Monthly Archives: April 2011

Vintage Bookshelf :: Little Ballerina

Vintage Books



When I was a little girl I was pretty darn shy. Most people find that hard to believe because I’m a pretty outgoing girlie (ask my family and they’ll say I’m a loud mouth, haha). BUT back in my shy-er days my mother put me in ballet lessons to help me come out of my shell. I LOVED dance class and recitals were totally thrilling. Satin and sequins? Yes please!

I had quite a few ballet themed books when I was little and one of my all time favorites was this one, by Dorothy Grider.

“Little Ballerina” is the story of a young girl namd Carol who has “weak legs”  (I think due to Polio). She can’t run and play with her friends so to strengthen her legs, she takes up ballet.

This sassy ballet teacher in her tunic and headband is fab.

I also totally love that the ballet class has some cool little guys taking dance. Check him out in his capri’s and stripey shirt!

I remember I looooooved her hair in these little circle braids. I went through a phase where I wore my hair like that—except I was 30 and not 10!

Carol ends up loving ballet and gets a starring role in the performance.


As a little girl I remember thinking, “I would DIE if I had to be the bumble bee!! I want to be a flower!”

Now as a grown up I have to say these little dudes are so cute! The story tells how “Jack Frost” leaps into the woodland scene and tries to freeze the flora.

Lovely Carol appears and charms Jack Frost and they dance off happily ever after!

This is EXACTLY what I looked like as a little girl. Well, in my mind I looked like this….

It was such a charming book. I loved all the costumes so much. Dorothy Grider wrote several other awesome books. I remember my cousin (yes, the one I made buy the Donny Osmond doll) had A Little Majorette which was also fab. It too involved a little girl who had weak legs—apparently a common theme with ol Dorothy. She also wrote, Little Swimmers, Little Horseman and Little Skaters. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that I think each involved a little child who had “bad legs”.

Tiny Dancer :: Vintage Ballerina Love

Best of Dottie, , , ,

Via: Kitsch and Curious

I don’t know about you, but I had one of those ballerina jewelry boxes that I loved so much. Not because I had oodles of fine jewels that needed to be protected, but of course because of the wonderous twinkly toed ballerina spinning away to a little tune.

Of course I wanted to be a ballerina.  I mean, isn’t it almost a right of passage for little girls to want to be a dancer? But I must admit I think I wanted to be a ballerina for one reason only–the fashion of it all.

Oh, if I had a dime for all the things I did because I liked the outfit. Please note that that will be a separate post on its own.

 

Of course there were the class photos with the other well turned out ballerinas, like these below…

I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a similar photo of myself like this…

1, 2, 3, 4.

I also remember wanting one of these ballet boxes so badly.  You can find a few on Ebay every now and then.  Here are some other cool ones.

And of course ballerinas were a great design/style theme across almost all decades.

Don’t you love this sparkly little ballerina?

Or this high relief ballerina in a frame?

Or your could start your little one’s love of ballet with a ballerina jewelry box–maybe just like the one you had as a kid.

Hee! Did you take any ballet classes as a child? Did you love it or hate it?

Weekly Kiddo :: Happy Birthday My Sweet Boy!

Weekly Kiddos

When people ask me what prompted Miss Dottie and I to start Modern Kiddo the answer is easy. It has always been about sharing all the best, colorful and fun parts of our childhood with our own kiddos. For me? That’s my Wolfie. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to watch a movie that I loved with my little guy. Or share a book with him that was one of my favorites. When I took him to Disneyland the first time, I seriously got all verklempt THREE times watching his wide-eyed wonder. Seeing my world through his eyes has been such a joy!

And today my little bunny turns a grand SEVEN. It’s a sneaky milestone, because 5 and 6 have still seemed so young. But seven, somehow, seems older. One step out of little kiddo-land and inching that much closer to boyhood. I feel so blessed to have this sweet little guy in my life. This post is part blatant, bragadocious mommydom and also a little  bit of a response to those of you who have asked, “How DO you dress a little boy in cool clothes that aren’t sports or trucks related??”

Please indulge me as I show off the boy who is always Weekly Kiddo in our house! Think of this as a modern day version of one of those old timey wallets that unfurls to reveal a 100 photos. Presenting the little love of my life….and my own style inspiration…..the marvelous curly mop of WOLFGANG.


Wolfie loves to wear color. And despite a rocky start as a non-hat-wearin’ baby, he now loves ’em!

+ vintage Mickey Mouse sweater
+ Levi’s for Target slim jeans
+ Furry hat, NEXT
+ Yo Gabba Gabba, Vans

Vans are our top favorite shoe. They are comfy as can be and totally cute!

Despite what you might think, he doesn’t always wear vintage. We are big believers in mixin’ and matchin’. I want him to look cute, for sure, but I want him to be comfy and to look like, well, a modern kiddo!


+ Stripey Shirt, Polarn O. Pyret
+ Jeans, H&M
+ Sneaks, Vans

As the kiddo’s get older I think you have to let them explore with their own style. OK, who are we kidding…I still buy all his clothes, but I DO let him pick things out and try to gently “guide” him. (Fast forward ten years and I can just see Wolfie chatting with his buddies, “Dude, my mom totally MADE me wear these crazy 70s pants!!!” haha)


+ Fisherman in a bottle tee, Threadless
+ Vintage plaid pants
+ Skater sneaks, Vans

I love that Wolfie loves color. He has a pair of purple skinny jeans and told me that a few kids at school said they were girl’s pants. His response? “Um hello. I’m a boy. They are boy’s pants!” haha. I still felt a little badly and tried to casually ask if he still liked the pants. “Yeah! They’re awesome!” YAY! I love he has a confidence about him.


+ Argyle sweater vest, Small Paul
 + Colorful skinny jeans (a tad big!), Polarn O. Pyret
+ Yo Gabba Vans

Um, whaddup GQ?? haha. I asked him to pose for me and this is what I got:

This is actually his main favorite pose to do whenever I say, “Hey Wolfie! Smile!”


+ Faux Tie tee, Target
+ Levi’s jeans, Target

This is one of my favorite little outfits. He’s taken a liking to cardigans (which are perfect in our kooky San Fran weather. Starts out cool and brisk and ends up hot as the dickens!). He looks like such a little indie boy here. Even with the whistful emo pout….

+ Cardigan, American Apparel kids
+ Button down shirt, vintage
+ I HEART Pizza tee, Walmart (yes! Who knew? And it’s one of our faves…proof you can find cute stuff in all kinds of places. As a total aside, they had an “I Heart ROCK” tee too and while we were debating which to get he said, “Well mama, I like rock, but I LOOOOVE pizza!”)

+ Yeah yeah yeah….VANS.

We are all SO psyched for Tiki Oasis this Auguest. It’s becoming my birthday tradition! This little vintage shirt is gonna be perfecto for loungin poolside!

This past year we’ve really gotten into wearing snap front Western style shirts. Again, comfy + cute! This one was from my lovely friend Jenny at Frecklewonder!

OK. Everything so far has been stuff that he would choose for himself. This next one I can’t lie…I made him wear it. I found a black velveteen blazer on the sale rack at ZARA and thought it was super cute. Not his style but it was a bargain. Initially he was like “Um, what’s this?? No zippers?” but once he had it on he was totally digging it. He looks so mature, it’s killing me….

Awww, this is the face I see 99% of the time. Half grinning, half laughing. He’s a giggler!

Wolfie my love, you are a constant source of smiles in our household. I’m so proud of your kind heart and sense of joy. Your spazzy fun curls are already legendary in the ‘hood but what I’m most proud of is that you are also known for being a sweet, loving child with a crazy giggle!! Daddy & I love you to the moon and back and (as you would say) to the deepest black hole in outer space. You are our little super star, bunny. HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Up, Up and Away with Yummy Retro Birthday Cakes!

Vintage Childhood, Vintage Kiddo Photos, ,

Today is a very special day. It’s Wolfie’s BIRTHDAY! I’ll be doing a little special edition Weekly Kiddo showcase later today, but for now I wanted to talk birthday cake. Mmmm. Birthday Cake. You know, back in the day people really made an effort to make their kiddo’s birthday cakes special—and personal. They cut and created. They decorated and embellished. Cakes were artful in a very home spun way!


image: curly wurly

I never was a fan of too much frosting when it came to eating, but I sure loved to look at it. When I was 4 or 5 one of my mom’s friends made me a gigantic ballerina shaped cake and whooooo boy did I think it was cool.


image: the happy apple

I have to say that ultimately I’m a big fan of the sweet and simple old timey two layer cake. My specialties are yellow cake with chocolate frosting and M&Ms all over the top (cute, easy, and festive!) and a lemon cake with cream cheese frosting (which is sooooo freakin’ scrumpdillyicious I can’t stand it).


Nowadays it seems that birthday cakes fall into a couple of camps. The over-the-top fondant covered fancy cake—that’s so elaborate it’s almost more of a wedding cake. (Does fondant really taste good anyway??) And the other option are the prefab, store-bought rectangle cakes with that puffy sweet frosting that makes yer teeth hurt. And then there are the cupcakes.

For all my yackin’, I’m never that adventurous and I always end up making cupcakes—which are admittedly all the rage with the elementary school set. While I do love a good cupcake, I still miss those proper homemade “cut up” cakes of the 1970s . Take a look at these babies from the Baker’s Coconut Cookbook and you’ll see what I mean! (Please pardon the butter and flour stains on the page—this little book as well loved!)


Poor Jerry Giraffe….it’s never a good sign when there are only two good things about you, and one of them involves you being eaten.

Awww, the gum drop horsey! So cute. Although it kinda looks like a llama…..

And then there’s the quirky Teddy Bear with it’s craaaazy eyes.

It’s a fluffy bunny, bear, er…. “THING”. And finally, the Cut-Up Kids!

The little girl is a TAD creepy. A slab o’ pink “leg” anyone??

So fun huh! I would loooove to bake something like that for Wolfie. Like, a groovy guitar cake! Or a wacky dog. Alas, my son is the World’s Only Child Who Hates Cake. And Chocolate. No lie. It’s maddening. So it’s cupcakes I’ll be making our party this weekend! Yellow cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles most likely. Someday I’ll just surprise him and bust out with something totally crazy. Like this red and yellow luv:

Sponsor Love: Kyssa Vintage Etsy Shop

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We are so darn lucky here at Modern Kiddo. Because we have the dandiest, sweetest,  most charming sponsors around. Like Amanda Zink of Kyssa Vintage.

Isn’t she a cutie?

And her little one is such a little cutie patootie too! I had to share this image–it’s just so darling.

I fell in love with Kyssa way before she was a sponsor, because she kept posting adorable vintage togs for kids in her shop like this:

And this:

Oh yeah and this:

I know right? Totally awesome! So we were tickled pink when she signed on as a sponsor to boot! And she’s really quite a fascinating lady.  I e-chatted with her over a couple of iced lattes and here is what she had to say:

MK: When did you start falling in love with vintage clothes? 

Amanda: It started with a box of vintage shoes and handbags my Amma (Icelandic for grandma) gave me and my cousins to use for “dress-up” clothes. The sparkly gold and silver ones from the 1960’s were my favorite, they went the nicest with the closet of old bridesmaids dresses we also got to play with. I still own the strappy gold shoes with the matching handbag today.
I started buying vintage clothing for myself when I was fourteen and it’s been a love affair ever since.

MK: I hear you, lady!What inspired you to open this shop? 

Amanda: I originally opened Kyssa Vintage as a way to clear out my closet. Like most vintage lovers I have a hard time passing up an amazing article of clothing just because it doesn’t fit right and intend to take it in a bit, shorten the hem, or lose a few pounds to make it fit…..so I buy it. This translated into an obscene amount of clothing and felt it was time to start letting things go. It just seemed a bit selfish to hang on to these beautiful clothes I’m not wearing when they could be bringing joy to somebody else.
When I was pregnant with my daughter Luna my shop was put on hold for a bit and it was during this time I started collecting vintage baby clothes. It became obvious that this was the direction I needed to take my shop in, the more I became passionate about finding one-of-a-kind pieces. Hunting for vintage children’s clothing is thrilling to me and I always go for quality over quantity.

MK: Which is why I LOVE your store! I can always find something fab up there. What is your favorite item in the shop right now? 

Amanda: It’s so hard to choose a favorite, but I do have a soft spot for vintage hand knit sweaters. Knowing that each one was created with a loved one in mind and seeing the attention to detail makes them that much more special. It’s for these reasons the Hunny Bunny Sweater is a favorite. (see photo above)
I’m also crazy about little rompers. If that white Gone Fishin’ Romper wasn’t too small for my daughter you can bet I would be keeping it!

MK: I featured that fishing romper last week! I love it so!What would be the holy grail of vintage awesomeness for you to find and why? 

Amanda: I am not one of those people who has a list of things they hope to score one day. For me it is much more fun experience to go thrifting with an open mind- this way there is less disappointment and it’s so exciting to find those unexpected treasures. Recently it was an amazing vintage bicycle that my partner Rob found for me, in perfect riding condition and in the prettiest shades of brick red and powder blue. I never would have expected to find one to take the place of my cherished old John Deere bike, but this beauty did. And it was only $10. How’s that for awesome?

Isn’t she great?

And get this: Amanda is offering Modern Kiddo readers a 10 percent discount (MODERN KIDDO is the code–natch!) on her shop all week long (until Friday, April 8th), so take advantage of it and grab some of her goodies now while you can! And thanks again Amanda for sponsoring the kiddo!