The Annual Christmas Dog Torture - Merry Christmas!

This year we had a 9 week old puppy to wrangle into the Christmas card photos. Turns out, he was the good dog and Harlow was the wiggley, stubborn one. Here are some outtakes.

And the official Christmas card . . .

Christmas Tree, oh Christmas tree . . .

Here is our little Christmas tree. I ordered it online 5-6 years ago, made by Ditz, it has a teddy bear standing behind it (hard to see in my dark photos) My Dad decorates the tree every year with antique ornaments and beaded garland.

Here's the teddy bear

Welcome baby Gus!

Catching a snooze on the way home.

Meeting Big Sister Harlow for the first time.

Stealing one of Harlow's toy. Surpisingly she doesn't seem to mind, she's usually very possessive of her toys.

Sleeping on my bed the first night home.

Cute feets.

Trying to get comfy.

In the yard.

Cool pup hiding under my bed.

Baby boy bulldog coming to us on November 26th!

Yeah, finally! We'll be getting our new bulldog puppy on the 26th. It's been almost 6 months since Boris died, I can't believe it and I miss him so much. It's so unfair that dogs don't live long, long lives with us.
I'm very happy at the idea of having a boy back in the house and I can't wait to see how Harlow reacts to him! She's very Alpha dog and bossy. She'll be glad to have someone to boss again and hopefully she didn't get too spoiled being an only child for a few months.

Here are pictures that the breeder has sent us, she's the same gal that we bought Boris and Harlow from.

Above, baby boy at 1 week old.

Below, he's about 3 weeks old. That's his brother behind him.

Above at 3 weeks old.

Below at 6 weeks old. What a show dog! He won't be shown though, he'll have a leisurely life sleeping on the couch and walking on the beach. Look at that tum-tum!



Many more pictures to come once he arrives!

I'm proud to be A Vintage Purse Addict

You can never have too many vintage purses!
I'll admit that vintage purses are my weakness. I have them all hanging on the wall in my dressingroom so that I can see the whole pretty collection and so that I'll use them. If I keep them in a closet or box or something where I can't see the variety, I'll end up just carrying the same purse all the time. I'm that way with shoes too, I need to see them all.
I've built up this collection over the past 20 years of collecting and wearing vintage. Once in a while I'll go through and purge/sell ones that I don't use, a few I hang onto because they are just very cool, even though I don't use them.
It's a lot of purses, but I don't have a lot of money invested in them, because I'm pretty cheap when it comes to buying for myself. $25 is the maximum that I would pay for a vintage purse, and it would have to be super-fabu-tastic for me to pay that much. I think that there are only 1 or 2 here that I've paid close to that for, and that's because the cost would have included shipping. Most of the purse came from stock purchases.
Even if I'm just in jeans, sneakers and a tee, I'm always carrying a vintage purse. It's really the easiest vintage item to add to your everyday wardrobe.

2 pieces of vintage jewelry from Dandelion Vintage spotted on Pan Am

I spotted 2 pieces of vintage jewelry from Dandelion Vintage in last night's episode of Pan Am - "One Coin in a Fountain" episode 5.
First, a guest actress wears a dress clip in her hair. She's wearing leopard, so she must be a troublemaking vixen. Looks like she'll be back for more trouble in next week's episode.

Next, one of the lead actresses wears another pin that I sold to the costumers, on her sweater. This scene appears at the end of the episode. Cool.

A vintage outfit from Dandelion Vintage on the new show Pan Am

In August I sold 40+ pieces of clothing, lingerie and jewelry to the costumers for the new ABC show Pan Am. I thought it would be later in the season before I spotted any of my clothing, but in episode 2, you can catch a very quick glimpse of a red cotton halter top and skirt from my website http://www.dandelionvintage.com/

Above are two screne grabs of the scene - the co-pilot takes a gal back to his Paris hotel room - and also a photo of the outfit from my website.


Very exciting! I'm looking forward to spotting more of my pieces. Pan Am airs on ABC Sunday nights.

Rose's Knitting Studio - what a lady, still knitting at 99

While doing some Googling to find out  info on this label, I found this news story from 2/6/11 about the 99th birthday of Rose Girrone, who was the owner of Rose Knitting Studio for over 40 years. She custom made the 3 piece knit set above.

She's lived an amazing life and she is still knitting at 99!

From the story - http://foresthills.patch.com/articles/happy-99th-birthday-rose-girone-2


Happy 99th Birthday, Rose Girone

Former Forest Hills business owner celebrates monumental birthday.
By Robin Ziegelbaum

Some seniors stay home when icy sleet covers the ground, but not Rose. Yet despite the cold and wintry conditions, she made her way to The Knitting Place in Port Washington, where friends and fellow knitters gathered to celebrate her 99th birthday on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Rose Girone has blown out her candles in her birthplace Janov in Poland, in Vienna, a brief childhood memory; in Hamburg, the land she was exiled from; in Shanghai, a place of sanctuary; and then in New York, her journey’s end. She readily admits to being a lucky woman.
On the evening of Kristellnacht (the night of broken glass), in Germany, Rose, pregnant and afraid, watched the Nazis destroy her town, burn her synagogue, and make a bonfire of Jewish books in rubbish heaps. That night’s horror continued when they arrested Jews, including her husband, Julius Mannheim. He was transported to Buchenwald Concentration Camp in 1938. Rose gave birth to their daughter, Rhea, two months later with her husband still imprisoned. Julius’s death seemed certain, however, the Nazi occupation was in its infancy, and a brief opportunity presented itself. British relatives sent Rose a visa for China’s Shanghai, and she was able to present this document to authorities and have her husband released. This reunited family of three left for Asia.

Life was surreal on the German ship on which they traveled. Jews were segregated during meals. While others back in Europe were being taken in cattle cars to concentration camps, on board the “Aryans” swam in the morning and the Jews during the afternoon. Rose, who has never lost her sense of humor, sarcastically commented, “I don’t understand it – because we could have poisoned the water anyway?”
Shanghai during WWII was a place of salvation for Jews where they had religious freedom, and rights to study and work. Still, at one point, Rose and her family were forced by the Japanese to live in a Jewish ghetto.

Rose is fearless. During more then one bombing she would lie over her daughter to protect her and make up stories to alleviate her daughter’s anxiety. Later, when Rhea was older, and more bombings occurred, Rose rushed to her school to scoop her little girl up in her arms, safe.

Rose went into business. She hired Chinese laborers to produce her knitting patterns. She drew pictures with measurements, and acted out her instructions. On one occasion six white sweaters were commissioned for Bubbling Well Road, the chic part of town. When they were completed, however, the bottoms of the sweaters were dirty. Rose washed them with soap and water, but they could not be delivered because they were still wet. Rose put them into her oven to dry them. The bottoms became singed. In desperation, Rose massaged flour over the burns, wrapped them up, and sent them to the store. She got paid but never received another order from that customer.

Finally, their crucial visa for the United States arrived. Officially each person could leave China with only 10 dollars. Rose used her knitting skills and ingenuity to take 80 dollars, over the family quota, by designing a secret money button –bills folded tightly and covered in yarn – on her hand-knits. They traveled by ship to San Francisco with their sweaters and bags, and then took the train to New York.

A year after their immigration, Rose divorced her husband and created a new life with her daughter Rhea. Making her own luck, she moved to Florida. Fortuitously, Rose met the family of the owner of The Sagamore, the resort in the Adirondacks, who offered her a job. A temporary store in the lobby was created for her that summer. She hobnobbed with wealthy clients, and learned American ways.

Mother and daughter moved to Queens. Rose opened her own shop on Austin Street. She worked in that location for 40 years. At a knitting store in Great Neck, Rose met Dina Mor, who is now her close friend and the owner of Port’s The Knitting Place.

During their first meeting Dina showed Rose the sweater she was knitting for her husband, Erez. After examining the piece, Rose warned Dina, “It will hurt less – go to Dunkin’ Donuts – and I will rip it out.” After the third ripping, Dina was an official member of Rose’s fan club.
When Dina opened her store in Port, Rose came with her. She enjoys piecing together patterns on the floor, teaching and entertaining fellow knitters.
Port resident Lorraine Barman said, “My mother used to go to her knitting store, Rose’s Knitting Studio on Austin Street, in Forest Hills, and she used to knit sweaters for me. Rose would write out the patterns– measure me…that was the 80s. Now, 30 years later, I walk into The Knitting Place and here’s Rose. She is very special!” Another woman came into the store with decades-old handwritten knitting patterns asking for yarn to complete the pattern…then she looked up and screamed, “Rose!” It was Rose’s pattern.

Throughout this interview, Rose continued to thread and rethread her needle as she pieced together a sweater. It is with great pleasure that I wish her the happiest of birthdays. Rose is a remarkable woman, resilient and talented. You can find her at The Knitting Place every Tuesday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Stop by for Rose’s expertise and help yourself to her wisdom.
Rose’s eyes twinkle and her cheeks get a little higher when she talks about her family. She met her perfect mate, Jack Girone, and enjoyed 23 years of marriage. Now widowed, Rose says that Rhea and her son-in-law Frankie as well as granddaughter Gina and her husband Joe are her present sources of joy. Rose has walked away from accidents, escaped the Nazis, survived bombings and has these tips for her longevity:


1.“Have the best children in the world – you have to be lucky with that one.”
2.“Always find something to do – have a plan. Don’t wake up and say, uh, ‘what am I going to do today?’.”
3.“Don’t upset yourself with stupid things. It’s not worth it!”
4.“Eat lots of chocolate!”

New ABC series 'Pan Am' - vintage clothing and accessories from Dandelion Vintage!

'Pan Am' is a new series, set in 1963 and it will start airing on ABC Sunday September 25th -

The costumers for the show recently bought some vintage dresses, coats, lingerie and jewelry from my website Dandelion Vintage -  http://www.dandelionvintage.com/  -  hopefully we'll be able to spot some of the items that they bought below on the show later in the season!

From the official website for the show -
http://abc.go.com/shows/pan-am

about Pan Am

Passion, adventure and espionage... They do it all—and they do it at 30,000 feet. The style of the 1960s, the energy and excitement of the Jet Age and a drama full of sexy entanglements deliciously mesh in a thrilling and highly original new series, Pan Am, premiering SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, on the ABC Television Network.
Welcome to the Jet Age. It's 1963. WWII and Korea are history. A new kind of war, a Cold War, is underway. The world is poised on the brink of a cultural revolution, and everywhere change is in the air.
In this modern world, air travel represents the height of luxury, and Pan Am is the biggest name in the business. The planes are sleek and glamorous, the pilots are rock stars, and the stewardesses are the most desirable women in the world. Not only are these flyboys and girls young and good looking, but to represent Pan Am they also have to be educated, cultured and refined. They're trained to handle everything from in-air emergencies to unwanted advances—all without rumpling their pristine uniforms or mussing their hair. These pre-feminist women form a powerful sisterhood, as they enjoy the rare opportunity to travel outside the country—something most women in this age can only aspire to—and one of the few career options that offers them empowerment and respect  . . .


I can't wait to see it!

Found in a vintage purse

I was photographing some vintage purses this week and found these items tucked in a brown clutch.

Some 1960s graduation photos.

A photo of a lady and a 'Scout Mother Membership' card for Agnes Keller in Woodlynne NJ, dated 1965

This is cool. A millinery club from Paris Hats Shop in Cherry Hill NJ. Get a free hat after you or family and friends buy 10 hats. Below is the back of the card to keep track of the purchases. Only one hat bought, in 1966.

Hummingbird frenzy

Here's some clips of one of the busier hummingbird feeders that I have set out. I'm maintaining 12 feeders and going through 6-8 liters of sugar water a week. They rule me.

Harlow Swimming

Keeping cool in her little pool.

Some recent vintage purchases for me!

I've been shopping on ebay again! Below are a few cute dresses that I picked up for myself. Actually, the striped dress is a little snug in the bodice, so it might end up for sale on the website.

One of my favorite 1940s dresses - I guess it's time to stop wearing it

I've had this cute 1940s cotton day dress for about 8 or so years. It had some slight fade and a few tiny wear holes when I got it. But it's been a great dress to wear around the house in the Summer. Sadlly, I think that it's now time to fold it up and give it a nice resting place in one of my drawers. I've squeezed all of the life that I can out of it.

The small holes have all gradually gotten bigger and are about 1-2 inches in size now, on the front of the skirt and on the center of the fanny - plus it has some new holes from wash-n-wear. Laying on the floor next to Harlow while she chewed her chewy, she snagged her toe on the bust of the dress and made a 2 inch rip. The waist is ripped out, some holes started on the top of one sleeve, and last night when I took it off, the under arm entirely tore out. The fabric is just all tired out and tearing easily now.

Thank you cute old dress, you've had a good long life and I've enjoyed wearing you.