My Ever-Lovin' Heart Wishes Yours A Happy Valentine's Day

Oh, my - February really IS already half-way through, and I have, once again, forgotten (until now) to share with you my February page from "The Year Around Book"!
So, here it is:

And here is an adorably illustrated page from a vintage Current book, along with a recipe for Sweetheart Punch:

The very next page in the book features this recipe for a heart cake:

"Luv You"!
Lastly, we have the pages from one of my Baker's Coconut  "Cut-Up Cakes" books, also featuring a heart cake for February:

 I have three different versions of the Baker's Coconut cake books, and these pages are from my oldest one, dated 1956.
I  also wrote a post three years ago with another version of the heart cakes. You can click here to go back and read that one.
 Make it a "really scrumptious Valentine" by sprinkling lacy white Angel Flake Coconut over the top and adding red cinnamon candies:

Happy Valentine's Day to all of our readers, from the bottom of my "Ever-Lovin' Heart"!

Pretty Christmas Window Displays In Downtown Sonora

Lori and I went for a walk downtown after dinner on Thanksgiving night.
I thought I'd share the photos I snapped with my phone of some of the pretty shop windows.
This one was my favorite, hands down:

I do not remember which shops most of them were, so I will add names in later on, if I can get back down there and write them down!
This one was so pretty in blue with snowflakes and snowmen:

Here are two more nice one with trees and lights in red and white and plenty of sparkle!

And this one is Antiques, Etc. - now of COURSE I remember that one!

 Close up on those gorgeous ceramic trees that I love so much:

 Sorry this one is dark, The Candy Vault:

How's this next one for "cuteness factor"?
A pretty kitty in the window at Downtown Shoes:

I'll leave you with one last picture:

This kitty (in another window) was NOT ready for his close-up.
He just wanted to sleep, and that was it.

Lounge Chair Road Trip No. 17: Inverness, California

Good morning. Tina here.

It seems like every time I need to write a post and it is hot, I want to go on a road trip to the coast.
Today is the same.

We are going to Inverness, where they have celebrated the 4th of July in style. This is a mad race from the seventies, below.

The boat below is grounded forever.

They may not be usable any more, but what fun to wade nearby and maybe have a picnic.

Nice cool sand for Fido's paws.

Or we could choose a shady grove for our picnic. And maybe a nap?

In its heyday, this little hamlet was a great place to spend the summer. Darling cottages and shingled hotels dotted the hillsides. Most of these lovely dwellings are still here. Little winding roadways sneak through the tree roots and climb up to find the refreshing breezes and views of Drakes Bay.

Highland Lodge looks like a cozy place to stay, the scent of eucalyptus and pine floating to us in the fog. Ahhh, fog, doesn't that sound nice and cool on a day like today, where it is supposed to be over 100 degrees in the foothills? I think Inverness will have highs in the sixties. I am so there!

Above, my favorite, Manka's Inverness Lodge, lost to fire. I still grieve. The little newer cabins we stayed in are still there, but our upstairs honeymoon room, the sweet inglenook at the entrance where we would have breakfast, and the amazing restaurant with its windows in the treetops are all gone.

The store and post office building above (also shown in the 4th of July race earlier in this post) still stand and have housed various businesses. It is the iconic spot that greets you when you first hit town.

I think I will pull out my old DVD of the movie "The Fog" which was filmed (partially) in Inverness. As a strange coincidence that movie came out in 1980, which was when my husband and I stayed in Inverness on our honeymoon. I am ready to be scared, just so I can imagine that creeping, cooling, darkening fog and cool off a bit. How about you?

What's Penny Wearing? #134 'Tis The Wearin' O' The GREEN, Of Course!

Penny is ready for today, with a wonderful dress full of shamrocks:

This is an old-fashioned dress that I wore when I worked at the City Hotel in Columbia State Historic Park. I bought it because it was very inexpensive - and that's because I reckon it was intended to be worn one day a year!

I could get away with wearing it more by mostly covering it up with a pinafore apron and a shawl - if you can't look closely at the fabric, it just looks like a green calico dress. I couldn't find any of my aprons to use for my photo shoot, here.
For Penny's dress-up day today, I had a choice of two different green pins - this vintage green one with flowers is a particular favorite of mine:

I really do like the way this white shawl looks with the dress.

But my newer little shamrock pin looks pretty good, too, against the bright fabric with the sweet shamrock print:

Will YOU be wearin' green today??

From Penny and me:
"Happy St. Pat's Day", everybody!

Mr. Jolly On The Fourth Of July

The toddler in the stroller says "Happy Fourth Of July!",
and so do I!
 Mr. Jolly, checking out the little boy in the next picture, says,
 "Oh, dear! Listen to that drum!"

Listen to that drum, indeed, and every other instrument you can.

(I'll be listening to Stars and Stripes Forever, because that John Philip Sousa march is my favorite!
I have it on my phone, and I can listen over and over if I want.
And I just might.)

Perhaps you will be lucky enough to see or participate in a parade today, or perhaps enjoy an outdoor concert?
Is watermelon on your menu today??

While the cute kitty-cat naps (because, well, that's just what kitties DO),
 the lady with the blue purse, sunglasses and pink hat wonders,
"What shall I fix for dinner tonight?"
That's easy for me to answer.
We're grilling, of course.
 Have a wonderful day, everyone!
(From "Mr. Jolly's Sidewalk Market", a book by Laura Jean Allen)

Celebrating July with Vintage 4th of July Postcards

Good morning Tina here.  It is too hot to think, so I am going to let others from about 100 years ago think for me, and you can enjoy some old images, as we check out vintage postcards with 4th of July greetings.

Most of these manage to cram in as much patriotism as they can without leaving out some firecrackers! We can't have fireworks in El Dorado County (which although missed is a very good thing!) so I will just enjoy the idea of them through these postcards.

The demure little girl below seems very sweet and into the 4th without fireworks... wait, what is that
down on the left? Even she has some excitement going.

A little boy below enjoys sparklers, which was one of the few fireworks we Gold Country Girls enjoyed when we were young. How fun to write your name with them! I love how the little boy with the hat is helping the bob-haired girl with her shooter.

Snakes were the other fireworks we loved. Daddy would find a nice flat, smooth river rock and light a small tablet with a match, and the snake would rise out of the stone like magic.

Once in a while we would have a bigger display, something that spun or spit sparks with a bit more power, or maybe even went up into the air some.  That was rare though.

Maybe we would have had a bit more going on if we had had some impish brothers... I have no idea what a spit-devil is, but I don't think I would have liked it much.

Just remember to be kind to animals and maidens, and if we had had impish brothers, they might have gotten an old fashioned spanking.

Enjoy your July!

Mother's Day With Betsy McCall

Here's wishing all of you mothers out there a very happy day!
This adorable Betsy McCall paper doll page is from McCall's Magazine (of course!), circa 1970:

I love the kitty cats in this illustration!

Here's hoping that you all are able to enjoy and celebrate your special day with your families!
From the Gold Country Girls, with love.

A Vintage Hallmark Card For St. Patrick's Day

"May the luck o' the Irish be with ye".......

I wanted to share my adorable vintage Hallmark card with you today. This little cutie is seventy years old.
(Dated on the back "Copyright 1945 Hall Brothers, Inc.")

"So, here's lots of luck to you",
and Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Celebrate the 4th!

I'm here today to celebrate the Fourth of July with this vintage sheet music I came across at a thrift store:
"The United States Of America", A Song About Our Great Nation".
I had never heard of this song before, written in 1941 by a gentleman who was a First Lieutenant in the Air Force:

And - you know me - I will fit in a Disney reference anywhere and everywhere I possibly can, so here is Lady Liberty again, (below), this time Disney style, as she was seen on a parade float from Disney's "America On Parade", which was a grand pageant that ran at Disneyland And Walt Disney World from June 1975 through September 1976, according to my vintage book. I wish I had seen this spectacular parade which was created to honor our Nation's Bicentennial celebration. I have had this book in my Disney collection for a while.
There are fold-out pages inside with fabulous pictures of some of the parade floats:

 Another float for you, below - it's Betsy Ross and the big, beautiful flag this time:

 And, just one more photo from the book, ("Disney's America On Parade", published in 1975, Walt Disney Productions), we have fireworks going off above the gorgeous Cinderella Castle:

I won't be seeing any fireworks tonight; they're illegal in this county.
Besides which, we have a drought here, and dry grass all around, not a good combination when you add fireworks into the mix.
But LAST Friday, I did get to end my stint at Disneyland sitting on a park bench, looking down Main Street, USA, watching the fireworks show above Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Heavenly.....
(And just out of curiosity, what's the high temperature forecast for you today where YOU live?
Here, it's around 100 degrees.
Could be worse.)

A Vintage Find For Memorial Day

Celebrating Memorial Day with this gorgeous find:

A pillow cover, found recently at a thrift store,
which features a beautiful embroidered flag
 and these three little words:

"Forget Me Not"......

.....and we will NOT forget - to remember to honor those men and women who gave their lives in service to our Country.
Thinking of them on this day of remembrance.