The Look of Love

This is the look! I'm going to do everything in my power to find the range hood. (Notice the classic vent beneath it!) It will be mine, OH YES, it will be mine!

1950's Magic Chef Gas Stove: Double Oven

The Philco electric double oven is on her last leg, so I scored a vintage gas Magic Chef for $200. Everyone says it's in great condition. Even the gas man who came out and refused to install it because, "It ain't got no regulator." Talked to someone about updating it. He said he could do it for under $1,000. Said he could do it, but had never done it before. I don't want anyone reading about us in the news so I declined. Lesson learned. Trying to get off cheap actually set me back re: effort and cash. That's OK. I've got plans.











Pictures of the Magic Chef:

Midcentury Manor

You've seen our living room. And I know I posted on the kitchen before, but here are more pictures in honor of a new friend who decided to preserve history in her own midcentury kitchen:

Fabulous Fabric

Bam!

Oldies But Oldies

Things that do NOT get better with time...

Chalkie Talkie

Chalkware...I love the stuff. But not anything produced after the 60's. No sir, not interested. UNLESS...you happen to have moulds from the 60's as one eBayer does! Apparently she scored some old moulds and pours chalkware wall hangings herself. Then she paints them, and she's really talented. These are no garrish paints that have been wiped with a darker color for a finish. No. These appear to be air-brused and are even decked out in metallics, but appropriate metallics that are not tacky and misplaced. Here are some examples of her work:

A relative of mine caught me looking at these bad boys over at my uncle's house after everyone had gorged themselves on roast beef (which we prefer to turkey). Everything is strictly new millennium over at my uncle's and I was starting to feel a little...unsettled. So I snuck off to the time machine that is eBay and sucked myself a lung full of mid-century oxygen in hopes that I could survive the trip home in the new millennium vehicle. The relative commented on the fish and related memories of her childhood home and the Miller Studio family of fish that hung there on the bathroom wall. Her memories only make the 50's more real; I was getting good stuff. Little did I know.

Christmas Eve appeared, and while the season is most decidedly about one gift and one gift only (Jesus, baby), lo and behold, I did receive the dynamite green threesome (complete with the necessary bubbles) pictured above. Such a little thing, and I was nearly in tears (of joy). No one understands the penchant of the Atom Mom, what turns her on and what leaves her flat, so usually I get cash, and that spends on eBay, so that's OK by me. (Yes, I'm horrible.) But this little chalkware grouping, coupled with the days-of-yore sentiment of the giver was just click-O all the way! A special thanks to her! And a new obsession for me:

Merry Poppin's

About a year ago I scored an Atom Pop. One thing you must know about me is that I like my 50's functional. Some people like to dust nicknacks, I like to travel down the time tunnel.

Rule #1 at The Atom Mom:
Looking mid century is for suckers.
BEING mid century is fully worthwhile.

So I was anxious that the Atom Pop would look marvelous but burn all the popcorn. After all, it had no motor. It had no cord. It had no moving parts that constantly stirred the popcorn as it popped. The instructions said I wasn't even supposed to shake it. Just pour in 2T of oil and a half cup of popcorn kernels and place the Atom Pop on a red-hot burner. Yeah right. I thought it would never work. Some people play the slots, I bought the Atom Pop; six of one, half a dozen of the other.

The results were astounding:


I had to stop rolling for a minute to situate Poopsie because I was scared she was going to burn herself on the Atom Pop, so here is part II:


Of course, as everyone knows, the mid century popcorn experience is not complete without a Coke-filled Bascal and the fabulous new old stock item I just scored on eBay: