Category Archives: Best of Alix

My favorite vintage car? Easy. The metropolitan!


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The year was 1950 and cars were big, bold and beautiful. Fins? Got ’em! White wall tires? No problem! Which was what made the decision of the Nash Motor Corporation to concept a smaller “mini” car so revolutionary. For this very reason they decided they would test their idea first by creating a questionnaire brochure called a “surview” to gauge public interest. The brochure would show pictures of a prototype concept car, based on a design by auto designer William Flajole. It even included a postage-paid envelope for people to return their opinions on the car.


The survey was a hit! And as a result, one of the cutest little cars to ever roll off the assembly line was introduced to the public.

Can you even believe how cute this thing is?? It came in a sweet little two-toned version and even a convertible. Of course this strikingly cute car was popular. Even Nancy Drew, intrepid girl detective, drove a Nash Metropolitan!

With sparkling new power?? Sign me up!

I’m especially amazed by this prototype for the future they created, the Metropolitan “Astra-Gnome,” which was exhibited at the 1956 International Auto Show in New York. This bad boy was cooooool.  It was even featured on the September 3, 1956 cover of Newsweek magazine.

Alas it was only a concept car and never produced. The actual protoype still exists at the Metropolitan Pit Stop museum (see it here!). You can still see Metropolitans out on the road. (Remember, I saw one the other day!) Like look at this adorable police car? (Takes the sting outta getting pulled over….)

And this custom station wagon. LOVE IT! They never actually produced a station wagon version of the Metropolitan (well, they made two prototypes). If you ever see one, they were usually a sedan that was tricked out.


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So there she is! The beautiful Metropolitan. She’s one of my favorite cars. And I just found out she was Steve Job’s first car too. Is she your new favorite too??


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Loving The Fisher Price Castle.

Oh you magical year of 1974. Episodes of Kojak and The Six Million Dollar Man filled the screens of TVs across the country. The Godfather Part 2 and The Sting were playing at the local movie theater. Abba and Supertramp were groovin’ on the stereo. And Fisher Price rocked our world, releasing the most awesome castle ever to grace a play room. My brother and I had this glorious thang and had SO MUCH fun playing with it. Thankfully my mama saved it and every time we visit them, I can’t resist bringing it out to play around with.

Here’s the thing. The Fisher Price Play Family Castle 993 had SO MANY cool little features. Like a fun, clackety clack draw bridge. And a secret trap door that dropped unsuspecting visitors into the moat below.

And the cool stair case that opened up to reveal a hidden chamber.

Then there was the dragon’s lair—and the sweet little pink dragon that lived there.

In addition to the King and Queen and the little prince and princess, you also got two snazzy horses, a carriage, a knight and a cool huntsman (that looked suspiciously like Robin Hood).

Isn’t it awesome? The best part, of course, is that in true 70s fashion….this castle is perfect for boys OR girls with nary a piece of glitter sparkle or  pink in site. Well, except for that cheeky dragon.

final images:  1, 2 and 3

Want to nab a Fisher Price Castle for your little royal? Find them here.

 

It Was a Wonderful Year in Vintage: Part 3

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!

Oh the Places We Went! Our Year: Part 2

In 2011 we were on the move! Pardon me while we boast a bit, but we are just SO very proud! We spoke at conferences. We were asked by Etsy to be Guest Curators (twice!) We were picked by Daily Candy Kids, Lucky Kids magazine and Urban Baby as one of their favorite kid’s design blogs (YAY!) We were interviewed by the New York Times (about our love of our Kindles but our passion for “real” books for our kiddos). Oh  yeah, and we were a Top 4 Finalist in Apartment Therapy’s “HOMIES” awards.  And none if it would have been possible without you guys….we love what we do and having your support and friendship through emails and comments means the WORLD to us! Thank you thank you……

{TRAVEL}

One of our favorite jaunts this past year was speaking at the ALT summit. We got to meet and hang out with so many awesome readers and bloggers. Oh yeah, and we got to meet and share drinks with Mondo from Project Runway! Whoo hoo!  (read about that here) Our sweet friend Pilgrim was our partner in crime for most of the weekend.

Of course we managed to sneak in a morning of thrifting with some of the fine ALT ladies too. I scored those crazy pink eye glasses and Dottie nabbed lots of goodies for her Peach.

Over the summer I had a San Francisco visit from one of my favorite bloggie pals,  the lovely Miss James of Bleubird. Seeing her little Gemma Bird with Wolfie was like two blog worlds colliding!

The sassy Tracy Shutterbean and I took her out for some tasty Tapas at Cha Cha Cha and we had a glorious afternoon together.

A month later, Dottie and I had a fantastic time at the Renegade Craft Fair—and had a tussle with a gigantic motor home.

During Spring break Wolfie, Greg and I went to Hawaii for our first proper family vacation. It was magical!

And Dottie went to SXSW and had a glorious time in Austin!

{REAL LIFE}

Together with a handful of our vintage-loving mommy pals, we formed a Retro Supper Club we affectionately refer to as, The Dames! We get dressed up and visit old school restaurants in the Bay Area that still have their original 50s/60s decor and enjoy a lovely night on the town. It was a highlight of the year. We’ll be posting more about our adventures in the coming year!

And finally, I celebrated a big milestone with Greg this year. Our Ten Year Wedding Anniversary! We were married in Palm Springs at the 1960s Elvis Honeymoon house, and sharing that story with you guys was one of my all time favorite posts.

That’s it for Part 2! One more to go, and get ready because it’s action packed with VINTAGE GOODNESS…we’ll have our final Year in Review post tomorrow!

And I Said to Myself, What a Wonderful Year! Part 1

Oh what a year! I have to say 2011 was pretty amazing. Dottie and I were browsing the archives to come up with our “Best Of 2011” and I kept grinning and going, “Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that post!” My one post turned into a three part extravaganza, but I think its packed full of goodness. I hope you find some old favorites and maybe some fun stuff you might have missed the first time around. I can’t wait to reminisce with you. Let’s go!

{THE VINTAGE MASTER CLASS}

We launched a new (and super fun) series called The Vintage Master Class—featuring none other than my mama! Professor Brigitte gave us some really terrific “true life” stories of life in the 60s. She kicked things off with a fun look at what it was really like to backcomb and tease your  hair into these elaborate ‘dos (see the 50s/60s here and 60s / 70s over here).


We giggled as we heard about her Infamous Junior Prom date (you MUST read it…over here)

And we even got to go on a Virtual Slumber Party! (Did the boys show up as they threatened to? Read more here!)

It was one of my favorites series we did and I hope she comes back for more in 2012!

{ALIX’S VINTAGE BOOKSHELF}

If you are a long time reader then you know I have an obsession with vintage children’s books. The stories and especially the illustrations are just ace. I continued to share my passion for vintage children’s books by giving everyone a peek at some incredible stories with the coolest illustrations around! See them all here.

 

{MISS DOTTIE’S KRAFT KORNER}

While I was busy obsessing over my vintage books, Dottie was obsessing over all things crafty and cool! Let’s take a look:

She showed us how to get the littles interested in needle and thread with these cool vintage sewing cards:

She showed us how she made a simple (and adorable) bib for her little Peach, right over here.

She was also our “on the street” reporter, scaring up the coolest crafts from around the web, like this lovely from Hart Sew:

We cheered her on as she tackled her UFOs (aka Unfinished Objects, those pesky crafts that you never seem to find time to finish up).  See ’em here.

And when she couldn’t decided on a fabric for recovering her vintage chairs, you guys weighed in and helped her make the decision.

{BIRTHDAY PARTIES}

We love birthday parties and were so inspired by you guys. Some of our faves this year included:

The Super Girl Birthday Party! (How cute is this little girl??)

The Awesome Rock-n-Roll Birthday at a San Francisco club (awesomely clever!).

The Amazing Sound of Music party (seriously sooo cute).

And everyone’s mind was blown by Pilgrim’s amazing Willy Wonka birthday party:

And then we had our own special little birthdays. Dottie’s little Peach turned two and had a most glorious little Dutch girl party:

And of course, my Wolfie turned seven! His birthday was at a prefab bouncy house emporium (his choice!) but we managed to add a little creative fun to it. You can see it all here!


{TIPS & TRICKS}

We love sharing some of our favorites with you! Here were some of our tips for finding affordable and CUTE baby clothes:

We looooove reading to our kiddos. I asked Greg to give us his Top Five Fave Story Books that he loves reading to Wolfie:


And we had a lot of people ask us for recommendations for fun “non-kiddo” music that would be great for a little kid dance party, so of course we obliged with our Best Dance Party Music List.

That’s it for Part 1! Stay tuned for more….