On the Road: The Rose Parade

On January 1, 2011, Jonathan and I were fortunate enough to attend the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, California. Throughout my childhood, my mother and grandmother had told stories about the Rose Parades that they had attended in the '60s and '70s, and I had always wanted to see the parade for myself. When Jonathan surprised me with tickets, I couldn't believe it. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

While our modern-day rose parade didn't smell like flowers (something that I found to be very disappointing), the overall experience was a magical one. We went to bed several hours before midnight on New Year's Eve (something I hadn't done since I was a little kid) and arose at 4 a.m. to make the drive from Cerritos to Pasadena. We slept in the car in the parking garage for a little while, and then walked down Colorado Boulevard to the grandstand. It was freezing -- very unlike California --  and everyone was bundled up like Eskimos. Once we were seated, I pulled out my giant camera and shot tons of photos to remember the day.

From the breathtaking backdrop (and city) to the painstakingly beautiful floats (decorated entirely with flowers, plants and seeds), a trip to the Tournament of Roses parade is something that should be on everyone's bucket list. It was the perfect way to welcome 2011. 

Learn more about the parade here. 

Collections: Vintage Shiny-Brite Ornaments

This is the first of several posts about our personal collection of vintage Christmas ornaments. We have a lot of Christmas ornaments in our family! Some of the few ornaments that Jonathan and I have purchased ourselves are vintage Shiny-Brite ornaments. Five years ago when we first began visiting Memphis antique malls, we kept seeing these lovely faded glass ornaments that also happened to be very affordable. We learned these ornaments were called Shiny-Brites and were marketed as such on their original boxes and metal caps. We bought several boxes of Shiny-Brites that year. After doing some research, we learned that Shiny-Brites were the original American glass Christmas ornaments. According to our research, all glass ball ornaments came from Germany prior to World War II. Shortly before the war began, a savvy American businessman named Max Eckardt (who had previously been importing the ornaments from Germany) decided to make American-made ornaments. The ornaments were proudly marketed that way and were all decorated by hand. The age of the ornaments can usually be determined by the hanger. The WWII-era balls didn't include the metal cap because of the metal shortage, but the ornaments that were made following WWII did.

Sadly, the company closed in the early 1960s when plastic ornaments and artificial trees increased in popularity. Fortunately, thanks to their mass appeal during the '40s and '50s, today they can be found at estate sales and antique malls. As you can see, we are quite addicted to their faded charm!

This was the first box of Shiny-Brites that we purchased. They are cute mini ornaments.

The boxes are as charming as the ornaments themselves. I think this box is from the '40s.

We bought this green ornament by itself. You can see "Shiny-Brite American Made" on the cap.

The colors are amazing...

...as is the graphic design on the boxes. Notice the price. Lowenstein's was a popular Memphis department store back in the day.

Pink ornaments were really popular in the '50s and '60s. I bet these were some of the last ornaments Shiny-Brite manufactured. I love the crackled look they have.

More pink ornaments with a beautiful patina.

Lovely vintage Shiny-Brite boxes.

Do you have Shiny-Brites hanging on your Christmas tree?

Family Stories: Julie Faye's Birthday

My mother might be celebrating a birthday this weekend, although I've been forbidden to bake a cake...and what is a birthday without cake?!? In lieu of cake, here are some sweet photos of a young Julie Faye that I found while recently digging through family slides....As you can see, my family could have easily starred in a 1960s television sitcom...

Look at those presents -- very 1962! The little girl beside my mother in these photos is her cousin Cheri. Aren't their dresses adorable? I still dream about that couch. It stayed in our family until the late '80s. It definitely had a good run!

Every little girl's birthday wish - a pink doll cake! That's Joan standing next to my mother. Joan's sister Betty and Cheri (Betty's daughter) are also pictured.

Coordinating with Cheri! I don't think this is a birthday photo, but it was too fun not to include.

As you can see, they liked driveway photos!

More candle blowing...

There are birthday streamers wrapped around the tablecloth and on the table. Very fun. And yes, in case you're wondering, some of these slides are backwards...I'm still getting the hang of nighttime slide scanning! It's too dark in my studio now that the time has changed!

Posing with birthday gifts. I bet that parasol came from somewhere in the Orient. My great-grandmother made several trips there during her lifetime. I have those slides as well!

This shot was too precious not to include. As you can tell from the turkey and turkey plates, it's from Thanksgiving.

Those pheasants on the table live at my house these days, and that is my dining room table! My mom still has the wooden bird, leather chairs, turkey dishes and emerald glass server. She is definitely her mother's daughter -- very sentimental and doesn't part with anything unless it is handed off to my sister and me. I consider that trait one of the best ones to have -- plus it means the treasures in your home are one-of-a-kind, environmentally friendly and good on the wallet. You can't beat that.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful mom! :)

Collections: Vintage Avon

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="1939,1936,1937,1938"] These Avon pretties have been in our family since the 1960s. I'm not sure if they were originally purchased by my great-grandmother or grandmother, but I remember seeing them at Joan's house throughout my childhood. When Jonathan and I moved into our first apartment, the bath oil bottle was the very first thing of Joan's that my mother gave us. We inherited the powder box a few years later. It is particularly special to me because I can remember it being filled with Joan's curler pins. She curled her hair every single day, and I can still remember the way her curlers smelled as they were heating up. As I child, I loved to watch her at her makeup table -- curling her hair, applying foundation, mascara and lipstick and spritzing herself with her favorite perfume -- O de Lancome. It has been more than 10 years since I watched her with awe, but the image in my mind is still very vivid and will always be one of my favorite memories of her.

I would imagine that many women across the country have similar memories of their mothers and grandmothers, thanks to Avon. If you frequent estate sales or antique malls, then you’ve likely seen quite a few of their pretty bottles and boxes. Avon is one of those nostalgic brands that still feels very current, but it has actually been around since 1886.

Their story is pretty inspiring. Avon's founder, David M. McConnell, started his career as a traveling bookseller with an entrepreneur’s intuition. As he was peddling his books, he noticed that his female customers enjoyed his free perfume samples (that he made himself) more than his books. He also recognized that many of these customers were struggling to make ends meet but that they would make excellent salespeople. With these thoughts in mind, he launched his California Perfume Company.

Mr. McConnell’s ideas caught on like wildfire because he fulfilled a need and genuinely cared about his products and his employees. The California Perfume Company followed simple but very important principles that remain in place today – it brought jobs to people who needed them, recognized that each employee could bring something special to the table, gave back to the community and offered great products with a satisfaction guarantee. By the turn of the century, Mr. McConnell had recruited 5,000 salespeople. In 1920, his company’s sales topped $20 million. Today, sales have exceeded $11 billion. In recent years, the company has been through numerous financial struggles and scandals, but the Avon name still holds special meaning for generations of American women.

Also, if you’re curious about the company’s original name, Mr. McConnell chose the California Perfume Company to honor his business partner friend from California. Although the company began using the Avon name (a reference to William Shakespeare's home Stratford-upon-Avon) on packaging as early as 1930, it officially changed its name to Avon in 1939.

To see more vintage Avon beauty products and ads, visit our Vintage Beauty Pinterest board.

Do you have a favorite Avon memory?