Quick note: Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I’ve got some pretty bad sniffles this morning and am hoping that it is just bad allergies and not something worse. Update @ 12:30ish: Your thoughts and prayers have worked. Sniffles have disappeared. Thanks!
Here is a roundup of some of the great things I came across while cruising around the ‘Net this week:
Our friend Hairball has totally destroyed my well-organized Netflix queue with her Fa-la-la-la-la series of holiday-inspired films. *shakes fist at Hairball* It’s a good thing I’m on the 2-at-a-time DVD plan or I’d just curl up on the couch and have a holiday film marathon (while eating too much fudge and sugar cookies) and ignore all of my other responsibilities. Start here with Day 1 and work back to today.
Photo courtesy of PopGoesMyVintage
Nicole of PopGoesMyVintage is taunting me with this beautiful costume pin. And it is wonderfully priced, to boot! I asked her if my feelings about it would be considered lust or coveting and she replied that would simply indicate good taste. I still think my desire for it is almost sinful. I showed it to My Honey who said that I have one almost like it already. Yeah, maybe, but I want THIS one, too! (PS: Nicole is having a 20% off sale until December 14th)
Lidian, of course, seems to find the craziest advertisements for her Kitchen Retro Blog. Her wicked sense of humor is currently being unleashed on those holiday-related ads that now make us cringe.
And finally, when we start feeling overwhelmed by the need to decorate our homes for Christmas, remember that this push to have every mantle, table, and staircase covered with something “festive” is a recent phenomenon (aided by Target and Walmart). I love Shorpy Historic Archive because the photos help put things back into perspective. One look at how the movers and shakers of 100 years ago decorated their homes reminds us that understated elegance means perhaps a decorated tree and some greenery on the mantle hung with stockings. It reminds us that quality is more important than quantity. This photo of a well-to-do family’s Christmas photo shows how much our ideas of a “perfect” tree have changed (note the train set under the tree).
Dickey Christmas Photo, 1921
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Another great post! You just can’t go wrong, Dr. J. I feel so in tune with your retro thinking! I have been pondering this penchant we have for getting ready early. Don’t get me wrong — I love to get ready early — and for some of us it’s a necessity. On the other hand, if I’m not ready by December 1, I’m tempted to panic and give it all up as “too late” and that’s ridiculous. I remember getting up from my nap on Christmas Eve when I was probably three (1952), and my mother and dad were decorating the house. What a great memory that is!
Now that the opulent “Better Homes and Gardens” Christmas celebration has slipped into the past for us, I delight in the understated — the tree, a simple electric candle in the window, a wreath on the door, candles and greenery here and there, some vintage angels — well, you get the idea.
*peeks out from doghouse*
If I give you a brownie can I come back inside? It’s cold outside and my nose is starting to run.
On the decorating front, I have a wreath on the front door, stockings up on the wall, and my two ceramic trees with a string of lights wrapped around the bases. That’s enough for me.
I really like the picture of the family and their Christmas tree!
Hairball
PS: I think you need to buy the pin and wear it while you watch movies!!
Oh, Honey. You just know how to get on my good side, don’t you? Of course you can come back inside.
With that 20% discount, I’m tempted to just go ahead and get the pin, whether I watch the movies or not!
Thank you so much! And I am really glad that you’re feeling better…
I hope you are better Dr. Julie-Ann and my leaf brooch is so happy to be loved…thank you for putting it on your witty blog.
p.s. don’t you just want to pull that little fluffy thing floating above it?
Thanks, Nicole. I am feeling better (albeit I tire easily).
Our anniversary is on the 27th and I’m trying to talk My Honey into buying the brooch for me as an anniversary gift. I reminded him that he has set a precedent of buying me beautiful pins/brooches for our anniversary. He’s grumpy right now, though, because he’s trying to take care of all of his end of the semester stuff/grading.
Happy Anniversary! Lovely pin!