Tuesday, August 30, 2016

As Seen On Etsy - Vintage Retro Lunch Boxes

My daughter has asked me to buy her a Vera Bradley lunch box for her high school lunches this year. Vera Bradley is pretty expensive in my eyes. Luckily, I am pretty frugal and she doesn't mind getting deals on things too. Off to Ebay I go for some Vera.

I have also been in the market for a vintage lunch box for my husbands lunches. I stopped by etsy.com to see what goodies they have for sale for new and vintage. Some of these are just too beautiful to use and would be wonderful for a collection or on display in the vintage decorated home.


Etsy Store: Lalecreations
This is by far my favorite find!



Etsy Store : CarolynsEclectics




Etsy Store: SchatzisShadowBox


Etsy Store: Rewind Unique Finds


Etsy Store : MargsFinds

Adorable with a Shabby Chic Appeal - 1960's Girls Metal Lunch Box - $10.00
Etsy Store - retrorigamarole


Loving this revived RED Vintage Aladdin Lunch Box - $23.63
Etsy Store: TheRunningRooster


I couldn't leave this cute little guy out. Vintage Red Happy Home Lunch Box Thermos - $9.75
Etsy Store: Circa810

They don't make them like they used to. I hope you liked what I found on Etsy. 


Happy Housewifing!!




Friday, August 26, 2016

Refashioned 1980's Vintage Dresses into 1940's Style Outfits.

It's August here on the east coast of the U.S. and today was an exceptionally beautiful day. I knew it was the perfect time to snap some photos of two dresses I picked up in early Summer and finally got around to restyling.

These vintage dresses are from the 1980's and possibly early 1990's. Back in the1980's there was the 1980's does 1940's styling rage. I really didn't pay much attention at the time at why the clothing styles were the way they were. I was an 80's kid, I knew I loved the my pastel high top sneakers and any thing fluorescent yellow and of course my rubik's  cube.

Shoulder pads found in women's clothing were a style of the 1940's and brought back by clothing designers of the 1980's.

I picked up these two particular dresses at a thrift store of course. They have classic 1940's shirt waist dress styling. As a housewife I prefer a one piece frock as it's easier to throw on and your outfit is done. I like to keep things simple, especially when I have a lot to do in the upcoming day. The fall and winter season are a little different as I wear wool skirts and have to match them with tops and sweaters. I will be doing a fall outfit blog post in the upcoming few weeks.

These two dresses were both about 6 inches too long and hung to my mid calf. I am 5' 5" so these were quite long. I am not a professional seamstress or even claim to be a fantastic sewer but I did manage to hem these two dresses nicely.  I also added elastic to the brown dress sleeves to create a ruching effect. The sleeves were much to floppy for my taste. I also took the sides of the polka dot shirt dress in as it was a bit too wide for my waist and made it more form fitting.

I shortened these dresses to match the 1940's hemline styles. As the war went on the hem lines became shorter to about just below the knee in the 1940's. Fabric was rationed like everything during World War II, so the hem lines went up.

1980's does 1940's vintage dresses are more plentiful that actual 1940's era dresses themselves. 

Many 1940's vintage dresses have not stood the test of time or are very expensive to purchase. I prefer to wear women's fashion styles of the late 1940's to mid-1950's.

One of the advantages to wearing a 1980's restyled to 1940's vintage dress is that we can machine wash them and not worry about ruining them while doing housework. I would feel much less anxious about staining an 80's vintage dress than a true 1940's dress. These 80's dresses are hanging in most thrift stores in abundance.

I haven't done a photo set in quite a while. I guess I still hate having my photo taken and it's been a source of anxiety for me for many years, and I'm still working on it. I'm an introvert at heart. PS; The polka dot dress is the actual outfit I wore today. I did feel a little out of place at my sons football practice tonight.  All the other moms were wearing spandex or jeans. Sigh.

The dresses I am wearing below are light, flowy fabrics much like the rayon of 1940's dresses. These are polyester blends and perfect for late hot late Summer days.

This is a photo of shirt dresses featured in a 1943 Catalog. 


Outfit Details


Thrifted Vintage Shirt Dress : Talbots Petites
True Vintage 1950's - Cream Patent Leather Box Purse - Estate Sale
Thrifted Shoes - Vintage Styling Cork Wedge Strappy Sandals - Softspots
Earrings - Modern Basic Faux Pearl Stud Earrings
New Modern Barrett/Bow Snood - Ebay 











Outfit Details



Thrifted: Navy Blue with Baby Blue Polka Dot 1980's Upcycled to 1940's Summer Dress by White Stag.
Estate Sale - Vintage Wicker & Leather Purse 
Cork Wedge Shoes By Soft Spot 
Rhinestone Crane Brooch - New from Ebay










Rhinestone Crane Brooch found here on Ebay.


Barrett Bow Snood found here on Ebay.


Thank For Reading!
Happy Housewifing!

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Vintage Nightgowns For the Feminine Touch

Often as homemakers we can become frumpy with our night attire. I am guilty of this myself. The habit of throwing on sweatpants and a t-shirt is easy and comfortable. I have a favorite pair of  thick fleece jammie pants myself. I dress vintage as much as I can with a mix of modern pieces, but I have honestly been lazy with my nightwear.


In modern times pajamas have become daywear. 

You may have seen young women, mom's and even men wearing jammie pants to the local grocery store. Years ago during my favorite eras of the late 1940's to mid 1950's, this would have been a crazy idea. I wonder if a woman or man would have been arrested for public indecency for wearing pajamas in public?

What happened to women wearing beautiful nightgowns? I suspect as more and more women entered the workforce and became busier those pink ruffled gowns were put away and forgotten about.




Through the years night attire adorned with lace and ruffles would be seen as sexy and only worn for our husbands on those "special" occasions.

I believe with the rise of online pornography and constant sexualization of women in general that anything feminine or frilly translates as sexy. And anything sexy and must be worn for "sex".


Women also wore garter belts and thigh high stockings for everyday wear back in the day, but today those items seem to be seen as an "intimate" uniform for sex in modern times.

Are the day's of dainty, feminine nightwear gone? Victoria's Secret and PINK offer a range to things for nightwear. I'm not interested in thongs, shorty short nighties and I know I don't want words across the butt my panties.

Many of us have heard that flannel nightgowns are for our grandma's.

Vintage feminine nightgowns left a little to the imagination and were functional as well.  Some vintage nightgowns were more sheer than others, but many of these vintage nightgowns had matching robes and slippers. During the fall and winter months many nightgowns were made of flannel but also included lace and ruffles. They were very feminine and comfortable.

I'm excited to build my vintage nighttime wardrobe and grow with the femininity it offers. My husband loves vintage nightwear. He also loves the 1940's and 1950's like I do.  He agrees that modern women have lost the feminine touch in many aspects.


Below are photos of my two of my favorite pieces of nightwear for the Summer Months. The vintage lace, ruffle and applique details are wonderful. I the vintage pink 3 piece set at an estate sale for $2. It was new in the box. The vintage 2 piece blue lace nightgown & robe set was thrifted.

Beautiful Details!


Pearlesque Buttons, Lace and Pink Embroidered Flowers

Estate Sale Find - Vintage Pink Nightgown & Robe Set
Matching Vintage Ruffle Bloomers

Thrifted Vintage Blue Ruffle & Floral Lace Nightgown & Robe Set

Wonderful Vintage Styling!



 Ruffle and Floral Lace Details On the Sleeves Too!

Thanks for Reading!

Happy Housewifing!




Friday, August 19, 2016

A Peek At Etsy Shop - A Vintage Look - Handmade Retro & Vintage Inspired Decor

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite etsy shops, A Vintage Look. The shop specializes in handmade valances, curtains and towels, placemats and pillows. Decorating a home with a certain vintage look can be difficult. In my case, many times 1950's era curtains are a very expensive find or I can't find any at all that match our atomic decor. It's not like we can stop at a Walmart and pick up a midcentury, starburst valance and a gallon of milk.

Years ago women would make their own curtains, but not everyone sews in modern times or has the time to whip up 3 sets of  kitchen curtains. If you aren't a sewing enthusiast like myself and are looking for retro decor take a peek at A Vintage Look. The prices are reasonable and the feedback is 5 star from former customers. Browsing the shop is such fun and gives me so many ideas for decorating and re-decorating my home. The shop also takes custom orders. Be sure to favorite the store when you visit.

Below are some of my favorite pieces from Etsy Shop : A Vintage Look
















 Atomic Kitties Midcentury Kitchen Towel Starburst

Atomic Kitties Kitchen Towel (These match the Valance Above) - $12.95




 vintage-camper-curtains-retro

What a great vintage print!





This print reminds me of Vintage Pyrex Bowls - Retro Waffle Weave Teal White Print Towel - $12.95














Retro Mid Century Red, Jade and White Kitchen Valance - $21.00






There are so many more Mid Century Style Decor Item's in this Wonderful Etsy Shop. Check It Out!
AVintageLook


Happy Housewifing!!!



Saturday, August 13, 2016

The Homemakers Creed - Free Printable

I wanted to share an oldy but goody from way back. Betty Crocker created the Home Legion of America in 1940. This is "The Homemakers Creed" of the Home Legion. I  love being a homemaker or housewife and I simply believe all of these things. 

This list helps me when I get discouraged or side tracked. Print one out for your fridge or wall as a reminder of how important our job is as a homemaker..


Thanks for Reading! Happy Housewifing!


Thursday, August 11, 2016

Vintage Pyrex Dumpster Finds and Other Vintage Rescues

I wanted to post about some vintage rescues I made this week. I've been cleaning out clutter this Summer and I have thrown out a ton of junk. I have been trying to keep my "vintage collecting" to a minimum. It's a challenge and this past Sunday I caved.  It was a nice day and My husband and myself happened to be dropping off some donations at the Salvation Army and I noticed the dumpster was packed full to the brim with "junk". I saw a shiny object on top and knew immediately what it was. I'm not embarrassed to say I dumpster dived and have done it before.  I honestly wasn't purposely looking for "vintage" finds I swear I wasn't. This one is NOT my fault.

I walked over and grabbed it and my husband already knew he had lost me. I was all in by now. It was a beautiful vintage copper colored gingerbread man jello mold. I have a collection on my kitchen wall and now this little man is hanging there with pride.

Of course I went back to see just in case the employees threw out anymore "junk" and to my delight and high. PYREX! Vintage PYREX! Score. It's pink, perfect and it was sitting with a small pyrex inside it. Sadly there was another pyrex dish smashed into a million pieces near them. Honestly, I was  still overjoyed and happily walked over to the car with my dumpster rescues. Of course my husband was laughing at me.

My husband then pointed to the ground between the dumpsters at something pink and he walked over and grabbed a small pink vintage Royal Traveler suitcase. I could have died. Apparently the employees view this stuff as worthless but it's like gold to anyone with a love for vintage.

Vintage Pink Pyrex Casserole Dish and Bowl and Vintage Copper Colored Jello Mold 

Vintage Pink Royal Traveler Train Case - Suitcase

Thanks for Reading! Happy Housewifing!



Wednesday, August 10, 2016

This LAZY Housewife Walked Over 2 miles Today and I didn't Leave The House

Hello and thanks for stopping by to read my blog. I wanted to make a post about my part of my day. Like the title says I walked over 2 miles today.

I know I have touched on the modern negative view of stay at home moms or housewives. We have all heard phrases like "She's a lazy housewife." or "She sit's on the couch eating and watching T.V. all day" and other nonsense.

To be fair maybe some women do sit around. I for one don't sit around and today was a light duty housework day and I managed to walk over 2 miles and I wasn't wearing athletic shoes and I didn't leave the house except to let my little dog Millie out to potty. My son took her for her walk today which I usually do myself.

I wasn't purposely monitoring steps but I did have my pocket apron on and I had left my phone in the pocket all day while doing laundry, sweeping, doing dishes, and just doing daily housewife duties. I inadvertently caught my step count on my not so vintage Iphone 5. The built in health monitor caught everything. I happened to browse at some unwanted apps on my phone and removed those an opened this one to see what it was.

I walk regularly and hike on weekends with the family but never thought that I was "exercising" while doing my housework. It can be tough to fit exercise in our busy days. I honestly think using a pedometer or an "app" step counter can be a positive lift to us stay at home parents, homemakers or housewives. Choose your title. I feel pretty good  about my 2 plus miles right now. Below is a screen shot of my steps today. I think my goal for tomorrow will be 5000 steps. What a fun app!