I try to grab the sunshine when I can, and this beautiful vintage hippie/Bohemian dream of a dress makes me want to sing,
"What a day for a daydream......"

Vera - The First Ones For 2016

I have three vintage Vera Neumann items to show you today.
First up is a scarf I found last week - I love the colors:

And the scarf below was a Christmas gift from my friend Heidi.
I love it!
 It might be raining cats and dogs, but the cats and dogs are safe and sound  ( and dry!) beneath their umbrellas!

And then, last of all today, I also found two pillow cases with big bright flowers:

As always, I will share my Vera Neumann finds with you all year, as I come across them.
Because you KNOW I'm always looking.........

Once Upon a Time in Placerville No. 21: The Spencer House in Pleasant Valley

Good morning, Tina here. Here we go again dragging up old photos of old places to be nostalgic about.

This was the Spencer House (sometimes also known as the Pleasant Valley Hotel). It stood at the corner of Pleasant Valley Road (just before it becomes Sly Park Road) and Mount Aukum Road (also known as E16).

This place stood here all through my childhood, looking a little worse for wear as time went on, paint fading, porches falling, roof failing...  I remember always looking at it and walking around it, I don't think I ever went inside.

In a memory on facebook, one person who grew up nearby said he was afraid to trick-or-treat there because of the man who lived there. Can you imagine living in that dilapidated old place? There were probably only a couple of rooms that didn't leak and had complete floors.

In the he photo above, 1930, it looks like it might be livable still.

The hotel looks lonely sitting here in the 1960's. On the north side of Pleasant Valley Road there used to be a bar and a small store. I have more pictures that I am saving for a book someday.

This photo was taken in about the spot where the bar and store were.

The last two pictures are from 1972 as the old place was drawing its last breath. The workers who took it down found lots of old bottles, square nails, old coins and even some mail.

Now a Holiday Market (built as Hall's Market) sits in the same general area, a busy place in the neighborhood, with a little shopping center across the street. Lots of traffic in and out, a great deli for sandwiches, and a good wine selection. 

Life goes on.

My Favorite Colorful Finds

I have a few bright and colorful finds to show you.
A pretty flower-strewn vintage tray, and two very groovy paisley pedestal mugs:

I was pretty excited when I spotted this candle holder, below - it fits right in with the rest of my collection!

Another nice flower tray for my collection and an adorable vintage cookbook, along with a happy face belt buckle from the 70's:

Couldn't pass up this cute cheese board with the ducks and geese:

And I wasn't going to leave this fabulous cow tile trivet behind, either:

That's it for this round of finds!

Her Very Own Post

I found this beauty at a thrift store the other day, and I feel that she is so gorgeous that she deserved her very own post:

 Since I seem to be rather fond of giving names to my finds.....

 .... I've decided that her name shall be "Hope".

Some Great Notions

Sewing notions, that is!
I am loving these bright, pretty and colorful advertisements for buttons and things that I found in my vintage magazines:

I love them all!

A Toasty Winter Tale

Good morning., Tina here. It is stormy weather this week so I thought I would help keep everyone warm with a little winter poetry.

If you want to be warm

Check out your cat.

Cats know where

the heat is at.

Just aim your rear

Towards the stove.

Settle down

And do not move.

Just like tabby

Close your eyes,

Find a pillow

Just your size.

Before the hearth

or inglenook

Make sure you're toasty

And grab a book.

Follow kitty's smart example

Do you have a rug to trample?

Pull it up close to the fire

Toast your tootsies to your desire.

Fall asleep,

soak up some heat.

Everything's cozy

when you have hot feet!