Early Birthday Presents :0)

I took some pics of the goodies my Mom bought me on our day out in Orange, CA. She spoiled me setting me free in antique stores to pick presents! My birthday is August 24th, but we were together in a fabulous place, so we took care of it all! She also took us to tea at Paris in a Cup, which was wonderful! Thanks Mom!

Show and Tell...I want to play!

How fun to play along in this week's Show and tell...vintage ephemera. Funny thing is, I never know if I am spelling that word correctly, or saying it the right way, but I absolutely *LOVE* the stuff! Above is the sweet child's suitcase I keep it all in. I couldn't pass that up being red and polka-dotted!! So, I took some things out of it to share with you today. The alphabet cards here captured my heart. Oh, if only I could find the whole set. The boy by the fire looks like my husband as a boy.
Had to have these! Flashcards from the 50's always guarantee fun, fantastic graphics. The reverse side has the single word in green. Too cute!


I love old greeting cards. It is so much fun to pull cards out from all the different holidays and use them to decorate around the house. These are great for crafts too, to get that special vintage touch.
I am in love with the vintage cards for children. Get a load of that space man...he could not be any cuter!! Some of these cards have velvet on them!

Old wrapping paper is so much fun! I really want to add to my collection of wrapping paper, but I rarely see it in thrift stores. That is probably because most of it was discarded after use. I love the darling graphics!
Isn't this just happy? I especially love these prints with children and primary colors.
I see Little Bo Peep, Jack and Jill, Hey Diddle Diddle, and the Three Little Pigs here.
This cards is so sweet, it actually has a Happy Birthday record inside sung by Rosemary Clooney.
Here are some more baby, birthday, and New Year's cards. I can't get enough of these, and I always feel like I need to give them a good home when I see them at fleas, etc.

That's a peek at my paper collection! Thanks to Cerri for hosting another fun Show and Tell. It's always a fun time!

Downtown Orange, CA

The Victoria Co. was amazing!!! The most "me" store I have actually ever wondered into! The owner has mixed wonderful vintage kitchen finds, with wonderful reproductions of 1940's and 50's home goods. The owner and I seem to have the same obsession with chalkware figurines, old metal toy phones for children, tin canisters with lots of red, stitched dish towells, tin picnic baskets, and many other things!
I want that old child's play stove! I might have to snatch it up if it is still there on my next trip! See that pillow to the left, there are piles of these in the shop all done up in whimsical red and white vintage looking fabrics with vintage images on the front. Some are painted with fun sayings too! Talk about cute overload!
Sorry for the blurry pic, but you get the idea! Red goodness everywhere. There is no way anyone could be in a bad mood in this store, it is a cheery, happy place!
Another sweet vignette from another store in Orange. I love these old victorian plant stands, and they did a darling job of layering things inside for the Fourth of July. So cute!
Another booth I like inside an antique mall. I bought some things from this booth too! My birthday is in August so Mom wanted me to find all of my birthday surprises while we were out shopping together. I love my Mom!

Now you see why when my Mom insisted on a field trip to downtown Orange yesterday, I am glad I didn't argue! She wanted to pay for a babysitter and haul me off to a place where there are 30+ antique stores living happily together, with yummy restaurants and tea rooms interspersed throughout. We had a wonderful time! Tomorrow I will post a pic of all the goodies I came home with. Thank you Mom for a fun day out!

A Fun Collection

On one wall in my kitchen hangs this little spice rack I filled up with salt and pepper shakers. I have to admit, the collection has spilled over to other areas of the kitchen as well. I have picked these up here and there, and have been given some by friends also. In fact, some of my friends are specially trained to know just what to look for! I love ceramic and plastic shakers from the 40's and 50's and am especially drawn to red ofcourse! With the birth of ceramics in the 1940's, salt and pepper shakers became very popular souvenirs because of the variety availalable and the fact that they were inexpensive. Many of the sets I own and see were made in Japan. They are stamped "Japan" or "Made in Japan". Salt and pepper shakers are a great collection to start because they add so much color and character to the vintage kitchen!

Blog Makeover Complete!!

I am so excited about my new look!! The ever so talented Ms. Heather from Bluhm Studios helped me out with all these polka-dots and the new banner up top. It was a very easy project from my side, I just said a few key words like red and white polka dots, little girl in a red dress, and scalloped edge, and she ran with it. I screamed when I saw the proof! So, get in touch with Heather if you have dreamed of a new, whimsical banner for your blog...she rocks!