thrifted stuffs

it has been a long time since i have found several neat items all on the same day and at the same store so i was a bit excited over it!

a juice glass, a (possibily) "south of the border" bookend souvenir, an avon pandy pandy soap holder...

a chalkware rooster,  floral ribbon, and autumn hued fruits tablecloth.

for some reason i just have this feeling all these items came from the same home.  i left behind about 6 hot plate trivets of several cities along with one from "south of the border", which put the thought in my head of the bookend being from there.

on the subject of 'south of the border'.....making a trip there has been on my to-do list for quite sometime...along with myrtle beach. it sounds like a hoot! old roadside attractraction,  lots of photo ops next to big concrete gorillas, cacti, sombero clad fellows and more...much more !

below is a chuck o' plagiary to nutshell what the place is:

"South of the Border is a rest stop and roadside attraction on Interstate 95 and US Highway 301/501 between Dillon, South Carolina and Rowland, North Carolina dating back to 1949. It is named "south of the border" being south of the U.S. state of North Carolina.  The location was chosen as a convenient location for selling beer as it was located just over state (South of the North Carolina border) and county lines to a dry "alcohol prohibited" county adjacent to the north.The rest area features not only restaurants, gas stations and a motel, but also a small amusement park, shopping (including, formerly, adult entertainment at the "Dirty Old Man Shop"), and, famously, fireworks. Its mascot is Pedro, an extravagantly stereotypical Mexican bandido. It is known for being advertised by hundreds of billboards along surrounding highways, starting over 150 miles away. Well-known landmarks in the area, the irreverent signs feature Pedro, wearing an oversized sombrero and poncho, counting down the number of miles to, and promoting, South of the Border."

did you read that?!  Dirty Old Man Shop!



here is a song that i just found that captures some of the kookiness of the place!

  you know i am thinking of us taking a bit of a detour this summer to hit this place up, don't you?!

$25,000 Orange Kiss me cake

 1950....the 2nd pillsbury national baking contest.....$25,000 bucks to the first place contestant.... that's a lot of money back now... Mrs. Peter Wuebel of Redwood City, Californee took home the prize and prestige that year with her Orange Kiss-Me Cake:

(click to enlarge for recipe)

i was intrigued as of what a high dollar cake tastes like, as anyone would be.

therefore i made my own and it was absolutely delish!

i was a bit confounded by the first direction of grinding together orange rinds, raisins, and walnuts. grind them with what? i have a mixer, some cutlery and a hammer....all which did not turn out acceptable results. i am sure more experienced, kitchen gadget-laden folks out there are smacking their foreheads over this profession.  in the end i (very frustratingly) used a blender and all turned out well in the end.

i have a few of these pillbury grand national prize winning recipes booklets (1951, 1955 and 1964... searching for more of early era) and have recently became interested in the idea of baking the winners. i see it as similar to the Julie and Julila movie.  except that when my movie would be made and the story scene switched from me it would be to Pillsbury's Poppin' Fresh having his doughy belly jabbed with a finger.

t-shirt upgrade

some "hit and run posting" due to, as normal, massive time constraints:

 i bought this sweatshirt in the boy's department of target around halloween on clearance for ~ 3 bucks.

snipped and stitched it into an old black tee that was getting a bit faded......upgraded both of them!

possibilities of other such projects could even lay in the little children's department clearance area as well...adorableness robots, monsters, kitties and such stitched onto adult tees or throw pillows or hoodie backs or used as canvas bag patches ETC!

easter droppings

 this year's bunny cake included the easter bunny's chocolate malt ball excrement ....

a few year's back, pumpkinbutt embellished mr. bunny by having him munching on gummy brains...

not sure where else we can take this for next year other than maybe road kill rabbit.

ration party

We had a WWII birthday party recently with a spin on turning 43 in 1943 for my man.  Pumpkinbutt and i decorated with posters we printed from the internet of WWII propaganda, model airplanes and a million little green army men. We also pulled a bunch of japanese items from around the house into the mix.

for the cake, i came up with using the recipes of rationing and discovered a particular dessert called a

Wacky cake....

best described through plagiarism:

"Wacky Cake has been around for almost seventy years; since the days of World War II. It was created by inventive housewives in response to food shortages, and the limitations brought about by rationing.Somewhere in America, an unknown but inspired housewife rose to the challenge, devising a completely different cake recipe, and Wacky Cake was born! It could be made without using up precious commodities like eggs, butter and milk, and it tasted great, too!

As its popularity grew, Wacky Cake was known by several names; but whether it was called Crazy Cake, Wartime Cake, Rationing Cake or even Eggless, Butterless, Milkless Cake, one thing was true--Wacky Cake had become a bit of Americana."

Here is the outcome and it was surprisingly good!

Wacky Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Cocoa
• 1 Tsp. Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla
• 5 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Vinegar
• 1 Cup Cold Water

Instructions

While oven is pre-heating to 350, measure all the dry ingredients into a 9-inch square baking pan. (Ungreased!) No need to sift these ingredients, but do stir them well in the pan, to blend evenly.

Make three holes, or "wells" in the dry ingredients. You'll be putting the wet ingredients into the wells. Make one a little bigger than the others.

Have all the wet ingredients measured and ready before proceeding. Then, into the bigger hole, pour the oil. Put the vanilla into one of the smaller holes, and the vinegar into the other. Always add the vinegar last. Pour the water over the whole thing, then stir until everything's just blended. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth, but don't leave pockets of unmixed ingredients or big lumps.

That's it! Now, bake at 350 on middle rack for 30 minutes or until center looks done. You can do the toothpick test to check for doneness.

Cool in pan, and when completely cool, dust top of cake with confectioner's sugar.

Store tightly covered.

******************************

Here is a public service announcement of the 1940's that all should take note of.... it was also the front of the birthday card.....just a friendly reminder!

cherry mash

cherry mash is a yummy candy of chocolate, nuts and cherry nougat center goodness. they have been gracing the world since 1876 and are not so easy to locate.  i recently however, found them at hobby lobby! after perusing the official website, i found a recipe area and hence below is the cherry mash cake! it is quite tasty and looks just like an enlarged version of the candy.

Chocolate Cherry Cake Recipe
{Tastes Just Like Cherry Mash Candy Bars}

For the cake:
1 box Cherry Chip cake mix
1 can cherry pie filling
4 eggs

For the frosting:
1 package chocolate fudge frosting
1 Tbs peanut butter
1 cup salted peanuts, chopped

Cake:
Beat 4 eggs until light and fluffy. Beat in 1 box Cherry Chip cake mix. Mix in 1 can cherry pie filling. Pour in a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Frosting:
Mix frosting according to directions. Stir in peanut butter and chopped peanuts. Frost cake when cool.

i haven't quite figured out what the little candy police guy is all about but he was called to the scene to investigate along with his baton and ..... fruit pie?

a few neat finds i got today:

little NOS butter boxes from 1960 at a thrift for 49 cents. they were even still flat when i found them!

and some bottles of "pop" with retro graphics at big lots for 60 cents.
the"Pop Shoppe" has a website that is super cute with an interactive cartoon of woodlandish creatures inside a bottle! there is also a history of the drink, however i fear that the 2012 timeline entry is going to be a repeat of the 1983 one if it being sold at big lots is any clue. i tried the "lime ricky" and it is quite tasty....kinda like maragrita mixer....now there's a thought! what a minute....Zima! that's it! it tastes like a nonalcoholic Zima. are those still being made? just checked and sadly no.  stopped production in 2008... shows how much of a boozer i am not! i am so out of touch, even beyond the world of hooch.

christmas decor

here is a bit of the christmas decor.  new idea for this year is another spin off on the electric candle holder deal to the left....putting bubble lights in it!

and as requested by ms. pagoda seen below is the display shelf that i used for the displaying of cluttered up little vintage christmas crap that normally doesn't all get put out due to lack of space.



and our main tree's theme is the simpsons.....( we made the Andy tree for my mom's house)

we doused it in a bunch of officially christmas simpsons ornaments along with previous BK kid's meal toys, parts from simpsons games, dvd covers and some printed out images on cardstock.

i am a bit grinchy this year.  i did not decorate much more than shown in the photos. i teeter on the verge of hating christmas at times. too much to do, to make, to remember, to buy, to take out and put back up.

it will be over soon.... only a few more days to go.

there are so many neat and clever ways to upcycle old suitcases.... mini bars, pet beds, tables, craft transports....  but i wanted to put this simple solution out there for during the holiday... a suitcase with a key/lock is a nice place to stash gifts. ;)

Andy Griffith Christmas Tree

the theme for this year's tree is The Andy Griffith Show.  We are HUGE TAGS fanatics around here. Pumkinbutt's first real hair cut was done by Russell Hiatt, the man Floyd the barber was based on.... We have visited Mt. Airy, the town Andy grew up in and Mayberry was based on, many times... all ate the porkchop sandwich at the Snappy Lunch....watch the show every night and quote the show on a daily basis. example: when someone is sitting around stalling i usually pull out the Malcolm Tucker lines on the bottom (see below) and insert whatever activities work, along with "going to Thelma Lou's". Here's the whole set up:

Barney Fife: [while relaxing on the front porch after Sunday dinner] You know what I think I'm gonna' do?

Andy Taylor: What?
Barney Fife: I'm gonna' go home, have me a little nap, and then go over to Thelma Lou's and watch a little TV.
Andy Taylor: Mmm-hmm.
Barney Fife: Yeah, I believe that's what I'll do. Go home... have a nap... and then over to Thelma Lou's for TV.
Andy Taylor: Mmm.
Barney Fife: Yep, that's the plan. Home... little nap... then...

Malcolm Tucker: [interrupting] For the love of Mike *do* it!
Malcolm Tucker [shouts] : Do it! Just *do* it! Go take a nap, go to Thelma Lou's for TV, just *do it*!

***

So enters the theme...

For the love of god! DO IT! Go make some ornaments, decorate the tree, go to Thelma Lou's for TV, post about the tree! Just DO IT!

i think i made about 8 different ornaments.  They were all from images i found on the internet, printed on cardstock, and embellished a bit.

on the left is a combo of two images, a vintage TV set and i inserted a still from the opening credits.  right, a christmas group shot, a bit of glitter on the wreath and attached to a round wrapping paper covered disk.

these are images of coloringbook covers with a bit of glitter.

left, cover of a TV guide, glitterfied. right, a autographed photo of Otis with a small bottle of hooch attached.

my fav episode, the pickle story.  an image of opie with "good ol' store bought pickles" flanked with images of homemade canned pickles.

barney as santa image.  i embellished the beard with some white yarn and put some snow glitter behind him.

  "Toot, Toot, Tootsie Good bye!" Aunt Bee's solution to becoming a spring chicken again... Colonel Harvey's Indian Elixer! these are those stocking stuffer sized bottles of liquior with handmade decals by my stepdad. We also had little silver sherriff badges (from the kids section for cowboy parties)  hanging on the tree as well.  for the over-all-pull-it-together feel, we used those large multi color lights and doused the tree in silver icicles. Silver icicles were very hard to located and we opted to use the shredded gift bag filler from $ tree. cheap and effective!

Of course, i came up with a few other ideas for ornaments after the fact; such as making Ernest T. Bass rocks, mini boxes of Mircle Salve, sticks of dynomite for Jimmy the goat to eat, plastic kids handcuffs, fishing lures, images of deep freezers with the text "Aunt bee, just call the man!" on them....

For Free!

Look what i found on the side of the road last week! as you can see... FREE!

i painted it with some leftover house paint...

hmmmm.... what purpose did it serve in it's previous life?

oh... i see...well i was planning on using it exclusively for the displaying of nick nacks. i best keep a lookout for the sylvania rack police!

belated halloween wishes

i can't let halloween go by without at least some representation here, even if it's late and minimal. so here is the pumpkin for this year:

presented in "spooky-lit-vision":

and here is a last minute idea that pumpinbutt came up with that i thought was supercool: (it is on the back)






i had this idea to try random black paint rubbed all over the pumpkin but wasn't entirely happy with it... kinda reminded me of that cheesy faux wall paint technique of sponge painting that was so popular in 1992.

halloween decor

Decor this year ..... uber cheap..... most stuff from the dollar tree. tombstones and paper die cuts from $tree of ravens. something called "halloween hay" stretched across the top came from Joann's. i hung 7 of these tombstones on the wall instead of doing the graveyard deal outside.

A framed tombstone rubbing that i put up every year. added the oh-so-creepy halloween hay along with a foam raven perched on top. off to the left is a paper die cut of an owl from $tree.

here is a bit of a shot of the "wall cemetery". in the middle of the display is a graveyard print from Madame Talbot Victorian Lowbrow . Also seen in the lower right corner is one of those typically used for christmas plastic candle holder do-hickeys. i used orange flicker flame bulbs and put several around the house...it looked very haunted mansion-ish! (the next picture below it is more clear)

various displays of vintage halloween stuffs:

i think the only thing i purchased new this year were the die cuts (ravens, bats, owls, spiders). not pictured but hung on the windows were the spiders and bats on the ceiling. when the fan is turned on the wings flap for an extra added effect.