Flashback Friday - 1940's Christmas

I have a passion for all things "retro" and "vintage." I often feel as though I was born in the wrong era. I love the innocence of the society of yesteryear. Yes, I would not mind being "stuck" at home all day because my husband drove our one family car to work, tending to my household duties. I could always walk to the market, but the milk would be delivered to my door! Wednesdays were wash days and there would always be Little Timmy and Sally's clothes to make and mend and dinner to put on the table each evening. In the forties, I would tend to my Victory Garden or follow in the footsteps of my grandmother, Pearl, and work as a Rosie the Riveter in a factory for the war effort.

The 1940's was an era of great optimism and one of great struggle. The country was coming-out of the Great Depression of the 30's and life for the average American family was on the upswing once again. The rest of the world was at war and all was quiet for the US until December 7, 1941, and Pearl Harbor changed everything. The US was now at war, but with Hollywood keeping everyone's spirits up while the boys were away to win the war, some pretty exciting things happened.

I will refrain from giving you a World War 2 history lesson and focus instead on the lighter side of life in the 1940's. Big Band music was all the rage on the radio. Rosemary Clooney, the Andrew's Sisters, Count Basie, Artie Shaw and Dizzy Gillespie were popular songsters. On the silver screen, that was oh so glamorous in the forties, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Humphrey Bogart and Bing Crosby were the male leads. For the females, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, Betty Grable, Jane Russell, Lauren Bacall and Ava Gardner became legendary icons.

The 1940's saw the first computer invented. Colossus was it's name. The first transistor and the nuclear bomb were invented. Chuck Yeager was the first to break the sound barrier and Supersonic flight was born.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President for the first half of the forties, until his death in 1945. FDR was followed by Harry Truman until 1949.

1940's Facts

Minimum wage - $.43 an hour
New house in 1940 - $3920.00   and in 1949 - $7450.00
Average income in 1940 - $1725.00 and in 1949 - $2950.00
Gallon of gas in 1940 - $.11 and in 1949 - $.17
New car in 1940 - $850.00 and in 1949 - $1420.00
$100.00 in 1940 would be the equivalent of $1433.77 today

 

Now for 1940's Christmas toy fun!

1941 - FAO Schwartz Toy Store opens in New York City

1942 - Little Golden Books are printed
1943 - Chutes and Ladders is the new game
1945 - Slinky is first sold
1948 - year Scrabble was invented
1949 - Silly Putty and Candy Land were popular Christmas toys

The most popular toys for the forties were also the Red Ryder BB rifle, Erector sets, electric train sets, enameled metal trucks and cars, metal pedal cars, WWII model airplane sets, farmyard sets, Parcheesi, Tiddlywinks and Radio Flyer wagons.

Happy Friday!

Krissy

Photos from Vintage Ad Browser, Antiques Navigator and Pinterest

Our Home Christmas Tour - Exterior

I have our stockings hung by the chimney with care and the Christmas season is in the air. I tend to go a little overboard with Christmas and my family is usually sick and tired of Christmas by the time the season is over. I consider it a job well-done if this is the case. I love to turn on the tree lights every morning and have Christmas music playing when everyone makes it to the kitchen for breakfast. I hope the mini-pearls remember this fondly and not as "one of those crazy things my mother did."

I have mentioned that a home tour was in the works and when I went to put together all my before pictures, I found zip, as in nothing, nada, zero. I checked every camera, every place on my computer, everywhere and nothing! I am disappointed to say the least. I am also disgusted with myself for not being the perfect person that I expect myself to be. Does anyone else suffer from this? I am always telling my friends to relax and not to worry about the small stuff and how we cannot be everything to everyone all the time, but for myself, not always the case. All this being said, you will have to take my word on how far the house has come on it's little journey.

The exterior looked like this when we purchased the house. Yes, the only before pic that I have. So, if you can overlook the fact that we have yet to landscape the yard, it is quite an improvement.

I went with a pink and green theme with wreaths on all the windows and the garland

around the front door. 

Happy Wednesday!

Krissy

Have You Seen This?

Time to kick-off the most wonderful time of the year! This fabulously chic, monkey tree by designer Tobi Fairley puts me in the spirit. I pink I love it! Was that punny or what? Okay, I can hear everyone saying, "Or what?" Anyhoo, have a fabulous day darlings!

xoxo,

Krissy

Photo from Tobi Fairley's blog, here!

Pumpkin Roll

Hey baby, let me see your pumpkin roll! Okay, I am not sure of the lyrics but from for some reason, whenever I say"pumpkin roll,"I cannot help but think of the song "Tootsie Roll." Now dip, baby dip... I digress. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was full of family and fun and was, in the words of Sport after he did well in a hot game of Scattergories, "one of the best Thanksgivings, ever!"

We brought back an old Pearl household tradition of pumpkin rolling. This is not to be confused with pumpkin chunkin' or other various pumpkin destroying endeavors. The pumpkin roll is all ours.  We had to stop the fun when we moved to a home with a flat and therefore, not very roll friendly yard. The new digs have a perfectly sloped front yard and the tradition is back!

What is a pumpkin roll? It is simply an opportunity to rid the front porch of fall's bounty of pumpkin decor to make room for the Christmas garland and wreaths! In other words, we roll, toss, kick and chunk the almost rotten pumpkins, down the hill and into the street. (And yes, we do clean-up the mess!) The result is a clean front porch and a smiling, laughing family! Amen.

Pumpkin Roll 2012

Pumpkin in motion

Sorry for the bad phone pics, but I wanted to share our tradition!

Happy Monday!

Krissy

WIth Gratitude

I try to keep my blog happy and bright, if not a little shallow. This is by design. I don't hide the fact that   my faith in Christ is a priority in my life and I love to share the blessings that my faith brings. I just feel that there are others that word this much more eloquently than I, so I leave the job to them. However, as I have been reflecting on all that I have to be thankful for, I felt a little gratitude post was in order.

So, here it goes....

 * I am thankful that I have a relationship with a loving Lord. He does not promise that He will keep me from bad, but He promises to carry me through. And you know what? He has!

* I am thankful for the trials I have been through. Most of you don't know that our little Pearl family is on the other side of almost a decade of trials and tribulations. I am talking knocked-down on our bums every time we got up, down in the fiery pit, will this ever get better, consistent insult to injury, bloody knees kind of trials and tests. I will spare you the story, because the real story is the end result. Jesus is who He says he is, He loves me and I can testify to that! I have no doubt that God will use me and my experience to help and hopefully inspire others, in fact, He already has. Growing hurts. I know that the pain will be turned into something wonderful. Every day wasn't horrible but we faced constant trials of one form or another.

*I am thankful for my husband. I am thankful for his faith in God, in me, our marriage and our family. If I was married to someone else, I am not sure that we would have made it. I love that he is my best friend and father to my children.

-Okay, stop with the gag-me faces. Lest you think that we are all just lollipops and sunshine around here. We ain't. This time has been ugly and believe me every nasty wart was visible.-

* I am thankful for my oldest son, the fisherman. He is my champion and I love this boy and his heart. He is loyal and loving and I love the young man that he is growing into. He has faced his own, personal challenges and has risen above them all. He has worked hard to overcome his dyslexia. This is a continuous battle, but even when homework takes him twice as long as it does others, he never complains. He plugs along and his grades are perfect! He has had other challenges and heartbreaks that one his age should not have to face but he radiates joy and peace and loves life. I love his sensitive heart. I love his passion for the outdoors and fishing and hunting. I love his sense of humor and his ability to keep laughing.

* I am thankful for my daughter, Sweet Pea. Baby girl made quite a show when she came into this world and she hasn't ever stopped. I love her type A-ness. I love her tenacity. I love to watch her work at something that she really wants. I love her competitive nature in everything - grades, sports, you name it! I love her zest for life. I love her sweet and loving heart. I love that she is a tomboy/girly girl that will hang with the boys, while wearing a mega-bow! She is my child that wakes-up each day with a smile and wants to know the "plan" for the day and likes it to be full. She is my social butterfly. I love that she is modest and has an amazing and tailored sense of style, well beyond her years. (even though it makes my job challenging) I love that the world is a stage and she is the star of her show. I love that in the sixth grade, she is concerned about where she will go to college and wants to be an attorney and have a bakery on the side.

* I am thankful for my youngest son, sporty. This curly-headed, always moving, loving, passionate bundle of life. He seizes each day with gusto and determination. I love his passion for soccer. I have never known a child like him. He NEVER complains about practice or games. He loves it! I love that he tried football, against his better judgement, and now loves it, as well. I love that he is my baby and appears to be happy and go-lucky, when in truth, he is a rules man. You do not break the rules around him. I love that he is an old soul. He has a wickedly sarcastic sense of humor. I love that he can carry on a conversation with an adult and yet, is just a kid, too. I love that he enjoys a good snuggle and is not ashamed to say that his favorite birthday gift was a Dreamlight puppy. I love that he plugs away, even when his asthma gets him down. I love that he is sensitive and wants peace around him. I love that he is happy and makes others happy, too.

* I am thankful for my family. I love that my children have the privilege of growing-up with six grandparents, three great-grandparents and the most awesome uncle and aunt!

*I am thankful for my home and the precious people that I share it with and those that come to visit in it.

* I am thankful for our school. The teachers, staff and families have blessed our family too many times to count.

* I am thankful for my country. Even though I may not agree with all that goes on, how awesome is it that we have the freedom to choose who our leaders are and worship when and where and how we please?

* I am thankful for my dear, sweet friends. You make life wonderful.

* I am thankful for my morning walk/runs and the beautiful neighborhood I live in.

* I am thankful for my little job teaching parent's day out twice a week.

* I am thankful for this blog. I love that it gives me a platform, however small, to share with others and document this pretty fabulous life I have been given.

There is so much more, but I will stop now, as I am not ready to write my first novel. I wish everyone a most blessed Thanksgiving.

With love and gratitude,

Krissy

Gather Together

I love gathering around a Thanksgiving table. There is something so special about Thanksgiving; no presents to anticipate, just a time to share with loved ones and give thanks. Give thanks over a shared meal that (in the case of my family) consists of treasured recipes that have been passed-down through the years and prepared by loving hands with the memory of those not with us anymore. It truly is special to me. 

Atlanta Homes Magazine 

 Not sure where this delightful space is from.

 House and Home

 House Beautiful

 DC by Design

Cote de Texas

Which of these spaces would you like to share Thanksgiving in? In the end, it isn't the room, but the presence of those you love with you that matters, BUT, a nice room is well, nice!

Have a great day lovelies!

Krissy

All photos are also found on Pinterest

Staffordshire and Green Polka Dots

Welcome Thanksgiving week! We here at the Pearl house has started it off with strep throat, sinus infections and asthma - oh my! Not a good start to a most anticipated holiday week, but the anti-biotics are starting to kick-in and we will all be up and running soon!

Tradition around here is to decorate the casa for Christmas the weekend after turkey day. I won't let a little sickness mess with our tradition and we are all looking forward to finding the perfect spot in the new digs for our tree. There is an on-going debate about where it should go. We will find out next weekend!

In the meantime, I will be cooking for Thursday and ready to head over the river and through the woods to my parents' home for turkey with our family. Yahoo! I found this wonderfully festive green table here. I love it! What is not to love about those wonderful Staffordshire dogs, nestled among those festive and fun green polka dots. I love the mix of traditional and fun!

Happy Monday! Gobble! Gobble!

Krissy

photo here

Weekend Wishes

Friday is finally here dear ones! The mini-pearls are home for the next week for Thanksgiving break. This means movie nights, football, cooking, eating and lots of fun! This lovely space from Country Living magazine would be the  perfect place to spend some quality family time. Do you agree?

Happy Weekend Wishes!

Krissy

photo via Country Living

House Spying

Am I the only person that takes pictures of wonderful homes that I run across while driving around town? Yes, I am the freaky woman in the white SUV, stalking you and your neighbors. I am a voyeur at heart. I get mad at you people, you know who you are, that close your drapes at the first sign of dusk, so that I can't see into your home. I am harmless. I just want to covet your home, not steal you blind! Anyhoo, I ran across this beauty the other day. It had me at 'front porch' and only gets better from there.

The home sits on a wonderful, corner lot with mature trees

 I could rock for hours on this porch.
Every little detail is well thought out and the result is distinctly Southern in feel with a Texas twist.

I'm not lying about the voyeur part. Here is the bad pic to prove it. I tried to take this across the passenger seat. I ended-up circling the block to get better shots.

 Notice the mix of building materials: metal and shake roofing, exposed and painted brick, smooth stucco and siding for the vertical surfaces, copper awnings and downspout chains.

I wish I knew who designed this!

Happy Day Lovelies!

Krissy