Vintage Deal of the Day: November 25, 2009

{Will Santa still believe you’ve been good all year if you hang this alluring stocking off the fireplace mantle or foot of the bed? Of course he will, for Santa knows all vintage loving gals are sweeter than sugar right to their cores! :D With just one month left until Christmas Day, it’s high time to start decking the halls (and the living room, and kitchen, and bedrooms, and – every spot in your abode!), and what more enjoyable way to incorporate a shot of vintage cheer into your festive decor than with an adorable pin-up girl Christmas stocking? Three different patterns of fabric featuring sultry lasses (such as the blonde bombshell pictured above) are available for $15.00 (US) a piece from etsy Deluxe Junque.}


Before Christmas arrives however, my wonderful US friends and visitors have Thanksgiving Day to look forward to tomorrow. From the bottom of my heart I wish all those who are gathering to give thanks, share in a beautiful meal, and honour the splendor of the autumnal harvest on Thursday, the utmost of joy and serenity as you celebrate this meaningful day.

Five for Friday {October 23, 2009}

...A post written at the tail end of a busy day in a hectic, but absolutely lovely week. As Friday melts into Saturday it’s time to think about the fact that Halloween in but a week away, meaning that all manner of sweet – and spooky – treats will soon be on the agenda (and table). A weekend to launch several days with the opportunity for parties and intimate gatherings, filled with thoughts of festive costumes and jack-o-lanterns to be carved...


♥ ♥ ♥


{To add an immense hit of regal beauty to any costume}


{To say I adore miniature top hats is an understatement! Though I don’t yet own any myself, I truly hope to add some pint size Victorian/goth/steampunk chapeaus to my wardrobe one day, and when I do, a handcrafted number such as this amazing feather bedecked hat would top my list. Whether for Halloween, a fancy dress party, or any other day when you need an extra spectacular topper, this incredible creation would fit the bill! Pink and white Marie Antoinette mini hat, $49.00 (US) from etsy seller CrypticCultureGear.}


{To fuel your Halloween decor daydreams}


{I am perpetually awe-struck by the whimsical, elegant, and stunning creations, displays, decorations and finds featured on the Torie Jayne’s blog - and her recent pink and black Halloween themed posts are absolutely no exception. Pure inspiration through and through! Image via the gorgeous pages of Torie Jayne.}


{To add a wallop of adorable Halloween vintage charm to your Flickr favourites (or wall/scrapbook/etc if you print this image off)}


{Three immensely cute, large eyed kitties adorn this darling page from 1957 calendar featuring the month of October. Doesn’t it just make you burst out in an instant smile? Image via Neato Collville’s Flickr stream.}


{To ensure your Halloween finery stays pristinely clean while you’re whipping up your favourite Halloween treats or spells!}


{A delightfully fun pattern of witches, pumpkins, spiders, masked black cats, broomsticks, and witches covers this pretty pink, vintage style apron, making it the perfect thing to wear anytime you’re cooking, crafting, carving, or otherwise likely to get messy during the Halloween season. “The Close Vintage Inspired Halloween Full Apron”, $28.75 (US) from etsy seller Boojiboo.}

{To fill your table (and tummy) with beautiful and delicious holiday baked treats}


{Cinnamon and pumpkin puree enhance this seasonally dark chocolate cake with scrumptious orange cream cheese frosting, turning something run-of-the-mill into an especially wonderful Halloween dessert. Recipe on, and photo from, Country Living.}


Thank you everyone, for your marvelous comments on this week. I sincerely appreciate hearing from each of you. I always love returning your visits by buzzing over to your blogs and commenting on your stellar posts. I’m a slightly behind on replying to comments on my posts this week, but will do my best to get to each of your sites over the next few of days.

I adore you all, my amazing readers, thank you so much for visiting Chronically Vintage. I hope you each have a deeply fantastic weekend!

20 frightfully awesome Halloween blogs

With less than three weeks to go until All Hallows Eve appears, I thought it would be fun to share with you a list of some of my favourite Halloween blogs. Growing up in a small town I was often the fanatical person in my class/school/Girl Guide troop/neighbourhood/etc about this autumnal holiday, a point that made me happy but also a bit self-conscious. Thus it was a huge thrill to discover years later via the internet that there are others like myself out there that think, breath, eat and sleep Halloween all year long, not just on October 31st!

Of course one doesn’t have to be obsessed with Halloween to adore it. This eerily fun holiday means many things to many different people. For some it’s a chance to dress up and take on a different persona – if only for one night, for others it’s about the treasure trove of happy childhood memories Halloween brings to mind. I have adored Halloween for as long as I can recall. Each year my decorations come out their boxes like (friendly) vampires emerging from coffins, to line my shelves and tabletops, bookcases and counters. I certainly don’t have the world’s largest collection of decorations (not by a long shot), but I do love the witches, bats, pumpkins, monsters, scarecrows and all other manner of Halloween themed items that I’ve amassed so far.

While I’d be content to keep my Halloween decorations out year round, this isn’t always feasible when you live with someone else (and when you have a precious little cat who thinks all festive decor items – regardless of the holiday – are delightful playthings that get sprinkled around the house just for her amusement), so in order to keep the Halloween spirit flowing long after the last Jack-O-Lantern candle has burned down, I turn to a slew of fantastic blogs run by fellow fans of this spirited holiday all year long.

Though not all of these blogs cover vintage related topics, it’s not uncommon to find posts with antique, vintage or retro themed Halloween images or topics. As well many of them highlight Halloween handicrafts, decorations, party and costume ideas, and recipes that could easily weave their way into a vintage themed Halloween celebration.

Join me, won’t you? As I countdown twenty of my favourite Halloween blogs by listing their names and sharing a spooky, beautiful, old school or just plain marvelous image from each respective site that caught my eye (of newt) and spoke to my adoration of this beguiling holiday.





1.) A Nostalgic Halloween




2.) AranaMuerta




3.) Cat In The Moon




4.) Creepy Cupcakes




5.) Frog on the Pumpkin




6.) Hallow E’en Witches’ Flying Machine


{*Please note, the blog header image on this site contains frontal nudity and may not be safe for work – or younger viewers. The rest of the site is “work and family safe” from what I’ve seen in the time I’ve been following it.*}


7.) Halloween Folk Art by the Holiday Queen




8.) Haunt Style




9.) Johanna Parker Design




10.) Musings from Behind the Easel




11.) Orange and Black




12.) Pumpkin Hallow




13.) Pumpkinrot




14.) The Courtesan Macabre


{*This site is technically devoted to Gothic themed fashion, but I feel that such a topic makes it a great addition to this list.*}


15.) The Gallows




16.) The Halloween Tree




17.) Through the Patch




18.) Trixie’s Treats




19.) Vintage Halloween Collector




20.) Weird Hallow




A jaunt (or flyby on your broomstick) through these wonderful sites can’t help but get any Halloween enthusiast even more in the festive mood – I know each of them is certainly helping to fuel my excitement this year!

Do you have a favourite Halloween blog or website that isn’t mentioned above? I’m “dying” to know about it if you do! :D

Welcome back, dearest autumn!

In my souls bells are ringing, proclaiming the return of my perpetually favourite season. Today soft precipitation continues to fall, milky grey skies etching out a gentle backdrop for the increasingly golden leaves that line the busy neighbourhood streets. As the hours of the first day of autumn tick merrily by, I find myself reflecting on the great many elements of this time of the year that I treasure, from chilly – but not quite freezing – nights to the desire to add cinnamon and nutmeg to nearly everything I bake.

With fall’s arrival I feel suddenly more at peace with the word, which isn’t to say I was at odds with it, but rather that with each leaf that flutters off into the wind, the world is – if only for a moment – taking one of my worries or burdens with is. As I glance out the large living room window, water droplets bouncing like exploding popcorn kernels on railing of the balcony, the words of a Longfellow poem that is perfectly fit for autumn’s rebirth spring to mind...


Autumn
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Thou comest, Autumn, heralded by the rain,

With banners, by great gales incessant fanned,

Brighter than brightest silks of Samarcand,

And stately oxen harnessed to thy wain!

Thou standest, like imperial Charlemagne,

Upon thy bridge of gold; thy royal hand

Outstretched with benedictions o'er the land,

Blessing the farms through all thy vast domain!

Thy shield is the red harvest moon, suspended

So long beneath the heaven's o'er-hanging eaves;

Thy steps are by the farmer's prayers attended;

Like flames upon an altar shine the sheaves;

And, following thee, in thy ovation splendid,

Thine almoner, the wind, scatters the golden leaves!


Such eloquent words to capture how I feel on this tranquil Tuesday, my mind filled with thoughts about the upcoming season and the myriad of elements that I adore about it.

The following Flickr mosaic is comprised of some of my very favourite fall experiences, flavours, sites and memories. What, my dear readers, are some of the things that you adore most about fall?



{1. The edge at sunset, 2. Caramel Apple Pie Recipe, 3. sparkly pumpkins, 4. vintage look: 'keeping butterfly in a hand', 5. Yesterday I found 2 Kittens near home, 6. Roast Turkey, 7. Anybody want a game of Conkers???, 8. McCormick Pumpkin Pie Spice Tin, 9. autumn falls in Atlantic France..., 10. {little.visitor}, 11. Is It Halloween Time??, 12. About the hands, 13. Indian corn. Please click on a link to see a larger version of a particular image and/or for photographer information.}


Autumn, you have been missed and pined for dearly, I hope that you will grace us with your presence for quite some time. Do your best to keep Old Man Winter at bay, but know that I fully understand you cannot exist forever. While you’re with us, I vow to appreciate your subtle intricacies, resplendent beauty and ingrained joys every single day!

Five For Friday {September 11, 2009}

...The first traces of autumn’s telltale chill drift across the early morning air. The sun will pounce again with intensity before too long, but for the moment the calming scent and feel of the season that lies ahead invigorates my mind, body and soul, calling forth the need for elements that continue to capture the inherent beauty of early September...


♥ ♥ ♥


{To celebrate the enchanting splendor of roses before the first frost hits}


{Granted in this day and age all manner of roses are available year round, but much as I try to eat what is in season, so too do I (often) aim for flowers that speak for their key growing seasons. This arrangement of hydrangea, wax flower, willow and ballerina-esque peach roses seems to capture the crisp whiteness of summer the orange hues of early autumn to a tee, making it an ideal addition for your “between seasons” table setting. “Wedding Centerpiece in glass bubble bow”, $99.00 (US) from 1-800-Flowers.com.}


{To satisfy both your sweet tooth and love of vintage inspired packaging}


{Cast in molds from 18 vintage buttons, these rich milk chocolates from UK brand Hotel Chocolate are almost too lovely to eat. Yet don’t feel bad if you do give into the urge for a nibble, the antique inspired, robin’s egg blue box they come in is also sweetly gorgeous. 100g package of milk chocolate buttons, £6.00 (UK pounds) from Hotel Chocolate.}


{To inject an instant dose of visual tranquility into your weekend}


{I adore photography of all types, but have a particular fondness for both shooting and viewing images that hone on the resplendent elegance that lurks in everyday items or paired down moments in time, such as the soothing, stunning photos that make up the Pure, Simple and natural Flickr group (which the four images above hail from).}


{To ensure your walls are anything but drab through this coming winter}


{A little bit colonial, a smidge Victorian, and boosting a delightful dose of vintage charm, this quirky – but still entirely elegant – wallpaper features hand-drawn sketches and is designed with larger walls in mind. I would love to paste it in a stately study, cozy dining room or inviting front hall, but could also see it working well in a good sized bedroom or kitchen, too. Ten metre long roll of “Silbodal yellow green background” wallpaper, 1,300.00 (Swedish Kronor, approximately $186.00 US dollars per roll), from Swedish online decor shop Wingbud Wallpaper.}


{To make you smile every time you look at their adorable, slightly cheeky faces}


{This pair of tiny vintage kitten figures would look so sweet perched on any shelf, window sill or dresser top. Available for an absolute song at just $2.00 (US) for both cats, from etsy seller In His Word.}


Today’s date is a sombre one that holds many meanings and links to powerful memories for all who recalls its occurrence eight years ago. I would just like to take a moment to think of those affected, in whatever capacity, by the events of September 11th and the aftermath that followed. May peace be with you all.

To my wonderfully dear readers, I wish you each a deeply serene and beautiful weekend ahead.

25 wonderful vintage birthday photos

While we may not always relish getting older, it’s hard to deny that a birthday generally puts one in a happy mood. Some smiles are created from the memories we recall, others are born with the new festive activities that unfold on our special day.

Tomorrow is my twenty-fifth birthday and to help celebrate the day I turn a quarter of a century old, I’ve gathered up 25 vintage images that span the birthday spectrum from Hollywood stars to cake decorating ideas, tables of excited children to some real party animals!

Without any further ado, let the good times roll!

♥ ♥ ♥



{Cute as a button, child star Shirley Temple celebrates her ninth birthday with a giant cake.}



{A group of elephants get in the celebratory spirit in this shot from 1926.}



{Which one of these beautiful, girly birthday cakes would you pick? The cotton candy hued, heart shaped pair gets my vote.}



{Now that’s a cake fit for a president! John F. Kennedy circa 1962, to be specific.}



{The cake might be a bit lopsided, but this 1950s woman and her birthday gifts couldn’t look any prettier – despite what her husband’s face seems to be saying!}



{A group of youngsters pose for the camera amidst the festivities at a birthday party in 1956.}



{The Leave It To Beaver style childhood birthday party is portrayed in this pretty 1950s illustration.}



{A birthday card from 1942 depicting a group of Victorian woman sitting around a table calls to mind Gone With The Wind.}



{Relatives gathering round to celebrate a youngster’s birthday in this 1946 photo.}



{What vintage birthday celebration would be complete without a Jell-o cake?}



{Not only do dogs like to gather and pose around the table to play poker, they also love to throw a birthday party! :)}



{I love how happy the little birthday girl looks in this black and white photo.}



{Someone must have been popular in 1957, just look at the size of their crowd at their birthday party!}



{Everyone seems to be helping the birthday girl blow out the candles on her cake. (Don’t the streamers all over the place make you smile?)}



{Two charming children eagerly await a piece of the cake their playmate is blowing the candles out on.}



{A woman snaps a photo of the birthday cake arriving at the table in this lovely 1950s illustrated image.}



{A colourful 1950s birthday invitation – how could you not want to attend any party with such cute invites?}



{I’m struck by how crisp and sharp this 1950s colour photo still is more than half a century after it was snapped.}



{Birthdays were going to the birds in 1956 when this cute cockatoo turned fifty.}



{Orson Wells and Rita Hayworth celebrate the beautiful starlet’s birthday aboard Errol Flynn’s yatch.}



{How sweetly lovely is this birthday girl? Too sweet for words, she looks like a little model!}



{Two junior cowboys rustle up some fun with a boot shaped birthday cake.}



{These adorable children’s birthday cakes from the mid 1960s would help get anyone in a festive mood (or at least in the mood for sugar!).}



{The eternally lovely Marilyn Monroe on her thirtieth birthday.}



{1955 Woman’s Day magazine cover with a group of adorable kids partying it up in fifties style.}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}

Aren't these photos, magazine pages and scans a delight to behold? You can practically feel the joy they held or were intended to convey. I love the soft pastel hues, homemade cakes, and the wonderfully pretty party dresses in particular. What jumps out at you as you gaze into these birthday celebrations of the past?