Everything Vintage: How to be a good wife 1950's style

Vintage Friday!

What must life have been like for women back in the 50's?

Below are some of my favourite guidelines from the Good Housekeeping magazine on how to be a good wife. Did people SERIOUSLY live like this?! LOL

I can just imagine housewives trying to hide their onsetting derangement, wearing their heels and pearls, popping pills and downing shots of vodka while attempting to follow "The Good Wife's Guide":

(Note: you can view this hilarious article in full by clicking on the picture above.)

1. Over the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering for his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction. (Oh yes, it's what women live for)

2. Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him. (They left out the part about showing sincerity... while trying not to laugh about the memory of scrubbing the toilet with his toothbrush earlier that day...)

3. Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it. (Right, because she has THRILLING days picking up his dirty socks)

4. Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours. (Nothing much has changed here... men certainly still believe this!)

5. Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late, or goes out to dinner or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax. (Yes, definitely DO NOT complain after you've slaved away all day for nothing because he's decided to go out partying it up with the good ol' boys)

6. Don't complain if he's late home for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he may have gone through that day. (This is my favourite! Hysterical! hahaha)

7. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing, and pleasant voice. (She should definitely not speak in the high-pitched maniacal shrill she hears inside her own head)

8. Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him. (No right at all. Just because he didn't come home last night and this morning he smells of perfume and has a hickey on his neck is no reason to question his integrity.)

9. A good wife always knows her place. (At the mall with his credit cards trying to fill the emptiness inside!)

Hope you had a laugh!
Have a great Labour Day long weekend!

K

(Above picture and text taken from an email forwarded to me from a Housekeeping Monthly article dated 13 May 1955)

Everything Vintage: Smile and say "Crazy"

Vintage Friday!


Every time I see Ann Taintor vintage humour products with their smiling 1950's housewives coming unhinged I just can't help but laugh out loud!

She has a variety of products from notepads and stickers, to magnets and luggage tags, to pill boxes and flasks.

How fun would it be to have a flask or a pill box like the below? What an absolute riot!




Perfect for stocking stuffers or gag gifts!


K

Photos courtesy of www.annetaintor.com

Everything Vintage: Carole Tanenbaum

Vintage Friday!

If you're looking for fabulous vintage jewelry pieces to offset your rocker/neon/80's silhouette/40's Hollywood wardrobe this Fall then check out Carole Tanenbaum Vintage Collection.

Her baubles, in both bold and delicate styles, have been worn by the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker and Michelle Obama.

You can browse and purchase from her selection online or find pieces from her collection at retail stores in Toronto (and other locations) such as Holt Renfrew and White Toronto.

This hot necklace featured above is the Asymmetrical Brass Artisan Necklace circa 1960 and can be found here on the Carole Tanenbaum website. Retail price: $500

Her selection can be pricey but the purchase of one statement piece would be well worth it! I think I'll start saving my pennies now ;)

You can follow Carole's blog here

K

Supercook

Tasty Thursday Feature

Genius!

Forget about trying to figure out what you want for dinner, then scrounging the net for recipes, and then rushing to the grocery store to pick up the missing ingredients...

Instead visit Supercook, open your fridge, then type in the food ingredients you already have and VOILA! Recipes at your fingertips!

Perfect for the working woman, the busy mom, or the bachelor.

Don't get me wrong; Grandma's old recipes scratched out on yellowing cards are still lovely for when we have the time to decipher short hand and figure out what "pinches" and "dashes" are. But for those average busy weeknights something like Supercook really comes in handy.

For example:

I typed in "spinach" and "chicken" (food items I have in the fridge). My favourite result was a recipe listed from Recipezaar "Chicken breasts stuffed with feta and spinach." Mmmm! It even clearly lists what ingredients you will still need such as: olive oil, feta, and lemon and luckily I also already have those kicking around too!

Other options listed for meals I could have made with chicken and spinach (and other ingredients in my cupboards) were chicken and spinach penne, mushroom and spinach chicken casserole, and chicken spinach soup.

Enjoy :)

K

Photo courtesy of Mary Lake-Thompson

Become an ARTISTE!

All-Things-Creative Wednesdays

I absolutley love Polyvore.com! It's an amazing artistic outlet for those of us who are not particularly skilled with paint and a brush.

Polyvore is a free web-based application for mixing and matching images from anywhere on the web. Its main claim to fame seems to be its collage functionality for creating fashion ensembles, but it can really be used for anything - interior design, advertising, holiday cards, and simply creative collaging.

You can also browse other people's sets and import your own pictures (either personal or from the web).

WARNING! This site is HIGHLY addictive! :)

Below are some of the collages I created.



View 'Kristy's Art' on Polyvore

Greetings

Hi-ya,

Let me start off by saying that I am notorious for starting things and losing interest shortly thereafter. I have attempted to keep a diary probably 15 different times in my life... that would amount to 15 x 365 pages of wasted paper. .. at the least.

Although not a diary, this will be my first attempt at blogging. *Fingers crossed I'll keep it up!

Over the course of the next few, say, weeks (not to be TOO ambitious) I will make it a point to notice my surroundings more, engage in conversations I wouldn't normally, and take an active interest in interesting topics that will be of interest to interesting people ;)

And the plan is to let you all know about it HERE!

Stay tuned...

ciao for now,

K

Photo courtesy of Quirky Prints