Well well, here we are. The Final Countdown! You’ve already seen Part 1 of our Best of the Year in Vintage. This last set of posts includes some of our top reader favorites. I hope you enjoy!

You guys know…..we are obsessed with vintage. We live it, breath it, love it. I’ve been thrifting for zillions of years and have a basement filled with racks of vintage clothing. Dottie is master of the estate sale and has enough vintage eye glasses to open up her own shop. Nothing makes us happier than memories of our own childhood and discovering new stories from back in the day. Let’s take a look!

{VINTAGE MEMORIES}

I wasn’t the only one who flipped for the nutty goodness of California’s Nut Tree Rest Stop. It was so fun to hear from people who actually remembered it, and from people who ooh-ed and ahh-ed just like me! See it here.

One of the craziest and coolest places I’ve ever stayed was the quirky kitsch palace known as the Madonna Inn. The themed rooms have to be seen to be believed! See it all here.

Long before the TV show Pan Am taxied down the runway, I was OBSESSED with vintage airline design. I even went through a brief period in the 90s where I tried dressing like a 60s stewardess. There is just something so amazingly chic about old air travel. This post was such fun, and one of our most popular.

So many of you had fond road trip memories of piling into the family station wagon. I love Dottie’s post celebrating this iconic family car! See it over here.

Paint By Numbers are such a classic. I showed off my personal collection and shared a little bit about their history. Take a gander over here.

Speaking of fond childhood memories, nothing makes people grin like their favorite Star Wars memories. This post reminded me so much of my brother Karl! See more here.

Whether you were taking a weekend trip to grandma’s house or spending the night at a pal’s, these little vintage suitcases were such perfection! See an amazing round up  of them here.

The Youngest One in Curls had everyone smiling as Dottie chatted about her favorite Brady Bunch moments!
See it all here.

As the holidays approached, Dottie managed to scare up some really rare and fun vintage Macys Parade photos. This weiner dog was one of my faves! See these loveable icons over here.

The post that blew the charts on the nostalgia meter was this one on the Sears Wish Book—the amazing gift catalog that came out every Christmas. Many of you remembered it from your own childhood days, and those of you who were too young to remember still got a kick outta the 70s goodness. See it in all it’s retro lovin’ glory here.

{VINTAGE TOYS}

In addition to books, there is a special place in our hearts for vintage toys. I especially love when we stumble upon something new-to-us. These vintage car garages made us wish we had our own collection. See them all over here.

Sooooo very cute and positively dreamy. It’s no wonder these little critters are called Dream Pets. But did you know they were originally used as packing material for toy trains? Yep. Read more over here.

Weebles Wobble but they don’t fall down! These little cuties can’t help but make you smile! Dottie’s Peach scored big when she received a set from her uncle. See more cool wobblers over here.

Vintage Board Games run a close second in my heart for Best Vintage Graphics! I love looking at them and shared some of my faves with you over here.

If you had a Big Wheel back in the day, then you had one of the sweetest rides around! I have to say, they just don’t make ’em like they used to. Check out these cool kiddos over here.

Dottie’s sweet Ballerina post brought out the tiny dancer in all of us! See more over here.

{VINTAGE DESIGN}

Who knew that Groovy Playhouses were a “thing”? This one stole my heart but there are even more to blow your mind. See them over here.

This retro-inspired Modern Kindergarten makes me yearn to live in an toadstool. See it in its glory over here.

This little 70s-inspired room had everyone sighing. See more over here.

We decided to take a peek at some authentic 60s & 70s kiddo bedrooms from my vintage decorating books and friends, they did not disappoint! See an awesome selection over here.

Good thinks come in widdle packages…like teensy mid-century modern chairs. See these little guys over here.

 

This room was sooo excellent, but really I’m just reposting it because it gives me another opportunity to remind you that I MET AL PACINO when I was shooting a spot in LA. Whooo haa! Read all about the room and Al, here.

{VINTAGE CLOTHING}

I am a vintage hoarder. And vintage clothing is my passion. I have a huge collection of vintage enamel pins and after getting several “I love them but how the heck do I wear them?” emails, i put together this little post. See some pin-tastic ideas over here.

Dottie and I counted down our Top 10 Best Dressed Retro Celeb Kids—and what a blast it was! See the whole list over here.

This summer I decided to bring back an old feature, Alix’s Closet. I was a long-time member of the Wardrobe Remix on Flickr, a fun “street style” fashion group, and this is sort of an extension of that. See some of my kooky outfits over here.

I have lots of obsessions. This is Alix Obsession #23, Vintage Paper Dresses. Read all about ’em over here!

The vintage kiddo Retro Round-Up is one of our all-time favorite regular columns. Dottie was our lead curator and found some marvelous stuff every Monday, much to our readers delight! Browse her archives over here.

Oh Missoni Mania. How was it that some simple zig zag fabric made the entire country lose their ever lovin’ minds?? We all had fun chatting about the Great Target Missoni Debaucle of 2011. Did you miss it? It was pretty fun. Relive the magic over here.

And lets end on a fun retro note…..the amazing Disney High Fashion Photo Shoot from 1961! It was soooo good! Enjoy it over here….

Oh whatttttta year!