March No Spender Bender

Alright guys and gals, how did you do in February for the No Spender Bender?  Please be sure to let me know in your comments!!

As for me I did okay, not great. I went over by three "free passes" but still spent far less than this time last year and since I started NSB, so I consider that a success.

I also did not buy anything on Ebay in February and that is a GREAT success.  WIN FOR INKY!!  That led me to think about Ebay (or any selling site) and the amount of stuff I have to get rid of.  We can't do regular yard sales where we live, and some of my things have some value, so a yard sale wouldn't be the right venue. I have sold on Ebay before and while it's fairly convenient and easy to do, buyers can be a real pain in the ass.  I won't go into how to sell here, there's a zillion websites for that, but just be sure you word your auctions carefully to cover your own ass.  Some folks really like Etsy but the things I want to sell do not fall into their vintage/handmade guidelines so it doesn't work for me, so Ebay it is. 

My own personal goal for March is only buy if you sell.  I'll be a listing maniac the first week or so of March and then whatever I recoup from sales is my fund for any shopping I want to do.  This should be interesting.  Clearly not something I can do all year long - even I don't have THAT much stuff, but it's a good way to make a win/win situation - get rid of stuff I don't want/need and get things that I do want. 

I'll keep you updated and good luck to you on your own personal NSB journey!!  If you start up your own NSB please let me know - I want to make a list of NSB participants.  Also if you are on the Fedora Lounge, we started a thread just for NSB ideas, tips, progress.  Good Luck, y'all!!

Blog Love: Yesterday Girl

So many wonderful blog ladies and gents having lovely giveaways to celebrate milestones lately!! We're all lucky to "meet" them via their blogs and learn a little bit about them. 

Let me introduce you to Yesterday Girl, who is celebrating reaching 100+ followers by hosting a giveaway that includes a great little tin, a collection of postcards from the Imperial War Museum Archive (those would look marvelous framed up!!) and my favorite - two handmade felt brooches from 1940's designs.  So go on over, take a look around Yesterday Girl's place and tell her Inky sent ya!!

Blog Love: Past Life Vintage

That clever gal, Miss Cherry Bubbles is having her last giveaway of the month - and it's another outstanding prize package entitled Victory on the Home Front and it includes a snood that happens to be just my color - RED!  You know the drill ladies and gents, please go visit Miss Cherry and tell her Inky sent ya - be sure to leave a comment on her giveaway contest for your very own chance to win these goodies!

If You Have It, You Should Use It!

Once upon a time when I was in my 20's, I got married for the first time (1989).  It didn't work out, however, I did gain custody of the beautiful Wedgwood china that we had chosen.  The pattern is Black Colonnade and I first saw the Gold Colonnade design as a very young girl while touring the White House in the early 1970's or late 1960's.  I remember thinking the China Room at the White House was like a jewel box with all the beautifully painted plates and cups.  Gold Colonnade was selected by Edith Roosevelt for Theodore Roosevelt's term in the White House from 1901-1909.

Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) - Plate - Mfg by Wedgwood and imported by Van Husen Charles Company.  This is one of a total of 120 pieces selected by the First Lady.  Actually, Mrs. Roosevelt merely chose a Wedgwood pattern from among several English and porcelain samples.  This  resulted in a border design of simple, radiating gold lines with the only dramatic change being the addition of the Great Seal of the United States. (with thanks to AmericanHeritage1.com)

I think the Colonnade pattern stood out because of it's graphic nature and modern look for the time.  So when it came time to do the traditional china registry, Black Colonnade was chosen.  I was fortunate to receive four full place settings as gifts, and the three companion pieces that you see here.  The coffee pot, tea pot and small creamer.  I haven't bought any additional pieces since 1989, and really have hardly used it, which is a shame.




Recently Mr, Inky and I found a lovely oak sideboard that coordinates with our oak dining set from the 20's/30's.  We were fortunate to find it for an excellent price due to some condition issues - you can see that handles are missing and there is a small crack in the left beveled glass mirror.  But it is so beautiful and the small size perfect for our dining room - and frankly, I do not like old pieces of furniture that are so precious you are afraid to really use them, so I consider "issues" to be signs of life and love and use.  Plus there's the fun of hunting for new handles!!

The real true benefit of the sideboard has been clearing out a large cabinet in the kitchen and moving the Wedgewood , silverware and other serving pieces to the dining area where we can see them and best of all - USE THEM!  Luckily, Mr. Inky loves the Colonnade pattern as much as I do and it holds no sentiment as being part of a previous life.  It's just china, after all ;)




I am going to finally add to my collection soon - the sugar bowl for this lovely pattern (its no longer in production, but a fine company I have bought from before, Replacements, has a piece on Ebay).  Isn't it the sweetest?? 

So tell me, do you you have any fine china in your collection and do you use it?

Blog Love: Past Life

That fun gal, Miss Cherry Bubbles (winner of my first ever giveaway!!), is having her third giveaway for February and it's absolutely MAN-TASTIC!

I would LOVE to win this for Mr. Inky - he just so needs that bow tie!! Please take a minute to visit Past Life and say hi, but don't enter the contest so I can win - JUST KIDDING!! - please do enter, the more the merrier!!

Flowers Die.....

........but hats can live forever!!

Meet my new vintage "Valentine's Day" hat - a furry pinkish-red creation with tropical colored feathers.  "An Original Model by Pepi."  I wonder whatever happened to Pepi The Hat Designer ;)





Yes, it's ridiculous and where will I ever wear it, but I loved it and after the fourth trip back to the booth to fondle it, well, we knew it had to "be mine."

As we were leaving three ladies sitting at a booth commented it was perfect on me (it's actually nearly the same shade as my hair right now) and had been taking bets to see how long it took for me to buy it!!  Another very elderly lady and I spent some time discussing how to wear it, what era it was from (post WWII to very early 50's she guessed), and general topics of life during the war and shortly there after.  She was charming!

A fun day and a lovely new hat, it couldn't get much better than that!

Won't You Be Mine?

A special kind of Valentine from my Boo Kitty to you.....

FOR SALE: Squaw/Patio Blouse and Skirt

I'm cleaning out my closet again and this outfit needs to go out dancing!

A very pale pink "Squaw" style patio skirt and blouse set with beautiful black and silver rick rack and ribbon trim. Blouse has "Mays" Tucson, Arizona label. Typical crinkle fabric, content unknown.

$35 includes shipping to US (international please contact me if you are interested). (Items come from a house shared with two cats, non-smoking.)

Additional photos available here.

Blouse:

V-neck, Dolman 3/4 sleeves, bust darts. (pull-over style - no zipper or buttons)
42" bust (measured flat)

The blouse is slightly lighter in color than the skirt, but it's barely noticeable except under a very bright outdoor light. It probably was laundered more than the skirt, I suspect. There is one small hole in the left front shoulder (see additional photos here), and some slight stains on both sleeves, again not noticeable but I'm all for full disclosure. I don't know if they would come out or not, I have never worn or laundered this set..





Skirt:

32" waistband (measured flat)
metal side zipper, 2 hook and eye closure (will need to be re-sewn for security!).
27" long from waistband to hem.
This circle skirt is in excellent condition and i could not find any holes or problems upon inspection.

Blog Love: Tuppence Ha'penny

In honor of Saint Valentine and his day, Miss Charlotte of Tuppence Ha'penny is having a very glamorous giveaway of a pair of vintage mint condition stockings!!!  I've never worn real honest to goodness fully fashioned stockings, have you?  Who wouldn't love to have a pair of stockings, even as a collection item like these (brand new in the box, original tissue and even the little information card is still there!)  Please go give Charlotte some blog loving and enter her contest!!  Tell her Inky sent ya!

It Was Just Like Prom

.....Air Force style.

The 2009 Employee of the Year awards at the Air Force base where Mr. Inky works was held this past Saturday. They had a photo op and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to be photo hams.

Mr. Inky won Employee of the Quarter (2nd Quarter) in 2009 and Employee of the Year for the Medical Group.  He was then further nominated for Employee of the Year in his Category, going up against six other employees from different groups on the base. The winner was a fireman and with all the bad fires last year in Santa Barbara County, the base fire department went above and beyond the call of duty for months on end so the fireman deserved the win. It was a real honor for Mr. Inky to be nominated just the same and a very good thing for his resume.

I had the honor of escorting Mr. Inky during the announcement of the winners, and we got to walk through the Honor Guard's arched sabers, which was pretty cool indeed and certainly not something you do every day.

If they'd had dancing and flowers we would've felt like we were at the prom for sure!!

And The Winner Is....

...Miss Cherry Bubbles of Past Life:  Vintage Living in a Modern World!  Congrats to you, Miss Cherry Bubbles, and I really hope you enjoy your goodies!

I really want to thank everyone for their wonderful, sweet, and often very funny stories.  I'm not a romantic person at all so it was great fun for me to read your entries and learn what romance means to you.  Thank you for giving me that gift, I wasn't expecting this giveaway to make me laugh AND cry!!

Miss Cherry gave me permission to post her story here:

One that always pops immediately to my mind is a ride in a 1939 Cadillac limo on a chilly snowy moonlit evening in Vermont. We got married at an old-timey B&B in Vermont and part of the package (and one of the reasons we went to this Inn) was a ride in the antique limo to a swell restaurant for dinner. There was no heat in the car, so we snuggled up close under a carriage blanket and smooched a bit. S'wonderful...

How sweet and romantic is that!!

Now go take a visit over to see Miss Cherry at her blog, she's got FOUR giveaways going this month to celebrate her birthday and blogiversary!  The first one is a sweet pair of vintage RayBan "Bewitching" sunglasses and three floral vintage scarves - you'll be channeling your inner bombshell in no time at all if you win that lovely prize!

Blog Love: Romy Raves!

I have lots and lots of favorite things - food (yes, it's always about food), make up, clothes, shoes, music, shopping, did I mention food?  Yes, I think so ;)

I'll be sharing many of my favorites from time to time and I'd like to start with one of my new favorite blogs:  Romy Raves.  Romy's blog is chock full of info regarding beauty, culture, wine, food,  romance, and DEALS!  I found Romy's blog recently through her excellent review on Besame's newest lippie, the Voluptuous Lip Color Set.

I spent a bit of time (okay, way too much time) catching up and reading her blog, so I decided to subscribe.  Romy hasn't let me down!  She's turned me on to some sweet deals at Restaurant.com (see, food again), as well as new lifestyle and beauty products like the Vapur bottle, which I plan to order as soon as it's back in stock.  Romy lives in Southern California and I can tell that she's tapped into cool new stuff AND she's willing to share the details with us!  Romy has an extensive background in the research world and it shows! 

Recently Romy had a giveaway and you all know how I love entering those!  Well, this was for my favorite skin care line, Striking Skin Care.  I've been using this line of products for a while now and I love everything about it.

Guess what - I won a full set of products from Romy's giveaway!!!  Who says you can't win great stuff on the internet!!

For my almost 50-year-old skin this set of products has smoothed out fine lines, improved the overall tone of my skin and kept me moisturized during the drying winter months.  Folks often ask what my secret to not looking 50 is and good skin care is always one of my top three answers (the other two are genetics and not having any children, seriously!!)  

Thanks Romy, for a great blog to read, a wonderful giveaway and the heads up on new and exciting products.  I hope you all will take a few minutes to pop over, visit Romy and tell her Inky sent ya!

Esther Wiliams Swim Suit Review

Please join me in welcoming the lovely and sweet Miss B, from Living In The Past, as my first ever Guest Blogger.  She's reviewing the Esther Williams Classic Sheath retro-style bathing suit.  Doesn't she look marvelous in her new red and white polka dot swim suit?  Are YOU ready for summer?

REVIEW:

When you go to www.esther-williams.com/swimwear and check out the shipping costs for myself here in Canada they range from anywhere from 19.00-39.00. Which on top of 65 dollars for a suit plus shipping, plus the fact that is in US funds, can prove to be very expensive. There is a store down in the trendy part of town here that sells them. They are just a regular size run, but they were priced at $98.00 and I just couldn’t justify it, but once a year…there is this magical time called BOXING DAY. This particular store always has 50% off everything in store. I waited very patiently for this day all year…and once it arrived, I was so excited. I rushed into the store saying hello to my favorite associates and there they were…hiding in the corner like a little gem…The Esther Williams bathing suit collection. They may have been picked over, but to my luck, the one I had my little eye on for months was there. The size 16 in red with white polka dots, I grabbed it and hugged it close and dashed towards the exit with my new suit. I couldn’t wait to get home and try it on. According to the size chart, it was my size.

When I finally got my chance to try on this beauty of a suit, I was thrilled. I purchased a similar suit from another company early this summer. I would define that one as more as a “playsuit” then a swim suit. The one I purchased this summer isn’t lined or cupped. I haven’t swum in it, just posed for a photo shoot. The Esther Williams suit is beautifully crafted, it has some side boning beside the breast and defined, lightly lined cups. Although they are not under wired, they give some shape and security, and most importantly, modesty. The size 16 fits me well in the waist and hip area, the elastic around the legs doesn’t cut it and it has a full coverage bum. The front is fully lined and it has a lined gusset which is nice. It’s a wonderfully made suit. However, because I’m a size 16 everywhere but the bust, it is a bit large up there. The halter straps feel a bit short but maybe that’s because I’m used to the long ones of 2 piece bikinis. They tie into a short bow, or a longer knot. I feel slightly more contained using a knot. I’m not concerned that I’m going to have a wardrobe malfunction, but the test will come when I go for a swim in it. 

The swim was fantastic! I love the full coverage bum the most. I had my cleansing shower before getting in the pool, once I finally got into the pool it was fantastic. I swam 1000m in it with not a shift or a drag or anything. When I first kicked off the wall I felt a little shift in the bust, but I tightened my straps and didn’t have a problem for the rest of my swim. It was great. I got a few looks from the older gents who were aqua jogging but I’m sure they were just appreciating a modest suit at the pool. I felt great and confident.

All in all, it’s a great suit; it’s made well and comfortable. If you are looking for a great reproduction one piece, this is well worth the price.