Retro Christmas!

When I am lucky enough to find vintage holiday decorations at the thrift shop or estate auction they are often damaged, so I do some makeshift repairs and tweaking to save them from the trash heap. Actually at the auction they have a "discard pile" where people put stuff that they won but do not want, usually because they bought a boxed lot containing multiple items and only wanted one or 2 things. At the end of the auction the discard pile goes into the dumpster, so trash-pickers like me, oh wait I mean astute and creative people of vision and foresight, rummage thru the pile and grab useful stuff. I take anything I can use or repair to keep, donate to the thrift or sell on ebay to support my friend's dog rescue group. Below are some vintage holiday items that I repaired and added some flourishes to.
Here are some pink bells with silver holly leaves, I had to flatten out the leaves and reinforce them with cardboard on the  back. I removed some filthy pink ribbon and added vintage pink and grey striped paper curling ribbon and I added a silver cord hanger. This is now floating above the bar in my kitchen. Nuthin' says Xmas like pink and silver!!

 Here are a trio of 1950s era decorations, I found the Santa candle holder (Japan) at the thrift yesterday. The aluminum tree topper, which needed to be flattened out, was embellished with a few light reflectors and a bulb to give the illusion that electricity is involved. This will go on my silver aluminum tree, which I will put up later today, The Santa music box had to have the base fixed then I added tinsel for extra panache. Made in Japan in the 50s it still works!

  Below is a funky wreath made entirely of discarded items. I will be hanging it outside once the temps get above freezing today.

Lastly but not leastly, the new issue of Bachelor Pad Magazine is out, containing my latest masterwork!! Behold, get your copy at www.BachelorPadMagazine.com.

Small Town Girl starring Jane Powell

Last nite I watched Jane Powell starring with Farley Granger in the 1950s musical Small Town Girl. It was just what the doctor ordered after a hellish day of work. Innocent, simpler times, where people hung out at the five and dime lunch counter and went to ice cream socials in the town square. No one wore sweatpants to the store. People dressed up. They drove great cars too.  Farley is a wealthy spoiled man who gets a speeding ticket while driving recklessly through a small town.  Jane's dad is the judge and he puts Farley in jail for 30 days.  Hilarity and many songs and dances ensue.  Will Farley get out of jail? Will he dump his fiancé, played by Ann Miller, and run off with Jane?  The movie has great dresses, the women in the movie wore the best dresses ever, I was flipping out. Plus the colors were bright and vibrant, they don't make em like this anymore.

Dita Dita Dita!

I saw Dita Von Teese! Me! I cannot believe this happened! And only had to go about a mile from my lair to do so, which makes it ever better.  The Saint and I went down to the theater the nite of the show, they had tons of tickets left. We got great seats up front in the orchestra section. I'd day the place was one-third full, about 500 people there. The show was fantastic, really entertaining. The master of ceremonies, Murray Hill, who calls himself "the hardest working middle aged man in show business," is actually a woman in a suit. She/he was hilarious. It wasn't a stand-up comedy routine, she/he was just talking about the acts and making fun of people in the audience (good naturedly). Dita does 4 routines and in between other burlesque performers do their acts. There were about 8 or so performers and the show is 2 hours so you get your moneys worth. They even had one boylesque act! It brought the house down, the women were going crazy, me included! Dita's acts are very professional with top notch props and costumes, very Hollywood razzle dazzle. She does a martini glass act, a cowboy routine with a pink glittery mechanical bull, an oriental pagoda set and one more I can't remember. (you know you had a good time when you cant remember any of it) We had a BLAST!!! I highly recommend seeing her stage show if you are a fan of burlesque. With the exception of one performer its pretty clean, not dirty. One performer, some way too skinny woman from the Crazy Horse club in Paris did a sleazy routine, it was nasty and I didn't like it at all, it was like porn, not burlesque. Other than that the show was terrific.

In other news I found a nice vintage hand bag at a thrift store (100 miles from my house). It has painted flowers for a nice touch. I do well at out of town thrifts.  The thrifts near me have the following: thousands of dusty copies of the Frampton Comes Alive LP, country decorations involving geese dressed in colonial outfits, stained cheap clothing from Target and scads of  repulsive used bedsheets. Ye gads, then why do I keep going to them???

Ignore my pale, claw-like hand and focus on my stylish leopard print bathrobe instead.

One more thing, last week these babies were for sale at the estate auction. I planned to win them and immediately get rid of the shades. (I no longer decorate with irony. I used to, but no more. I don't think anyone got the joke, they just thought I was a loser.) Since they weren't coming up on the auction block until late at nite I left a HUGE whopping bid, a large sum, way more than I would even want to pay, almost retail, and went home, confident that I would win them, since the sale was primarily a baseball card auction and hardly anyone was there other than guys who collect baseball cards.  I didn't win, I couldn't believe it. I demand to know who stole these out from under me! I am really curious as to who won them and why. I just hope they appreciate them as much as I would have.

Unrivaled awesomeness!

Behold, my new California Originals turquoise bamboo print 3 tier tidbit server! It's awesomeness is unrivaled!  And the wind cries Mary! Actually it cries California Originals turquoise bamboo print 3 tier tidbit server! YES!!!  This score is exactly what I needed, since lately my job has been the business equivalent of a Pasolini film, metaphorically speaking. When the going gets tough the tough get going to the estate auction and throw down a mighty $2.50 bid on a California Originals turquoise bamboo print 3 tier tidbit server! YES!

 

I also hit the flea market and got a nice ceramic flower frog in a pleasing swan format. Yes, flower frog, it holds one stem and one stem alone. Such is the nature of this flower frog. I also got a nice green pitcher. (Ignore phone cord in right of counter. I'm in the process of shopping for an aqua wall phone, one of this old rotary dial ones that are indestructible.)

 

In other news, Dita Von Teese is performing next week a mile or less from my pad, here in my semi-suburban hamlet (strange but true), so I am going to go down to the theater the nite of the show and see if I can get tix. I do not want to buy them in advance and pay some exorbitant service charge. We shall see, In the meantime I am flying high about my California Originals turquoise bamboo print 3 tier tidbit server!

Danger Will Robinson Danger Danger!

Why is my blog called Danger Will Robinson? This is why:

High School Confidential!

The other nite The Saint and I watched High School Confidential, from 1958, which we enjoyed.

Its full of 1950s era awesomeness, such as Jerry Lee Lewis!

Seriously amazing cars!

Incredible interiors! Was there ever a cooler pad?

Leopard print bathing suits, I am flipping out! (and trying to ignore star Russ Tambyn's skimpy suit. Where's Troy Donahue when you need him?)

Pin striping on the glove compartment, yes sirree!
 (watch out, there's reefer inside, and "weedheads" are wanting "to blast on some reefer," in this cinematic tale of morality gone wrong.)

Drag racing! Hot rods!

And Mamie Van Doren, or course!  Putting the V in VaaVoom, of course! No body does a body better than Mamie.

New 1950s lamp awesomeness!!

Behold, my latest purchase, this delightful Asian themed lamp! I got it at an antiques shop in Adamstown Pa. I could not believe my peepers when I saw the price, it was unbelievably reasonable, especially since cool retro lamps have been commanding insanely exorbitant prices these days. The lamp did not come with a shade, perhaps that is why it was reasonably priced. I wanted to buy the lamp immediately but The Saint said NO. I was crestfallen. He said I needed to explain why I needed this unbelievably killer item and I had to make a plan as to where it would go in the house. And where would I get a shade, he inquired. I was left speechless. We left the shop and went to lunch, where I sulked (a lot)  and then came up with an argument in favor of buying the lamp. Seriously, it was like oral argument before the Supreme Court. I was exhausted from all the thinking I had to do to come up with legitimate reasons other than "its cool I want it." Anyhow, I won my case and we returned to the shop and I claimed this baby and brought it home to its rightful place in my retro 50s Asian themed dining room. Luckily I had purchased a spare shade at the flea market a few weeks before. Whew!! I also had to take a smaller lamp out of the rotation to make room for this one.

1950s lamps! Some additional items and a warning!!

I scored some great 50s lamps at the flea market. I am so excited about them! The first, a dual shade floor lamp (excuse dark photography) was very reasonably priced at the outset, considering that many 1950s items are commanding insane prices these days. I cannot wait for that trend to end, but that's another story. Anyhow, upon spying these lamps at the flea I had to have a conference with the Saint regarding (a) would he kill me if I bought them and (b) would they fit into the small convertible we were driving. (I swear he chose that car for the flea on purpose so I couldn't buy much). While said conference was in session the lamp seller came over the volunteered a LOWER PRICE!!! I couldn't get the money out fast enuf, believe me! WOOHOO!!!

Then, a while later I stumbled upon another seller with a pair of these little cuties, complete with double-tiered fiberglass shades, for sale at a totally reasonable price.  Not cheap, but reasonable. So I bought these too. Behold, on the radiator box in front of my retro fiberglass drapes. Now I have to find a place for the other one.

Below are some small goodies that I picked up recently.  A Jadite sugar bowl, a steal b/c it has a crack in the lid, but no one is gonna see it but me, and I can hardly see the crack so I consider this something of a vintage item "Win". I also got an aqua and white plastic napkin holder and an unopened (now opened and in use) pack of dinner napkins from the 1950s. The brand was "FUTURA." How deluxe is that??? I also got a little bird planter, a tiki mug (Orchids of Japan in case any purists are reading this). Also a McCoy planter that has a crack in it. It was free, a woman won it at the estate auction and when she saw the crack she didn't want it so she said I could have it.  Like Im gonna say no to a turquoise planter, I mean really. 

Some vintage tins on display in the bathroom.

Now, a word of WARNING. If you ever find yourself going to Rehoboth Beach, Del, avoid this hotel like the plague: The Breakers. I have never been to a bigger sh*thole in my life. Total nightmare. Long story, this is where the wedding guests were imprisoned for a wedding I had to go to, and in my deluxe vintage inspired dress, no less. (see previous post for info on dress)  Words cannot describe the indignity! The dress was a hit, by the way, Considering just about all the women there were dressed like strippers ( regardless of age, I must add) my modest dress created quite a stir. I collected a slew of compliments. back to my original point, with regard to this hotel, sleep in your car, sleep in the gutter, sleep anywhere but this dump.

Good vintage goodies from the auction

I did quite well at the estate auction this week, hooray! I got 5 vintage coats for a grand total of $2.50. Yes, you read that correctly, $2.50. I am flying high! Here are 2 of them. The first one has a fur collar, but since I am an animal rights person this will be removed, donated to the humane society, which uses fur coats as nests for baby animals, and replaced with some sort of similar faux fur. That way I will have a clear conscience while glamorous this coming winter. The buttons on this coat are gorgeous, rhinestone embellished, this must have cost a pretty penny back in the day.

The next coat is an offwhite bordering on beige wool, it has a date with the iron later today. It has 2 sets of triple buttons, very cute detail. I hope I can get the wrinkles out.

I also got an AWESOME old Osterizer beehive style blender, and it works!!!! Only $2.50!!! The dollar amount of the gods! YES!!!! I got rid of my plastic crappy modern blender and deployed this baby immediately.

I have to go to a wedding next week and I got a new vintage-looking dress, below. I will wear it with my Lucite bad-girl slip on mules, which have been gathering dust since my own Las Vegas Elvis-officiated  Blue Hawaii themed wedding. (which was awesome, by the way! My maid of honor was a half naked smoking hot hula boy).The shoes are the 1950s kind, not the stripper kind.  I will also use a vintage handbag and 1950s earrings and bracelets to add extra panache. I also got one of those faux pashmina scarves in lime green just in case its cold at the shindig.

Bomb Girls

My fave TV show is Bomb Girls, a Canadian show on the REELZ channel about women from various backgrounds who come together to work in a munitions factory during WWII.  Alot of drama, scandal, suspense and romance, plus tons of awesome music, great clothes and killer cars and furnishings. I love the style portrayed in the show. My photos are a little blurry but you get the idea.

Hey Doll Vintage Magazine

Check out Hey Doll Vintage Magazine, a new, free online magazine about all things vintage! Its really cute and nice.  I am really happy to have found this magazine so I can see what other fans of vintage are up to. Plus I have an article in the new issue! WooHoo!  The May issue has a Great Gatsby theme, and my article is called Decorum for Daisy: Etiquette in the Era of Gatsby. Here is the link to the magazine.
http://glossi.com/vavoomvintage/4619-issue-four-may-1920s-gatsby

 

 

Also  below is a photo from an old advertising campaign by a trash bag company. My friend's mom showed this to me and said "this is what you will turn into, I know it." I was clueless as to what she was talking about since I wasnt into old stuff or anything at the time. Well, it turns out that she was quite prophetic, although I am not a senior citizen! That kitchen has my name all over it! And I will admit that I do buy pink trash bags at the dollar store! Even the garbage has panache at my pad. And I love her outfit! What is not to love about this woman. seriously? She rules.

 

Gorgeous 40s gowns in The Gay Falcon

The Gay Falcon is a 1940s era crime caper about a dashing playboy who solves crime when he isnt chasing the babes. One night at a swank penthouse party with the swells some jewels go missing. The playboy, first name Gay and known in crime fighting circles as The Falcon, must step in and find the thief.  While juggling several women in stunning dresses. Behold:

 

 These two look fantastic!  Is one a cold blooded killer?

Dig that deco bar!!!

Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven

The other nite I watched the beautiful Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven, an awesome, excellent 1940s era movie. The colors in the movie are stunning, as are Gene's outfits.  I was going crazy over her clothes.  The plot can be summarized as follows:   An innocent lad meets hot stuff Gene and marries her a week later.  All is well, until a few suspicious deaths occur.  Is Gene the culprit? How could she be, she's so sweet and lovely.  Is Gene's sister going to be next on the chopping block? She has been hanging out with Gene's hubby a little too much. Way too much, as far as Gene is concerned. Below, Gene is glamorous in the club car on  a train.

 Her lounging pajamas are to die for! And someone just might die for them, since Gene has a devilish streak.

 Bopping around the house in a caftan.

 The sister, the object of Gene's ire. Quite prim and proper even though she's been eyeing up her very married brother in law.  Hell hath no fury, people!

Ice Ice Baby!

I got a new (well, new to me anyhow) vintage AQUA ice crusher for sprintime cocktail preparation, woohoo! Aqua is the color of the gods, retro-speaking. Pink and turquoise are my colors!  After alot of scrubbing and santizing and it's ready for deployment. It looks rather fetching in the kitchen.  Perhaps a frozen mudslide is in order.




 
I also got a new 3-cd set of WWII era favorites. Ive got a WWII article coming out in the April issue of Delicious Dolls pinup magazine, so this is appropos.

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