Friday Link Hootenanny :: Cool Things to Browse

Link Hootenanny


Photo by Francesco Scavullo for Harper’s Bazaar, April 1959.

Ahhhh Friday! The best day of the week. Well, one of them anyway. I’m excited for the weekend, just want to kick back and relax. Aaaaaaaand, watch MAD MEN!! Whooo hooo!! So speaking of…..

1. Mad Men Fever Newsweek

Yes, I have the fever! I finally (FINALLY!) watched it and powered through all four seasons. LOVE IT! Have you seen the “new” retro issue of Newsweek? In honor of the season 5 premier of Mad Men, Newsweek magazine released a special edition, featuring all retro-styled ads. Some of the advertisers actually reached into their archives to run older versions of real ads, others simply took their inspiration from the ads of yesteryear. I think it’s a really cool idea. Of course, some ads are better than others.

See them all here.

2. I Love the Smell of Paper

I was so intrigued to read about a candle that combined this:
With this:

This candle from Byredo is called Bibliothèque. Apparently it smells of things like  leather and violet, patchouli and plum. All of which allegedly create the smell of antique books. Sounds veddy veddy interesting, no? (via Rachel Gibson)

3. More Bang for the Buck.

I’ve secretly always wanted a thick fringe of bangs. But my hair is rather curly naturally and I gots to say there’s nothing worse than a frizzy bang. But this tutorial from The Beauty Department makes it look/seem so easy. Hmmm. {Oh, and The Beauty Department is Lauren Conrad’s blog…I have to say its pretty cute! And yes, that’s adorable Angela below. Of Angela + Ithyle and blogshop fame}

4. The Cure for Bloggers Block

It’s true. Sometimes we bloggers have a hard time finding inspiration. EZ from Creature Comforts totally gets it. I thought this post was grand.

Read the whole post here.

5. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

This past week was Mr. Rogers Birthday. And thanks to this awesome post from Aunt Peaches, I learned a lot of nifty stuff about him. Like:

• He saved public television. In 1969 Mister Rogers went to Washington to protest the slashing of funds to public television, and his testimony was so persuasive that funding was not only secured but increased to $22 million per year.

• He was a Vegetarian. He told people “I don’t want to eat anything that has a mother.”

• He instilled honor among thieves. Mister Rogers drove an old Impala for years until the car was stolen and the police report was picked up by the local news…48 hours later the car was returned with a note that read, “If we’d known it was yours, we never would have taken it.”

She has 7 more cool tidbits about Mr. Rogers over here.

6 Viewmaster of Cuteness

They’re not technically viewmasters, but rather little souvenir picture viewers. I know they were popular in Europe (we had a few from Germany). And I fell in love with this collection over at lullaby & lala. The camera and the gondola are especially cute. (found via bloesem kids)

7. The Greatest Craft on Earth

Speaking of Bloesem. I loved this simple but sweet circus craft Irene poste! See how to make it here.

8. For Your Favorite Fat Cat

Yeah, it’s ridonkulously expensive….but if I were rich, I might get one of these suave chairs for O’Malley. (via make something happy)

9 Retro Cloggin’ all the way, Doo Dah, Doo Dah.

I’m not even a big clog person but I’m LOVING the latest offerings from Swedish Hasbeens. The campaign is so cute….I call dibs on those strapey wedges!! See the collection here. And hopefully on my feet verrrry soon.

10. BONUS video: The Crystal Light Aerobics Championship.

OMG. This video. I can’t even describe the feeling I had when watching. For starters, it looks like an SNL parody. I can totally imagine Kristin Wiig in this thing. Secondly…..the outfits! The Hair! And also….it goes on, like FOREVER. But it’s awesome. You’ll love it. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

(thanks to my friend Rusty for tipping me off to this video!!)

Vintage Book Shelf :: My Tiny 3-D Puppet Books

Vintage Books

Oooh weee! I had the most awesome find a month or so ago at the thrift store. You guys already know I have an obsession with vintage kid’s book…and usually it’s for the nifty illustrations. BUT these puppet storybooks from the 60s have a special place in my heart. They are so cool and fun! Typically the cover had this scratchy lenticular (aka 3-D) postcard on them and then inside cool photos of the puppet dolls acting out the stories. They remind me so much of the Rankin & Bass Christmas specials—like Rudolph. I always expect the characters in these books to start moving!

So as I was scanning the books like I always do, I was thrilled to find one! And then low and behold I found another….and then another. And suddenly I realized I had ELEVEN of them in my hand!!!! Holy smokes, talk about insta-collection!

Each one has an inscription to Cindy from grandma and “papa” Vasner—so sweet. It looks like she got one for every birthday and christmas. I’m sad she gave up her collection, but how lucky for me to have inherited it! Let’s take a look inside some of them.

I think this quirky “Tell Me What Time it Is!” book is pretty terrific. The little mock lederhosen on the boy are too cute. Check it out:

 

Pretty cute huh! But I have to say that this CINDERELLA book is one of my super favorites. I had one as a little girl and just loooooved seeing the fancy gowns!

Ahhhhh that dress! Also, can we discuss the crazy bunz on the stepsisters??? They were poofin’ long before The Snooki.

I just love these books, don’t you? The history behind them is pretty neat. You can read a little more about them in the post I did about one of my faves 3-D puppet books, Rocket Trip to the Moon! Do you have any Tiny 3-D books? Do you remember them from when you were a kiddo?

Meet G

Weekly Kiddos

Friends, I have a super special treat for you with this weekly kiddo.  He is the whip smart, handsome son of my wonderful friend, Amy Gershoni–part of the uber creative team, Gershoni. And this boy’s name is G.  Just the letter G.  Future teenage girls of the 2026 high school class, start swooning now.

G is a 4 years old, San Francisco native and urban explorer.

G is one busy little guy whose list of roles include Golden Gate Park roll polly collector, sidewalk chalk artist, sit-in drummer with “his” Farmers Market band.

G has an adventurous palette downing tobiko and strong cheese, but his current fav is pancakes with blueberries, bananas and walnuts. (That DOES sound yummy…)

Mr. G is a great mimic, wielding his pre-school French with perfect elocution.  He is an abstract painter, a tiny car racer (complete with sound effects), a power book reader/ listener, a great story teller with his own cast of characters, and a world class cuddler.

He can rock a Tree Pose unaided and is about to master the somersault.  He has recently learned how to shake hands.

But more than anything else, he is a charming, sweet boy who is gonna rock the world. Just you wait and see, friends!

My favorite vintage car? Easy. The metropolitan!

Best of Alix, Vintage Pop Culture, , , , ,


image

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.


image

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??


image

Kiddo Fieldtrip :: San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

Best of Dottie, Kiddo Fieldtrips, Real Life : Dottie

 

A few weeks ago (actually over President’s Day weekend) Eric and I took the Peach to the Conservatory of Flowers, because they had an amazingly fun exhibit for kids, based on San Francisco’s famous boardwalk, Playland by the Sea.  The popular amusement park, Playland by the Sea, was a mainstay in San Francisco from Victorian Times until 1972 when it closed. Although the amusement park has been dismantled and scattered across San Francisco–like the famous carousel is in Yerba Buena Garden, Playland by the Sea still looms large in San Francisco lore.  and it was the perfect inspiration for the wonderful floral exhibit at the Conservatory of Flowers.

This was my first time to the Conservatory of Flowers and it was divine! And the exhibit–well, it took my breath away. And I know the Peach loved it too.

The exhibit also featured a few bits beyond the flowers–like these wonderful fun house mirrors, which the Peach loved.

Just walking into the room and seeing the original Playland sign was pretty impressive. Look at those awesome As!

 

The exhibit also included one of the original bumper cars from the popular ride. I think that was the Peach’s favorite.

The flower exhibit wasn’t just a staid arrangement, but had these buttons that kiddos could easily push to make the trains go or the carousel turn.  Too much fun!

What really made the exhibit particularly wonderful is that all of the structures were made from products that would have ended up in a landfill if it weren’t for the upcycling.

And it was so fun to see San Francisco landmarks that we all know and love.

We spent almost two hours there watching the Peach run around the room having a blast. It reminded me of my childhood trips to the Philadelphia Flower Show with my Dad years ago.  And it made me feel like spring was around the corner.  Perfect for this time of year.

After we left the conservatory, we headed to Cole Valley and  San Francisco’s new Ice Cream Bar. Eric had this insane milk shake and the Peach’s favorite strawberry wasn’t available, so she enjoyed a little cherry ice cream.

The best part was that we were able to make it back for the Peach’s 2:30 nap!  As you can imagine, she was pretty tuckered out from her full day of fun.  I think this may be our new spring tradition. Do you have any spring traditions?