Then And Now #98 Kraft Macaroni And Cheese

Good old Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner!
 I don't think you will find many kids who don't love this packaged classic (or adults, for that matter?)
First, we have a vintage advertisement from 1965:

In this next ad from 1968, you can see how the logo on the package had changed a bit:

The one below is for the Macaroni And Cheese Deluxe Dinner, circa 1970:

 And a change in packaging on this one three years later in 1973:

And here's an example of one of the "Deluxe" types that Kraft makes  "Now":

 "Now" I present the classic product's packaging today:

Of course, as with virtually every product out there, they now offer it in a variety of "flavors" and types,
like the one below which has four more grams of fiber per serving than the original:

I don't know about you, but I like to add some reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese to the top when I make it.....

Shillelaghs And Shamrocks

Top of the mornin' to you!
Just Dennis Day and me, piping in to wish you all.......

..... a very happy Saint Patrick's Day full of sunshine, shillelaghs and shamrocks!
And corned beef and cabbage and green beer, or whatever else you want your day to be full of!
(Found this vintage LP at a thrift store: I'm pretty sure it's my only March 17th-specific album - and I like it.)

Sierra Nevada House, Revisited

I was tickled to find this last week at one of my local thrift shops:

It's a George Mathis print of the Sierra Nevada House in Coloma, California. All three of the Gold Country Girls worked there as waitresses back in the 1970's, and I have written about it before. Also, Tina just posted recently about some of his Miner's Cabin sketches. This print was in a (funky) frame, and everything in the store was half price, so I got it for less than a dollar. Cool! (No, Cool is actually a little further up the road...local joke....).
Anyway - the odd thing about this is that it says on it that Sierra Nevada House III, pictured, is in Nevada City. Nope, it's in Coloma - different town, different county - and "Friday House" the artist's studio, was also right in Coloma, just up the road, so it seems rather an odd error for someone to have made, but, as we know, everybody makes mistakes, so whatever, right?
I was just happy that I found it, regardless of what it says on it. I mean, I know where it is - we used to work there,after all!

More Found Vera Neumann Linens

I found some more vintage Vera Neumann linens at my local thrift shops.
 Today,it's mostly cloth napkins.
I found four of these, with lovely, bright flowers in pots:

And only two of these with a pretty fruit pattern :

Two of the top floral pattern, and three of the ferns and butterflies in the background
I couldn't find her signature on those, but I recognized the pattern - I believe it's the same as on the tablecloth I shared in an earlier post.
They coordinate rather nicely, don't you think?

The tea towel below is from Crate and Barrel - a new find, rather than a vintage one.
 It was on sale when I was there, so I snapped it up.
And I just happened to find a tomato at a thrift store that looks pretty cute sitting on top!

A New And Nameless Lady

I found this pretty little oval framed print at a thrift store for $1.50.
I was surprised that it had such a low price tag on it, since it's vintage and really quite nice:

 I showed you "Sibyl" and "Shirley" (seen below) in a previous post back in June of 2008.
(Click here to re-visit, if you like.)

Well, I just knew that my new little print was meant to "hang" with her friends, so I hung it up above the others which are on either side of a metal rack that I use for holding jewelry : 

 She needs to have an old-fashioned name , too - and I think it should also begin with an "S".
Anybody have any ideas for me? Please feel free to share.

What's Penny Wearing? #100 Something Cute For Gardening

Hi there!

Today Penny is modeling for you one of the cutest - and most unusual - things I have found in quite a while!

Gardening "coveralls", with pockets.......

They tie on around your waist, and then they have elastic straps to hold them on around your knees and legs.

And to protect your knees when kneeling to do your gardening, there are foam inserts for padding:

 

To make them even better still, they were made of the prettiest, bright fabric with plenty of flower power:

The original label inside tells me that they are a  "Kay Shannon Original".
Pretty darned cute.
(I can't believe this is Penny's 100th "modeling job" for you! Wow.)

Trims And Textiles And Things

Today's post is all about pretty trims, textiles, linens, and things that I have been finding lately at the thrift stores.
We'll start with a nice bark cloth remnant, which is large enough to make a pillow, and some nice pink and white trim:

Shades of orange and yellow, in the form of fringed trim and floral embroidered ribbon :

Pink and yellow bargello-style trim, a chicken pot holder, and a brightly colored belt,

A little blue rack  ( let's call her Diane, shall we?) with three colorful trims:

Bright daisy napkins:

More cloth napkins with brightly colored geraniums and hyacinths:

Another set, all in blues and greens this time:

And last of all, a sweet little pin cushion , adorned with butterflies and flowers made of satin ribbons:

Pretty and colorful stuff.

Patterns From The Past: McCall's 2592 - Ruffled Skirt & Peplum Blouse

Here's a cute pattern from 1970, McCall's # 2592, which I found in a vintage McCall's pattern booklet.
A skirt in either full-length or midi styles, with a ruffle at the hemline, and a cute blouse with a peplum and a sash at the waist.
The two are modeled below with what were called "Granny" boots back then:

And seen on the front of the pattern below, you could choose the floor length, which they paired with a simple white blouse and a cinched belt. I love the hairstyle in the drawing on the left.
I like the way the the midi version is depicted on the pattern, with the skirt in a solid green and the blouse in a floral print with a black background and black boots to complete the look:

A very sweet, old-fashioned style.
 I like it.

Daylight-Saving Meals

Since today is the first day of daylight savings time in most states , it seemed an appropriate day for these pages from a Family Circle Magazine from 1970.
We have "Daylight-Saving Meals", with Quick Sauerbraten Steaks and Meatball Hotpot shown here in the first photo:

 And next up, Confetti-Frank Casserole on the left, and Veal Piccata on the right:

With the possible exception of that Veal Piccata, which looks fabulous, I think I am more interested in the vintage enameled cast iron casseroles and skillets than the recipes!
(Photos by George Nordhausen for Family Circle.)

Clocks And Walls

I found the two prints I am sharing with you today months apart at the same thrift store, oddly enough.
 I cannot quite make out the name of the artist, and I wish I could, because I love this funky style from the 1960's.
 I love bright colors and unusual things, so I had to have this when I saw it. I mean, it has a paisley bathtub!
 It had been in a frame, and I suspected it was from a vintage calendar. When I took it out to look at the back, I saw that it was indeed part of a calendar - from 1967. Love it.
   This gentleman with the lovely moustache is NOT cleaning his clock the correct way, as you can see.
 The correct way is described at the bottom of the page.

I went back to the same store more recently, and I walked back to the very back of the store. I had not gone that far back before, as it is a work area except for a dressing room, and I have never needed to try anything on there. But I saw something - and I'm not sure it was even there the last time I was in the store.
 The "Walls" print was hanging on the wall at the back of the hall. Just up there, all by itself.
It was in a frame, as well, with no price tag on it.
It was almost too high for me to reach, but I got it down and took it up to the front.
 "Is this for sale", I asked.
"Sure".
"How much?"
"A buck."
"Okay."

And this one tells you how to clean papered walls.
Oh, how I wish I had the entire calendar to tell me the proper way to clean anything and everything (or at least twelve things, anyway), with fabulous illustrations !
Obviously, somebody else liked these two enough to save them, frame them, and keep them around for forty-seven years. So I wonder what happened to the rest of the pages?
 Someone else found them in a thrift store, I guess.
And, by the way, since we are talking about "Clocks" and "Walls" - and who wasn't? - get your clocks off the walls or wherever else they are, and don't forget to set them ahead tonight (if necessary)!
A gentle reminder, in living color.

More Colorful Finds

First up today is a vintage mushroom canister.
I swear when I found it sitting on the shelf at the thrift store, I knew it was waiting there just for me:

A vintage zodiac tray - let the sun shine in!

Two ceramic egg cups, and with them a sweet little egg-shaped salt and pepper set from Avon:

A couple of little flower pots that are ready for spring:

A very cool enameled metal bowl; it has no markings, and I wish I knew more about it:

Two pretty hand-painted knobs, one yellow, one turquoise. They remind me of some I have seen at Anthropologie. For now, I stuck them into a green depression glass flower frog with some Dum-Dum pops (left over from Halloween!), because I didn't know where to put them! I am determined to find something to use them on, because they were just too pretty to leave behind:

A vintage enamelware pan from Yugoslavia; I just can't seem to pass up pretty and useful orange stuff:

And some sweet vintage books for Easter, too:

That's all she wrote....

My Raggedy Ann Gets A New Lease On Life

I showed you a picture of my blonde Raggedy Ann doll that I have had since I was little way back when I first started my blog back in 2007.
Here is a more recent photo of her:

She lost one of her arms a very long time ago.
But I am glad to report that I found a replacement on a stuffed doll that I got for fifty cents at a thrift store!
 I did not even feel bad removing it, because it was only pinned on anyway, and that doll had only the one arm, too.

It is not completely perfect, being just a bit shorter than her original  arm.
 I found her sweet new red dress at a thrift store, as well!
It only cost me one dollar:

Like I said, her replacement arm may not be PERFECT,
but I haven't heard any complaints from her!
:)

I'm Late I'm Late! (with the blog), I've been a bit busy...

Normally when I start out my post, I say "Good Morning, Tina here", but it is now getting closer to "Good Evening". 

It's been one of those days. My hubby just got a new hip yesterday, and we got up at 2:30 in the morning to get to the hospital on time. He got some sleep while his hip was replaced, but I was glad to get home to the animals and left over Chinese food, and hit the hay as they say... we are both caught up on sleep now.

So this morning with all this going on, and add on 2 hours travel time, I just didn't have time for this blog and I figured "Oh Well"...

But it is almost evening and I am now home, after visiting Dear Hubby in the hospital. He made a friend in his roommate, who went home today. I arrived just in time to meet his wife and say goodbye. Someday when the two fellow patients are walking again they plan to golf together.

I decided to share a few photos I am proud of, alas, my computer has for some reason decided to freeze and become incredibly slow and apparently unwilling to upload any photos to the blog.

So instead, I am sharing my horoscope for tomorrow, Thursday, March 6th, because I find it a most incredibly wonderful prediction, and I can't wait to live out my day!


You'll delight in learning and think such interesting thoughts that it will be a joy to be inside your own mind and a treat for others to be in your company.

Tomorrow my husband hopes to come home from the hospital and I will pick him up about 1 pm, after spending the morning at a rehearsal with my Placerville Shakespeare Club Players group for a short and funny adaptation of Romeo and Juliet we will be performing in April. 

I am looking forward to gathering up my hubby tomorrow and transporting him home, and sharing any interesting thoughts with him, and I know I will delight in learning my part in our play's sword fight and I hope it will be a treat for the other ladies to be in my company! 

But I am especially looking forward to "it will be a joy to be inside your own mind". Doesn't that sound like fun?

See you next Wednesday, when I might get lucky and be able to attach photos again... 

Found: Vintage Bookends

I have shown you some of my vintage bookends before, back in 2008.
I have a few cute pairs of deer (click here to see that post).
 But, I have found some more recently. Hey - we have LOTS of books to hold up in this house!
 (You have NO idea!)
The first bookend here was made by Fitz And Floyd. I didn't find a pair of these,  just the one.
  That's all right with me - this lovely one can certainly stand on it's own!

I was happy to find this vintage daisy pair on Etsy:

One of them has a little flaw; I don't mind it:

 The metal stands for the new daisies also work for these:

 I've had these orange and yellow flowered ones for a while - I always KNEW they were meant to be bookends!

Now, I just need to find a second pair of the metal stands that stick inside, so I can use both pairs!
I'm optimistic about my chances.
Not quite as attractive as the others above, and yet very useful nonetheless, are this next pair.
These are just simple blue vinyl with sort of a Greek key design stamped on in gold - basic, but they still look nice - and they do the job they were meant to do.

There's always room for another nice set of bookends around here, believe me.
The better to hold up your books with, my dear!