Le Beaujolais Nouveau 1988

I love original vintage advertising posters and wine (particularly Riesling which - and I know this is naughty, I always drink with ice, unless we're in a restaurant and I'm pretending to be all flash and fancy)

Turns out good Riesling is cheaper than vintage posters. We've always got wine in the house, but until a recent find at a garage sale, no posters.

Today I picked this up from the picture framer.
(excuse the packaging, I'm keeping it safe and sound until Anth is home to hang it)

It cost eight dollars for the poster, and alot more than that to have it framed - I did try Ikea (I'm not a fan - it's bedlam here in Perth, I always feel like one of those lab rats stuck in a maze...) but alas, none of their frames were the right size.

So what do you think?

Do you like it?

(it was so hard to get a pic without my reflection in the glass)

The lady we bought it from has the most marvelous 60's home, in original nick, not ponced up, right on the banks of the Swan (River). She bought the poster herself while she was on holiday in France. Just the colours and the feel of the ink on paper were enough for me - it may be a spring chicken in the world of vintage posters, but I love it.

Here's a vintage poster currently for sale at Galerie Montmarte in Melbourne, designed to celebrate "the new wine" in 1993, just as our poster was, five years earlier.

Buvons Le Vin Nouveau. 1993. Artist, Raymond Savignac

(image and more info here)

It's very cute, isn't it, and you know I'm mad about yellow. I love the 'baby' Beaujolais in the pram, and the grapey 'do',

Beaujolais Nouveau is basically a young (very young - now you get the baby reference) red wine made from Gamay grapes grown in the Beaujolais region of France.

Every year on the third Thursday in November, just weeks after the grapes have been harvested, there is a race to deliver the first of the vintage. Posters like these are made to celebrate the arrival of the new Beaujolais.

but I think I like ours more...because it's just that, ours!

Now, to end

(and this couldn't be any less related to fine wines if I tried!)

Anth sent me this picture of one the salads on offer for dinner on the rig

it's called Pineapple Surprise!

Anth says: "apparently it is quite tasty, but I can't bring myself to try it..."

If you think you could do better or worse(!) don't forget to sign-up for the Lucy Violet Vintage/Hung Up On Retro "It's a Retro Cook-Off". We'd love you to join in. Just click that little button in the top corner of my blog to find out how.

Thanks, bon appetite and goodnight  x

p.s. I forgot to mention that Georges Duboeuf is the founder of Les Vins Georges Duboeuf, one of the largest and best known wine merchants in France.

Sometimes when I go op-shopping I get so excited about finding 'treasure' that I buy it, without checking it out first properly. This happened to me a couple of days ago when I spotted a little pile of Ladybirds in the oppy. You should've seen me snatch them up! I was like a crazy woman -  which is quite embarrassing on reflection.

(In my defence, I will say its been quite a while since I've found any. Ahem)

It wasn't until I got home that I realised those Ladybirds are phonies. Well, not phonies per se, they are real, but they're definetely not vintage.

Not only do they have glossy pages (which dates them post 1983), they also have a great big fat barcode on the back. In one of the illustrations, Jane and Peter are drinking from cans of Coca-Cola! I know, just draw a big S for sucker on my forehead!

Anyway (and I know this is drawing a really, really long bow) what do you do when life gives you lemons/dud Ladybirds? You make lemonade, right...

Here's what I did...

(and I know I'm not re-inventing the wheel here)  

I stitched some

(more) cards.

I kept the cover

lined it with a French map (from a Michelin motoring atlas - another op-shop find) to hide my mess,

popped the cards inside, tied it with some vintage trim and le voila, a homemade stationary set! 

Total cost for ten cards = two dollars and twenty cents.

This doesn't include the trim which cost twenty cents for the whole card (my maths isn't good enough to work that one out!) or the map - I paid two dollars for one hundred and ninety maps - you do the maths if you're interested...

Lemonade? I reckon I've turned those Ladies into Champagne! And if I can do it, you can too (I'm talking to all you wonky stitchers like me here) I'm definitely making more, so watch out...Christmas is just around the corner! 

I should've known better!

x

Op-Shopped Hits and a Miss (which could be yours...)

but I'll get to that later.

Although I'm not as crazy about op-shopping as I used to be (Quelle horreur!) here are some pics of my more recent hits



Little ceramic basket vase (ex ceramics class I'd say), filled with ?,* spotted and plucked furtively while taking the dog for a walk this morning. Fifty cents.

Another Hookey board. I'm going to hang this in our kitchen. Vintage tea towels will hang from its hookey hooks. Anth's childhood baseball bat to the right. Oh and I've taken to using an old Willow, fruit and veg storage bin to stash my Ladybird overflow.

Beautiful barkcloth cushion. one dollar.

Homemade pottery (love this) inscribed Karru WA. Fifty cents. Planted up with Rosary Beads/String of Pearl Plant, one dollar swap meet.

Little ceramic basket vase #2, this one made in Italy. Un dollaro.

A bundle of unused vintage cards. Ten cents each.

Isn't this a gorgeous card. It was designed by Sue Adam's (her Daisy Lane range) for The Phil Taylor Studios (one of Australia's oldest greeting card design companies - it celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last year) These cards, from the 60's and 70's have been reissued. You can buy them (and check the dreamy illustrations) here. Mine's an original (just saying)

Johnson Brothers casserole. Made in England. Three dollars. I bought this because I loved its charcoal lid and because it's something we will use. There was a whole set of this in the oppy, but I resisted temptation because I knew most of it would've ended up gathering dust in the shed.

And now (and this is where you come in) a miss

I bought this Geoff Bade 80's dress for daughter #1 to wear to a fancy-schmancy work do (she is a clever cookie, who goes to uni and has an internship with a prestigious accounting firm - proud Mum talking)

When she saw it she said it was the "fugliest" dress she had ever seen! Ouch! I got that one wrong, didn't I...

I think

it's

beautiful.

If you don't mind a bit of 80's ra-ra, or frocking up Cyndi Lauper style, and you think it's beautiful too, it's yours. Just send me a note. I will randomly choose a new owner if there's more than one fan. The label says size 12, but these days it would be more of a size 8 - 10.

Anyway to end, here's another hit (most of the time!)

It's Adelaide, frocked up, her way.

x

* if you can identify this plant, please send me a note.

UPDATE: Em tells me it's a Spurge, (what a horrible name for something so gorgeous) which is a tupe of Euphorbia. Thanks Em x

Move Over Ladybirds...

Uncle Arthur's in da House!

Arthur S. Maxwell, aka Uncle Arthur, began writing these 'bedtime stories' in 1923. He was a Seventh Day Adventist and prolific author of over 1000 highly moralistic tales. 

Here he is with his grandchildren.

Annabel and I found these yesterday in an op-shop. Ninety-nine cents each and in perfect condition. They were either treasured, or never read - I'd put my money on the second option.

If you were trying to encourage your child to read (even a 70's child, which is when these volumes were published) you would not give her/him one of Uncle Arthur's books. Sleep inducing? No question. A page turner? No Way!

Fast forward forty years though, and these little books are giving us (well Annabel and I at least) so much more bang for the buck we paid. They are hilarious. A retro lover's dream come true - fashion, furniture, interiors, gardens, etc. These books have got it all! Yes, they're preachy (Uncle Arthur very nearly refers to himself as J.C. in at least one story!), politically incorrect and old-fashioned, but they're also a charming and lovely reminder of "the olden days" (that's how my girls refer to my childhood. Ha! I'm not that old!)

Anyway, as per usual I've written more than I intended (I hope I haven't lost you...) Here are some of my favourite pics from the books. No more words from me, Uncle Arthur's captions are sheer perfection (you'll see...)

from Robber in the House

(we love Bobby)

from Vic and the Vandals

from Lena and the Lizard

(this one cracks me up. every time.)

from Showing Off

from Dawn and the Desks

from Tell Tale Tiny

from When Victor Vanished

(including this one mostly because I like those chairs)

from How Amy Got Anointed

(we feel your pain Michael, bad hair days suck!)

I could've included heaps more - I might just have to do another tribute to Uncle Arthur down the track...

Until then:

and God bless x

  

Vintage Tea Towel Tuesday (well, kind-off...)

Q: When is a vintage tea towel not a vintage tea towel?

A: When it's a vintage tea towel wall hanging like this.

I found this little beauty in an old fashioned, proper, junk shop on the weekend. It set me back one dollar and two lids full of Napisan (it was FILTHY!) I love it.



I remember finding an old jar of Savory (well past its use-by-date) in Lucy Violet's pantry when we cleaned up her little house when she died. I've never used it myself though, or even seen a jar among all the other herbs and spices in the supermarket, for that matter. Have you?

My wall hanging says this about Savory:

A herb of the mint family. Comes from France and Spain. Ground for flavouring meat, poultry and sauces.

I just love its name - I think it's the best name ever for a herb, much more exciting than ordinary old Basil, Dill, or Mint. I reckon it's up there with Marjoram, (which also has a nice ring to it) don't you?

I'm quite fond of Sage too, and it's such a pretty plant. Gorgeous silver foliage, pretty purple flowers in Spring. You should grow some - it's hardy and bees love it. Here's ours (it has thrived on neglect, and three hot, dry Summers!)

x

It's a Retro Cook-Off!

Due to the overwhelming (cough cough) response to our recent retro cooking posts. See here and here (don't look if you've woken up feeling a bit seedy this morning!) Donna and I have decided to launch a bloggy retro cook-off link up, and we'd LOVE you to pop on your aprons and join us.

I'll let Donna's awesome poster do the talking:

isn't this one of the most revolting things you've ever seen? I don't think I need to say what it reminds me of. Do I?

Here's a little something I whipped up earlier to gross you out inspire you...

it's another recipe from my trusty Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book (although it's a bit of a stretch calling it a recipe)

May I present to you in all it's wobbly glory Jellied Pineapple Slices.

Here's Ruby's

and here's mine

Hungry?

My stylin needs work (but I've got plenty of time to practise) and if I ever cook with jelly in a retro recipe again I'm adding food colouring. I think there must've been extra chemicals in jelly of old, that gave Ruby's that fluro, Hulk-ish, green!

So, are you up for it???

Hope so.

p.s. your retro recipe does not have to include pineapple (sorry Ruby)

p.p.s. and please, tell your friends!

x

There's owls...

Old school:

Minerva

Nellie

"Bright eyed and bushy tailed, Nellie can't wait to adorn your den or breakfast nook. In fact she's green with envy to think you might choose something else to accent your home"

Sophia

Doc

"Meet Doc. This dandy young man is flapping his wings so you'll appreciate his handsome knots. But, he doesn't really give a hoot what colours you make him in because he'll look dashing in any shade you choose. So why not invite this young man into your 'nest' He'll make a fine-feathered friend. And, besides, who could resist those striking tail feathers and those big brown eyes?"

Seriously?

Sounds like a personal ad - and no I didn't write it, although I almost wish I did. I'm not responsible for their names either btw.*

and there's owls...

Pippa's cool

Spring

Which cool do you prefer?

I'd choose one of Pippa's gorgeous creations any day of the week - she does need to work on her blurbs though (ha-ha!)

Click here for more info (Christmas is just around the corner...)

*Minerva, Nellie, Sophia and Doc come to you courtesy of a selection of vintage macrame patterns I found in the oppy the other day. If you see any yourself buy them, those things are hilarious. And the people who made them? I'm talking the stuff of your Freaky Friday  dreams  nightmares Donna! One bloke is called Milt!

x