More Zany Retro Ads

Sleep on your set and still wake up with helmet head!

Don't drink the shampoo.

That "not so fresh feeling" conversation. No mother and daughter on the face of this earth have EVER had this conversation. It's 'ick' on so many levels.

Wanker husband washes wife's hair with shampoo that looks like dish detergent.

Hamster and Canadian Exotica

I'm on this "don't buy unnecessary stuff" diet. So far, I've been pretty frugal. I did buy a hamster on Sunday for my classroom and tonight we drove out to PJ's Pets and bought her this deluxe tubular home. Yes, on the surface an animal is a luxury, I guess. My feeling is that having a pet in the classroom helps foster togetherness and empathy for all living creatures. We had a gerbil and she met a tragic, untimely demise back in the fall. I don't even want to think about it. This teddy bear hamster will bring joy to our class, so I don't feel guilty.

On a completely unrelated note, Mick raised eyebrows at work when he mailed a postcard to Canada. Hey Canadian people - I know we get miffed over the fact we think Americans don't know we exist, but I'm digging the attention. It takes years to cultivate a mysterious reputation. Now I find out that just being from Hoserland means we are exotic and mysterious.

Here's the scene in Bull Durham where Susan Sarandon says she wants to be exotic and mysterious. That quote is cut here, but this is still a funny scene.

Here's a very mysterious eighties video by Canadian group, The Spoons. I still love this song.

Song of the Week #32 Chris Isaak "Blue Hotel"

I'm a fool for a twangy gee-tar. I love "Wicked Game," but it was played to death. If it had stayed a cult hit, I would have used it. I still hear that song wafting through the supermarket on a Saturday afternoon and it sort of kills the romance for me.

Big Sister's Abode

When your entire family likes to go thrifting and trolling yard sales, it's a bit like belonging a family of alcoholics. We all enable each other with this precarious addiction. What starts as just a peek in a thrift store can turn into an hour of scanning for treasures. A small collection can turn into an episode of Hoarders and my dad's the ring leader. Speaking of Hoarders, am I the only one who can't watch it? You'd think the show would make me feel better about my own addiction, but I find it too raw and way too close to my increasingly cluttered home.

Anyway, my sister Lise is very elegant and seems to know when and where to draw the thrifty line. Her family lives in a semi in the upper beaches and she has a knack for mixing old and new together. I took a few pictures when I was over for my birthday last month.

They've had this Kellogg's cereal rack for as long as I can remember. Note the vintage op-art canisters and the recently thrifted vintage ice bucket. Now all you need is Johnny Depp in a silk bathrobe holding a bottle of bubbly.
This little desk is an unusual size. I'm not sure what it was used for, but a friend of Lise's salvaged it from his workplace and Lise ended up with it. It looks great in the corner.

Lise did a chic assortment of white pottery on top of this mid-century bookcase. At Christmas, the glass cloche had a vintage ornament inside it, which looked very cool.
Thanks Lise, for allowing me to show some of your treasures. You've got great taste!

- Ev

Here's a cool video from the queen of Aussie pop. Enjoy, Aussie sister!

Atomic Age

I'm still moving along on this Stuff Diet without buying any new stuff. I may have to break with this to buy some books as presents for students in my class. Books never make me feel guilty.

I bummed a ride to Value Village with my student teacher on a lunch break this week. Below, find the ubiquitous, but still fabulous automic age glasses I found for .99 each. I've seen scratched up glasses like this before, which I've passed on. I'm sure in time, I'll be able to make up a set.

I'm still trying to thrift for the long-ago winners of my last contest. Shara, Tracy, and Chris - if you're reading this post, hang in there. Vintage thrift has all but dried up lately in Toronto. I'm sure if I bide my time, I'll hit the jackpot.

Mick Likes Sam

I get excited when someone I think is cool likes something cool that I like. That makes no sense.

Anyway, Mick (I love the one-name monicker, like Cher), likes Sam Phillips. Whether he LOVES her the way I do is uncertain. Anyway, this is the song that made me cry when I finally saw her play live a few years back in Toronto. Dig her sardonic wit. If I was watching her in that sodding bookstore, I'd have been giving shoppers and cashiers the evil eye if they weren't enthralled.