French Toast and a Fabric Dictionary

Who can resist French toast?  This was a childhood staple of mine.

Image from the 1963 BHG Junior Cook Book

I had never seen swatches of fabric displayed next to the description, some of these fabrics I had never heard of.

Fabric Dictionary from the 1961 BHG Sewing Book.

Flor de Jesus

Economics of the thrift shop kind and happy Japanese elephants

I am currently taking an economics class.  I saved this course for the last to complete my associate's degree in business because I was intimidated by those who had taken the course and said it was difficult.  For some reason, I have taken to it like a duck to water.  

I am seeing a lot of infographics, thought I would take a stab at Thrift Shop Economics.  

As you may have gathered, I spend an inordinate amount of time thrift shopping. I have find the trends of thrift merchandise to be fascinating. At the peak of the Great Recession, there was unbelievable amounts of furniture. Peak donations right now are the old style TVs. Seems you can give them away but who wants them?  Maybe some are parting them out.  

There are always clothes in abundance.  I read a recent article on The Altantic about the-neurological-pleasures-of-modern-shopping, that the brain finds pleasure in the pursuit of inexpensive things. The gist of the article was that clothes shopping has become a widespread past-time.  Inexpensive clothing has made shopping a cheap, endlessly available form of entertainment. Guilty, as charged!

These happy elephants were thrift shop rescues last month. The bigger one is marked "Japan" on his foot.  The two smalls have some crazing so I assume they must be from around the same time period.

European Bee orchid

Happy Easter

My brother and I throwback image from 1961 and a couple of Easter images from the 1959 BHG Holiday Cook Book. 

See ya round AtoZ.  Blessings to you and yours this Easter.

Let's Talk Disco

I am a Disco Diva.  Disco has been just plain dissed.  




I am a diehard Donna Summer fan.  She was a star in that musical genre.



Rounding out Disco Day is Disco Duck.




Recent thrift shop finds were Discs 2 and 3 of the Non-Stop Disco Dance Mix.  I was delighted!  

Pattern of the day is from 1971

Dendrobium fimbriatum

I'm a little bit country

California country, that is.  I work in Sacramento but live in the rural outskirts.  You could say I am a quasi-survivalist, a half-hearted recycler. We do not live 100% off the land but the Mr. hunts and we fish for our food, subsist on well water and a wood stove, which translates to cutting and stacking your own firewood. I plant and can the summer garden bounty. Living off the land is a great ideal, but the reality is you sacrifice time and effort for that lifestyle.  

This link shows images of those that have adopted an off-grid lifestyle incredible-photos-of-people-living-off-the-grid-who-abandoned-civilization-for-life-in-the-wilderness

And another take on small town living and you-start-thinking-about-simpler-times

Madame Alexander cowboy

El Dorado County, CA

Lonely Llama

The next two images are from a rescued slide series dated in the late 1950s.

Oil can kid opts for a different look ...

Image from 1961 BHG Sewing Book

Calypso bulbosa

Thrift Shop Bride

I am at that stage in life where weddings are few and far between, that doesn't mean I can't be a Thrift Shop Bride. Usually I resist trying on wedding dresses in the thrift shops but for this "B" post I am making it all about BRIDAL.  

I'm looking to the heavens for inspiration

I've drawn the ginormous bow from the back to the side

Don't tell me I am the only one that tries on dresses that are totally impractical.  Here is sitcom proof!

Posting not one bridal pattern but three. 

1973 McCall's 3770

1988 Butterick 5991

1988 Simplicity 8704

A visit from Bella, the newest of my three fur babies.  She is around 8 months old now.

Unnamed orchid attracting bees

Jackie O bride - she is beautiful but $200 too rich for my blood.  

Absotively A to Zing and Something Completely Different

We are up and running for Day 1 of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge.  My first year was All Things Thrifting and the year past was A Frolic through Fashion and Flowers.  My posts this year will run the gamut from illustrations to fashion linkups, thrift shop finds to retro images, personal revelations to outright shenanigans.
I will present posts that are Something Completely Different (my theme/non-theme). I am quite unlike any other blogger you will encounter. There are elements of my blog that I hold in common with those of my genre but none that combine the different interests that I do.  

This being the first of the month means a fashion linkup with Judith at The Style Crone for Hat-Attack-21.  I'm wearing a floppy San Diego Hat Co., a thrift shop find.  Sporting a sedate look to show you a glimpse of the ranch property where there was a fire last August. 

The jacket is one I have had in my wardrobe for many years,

a Roughrider microsuede Western coat jacket,

also wearing a Modern Family long sleeved t-shirt. 

In the distance to the left is the new build of the neighbors that started the fire. 

It was an attack of sorts, an attack by fire.  We knew the real damage wouldn't manifest until now.  Nine of the ten acres burned, the majority of which were wild animal preserve.  

The hills are stunningly green now but when that California sun starts heating things up those green grasses will turn brown.

For nearly every letter I will post an orchid a day illustration from The Private Lives of Orchids by Hilda Simon (1975).

Aeranthes

Pattern of the day features the 1962 McCall's 6631.

A recent thrift shop find was this 1963 BHG Junior Cookbook. I remember this book!  I'm positive it was in my kid collection.  I'll post a couple of recipes from this and another 1950s publication.  

Shamelessly linking to throw a vote my way for the KCRA 3 A List, nominated as Best Local Sacramento blogger.  Hope you add as a follower to enjoy all of the AtoZ letter stylings.

BEST Local Blogger