1958 Halloween Costumes

I recently came across these great ads for Halloween costumes in a Sears catalog from 1958 and had to share. Click on the images to see the full size versions. Love that robot and space "Satellite Joe" man!

Halloween Apples

Found these old recipes in a copy of the Better Homes & Gardens "Cookies and Candies" book originally published in 1966 and wanted to share them. I haven't tried these recipes myself yet but caramel & candy apples were one of my favorite things to eat on Halloween night when I was a kid. Enjoy!

Mod Macabre @ Cinebeats Oct. 1-31

This month I'm participating in the "Countdown to Halloween" blogathon over at my film blog Cinebeats with a little celebration I'm calling Mod Macabre. I thought I'd let Mid-Century Living readers know in case they're looking for some Halloween viewing suggestions or just want to enjoy some vintage Halloween inspired fun.

Hope to update here soon too but I was in a car accident a few weeks ago and it's kind of thrown a wrench into my blogging plans. In the meantime please feel free to stop by Cinebeats anytime and you can also find me on Twitter & Facebook.

Summer Thrift Shop Finds

Apologies for the lack of updates lately. I've been working a lot and haven't had much free time for blogging. Hopefully I'll find the time to update more soon but I thought I'd share a few of my favorite thrift shop/estate sale purchases from the past couple of months.


Resin Owl by Sascha Brastoff (1960s)


New old stock Samsonite Silhouette Luggage Set (1960)


New old stock Westinghouse Toaster (60s)


Vintage Eero Saarinen table by Knoll (owl & coasters were also thrift store finds)

Rejuvenation's Spektr Light

Over the July 4th weekend we installed our first Spektr Light from Rejuvenation. We plan to install two more in our entry way and hallway. We had been spending a lot of time and energy trying to find matching vintage lights but the prices are often just as high or even more for quality lighting. It's also hard to find multiple matching lights in good condition. To make matters worse, we've had lots of problems with the old electrical wiring in our home and we're nervous about using older lights due to possible fire hazards. Lastly, we appreciate Rejuvenation's commitment to authenticity and energy efficiency so we're really happy with our decision to purchase lighting from them.

Rejuvenation's Hourglass line is absolutely gorgeous! The Spektr Light is based on the Stockholm series originally manufactured by EJS lighting in 1959. It took more than two weeks for our first lamp to arrive so if you order from them and need something in a timely manner make sure you place your order far in advance. We were extremely impressed with the quality of the lamp. It was beautifully made and easy to install. We considered getting the aluminum finish but we decided to go with the bronze two-tone instead. The bronze has more warmth and feels more period perfect. It also picks up on the warm wood tones we have throughout our home.


I believe this vintage furniture ad features the original Stockholm lights.

We'd also love to get the these lights for our kitchen. 

Sample image from Rejuvenation
A word of warning to new home owners...

I suffered "sticker shock" when we started shopping around for vintage and new lighting after buying our new home. I've been living in rented apartments for the last 25 years or more and I had no idea how pricey good home lighting could be. Lights were an expense we hadn't really planned for so it's going to take us a year or more to get all the lights we want & need for our home. Quality fixtures add a lot to a home's resale price even when they're as specialized as the ones we're purchasing so we think we're making a good home investment by installing Rejuvenation lights, which are beautifully crafted and energy efficient. And since we plan on living here for a long time we can enjoy them for many years to come.

Clocks In Home Decoration (1965)

I recently picked up this great book & catalog at a garage sale. It was published by Westclox in association with Good Housekeeping magazine and it features a ton of great snapshots of style conscious 1965 interiors. I love '60s design and I found it really inspiring. I especially love the colorful kitchens! I thought I'd scan some of my favorite images from the book to share. Hope you enjoy them!

If you'd like to see a few more pictures from the book you can find them in my "Clocks In Home Decoration (1965)" Flickr Gallery.

The Butter Cream Bakery

My favorite breakfast spot in Napa is the 65-year-old Butter Cream Bakery. This colorful pink & white stripped building is a local landmark and serves up up some of best omelets and pancakes I've ever had the pleasure to eat. The bakery is also a reasonably priced culinary treat in a city where food is extremely important and you'll find some of the most delicious donuts and pastries imaginable being sold there. Almost all of their ingredients come from local farmers and growers so the food is always fresh.

Top: The original Butter Cream.
Bottom: How Butter Cream looks today.

The Butter Cream Bakery has been owned by the same family since it first opened its doors some 48 years ago and they've donated to a lot of important local organizations including the Napa Food Bank, various Schools, Hospice, the 4-H Club and the local Police and Fire Departments. When they renovated the building in 2002 they kept as many of the original furnishing as possible and today it still has the look and charm of a 1950s style diner. If you're ever in Napa don't miss the chance to visit the Butter Cream Bakery. They're also open for lunch and during most holidays.

Visit Napa's Butter Cream Bakery online:
- The Butter Cream Bakery

Jason Statham's Mid-Century Home

I'm fond of the handsome British action star, Jason Statham. He's appeared in a lot of lackluster films but I get a kick out of The Transporter movies and loved him in films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and The Bank Job. Apparently his taste in architecture is a bit more refined than his ability to choose a decent script. Statham's Los Angeles home has recently gone on the market and it's a real beauty!

I couldn't resist sharing some photos of this beautiful mid-century gem (originally built in 1957) that I swiped from the Redfin real estate site after reading a news headline about the sale. The actor is supposedly shopping around for a new home right now but I can't imagine why he's giving up something like this. Maybe his next house will be just as spectacular? Statham's decorating style is a little too sparse for my own taste and it's definitely got a masculine edge. It's easy to imagine the star of The Transporter films relaxing here after a hard day at work.

The following text is from the original listing: "Reminiscent of the famed 'Glass House' by Phillip Johnson this meticulously manicured home boldly displays fine lines with its post and beam motif throughout. Outdoor and indoor blend harmoniously as from all aspects natural light flows through the countless floor to ceiling panes of glass. Crisp uber chic finishes in the interior, complement the Jay Griffith designed landscaping throughout the whole property. Culminating with the essentially private pool and bathing area presenting the finest home of its kind on the hill today."

 

Interested in purchasing Statham's home? It will cost you a whopping $2,749,000! More details available at the Redfin site.

Sascha Brastoff

Apologies for the lack of updates. I've been really busy lately and every time I decide to post an update Blogger starts acting up and I can't seem to log in or post anything. Today things seem to working just fine around here so I thought I'd quickly share a link to an article I recently wrote for TCM's Classic Movie Blog titled "In Search of Sascha Brastiff" where I discuss the life and work of this talented mid-century artist & designer.

- In Search of Sascha Brastoff


I really admire his work and I've started looking for Brastoff pieces when I'm out thrifting and antiquing. Below are some pictures of the Sascha Brastoff items I own.




I also decided to start a Sascha Brastoff Collectors Group over at Flickr where I've uploaded a lot more photos of Brastoff and his work. If you're a Flickr member please consider joining! At the moment I'm the only member but I know there has to be other Brastoff fans out there.

My Mom, the Style Icon

One of my favorite new blog discoveries is My Mom, the Style Icon run by Piper Weiss who recently published a book inspired by her blog. The blog and the book feature incredible vintage photos of stylish moms sent in by her readers and friends. I love looking at old photos and recently I've been sorting through my own family photos and coming across some great shots of my own stylish mom as well as my dad (who was also super stylish!) taken during the '60s and early '70s. Coming across My Mom, the Style Icon inspired me to share some of my favorite photos.

What surprised me when looking at these photos is how much my own mother has influenced my sense of style without me ever realizing it. My mom passed away in 1997 but by that time I was regularly wearing mini skirts, Mary Jane shoes and hairbands (or headbands) similar to what my mom is wearing in these photos. I don't wear mini skirts anymore but I do like to wear skirts a lot and I still wear Mary Janes as well as colorful Keds, various plaids and I love large sunglasses and hairbands.

My own mother, with help from my grandmother, made a lot of her own clothing. Some of the things she's wearing above were undoubtedly made by my grandmother with my mom's help. She used to tell me stories about how she would look at catalogs and spot things she couldn't afford but my grandmother could reproduce them effortlessly. According to my mother, her side of the family came from a long line of seamstresses who even worked for the Queen of England at one time. Unfortunately my mother never taught me to sew and I failed all my Home Economic classes so I don't think I inherited the family sewing gene.

I highly recommend making a stop at My Mom, the Style Icon or picking up Piper Weiss' new book. They feature lots of colorful eye-candy as well as thoughtful tributes to mom's from the past and their various personal styles.

Reupholstered Dux Sofa

Thought I'd finally share some photos of our refurbished & reupholstered vintage sofa. The sofa was originally made by Dux in the early '60s. Dux was a San Francisco based company started by Swedish designer Folke Ohlsson in the late 1950s and Dux furniture is usually referred to as Danish Modern or Scandinavian Modern.

The sofa (which I originally posted about here) was badly damaged and had a horrible odor due to mold and (possibly?) cat urine. We had it reupholstered with vintage Danish fabric similar in color & style to an original fabric that Dux used so it would remain true to the period. We love the color and we think it looks amazing now. It was reupholstered by the Danish furniture experts at Klassics and they did a terrific job. Very happy with the results and I'm glad that we could save this beautiful sofa.






Room is currently influx and still being renovated. We plan to paint the wall another shade of blue that's more aqua. You can see samples in the photo below that we currently have on the wall while we try to pick paint colors. As you can see below, we're going bold and bright. After a lifetime of being surrounded by white walls I want lots of color in my life.