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Stop Watching All of those French-inspired Films: Go Wash Your Dishes

Following up on my Saturday-morning post about Valentine's Day, I kept hitting the remote and discovered the TCM channel was running a marathon of old French-inspired movies. I kept thinking, "Okay, watch this and then go find something to do... " The line-up was Casablanca, Midnight in Paris, GiGi, and Charade. I love all four of these movies for different reasons. Like, who else wants to stand up and sing La Marseillaise and drown out the tune of the Germans in Casablanca? This movie is more than Rick and Ilsa. I think the moments when Rick gives the band a nod to change the music and the French stand up to sing are the greatest scenes in cinematic history. It's a fun journey as screenwriter Gil Pender meets Hemingway, Cole Porter, Gertrude Stein, and Scott and Zelda in 21st-century Paris in Midnight in Paris. Gil is sitting at the steps of the Church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont when an old Peugeot limo picks him up and whisks him away. I also sat on those same ste...
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A Very Vintage Christmas

Vin·tage
/ˈvin(t)ij/ 
The word vintage literally means "of age." With such an open meaning, there are many interpretations. Most antique dealers consider an item to be vintage if it is at least 40 years old. As an example below, a vintage item would be made between 1918 and 1978. 
 
As an adult, for me, the best part of Christmas is the memories: Watching the 1954 holiday classic movie, White Christmas with my Dad. Before the movie started he would recite the history of the movie and how its origins started with another movie Holiday Inn. There's the clam chowder that was served every Christmas Eve, and every year Dad would try to replicate the clam chowder we often ate at Ivars Acres of Clams on Pier 54 at Seattle's waterfront. It was his favorite (Now we can find the recipe on the internet). Mom gave us the chore of putting tinsel on the tree - one strand of tinsel at a time. When she wasn't looking, we would just throw wads of it on the tree. Not sure why we thought we could get away with it... 

This year, and often as in past years, there's just a glimpse of vintage Christmas around my house. Every year I remind myself the more holiday decor I bring out, the more I have to put away. 
  

An old handpainted ceramic candle holder sits on my coffee table. The cutout of the candle and flame allows the light to come through. It was a find I rescued from the local Goodwill. 


The Christmas girl and the Star Elf (Marked "Made in Occupied Japan") were produced by Napco, a pottery brand that started in the 1930s in Ohio, USA. The brand was known for its novelty florist vases and figures. The company also imported from Japan in the 1950s.


The 1950s Miller Rosbro vintage miniature hard plastic snowmen. The snowmen and Santas were often designed to hold candy or hung from the tree. Miller Rosbro also made miniature hard plastic Halloween decor.

This is only half of the collection of vintage Putz houses. The name for Putz houses evolved from the German word for "putzen," which means to clean or decorate.  These little houses have now been around decorating holiday mantles everywhere close for 100 years. 

May you find a few vintages in your holiday decor along with many wonderful memories. Happy Holidays. 
 

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  1. CarrieDecember 8, 2022 at 11:28 PM

    I was hoping to see a Napco piece here and you didn't disappoint! I don't own one yet.. I'm off to Etsy!

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    1. wild walla walla wine womanDecember 10, 2022 at 8:34 PM

      I should have bought a few more when people were practically giving them away at yard sales during the 70s-80s. While you're hunting, try eBay, too!

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