What I just finished reading…

/ Rachel / Leave a comment

For the last eight days or so, I have been tearing through the ACRO series of books by Sydney Croft.  The six books – Riding the Storm, Unleashing the Storm, Seducing the Storm, Taming the Fire, Tempting the Fire, Taken by Fire – are all about characters that have super-human powers. They work for the Agency of Covert Rare Operations (ACRO) and they’re basically badass superhero spies that save the world while battling the rival, evil agency Itor.  Add to this awesomeness some seriously hot smut (this is erotic fiction, y’all) and great romance, and this series was a total winner.

Each book is about a separate couple but two couples have their stories told in tidbits over the six books.  It’s one of these couples, Creed and Annika, that was my absolute favorite of the whole series.  They’re the only couple that reduced me to tears at one point due to their serious angst.  Creed is a ghost hunter with a spirit attached to him named Kat (and he’s covered in tattoos that he was born with completely from head to toe on his right side) and Annika can electrify her body and fry crispy anything and everything that touches her. Their relationship, for me, was the heart and soul of the book and it’s a reason that if anyone tackles this series, they have to read all six books just so that they can see how Creed and Annika end up.

Seriously, though, the books are fantastic.  Full of adventure, people with super powers, and hardcore smut – read these books now!!!!  (All of the books can be found here.)

A sucker for vintage advertising

/ Rachel / 2 Comments

I have a problem.

I ordered an entire case of Pet Evaporated Milk.  12 12-oz. cans.  None of why I have an actual need for.
Why did I do this?
I blame Fibber McGee & Molly.

 

 

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Sometimes, I go to Dollar General Store to buy over-the-counter medicine.  Rexall brand to be exact.
Why do I do this?
I blame The Phil Harris – Alice Faye Show.

I ordered an 18-count pack of Lux soap.
Why did I do this?
I blame Lux Radio Theater.

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You see, I am highly susceptible to 1940s & 1950s radio advertising.  Modern advertising doesn’t get me so much (save the Apple computer ads in 2003 with Verne Troyer and Yao Ming that suckered me into getting my first Mac.)  It makes me giddy that I can still get the same products that were advertised 70+ years ago.  Through the 1940s, the sponsor of Fibber McGee & Molly was Johnson’s Wax.  In the early 50s (1952 to be exact), Pet Milk took over as the sponsor.  I’ve been listening to the 1950s episodes of FM&M on my way home from work lately and their slogan for Pet Milk – “sweet, country milk condensed to double-richness” – just resonates with me for some stupid reason.  Like, so much that I searched for Pet Milk and was first dismayed that I couldn’t buy it locally and then overjoyed when I found out I could order it from the Smuckers website.  I did the same thing for Lux soap because I’m a huge fan of Lux Radio Theater, which aired from 1934 to 1955, and imagine my frustration to find out that it’s neither made nor sold in the US anymore.  I ended up ordering it from Amazon, but it was made in Egypt!  Both the Pet Milk and the Lux soap came today, which was my biggest bright spot during an otherwise cruddy afternoon.

So anyway, beginning tomorrow, I’m going to use Lux soap when I shower (it smells divine!) and add Pet Milk to my coffee because, after all, it’s condensed to double-richness!!!

A short tour –

/ Rachel / 1 Comment

So now that my dining room is complete, I thought I’d give a little tour since I have modern mixed with vintage and I really love the way it’s come together.

First, here is the complete dining room from the view of the hallway.  The table is brand new and the oil lamp is only a year old, but the doily it’s sitting on is vintage!

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Along the back wall are my antiques and book shelves.  In the corner is a 1941 Air Chief Music Master radio, the Merry Game of Fibber McGee and the Wistful Vista Mystery from 1940, and a small Longaberger basket.

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In the middle is my bookshelf of cookbooks and recipe binders.  The pitcher is an antique (unsure of the year), as is the doily.  The trivet was handmade by a friend, and the jar candle only looks old.  I have more Longabergers, one of which is filled with antique cookie cutters.

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The final shelf is topped with an RCA Victor radio that is, from what I can tell, from the late 1930s, a 1950s Starline train case that belonged to my great-grandmother (and the inside still smells like the powder she always used), and an antique candle holder.  Underneath all that is a small yo-yo quilt made by me using both modern and vintage fabrics.  And on the shelves is my 1938 Syracuse China in the Millbrook pattern.

IMG_0528So there you have it.  It’s not much, but it’s a growing collection of pieces that have personal meaning, which I cherish!

 

 

Our new table!

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I decided yesterday that I hated our dining room table, so we went and got a new one today.

Here’s Tim looking exceptionally excited about having to unload everything and then put it all together. (I felt like a dork driving home with the box tied to the top of my HHR, but the danged thing wouldn’t fit inside!!!!)

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Here it is all assembled:

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It takes up our whole dining room and I love it!

 

My happy place…

/ 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.

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

Feel like beating my head against a wall!

/ Rachel / Leave a comment

I feel like I’m never going to be a productive writer again.  I have tiny, fragmented ideas for three separate novels bouncing around inside my head like fireflies on a summer night.  Nothing is longer than a few lines, and the scenes are fleeting at best, coming and going before I can even begin to write them down.  I have no idea which one to settle on and how to ignore the other scenes from the other stories once I start working on one particular idea.  UGH!  How does anyone ever get anything done?

What I’m reading right now….

/ Rachel / 3 Comments

For full disclosure, I’ve been a fan of MaryJane Butters for well over a decade.  Each issue of her organic lifestyle magazine feels more like a piece of art in my hand than an actual magazine.  I keep each issue and love to flip back through them so that I can be re-inspired by the stories and tempted by the delicious recipes.  I subscribe to her “farmgirl” precepts, regardless of where I might be living at the time.

This is her latest book:

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In true MaryJane fashion, it is fantastic.  Gorgeous photography.  Practical advice.  It tugs at the heartstrings.  I’ve wanted a vintage camper for a very long time (and even owned one for a while, until we realized it was too damaged to be able to practically restore) and this book makes it seem possible. Not only is it full of delicious recipes, there are adorable craft projects scattered throughout.  And the restoration tips for vintage campers are so helpful to a total novice like me.  Thanks to this book, I can honestly say that 1958 Airstream Bubble will be mine eventually!