Guess who got another antique radio?

March 31, 2013March 31, 2013 / Rachel / Leave a comment

Dear eBay, f*** you. You’re going to kill me with all your thousands of RCA Victors, Philcos, Wards Airlines, etc. I should have never gone to that damn site and entered “antique radio” into the search bar. Since then, I can often be found gazing at my iPhone screen, cursing at my eBay app because some total creep used eSnipe and outbid me at the last second.

Anyway, I managed to win an auction finally (because I play fairly and don’t cheat like a big butthead) and scored myself a 1942 Firestone Air Chief Intercepter. The seller didn’t know the year, but since he was kind enough to list the model number, I was able to locate it. It was only $53 with shipping! When it came, it was in a huge box! Imagine my surprise to find out that this baby is 19″ long and 12″ tall!!! It’s a monster!

Here it is:

And here’s the original ad for it:

So I’m up to six radios now! And I’m totally bidding on another because it’s an addiction!

I can’t stop messing with my dining room…

March 2, 2013 / Rachel / 1 Comment

Ever since we got the new table and then I bought the new radios, I just keep going back into my dining room and rearranging things. I did it again today and I think I’m finally done (for now.) I was keeping an old radio upstairs that needs restoration but I decided to finally bring it down, in all it’s shabby chic glory, to keep with my other radios. I polished up and rearranged things that were already in the room. I also did some research on it – it’s a Philco Model 38 Lowboy (because it has legs.) My best guestimate is that it is from 1933-34. It’s missing the dial and knobs and I’d like to find replacements and have it refinished.

And so my antiques display in the room changed yet again (thank you, iPhone panorama photo option):

Plus, I’ve had this poster for a while and I finally got a frame and hung it up today. It’s my absolute favorite World War II-era propaganda/war effort poster!

New website AND amazing chocolate milk!

February 20, 2013 / Rachel / 2 Comments

1. OH EM GEE. I just made the best chocolate milk of all time. Use one part cold evaporated milk (I used Pet Milk) and one part cold water. Mix up. Add chocolate syrup. Stir. Drink. FLAIL BECAUSE IT TASTES LIKE MELTED CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM!!!! It’s fantastic! Evaporated milk is double-rich and the flavor is yummy!

2. My new website is live. It’s called The Homefront Kitchen. Check it out HERE to see what it’s all about. The first World War II-era recipe (which I cooked last weekend) will be posted soon!

Antique store finds!

February 16, 2013February 16, 2013 / Rachel / 3 Comments

Well, I went into Southport Antique Mall not expecting to find much and left two hours later with two new (but old) radios, a piece of Depression glass, and a vintage doily!

First, here’s my pink Depression glass ice bucket (sitting on the vintage doily). I’ve seen a lot of Depression glass, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen an ice bucket. It’s surprisingly heavy!

Next, here is a Sonora brand radio, which I’ve discovered is from 1948. I got it for a great price, considering it’s in really good condition!

And finally, this is a Wards Airline radio. This one is my new favorite radio. It’s gorgeous. The problem is that I can’t identify what year it’s from. These radios, sold by Montgomery Ward, were made by a company called Wells-Gardner. This one is model number WG-193, and I can’t locate any information on it. The closest I can find is model number WG-197, which came out in 1936. So I’m guessing it’s from the 30s.

So here are all four of my console-style radios. (I also have a floor model radio that’s upstairs, but it’s not in good condition.)

Also, due to starting my new website (details on that coming soon), I bought the cookbook below on eBay and it arrived today. It’s a Mary Lee Taylor cookbook from 1941. (And if you’ve never heard her, you need to look her up. She read recipes over the air and repeated everything so the listener had time to write it all down!) She had a radio show for over 20 years and was sponsored by Pet Milk.

Anyway, that was my loot from the antique mall. (I also bought a cute little Prada bag that I’m 99.5% sure is a knock-off, but I don’t care because it’s perfectly-sized!)

Can this house be mine?

February 2, 2013February 2, 2013 / Rachel / 1 Comment

I really want this house! It’s the Enesti, by Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, and it’s divine!

I love the idea of small houses, and I’d be perfectly happy in an 850 sq foot house like this one. It would let me be organized and, most importantly, stop me from being a pack rat! I’m adding this to my “Things I Want” list, which is growing longer and longer every day!

My happy place…

February 1, 2013February 11, 2013 / Rachel / 2 Comments

I found this picture online and have no idea who to credit for it, but it’s my current “happy place.” Mainly because one of the stories I’m working on involves a (restored) Airstream in the Cascade Mountains and this picture just fits so perfectly. But I also love it because, seriously, who wouldn’t love a little quiet time inside this small camper? Cuddled beneath a patchwork quilt (that I made myself), wrapped around a squishy feather pillow, listening to the rain as it pings off the outer skin? Sheer Heaven.

Note: I’ve since learned that this beautiful picture belongs to these lucky people!

If I could be anywhere right now…

November 27, 2012October 15, 2017 / Rachel / 2 Comments

I’d be inside one of these:

which would be parked here:

while it did this outside:

It’s beginning to feel like home!

November 25, 2012 / Rachel / Leave a comment

It’s been three weeks since we moved and we’re finally, FINALLY getting this place unpacked. I’m on call this weekend, but things have been relatively quiet at work (I’ve checked my email about 10 bajillion times). I decided that today would be the day I’d finally get the last 10 boxes in my dining room unpacked. We ended up throwing away a lot of stuff because we went from a full sized, eat-in kitchen at our old house to a galley-style kitchen in our townhouse. There just isn’t room for all the junk we had. So we downsized, and I have to admit that it feels nice to do that! I also rooted through box after box tonight looking for these:

A few years ago, my mom found these dishes on FreeCycle and snagged them for me because they were clearly vintage. They have “Syracuse China USA” printed on the back, so I started to do a little (well, a lot of) research. As it turns out, Syracuse China made dishes for the restaurant industry. These particular ones are in a pattern called Millbrook and they’re from 1938!!! I’ve had them in boxes for a long time but at long last, I have a place to display them so out they came today. I always picture them being used in my WWII-era novel, when Lila goes to help out at her aunt’s diner. I can practically hear the sound of the utensils scraping against the plates as the patrons eat, talk amongst themselves, and listen to the radio that Aunt Beth constantly had on in order to catch the latest war news. *sigh* I need to get back to writing!