Monthly Archives: October 2011

Takin’ a train to the Pumpkin Patch.

Last weekend we hit the pumpkin patch. There are so many excellent ones, but one of my favorite is located at the Western Railway Museum in Solano. If you live in the Bay Area, it’s soooo worth a visit! What makes it so grand, you may ask? VINTAGE RAILWAY CARS, people! Oh yes….

The Western Railway Museum is dedicated to preserving electric train history—volunteers restore vintage rail cars and offer rides on authentic streetcars and electric trains that are 50-75 years old. During the Halloween season, visitors hop a ride out to the pumpkin patch. The conductor’s are salty but sweet—and passionate about their trains. Each train has authentic ads lining the car and clips along at a brisk pace, making for a fun and exciting ride!

When you get to the pumpkin patch,  you fell like you are in the middle of Americana. With nothing but fields as far as the eye can see, the patch itself is a grove of shady trees with all kinds of goodness awaiting. There is a giant fort made out of bales of hay (perfect for climbing and exploring), tractor hay rides, a petting zoo, bluegrass band, bake sales and more.

These were some of the prettiest chickens I ever did see….

Greg was totally the Animal Whisperer…..this little piggy didn’t like ANYONE to pick him up (you could hear his squeals from miles away!) but with Greg he practically fell alseep. That’ll do pig.

The other top favorite feature is the Pumpkin Chuckin’ Slingshot. For a $1 you get a small pumpkin to catapult out into the field. If it lands in the box target, you get to pick out a free pumpkin! Wolfie and Greg won THREE!

Wolfie is a huge animal lover and the pony ride ended up being his other top favorite. His pony was named Charlie and was so smart….the guy running it said that Charlie doesn’t usually give rides, he’s more of a “ranch hand” at the farm (pulling a little wagon). Wolfie was so cute talking to Charlie and patting him. Charlie understood lots of voice commands so he and Wolfie ended up running the ride together (deciding when everyone would stop and start! If I’m being honest, it was mostly Charlie deciding they would stop….haha).

Before we knew it, it was time to hop on the train and head back to the car. We were windblown and sun-tired….and three pumpkins richer!

Have you guys hit the punkin’ patch yet? You only have a few more days!

PS  Several of you have asked me where I got Wolfie’s cool fox tee. I picked it up at the Renegade Craft Fair from Gnome Enterprises! It’s the best. You can get one here.

Remembering those little orange boxes from UNICEF.

Image via: Unicef USA

Remember toting that little orange box that kinda reminded you of a box of animal crackers, but you knew it was going to help people?

Well, there’s a story behind that little orange box.


Image via: Book or Treat

It started with a school teacher named Mrs. Allison who saw her children’s heavy bags full of candy every Halloween and thought all that neighborly fun could be used for good and not just potential cavities. She later saw a parade led by UNICEF trying to raise money to supply milk to undernourished countries across the sea.  Mrs. Allison was so inspired by the parade that she came up with the idea of having children ask for money on behalf of UNICEF as they were trick or treating on Halloween—collected in milk cartons!


Image via: Washington Post

What started in Philadelphia in 1950 caught on and UNICEF started receiving checks from schools across the nation. And “trick or treat for UNICEF” was born!

It became so big that TV shows started helping–Like Lassie and the Brady Bunch.

In fact a whole episode of Bewitched was dedicated to UNICEF. Oh, how I would have loved to seen that episode.


Image via: Book or Treat

And Betsy McCall, the famous McCall paper doll even dedicated a whole page of Halloween cuteness to the cause!


Image via: ClutterShop

It has been more than sixty years since Mrs. Allison came up with her terrific idea and nearly $160 million have been raised to help UNICEF help make the lives of children better around the world

Since 2004 when UNICEF created online ways for schools to raise money, we don’t see too many of those orange boxes, but the wonderful idea of Mrs. Allison coupled with an amazing organization actually can change the world.

Info from Wasthington Post, Book or Treat and Child of the Sixties Forever.


Image via: Book or Treat

Do you remember carrying a UNICEF box?

The Third Annual Creepy Cool Vintage Halloween Mask Tribute

A few year’s ago I was out shopping and wandered into the Halloween aisle. And I remember being totally horrified (and a little bummed out) by all the ultra creepy masks. There were freakish ghouls, the weirdo from the Saw movies, the Scream ghost, random slasher hockey masks. I thought to myself, “This is the end of childhood innocence! Where are the cute costumes?? Who lets their kid dress up as a crazy axe murderer??!” I shook my head, “It’s not like back in the day when we were kids!”

I have to say I stand corrected. While the costumes themselves were under the guise of more innocent characters, some of those old school Halloween masks are positively terrifying. Case in point:

The cheap plastic only adds to the horror/appeal. Of course I guess I secretly still love ’em all. (And frankly, they’re miles better than letting your child dress up as a murderer). Every year I like to round up some of my favorites. Here are some fabulous vintage kiddo Halloween pics….terrifyingly awesome.

OK, this next one….is that a bearded lady mask??? That poor child. (Love the paper bags too…looks like the sailor has a big ol bottle of booze in his.)

Aww. Woody Woodpecker is so charmingly rotund……but that weird Shaggy dog takes the cake. Leaving Woody to stare hungrily

Aw, it’s Kris Kristofferson and a Storm Trooper!

 

This poor child. I’m traumatized just looking at this photo…much less being the person IN the photo.

OK. So I picked this one because of Yoda, but I have to say ol Elton John jr. is stealing the show.

This next one isn’t scary, but the cardboard storm trooper was too funny not to include!

The polka dotted ghost in top hat is the winner!!  (Sorry baby….)

I posted this one last year but it gets me every time. That Dutch Boy looks like he’s been sniffing too much of his paint and the, er….”exotic” girl who looks like a Tretchikoff painting on acid. Yikes!

This is so SOOOO cute!!! And terrifying. George Harrison, in case you were wondering which one.

Aw I LOVE this hep cat!!!

Some snazzy group shots:

This last group is amazing. Smirking Zorro, Dwarf Ghoul, Super Girl, Mighty Mouse, Drunk Bear, Crazy Eye Duck, Little Pochahontas and uh……Zombie Pig???

And finally, these guys RULE. This is your future album cover, boys:

So there you have it. Wild, weird and wonderful…..ya just gotta love Halloween.

{To see last year’s selection, go here.}

images: vintage masks and costumes

Hurrah for the Vintage Kiddo Retro Round Up!

I can’t believe it is a week away from Halloween!  It’s so much fun to have a kid for holidays!  This weekend we kitted out the house with spooky spiderwebs, and pumpkin lights. The Peach is busting at the seams proud of our house being all “halloweenie!”  And we of course try to pack as much into the weekend as possible—parties, pumpkins picking and of course folding laundry! But a weekend wouldn’t be a weekend without a bit of fun looking for some goodies for ya’ll—so let me share my finds with you!

Oh how I love a good Health Tex baby shirt. Like this woofy one!  From Etsy seller, Amber Rose Vintage.

Talk about awkward brand extension… Mrs. Bearsley paper doll?  Hmm… Kinda hilarious yet slighter disturbing. From Etsy seller Oopsee Daisies.

I dream of Jeannie. The boardgame, that is!  Pity it doesn’t come with a plastic Jeannie bottle. Sigh! From Etsy seller, Wonderland Toys.

 

This sweet vintage Matryoshka nightgown would keep anyone snuggly at night. Bonus points for excellent use of ric-rac! From Etsy seller, Vintage Aga.

 

Remember Alix’s great post on Dream Pets? Well, you can have one of them—in fact the BEST one! The little kitty with the fish in its mouth.  LOVE! From Etsy seller, Greta’s Girl Den.

 

Not into dream pets? Well, how about this sweet plaid shortall set by DeamBoat?  From one of my favorite Etsy sellers,  FuzzyMama.

 

WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT. WANT! Vintage LIddle Kiddles with the mother loving collector’s case. WANT  WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT WANT. WANT! From Etsy seller, Sweet Shop Vintage.

 

It is more a question of how can you NOT buy these sweet vintage milk chocolate shoes from Etsy seller Ms. Tips?  Really! Someone needs to bring back the striped shoe lace STAT!

 

Gasp! When I saw this, I wanted to throw out my knitting needles and just buy this because this nommy little vintage hat with wee chickens embroidered on it is just about the cutest thing on a baby. From Etsy seller, Gremlina.

 

Now, THIS is a kickass shirt!  I love the pattern.  What a great way to spice up the old jeans. From Etsy seller, Lishyloo!

 

Denim suit anyone?  Denim LEISURE suit?  Oh lawdy yes!   NEW WITH TAG’S Y’ALL From Etsy seller, Lil’s Dog House. And why yes, she does have a few in different sizes available!

 

Happy Monday, folks!

 

 

Friday Link Hootenanny :: Cool Stuff to Browse

The count down is ON! One more week til Halloween and we are all excited for costumes and candy over here! I’ve been getting in some really terrific reader submitted homemade costume photos for our Costume Parade….do you have any awesome costumes you made your kiddo? We want the best—and the worst! Even if you had a wee costume fiasco, send it on in! You can still email me YOUR photos thru Monday. Simply send ’em to alix[at]modernkiddo.com). OK folks, so let’s get to the linkies! I found some goodies for ya.

1. LET’S HAVE A GORGEOUS KEY PARTY.

The ultimate Keyboard for Happy People…..or even for grumpy folks who need to lighten up. It’s so good. See how Minifanfan made it over here.

2. DESTINATION : DAINTILY AWESOME

Honestly. These dresses, made out of old maps, make me soooooo happy. You know how much I love paper dresses (you may recall my post on vintage paper dresses). While they can’t be worn, they would look stunning on a bedroom wall of any little (or big!) girl. Buy one here.

3. CLEAN UP YOUR THRIFT ACT.


What would you say if I told you that all that stood between you and a beautifully cleaned up vintage painting was an old bagel? Yeah. For reals. Find out how over here.

4. THESE COATS ARE RRRRRROAR-GEOUS.


Walking around Rockridge the other day, I wandered into a shop and spied the most AMAZING coats in the shop window. They are SO well made….I was dying, and bemoaning the fact that Wolfie is too old for one of ’em. See more at Little Goodall.

5. THREE WORDS: VINTAGE CIRCUS GIRLS.
Pictures of girls who fly through the air with the greatest of ease. Really fun. And amazing wardrobe. See them here.

6. THE QUIRKY, NASTY FUN OF SPITE HOMES

Two brothers inherit land from their deceased father. While the second brother was away serving in the military, the first brother built a huge home on most of the property, leaving his brother only a tiny spot of land. The second brother returned home and was aghast. In retaliation, he built a house on the sliver of property—blocking the sunlight and ruining his brother’s view. Heh. There are more examples and recent pix of the houses here. I kinda love it.

7. HIDE AND SEEK SPIDERS RULE.

This is the cutest little Halloween custom ever. Marie and her boy take turns “hiding” the spider around the house….I love the idea of it popping up in Wolfie’s sock drawer! hee.  Find out more over here at Make and Takes.

8. SO SCARY IT’S CUTE.

Teri’s little girl is so stinkin’ cute…..it’s hard to believe she can turn into a crazy faced zombie girl! Find out how you can make your own zombie kiddo here.

9. I HEART EXTRAORDINARY ANIMALS.


My pal Lisa Congdon is a fabulous artist (and all around cool gal). The latest book she illustrated is really terrific! Check it out here.

10. THIS IPHONE CASE WILL LEAVE YOU IN STITCHES.

This iPhone case has Miss Dottie’s name written ALL OVER IT. Find out how to make one yourself over here. via the Purl Bee.

BONUS VIDEO

This video Dottie sent me is awesome. Granted, it helps if you are a size 2….but this charming video shows you a whole bunch of “no-sew” ways to turn a men’s dress shirt, into a cool dress.

http://vimeo.com/26721240