Sunday, December 30, 2007
Lane's Acclaim to Fame
My mother had these tables, and I am wild about them. I hit eBay pay dirt once and traveled to South Florida to pick up an incredible lot. There were so many that my uncle received some of the pieces. I only went for one piece after all--the swivel table! BTW, it pays to scavenge. I found the swivel table on eBay, but it was a closed auction. Still, I contacted the seller and let him know that if the high bidder backed out I wanted dibs if he was interested. The high bidder did indeed back out, and I landed the table--plus extras. Unheard of! When we went to pick them up however, the guy CHANGED THE PRICE figuring that since I'd driven so far I would pay whatever he wanted. However, I have family in the area, and a visit with them was worth the trip, so I declined. My uncle was with me though and he wanted to get the tables, so he paid the guy the NEW price. Needless to say, I think the swivel is just dandy! And the other pieces are fun too!
Grundig Majestic Console Stereo
Well who could resist this? One day I'm gonna score one of these babies (and reels to go with it) on eBay!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Keeping Up with the Jetsons
To go with our North Star china, by Salem, we own Mar-Crest's Citation Futuristic flatware. As you can see, I lucked out and got both MCF1 and Citation. (Citation Futuristic packaging photos, courtesy eBay.)
The Doctor's Wife
Maybe she can afford Franciscan's Atomic Starburst earthenware, but I can only dream of it. This set went for $455 on eBay on 12-16-07 and made a very merry Christmas for the doctor's wife indeed!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Salem's North Star
Our china pattern is North Star by Salem. We have full settings for everyone, but our coffee cups are the solid turquoise instead of the fabulous patterned cup you see below. Why Salem bothered to make solids to go with the set I shall never know, but it seems to be cheaper to acquire the North Star solids than the patterns for obvious reasons.
Footed Fetish
Needless to say, I'm partial to all things footed. One of these days I'm going to score a nice set of vintage bookcases...
Proud Moment
I'm not one to bid on orphaned vintage photos, but I do look at them from time to time, and this one made me smile when I found it on eBay. If this wasn't the couple's first TV set, it was at least probably regarded as especially new-fangled. Whatever the case may be, the TV was special enough for Ma and Pa to pose next to it for a commemorative photo. (Notice the sticker in the bottom left corner of the set.)
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Coming Out (of the Attic)
I know that the Philco Predicta is the only television set any respectable Atom Mom should desire, but there's something about this 60's Motorola set, model 19K19WA, that lights my candle. And I'm not sorry. This is who I am, the way God made me. Denying that I like this set would be saying that I'm ashamed of God's handiwork. And that would be sacrilege. Who am I to question the Lord? Show me the command that prohibits this set! It is a TV as any other TV. If you plug it in, does it not run episodes of Lucille Ball? Judge not my TV preference lest yours be judged!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
The Magic Mirror
(The Atom Mom's Mid-century Manor)
Ultimately, I'd like to bring this place as closely as possible to the time it was built. I won't throw the computer away, but if I had the house all to myself and could make the choices all by myself we wouldn't even have a TV...but if we did, it would be the Predicta Chalet.
I know this is disappointing, as the Chalet isn't even a Philco original. In short, it's the modern retro creation of Telstar, the only folks authorized to sell under the Predicta name nowadays. But something about it sets me on fire. It's the Drive-In appeal. I can't help it; I likes what I likes.
And I likes the Magic Mirror:
(I'm sorry the picture is dark, but otherwise the bullet lights blended in with the wall and you really couldn't see them.) I paid over $200 for this little baby a couple of years ago. It's a bona fide Monkey Wards (Montgomery Wards) medicine cabinet from the 50's or 60's. The thing that appealed to bidders when this was on eBay was that it is in such sweet condition with all the brackets and original shelving. Also, the person had skill and access to auto painting gadgets and redid the finish professionally. As anyone knows "deadstock" is preferred, and in lieu of that, restoration or even faithful repro is grand.
Anyhoo, I won the auction, and when it arrived, the thing didn't fit. It little mattered. I held onto it for over a year, hoping we would run into someone who could alter my bathroom wall and make the magic happen. I thought about selling the mirror a couple of times, but was unwilling to let it go for less than I paid for it. On this particular item, if other people didn't appreciate the level of fabulousness, they didn't deserve to have it.
My waiting paid off though, and I got the job done for Christmas this year.
Things I love about the mirror:
When you flip the switch on the wall the lights don't come on right away. They flicker, and sometimes the left chrome-capped bullet light makes a delightful little "pling!" When the lights are on they buzz that enchanting buzz that takes you zooming down the time tunnel all the way back to that magical time when you could get a Coke for a dime. Looking at your skin with the lights on is kind of horrific, but there is enough pitting in the mirror to hide some of the jaundice. Besides, if this item shot out razor blades every time it was opened I'd just duck. It's that fabulous.
Listen very carefully for the "pling!" as the second tube lights:
Ultimately, I'd like to bring this place as closely as possible to the time it was built. I won't throw the computer away, but if I had the house all to myself and could make the choices all by myself we wouldn't even have a TV...but if we did, it would be the Predicta Chalet.
I know this is disappointing, as the Chalet isn't even a Philco original. In short, it's the modern retro creation of Telstar, the only folks authorized to sell under the Predicta name nowadays. But something about it sets me on fire. It's the Drive-In appeal. I can't help it; I likes what I likes.
And I likes the Magic Mirror:
(I'm sorry the picture is dark, but otherwise the bullet lights blended in with the wall and you really couldn't see them.) I paid over $200 for this little baby a couple of years ago. It's a bona fide Monkey Wards (Montgomery Wards) medicine cabinet from the 50's or 60's. The thing that appealed to bidders when this was on eBay was that it is in such sweet condition with all the brackets and original shelving. Also, the person had skill and access to auto painting gadgets and redid the finish professionally. As anyone knows "deadstock" is preferred, and in lieu of that, restoration or even faithful repro is grand.
Anyhoo, I won the auction, and when it arrived, the thing didn't fit. It little mattered. I held onto it for over a year, hoping we would run into someone who could alter my bathroom wall and make the magic happen. I thought about selling the mirror a couple of times, but was unwilling to let it go for less than I paid for it. On this particular item, if other people didn't appreciate the level of fabulousness, they didn't deserve to have it.
My waiting paid off though, and I got the job done for Christmas this year.
Things I love about the mirror:
When you flip the switch on the wall the lights don't come on right away. They flicker, and sometimes the left chrome-capped bullet light makes a delightful little "pling!" When the lights are on they buzz that enchanting buzz that takes you zooming down the time tunnel all the way back to that magical time when you could get a Coke for a dime. Looking at your skin with the lights on is kind of horrific, but there is enough pitting in the mirror to hide some of the jaundice. Besides, if this item shot out razor blades every time it was opened I'd just duck. It's that fabulous.
Listen very carefully for the "pling!" as the second tube lights:
Friday, December 21, 2007
Tomato, Tomahto
This is one corner of my huge kitchen. When the picture was taken, I was making salsa (from tomatoes we picked) to can for the rest of the year. Canning is kind of retro, so maybe one day I'll do a post on it and show you my stash (kept under the house). As I have time, I'll do separate posts on the Coke machine, the oven, the hanging utensils,the stuff in the window, the red and white pot, the curtains, the Kromex spice canisters, etc., but for now, I just wanted you to get an idea of how things are put together around here. We take our midcentury seriously.More pics of the kitchen
(ignore the water bottles; it was delivery day):
Thursday, December 20, 2007
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