Five minute sanity saver :: a hook for my purse.

Crafts + DIY

I am a true believer in the saying, “every thing has its space and every space has its thing.”

And I needed a space for my purse.  I grew up believing that it was bad luck to put your purse on the ground and I hate the thought of putting it on a chair. But what I really hate is spending ten minutes in the morning looking for my purse.

We recently upgraded our IKEA Expedit with a nice vintage secretary that has all sorts of little nooks for misc. papers and drawers to hold mittens and magazines. But the top was too narrow to support my purse and it just looked messy on top.

Then, I had an AHA moment.

I found a jaunty little drawer pull at Anthropologie in the clearance section for $2.99 and had an idea just crazy enough that I thought it might work…

Two minutes with a drill and voila–a perfectly sturdy hook to keep my happy purse off the floor on the side of the secretary.

What is your AHA organizing moment?  A little five minute trick that saved you quite a bit of sanity?

A Very Velvet Episode of…

Kiddo Style: Vintage

It’s official, folks–let the holiday season BEGIN! But before we look into the bevy of amazing goodies and festivities we all love around this season, let’s focus on vintage kiddo fashion. And for the holidays there is only one word for it–VELVET.

I gathered the best of my Christmas cheer to pull together some dandy velvet goods for you all!

You could do a very Heidi Holidays with this sweet little flower embroidered dress. From Etsy seller, Odelette.

Check out this deep lacy V of cuteness in green velvet. Might be my favorite. From Etsy seller, 3 Ring Circus.

Vintage velvet leiderhosen? Don’t mind if I do! From Etsy seller, Anthropolotique.

I love this hot pink velvet dress from the 60s with just a touch of lace! From Etsy seller, Kasi Found This.

Blue velvet AND a Peter Pan collar?  The little girl wearing this is so going to score big from Santa for looking that cute! From Etsy seller, Vintch.

I love velvet short pants for the holidays .  I know, it’s a little Lord Fauntleroy but I just can’t say no to that. From Etsy seller, Baby Tweeds.

Check out the perfection that is THIS COAT.  In my old college colors too–rose and pewter.  All it needs is matching hat. From Etsy seller, sparvintheieletree.

Who says purple can’t be a great choice for the holidays? With purple cherries no less! From Etsy seller,  Little Reader Vintage.

Look, I’m only human. I HAD to include this little red velvet set in the round up? Right?  From Etsy seller,

There is something so dear about the velvet jonjon for a kiddo. And the little snowman who looks like he’s going to smack some sense into those fiesty snowflakes? Almost too cute for words. From Etsy seller, Twitch Tots. (BTW, this seller has a slew of great vintage holiday togs that are quite well priced, so I recommend a little stroll to her shop…)

I must really love you guys to share this darling little green velvet friend with pretty little white flowers on it.  And on sale too! From Etsy seller, Ms. Tips.

We are ever so thankful…..

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In fall of 2009, we launched Modern Kiddo. To our knowledge, it was one of the first blogs devoted to celebrating the vintage lifestyle of our childhood. We knew people loved the memories they had of the 70s and 80s. And we knew people were as excited by vintage clothing as we were—in fact, many of our dearest bloggie friends already had wonderful vintage shops. So we thought, hoped, prayed that people would love our crazy little world as much as we did. And you know what? You did. You came in droves, sharing stories and memories. We scooped up gorgeous vintage kiddo clothing. We’ve bonded over our love of The Muppets and amazing old school board games. We yearned for the fun of the 70s playground and awesome road trips in the family station wagon. We learned that those cute little storybook lamps were made by a company called Irmi and discovered the magic of The Nut Tree . We grinned as remembered the awesomeness that was the Ice Capades and heard real 60s stories about slumber parties and prom. And most importantly, we met SO many new and wonderful people!

This blog has been a labor of love and enriched our world in so many ways. We are SO THANKFUL to have you, dear readers, as part of our vintage-lovin’ lives. Thank you thank you…..we can’t wait for another amazing year with all of you!

Vintage Flashback:: Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade!

Vintage Photos, Vintage Pop Culture

When I was a kid, Thanksgiving was all about the PARADE. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade of course!

It was so exciting to see the bands, the Broadway acts and most importantly the floats!

I remember listening to my mom and grandma buzzing around in the kitchen as my Dad was “tasting” the rum punch while we kids were glued to the TV watching the parades. We  would always have a major debate over which was the BEST float.

My brother liked the Bullwinkle one.

My cousin was partial to swimmingly cute Pink Panther.

My other cousin always voted for Snoopy as her favorite.

My favorite was Kermit. I remember watching this interview on TV as a kid! I’m sure with his new movie, Kermit will make an appearance in tomorrow’s parade!

Here’s Kermit in action on a past T-Day. He is looking a little wrinkly in this picture, so it must have been a colder year.  I love the awestruck high school band looking on. I’d be awestruck too.

Image via: Daily Mail.

The adults would drop into the den and reminisce about their favorite floats from their childhood when their parents would take them into the city to watch the parade. I like these older floats as they don’t seem as commercially driven as the ones we see today.

This jaunty elf was so cute!  I’m glad they remade one for today’s parade


Photos from Grand Life Hotels, How to be a Retronaut, Buzzfeed, MidcenturyMania.

And of course SANTA. Even my parents remember Santa being a BIG DEAL when he finished up the parade.

For me, there is  something still magical about ending the parade and seeing SANTA coming. To me, it was the official beginning of the holidays and I could squeeze as much holiday day joy out of the next month as possible. You can’t help but walk a little lighter on that day.

Somethings never change.

Image via: CBS.

I hope I can watch a bit of it tomorrow with the Peach.  Did you watch the parade when you were a kid? Do you plan on watching it tomorrow?

 

 

Turkey Day Countdown is ON!

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Oooh la la. Tis nearly time for ze bird. Whoo hoo! What are you guys up to? Are you traveling to far away family? We are staying local this year. As much as I love seeing my parents (and Greg’s too), flying on Thanksgiving is so tough—especially with a little kiddo. The airports are so crowded and flights oversold. I’ll miss seeing everyone but I’m so excited to have a few days off. [Can we pause for a moment to discuss how cute our header is??? Seriously it makes me so happy….Draw*Pilgrim is my kitschy colorful soul mate!]

How about you guys? Are you hosting yourself or going to someone elses house? And most importantly, have you decided what to cook? We are going to our good friend’s house (the same ones we celebrated Halloween with) I’m taking on sides this year and in addition to the classics—as well as a healthy salad— I want to make something a little shummier (aka naughtier). I found a couple of  contenders. Like this one (brussel spouts with figs and bacon, mmm). And this one (sweet potato with crunchy praline topping). And holy heart attack THIS one! (Creamed Corn Gratin with Fried Onion Rings and Bacon) I swear I won’t make TWO dishes with bacon in them.

I love Shutterbean’s Pumpkin Parfaits, so they might make an appearance. I’m also trying to think of a tasty pre-dinner cocktail to make. Anyone have any recommendations?

Speaking of dishes….I love vintage dishware (surprise surprise!) and have a sweet little collection of Franciscan Ware Starburst that I collected over the years (this lovely stuff). I have to say, however, that I am utterly obsessed with this Autumn Leaves pattern and have a fantasy of collecting it all and serving Thanksgiving dinner on it! How awesome would that be??

I better get to shoppin’, but I  leave you with these awesome vintage 1960s Thanksgiving videos!

This one is super cool but a tad bizarro because the person who posted it set it to old  “spooky” Twilight Zone music. I wish I knew how to set it to some fun 60s cha cha…it’s worth a look for the lady’s HUGE beehive alone! You’ll see what I mean.

I can’t wait to hear what you guys are up to and what you’ve got cookin’….

We are ever so thankful to have YOU beloved readers!!