Touching base

Good morning, my sweet readers, let me begin by extending my deepest thanks to one and all for your bounty of immensely kind holiday (and well) wishes over the past several days. I realize that Chronically Vintage has not been quite as active during the last couple of weeks as it generally is, and I do sincerely apologize for that. (Unfortunately one of the elements that comes with having severe chronic illnesses is that you never really know when one or more of them is going to flare-up and either slow you down more than usual or put you right out of commission!)

When December began I’d had such grand plans for the numerous holiday gift guides that I’d wanted to publish, yet in the end, I was only able to get two of them up and out. Again, I’m very sorry about this (as I had mentioned that more would hopefully still be coming as the days progressed closer to the 25th), but want you to know that I will do my best to get those that did not get posted this year, created and published come next holiday season (originally I jotted down out several ideas each for at least ten different guides, as only two were written, it means that I can apply those unused ideas – and perhaps more still – to my 2010 gift guides).

This holiday season helped to show me that, given the unpredictability of my health (and certainly life in general), when it comes to blogging, I should start readying my Christmas themed posts weeks (or even months) in advance! While I wasn’t able to post as many holiday themed posts as I would have ideally liked to, I am thankful that I was able to get a handful out, and also for the splendid vintage Christmas inspiration I gleamed from so many of your superb sites.

Speaking of which, I fully acknowledge that I’ve not been able to visit some of your blogs for numerous days now, and I sincerely apologize for being a tad MIA on the blogging front as of late. I miss you each very much and hope from the bottom of my heart that you’ve all been having exquisitely lovely holiday season!



{In this terrific photo from Life magazine, circa 1945, we see a US Navy WAVE member manning a telephone switchboard, which instantly makes me think of how very much I adore keeping in touch with my wonderful visitors and vintage loving friends through the modern means of mass communication, the internet!}


Though I’m not back to full (blogging) speed quite yet (and am now talking care of my poor husband who came down either a nasty cold or the flu – too soon to tell – yesterday), please know that in the coming days (and into the new year) I will strive to do my best to catch up on your comments and my visits to your blogs. Likewise, know how truly much I appreciate all of your visits and comments, each of them is like a glistening ray of sunshine that beautifully helps to brighten my days.

Wishing everybody an amazing New Year’s Eve-Eve-Eve and sending my very best out to you across the miles for an ongoing holiday season of tranquility and bliss!

Happy first Stellaversary!

What on earth, you may very rightfully ask, is “Stellaversary”? Well, it just so happens that the word Stellaversary is a completely homemade term I created as a way of marking the date when we first brought our darling cat, Stella home. As today, the 23rd of November, is the one year anniversary of when she came into our lives, I am hereby proclaiming this date to the first annual Stellaversary!

Though both my husband and I had the pleasure of growing up in homes with pets, as a couple, Stella is the first animal that we can jointly call our own. We’re both massive animal lovers and had known from day one that we wanted a pet (or two...), but for the first few years of our relationship our lives were in too much of a state of flux (several moves – including overseas, waiting for life altering decisions from Immigration Canada, etc) for us to have responsibly taken on a pet.

Last year, for the first time ever in our life together, things began to settle down, (positive) outcomes were finally reached, and we knew that at long last it was OK for us to consider bringing home a pet. We didn’t set out on this exact date one year ago with the intention of bringing home a cat, we’d actually gone out to buy a dining room table, of all things! Well, we succeeded in finding a beautiful one of those (on sale!), and afterwards continued bopping around to various places in that part of town.

As the evening wore on we found ourselves at a PetSmart which just happened to be one of the locations that includes an in-house animal rescue adoption centre. All of the cats at PetSmart are ones that have found their way their from animal shelters (such as the SPCA) and who are looking for loving “forever” families of their own. Both my husband and I are huge supporters of adopting shelter animals, so when we saw two adorable, 11 week old kittens staring up at us through the viewing glass of the cat corner (of the store), we instantly asked if we could look at and hold them.

Though we would have loved dearly to be able to have brought them both home with us, we knew that it would be much more economically responsible for just get one cat. The pair that batted their sweet golden eyes at us were brother and sister, of whom we decided to adopt the girl, Stella (at the time she was the calmer of the two, a trait that we thought would make her a good house cat – as we live in a high rise apartment and she wouldn’t, and isn’t, allowed outside...little did we know then that she had a secret rambunctious side that would put the Energizer bunny to shame!).

After speaking with the person in charge of the cats (who told us that the kittens were feral strays, but had no further information about their background other than their age), we loading up a shopping cart (at PetSmart) with everything (and then some) that a young kitten might ever want or need, paid for our kitty supplies, and with hearts bursting to the breaking point with love and excitement, brought our new kitten home.

For the first few days she was very, very shy (she camped out under the sofa for the most part), yet after a little while our new baby cat warmed up to us. We named her Stella (the Italian word for star, as her grey fur and sparkling yellow eyes both reminded me of stars in the night sky) and suddenly we came to realize how very much our lives had been missing without this wonderful animal in it.

Jump ahead a year and Stella is every bit as adorable today as she was back then. Full of spunk and energy, she’s a bright, inquisitive, massively energetic cat who loves to run around the apartment, exploring ever nook and cranny, play with her (plethora of) toys, sleep in her kitty condo (a gift from my parents to their “grandkitty”), and curl up with my us from time to time for a good snuggle.

Stella is not the most “lap cat” of felines, but for all her playfulness, she is exceedingly sweet and often seems to know when I’m feeling extra rough health wise. On such days she’ll curl up with me in bed or on the sofa as I watch TV, purring loudly and nestling her little grey face into against me. Whether she knows it or not, Stella is a therapy pet. Though it was us that saved her, in so many ways she has also rescued us.

She is also a joy, a blessing, and a truly wonderful animal. It’s nearly impossible to fathom how life would be today if we’d not brought Stella home. Though we may very have adopted a different cat at some point, they would not have been our darling Stella. Just as with children, no two pets ever exactly alike, and when it comes to wonderful kitties we could not have found a more darling pet than our sweet Stella.


{1. Even the best of us must rest sometime, 2. A vision of cuteness, 3. "Mommy, mommy", purred Stella, "I saw another one, it's up there, look!", 4. I'm not vicious! You just caught me mid-yawn :), 5. Contemplating everything that flutters, flaps or flies, 6. Pink is the love you discover, 7. Stella wishes everyone a sunny Sunday, 8. Stella ponders whether or not she should steal yet another strawberry from the "human's" curious display of temptation, 9. Sunshine makes me sleepy, 10. What is this strange, warm, wonderful light?, 11. Reach for your dreams, 12. Such a very serious look, for one so young, 13. I'm so precious. Twelve images, to represent each delightful month that we’ve had her, plus one more to symbolize my love for Stella, make up this mosaic that shows the many expressions and moods of our precious grey tabby. All photos were taken by me and are from my Flickr stream.}

My dear friends, please join me in celebrating one year of a life filled with the pitter-patter of four tiny paws, and in the merriment of my endless love for my cat, as we mark the first ever Stellaversary!

Happy 142nd, Canada!

On this sun-kissed summer day, far and wide across the country people are waving red and white maple leaf adorned flags in celebration of Canada Day, and here at my house we’re in full festive spirit, too! Decked out in tomato hued shirts and listening to a string of favourite Canadian artists as we mosey through our day off from work, prepping chicken burgers and corn on the cob for supper, before heading off to watch what promises to be a delightful fireworks show at 10:15pm.

Just as the population of Canada is composed of an absolute plethora of people from nearly about every corner of the globe, so too does Canada Day mean a great many things to different folks. To me it is much akin to Thanksgiving; a day in which I reflect deeply and earnestly about the bounty of rights, privileges and elements of society that I am deeply grateful for as a Canadian.

Dominion Day (as today was once commonly known until the early 1980s) is also near and dear to my heart because Canada and I both share July birthdays, which I’ve always found to be rather special. To celebrate today’s historical roots, I thought it would be tons of fun to take a peek at an old postcard or photo from each of Canada’s provinces and territories.




{Vancouver, British Columbia.}



{Calgary, Alberta.}



{Regina, Saskatchewan.}



{Winnipeg, Manitoba.}



{Toronto, Ontario.}



{Montreal, Quebec.}



{Nova Scotia.}



{Doaktown, New Brunswick.}



{Georgetown, Prince Edward Island.}



{St.John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.}



{Yukon River, Yukon.}


{Northwest Territories (note that Nunavut was not formed until 1999, so for the purpose of this post, the NWT will encompass both of these arctic territories).}

{All image, except for those from the Yukon and NWT, are from Flickr. To find out more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective page.}


Canada is vast and diverse, still untamed in spots and incredibly urban in others. From coast to shining coast it is a deeply beautiful country that begs to be explored, discovered and remembered. Now, as always, and forever, I love you Canada – Happy Birthday! And happiest Canada Day wishes to one and all!

Perfect summer sunlight {Monday Muses, June 29th}

Even a thunder storm on Wednesday couldn’t seem to shake off the wild heat that came pouncing into Toronto last week, which must certainly mean that any lingering specks of spring are now a distant memory.

Brutal as the famous Ontario humidity here can be at times, I don’t detest summer in the least; it’s a season that conjures up countless childhood memories of my youth spent on the opposite, west coast side of the country. From the ludicrously sweet, juicy peaches we picked by the bucket for free from neighbours to running barefoot across the griddle-hot beach all August long, I hold summer dear because of what it meant to me as a child.

Looking back I see many of these memories in my mind’s eye with a tinge of hazy, soothing, maize hued sunlight. The sort of atmospheric aura that instantly made everything a little prettier and lulled your mind into a continual sense of daydreaming where the present could just as easily be a glimpse of the past.

A slew of photos that capture this sense of hot, enchanted, vintage inspired light have caught my eye lately, and as such I’ve decided that each of the seven beautiful images below are my Monday Muses for the week.

♥ ♥ ♥


{Care of Violet Folklore}



{From the pages of Kisses and Cross Stitches}



{Sourced from Daydream Lily}



{Unearthed from the pages of absinthe & betty Smith}



{First viewed and loved on Dustjacket Attic}



{Discovered via Raspberryroses on Flickr}



{Smiled upon and borrowed from rose-coloured-rain}


While the heat can be stifling at times – there’s no denying that – it is also passionate and serene, gentle and soft like an aged, favourite blanket plucked from the dryer and wrapped snugly around you. I don’t glamorize every element of summer – not by a long shot – but there is something about popcorn coloured sunlight on a gorgeous summer day that never loses its endearing appeal.

The incredible joy of time spent with family

What an amazing past few days I’ve just had. Busy, but sublime. Memorable and deeply rejuvenating. My parents flew in on the 28th (of May) and visited for about a week with my husband and I (it’s the first time we’ve been able to get together in almost two and a half years). Though we spent each day with one another, filling the hours with sightseeing, home-cooked meals around the table, and many wonderful conversations, it feels as though their trip passed in the instantaneous blink of an eye. It seems no sooner was I hugging my mom and step-dad hello, then I was fighting back the tears as I embraced them good-bye.

I come from a small, broken (as in my biological parents divorced) family, and my relatives all live on the other side of the country, so time spent together is a rare and precious gift.

There are many daily stresses in my life, worries and concerns, those sorts of nagging thoughts that keep you up in the wee hours on the night sometimes, yet for a few brief days, in the light of my mother’s timeless smile I was able to sweep them out of my mind and reconnect with the simple act of having carefree fun and being in the presence of loved ones. During their visit my health held up surprising well and we were able to visit a number of interesting destinations around Toronto such as Black Creek Pioneer Village, the CN Tower, and Centreville Island, each of which I’d never been to before. Though they were technically the ones on vacation, it felt as though they were giving my husband and I a holiday as well.


{Darling husband and I on the ferry to Centreville Island. Despite the cheery sunshine there was a bitingly cold wind that was turning our cheeks and noses pink. Still it was so enjoyable to be on a ferry for the first time since I was 14!}


{Here hubby and I gaze out at downtown Toronto and the CN Tower from the shores of Centreville Island.}


{In this shot I'm admiring a lovely doll house that was on display in the foyer of the welcome centre at Black Creek Pioneer Village. Though this was a modern doll house, it was somewhat done up to resemble the Victorian homes that dot this charming historical site.}


{And here we have the back of my head ;D Or to be more detailed, a shot of me gazing out from the observation deck of the CN Tower as I scan the city looking for our apartment.}


{The little redhead on the left is me, the stunning blond in the middle is my mother, and the chap at the end is a statue of Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. This bench is located in downtown Toronto near the CBC building.}


{My mom was snapping photos of my cat, Stella, on our bed, and decided to turn the lens on me when Stella jumped off. This picture was taken on the afternoon of the last day of my parents trip. I can see a bit of fatigue in my face, but there is something about this shot - despite the dusty soles of my bare feet - that I genuinely like, which is a very rare thing for me to say regarding photos of myself.}

{All of the photos above were taken by either my mom or my step-dad during late May and early June 2009. I cherish them and the many others now saved on my hard drive. Thank you both for taking just as many family snaps these days as when I was a youngster. The memories they preserve are utterly priceless.}


Only time will tell when the four of us will be able to get together once more, but even without an exact date, I’m already counting down the days. Cherished relatives are too dear, too important, and too vital to not want to spend time with.

I’m afraid that the all this recent activity caught up with me yesterday though and now I’m a bit run down. That doesn’t matter though, I’m still abuzz with the wonderful feelings these past few days have filled my soul with, my head too full of bliss to mind if my body needs a while to recoup.

Tonight in the wee AM hours I’ve been responding to the awesome comments that have recently been left here, and have begun to catch up (slowly) on about two weeks worth of blog feeds. I hope that you are each well and would love to know how you’ve spent your days lately and what elements have been bringing joy into your lives.

Pretty Link Roundup {April 26th}

In a sense it’s been one of those week, not the full-blown kind that tends to peak in a complete and utter breakdown or late night Chinese food/cold pizza/vat of ice cream binge, but just sort of strange. As I mentioned yesterday, darling hubby and I had plans to go get our income taxes done, well no sooner had we got our shoes on as a massive wind and lighting storm blew through Toronto.


{Bracing for a down pour in a 1941 edition of Life magazine. Found via the awesome pages of myvintagevogue’s Flickr stream.}

As the afternoon temperatures climbed up to 25°C and the air become increasingly muggy, I remarked that I thought a storm was on the horizon, little did I know it would be one complete with winds up to 115km an hour! While the gusts shook our building something fierce, the whole ordeal was fairly short-lived and by the time the sun set for the day, it was merely raining, the air almost as still as a sleeping kitten. The sudden storm (and desire not to get swept right off our feet!) means that the unexpectedly delayed taxes will have (understatement) to get done in the next couple of days.

Aside from the pesky taxes I’m feeling quite organized at the moment, as I’ve complied a to-do list broken down over the next four weeks leading up to a (much anticipated) visit from some of my relatives who hail from the other side of the country. Seeing long-term tasks that can get done ahead of time (buying more dishware, for example) and last minute ones (shopping for perishables, an extra through vacuuming of the whole apartment) laid out over a month is a handy trick I’ve employed many times in my life when something big/important hung on the horizon.


{Ever so slightly Hitchcockian – but very well organized woman of the house – care of housewives on Flickr.}

I can’t help but wonder then if this first edition of “Pretty Link Roundup” (a henceforth weekly – or thereabouts – post of fantastic vintage related links that have recently caught my eye and that I think will be equally interesting to my lovely readers) is peppered with housekeeping and beauty care tips because I’m subconsciously focusing on these kinds of elements more than usual in my own life right now.

* Once long ago in a time of VCRs, Doritos that only came one flavour to a package, and non-skinny jeans, there was a world without Google. While that notion might seem impossible for some technophiles to wrap their heads around, it’s true, and is a subject that Clever Nettle covered recently in a post called Life Before Google, which sports some absolutely wonderful vintage drawings of secretaries at work.

* If you're like me (cursed with extremely sensitive skin and a general sensitivity to harsh chemicals) and are always looking for inexpensive ways to make your own household cleaning products, you’ll definitely love this simple recipe for Homemade Powdered Laundry Soap from the pages of Betty Boogie’s blog.

* Many of us who adore doing our make-up in the styles of our favourite vintage eras know that false eyelashes can be a huge boon when it comes to achieving certain looks, but they can also be downright intimidating if you haven’t put them on before or haven’t mastered the art yet. If you feel like you need a crash – or a refresher – course, head on over the MissRedLips’s and read through her handy, straight forward post How to Put on False Lashes like a Pro.

* Who doesn’t love vintage hairstyles? They have the power to take even a modern outfit and instantly transform your look into something inspired by fabulous past. Paired with vintage clothes an old school 'do can truly make you look like you just stepped out of a 1950s Vogue spread. Sometimes though, the hairdos we love the most also take quite a while to style – time that you might not have to spare every morning. Enter a lovely look from The Mysterious Life of the Metropolitan Housewife’s Atomic Mama in her article Fast hair for the vintage girl.

* If you hit thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales or charity shops with any kind of regularity, chances are you’ve not only amassed an amazing wardrobe, but also brought home some unique and charming household items. Hunting down those prized pieces you’re lusting after or fondly remembering the ones that decked out your grandmother’s house can both be fun ways to get your vintage vibe on, as the lovely Alana of Alana’s Vintage Collecting Blog touches on in her recent post, Collecting Vintage Collectibles.

* Sometimes when you get those awesome vintage items home you’re not quite sure what to do with them though. For some terrific inspiration check out the recent Queens of Vintage Post Five ways to reuse vintage items in the home.

* Do you have a fantasy vintage kitchen in your mind’s eye? Perhaps one complete with an aquamarine refrigerator or an authentic black and white checkerboard floor. I think I have about twenty different fantasy kitchens that I’d be pleased as punch to call my own :D And yet I keep encountering new images of vintage kitchens to add to the wish list, such as the cheerful red, white and yellow one in this 1946 ad from Found in Mom’s Basement, an excellent blog devoted to a diverse array of vintage and retro advertisements.

* Speaking of kitchens, when was the last time you saw a modern (as in newly built) kitchen sink with a drainboard...go on, ponder for a while, click on over to your favourite home decor blogs, I’ll wait ;D It’s been a while now hasn’t it? Like so many functional, convenient elements of household design I can’t really fathom why drainboards all but vanished, they were immensely handy and (the metal ones) also looked quite lovely when hit by a sparkling ray of sunlight. I would adore a kitchen with drainboards and according to Retro Renovation, I’m not alone (yeeeh!), as they have a recent article (complete with gorgeous kitchen design illustrations) all about Vintage 40s and 50 kitchen drainboard sinks.

* Ok, this one doesn’t really have much to do with vintage topics, but it was simply too unbelievably cute not share. Seriously, save or bookmark this photo and come back to it anytime you’ve had one of those days/weeks/months. One look at that astronomically happy puppy face and your own mood is sure to perk right up!




{Manicured red nails? Check. To-die-for fashion sense? Check. Ability to make washing dishes look ridiculously glamorous? Check and double check! Dreft dish soap ad via Umpqua’s Flickr stream.}

So there we have it, my darlings, a delightful assortment of links chocked full of vintagey goodness for your reading pleasure! I hope you all have a marvelous, safe and joyful week ahead – and remember to tune in tomorrow for Monday’s Muses.