Mom Wald's African Violets

Do check out the gorgeous blog Mom Wald's Place. She always has pretty things on display. Check out her current post of African Violet arrangements. They remind me of my grandmother. Nice work!

So sorry Tracy that I confused you with Mom Wald and sorry Mom Wald for calling you Tracy. I'm not sure why I thought you were the same person. I get confused sometimes. I guess it was a senior moment. Ha! You both have great blogs, so you're both in good company. All the best to you both,

Erin

http://momwaldsplace.blogspot.com

Another Food Show Addiction

Does anyone else watch Chopped? I watched an episode or two in the fall and thought it was alright. Last week, The Food Network ran a Chopped marathon. My husband recorded it and we found ourselves becoming more and more hooked with each episode.

Here's how it works: Four chefs start out, each with a basket of "mystery ingredients" which must feature prominently in their recipes. Typically, they open their baskets to discover eclectic ingredients that do not go together. "Jellied eels, potato chips, bitter Asian parsnips, and Heavenly Hash ice cream. Hmm..." They can add other ingredients from the pantry or fridge, but generally, they find themselves flying around the kitchen frantically and trying to whip something original and tasty in 20-30 minutes. After the appetizer round, the food judges "chop" one chef. The three chefs who didn't get cut move to the entree round. Again, weird ingredients and another chef gets chopped. The final two chefs duke it out in the desert round. The judges consider the three dishes each chef made and the winner walks off with $10,000. Ted Allen does a good job hosting. He seems to relish the job of lifting the cover off the dish prepared by the chef who's getting chopped.

Have a look.

Bon appetit!

Erin

Wonder Woman Kills Comments Dead

Hello,

Chris, one of the lucky winners of my Toilet Humour Thriftacular Contest accidentally posted her address in the comments for that post. In order to remove her comment, I had to delete all of the comments from that post. Sadly, this included a funny confession from the elegant Stan Williams himself. My family is still fighting over who gets to keep The Find - which I happen to have bought. Anyway, that's all I had to say. Stan is a thrift genius and I've been loving his little films on his blog, The Elegant Thrifter (linked to the right). You have to admire his business savvy promoting the book. I'd do the same thing. To be honest, I'd rather watch a movie about Stan than the Julia Child blogger - though I enjoyed the movie. I'm hoping to start filming yard sales in East York next spring. This will be a true test of my marriage. It will either come down to, "I admire her creative tenacity," or "She's turning into a freak." We'll see.

Here's more YouTube gold. My brother used to be in love with Linda Carter. I loved the invisible plane. Check out the ginormous computer in the opening. It's as big as a fridge. And what about that Lyle Waggoner? I'd forgotten about him. I bet he moonlighted on Match Game or The Love Boat.

Erin

P.S. Chris: we live so close to each other, it's freaky. We've probably bumped shopping carts at No Frills or Value Mart. LOL

God Bless America

It's little wonder vintage loving folk enjoy this show. This one's for you Vonlipi. Let's go on a Thelma and Louise eating trip through America. Woo-hoo! (Hold the armed police officers.)

Song of the Week #27 The Orb "Little Fluffy Clouds"

Are you ready for a nineties revival? I get all nostalgic when I hear this song, despite the gratuitous sampling of Rickie Lee Jones talking about growing up in Arizona. If you think you've heard this tune before, it was used in a VW commercial back in 2003 or something.

I hope all my Youtubing isn't turning into blog filler - like on a sitcom when they'd look back at moments from the past and leave the viewers feeling ripped off. It's -14 in Toronto today and my bank account is hung over until next payday. Scouring the city for vintage cool just ain't happening right this moment.

I do feel a thrift coming on and I'll be back on the prowl by the end of the week. Hang in there for cool vintage bargoons! I have to find vintage booty for my thriftacular winners too.

Erin

Take it away Alex Patterson:

Where Were all the Seventies Feminists?

Happy new year! Since most of my readers are female, I thought I'd take a look back at some crazy commercials from the decade of my birth. I'm not entirely sure if we've come a long way since then, given the recent commercial when a woman has to trick her idiotic boyfriend into marriage by proposing with Maple Leaf Bacon in the resealable packaging. I get the Side Show Bob shudders just thinking about it.

Anyway, let's go back in time.

Hey, that was 1981. Go back further!

Oh yeah. That's the ticket.

This is the strangest commercial, almost Twin Peaks-esque, before there was Twin Peaks. Creepy older woman with braided hair - check, Stepford wife - check, sexist husband - check, eerie lack of cheerful coffee background music - check.

If the evil Mrs. Olsen weren't enough, get a load of this commercial. Here, a woman seems to undergo some sort of spirit possession when her husband's disgustingly greasy shirt collar gets into her soul. The suitcase - which she is forced to pack on behalf of her incompetent and greasy husband - taunts her. Is she losing her mind or is the shirt really trying to tell her something? You be the judge.

Finally - an empowered woman in the seventies. Go girl! And don't take any #$%! off those car dealers!