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Showing posts from 2012

Twas the Day After Christmas

The day after Christmas is one of my least favorite days. There is so much rushing around to prepare for the holidays, that the day after feels so utterly quiet. I almost don't know what to do with myself. Plus, here in the Chicago burbs, it is cloudy without even one spot of sunshine. It is too chilly and windy for a walk - and I'm still feeling bloated from too many butter-dipped Christmas crab legs. So, I've been cleaning. Taking empty boxes and bits of Christmas decor down to the basement. I reorganized my closet a bit to make room for new treasures. Here are a few of my favorite vintage gifts from this Christmas...Thanks to my husband, daughter, mom, sister, and all of those who know my love for retro gems: My mom-in-law Helen treated me to this 1950s satin cocktail dress that I had been watching on etsy . Little gold oriental leaves and a very cool sash at the back. Also on etsy, this 1940s kelly green suit jacket - I feel like I stepped right out of a

Brown Cookies for Christmas

My Grandma Storms passed down a Christmas recipe to me, creatively called "Brown Cookies." While the name is as plain as can be, these rolled, cut-out, molasses cookies were a delicious and cherished part of our family Christmas.  They were thin, crispy, and cut into hearts, circles and stars. She would store them in layers separated by wax paper in old metal tins. Their only adornment was one candy red hot in the center. They were brown...and delicious. My Grandma was a stern, Christian, German woman. Elsie was a single one-room schoolhouse teacher for many years, until she met and married my grandpa, Phil, and had two sons: Neil (my dad) and Ken. They lived in a two-story house in Moline, Illinois, just on the edge of the Mississippi River.  My grandpa died when I was fairly young, so most of my Christmas memories involve my grandma as a fiercely, independent widow. She orchestrated our pre-dinner rituals like she was teaching a class. Each of us was

Death and Life and Christmas

The tragic and senseless killing in Connecticut has left the world stunned and devastated. How can things like this happen? How could anyone be so evil? Why can't we stop atrocities like this from happening? And yet the clock keeps ticking and our advent calendar steadily approaches Christmas. I feel a bit schizophrenic with my mood alternating rapidly between happiness and horror. One moment I am catching a glimpse of holiday lights or humming a beloved Bing Crosby tune, and the next I am entranced by a reporter on Fox News giving details about the shooting victims. I am horrified, and yet I cannot stop watching... How can happiness and horror coexist? I keep thinking that things like this should not happen at Christmas. But, why? They happen all the time. And Christmas does not promise insulation from the world. We have falsely believed that the days leading up to December 25th should be idyllic, a time of escape. It is our fantasy that life should be good and families g

Thrift Store Find: Vintage Souvenir Glasses

True confessions: I'm a thrift store addict. I love when I stumble on vintage treasures at a great bargain. Last week, my husband and I spotted a collection of souvenir glasses. We took all 24 of them for about 20 cents a piece. Each glass has a unique restaurant or location printed on it and many of these places no longer exist. A few have great stories. The state collection glasses are ones that I have seen before - but many of the others are new to me! I loved the little Cypress Gardens shot glass with female water-skiers. This is one of three Florida Beer glasses, La Tropical Ale, that are from a defunct brewery in Tampa that imported beer from Cuba. Russell's Silver Bar and Restaurant in Chicago was a mafia hangout in the 1950's. Oh, the stories these glasses could probably tell!

Hardrock, Coco, and Joe: A 1960's Christmas Treat

When I was a little girl, in the 1960s, television stations did local children's programming. The result was one-of-a-kind, low-budget creativity - with stop animation and live men taking on characters like Bozo the Clown, Ray Rayner, and Captain Kangaroo. I always knew it was Christmas when WGN would air my favorite short "cartoons": Suzy Snowflake , Frosty the Snowman , and Hardrock, Coco, and Joe - formally titled The Three Little Dwarfs . I would sit in rapt attention in front of our black-and-white television set, bowl of Cocoa Wheats in hand, and enjoy these holiday classics. My husband remembers it, too. And, we tried to share the video clipwith my daughter - who was five at the time. She declared it "scary". I guess it is, by today's standards, but the music is catchy - and there is a wry bit of humor that I still find entertaining. I think I'll grab a bowl of Cocoa Wheats and revert to my childhood! Here it is: Hard Rock, Coco,

Finding The Perfect Christmas Tree

Every year, we have taken a short drive away from our suburban home to the family-owned Luer's Christmas Tree Farm in Schererville, Indiana.  My husband grumbles a bit. Why don't we just buy a tree from the Walmart parking lot where they are so nicely displayed, wrapped, and offered at a reasonable price? It would probably be easier, true... But, there is something magical about wandering through rows of firs, pines, and balsams. It is peaceful here, and I breathe deeply - the scent of trees is almost heady in the Midwestern winter air. This feels like Christmas to me - no shoppers, no traffic, not even any LED lights. Just simple and pure and honest...just us. I like how you can look over the horizon and see nothing but trees. If the weather is chilly, you can see puffs of your breath and your toes start to get numb, even with layers of socks and boots.  My daughter and I wander from tree to tree. "This one is perfect," I'll announ

So thankful

On this night before Thanksgiving, I thought I would take a moment to remember all of the many things for which I am thankful. And I am....SO thankful. When I was little, Thanksgiving was a flurry of turkey and mashed potatoes, stressed out female relatives slaving in the kitchen, endless piles of dirty dishes, turkey wishbones, football on the tv, wax pilgrim and Indian candles, crunchy piles of fall leaves, and long car drives to the Quad Cities where my grandparents lived. This year, our Thanksgiving will be simple. We are going out to dinner, so I have plenty of time to write, and pause, and just say thank you for all the blessings of my life: for afternoon walks with my husband on the new nature trail just blocks from our home. for unexpected vintage treasures, like the two yards of tiki fabric I found at the thrift store today. for my daughter, who is fifteen, sweet and smart, and has not yet tormented me with teenage angst. for a job that I love - teaching and w

The Magic of Toni Perms

When I was in middle school, in the 1970s, my mom used to give me Toni permanents. They came in a box just like this and inside was a pamphlet that displayed photos of different hairdos. All of these, it promised could be magically achieved if you rolled your hair a certain way. I would take the pamphlet to my orange-flowered bedroom with its amazing orange, avocado green and gold shag carpeting and carefully study the photos of the pretty models. My favorite, I remember, was a lady with gently waving curls and a flower tucked behind one ear - very Hawaiian chic. In my mind, I imagined that I was that woman - a flower in my hair - the hit of Wolcott Junior High School. My mom would lay out all of the necessary supplies and carefully wind each bit of my thick dark brown hair around the spindly pastel colored rollers. Then, she'd squirt each roller with a noxious smelling liquid that would make my head feel icy cold. And, then, we'd wait. And wait some more. The b

What Rob and Laura Taught Me About Marriage

The media often gets a bad rap. They are accused of setting bad examples, pushing boundaries and showcasing infidelity. And, it’s true. Watching shows like The Bachelor or Desperate Housewives probably isn’t the best advice for those who are seeking a permanent and stable relationship. But, I have seen good examples of love and marriage on television. As I look at my own marriage of 20 years, I can see how some television and movie examples often ring true and highlight the best (and worst) aspects of love. 1) The dashing hero doesn't often make the best husband . In Gone with the Wind , Scarlett seems destined to be with Rhett Butler. He is strong, outspoken, impetuous, and pops randomly in and out of her life. While they have lots of sizzle, their marriage is a disaster. Contrast the Butlers with the more ho-hum relationship of Ashleigh and Melanie. Boring? Maybe. Stable? Definitely. Ashleigh and Melanie are loving and devoted to one another in a quiet, consistent

Halloween 1940s Style

Happy Halloween! This weekend, at the last minute, my husband and I decided to visit the Willowbrook Ballroom. They were having a Halloween Swing Dance with full orchestra. I love the Willowbrook, in Willow Springs, Illinois, with its enormous wooden dance floor and hundreds of tables, so always a place to sit. It opened in 1921, and I think people have been dancing and dining there every since. At these events, they have swing dance lessons for the first hour, and then a band and dj for the rest. Such a lovely night... We enjoyed snapping a few pics of our favorite costumes. Milt was the Invisible Man (from the H.G. Wells novel and then the late 1930s film adaptation) and I was an old-timey Cigarette Girl (with candy sticks of course). The nice part of our costumes was that we were able to wear our vintage. I am wearing the first vintage dress that I ever bought - a red embroidered dress (that I shortened) from the 1940s. I also have 1940s dance shoes on and vintage rhi

What Gilmore Girls Taught Me About True Community

If you have never watched Gilmore Girls or Bunheads , television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, then this post is not for you. Actually, you must go directly to your television and watch an episode or two or three...you are missing out on one of life's treats. I adore both of these shows for their fast-talking, witty, wacky, and memorable characters - in fact, I love them so much that I sometimes dream of what it would be like to actually live in Stars Hollow or Paradise. Life is simpler there, more charming, less chaotic, friendlier...I could walk to work! It occurred to me that the reason I love Amy's depiction of small-town life is that she is portraying a beautiful image of "community." For most of us the word "community" has lost its charm. Some of our towns have "community centers" where they hold zumba classes or computer skills for seniors. We like to land on the "community chest" in Monopoloy, although it