Monday, December 17, 2012

Birthday, Baby, and Aluminum Christmas Trees

About a month ago, I bid and purchased this aluminum Christmas tree on eBay.  There was some confusion and frustration with the transaction but I will not go into that.  It, luckily, arrived in one piece (well after I put it all together that is).  I love it and couldn't imagine a Christmas, moving forward, without it going up in my home. 

Dave helped me in getting the tree up and helped putting on the decorations.  I was able to dress up the tree with decorations I purchased of shiny vintage tree bulbs from a recent thrifting outing in Anaheim.  This is the time of year to shop for vintage decorations while thrifting. 

I love having the color wheel.  It's hard to show in these picture but I actually purchased a vintage Holly Time revolving tree stand.  It's pretty mesmerizing and I catch myself uncontrollably starring at it at times when it's turned on. 



The mighty color wheel.


My blogger friend Janey at Atomic Redhead has some fantastic blogs on her own collection of aluminum Christmas trees.  Here is a link to her most recent blog about the purchase of a pink aluminum tree.  Simply amazing!  http://atomicredhead.com/2012/11/23/why-hello-there-pink-aluminum-tree/

As like my Halloween tradition, Jack is out and about having perched himself in the tree just below the star.

Here is one of the vintage decorations I purchased in Medford, Oregon back in October while out thrifting with my family.

No tree (in my house at least) would be perfect without a touch of tiki.


After talking to my grandma about my purchase she mentioned that she had one in her garage and would be happy to pass it onto me.  The one she gave me is a four foot tree and a beauty at that.  I don't have room in my apartment to have them both up but will hold onto it for future use in a bigger home someday.  It belonged to my great grandma Annie.  My grandma also passed on some original tree ornaments of she and my grandpa's from their first tree together in 1950.  I'm honored she has passed these treasures down to me.

I celebrated my birthday with friends this year by having dinner at Benihana's.  We had a very entertaining cook and delicious dinner, drinks, and superb cake to top off the evening.  I'm so lucky to have all these great people in my life.  Dave was unfortunately unable to attend due to his work schedule.  He made up for it with roses and a fantastic vintage emerald costume jewelry set.



This ended up being a very sad week but it did bring the family together.  I was able to meet my niece Paige sooner than expected. Here is a picture of me holding her for the first time.  Please disregard my mess of a self having just been in the car for a nine hour drive.  It was all worth it to hold that precious baby girl.


Till' Next Time,

Suz

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

A Walk Around My Neighborhood: Banker's Hill Victorian Homes

I have been on numerous walks in my neighborhood (of Banker's Hill) and have always been in awe of some of the lovely Victorian styled houses that are all within a few blocks from my house. Having lived in my neighborhood now for close to four years I thought it was due time to learn some history about these lovely neighborhood homes.  I centered my blog around these three as there are many other amazing historical homes throughout my neighborhood, these are my favorites!

The first house is known as the Britt Scripps Inn and is of the Queen Anne Victorian style.   It was built in 1887 for just $3000 (I'm sure a lot of money back then) and was considered one of the most expensive homes of its time.  There are many beautiful stained glass windows throughout as well as a separate carriage house in the the back.  Eugene Britt was the original owner who then sold the house to Edward Scripps for just $16,000 before the 1900's.  It went through many owners and renters and went through a massive renovation to restore the house to its original glory which can now be shared by visitors as it's now a bed and breakfast.


This home is located on First Avenue just past Laurel headed into downtown.  It's been referred to as the Long-Waterman house.  I love this style commonly referred to as the Queen Anne Victorian style.  The house was built in late 1890's by John Long, who was the owner of the Coronado Fruit Package Company.  He later sold the house, after the untimely death of his wife, to Robert Whitney Waterman in 1891.  Waterman was San Diego's 17th governor.  It was sold for $17,000!!  It is now used as office space. 

This is the Timken House.  It was built in 1888 and is also of the Queen Anne Victorian style with a mix of Georgian influence.  It was built by the highly regarded prominent architects Comstock and Trotsche.  It has been a private residential home since 1965.


These are all truly wonderful homes and I'm so lucky to live so close to this history and pass by them on a daily basis.  It would truly be a dream of mine to own and live in a Victorian home someday.  A gal can dream.

Till' Next Time,

Suz

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Thrift Blog: November 2012

Below are some of my finds for the month of November which I bought both at various thrift stores and Estate sales.

More lovely purses to add to my vintage collection.

This purse was gifted to me from Dave's sister Debbie.  It's too cute!  I've already used it on several occasions.

I picked this bag up at a thrift store while I was in Riverside for a friend's wedding.  This will be my last purchase of these Mexican styled tourists bags.  Now I have them in all shapes, colors, and sizes. 

I couldn't pass on this Lucite Jadeite hued bangle.  The picture doesn't do it justice. (I know, I know. A new camera is on the top of my wish list).

Couldn't pass on this nautical themed top.  I love the buttons up the back.


I thought this elegant late 60's handmade dress would fit in perfectly with my ever growing vintage collection.  Looking forward to having an excuse to wear it soon.

Who doesn't need a fall themed Tally Ho black sweater in their wardrobe?

I have seen this style of purse on various occasions but couldn't pass it up this time for a measly $2.00.  Found this handbag at a thrift store in Anaheim shopping after a day spent at Disneyland.
The following were my recent estate sale buys.  I found out that these "Do It Yourself" needlepoint broaches were pretty popular in the past.  I hadn't seen anything like it and loved the floral pattern.  The fish broach was too cute to pass on.


I have been loosely shopping around for a vintage compact and came across this samurai compact for $1.00.  Don't be timid about purcashing one of these.  It's very easy to take out the old powder container and replace it with a new one.  


My biggest and latest news is that I can officially add "Auntie" to my list of titles.  My sister gave birth to baby Paige Margaret (my grandmother's name) on November 21st.   I have yet to meet her and am counting down the days until Christmas break when I will get the chance to visit them.  She is just absolutely perfectly precious in every way! 

As always, I hope you are having a great week!  Looking forward to another busy and fun weekend.  I'm very excited to see Nikki Hill live at the Ken Club on Friday night followed by my Prohibition themed office Christmas party (still not sure what I'm going to throw together for a costume as you know I'm definitely dressing up), and then there are various Christmas faires and events all over town. 

Till' Next Time,

Suz

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Spectacular Mission Inn Wedding

Dave and I attended a dear friend of mine's wedding which took place at the beautiful Mission Inn located in Riverside, CA.  Frank Miller built the hotel in 1902.  He infused various styles into the structure including Spanish Gothic, Moorish Revival, Renaissance Revival, and Mediterranean Revival just to name a few.  This was Miller's labor of love up until his death in 1935.  Many of the art and furniture pieces were hand picked by Miller on his many travels throughout the world and are rummored to be worth up to more than five million or more in combined value.  The hotel is also famously known for the often overly done Christmas decorations.  The hotel decorations were mid fall and Christmas and we were one week short of seeing all the beautiful lights lit up at night.  This however does not take away from the beauty of the hotel just as itself sans decorations. 
The Mission Inn is actually a near and dear spot for me as this was the same place my grandparents had their wedding dinner almost 63 years ago.  They were in a rush to be married as my grandpa was soon to depart with the U.S. Air Force to where he was needed in the war in Korea.  They had a small wedding as they both had little money.  There were only five in attendance which consisted of the Judge, my great Aunt Mary, her husband Baldi, and my two young (just out of high school) grandparents.  The bride wore a Navy blue skirt suit and the groom wore his uniform.  My Aunt Mary and Uncle Baldi treated them to a wedding dinner right here at the Mission Inn.  I knew it was going to be a magical day for Lindsay and Jeremy when I found out that the Mission Inn was to be their wedding destination




Dave and I spent the morning before the wedding exploring the hotel, browsing through the huge antiques mall just across the street from the hotel, and thrifting at local thrift stores (of course!).
I had fun planning what I was going to wear for this wedding and did my best to keep to a 30's themed styled look.  I wore my great aunt Lucille's pearl necklace and green rhinestone earrings that were recently gifted to me from Damon Devine.  They used to belong to the amazing songstress diva Yma Sumac.  I've been saving them to wear on a very special occasion.  This wedding was indeed that very special occasion I was waiting for.


I finally got to wear my 40's coat which I purchased for $8 in Redding, CA while on our road trip.  I'm glad I brought it as the ceremony was outside and it was getting quite chilly.


It was a truly wonderful ceremony which included live singing (by the bride's friend Kat), and a few readings done by friends and family which I was honored to be asked to do so.  I read a poem that my grandma had passed down a few years back.



The reception was held in the Spanish Art Gallery of the Mission Inn.  We were surrounded by some truly amazing pieces of art. 


I love this new growing trend of having a photo booth available to guests at wedding receptions.  I had a blast posing for pictures with my friend Alisha!



I hope you are having a great week.  This will be a short work week for me as I will be celebrating Thanksgiving, like many other Americans, with my family in a few days.  I'm truly thankful for a truly amazing year.  Dave and I just celebrated our one year anniversary, I'm days away from celebrating my birthday as well as becoming an aunt for the very first time, and I'm a few weeks out from spending time with my family for Christmas!   So much to be thankful for!

Till' Next Time,

Suz

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Carmen Miranda Lamp

Carmen Miranda.  I'm sure this is a name you have either heard of before or are some what familiar with.  I'm sure you might remember or may have watched Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck imitate her in some classic cartoons; that is of course if you grew up watching the same ones I did. 



She was a popular samba singer movie star in the 1940's from Brazil.  I was surprised to find out that she actually originated from Portugal!!  I found that pretty exciting, being that I'm of Portuguese decent myself as well.  If you are interested in learning more about Carmen, I suggest you check out my pal Mr. Tiny's, of the blog Wacky Tacky, excellent blog about the songstress. Wacky Tacky Icon Carmen Miranda There is also an excellent BBC documentary you can watch below as well.


Dave and I were on day one of our recent California cross road trip (see previous blogs) when we came across what ended up being my best find and purchase for our entire road trip.  Dave was actually the first to spot it when we were shopping in an antiques store in my hometown of Turlock, CA.  I could not believe my eyes!!  A Carmen Miranda figurine lamp!





This was a no brainer.  I was going to purchase it and take it home!  I purchased the lamp without a shade and ended up finding the black one at a thrift store in Mariposa, CA.  I had hoped to find a fiber glass whip shade but I'm really happy with this black one as it forces the light down onto Carmen and the Plexiglas base helps illuminate her even more.  We were however at the beginning of our road trip, with a packed car load of things to be delivered to my family in Northern California.  The shop keepers were very nice and said they would gladly hold it for me to pick up on our way back home towards the end of the trip. After doing some extensive research on the Internet I discovered that I now own a Moss Company lamp.  They were manufactured and distributed in San Francisco, CA starting in 1938 to 1968.  The owners decided that Plexiglas was a better alternative for the base of their lamps as metal was very scarce during World War II.  Some of their lamps have the figurines on a platform that spin.  Mine is the spin less version but a remarkable piece no less. It's such an awesome lamp and I'm honored to own a this piece of history that honors this truly amazing woman.

Till' Next Time,

Suz