Happy birthday, sweetheart!

✯ Day 218 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

As with all days of the year, today has played host to a great many people's birthdays over the centuries. From famed British poet Tennyson (b. 1809) to pop culture artist Andy Warhol (b. 1928), Noble laureate Sir Alexander Fleming (b. 1881) to beloved actress Lucile Ball (b. 1911), quite a few well-known folks have made their debut into life on August 6th.

While I certainly love Lucy, enjoy Andy's vibrant art, lap up Tennyson's words, and am very thankful for the work Fleming contributed to the world of science and medicine, the person whose birthday falls today that matters most to me is that of my beloved husband, Tony.

As he turns a spritely 31 this sizzling hot August morn, today will be the seventh of his birthday I've gotten to celebrate with him, and I could not be more elated about that fact.

Tony and I are both "summer babies" (with my birthday falling in July), and we love the fact that there's less than a month separating our special days. The time between the two seems to hold a special sort of excitement and anticipation, fuelled on my birthday first and the lead up to his today.

There's a cake to be baked, meals to prep, gifts lay out, and myriad other birthday details to tend to, so today's post won't be a giant one.

Instead, as the searing golden sun cuts a path across the sleepy horizon, I'll cheerfully send all those - who like me - are fans not only of your loved ones' birthdays, but b-days in general, to cheek out not one, not two, but three different delightful Flickr groups devoted solely to vintage birthdays!

-Vintage Birthday Parties

-Birthday Cakes of the Past

-Happy Vintage Birthday to You

{This sweet little dark eyed tot from the 1940s, whom I discovered in the Happy Vintage Birthday to You Flickr group, reminds me in many ways of my husband in his baby pictures from the same age. Both were so cute and eager to dig into their birthday treats! Image via Zellaby on Flickr.}

I feel honoured and blessed to share in this special day with Tony. He's an wonderful, intelligent, caring, sweet, funny, loving man and I am truly grateful that I can to spend my life with him - and celebrate his today! (Wearing my very favourite vintage party dress, natch!)

Happiest birthday, my darling, here's to countless more August sixths together!

It's International Beer Day, cheers!

✯ Day 217 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

In the world of beverages, beer is not my favourite. However, that's not why I won't be drinking any today. Instead it's due to the fact that I'm not able to consume any alcohol at all due to medical reasons. Thus a sip of beer hasn't passed my lips in almost a decade.

Beer, however, has been (often in the form of ale) the drink of the people for centuries, beloved by everyone from college kids at spring break bashes to micro brew swigging connoisseurs, and when the sun is pelting down your neck during these dog days of summer, it can be precisely what one needs to beat the beat.

Beer's history is a rich one that's steeped in legend and fact, a bubbling mix of ideas that caught on and others that raise more eyebrows than they do blood alcohol levels. From the recent trend in flavoured beers (I've heard pumpkin beer is fantastic, but can't speak first hand) to the classic taste of hops, beer finds its way into nearly every country and the fridges of many, many households the world over.

Started four years ago in Santa Cruz, California, International Beer Day is centered around three points: to bring folks together to enjoy the refreshing flavour of a good beer, to honour those who brew and serve up beer, and to unite the world in a celebration of all the beers of each nation and culture.

It's obviously not a real holiday, and it's not a vintage related day, but what is old school is beer itself. For about as long as beverage companies have been placing ads in the public eye, beer has been in the lime (lime wedge? ) light.

During the mid-twentieth century beer was amongst the most common beverages seen in print ads, and few companies at the time did a better job of promoting their product than Rheingold Beer.

 

Famous throughout North America for their Miss Rheingold Girls (attractive young women who were chosen to be the face of the company in print ads for a year at a time), between 1940 and 1965, these lovely lasses helped peddle Rheingold's drinks to the nation.

Though Rheingold's popularity diminished as the century wore on and the Rheingold Girls disappeared from the public's eye, today the ads of this once highly popular beer company make for some of the most charming and attractive vintage alcoholic beverage advertisements of the day.

So while I won't be polishing off a cold, foamy pint today myself, I will be looking through some of my favourite Rheingold Beer ads (like the beautiful one  above from 1955, which comes by way of curly-whirly on Flickr) in celebration of the undeniable role that beer has long held in our culture.

Whether you're busting out the bottle opener or joining me in a less carbonated celebration of ale, cheers and happy International Beer Day, everyone!

Cream and blue 1930s kitchen shines with liveable appeal

✯ Day 216 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

It was the chairs in this classically elegant 1930s that caught my eye first. They're quite similar to the set (which was painted white) that sat around our kitchen table when I a little girl. Swooping backs, gentle angled legs, and solid wood construction saw us through countless meals, evenings spent doing homework, weekend afternoons of spirited board games, and the catch-all spot for years of family memories.

Beyond the chairs, there is a lot that draws you into this good sized, nicely arranged vintage kitchen. It's crisp, almost modern feeling palette of creamy ivory and serene dark blue is really chic. You could throw in hits of dark red, lush green, tranquil turquoise, sugary pink, chic chocolate brown, or punchy yellow, amongst others, if you wanted to expand the hues further in a similar room.

{Pretty, almost nautical hued 1930s kitchen image care of clutter shop on Flickr.}

 

I really like the open floor plan that allows for a very nice number of cabinets. The cute little pot-and-pan nook, charming pair of windows (with both curtains and blinds), and eye-catching (but not startlingly so) floor are all terrific touches.

What this kitchen lacks though, is an abundance of counter space, so if one was to model their cooking arena after this 1930s design, you'd probably want to make more room counters - and a dishwasher and fridge for that matter, too (unless you really, really want to go for an authentic 1930s look and feel! ).

These small cons are outweighed by the many lovely charms of this kitchen though, very much including those back-hugging wooden chairs, which all add up to a great image for your vintage home decor inspiration file.