Smells Like Rick Astley

This has absolutely nothing to do with vintage or anything else I usually write about, but this video is made of pure awesome. For your Saturday pleasure, I give you the Rick Astley "Never Gonna Give You Up VS. Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit" smackdown. Brilliant! You know, if you like that sort of thing.

My Aqua Blue Heaven Friday- Take A Letter Maria

Welcome to this week's edition of My Aqua Blue Heaven! I was talking with a friend this week about the good old days when people took the time to write letters, when girls took typing class with actual typewriters and those archaic green-screened computers with floppy disks. Being an old fashioned kind of gal, technology has never interested me much. My cell phone is nearly 4 years old-gasp!-in a time when people replace their cell phones as often as they replace rolls of toilet paper, this probably seems I'm stuck in the stone age. But if it ain't broke, don't fix it, I say. A phone is supposed to be a phone- you make a call, period. Since when is a phone that plays games and goes online to look up recipes and shows you YouTube videos of turtles dry humping sneakers a necessity? And lord have mercy if your phone doesn't have instant access to Twitter, so you can let the world know you're drinking coffee. That's important. Just another tool for humans to get even more narcissistic about their lives, isn't it? Sorry, but I'm not impressed with your iPhone or GPS or whatever one-uppers think is important in life. Give me family, friends, food and I'm a happy camper. I miss the days when you bought matching paper and envelopes and stickers and these old things called stamps. It's so much more personal and lovely to send someone a note on your unicorn and rainbow-themed stationary than it is to send a text. I miss the typewriter's electric hum- "whiirrrrrr"-that would put me to sleep when trying to type a boring-as-balls paper. I miss the "clackity clackity clack" of the raised keys. I miss the "ding!" when you got to the end of a line.

Today's theme may be heavy with longing for a simpler time, yes I know you can never go home again, yada yada yada, but I don't care. You can keep your Facebook profiles with pictures you took of yourself pouting in the bathroom mirror, give me typewriter ribbon-stained fingers or give me death! (No, please don't. That was just a dramatic ending for effect. Like jazz hands.) In searching for vintage typewriters, I found that they used to come in all colors, something I never paid attention to before: girlie pastels in the 50's and 60's (don't even get me started on the PINK typewriters. I can't even speak, I just can't...too verklempt...I will give you yet another topic: the Cold War. It was neither cold, not a war. Discuss....There. I'm better now.) to the classic gold and avocado models in the 70's. But as you know, today is Friday and that means the typewriters can only be in that delicious hue that we've made our bitch: aqua. Enjoy!




Vintage 50's Underwood Universal Typewriter w/Tweed Case.





Vintage Smith-Corona Corsair Deluxe Typewriter. How can you not love something with a name like the "Corsaire Deluxe"?




Vintage 50's Royal Quiet DeLuxe Typewriter. I love the keys on this one, for some reason. You can just tell they make a marvelous "clackety clackety" sound.




"Take a Letter Maria" by R.B. Greaves.

Way-Out Wednesday: There's a Tear in My Beer

Welcome to this week's Way-Out Wednesday, where it's beer o' clock all the time! I decided to class up the joint this week with a vintage beer theme. Oh, but that's not all. This is not just any beer theme, this is a beer theme you can wear. And lo, it was then that the clouds parted, and from the heavens a chorus of Nascar fans sang, "Beeeeer-allelujah!"








Vintage 70's Alpine Beer Tee Shirt.





Shirts are not to be worn with this pair of
Miller Genuine Draft Capris.





Hey! You'll look just like a swanky Sinatra in this Vintage 60's Stag Beer Straw Porkpie Hat, on your way to the swap meet!





A hat that combines crochet and Coors cans? Hot damn! And the color of this Vintage 70's Coors Beer Can Hat matches the mud on my Yosemite Sam "Back Off!" mudflaps. Joy!






What joy! Another one?! Well, smack my ass and call me a beaver! Wait 'til the ladies down at the bingo hall get a load of this Vintage 70's Coors Beer Can Sun Hat! You'll feel just like a young Sophia Loren soaking up the sun, as you wrassle gators.




"There's a Tear in My Beer" by Hank Williams.

Atomic Tuesday: Little Star

Welcome to this week's Atomic Tuesday! I haven't featured anything very glitzy or girlie or glam-ish in a while, so today's atomic theme is all about...well...glitzy, girlie, glam-ish things. How's that for descriptive? (Sigh. I'm not so creative with the words this morning, apparently.) Today's feature is the vintage 50's/60's starburst-y pin. Or "brooch" if you're of the fancy persuasion, which I am not. It's a pin. And fab ones, at that! So let's get this party bus on the road, shall we?
(What?! Sigh. I'm going back to bed.)




vintage enamel gold swirly starburst pin.





She wore bluuuuuue....rhinestones vintage atomic pin. (Was that too heavy on the cheese? I bet you're singing it in your head now, aren't you? That is my gift to you.)





vintage gold sputnik-y starburst pin.





vintage rhinestone highly atomic pin. Now that looks like the closest thing to an atomic symbol I've seen in a long time! Swell!





vintage asymmetrical rhinestone starburst pin. Oh man. This one's my favorite of the bunch! "Meet George Jetson..." is stuck in my head now. Yours too? You're welcome.






vintage big ol' explosion of rhinestones pin, in my current favorite color combo of aqua and green! Plus, it looks like one of those poisonous, under-the-ocean plants that tricks fish into thinking it's just a pretty plant and then-POW!-it eats it. I'm not sure if it's healthy that I think that way.





Speaking of poisonous sea critters, this vintage beaded spikey earring & pin set also looks like some demonic sea creature. Sea urchin? Deadly pufferfish? Undersea mines? All this talk of explosives and venomous spikey death fish has made me randy. Paging Dr. Freud.




"Little Star" by the Elegants.

July's Vintage Giveaway~ Shaken, Not Stirred

Welcome to July's Vintage Giveaway! All summer long I'm rockin' a cocktail theme! Why, you ask? Why not? Isn't it always a good time for a drinkiepoo of some sort? And you know what they say: It's 5 O'Clock...blah blah blah, you get the point. So this month's giveaway is a vintage 50's/60's cocktail shaker...





...And a handful of swizzle sticks, just for the hellofit!





The shaker stands about 8" tall, with a built-in strainer and removable lid. Made of matte, silver aluminum...





...with contrasting olive green polka dot-y holey cutouts showing through!



(Please excuse today's less-than-stellar pics. The shaker and stirrers are in perfect condition, showing almost zero wear, just so's you know. The crappy pictures may make it look otherwise. Damn you, cloudy day!)



Everyone is welcome to enter the contest, even if you're new around these parts! Just leave a comment that you want to be entered in the contest, or email me if you'd rather. I'll draw a name and announce the winner in one week from now, on July 27. Remember, the Vintage Giveaway is totally free to the winner and your personal info is kept completely private. Good luck to everyone and enjoy a drink on me!