All posts by Alix

The Cutest Lil Ugly Critter // Meet the Nauga!

Best of Alix, Best of Modern Kiddo, Vintage Toys + Fun Stuff

Do you know this goofy fella? Many years ago Greg and I were thrifting and he walked up to me holding this lil guy. He had a quizzical look on his face, “Why do I know this? WHAT is it?”  I got wide eyed. “What is it??” I shrieked. “It’s a NAUGA!!!” Oh yes, friends. The ever lovin’ Nauga.

Back in 1936, the UniRoyal company produced a sturdy synthetic leather they called  Naugahyde. It was used on chairs and couches and touted as more affordable and longer lasting option than leather. Fast forward to the 1960s and, in an effort to stand out  amongst the competition, UniRoyal partnered wtih legendary ad man, George Lois to launch a genius marketing campaign worthy of Don Draper.

Lois and designer Kurt Weihs came up with the brilliant idea of inventing an imaginary creature they would call the Nauga. The idea was that Naugas were a rare and exotic creature who lived in Sumatra and shed their hide each year—resulting in Naugahyde. (Rest assured, it was all tongue-in-cheek and no Naugas are harmed for Naugahyde! But there many people actually believed the elaborate backstory about the Nauga being an actual animal—to this day questions are still raised!) The Nauga became so popular, he even made an appearance on Johnny Carson in 1966!

They took things to the next level when they offered a free Nauga doll with every Naugahyde reupholtering. These little Nauga dolls are totally collectible now, so if you see one…scoop it up! There are actually a few on eBay right now.

So remember that thrifting day when Greg came up to me clutching the Nauga? Well, I jokingly said to him, “Were there any more??” And he grinned and ran off….and came back with it’s identical twin. We thought it was hysterical (and hey, at 99 cents a piece how could we say no??).

I’m a big fan of the quirky spokesperson/ animals, so this guy makes me laugh! He’s a little bit ugly, a little bit kooky, a little bit spooky and a whole lotta playful! What do you think? Do you love this fella or does he freak you out?? haha. I guess the one thing he isn’t is cuddly!

Glammy Vintage Portraits // Shabner is Fabner

Vintage Photos

LIL NOTE: I haven’t been browsing on line as much lately due to new work project, but never fear the Friday Link Hooenanny will be back very soon! 

I had never heard of Louis Shabner until a few years ago, but now I’m hooked! Ol’ Lou was a noted pin-up illustrator. While he did lots of classic fresh face girls in the 50s, it’s his smokey eyed 60s/70s girls that have me transfixed. They look like they were plucked off the cover of a vintage romance novel (or maybe a Bossa Nova record album). Let’s a take a look at  some of them:

No.1 is a glamorous socialite! Those eyes! Those earrings!

No.2 is a southern belle and she ain’t foolin’ anyone with her little “i’m so innocent” bows.

No.3, is my favorite. What a vixen! (What a neck line…yeowza!) She’s like a European Baroness. And she definitely knows how to solve a problem like Maria.

No.4 is a young starlet—and she’s ready for an alpine holiday and fireside drinks.

And finally, No.5 is a little fire cracker who is soooo pushing you in the pool for giving her man the eye.

I think I’m going to start calling him Lou FABNER….

The Final Retro Rainbow // Black + White

Retro Rainbow

OH FRIENDS! Say it ain’t so. Where’s my sad trombone?! We’ve had so much fun with this, and it’s such a bummer to wrap things up. But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. So here we are and we’re ending with a bang. Black and white, BABY! I like me some black and white. Do you?? I had no problem finding things this week – I actually had to hit the breaks, I could have easily included a huge (and heavy) old Royal typewriter, a few pieces of costume jewelry, a couple of my favorite dresses, and the list goes on. Black and white was easy. What’s not easy is knowing I won’t be here next week!!! A special thanks goes out to my lovely friends, Alix + Dottie, for letting me pop in here each Wednesday and share my wacky collection of rainbow colored things. I love you girls! And Modern Kiddo peeps? We shall meet again, I just know it. I’m sure we’ll cook up a little somethin’ somethin’ in the near future, mmm hmmm.

Until then,
xoxo Jenny-Frecklewonder

ps — as always, get your fannies over to Frecklewonder to see what amazing + lovely treasures Miss Alix found!

Holy radio sunglasses batman!!!!!! Talk about going out with a BANG lady! This is an amazing collection…..and I’m going to be so sad when next Wednesday rolls around. Sigh. Thank you so much Miss Jenny for all your thoughtful beautiful posts. It was such a thrill to have you over here. And you can be sure I’ll be luring ya back! Oh and friends, be sure to swing on my frecklewonder to see my final Retro Rainbow collection!

Psst! Are you new to the Retro Rainbow? It’s Jenny and my special summer “Correspondence in Color” where we poke around our homes and come up with personal collections arranged by a unique color. This is our last week, but over the past few months we’ve covered Purple (Alix & Jenny), Green (Alix & Jenny), Yellow (Alix & Jenny), Brown (Alix & Jenny), Aqua (Alix & Jenny), Tangerine (Alix & Jenny), Pink (Alix & Jenny), and of course Red/White/Blue (Alix & Jenny). You can also check out our colorful Retro Rainbow pinboards if you wanna follow along! Mine is here, Jenny’s is here. 

 

Come take one last summer swim with me over at sfgirlbybay

Guest Blogger

Hey friends! The lovely Victoria from sfgirlbybay asked me to guest post for her while she is out on vacation and I was only too happy to oblige! I decided to take her readers on one last little glamorous holiday poolside. Won’t you pop on over and say hello ?? (And check out some really fabu vintage vacation photos too!)

Come say hello at sfgirlbybay and show her some Kiddo love!

Orla Kiely + Method {And win an Orla Kiely bag. Really!}

Sponsored Post

Oh me or my, it’s a styley mashup of two of our very favorite brands! The chic, clean-happy stylings of Method meets the graphic, whimsy of Orla Kiely! Ahhhh, and all was right in the world……

Yes it’s true. Dottie and I looooooove our Orla Kiely. I think she and I scooped up nearly every piece of the Target collection back when it was released! London-based Orla Kiely is one of the most noted pattern makers in the world. With her Orla fabulous retro, graphic cool, a partnership with Method seems utterly perfect! In true Method fashion, they created unique scents inspired by four of Orla’s iconic prints:

I have to share a quick silly story with you just so you know I’m serious about my lerve of Orla. One of my very very very (VERY) favorite purses in the whole wide world is my Orla Kiely handbag. A few years ago I was coveting this Orla bag like crazy:

It was a bit of a twist on the usual Orla patterns and just so funky cute. It came in three different colors and in my mind, it was the perfect work bag—something I could schlep all my stuff around in for ages. The problem was, the bag was discontinued and reeeally hard to find. I was obsessed. I searched online like mad. I trolled eBay. I stalked shops. I wrote all about it on my old blog. Well, two years ago was my 8 year wedding anniversary and I was thrilled to discover that my adorable (and style savvy) hubby Greg had managed to track down THE BAG for me!

Hurray! The most excellent, lemon yellow Orla Kiely button bag! He had actually read my post and manage to find the bag. I was sooo touched by his sweetness and thought it was completely adorable and that he had read my blog and made it his mission to find it too. Except….he didn’t really read that closely or he would have seen that….

I already posted about how, after massive web sleuthing, I found it in red and bought it for myself as a treat for slaving so hard at work. EEP!!!! It was like the Gift of the Magi or something. I hadn’t had a chance to show him the red bag, which had arrived the day before and as I opened up his amazingly sweet and thoughtful prezzie I kind of gulped. Do I pretend I never got the red one? Do I sell it? Hide it under the bed?? Waaah.

Being the good little George Washington that I am, however, I couldn’t tell a lie. I had to come clean and show it to him. Greg thought it was pretty hilarious but immediately said, “Um, you know you can’t keep them both right?” *sigh* I know, I know. I decided to let Wolfie pick the winning color, because I honestly couldn’t decide. The yellow was so sunshiney and sweet, but the red felt more “me”. And so the winning bag (drum roll please):

So this is a very long winded way of telling you that I am THRILLLLLLLLED with the latest Method collaboration with Orla Kiely! Let’s cut to the chase here. The packaging? Gorgeous. These little cuties will liven up any kitchen counter or bathroom.

Of course it’s what’s INSIDE the bottles that is the best part. They may look pretty, but they still clean like crazy, are free of dirty ingredients like parabens, phthalates, triclosan and edta, and of course are packaged in 100% recycled plastic.

And the scents? AMAZING. Ginger Pear (yum!), Bay Leaf (a zippy, fresh scent), Primrose (a delicate, non-cloying floral that is so pretty) and Vanilla Chai (note to self: stock up on this cozy fragrance for autumn). Each scent/pattern comes in regular and foaming hand soap, with Pear Ginger also available as dish soap and as a special edition of our favorite All Purpose Cleaner. This is a limited-edition collection, so scoop ’em up at Target while you can! TIP: Check the cleaning supplies aisle for the Ginger Pear but check the head soap section for all the other scents! I thought my Target only had Ginger Pear but realized the Vanilla Chai and the rest were in another aisle!

THE BEST METHOD GIVEAWAY YET.

OK, so the best part of this month’s Method Mania? Skip on over to the Method facebook page (and click the Orla Kiely tab) to enter to WIN AN ORLA BAG STUFFED WITH PRETTY METHOD PRODUCTS!

Yep. You read that correctly. Five lucky grand prize winners will receive an Orla Kiely bag packed with the entire limited edition collection, valued at $235. It runs from August 22 thru August 31, and 30 runner-ups will receive a little mini Method + Orla Kiely kit filled with a hand soap and dish. Alas, the contest is only open to U.S Residents. Click here to enter!

Have you smelled this amazing line yet? Do you have a favorite scent??

This post brought to you by 

but all opinions are always our own. Seriously, we love this stuff. To read more on Method’s green practices, ingredients and philosophy, go here!