Vintage RVs

Who knows that I like all things vintage? Seriously, if I could live in the Brady Bunch house I would. Call me strange. I know it. But I simply adore anything mid-century.

My hubby and I find ourselves looking intently at RVs these days. All of us enjoy camping and after having borrowed a friend's camper a couple of times we'd like to purchase our own. I have lately grown weary of looking at them. And then I stumbled upon this:

It's a brand new 2011 Coachmen Shasta Airflyte camper. Who sees me camping in this?? Isn't it just the cutest thing? Check out the interior:

and

It's a current remake of this fabulous throwback:

Doesn't it just make you want to go camping with the family?  I ♥ it … awning lights and all!

So here's the floorplan:

I guess it's not really practical for camping with 2 crazy children and one equally-crazy dog?? {sigh} … but it's oh, so cute. I do think, however, that Brandon's truck would be bigger than it is. Of course, I think to pull one of these around you need a retro TV (that's tow-vehicle in RV talk). Maybe Brandon's 1968 GTO would pull it … hmmm …

Why Typewriters?

I just ordered Lydia a ribbon for her typewriter from mytypewriter.com. Now she can actually use it!

You can see more pix of her typewriter here. I ♥ it. As I was reading about cleaning it I came across these FAQs. I saw this last one and it made me smile:


13. Why write on a typewriter when you can write on a computer?

Why take a country road when you can take the Interstate?
Why ride a bike when you can drive a car?
Why shop at the corner store when you can shop at Wal-Mart?
Why cook from scratch when you can eat fast food?
Why draw a picture when you can shoot a video?

Why indeed?! Read typewriter tributes here ♥

Reading Room 3

Are you tired of seeing the reading room yet? My vintage sheets came yesterday from a seller on Etsy.  Goodness, I ♥ Etsy! I made the curtains this morning and hung them this afternoon.

 ♥ this curtain rod I found at Target … it's extremely difficult to find curtain rods that are not brown these days!

 Now to find a new home for that chandelier (oh, Elise!)

Aren't they fabulous? Perfect for window curtains in my newest room. I adore the butterflies. I sort of liken them to the changes that take place inside me when I read a great book. But I am waxing poetic.

I also put 25 holes in my freshly painted walls …

The view from my chairs ♥

I've always liked these things … whatever you call them. They add dimension and interest.

The rest of the room will be fun fun fun … finding the finds for the shelves and walls and lamps and such.  It's cozy in here!

Retro Stereo

Raise your hand if you grew up with a console stereo in your living room. {raising my hand} Yeah, me too. And I LOVED it. My brother and I would play records and my Dad and I would dance (although I remember dancing with my Dad to the reel-to-reel we also had, but that's another story). When my parents decided to put our console stereo away I convinced them to hang on to it for me. I would take it off their hands one day. And I meant it.  I really loved that thing:

There it is over to the left.  That's me on my bike (that, yes, I still own) at 2 years old.  

And here it is again in the back at my 7th birthday party (and that's my brother standing there with his favorite Farrah Fawcett t-shirt).

Isn't it cool?  So back to our story.  My parents were holding on to it for me and it was stashed away in the basement.  As a teenager I loved it and longed for the day that it would be mine (even as CDs had become the newest thing).  But it was not to be so.  One night it rained heavily and flooded our basement.  The console was veneer and was damaged beyond repair (at least we thought so … now I know better!).  So my parents got rid of it and I grieved the day.

Fast forward to today.  Two thousand and ten.  The time of electronic music files and "perfect" sound.  And what do I want?  An old console stereo to play vinyl.  Brandon and I have been searching antique stores and sales and thrift stores and Craigslist.  And we finally found one this weekend.  Everything works and it's a lovely retro piece of furniture.  I ♥ its imperfections.  It's a tube radio (♥)  and needs some tweaking.  But the turntable spins and the needle works and we listened to the Police and the Beatles yesterday afternoon.  And you know what?  Vinyl doesn't sound as bad as I remember.  I think I must have fallen victim to the latest and greatest advertisements in the 80s and 90s.  It actually sounds really really good!

That last one is my favorite … it makes me :)

Much like the Polaroids (and I just bought another {new} one by the way) some people think I am a bit odd that I ♥ this thing.  And they would be right.  I am a bit odd.  But I like what I like.  I won't apologize for that.  It's perfectly imperfect, just like me :)

Polaroid Love Part1

Brandon bought me a new {to me} Polaroid SX-70.  It's the cool rainbow striped one.  I mean, if I'm going to get myself one of these, it's gotta be cute, right?

I've always had a thing for Polaroid pictures.  Maybe it's the memories they evoke, but when I look at them I find myself waxing nostalgic.  Again.  That seems to be my theme these days.

So here's my camera and my first polaroids from it:

Above is the first picture that I took … ♥ !!  That is unretouched, a straight scan ♥

Oops!  It's WAY underexposed … still learning how to use that knob on the front of the camera.

I just couldn't stop taking pictures of my lovely!

Grace on the swing … this one is a little spotty (apparently this can be an issue with the Impossible Project's PX-70 Color Shade First Flush film)

Grace in the garden.  This one is over-exposed.

I ♥ this camera!

Vintage Typewriters

If you don't know by now, I ♥ vintage things.  And my oldest daughter is slowly beginning to appreciate them too.

Lydia has a Kit Kittredge American Girl doll that she loves.  I have to say that Kit is my favorite.  I just love her story … set during the depression.  One thing that Kit dreams about is becoming a reporter.  She has a typewriter and uses it to write news stories for her father.

So Lydia has been wanting a typewriter.  They are quite expensive to find one in good working order at an antiques store.  And online?  I have seen them for well over $500.  Imagine our delight when Lydia's Gran gave her a typewriter!  It was Gran's own typewriter that she used in college in the 1960s.  It's a Royal Quiet De luxe and it needs some cleaning - Gran wasn't sure how long it had been sitting.  Lydia loves to play with it, even though it doesn't have a ribbon.  You can still see the white-out mark on the carousel that Gran made while writing papers.  Oh I just love it!

I need to order Lydia some ribbon so she can actually use it.  Yes, there are places online that still sell old typewriter ribbon at a reasonable price!  I have cherished memories of sitting down with my parents' own non-electric typewriter when I was a kid and writing to my heart's content.  I can't wait to see what Lydia types up.  It's just different from the computer.  Something about its simplicity makes it more fun!

Here are some picture.  Sixteen actually … yeah, I know, I just couldn't stop taking pictures of it!  Scroll. down for the best ones ;) ……… Enjoy!

And Grace playing with it this morning …

And my favorite one … makes me :) … 

You may now go about your business freely …. have a wonderful day!!