From The Counterpoint Collection

This little mushroom plaque is one of my latest thrift finds for my vintage Counterpoint collection:

And I also got another set of my colorful boxes recently:

 The hexagonal shaped ones! I think I had only two of these left from my own original set I have owned since the late sixties. I was VERY happy to find this set!

 One more find (I don't think I have shown you this one yet?)

And I have already shown you these little beauties before, but they look so great all grouped together like this:

 I didn't show you this little butterfly guy yet, though - he's a clip:

The owl hook rack below is actually not from Counterpoint even though he looks like he would be, but the little key chains dangling from his hooks are (except for the plastic butterfly):

I've told you before, (and I'll most likely tell you again), I LOVE Counterpoint!
I have one more thing to share, but I haven't received it yet, so I will save that for another post.

Time For A Great Find

This vintage magazine advertisement for General Electric clocks is from a 1953 Better Homes And Gardens magazine:

The clock in the ad looks pretty similar to my yellow one I found at a thrift store, so I imagine it is from the same year, or very close:

It has a couple of little chips on it, but I love it.
I would like to use it in my kitchen, but it would need to sit on a little shelf, so that it could be plugged into the outlet that is up on the wall above our stove. In the 1940's, they put that outlet into the wall up high so that you could hang a clock up there. We have a teapot clock hanging up there right now, but I love this vintage electric one - and it runs great!
Oh - and I paid less than $4.95 for it!

Valentine Wishes From Betsy, Mary See, And Me

Dear little Betsy McCall is giving you her heart for Valentine's Day:

And here's a suggestion from Mary See..........

 Got a "Sweetie" of your own?
How about giving him or her the ultimate Valentine sweet treat?

Yes, that's right - a fabulous box of See's Chocolates!
I found the advertisement above in magazine from 1973.
It may be too late to pick up a box of See's for gift-giving today,
 (or maybe not, depending on where you live!)
 but there's still time to order for the NEXT holiday.....
 or, you know,  just any old day will do, right?
 If you are a See's fan like me, at least.
(You can even order from them online at Sees.com.)
Happy Valentines Day, to all of our sweet blog readers!

Say Hello To My Little Friend

Greetings from my little owl world.
The larger owl you see here belonged to my in-laws, and was here in the house when we moved in. I actually considered selling it, if you can believe that!
Silly me.
It's a Roselane Sparkler; the eyes give him his name:

And "Who" is his little friend?
Why, his little buddy was found at a thrift store for fifty cents a couple of weeks ago.

They belong together.

"Two" cute.

Once Upon a Time in Placerville No. 14: A few random photos

Good morning. Tina here. 

Today I am sharing some photos and postcards of views of Placerville.

Below is a photograph which shows a banner which once greeted visitors on the west side of Placerville. It hung between two huge cement columns, which are gone now, but the rocky lower base of one still clings to the side of a hill between Myrtle, Fairview, Canal & Hilltop Streets and our current Highway 50. You can see part of the railroad tracks on the lower right.

Below is an old postcard looking north on Main Street. The Round Tent store and Opera House jut out into Main.  Off in the distance in the center is the large walnut tree which used to stand next to the IOOF building, and you can see the top of the bell tower just above the bay window on the old post office building.

I was thrilled to find this great old photo below, which shows the building on the east corner of Main and Bedford Streets. This Gospel Mission took over an old saloon! On the right of the mission is one of the many old homes which used to line Main Street.

Here is the mission again, and Courthouse stands to the left. Looks like a small parade is going by.

Below is the Placerville Foundry and Machine Works, circa 1920. I am not sure where it was located, the hill behind looks like Sacramento Hill to me, but I am not sure. If anyone knows please let me know!

Below is a great old postcard from before the Cary House morphed into the Placerville Hotel, Raffles Hotel, and back to the Cary House. The Ohio House is still standing and in the far off middle two old homes stand which I wish I could go explore!

One last old postcard below looking north on Main Street from the intersection of Sacramento and Main Streets. Quigley's Groceries on the right. The interesting painted post on the far right is holding up the Ohio House.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Placerville once upon a time.

My Dear Shirley: I Cannot Say Goodbye

"Have you heard...
Have you heard.....?"
Not a good way to begin the day.
I cried when I heard the news this morning that Shirley Temple Black has passed away.
You cannot possibly even know how much I loved her.

She was my FAVORITE.
 For my entire life.
When I was a teenager, I had a poster of her hanging in my bedroom.
I am a middle-aged woman who can still listen to her sing all day and not get tired of it.
I own every single one of the movies she starred in as a child.

 I am crying again as I write this, and it's kind of hard to type with tears in your eyes.
I can't say goodbye, the stubborn little girl that still lives inside of me simply will NOT do it.
Because she will always live on in my heart.

Baker's Coconut Cakes #4 - A Pair Of Hearts

For Valentine's Day, which is quickly approaching,
I have a pair of heart cakes for you
 from my Baker's Coconut "Cut-Ups" Cookbook:

                 Bake away to your "heart's " content!

Beef Stew In The Slow Cooker

I made some beef stew in the slow cooker the other day.

It was my first time trying out the Slow Cooker Liners by Reynolds:

I used a recipe out of the cookbook below.
Lori gave it to me:

It turned out a bit more on the soupy side, because I messed with the recipe a bit:

 I may use less liquid the next time, or try throwing in some Minute Tapioca to help thicken it up a bit. I think I had a stew recipe once upon a time that called for that.

What it WAS, however, was hearty and hot and a nice dinner on a winter evening!

(Oh, and yes - the liner did surely make for a nice and easy clean-up afterward!)

Patterns From The Past: Simplicity 5210 - I Found The Jumper!

 Normally, I would have waited until Monday to do this latest post in my "Patterns" series - but today is Lori's birthday, so I felt the need to do this one a couple of days early!
 I told you I was on the hunt for one of the patterns Lori and the other girls in the Songleader group used back when we were in high school. I was pretty excited when I found this one the very next day!
So, here it is from one of my "Simplicity Fashion News"  booklets:

Here's a picture of the pattern - isn't it cute?

And here are the pictures from our high school yearbook of Lori and the gals wearing their jumpers back in 1973; she's the one on the far left:

Lori, second from the right, looking surprised:

And, one more time....

All together now:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LORI!!!!
We love you!

Wear Red Today!

It's National Wear Red Day again today.
Show your support by wearing red, if you can, like this lovely young lady below, from a Danskin advertisement out of one of my Seventeen magazines from 1973:

Click HERE if you are interested in making a donation to help the American Heart Association's campaign Go Red For Women.
And have a wonderful day, whether you choose to wear red or not!

Recent Finds I "Heart"

Oh, I do, indeed "heart" (or love) good finds! Especially when they are heart-themed, and just in time for Valentine's Day!
 Like these adorable vintage Valentine cards to add to my collection:

 And these two Brown Bag Cookie Art heart-shaped molds, below:

Kinda makes you want to bake some cookies, doesn't it?

Miner's Cabin sketches drawn by George Mathis in Coloma, California

Good morning. Tina here. It is a beautiful day, we are in between rain storms. That is a good thing to report since we are experiencing a very strong drought. I am thinking about going down to Coloma and taking some pictures.

This little cabin below, in Coloma, once housed James Marshall, credited for discovering gold in California.

When I worked at the Sierra Nevada House III in Coloma in the early seventies, one of the tourists' favorite stops was at the Friday House, where George Mathis had his studio. He sold watercolors, prints, cards, etc. of his art work, and much of what he depicted was in the Coloma area.

If you were lucky, and he was in the right mood, he might draw for you a little sketch of a cabin, and present it to you as a gift. No bigger than about 3 by 4 inches or so. He would always sign, and sometimes date them.

I have two sketches, the one below which is on a piece of paper which opens up like a small card, and the sketch that I got from him in the very early seventies, which is the last photo shown. I am irritated with my younger self because I folded it in the middle, so it now has a crease.

Below is the sketch I received from George and promptly folded! The crease is visible at the top middle.

I wonder how many times he drew his little cabin. And how many survived.

Enjoy your day!

I Am SO There!

Cold nights outside this winter?
Well, let's curl up and get cozy by the fireside shown here in this vintage Kentile flooring advertisement from 1964:

Bright orange sofas flanking the fireplace, complete with a built in wood box, a huge pink coffee table, and a nice shaggy rug.
I might want to change out the accessories to put my own stamp on it, but I am loving the hot colors of the furnishings.
Add a cup of hot chocolate or something stronger like a hot apple cider with some cinnamon schnapps in it, and I'm THERE.
Wanna join me?

Patterns From The Past: Simplicity 9726 & 9714, Two Dresses

Today, we have two more cute dresses from the 70's - 1971, to be exact.
As usual, there is one model here that I don't know. The one in the center is the always lovely Colleen Corby, and I'm pretty sure that's Shelley Hack on the right.

The photo is from one of my vintage "Simplicity Fashion News" booklets.
I believe the first pattern (9726) was one that our high school songleaders used to make one of their outfits. The little red number on the pattern front below - they made it in a blue and white dotted swiss, I think. And then they always had little short matching "bloomers", or whatever you want to call them, underneath.
I looked in our high school yearbooks, and of course they did not get photos of the girls wearing each outfit they had.
 Only one made it in each year. I don't remember how many they had?  At least two, I think. (Lori - help me out, here, please)

Lori was a songleader for two years. She didn't save her outfits! If she had, I could dress Penny up in them and show you.
Shoot.
Instead, if I can find a couple more of the original patterns they used, there WERE a couple that made it into the yearbooks, and then I can do a scan, and I'll show you those, too.
Wish me luck!
The pattern in the middle, the one Miss Corby is wearing (9714) is cute, as well:

You could make it with or without the ruffle at the bottom, gather the sleeves or not, and add a little rosette at the neckline.
With that, I leave you until next time (I'm trying to make this  a weekly feature), when I will once again revisit our past with some of my favorite patterns - and models.

A Pencil-User's Lament

I use pencils. Do you?
I use them all the time.
And I like to use pretty pencils (like those below by Vera Bradley).
And I do NOT like mechanical pencils. I just don't.
I don't mind sharpening pencils - in fact I found a nice vintage sharpener a while back at a thrift, and I'm perfectly fine with using that old one rather than an electric pencil sharpener.
As a matter of fact, I prefer it.

 And I also don't mind when my pencils get shorter and smaller as I use them down. Doesn't bother me a bit.
That's because I have a number of places where I keep pencils for regular - if not daily - use, and in some of those places, I NEED for them to be small to fit into the space where I like to keep them.
Do you know what else I DON'T like?
Useless, crappy, cheap pencil erasers that break after you use them a few times, or won't stay on the end of the pencil when you want to use them.
Pencil erasers like the ones you see below.
Yes, these colorful little culprits here:

I do not remember this being so much of an issue years ago -  like back when I was in school, you know?
As I recall, they at least lasted a good while BEFORE they broke - and they even managed to stay on the pencil, too.
 Gee, that's always nice.
So, of course, as is the case with so many things these days, they are made more cheaply - and that's why they don't last.
  I don't know if I even want to get into WHERE they are made. That may be a topic for another day.
I understand the whole "cheap" thing.
Sure, it's nice when things are inexpensive.
I mean, most pencils are pretty cheap, too, and sometimes the erasers that are on them are no good from the start.
I don't know about you, but when I erase something, I want it gone - not smeared nor smudged.
 I just want a pencil eraser that lasts - and actually works - and I would be willing to pay a fair amount more for them.
Is that too much to ask?
Perhaps, it is.
Surely I am not the only one who feels this way?
( And that, my friends, concludes this pencil-user's lament.
Oh - and I thank you, if you have read this far.)
I accidentally published this yesterday, when I was working on it for today. If you saw it already then, I'm sorry!

Finds That Are Colorful, Useful, Or Maybe Both

This gorgeous tile trivet went right to use next to our microwave as soon as I brought it home. I love it:

I also found a nice little stash of vintage Tupperware measuring cups:

I cannot resist wooden game puzzle pieces! (I showed you some of these - that I was playing with - in a couple of previous posts click HERE and HERE). There's just something about colorful wooden stuff that I find irresistible, somehow:

So - I know this metal thing, below, is a vintage stand for something. A warmer stand that would have held canned heat or a candle there in the holder at the bottom, right? But what? A glass coffee carafe? A fondue pot?

Does anybody out there recognize it? I would love to know what it came with, originally, if you have any ideas!