Solid Potato Salad! (amazing song/dance/routine!)

Perhaps one of the most bizarre clips I have ever come across thanks to my friend Wendy... Don't be fooled...things start out happy and cutesy, but just wait till after the first 50 seconds! It gets bizarrely awesome...

Like a Vintage Dream Come True...

It started simply enough. I found a vintage portable TV on craigslist for $10 last summer, and decided it would be a fun addition to the vintage family. It all went fine, I drove over and picked up the TV, thanked the guy, and drove back home. The guy mentioned he had a lot of other vintage stuff, and of course I said I was interested, but then contact stopped after a few emails for whatever reason.

3 or so months later (sometime Fall 09'), I get an email asking if I was still interested in some of the other stuff, so of course I said yes! I drove over that weekend, and WOW. I walked in the door, and I was in shock. Vintage goodies of all sorts piled everywhere, and if they were as cheap as that TV, I was in heaven.

I had come with $50, and let me show you what I got!

Think that's good? Can I repeat, all that for $50?!? Notice the 2 coin operated radios and atomic lawn sprinkler! Never seen those before! Things that needed work were either free or very cheap. The aqua/white TV was free, and the endtable/radio (one of a pair!) was $8 for both. I got all the table radios for $10 I believe. There's even some other stuff I don't have pictures of!

Here's some stuff I just didn't have the money to get at the time. This reminds me, I need to email him back! I'm dying to get my hands on that mint green mixer and bakelite TV! And there's just sooo much more...

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Just thought I'd share this awesome video of Chattanooga Choo Choo with Dorothy Dandridge and the Nicholas Brothers! Song and dance

starts around :25. Enjoy! :)

One of my best chairs...

Actually, I think it might be THE best. I got her last summer, after a lot of work...

In fact, let me tell you what I went through for this chair! Upon seeing her image on Pittsburgh craigslist, I instantly fell in love. I decided I would get her no matter what the cost or distance. The cost was actually only $90 (eventually haggled down to $50), but simply being able to get her was a different story. I told the seller how much I loved it, how it fit perfectly, and how I would be willing to drive out from MD the next day.

Bad idea apparently. I'm not sure if I freaked him out over how much I loved it, but he said I was too far and he wanted someone who could come over and pick it up right away. Then he stopped email contact. I couldn't believe it. Was I about to lose my dream chair to something as dumb as THIS? Oh no... so I did what any rational vintage-loving person would do. I created a fake identity. (Oh the lengths I go to for furniture). Or more specifically, I used a friend's and said I lived about 40 minutes away and was very interested. Very quick, dry, and to the point. No ooshy gooshy stuff. And he took the bait! I was scheduled to come over to see it tomorrow at 4. Except there was a problem. "I" was "Julie". Things got more complicated. I pondered showing up in vintage drag. What would I do? I finally emailed him, saying "my boyfriend Larry is actually going to come to pick the chair up since I work late that day". It should have worked, but then he wanted to talk to "me". Gah! So of course I bribed one of my female friends to call him, act as "Julie" and hash it out.

And after all that, it WORKED! I feel like he suspected something funny was up, but ya know what, I got my chair!

I can't get over this chair. It was like someone took an otherwise phenomenal midcentury chair, and then just streeeeetched it to ridiculous heights! It is absolutely 100% ME. Vintage styling with a quirky twist! And it's aqua!

Here she is from behind. Definitely one of my best pieces...

What do you think? :)

Fridge & Stove Dreaming....

Let me introduce you to some of the appliances I dream about at night (what are you talkin' about- that's totally normal). So far, I think, this is the top vintage refrigerator for me. If you see another that rivals it, let me know! (I even uploaded big pics so you can click on them and drool even more!)

It's a 1957 Frigidaire Imperial Cold Pantry. I mean just LOOK at it. If the vintage gods needed a fridge, they would use this. It's that seafoamy color I LOVE, and the style of this thing is just outrageous! It even has a metallic pink interior!!

*Drooool*

And the STOVE!

There is some good news though....I found the same model and year fridge! Unfortunately, it's not this color (it's white), and it's condition outside is only "ok", but I figure I'll keep her till I find a better example! And if necessary, though I don't usually like doing this, have her painted this color. (I can justify it to myself since mine is worn with surface rust outside, etc). Mine does however have the fantastic pink interior in good condition, with butter dish (with it's own cold-to-warm temp. setting!), owner's manual, and removeable "shelf/container/thing" that the original salesman told the couple I bought it from they could "take on picnics"...

Yippeeee!!! The deal went through!!!

Woohoo!!! We came to a deal, and I just sent the deposit! I'm picking her up this weekend! I still can't believe I'm going to own such an amazing vintage car...

And what car is that you ask? Why that is an all original, seafoam green/white, 1958 Rambler!

After selling my other cars, in looking for a new one, I decided that I wouldn't get anything unless I absolutely LOVED it. And that had to do both with design and color. In the past, I've fallen in love with design and not realized how important an affect color can have! I mean it can have all fins and chrome in the world, but the same car in pink vs. white is a HUGE difference.

I'd been looking for months and months, and then a couple weeks ago I saw this:

For me, this color tops all other vintage car colors... And notice her unique reverse C-pillar! Her current daddy is a rockabilly singer and lover of all things vintage, a great guy that I'm happy I met regardless of the car! His entire house is full of great 50's furniture and style, and he has several other awesome old cars as well, including a 1959 Edsel Wagon!

Here he is with his daughter. Love her pose :). This picture was used when creating the art for the record label's CD of his, which by the way is awesome! It's done in "lo-fi", using vintage recording equipment!

Here are some more pictures of the car.. She's all original with about 50,000 miles. The paint has a great patina to it, and the interior is near mint! Everything works, including the original radio! It even has the unused original spare tire in the back... She's not perfect, and will need some rust repair, but just look at that face...

I still can't get over the color...

And any respectable car needs a good set of fins!

The detailing inside is phenomenal...and the 2-tone with that color...UGH.

Oooh the dash! Notice the awesome push-button transmission on the far left...

The interior!! Quite possibly the best vintage car interior I've seen.. If you look closely, you can see the glittery silver piping lining everything!

I can't stop looking at these pictures... Those BUTTONS are killer!

Oh and fun fact: the Rambler is unique in that the front seats fold down flat with the back, making a bed! As such, it was also one of the first cars to be banned at drive-in's! Ha!

So.... do you all approve???

Mystery Midcentury House

Here's an awesome midcentury house...UGH those lines! Fantastic... This house was featured in a recent movie. I'll admit it was actually an animated movie, but still... those designers knew their stuff! Can anyone guess the movie?

Caravan Palace

Just thought I'd put a post of this great band I discovered thanks to a friend a couple months ago. They're new, but have a very vintage feel! And I love the videos...

The first is "Suzy", based in the 20's... I love my flappers! And I love this song...

The other one is more abstract, delving into the world of an old phonograph... Love their music and the singer's voice! So happy and swingful...

Not a bad vintage day after all!

I was a little bummed out after losing the coffee table and counter to other craigslisters, but the vintage gods were looking out for me after all! I scored this groovilicious Craft Associates chair for $40! It's actually quite big, and fuzzy! The camera distorted the contrast in the fuzz a little, but isn't it great?!

The most bizarre part was when I got there, it turns out the girl's boyfriend used to be my piano teacher 5 years ago! I didn't even recognize him...One of those small-vintage-world moments...

In person, the chair is "in-your-face ORANGE", and just screams groovy goodness. The condition is good, but it does have some small wear spots on the arm. Still, just look at her groovy self!

Even Miss Kitty approves! And she has very discerning taste...

They even threw in this vintage chair for free. The cushion needs to be recovered, but it has potential...

More importantly, I sold my VW Bus! And I'm in the process of hopefully getting a new car. I won't reveal much as nothing's set in stone yet, but wish me luck! Here's a preview...

Can anyone figure out what it is?

One of those days...

It happens every now and then. You know, you're going through a phase of finding lots of vintage goodies and yummies when BAM. Your luck runs out. Today was one of those days.

Exhibit A: An Adrian Pearsall coffee table!! Get ready.... For $50! Or best offer. I email right away, willing to pay the asking price knowing how valuable it is, but I'm beat to the punch by another buyer. In the first 20 minutes since it was listed! "Sorry, it's sold". Some of the most painful words to the ears of a vintage enthusiast.

Exhibit B: This may not seem like much due to a crappy craigslist picture, but it's a 1950's mint 8 ft. red formica countertop, complete with sink! For FREE. Not only is this awesome, but I actually needed it for my vintage kitchen cabinet set! I call the guy, and he says sure come around 2 or 3. YES victory! Or so I thought. I call back, and he says, actually I have some stuff to do. Come around the same time tomorrow. That was today. I call, and apparently he let someone else pick it up last night...AFTER he had told me not to come and that I could pick it up tomorrow! So frustrating...

Does anyone reading have any similar "what-could-have-been" stories?

My Beloved Toofil Lamps...

Out of all my stuff, this is up there is one of the all time favorites for me. I found it one evening on craigslist with a terrible picture asking $20... I couldn't really see it too well, but I could tell it had a fiberglass shade so I emailed quickly and drove over the next day.

When I got there my mouth dropped. I wasn't sure where to look first. The mint triple tier fiberglass shade with starbursts, the bizarre and yet amazing flower alien pod creature base, the fact that it had two bulbs, or the incredibly atomic (what my friend calls) "toofils" on the top and bottom! In all my days, I had never come across anything so bizarre, so 50's, so kitschy, and SO wonderful. I paid $15 and tried to get both in my car as quick as possible!

I mean LOOK at that! And is it just me or does that lower toofil area seem strangely sexual? My mind's probably just in the gutter...

Only one thing could better about it...

The fact that there are TWO of them!