Happy Birthday, Shel Silverstein!

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Image: Finding My Balance.

Today is Shel Silverstein’s birthday! I don’ t know about you, but when I was between the ages of 8-10, I thought Shel was the ultimate poet. Sorry Walt Whitman, apologies e.e. cummings, but you really can’t hold a candle to the beauty of Sarah Cynthia Silvia Stout who would not take the garbage out. At least in the mind of a third grader.

Shel Silverstein wasn’t just an amazing children’s writer. He was a profoundly creative person writing songs for Johnny Cash (he wrote “A Boy Named Sue”) and started his career creating cartoons for Playboy.  But really, his writing for children is pretty darn marvelous. Sometimes rogue, sometimes gross, and sometimes so completely spot on and heartening.  Like these:.

 

Oh yeah–and he gave us this book… As I get older and read it again, my thoughts on the book change.  So simple, yet so profound. Particularly as a parent. Oh, to read this as a parent is insane–like reading a different book.

 

 

Sadly, Shel died in 1999, but his work will be read by kids all over the world with a giggle.

I can’t wait to introduce the Peach to him!  Do you remember any of his poems?

 

Vintage Video :: Cinderella and Mary Blair

Vintage Movies

As I mentioned last week, the Peach is into all things princess, so I thought I would start her princess movie experience with the ultimate one that I remember as a kiddo—CINDERELLA!  Full of pretty dresses and the bad characters aren’t super terrifying like scary witches or dragons or anything else like that. And it is pure vintage awesomeness too.

I have to admit that I took a sneak peek of it and watched the first minute without zee Peach. I was amazed to see Mary Blair’s name listed early on in the credits.  I know Mary Blair is the queen of vintage Disney design (surely you must remember the Google ode to her on her 100th birthday last year…), I knew she was involved with Alice in Wonderland, and I love her illustrated books that I have read with the Peach, but I didn’t know she was involved specifically with Cinderella. You could tell she had a hand in it just from the opening credits of the film.

Turns out Mary Blair did the mood boards for Cinderella in the forties as inspiration for the film.  And MAN, are they magical.

A touch darker palette than I remember in the film, but WOW.

I love the one with the step sisters the most. So perfectly frouncy!

There was actually a book version of this released in 2007—Walt Disney’s Cinderella retold by Cynthia Rylant using images created by Mary Blair. Unfortunately it is now out of print and they go for quite a pretty penny. (Upwards of $350! Oof!) But still, they are magical! Lucky for us, you can nab a gently read copy of Walt Disney’s Cinderella for $32 right here.

 

Fall is officially here!

Uncategorized

Well, it is officially Fall and we are all in the mood for apples, and pumpkin spice muffins and warm cozy sweaters. So, I used that as my inspiration picking out this week’s vintage goodies to share with you all!

Brown plaid doesn’t sound that wonderful, but I think it is so darn charming in this dress! And a peter pan collar just made it more marvelous. From Etsy seller, Eat Diamonds.

Rawr! Here’s some sweet autumnal lions to keep your wee one cozy! From Etsy seller, Little Part.

Oh man, how much do you love these deer jumping over the log on a sweater! So great! From Etsy seller, Soseman Knox.

Now that the temps are going down, bare feet on wooden floors are a thing of summer.  That’s when a good pair of comfy vintage mocs is perfect. From Etsy seller, LoV Design.

We are entering long sleeve shirt season and this stripey friend would look great under your kiddo’s favorite t-shirt! From Etsy seller, Jesse’s Threads.

Whoa! This new with tag vintage wool jacket. In the perfect color plaid that could go from fall to winter in snuggly perfection! And it is a bigger size! From Etsy seller, Pineapple Mint.

This is one thermal shirt that deserves to be the top layer! From Etsy seller, Drowsy Swords.

3 Ring Circus has such great stuff for fall, like this darling little girl sweater/jacket with Western details. Love the colors!

These amazing vintage pennants seem so autumnal to me and add a little shish boom back school spirit to any room. From Etsy seller, Noodle & Lou Vintage.

Happy Monday!

Some Tasty Little Vintage Recipe Cards.

Vintage Pop Culture

A while back at the thrift store I spied a yellow box. I thought it looked like a good lil storage container and when I went to pick it up, it weighed about 20 pounds. What the? I opened it up and saw that it was filled with vintage Betty Crocker recipe cards. OHMUGERD.

There are SO many crazy cards in here, I wasn’t sure which to share with you. I mean, so I go with “Salads for Every Occasion”? “Men’s Favorites”?? The intriging “Come for Coffee” ??? But I had to go with “Recipes Children Can Make” and “Children’s Parties” because they were just OH-SO festive! I really don’t think I need to explain, now, do I?? Take a gander at THIS:

And now let’s BRING ON THE PARTIES!

Oh who doesn’t love a balloon???

Oh woe to the poor kiddo who gets a “PATRIOTIC BIRTHDAY” with little George Washington cherry trees…..I love these wacky cards so much! Do you have a favorite??

Attention Bay Area Bloggers, now taking off // BLOG AIR!

Real Life

It’s happening friends! After months of chatter with one another and encouragement from many friends, we are launching our very first blog class! There are lots of blog classes out there these days, but what we feel will make our class unique is that we are bringing our professional background into play. For those of you who don’t know, when we’re not blogging, Alix is an award-winning advertising creative director and Dottie is a successful Director of  PR. We have a unique perspective on blogging and allllll kinds of tips and tricks to help you take things to the next level! There will be two days to choose from (or you can take BOTH!):

DAY 1: PREPARE FOR LIFT OFF. Saturday, October 6, 2012 10am – 5pm

This class is geared towards the emerging blogger….someone who really feels like they are ready to take things to the next level.

DAY 2: FREQUENT FLIERS. Sunday, October 7, 2012 10am-5pm

This class is for the more experienced blogger who wants to push themelves further and would like to to know how to master PR.

It’s all going down in a small, intimate setting (the marvelous Teahouse Studios in Berkeley) and there will be boat loads of one-on-one time and personal review. Check out more class details here! We will also be featuring some special guest stars from one of the hottest social media sites and blogger networks around. Ooooh, mysterious!

Are you in the Bay Area? We’d love to meet you!

You can sign up for the class right here.