The Mad Hatter: Crazy Awesome Hats On Ebay

I've been looking for some new hats on Etsy and found some really interesting ones. You have to check them out below. To get more information, just click on the title under each photo. Enjoy!

Vintage Pink Showgirl Headpiece

Vintage Rose Hat

Yellow Lilac Cap

Colorful Tilt Hat

Schiaparelli Floral Hat

Retro-Modern Valentines Day Decorations

I spent my Sunday decorating the kitchen with Valentines Day cheer. I love the color pink, and I use any excuse to show it off. We spend a lot of time in the kitchen, especially around the table, so that is where I stared. Here is a snap of the whole area:

Isn't that festive!

This is a closer look at the nook.

As you can see, I have been trying to get bigger pictures to post, but I uploaded them with a very low resolution. I think it might be too low! Please be patient as I experiment with the picture size and resolution on the blog.

Here are some close-up snaps of the shelves:

I always have the vintage food containers in little vignettes on the shelves, and then I fill them in with flowers and other tsotchkes. My husband and I have been collecting them for years. The large 'candy' hearts are actually made out of ceramic and I bought them ages ago. Aren't they cute?

This is a close up of the glitter hearts I made to hang on the windows. I will post about how to make them (so easy) tomorrow.

So have you decorated for Valentines Day?

Etsy Thursday

I thought it would be fun to bring you some of my Etsy finds from this week. I am focusing on 'hoop art'- usually consisting of embroidery and/or mixed media framed in a sewing hoop. I found enough interesting hoops to create an Autumn collection. I think they would look cool displayed together to create a Fall themed wall. You could even collect other hoops and change them out each season. For some reason I imagine this collection in a laundry room- you know, to spice up the place a bit.


Art Nouveau Pine Cone


Large Embroidered Tree


Harvest Cicada


Autumn Tree


Slick Beetle


Brown Tumbling Leaf

Funny Little Cupcake Holder

Isn't this the most adorable thing you have ever seen? It is a single cupcake holder! How fun would it be to have a cupcake above each place setting when your girlfriends come over for a luncheon? It would instantly start conversation, that's for sure!

You could also use these for an interesting place setting with a single flower set in the holder with a wee little place card. Or what about starting a meal with an amuse-bouche set inside the glass? It would make a spectacular presentation!

Another idea would be to use it to highlight a little knick-knack on a mantle or display area. I am always looking for things to help give height and focus to a collection and this would be perfect!

I feel they are kind of expensive right now, but knowing Anthropologie, they will be on sale soon enough. When they go on sale, I will be sure to let you all know.

Can you think of anything else these might be used for?

L.A. Vintage Expo Review: Part 2

Here is Part 2:


I found a lovely rayon knit dress from Vaudeville Vintage that matched my new hat perfectly. Score! They had the most amazing vintage sundress with a fish print I wanted SO BAD! But it was too expensive for my blood.



Frock You Vintage had a large booth with many, many dresses. I ended up buying two 1950's silk dresses from them. One was a blue floral and the other was a pink floral. I adore them both. Oh! I also got a wonderful hibiscus cotton circle skirt from them as well. Their prices were excellent.



(You know you would rock this amazing costume on Halloween!)

I found this crazy lamp and had to take a picture of it! Would you believe this is not one of a kind! There are actually two of them, and the pair is retailing for $500. If you are interested, feel free to email me and I can get you in touch with the seller. Because I mean, who doesn't want a pair of S&M lamps?



Finally, one of the last booths I visited was from this adorable family who own Elsewhere Vintage. They have a bricks and mortar store in Old Towne Orange, which is a vintage Mecca. Maybe TOARMH need to take a field trip down there. But I digress. Elsewhere had wonderful clothing and even better jewelry. But the thing I liked best was the fact their daughter was in head to toe vintage. How cool is that!

(cutest family ever!)

As a final story, I have to tell you about my run-in with the ever glamorous Trina Turk. I have mentioned in the past that I interned for Trina about a million years ago when I studied at FIDM. I ended up working for her sales rep for a year until I had my first child. My love for Trina has never ebbed, even though I have not seen her in years. I always check out her collections and always read her various interviews through the years. I find Trina to be almost like a mentor, even though the relationship is one sided. So as I was leaving the show I saw her in a booth! Well, I about died. I went up to her and told her how much I love her and how influential she was to me. I sounded like a total idiot, but how 'cool' can you be when you are telling a stranger you love them. So I totally turned red, thanked her again for being so awesome and then ran out of the show! But it was worth it because I think it is important to thank the people who made a difference in your life- even if you do sound like a total tool when you are doing it.

Next time I think I will hit the show closer to noon. There were a lot more interesting people coming in as I was leaving. I think my next post on the show will be less about the vendors and more about the people who attend the show.

L.A. Vintage Expo Review: Part 1

Hello kittens! I had a wonderful weekend because I was able to attend the vintage expo! It was my first time and it was amazing!

I got there bright and early when the doors opened at 9:00am. I thought there would be a huge line, but there were only about 40 people waiting when I got there. I also thought everyone would be dressed up in vintage, but only two other ladies, besides myself, were dressed in vintage.

(This is Ailene, one of the snazzy dressers. Don't you just love her mustard clutch?)

The first thing I did when the doors opened was find Timeless Vixen- my FAVORITE online store. I have purchased at least 4 dresses from her, but we have never met, so I introduced myself by my first name, and then said, 'but I go by The Glamorous Housewife'. Well, once I gave my online name, her eyes lit up and she said she was so thrilled to meet me. The feeling was mutual, and I took a ton of photos of her booth. I think I might make an appointment to check out her full collection in a couple of weeks. I will be sure to report back when I do.






After the love fest at Timeless Vixen, I went back to the front of the expo and just started going from booth to booth. There were a lot of wonderful vendors, but some had items I am not interested in like southwest vintage, or Victorian vintage. I DID find a wonderful 1940's suit that fits me perfectly from Clever Vintage. They have a store in downtown Los Angeles, but are not online yet. When they decide to venture onto the world wide web, I will be sure to let you dolls know.



I also found an amazing hat and necklace from Trini's Treasure. Trini also doesn't have an online presence. She mainly does the shows. I was pretty surprised at how many vendors didn't have a webstore. Considering how inexpensive it is to sell online these days, I was surprised more hadn't moved online.





Stay tuned for the second part of this post. There is a crazy lamp you have got to see to believe it AND a funny story.

Etsy Find: Funny Little Dolls

I was 'window shopping' on Etsy and found these funny little dolls that someone dressed in crepe paper. How delightful are they? I think I like the turquoise one the best (go figure), but I also really like the yellow one. I would buy them, but with the move coming up, I am afraid they would just get lost. So I wanted to give you, my dear readers, a chance to purchase your very own vintage 50's doll.

Thrift Shop Goodies

I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked thrifting in Austin, but here is what I ended up getting:

A lovely little headvase- I keep my make-up brushes in it. I know she is old and damaged, but I thought she was so pretty so I just had to have her. (and I predict a post about headvases in the near future)

A notepad holder. But look- it matches my car!

A vintage book about flower arranging.

Another vintage book with funny little crafts and games to play.

A metal tray

I also found a nice new dress with apples all over it! I will be sure to post when I wear it.

Spotlight On: Fun Camping Tchotchkes

(via flickr)

When I was researching my posts for the week, I came across some tchotchkes (Yiddish for trinkets or knick-knacks) that are not vintage, but I still think they are really fun and interesting. I guess you could say it is the 'modern' part of Tales Of A Retro-Modern Housewife. I took a chance that you ladies might be interested in my little finds, so here they are:

My husband was an electrician for many years and would find old canisters, cans, and bottles under the houses he was working on. We have quite a collection of vintage containers and when I saw this I thought it would be a fun addition. But then I decided to let you dolls see this prize and go for it first.


This was hands down my favorite item. I mean, who doesn't need a felt campfire?

I thought this vintage charm bracelet was adorable. I am not a huge fan of the charm bracelet, but if I was, I would totally buy this.

In my new house we have a fake fireplace and I thought these log pillows would be funny in it. I also think these could be fun for a children's playroom to help spark their imagination. (Ha, get it? Spark?)

I just thought this squirrel was funny.

And finally:

How cool is this pillow? This would be perfect on a couch or in a rustic boy's room.

So there you have it, my round-up of campy, camp themed items.

PS: My sister reminded me of this: