Found: Random Cool And Colorful Stuff

Just popping in again with some more random finds from the thrift shops.
The thrill of the hunt surely does result in some pretty great finds, I must say!
I have never found any of this great vintage Dennison crepe paper before:

"Psychedelic Streamers"; I LOVE the bright colors on these!

Groovy, spiky, colorful package bows from American Greetings:

 A vintage tray and a gorgeous painted cookie jar, which isn't marked but I believe is most likely a Ransburg piece:

An adorable pair of vintage ladybug salt and pepper shakers in a nearly fluorescent orange, made by Holt Howard:

(I have never, ever seen anything like those before!)

This enameled copper plaque, below, is pretty cool, too:

And last of all today - Magic Mosaic, a vintage puzzle game:

Colorful vintage finds always make me smile!

Cherry Crumb Cake: A Farm Journal Recipe

I found this old recipe I had hand-written on a piece of paper when I was going through some old stuff.

I knew it was from the cookbook, below - and I believe I had gotten it from Mother back before I had a copy of the cookbook.
"Farm Journal's Best-Ever Recipes", seen below.
I've written about the vintage Farm Journal cookbooks a number of times before, as they contain some of our family's all-time favorite recipes that Mother used when we were growing up.

This one just sounded good - and easy - to me, and I wanted to try it.

We liked it - but we didn't love it. I'd rather have cherry pie.

Honestly, I liked it better the next day, for some reason.

The can of cherry pie filling I bought to use was not really quite enough. You know how sizes of grocery items have changed over the years, right?
If I should decide to make it again, I would buy two cans and weigh out 24 ounces to use, which is what the recipe calls for.
But I'd probably make a pie instead! And I would use canned cherries, rather than cherry pie filling.
It's funny - I think I must have had this - and liked it so much - at the time, that I wanted the recipe. But I think my taste has changed over the years. There's another old recipe that I used to LOVE when I was younger, it was a cherry cream cheese pie, made with "ReaLemon" brand juice, I think, and cream cheese and maybe sweetened condensed milk. I don't think I'd like that any more, either. It sounds kind of weird to me, now.
So much so that I don't even think I'd want to bother trying it again - why make something you don't think you will like?
That wouldn't stop me from trying it if somebody ELSE made it, though, LOL!
(Please don't let my musings keep you from trying today's recipe, if you think it sounds good! The Farm Journal recipes are, by and large, very, VERY good.)
Try it, you might like it!

And Even More Ole! (From Stanley Furniture)

Here I go again, with even MORE photos of the glorious vintage "Ole" furniture made by Stanley Furniture Company back in the late 1960's.
This yellow set was offered for sale a while back at a place in Southern California.
Would that I could have driven down there, purchased it, and brought it all back home.
Alas, I could not - so these photos will have to suffice.
First we have a corner grouping with a hutch on top, four pieces in all their astounding yellow glory with green, orange and pink painted detailing:

 Here are two photos from a Stanley advertisement that show a  different corner unit set-up, with larger pieces on either side:

 As you can see, the cabinet on the left above is like this one, below:

 And I did find this one photo that has the same type of corner set-up as the one featured in the advertisement:

Here's a nice dresser:

And the nightstand - oh, how I LOVE this little piece!
That cut-out detailing, with the sort-of Moroccan style just kills me:

Here's the gorgeous headboard:

 And here's a photo of that same headboard from an old Better Homes And Gardens magazine :

 This isn't a good photo, but here's one more, featuring a pair of them:

You can see how those differ from the bed I found:

 Extreme close-up:

And here's another picture I found that IS like mine:

And I'm assuming this is an armoire, below - I rarely see photos of this piece:

 Last of all, I'll just throw in two more (poor) photos of Ole pieces in yellow, since that color is the focus of today's post - a different nightstand, with one drawer:

And the low dresser and mirror combo:

And there you have it, the latest in my series of Ole furniture posts.
Because I love it, and yes, I am obsessed with it - in ALL of it's colors, more than mere pictures and words can express.
Call me crazy if you like; I care not a whit.
I love it; I always will - and that is a fact that you can take to the bank.
(And if you're headed to the bank, take me with you, if you don't mind?
 And pull out enough money for me to buy one of these sets the next time I see it for sale - no matter where in the country it is located.
 Pretty please?
 Hey, you can't blame a girl for trying.....)


Please Note: If you are interested in this furniture, then I am happy you are reading my post(s). But this is just my personal blog, and I am not set up for trying to sell any Ole pieces you might have, so please don't try to contact me regarding furniture for sale. Unless you live in northern California, I wouldn't be able to buy it from you (and even if you are, I may not be able to afford it), and I'm not a furniture broker. I would suggest listing your pieces on eBay or Craig's List in your area to find a buyer.
 However, I certainly DO appreciate any comments from fellow lovers of Ole like myself, but comments including e-mails and/or phone numbers may not be published, or are subject to deletion.
Thank you.

Lady Edith's Hats #5 - Pretty In Blue And Green

Today, Lady Edith is donning a kerchief, actually, rather than an actual hat.

Still, it's a head covering, and quite a pretty vintage one, at that!

 I love the colors of the flowers and the pattern.

Lady Edith doesn't need to worry much about her hair getting mussed, but she is ready for a ride out of doors, whether it be in an open carriage or a convertible automobile.
Come on, springtime; we're ready for you!

Patterns From The Past: Simplicity 7394 - A Classic Chanel-Style Suit

Today's pattern from the past is Simplicity number 7394, a classic Coco Chanel-style suit.
This red mohair version trimmed in black happens to be my favorite among the variations I'm featuring in today's post:

Now THAT one truly makes a statement, in my opinion. Fabulous.
Here are three versions depicted on the front of the vintage pattern:

Make the skirt short or long; make the jacket with pockets or without - and in any fabric you choose.
It will look great no matter what you do, I think!
This one is terrific, also:

Match your blouse to the trim on the jacket - perfect:

 Trim the jacket with fringe and metallic buttons:

 Do that again, but make it in lavender with along skirt for a very elegant look:

 Or try it in black and white, with lace to dress it up this time, and wear it to your next evening soiree:

 Of course, it never hurts to add wonderful matching or contrasting  accessories such as a bag, belt, or jewelry to truly pull together a sensational ensemble!
Pattern front....

      ... and back:

(The suit versions pictured on the models here are from Family Circle magazine, a lovely article from 1976, which also featured a photo of the late, great Coco Chanel!)
You've seen nine variations here today.
How would YOU sew it up?

Does She... Or Doesn't She?

The age-old question asked by Miss Clairol in their advertisements....

Does she or doesn't she?
Color her hair?
Oh, I'll bet she does.
Unless you are one of those women of a certain age who has decided to just leave her pretty gray hair alone - in which case, I applaud and admire (and am a bit envious of) you!
Otherwise, with even young girls coloring their hair sometimes nearly as often as they change clothes, I think you're probably among the millions of us who do, indeed color their hair.
Here's the way some boxes of Clairol Hair color look now:

I read a statistic somewhere quite a few years back and the number of women it said (as a percentage) who colored their hair, at that time, sounded ridiculously low to me.
I didn't believe for one minute that it could possibly be accurate, and I don't even remember what it was!
After I quit working, I was still paying someone else to color my hair, at a cost of about $52 every 6-8 weeks, including a simple haircut. (And by simple, I mean trim my bangs straight across, and even out the ends of my straight, long hair by trimming it along the bottom - I don't think it gets too much simpler than that.)
I'm not even really meaning to complain about the cost; that's just how much it WAS, but I no longer had an income, and could ill afford it at the time.
 And yet, I continued to do so.
 And I came up with the money, somehow - every time.
I finally decided to ask my friend Heidi - who had a bit of a background in cosmetology - to help me do it myself.
She did it for me the first couple of times, and then I think each of my sisters may have helped me too, at least once.
Then I realized that I COULD do it all by myself.
You see, the entire idea of it just scared me for a very long time - I was that afraid something would go terribly wrong.
And now, the thought of how many hundreds of dollars I spent over the years, needlessly, is almost painful!
Here's how my roots looked before.....

     .....and after one of my recent colorings:

And this is what I use, below:

L'Oreal Excellence Creme, in 8G.
(Sorry, Clairol - I'd probably try yours if I knew it would turn out exactly the same. It's just that when something works for me, I tend to stick with it - and this was the first one I tried!)
And I buy it on sale, with a coupon - sometimes saving as much $3.00 (total) off of the sale price when buying two.
 I never run out, I always have a box or two in the cabinet, and I do it whenever I feel like it.
Never costs me any more than about seven dollars.
Which is how much I pay to get my bangs trimmed - that is, unless I do THAT myself, which I have quite a few times.
I've decided the ends of my hair only need to be cut once or twice a year. And my friend Heidi did that for me for nothing the last time. Yay!
Long hair, don't care.
Because I do not want to spend my hard-earned (through selling vintage) money on my hair!
It's just a Heidi thing.
I'm about as low-maintenance as it gets.
Seriously. (You have no idea...)
And THAT, my friends, concludes the tale of MY hair care.
And if you even made it this far and have read this whole post, I thank you for being interested enough to finish it.
The End.

Models From The 60's And 70's: Jean Shrimpton

Today's post is all about the absolutely gorgeous model Jean Shrimpton, who graced MANY a magazine cover, and many a layout inside.
If you are anywhere near my age, you will surely remember this fabulous face:

Stunning:

More marvelous Vogue covers:

And a cover from Ingenue Magazine:

Ladies' Home Journal, from July 1969:

And here, on the cover - and inside - an issue of McCall's Magazine, this one from April of 1965:

Now, I ask you: is it any wonder every magazine wanted her to grace it's cover?
A true beauty, in every sense of the word.