Eva Braun

A couple of weekends ago, Sgt and I stopped briefly at an auction we passed as we were on our way elsewhere. They had some WWII items that they were auctioning off. Sgt bought a set of WWII uniform patches and included with the patches was a picture of this woman below. The auctioneer said it was a picture of Hitler's girlfriend and then laughed. I don't think they really knew for sure if it was or wasn't. Hmmm, this got me thinking so, when I got home I began doing some research on Eva Braun. Is this really a picture of Eva Braun? If so, how did a WWII soldier get a picture of Eva Braun? I should call the History Detectives and see if they can find out for me. (I love that show!)

My photo. Is this Eva Braun? I simply love her hat!

Here is a picture of Eva Braun from life magazine.

Eva

Eva from Getty photo

So, what do you think? Do I have an original picture of Eva Braun?

~MaryDeluxe

I Heart The Public Library

Like clockwork, every Saturday morning I go into town and visit the public library. The library I visit is housed in a very old county building and contains what I like to call that "quintessential library smell". I could spend hours roaming through the stacks of books and getting my library high. The thrill comes for me at the end when I get to take out a stack of magazines, dvds, and books all for FREE! I never felt that good back in the day when I would leave Barnes and Noble with a book or two and a smoking credit card. Libraries are great friends to those of us living on a thrifty budget and I just never know what I might find waiting there for me. Imagine my surprise Saturday morning when I was checking out the new books section and came across a copy of "The Vintage Tea Party Book" by Angel Adoree. I've been hearing great things about this book for awhile from other people's blogs and it just looked like it would be a wonderful book full of vintage goodness. ( I was very jealous of all my vintage UK gals!)It wasn't a book I ever thought I would have the pleasure of viewing.... as it's from the UK and also because of my thrifty budget. But thanks to my little country library and it's eclectic tastes, there it was waiting for me and all the other library patrons to enjoy!

Yes, I know...lots of eye candy!

I spent my Saturday devouring the book from front to back and was left dazzled by all the delicious eye candy. The great reviews I have heard about the book are all true and I was so inspired by the recipes, glamour, and whimsical settings that perhaps there will be a vintage tea party in my future? We American girls should have more tea parties... don't you think?! :)

Thank you once again public library!

~MaryDeluxe

A Few New Things...

...for my jewelry box. It was a snowy/rainy day so not a lot of people showed up at the auction due to the weather. Only a handful of die hard auction junkies were there. I acquired more pieces then I thought I would be able to. Actually, Sgt bought them all for me! The only piece I really wanted was the fun fruity bracelet (which is not bakelite btw)...all the others were a bonus due to the low bidding prices. There were some wonderful bakelite pieces there that went for much more then I could afford, but still cheap compared to shop prices. I was beginning to feel a bit like Carmen Miranda by the time the auction was over!

We also stopped at a few antique centers that were having 50% off sales. I snagged this vintage cotton sun dress for $18! I'm looking forward to wearing this one around come Spring time!

Cheers!
MaryDeluxe

Happy Valentines Day

I didn't have a subbing job today, so I spent the day planning a nice surprise Valentine dinner for Sgt. Dinner didn't turn out exactly as I planned it. I was hoping to have dinner done by the time Sgt got home from work, but because I underestimated the amount of time it would take to make the beet ravioli we had a late dinner and Sgt helped make it. We had a great time cooking together and eating in the "love" dining room by candlelight and wood stove! I didn't grab my camera till the end of the meal....and OMG what an absolutely delicious meal it was! I'm sorry I didn't get pictures of the meal, but I will leave you with links to the recipes at the end of the post!

The empty table.

MaryDeluxe & Sgt

After dinner hot chocolate

My crazy valentine!

The Valentines Dinner

Beet Ravioli
Creamy Walnut Sauce
Asparagus

This is the first time I've celebrated Valentines Day in many years. I'm not a big VD kinda gal. It's not that I have anything against love and hearts or flowers. It's just that since my birthday is 4 days before VD, I usually get my fill of love, hearts, and flowers on that day! :) I figured since this is our first Valentines Day as a married couple, I would do something romantic for Sgt. I totally impressed him with my crafty ways! :)

Happy Valentines Day!

~MaryDeluxe

Undercover Linoleum

"HeyWake and vintage linoleum"

As many of you know, I am now living in an old house built in 1875. This little hunting lodge has been built onto and "updated" in various ways over the decades. However, by no means has it been gutted and modernized. It is still quirky, charming, and a headache at times. There is still lots to do and fix in this "diamond in the rough." Yes that's right, we are still mostly in the rough! Because the house still has a non-touched state, it has charming surprises to offer up as we keep working on fixing it's old bones. Just so you know, I prefer pleasant surprises versus those "oh shit, wtf do we do now" surprises. Finding an original linoleum floor under the old, dirty shag rug in my work room was a pleasant one. I don't know much about old linoleum flooring, but my guess is that this floor might be 1930's or older. The floor is in really good condition considering it's age. Eventually, down the road sometime, we plan on renovating the spare bedrooms and putting in hardwood floors. At that time, I plan on carefully removing the linoleum. As luck would have it, the floor is not glued down. Instead it is tacked down along the edges and a metal strip is used to hold it into place across the center of the room. In the mean time, I'm hoping to research and find some information on the best way to clean and preserve the floor. After all, an old linoleum floor is much easier for me to live with than dirty, tan shag carpeting.

"A corner of the chaos"

"Metal seam"

Happy Vintage Hunting....Vintage Glass Canister Jars

Recently, I've been on the hunt for old 1930s glass canisters! Sometimes they are called Hoosier Jars or Hoosier Canisters, as they were often used with the Hoosier cabinets in the kitchen. I have seen these decorative jars go for more money then I would care to part with at auctions over the years, but I've noticed lately that they've begun to come down in price. I snagged a few at auction this past Summer for good prices and have also seen them start popping up in local antique shops for good deals. I love these decorative glass containers and use them in my kitchen to hold all those pantry items that I want to keep safe after opening!

The mixer is a 1950's KitchenAid that I found at an auction 10 years ago. It still works like a charm and in my opinion looks way cooler than *(should be used here not "then" as I previously had...you should use the word "than" when comparing....I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused my readers!) an expensive new KitchenAid mixer because of the awesome glass mixing bowl! I'm also totally into Ball canning jars and really dig their twist on storage caps. The uses for Ball canning jars just seem endless and they're not just for canning anymore! Nothing beats a good solid glass jar for storing things.

Happy Vintage Hunting!

~MaryDeluxe