Saturday, December 31, 2011

It's Over !

the Christ-mas calendar says it's over.....which is only partly true. for me, the year begins at the winter solstice and not in a nature-religion kind of way....it just is what's the real thing. The Earth. The Moon ...and the stars.
A West coast girl I've always been, and a West coast girl I will always be.
There's always changes going on...Once the kids grew up, I knew I'd be leaving Washington state...the  good thing I can say about Washington is that I-5 goes south.

I've been looking for a motorhome ....an RV. I  know what I want ...so I just have to find it. At first I thought, for the last 42 years, I wanted a trailer to pull behind a truck. But.. Knowing that all dreams, plans and  journeys are not always pleasant.....





I have always wished for a big decrepit house on an acre or so. That's all. Nothing special. Now, I know that will never happen. The world has changed so much in the last 5 years and it won't be set right again in my lifetime. All the hard work done by my parents and grandparents, The New Deal, has been destroyed.





The whole reason we can even buy a RV and drive it around, is because people pay taxes and build roads, parks, fund Highway Patrol/Police so we can feel safe...So that we don't become Mexico with 100% corrupt politicians and police, and drug-infested cartels that roam the cities and country and murder hundreds of people a month...and don't forget. Poverty. So thanks for voting for the very people, the Republicans, and their failure in letting "the market" control goodness, those that hate community and the Social Contract, and everything good about America. Except profit.

So....on to the search for the right RV. I'll come back to the RV chat many times. So much to know! Looking for one and I'll know it when I see it !

an RV in tiny versions....a  tootsie toy




...Here's some sweet pics from around the interwebs of inspiring rvs and nice interiors. It's important to know what I don't want....no cutesy, no Marilyn/Betty Boop/words of Inspiration decals/no Coca-cola/no Diner....So Done..Done! Also, I love authentic vintage decor....but I don't want that.....day after day after day after day.....

(look at grandma vacuum!) photo from


More like the way I decorate in my home.....




Winnebago RV made in Iowa.



Even Barbie likes to RV it !







so the huge plaids and dirty orange carpets will be the first to get tossed out. Also, say bye bye to the built-in dinette benches and fold up half-table. Out!  A real couch, and a real table with real chairs. Add in a composting toilet, then the propane oven and the stove top will go too...Only a heater will remain...to run on propane maybe. Very little cooking will happen in my portable home. I'll use a camp stove...or cook outside.  ....And solar panels will be added to be able to boondock more, rather than always be tied to an RV park...tho I've got nothing against them at all. I love them!!




I've been doing a lot of research.
folks who RV full-time seem to break down into 4 groups:
1)A lot of Christians/Mormons. Jesus wants you to live in mobile home.
2)Bums. Homeless. The Slabs.
3)Retired old people. Retired young people. (yuppies who have kicked the corporate job/or fired with a nice package)
4)Hippies. Weirdos. The Self-employed.

For seeing how the middle class and yuppie types in general do the trailer thing,
.....you can go here: Tin Can cottage Blog
for a jumping off spot to see the cutesy wootsey kind of campers and trailers and generally man-repeller design. As cute as my Xmas cards.




Here's a cute trailer...Light on over-decoration.....Darcy and Paul's Shasta. yes, a man lives here too! 

So while the vintage Trailer bunch is growing in popularity, and is quite huge with trailer meets and such............the vintage RV group is more sedate and more male. ....but, it is growing ....More people are finding the vintage RV's and motorhomes and fixing them up, and beginning to attract a younger crowd, and more folks with kids. I think the extra  room and the ideal of living in them full time is a big draw.
Even the websites......are vintage 1997!
Dedicated to classic Winnies and vintage RVs

Great RV forum

so our last camping trip was the best ! and including the car camping trip to California last September.
tho the tent...is comfy but now that we're getting older, we want a unit that's self-contained. We want to  pull up to a spot and have it all at hand. No more setting up the tent, unpacking, blowing up the bed, getting out the camp stove, the ice chest, the folding table and chairs......I do love my tent, and my pretty bed....



the inside is always cute and cozy......just the way I like it !

Monday, December 26, 2011

Best Costume for the Day

there's a lot one can say about getting dressed....Warmth, not getting arrested for indecent exposure, comfort, and function. Lots of women dress (or undress) for attracting a mate, a date, or Mr. Right Now.






and well,  Matt Dillon. hubba hubba.
I have mostly dressed for function, and then, Imagination!

I start with a theme in mind, and choose colors and a style to fit whatever dream, movie, object, nightmare...I woke up feeling like ....

 the violet of the night sky....

the Moon........the sunflower..........
whatev'


Allow me to explain.
Once, I wanted to be the sky. Oh sure, dress in Light Blue, you say. done and done.
It's not that easy, Jeff.
With me, I made a pair of pants from rainbow stripe fabric, and then topped it with a white fluffy angora sweater. so yeah...... fluffy white cloud...and a rainbow. True. Story.

I mostly dress like a mash-up of Miss Havisham/Morticia/Laura Ashley/a boy. works for me.




 With this dress, clearly, some spider earrings, a pair of tall black boots and a little handknit 80s cardigan in black angora.



Other days....oh you know. Amelia Earhart.
Sailor.
Elf.






Beach bum.
English professor.



 Tank Girl's mom.




So, I'm only a bit ashamed/proud to be an out and out follower of Disneybound tumbler and on Pinterest.
They do exactly what I do, and have done as far back as I remember...that is, I dress my mood and I don't give a flip what's in or out of style. I stopped following anything in a fashion magazine one day when I found out that wearing Cover Girl make-up and Yardley's Twiggy Slicker  lipstick, did not turn me into Penelope Tree or Twiggy ..(what is up with the English naming people for objects? I like it !!)


 photo from Dedicated Follower...


Here's some of my current faves from Disney Bound !

Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer.



Storm Trooper from Star Wars



Sam the Snowman from one of the Best Christmas cartoons ever made !


Thursday, December 22, 2011

The Vintage Doll for a Vintage Christmas Dream

Can't we all just get along?




A 1946 combination live-action and stop-motion animation film by the Czech brothers Borivoj Zeman and Karel Zeman. Originally titled Vánoční sen, it was dubbed in English for international audiences.

via mentalfloss

Archive post from July 2008

There are actually about 12 vintage and retro clothing and accessories sellers on Vintage Row....in Tacoma.....
yeah it used to be Antique Row.....but times change !

Yup come on Down!!

Link to HOTROD-A-RAMA

And Hot Rod A Rama!!!! is August 1 & 2 ....
Yippiee...come on let's celebrate the death of middle class car culture...and the LIFE of Outta Control Lowbrow Hot Rod Kulture.......

Summer wardrobe got the blahs? I got lots of fresh new stuff I just put out and.....Wednesday...come and visit
Lots of stuff for guys too....vintage cowboy shirts, holey jeans...and a few cons left.......
















Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Archive Post December 2007. Back to Happy times....

One of my favorite blogs..Lulus vintage..did a lovely post about buying vintage for Christmas.....great advice for any holiday or birthday.....
Now on to Biba ..one of my favorite clothes designers....here's a vid..



And by way of Senorita Hollywood comes word of an article on Biba in this month's BUST ....

and take a trip to 60s London.....

Monday, December 12, 2011

McQuay Norris, USA. weird car



photo from


This is a 1934 McQuay-Norris Streamliner. Only 6 were built, and were made to be  test cars and a promotional vehicle for the McQuay-Norris Company of St. Louis, USA, which manufactured car parts, that  a mechanic needed to rebuild a car engine or body.

The 6 tiny cars were made by Cincinnati, Ohio's Hill Auto Body Metal Company. Using a stock 1932-33 Ford V-8 chassis and engines, they are made of  steel sheet metal attached to wood framing. There's no rear windows or  windshield wipers...so they had to be driven fast !!  to roll the rainwater off the Plexiglass windshields.
To see behind, there are rear-view mirrors mounted on either side.
The McQuay-Norris cars had bigger-than-normal tires, and  McQuay-Norris engineer George E. Leutwiler related that, "These cars were easy to drive, but they had some peculiarities. For instance, you needed good shocks or the car would dance around a lot, because of the donut tires. In those days most of the roads were nothing but gravel."

There's only 2 left, and 1 belongs to Hemmings Motor News.
Read lots more here.



photos from


Why did I need to know this? I snagged this neat tshirt...The neon cobra is awesome enough....and a google search brought me all this info....
Neon. Cobra. Deadstock 80s vintage t shirt !! McQuay Norris

Vintage 80s T shirt, deadstock.