A Lullaby For My Buckaroos

Hello my sweet buckaroos. I have a lullaby for you.



The Moylan Sisters: Peggy Joan and Marianne

Aren't they sweet? And I assure you that the film is actually just a little washed out. They had noses in real life. Here is an interesting website on the cute little scamps: The Moylan Sisters Lots of good memorabilia, songs and articles there for the perusing.

And don't miss this cute jingle: Thrivo Dogfood with The Moylan Sisters.

He's very much alive-o.. - LOVE it!

Until next time,
x's and o's and zzzzzzzzzzz's,
Eartha

A Turquoise Dream Realized

As I do, I was recently poking around online dreaming about vintage appliances. It's true - the romance is dead between me and my modern lackluster appliances. As luck would have it,  I came across a super cool video on YouTube by a gentleman named Paul Chaks. In it, Paul details how he made his dream of a beautiful vintage come true. I find it very inspiring and wow, it's gorgeous..so I wanted to share it with you all! See now how one man's dream turned into a beautiful reality:




Glorious, no? I love everything about the new kitchen. The great details of the actual kitchen renovation/restoration as well as all of the beautiful and well-chosen vintage details all around the room. Every moment it was Kapow! Turquoise! Makes me all light headed and I think that I left my smelling salts on that beautiful center island.

I wonder if I could talk Paul into letting me come up to Canada to make a vintage casserole recipe in his wonderland of a kitchen? Baked Alaska? Probably not but hey, a girl can dream! Was I the only one gasping at the photos of the glorious GE All-In-One Kitchen Center and wall-mount refrigerator? Totally worth shipping thousands of miles and across an entire country! Here is an ad for the wall-mount refrigerator/freezer:


Gorgeous! She's thinking, "I'm the luckiest woman in the world!"

(Though, if her husband comes home and sees all of those doors standing wide open, she's bound to get a lecture about how they don't own shares in the electric company.)

General Electric touted it as the refrigerator that "Hangs on the wall like a picture!" The idea was that no longer would the cook have to stoop or bend. All of the cold groceries could now be right at eye level. It also allowed for more counter space. I love it and don't know why this idea isn't in production these days. I also love how they show it here in the ad, with a little desk under it.

And to make us all daydream even more, here is a vintage postcard collected by my Flickr friend Roadsidepictures:


So gorgeous. So streamlined. Yes, please!

But let's get back to the fellow who is lucky enough to have these treasures in his very own house! That Paul - not only is he a lucky bird... but talk about hard working and determined! I dropped him a note and asked him if he'd share some more details with us. He agreed and here is our conversation:

You show in the video that your quest for the amazing turquoise kitchen started after you brought home that sweet stove. Does your love for vintage things go back before that? What do you think that it is about vintage things that draw you to them?

My love of vintage things goes way back!  When I was youngster,  I would take apart old appliances to see how they worked.  My parents would sometimes have to lock me up on garbage day...  I think what drew me to vintage items was the style - furniture with rounded arms, lamps with those fibre material shades 'woven' on to a frame, chrome toasters with etched designs all had (and still have!) a huge visual appeal to me.  The designs are so simple, but elegant.

 I'm absolutely amazed to see all of the work that you've done on the vintage appliances. Do you work on appliances for a living or did you get into it after beginning the kitchen restoration? Can you tell me more about how you found the appliances?

Thank you!  I have surprised a few people with the kitchen project, including myself!  Although I am not a repair person, my early adventures with small appliances led me to try working on larger ones.  My folks had appliances that were considered 'old' at the time, but they'd be 'vintage' now - I found it pretty easy to work on them and keep them running and I guess that experience was what I drew on when I worked on the 1956 GE set.  You may not believe this, but I had never undertaken a complete restoration project before I tackled these appliances!   I was literally 'learning on the job'.

The entire set was found in Texas, near Port Arthur.  I belong to a group called Automaticwasher.org and being a group of collectors, members often post entries on discussion boards about vintage appliances available in their area.  There seems to be an inverse relationship of where highly desirable items turn up and where a collector is actually based!   People did question my sanity when I said I was considering appliances that were thousands of miles away;  however, finding the items that I really wanted (and the fact that they had never been installed or used) was something I couldn't resist.   Just as aside, I learned a great deal about arranging for transport and dealing with imports getting these appliances to me in Canada, too.

 I'm learning more and more throughout the restoration of my own home that patience and perseverance go a long way. We can see from the video that your kitchen took nearly two years. Any words of wisdom and encouragement to those of us who are still in the trenches and feel like we still have so far to go?

Patience is definitely required!  I would say that keeping the image of the finished product in mind is a great way to get you over the inevitable bumps in the road to restoration.  Just thinking about how wonderful a restored vintage living room will look decorated for the holidays, for example.  Think about how wonderful having dinner in your 'new' dining room with your favourite people will be and never mind that pile of drywall that's still lurking at the bottom of the stairs.  LOL   Never be afraid to try something non-standard - a piece of pipe meant for a sink may just be the missing part to restore a chair leg!   Also, ask questions - there are discussion groups and forums on-line where folks who have been through restorations will be happy to offer advice and information. 

Such wonderful advice! I love the idea of using the power of visualization to get us through. I think that this would be a great time to look at some before and after shots of Paul's kitchen:


Before


Before


After Renovation & Restoration
Hello, gorgeous!

And while we're here, how about a quick video of the washer/dryer combo?:


Never has doing laundry been so lovely!

You mentioned at the end of the kitchen video that you could now work on "new projects". Can you tell us more? What do you have in the works?

Oh my...At the time when the video was completed,  I had a 1950 Westinghouse 'Laundromat' automatic washer sitting in the garage waiting for me!  I did get that going, though (and I have attached a couple of pictures!). 


Before Restoration


After Restoration
Wowie!

Okay, at this point I just have to insert the video that Paul took of that beautiful machine during a wash cycle. I could watch this all day.



Sweet, huh? If I lived at Paul's house, I wouldn't even need TV. I'd just watch laundry go 'round and 'round all day! But enough about my vintage appliance lust...Now back to Paul's story!

Shortly after that was completed, I acquired a 1953 Westinghouse matched washer and dryer set - that restoration is just about done now.  I got sidetracked from that project with partial restore of a 1961 Whirlpool dishwasher and a 1958 Frigidaire dishwasher.  I still have a few kinks to work out on these and once they are done, there's a 1950 or 1951 Youngstown Kitchens dishwasher waiting for me!
 


 I could watch the videos of your appliances all day long. Any tips for readers who want to bring home vintage appliances? Any safety tips?

For anyone interested in buying a vintage appliance, bear in mind that what may appear fine on the surface may be pretty scary inside!  I have had vintage refrigerators that worked fine and showed no signs of trouble but when I did some tinkering, I found the wiring for the interior light had dangerously brittle insulation (it crumbled in my hands!).   I would strongly recommend that any appliance be carefully inspected to see if there are any obvious problems and if there is any doubt,  it would be worth having the appliance inspected by an electrician or repair technician.  I only have experience with electrical appliances, but I would also recommend that any gas appliance be inspected for leaks or defective parts.  The good news is that most vintage appliances are not that complicated to do a basic inspection on.  The back panel of most vintage ranges for example is easily removed and the wiring can be seen clearly.  Look for signs of trouble like burnt or scorched components, broken wires, or splices.  Something I have done (especially on the vintage laundry machines) is to ensure they are properly grounded.  That can be a simple as replacing the power cord and attaching the green lead from the new cord to the frame of the machine.   I tend to err on the side of caution and thorougly test a new acqusition connected to a ground-fault protected outlet.  If the breaker pops right away or shortly after the appliance starts,  this could mean big trouble!

 Great tips! It's always a good idea to be safe and have electronic items inspected by the pros. Finally, since it's apparent that you believe in making your dreams come true, is there one item or project that you dream about for your home?

Don't laugh, but I would love to add a pond to the garden and surround it with native marsh plants!  That should keep me out the garage and away from the dishwashers for a while. LOL

Okay readers...is there any doubt after seeing how dogged Paul is that he'll make that pond and garden dream come true? And if his kitchen is any indication, it will be glorious! Though, I think that I'd find it hard to stop tinkering with those beautiful appliances or heck, to leave that kitchen and pretty dining nook surrounded by shiny bright percolators.

Thanks so much to Paul for letting me share his story. I think it's a great shot of adrenaline to those of us who are in the throes of restoration - as well as those who hope and plan to be one day. Figure out what makes your heart go pitter-pat...visualize...and realize!

If you want to see more of Paul's appliance restoration videos, go here. I'd be lying if I said that I haven't watched them all. And maybe twice.

Until next time (kitchen dreams can come true...it can happen to you),
x's and o's,
Eartha

Granny Craft Motherload

It's probably no secret that I love kitsch. But my favorite kind of kitsch? Granny Crafts! These are the crafts made by the senior set for craft fairs, gifts, home decor...what have you. I'm absolutely obsessed. If you were to take me to an estate sale where one room is full of ten cent vintage Pyrex pieces and the other room is full of granny crafts, I'd run squealing like a child to the granny craft room. And then I'd bite people if they got in my way.

(I can hear all of my fellow Pyrex collectors out there thinking, "Make a note to go junking with Eartha. She would make a mighty fine distraction while I rack up the valuable Pyrex." )

This weekend has been especially good to me in the Granny Crafts department. Didn't bite anyone AND I got tons of crafts and craft supplies! Most of them came from the same estate sale where it was easy to tell that the homeowner had never been afraid of a googly eye. Amen to that.

Most times, estate sales will be packed with people trying to beat each other to the finds. I hit a rare estate sale where well, nobody wanted any of the stuff that I wanted. It was like I'd been really, really good and Karma was saying, "Take all you want, Miss Sassy Skirts! Then go back for more!" And I did. The Mister and I went to this sale three times in one weekend.

Here's some of what I got:


Bunny Corsages! I die!



Tiny little bunnies in baskets!


And as great as those are, these are the ones that really got to me:


Little people! Made of handi-wipes and felt! Whee!

You'll notice my beatnik chicks made by Amber Von Felts up there,
looking pretty bemused at the new additions to Kitschville!

I had never seen these people before so I was as pleased as punch. I got a few pairs of them too! And as a bonus - an unopened pack of the handi-wipes so that I can make my own little people. Whoot! It felt as if the crafty lady had left them there for me so that I could follow in her tiny little footsteps.


Just look at those faces!

I also got a bunch of old craft supplies:


Pom Poms!



Fuzzy Sticks!
The cashier charged me the prices that were on there from back in the day. Which tickled me. I was all, "Time warp!" (Funny how estate sale cashiers never seem to get crazy vintage collector humor.)



Rick-Rack and piping!My gosh, rick-rack is one of the building blocks of the universe, if you ask me.
What would I take to a desert island? Rick-rack, that's what.


Googly Eyes! Um yes, I have a certain affinity.


And just a few days before, I found four of these girls:


I think I really love them. What I love more is thinking about the person who made them.
I also have them in florescent orange and bright blue.

And this clucky lady:


She's a bread warmer that goes over a bowl or basket.
Just lift up her wing and grab a toasty roll!

And finally, a package of Vogart textileprints:



Not necessarily a granny craft but it does remind me of my own late grandmother. She loved Vogart products. I love the colors in this bullfighting scene. And the lady on the front of the package just Vogarting away.

I'm going to be putting a lot of these crafts in my shop tonight if anyone loves them as much as I do. (see here for not-so-secret discount code) I have vowed not to hoard granny crafts. Granny crafts should be shared with the world!

I found some other great things this weekend too. Things that play right across my heartstrings. I'll share those with you soon! I hope that you all had weekends that were custom made for your kind of happiness as well.

Tune in tomorrow when I share with you a wonderful story about a fella who made his vintage kitchen dreams come true.

Until next time (remember, you can never have too much craft glue or be too close to the front of the estate sale line when the doors open)
x's and o's,
Eartha

Uh...PINK

You'd think that a pink toilet was the plague.



I like this part: "We are remodeling our bathrooms and have a pink toilet that works great, not damaged in any way, but it is ....uh... PINK."

Well, I'll be! That poor toilet might as well have a poo ring with a width that rivals the Mighty Mississippi from the tone of that sentence.

People are SO afraid of pink toilets. Why, did you know that you can sit on them and they flush just like other toilets? You don't get sucked down and wrapped in rosy colored cotton candy clouds where unicorns braid your hair in pretty, pretty ribbons (though that might be fun). It's true! I even have it on good authority that men can use them without losing an ounce of their well-earned "manliness".

And I promise you, people...they will come back in style. People are going to be clamoring for them before it's done. And getting on waiting lists at the big box stores and paying as much as a car note for the matching sink. And those young House Hunters couples will whine in televised bathrooms all over the world because the houses don't have pink fixtures. And their Realtors will try to ease their heartache by telling them that they can have a pink bathroom added for several thousand dollars. A pink tide is going to sweep the nation. Like a porcelain Pepto pink wave. Mark my word.

And no, I didn't go pick this one up. One spare in the garage is enough.

On a related "I'm a vintage fixture pusha' woman" note, I'd like to say to Rae from Nashville: Go pick this up. Start your pink bathroom hoard! This one looks like a mighty glorious flamingo pink!

Until next time (color is NOT our enemy),
x's and o's,
Eartha

Friday Sing-Song

 Hey y'all!

I wanted to share some Dezurik Sisters love in case you've never heard them. Mary Jane and Carolyn were truly amazing. They also went under the name "The Cackle Sisters". I'm sure you'll see why.




Here is another one of my favorites. It always seems to get included when I make music mixes. (I almost said "mix tapes". Showing my age here?)



Here is some info on them if you're interested in their story: The Dezurik Sisters

And here is a collection of a ton of their recordings for your listening enjoyment: Listen


Happy Saturday, Buckaroos!
x's and o's (and yodels!),
Eartha

Celebrating with a Sale

I just had my 100th sale in my Etsy shop (whoot!) and I'm celebrating with a discount sale for my Ranch Dressing peeps. From now until midnight (Nashville time) Sunday night (June 26th), you can get 10% off any item in the shop by using the discount code CELEBRATE100 at the checkout.   Please come on over to the shop and see if there is anything that you can use. I'll be listing more items throughout the weekend. There will be kitschy stuff and swanky stuff... and stuff of all kinds - from decor to fashion and beyond.



To apply the discount code:  During the checkout process, check the box underneath the payment option section that says "Shop Coupon Code - Apply" then put in the coupon code  CELEBRATE100 before completing checkout.

Note: If you're not in the United States or Canada, please see my notes on the items about shipping costs. Thanks! 

 Eartha Kitsch at Etsy

Thanks kids!

x's and o's,
Eartha

Again with the Ashes

It appears that it has happened again.  More cremated remains showing up at a thrift store. Though sadly,  the ashes were not retained this time. From the way it sounds, they ended up in the dust bin. I think that it's interesting that the thrift store put the urn back out on the shelf. I've shopped at this store many times and do have to admit that I've found some good stuff there. Maybe their "what the heck" policy is the reason why:

Ashes found in Anderson Salvation Army

I posted about the cremated remains donated to a thrift store in Michigan  recently and it appears that the story had a happy ending. Thanks to Amber Von Felts for letting me know about the updated story. It turns out that those ashes belonged to a lady who passed away in 2004 and that her remains have now been reunited with her family.

In researching this post, I found that it happens quite frequently! Most recently in Virginia, Georgia and Oregon.  Thrift stores just get more and more intriguing, don't they?

Until next time,
x's and o's,
Eartha (who has always planned to be cremated but might need to have the "responsibility" talk with her family)

Pet Sounds (the bird edition)

So yesterday, I featured some of my favorite bird training records. Today, I'll share some snippets of the recordings with you (edited so that you don't go completely bonkers). Enjoy!

First up, Singing Canaries


You might remember from yesterday that this one is singing canaries blended with the pipe organ stylings of Hal Pearl.


Tweet, ain't it?

Next up, Parakeet Training Record (Let Your Parakeet Teach Himself To Talk)
by Hartz Mountain:



Repetitive and seductive!

If utilizing that one, I'd recommend putting your bird in a room on the other side of the house and if you're in an apartment, make sure that your wall sharing neighbors aren't home!

Here is a bit more. The Mister said that the lady sounds just like me in the morning:



Ha! That little parakeet fella at the end sounds like an obscene phone call!

And talk about an overachiever. He must be that bird graduate that they show on the record!



Until next time (good morning! want to eat!)
x's and o's,
Eartha

Just When We Thought That Birds Couldn't Get Any Cooler

So yes, it's been established that I'm all atwitter for birds...but know what makes me even happier? Bird records! I wanted to show you a bit of our collection here at the ranch.

The first record is from the "teach your bird to talk" genre which I am admittedly wild about. It's from Hartz Mountain products (Hartz is still going strong today) and promises that your bird can teach itself to talk just by listening!


The record suggests "Use repeat mechanism if your phonograph is so equipped. By giving
your bird a 'lesson' several times each day, you will soon be rewarded by hearing him repeat the words and phrases he has heard so often.."


Look at those beautiful parakeets! Looks like one of them is talking already!

And look at this guy! He's done up and graduated!
            Next up, Singing Canaries!


This section of the genre is super fun to me because it's about birds singing along with music. The text on the back of the record reads:  " When Custom Recording Studios released a record entitled TRAINING YOUR PARRAKEET TO TALK, it became an immediate hit and sales boomed. Featuring the recorded voice of an amazing  parrakeet named 'Peter Parker' and the training voice of Peters owner; the record was received with enthusiastic response and distribution soon mushroomed from coast to coast. In time there were many requests for a record with singing canaries. Blended with the wonderful canary songs is the rich pipe organ music of Hal Pearl, recorded at the world famous Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Ill."

Wow! Sounds like the masses went wild for birds! Who can blame them really? And I looked up the Aragon Ballroom - amazingly swanky!  It was built to resemble a Spanish courtyard complete with palm trees, terracotta ceiling and mosaics - and the ceiling contained twinkling lights to make dancers feel like they were under the stars of a beautiful night sky!  It was constructed to hold nearly eight thousand people and visitors reached the ballroom by walking up a grand carpeted staircase surrounded by huge plaster dragons. I'm sure that Peter Parker probably recorded his portion of the record from the cozy confines of a recording studio but it's fun to think of the fabulous Hal Pearl in that grand ballroom, recording his pipe organ portion, knowing that the parakeet would be joining in on the recording. Click here for some photos and info on the famous Mr. Pearl. Looks like the ladies loved him and his "mighty Wurlitzer"!

 And now.. oh boy....I love this to pieces:  
  Bill and Coo!



This record was put out in association with Bill and Coo, a truly mesmerizing movie released in 1947 about a town full of birds called Chirpendale. It features an amazing cast of birds trained by George Burton as well as superstar, Jimmy The Crow whose trainer was Curly Twiford. Here is a synopsis from IMDB:

Welcome to Chirpendale. There's plenty of parking space, plus it has everything: a bar where bird citizens can drink junebug sundaes and listen to jazzy music. But the bird citizens are terrorized by an evil raven called "The Black Menace", but a pluck young bird named Bill Singer, who's a taxi driver by day, comes to the aid of a damsel in distress, Coo, who's trapped in a fire. And soon the circus comes to town, Bill and Coo get box perches and witness ferocious feats and even laugh along with Cannonball Twitcher on an out of control motorcycle! But soon The Black Menace returns, and Bill and the rest of the citizens put together a plan to put him away for good.

  Here's a little taste of Bill and Coo. You are not going to believe this town :



Squeal! I'm moving there and you can't stop me.

Now back to the record ( if you can stop thinking about that glorious film because I know 
that I certainly can't ). Here is the back: 






The crowd goes wild!


And your eyes do not deceive you. That is indeed a guinea pig!


Who needs wild lions and tigers? A kitty cat will do!


I hope that you've enjoyed the show and tell! Tomorrow, I'll play some of the records for you!

And if you want to see lots more (Trust me - you do. You'll be giggling like a little kid) here is the entire movie for your enjoyment!: Bill and Coo

Until next time (Every little swallow, every chick-a-dee, every little bird in the tall oak tree)
x's and o's,
Eartha

"So in Love" Saturday

Stunning!

Ashes to Ashes

 Have you seen this story?


  
Knowing the polices of Goodwill, I'm half surprised that they didn't put the ashes in their "collectibles" case and smack a huge price on it. And could that investigative report have been any more vague?  I like how they let the comment from the police lieutenant trail off into oblivion: 

"We'll hang on to it for six months...." 

Hello....And then what?  

It will be interesting to see how this turns out.  I hope that whoever is inside of that urn finds their way back to where they should be. It makes me think of the times that I've joked that when I die, I'd like to have my ashes sealed up inside of a beautiful Pyrex casserole dish and set up on the china cabinet. Maybe I'd better tape my home address to the bottom just in case. I mean, I do love the Goodwill but am not sure that I want to end up there for eternity.


I read in another story about the urn that the store manager said that it "ranked in the top one or two strangest finds the store had ever seen." Once again, people - could the reporting be any more lax? What was the other item that could possibly land Grandma's urn in the number two spot? Tell us more!

All of this leads me to wonder: What is the strangest thing that you have ever found in a thrift store, junk shop, or tag sale or in an item when you got it home?  I'll spare you the details about mine but let's just say that there is a valid reason that you should keep antibacterial gel and hand wipes in your car during junking excursions.

So readers...do tell!

Until next time (oh the places we will go...what we will see -  nobody knows!)
x's and o's,
Eartha

A Little Bird Told Me

that we have a winner in our "I Like Birds" contest! The winner is:




Congratulations to Chesh (the King of House Sparrows)! I'll have your prize in the mail to you lickety split!

And thanks to everyone who entered!

Doing That Crazy Hand Jive

Spotted at a thrift store:



Must be a very top secret item as the Mister and I got store security called on us for photographing it.

Tweet! Tweet!

I love birds. I even loved them before they became hip. Birds and I go waaaaay back. I started doing a walk around the house and realized that they're pretty prevalent in my design scheme too.


So, I wanted to share the bird love. In the form of this vintage bluebirds and redbirds trivet:


Tweet! Sweet!
If you'd like to feather your nest with this cute trivet, the drawing will be this coming Friday, June the 10th at noon Central time. All that you have to do to enter is leave a comment with your favorite bird.. and why it's your favorite. Easy, huh? And if you don't like birds, you can say so. Though, if that's the case, owning this trivet might make you feel yucky inside!

The winner will be chosen by a drawing of names and is open to everyone everywhere. Note: if you leave a comment and it's going to show as anonymous, please leave an email address where I can reach you if you're the winner. Otherwise, I'll have to draw again and go with the next pretty bird whose name comes up.

Thanks and please pass the word like a good parrot would!

Until next time (coo! coo! caw! caw!)
x's and o's,
Eartha

Cute!

Is it wrong to want shelves like this at my age?



From Better Homes & Gardens Decorating Ideas from 1960

Complete with real roof shingles! And look at those sweeeeet stuffed animals!

Oklahoma, where the deer come sweepin' down the plain!

I got a very exciting email this morning from one of my nice Flickr friends, illtakeyourphoto!

He sent me a link to a craigslist post about an estate sale with some fantastic deer in Ada, Oklahoma:


Just look at them all! NINE of them! Aren't they amazing lined up in a row like that?

And to make them even sweeter, they're only fifty bucks each! That's an amazing deal for large lawn deer and never have I seen this many on a lawn. With this being an estate sale, it's hard to know if the family is still living there but I would love to meet them. I bet they are/were awesome!

Sadly, this sale is over 700 miles from my house so I will only be there in spirit.

On a related note, did you know that Google Maps now gives you the distance if you were going to walk somewhere? As someone who dislikes car travel, this fascinates me! Turns out that I could walk to this sale in nine days and fifteen hours.. if I never stopped walking (Apparently, Google Maps has never been behind me on a walking track or flight of stairs!) I also learned that this path goes through the Ozark National Forest which sounds a little harrowing.


That cheery little house represents my ranch.
That red "X" denotes how far I'd actually make it.
(And also marks the Sonic drive-in near my house.)

Even if I did decide to hoof it, the sale is in a week so I'd arrive at least three days late, only to collapse and die where the deer used to be - a fitting place of death for someone like me who does love lawn deer so!


Garnet and Dale Go To The Spa


Reading A Book To A Wee One


Anyhoo, buckaroos (and doearoos!).. I hope that some of you are close enough to make one (or nine!) of these deer your own! If you do, send me a note so that I can write about your super score.

Here is a link to the craigslist ad with the details: Where To Score Scads of Awesome Deer And Be Eartha's Hero Forever

And if you're going to be staying home like me, take some time to wander over to illtakeyourphoto!'s website Box of Slides to see some truly amazing vintage slides.

Thanks again to illtakeyourphoto! for the fantastic tip!


Until next time,
x's and o's,
Eartha

Got Dirty Laundry?

Hey buckaroos! Seen the "flashback" laundry products that Proctor & Gamble is selling at Target? They're based on their past package designs. This little teaser came out in the paper with coupons:




Ooh Whee! She's happy, isn't she? (I wish they'd bring back that washer/dryer color too!) When I saw that coupon insert in mixed in with my stack of coupons, it instantly cheered me up. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who stares at old packaging and advertising and wishes for the beauty of it all to come back. I mean just look at this zippy old ad for Tide:

Source

Why, that makes even me want to do laundry!

Here's what Proctor & Gamble had to say in their press release:

In a bygone era when women wore dresses and high heels to carry their families’ laundry in a wicker basket to their very first automatic washing machine, they turned to Tide for “the cleanest clothes possible.”

Wait one cotton pickin' minute, P&G! :
Dress? Check!
High heels? Check!
Wicker laundry basket? Check!

It seems that I'm of a "bygone era". Yay! No wonder my joints hurt..

These products are on shelves for a limited time at Target. I'm trying to get it verified but have read that they're only available until June 10th. So if you're jonesin' for them, get on out there as quick as a bunny's hop!

Here's a shot taken of a store display by Look In The Tunk over on Flickr:




Pretty, huh? They'd look great on a laundry room shelf. As you can see, they are keeping the modern designs on the bottles but using the old designs on the labeling. I think they're reaching on that Tide but if they weren't tested on animals, I'd be ALL over the Downy and Bounce.


I'll take you out with some commercials to put you in the mood to do laundry flashback style.

First up, Tide!


Notice how the whole family was wearing white? They are totally a Tide family! And did you see how Mrs. Christian was polite but stern with him? She was one "bless your heart" away from bare knuckle fighting that guy. She was thinking, "If my pork chops thaw, you are done for!"

Next, look at him as he tries to intimidate Mrs. Jenkins!:

(Note: the volume is recorded loud on this one so you might want to get ready for a
real "blast" from the past.)



Oh hell to the no!

There are two things that we women will never let anyone come between.
Our soap operas and our laundry soap!

And now for a little less snatch and grab intimidation. Here we have Downy!




Failed side pony! Shelley Long perm! Lightning bolt!
Remember when kids used to only sniff laundry?

And finally, Bounce. Boing!Keep your eye open for some super sweet appliances:

My wow, but they're happy! Maybe I should buy some Bounce!

Until next time (hope that your whites are their whitest and your softs are their softest),
x's and o's,
Eartha

p.s. If you're interested in a run-down of which companies do and don't test on animals, go here for a comprehensive list. Download the PDF's for a faster read: Do They Test?

Thirty you say?

After my post yesterday about the joy of used toilets, it's easy to see why some of my Nashville folk might have thought of me this morning when this ad appeared in the hallowed "free" section of Craigslist:



Um, they had me at hell no. I mean, even if one does have use of thirty used toilet seats, can the owner really make someone take the ones with brown stains that can't be removed?? I don't even want to think about it in too much detail. Not even the obsessive cleaner in me wants to go there.

That said, it's the wild-card nature of Craigslist that makes me love it so. I relish not only the great scores but also the whackadoodle-ness that goes on there too. Not since I read this in the "lost and found" section have I enjoyed an ad so much:

"I found a variety of cheeses in the North Nashville area. The cheeses were haphazardly strewn in a large, misshapen pail of some sort. The labels appear to be written in French, Italian, Latin or Aramaic (all I know is that it's not English!). Be prepared to describe this make-shift cornucopia of cheeses, so that I know that you are in fact the rightful owner. Please hurry, as one in particular is quite pungent, and possibly making my cat very upset with me."

That's right people. The cat is NOT amused. Which makes me realize that I never asked my cats what they think about the opportunity for us to snag thirty used toilet seats. They might just find it a formidable opportunity! But alas, at the time of this post, neither my calls to the offices of Sobu or Mishka have been returned. Though I reached Pip, she refused to comment.


"Meh"

In fact, it's a great morning for Craigslist in Nashville. Not only can a person score all of those used seats but they can also swing by and pick up this at no-cost:



Gag gift. Sure. Yep. That's what I say about that giant pair of granny panties that are floating around in my dryer. We all know the deal. And in an especially bold move, the owner of said product posted her name and phone number. Oh, Hillary!

Within minutes, this response was posted from a good Samaritan:



What the? If this has happened to me once, it's happened a thousand times! Within the hour, Hillary posted this:



She updated her post to read "Serious Users Only". Sounds like she's received quite a few prank phone calls from her ad. I mean, in all seriousness, who among us (if burdened with the gift of a sex swing, say at a bridal shower or Bat Mitzvah) wouldn't just donate it to a thrift store or re-gift it at the office during the holiday "Dirty Santa" gift swap? (Am I the only one who has always wondered why it's called "Dirty Santa" when the gifts inevitably turn out to be scented candles and cheese samplers? Why not mix things up a bit? Those fuzzy handcuffs too tight? Surely Hal from Human Resources can use them!)

Would one really consider listing an item of this ilk right along with other free stuff like used couches, baby food jars and chicken coops? Listen people, I am a Craigslist troller and I'll be the first to say that some of the people who have come to my house to pick up innocent things have turned out to be pretty creepy. You gonna list a sex swing and think that your day will be without incident?

I'm sure that this high drama will continue for a while so I'll keep my eye on it. Oh no, no need to thank me. And hello! to you new readers who landed here from internet searches due to my excessive use of the term "sex swing". I can promise you that I am a dirty, dirty girl. Just read yesterday's toilet post to prove it.

This post actually reminds me of the time a few years ago when someone stole my check card. I went to the bank to learn that yo, yo, yo! I didn't have any money in my account. I was the victim of a hotel reservations agent who had decided to run willy-nilly from pillar to post purchasing the following: cat toys, craft supplies, sex swings and diamonds. Yep. Cat toys, craft supplies, sex swings and diamonds. Sound familiar? That's right. I'm pretty sure that Maria sang about them in that song from The Sound of Music about favorite things - right after doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.

I really have no good ending for this post except to say that I really don't think that I'll be picking up any free items from Craigslist today. And I think that I've done my share of toilet posts for a while. You and the cats don't have to worry.

Until next time (remember.. sometimes, not even Clorox wipes will make it right)
x's and o's,
Eartha