Vintage Finds In Napa

Apologies for the lack of updates lately but I'm afraid that progress on our new home is extremely slow going due to work and other obligations. We've also discovered that it takes three times longer to complete any project we start (we're currently working on my office) due to all the problems you come across while restoring an older home. It's been an interesting learning experience and we've had to face the fact that it will be a long time before we can call our new house a home.

We still can't cook in our kitchen but we have a toaster oven and the house came with a microwave that I'm reluctantly learning to use. I've never owned a microwave before and I never wanted one but it has come in handy lately. Trader Joe's makes some decent microwave food but I'm getting tired of their microwave pastas, soba noodles and pad thai.

For fun we've been trying to get out of the house for a few hours on the weekends and explore Napa's second-hand shops and thrift stores. One of the best shops in Napa is undoubtedly Alice’s Consignment shop and this weekend the large parking lot behind Alice’s Consignment shop was turned into the Downtown Napa Antique & Vintage Flea Market. It was a small but interesting gathering of eclectic sellers and buyers. One of my favorite sellers was Rosey's Little Things. I bought a Melmac serving dish from her and some lovely jewelry. The Downtown Napa Antique & Vintage Flea Market is going to become a monthly event during the summer and fall months and I'm looking forward to it! The next one is scheduled to take place on June 26th and you can find more information here.

Here's a few pictures of some of the vintage goodies we've picked up for our home in the last few months.



Original painting of San Francisco's Chinatown painted in the late '60s or early '70s by an unknown artist named KING. I'm trying to find out more information about KING so if you happen to know anything please drop me a note!



Melmac serving dish and cups with saucers.



Asian influenced and slightly kitschy vintage wall hangings.



Large vintage Pyrex bowl (Square Flowers / Verde)

Mid-Century Modern Home Events

Lately my hubby and I have been so busy trying to get settled into our new home and becoming familiar with Napa that we haven't a lot of free time to just relax and have fun together. Since we've become focused on home restoration and repair we've been looking for interesting local events that might help us with our endeavors as well as get us out of the house.

In the next few months there are two events happening within 80 miles of us that we might attend. The first event is the Eichler Remodeling Faire taking place in Mountain View on May 15th. According to the event site here's what attendees can expect:

"You're invited to Keycon's Eichler Remodeling Faire 2010, a FREE party-themed educational event where Eichler experts help you realize your remodeling dreams! SAVE TIME AND MONEY! Learn about the latest time- and money-saving strategies for KITCHEN, BATHROOM, ADDITION, and WHOLE HOUSE REMODELING! Enjoy complimentary food and beverages and kid-friendly activities!"

Of course we don't actually own an Eichler but according to our home's previous owners our custom built ranch home was "inspired by Eichler designs" and was advertised as such when we bought it. We don't know if we'll be able to make it all the way to Mountain View for the event yet but if we do go we hope that Eichler owners won't thumb their noses at us. At least we can point to the fact that my father in-law owned a beautiful Eichler home! I suspect we'd be able to get some tips and helpful advice for home restoration & repair at the Eichler Remodeling Faire so I'd like to go. More information about the event can be found on their site: Eichler Remodeling Faire 2010.

On June 26th The Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour takes place which promises to be a lot of fun for anyone interested in mid-century design. Here's the full scoop on the event from their official site:

"On Saturday, June 26, 2010 the Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour will provide enthusiasts of architecture and design an opportunity to discover what it’s like to live, work and play in more than 15 quintessentially Californian residential and commercial structures built between 1945 and 1970. This year's tour features homes within Sacramento’s South Land Park and adjacent neighborhoods, which contain hundreds of Mid-Century Modern residential and commercial buildings."

This event is a little closer to us so we're seriously considering trying to attend. I'm sure we'll get plenty of design inspiration if we do go. For more information about the event please visit The Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Home Tour site.

New Family Member

Over the weekend my husband and I stopped by Petco to look at kittens and we discovered that a local non-profit animal adoption organization called Whiskers, Tails and Ferals operates out of the store. They help re-home unwanted, ill, abused and feral cats & kittens. They had many adorable older cats that were available for adoption. At the moment our local animal shelters are overwhelmed by the amount of pets being abandoned by their owners due to home foreclosures, job losses, etc. Kittens are easy to find homes for but older cats are often overlooked by potential foster families.

I've been weary of adopting a new pet since the death of our 14 year-old cat Tora last year but my guy absolutely fell in love with Uschi. We ended up adopting her on Sunday and I've fallen in love with her too.

Uschi is 12-18 months old and was found abandoned and alone wandering the streets of downtown Napa. She is one of the sweetest and most loving cats I've ever met. She seems to have some abandonment issues and follows us around from room to room like a puppy. She wants to be held and petted constantly. The poor thing also cries when she's left alone in a room. Hopefully she'll relax soon and get used to her new home. At the moment it's hard to get her to sit still and sleep for any lengthy period of time so snapping a pic of her was hard.

If you're in Northern California and thinking about adopting please consider adopting a pet from Whiskers, Tails and Ferals. Besides the Napa Humane Society, they're the only animal shelter in Napa caring for unwanted animals but they don't have their own shelter yet. If you can help or donate your time or any funds please contact them! More information about the organization can be found here:

- Whiskers, Tails and Ferals
- Napa Humane Society

Easter Weekend Shopping

Some of my vintage vinyl bunny toys.

I hope everyone enjoyed the recent Easter holiday or as I like to call it, "Bunny & Egg Day." I've been really busy lately but over Easter weekend my guy and I did a little shopping and I thought I'd share some pics of our purchases. But first some background information...

One of the many highlights of becoming a new homeowner is the incredible amount of coupons that arrive in your mailbox after you've moved. I can only assume that real estate agents sell your address for some kind of commission or maybe when you get a new address, phone number, etc. companies now let retailers know? Whatever the case may be, we've been getting a lot of coupons in the mail that offer anything from 10-25% off retail prices at nice shops like Restoration Hardware, West Elm and Crate and Barrel. Most of them come with a letter or gift card that says something like "Hello new home owners! We realize you've just made the biggest purchase you're likely to ever make but we want your business. Please stop by your local "*enter store name here* and spend more money!"

Last Saturday we tried to take advantage of some of these cards. We made a trip to our local Crate and Barrel Outlet where you can find a lot of stuff on sale as well as limited items and damaged merchandise selling well below retail price. While we were there we bought some colorful melamine cups and a set of storage/mixing bowels that we really needed (I love their duel design!). I also fell in love with a really cute serving set that I'd like to purchase sooner or later.

Celebrate Earth Hour!

Tonight the world will be coming together to conserve energy for just one hour during Earth Hour and I'll be joining them. I hope you will to!

About Earth Hour (from the official site):

"On Earth Hour hundreds of millions of people, organizations, corporations and governments around the world will come together to make a bold statement about their concern for climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. In the U.S. where we are already feeling the impacts of climate change, Earth Hour sends a clear message that Americans care about this issue and want to turn the lights out on dirty air, dangerous dependency on foreign oil and costly climate change impacts, and make the switch to cleaner air, a strong economic future and a more secure nation.

Participation is easy. By flipping off your lights on March 27th at 8:30 p.m. local time you will be making the switch to a cleaner, more secure nation and prosperous America."

For more information please visit the official Earth Hour 2010 site!

MOVIE: Bachelor in Paradise (1961)

I recently reviewed a Bob Hope comedy called BACHELOR IN PARADISE (1961) that featured some great ranch homes and interiors. I couldn't resist sharing a few screen grabs from it. Apologies for the quality but my old video tape isn't in the best shape.



More info about the movie can be found here

Yard Cleanup

Napa's Mid City Nursery in the early '60s

Now that spring seems to have arrived in Napa, we're starting to plan out some of our landscaping. At the moment we're focused on stripping and cleaning the front and back yards, removing all debris as well as unwanted plants and stones. It's a slow and tedious process that will take a long time to complete but I enjoy being able to go outside and spend time in my yard. The exercise is good too!

Over the weekend we made a visit to our local Home Depot and Orchard Supply Hardware stores as well as the wonderful Mid City Nursery. Mid City Nursery is located on the outskirts of Napa and it's a huge place that sells lots of lovely garden plants, fruit and shade trees, shrubbery, ground cover, seeds, paving stones, garden decor and many other supplies. It originally opened in 1954 (the same year that our house was built!) and its one of largest nurseries in the area. The sellers were all very friendly and helpful, which is great when you're novices like us and need lots of help. We were especially happy to discover that they carried a large variety of Japanese trees and plants that grow well in our Northern California climate. We have a beautiful Japanese maple tree in our backyard so we're planning to use it as the inspiration for our landscape design. My husband and I both love Japanese gardens and mid-century modern designers were often influenced by Japanese design so hopefully we can incorporate a lot of those aspects into our own yard.

Here's a few pictures I took over the weekend while we were doing yard work.


Our back porch and patio needs an overhaul.


The Japanese maple tree in our backyard surrounded by weeds.


Removing stones and debris from the front yard.


The red wheelbarrow was the first tool we bought.


The stones we removed are piling up! We plan to use some in our own landscape design and get rid of the rest.


We discovered Mr. Toad in our yard along with some crawfish. We assume they must have crawled out of the Napa river and found a new home in our yard.

Oscar Party Tips

This weekend the 82nd Academy Awards are taking place and many people will be hosting their own Oscar parties on Sunday night. I'm living out of boxes at the moment so I won't be hosting any Oscar parties of my own but I will be watching the show and "Twittering Live" for Cinebeats.

I thought I'd share some last minute Oscar party tips including mid-century hors d'oeuvre recipes and some links to other helpful sites where you can find cocktail and menu ideas.

If you were hosting an Oscar party in 1958 you might have made some of the hors d'oeuvres featured in the following ad for Seagram's Golden Gin. I haven't tried any of them myself but some of them will probably look familiar since a lot of these hors d'oeuvres haven't changed all that much since 1958. Just click on the image to see the ad fullsize.

If you're looking for more current menu ideas you could always borrow some from Wolfgang Puck's official menu for the 2010 Academy Awards Governor's Ball. This annual Oscar after-party is well-known for it's Academy Award winning attendees and its fabulous menu which was posted by Hadley Tomicki over at the Grub Street Los Angeles blog.

Need some cocktail ideas? I highly recommend visiting Miss Charming's site where she has collected various cocktail and drink recipes from classic Hollywood films. Ever wonder what drinks were served in Casablanca? Curious about what Bette Davis drank in Now, Voyager or what drink Barbra Streisand sipped in Funny Girl? You'll find all those answers and more at Miss Charming' Silver Screen Cocktails 1900s-1960s page.


Stars gather for an Oscar after-party in 1958

If you need more beverage ideas check out the Hollywood Cocktails page at About.com where you'll find alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktail recipes perfect for all ages such as the Hollywood Martini, The Red Carpet, the Roy Rogers, the Scarlet O'Hara, the Shirley Temple and The Graduate.

Last but not least, the official Oscar site also features a helpful page devoted to Oscar party planning. The Oscar Party Kit contains a lot of great recipes for drinks and hors d'oeuvres, as well as party game ideas and more.

Even if you aren't planning your own Oscar party this year you can use all of the ideas above for hosting special movie nights with friends or if you just want to throw a Hollywood inspired theme party.

Moving Time!

Over the weekend we finally finished moving and spent the first night in our new home. It's been raining almost non-stop since Friday which has put a bit of a damper on everything and I seem to have developed a cold in the process. But even in all this rain Napa is really lovely and I adore my new house. Home ownership is both scary and amazing. It will take me some time to get used to the whole idea of owning my own home but I couldn't be happier about our decision. More to come as the adventure continues!

Refrigerator Shopping

Fridgidaire ad from 1965

My guy and I are currently shopping for a refrigerator for our new home. We're looking for an Energy Star compliant fridge but we're on a budget and we can't afford the lovely updated vintage style appliances available at Big Chill.

We've been disappointed with the limited options available at local retail outlets. We're forced to choose between white, beige, black or faux stainless steel refrigerators which are the only color options available in our price range. The lack of functional and appealing design combined with the lack of color options makes the experience of buying a refrigerator a frustrating experience and it's also limited our kitchen renovation plans.

In an effort to expand our options we've been looking at DIY refrigerator panels made by Frigo Design. They offer a variety of color finishes but most of them are really bold and bright primary colors without much subtly. In other words, they don't really have what we're looking for and the panels are not cheap.

Westinghouse used to be a leading manufacturer of home appliances and in 1968 they were incredibly forward thinking. Below is a commercial I found on Youtube for their "Match Your Mood" refrigerator panel options that allowed buyers to customize their home refrigerators to match any mood or environment. I really wish some smart company offered a similar option today.

Living Rooms (1960-65)

To finish up my week-long look at late mid-century interior design I'm going to share some pictures of some fabulous early '60s living rooms. I hope you enjoy them!

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

If you'd like to see more pictures of late mid-century living rooms please see my '60s Living Rooms Flickr Gallery.