I spent all yesterday's holiday running around to the four corners of the earth to hit thrift stores I don't usually get a chance to peruse on a weekday, and what did I find in my first two or three stops? Bupkis. Or practically bupkis. It was like I was being rewarded for my diligence by the vintage gods with a great big "Yeah, right, about that-- you probably should've slept late instead". A Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass sheet music book (for piano, with guitar chords), a little Greek woven mini-purse... many things were seen, but I just wasn't feeling the impulse to actually sally forth to the cash register with anything. Which put me starkly in the minority-- it was half off the entire store at Thrift Smart and people were acting accordingly, running around the store with oversized picture frames and armsful of children's clothes like they were giving them away.
Lights on, Lights OFF. See my new coat? Goodwill in Rivergate, $14.99!
I was wondering if I should have bought this one late seventies', faux leather and chrome modular chair in spite of the rust spots on its tube-shaped single leg as I made a stop in Cool Springs to drop by Matthew's work to bring him lunch (I ain't all bad!). He: "You gonna go to the one on Hillsboro Rd?" Me: "I forgot they even had one out here!" In the interest of due diligence, I dropped by-- not only did I pick up a sixties' black velvet evening shift with a rhinestone buckle the size of your palm (incroyable) in the regular, $7.99 dress section, but back in the children's section (which features a conspicuously more originally-expensive crop of second hand toys than the ones on my side of town, ahem)-- this moon! In the box! For $1.99!
This kickball-sized version of the real deal features a remote, which you can use to click through the different phases of the moon and turn the moon off and on. I can not only hang the moon for Matthew, but I can also click it on and off at will! Could you actually die? I was worried that owing to a completely unstable flap I had dropped it too many times in the store (including memorably in the very crowded women's shoes aisle), but when I got it home, as you see in the first picture, it worked just fine! And is strangely impressive, if you ask me, for just being a slightly lit hunk of plastic. It's the moon, guys! The moon!
Which got me thinking about those space crazed youth of the fifties' and sixties'. Remember when kids used to go through a "science" phase, where everything was "I wanna know how to mix baking soda and make a volcano!" and "I made a battery out of this potato!"? Do kids still do that? Naturally, I then took to ebay to see what kind of vintage space knicks and/or knacks I could dig up for you fine people, and BOY, were there some humdingers! Wanna see?
How could you NOT be the envy of your 1930's or 1940's classmates with this set of mint writing pads with pictures of spacemen on the cover? All of them were good; this one is my favorite. "ALL RIGHT, Major Spaceman, ya got me!" says the poor android with a ray gun to his throat and Polly Pocket jewels for eyes. Secretly, I feel bad for him. Can you believe the color scheme on this? All bright and cheery! I wish space really looked like that.
"This may be my first Lunar Landing, but it will not be my last!" I always tend to like the box art better for model sets than I like the actual model inside. I know, I know, you have to paint the thing up and make it look good, but I am too lazy for all of this. Please ship me a painting-size print of the cover art sans logos and we'll call it even.
OH. MY. GOODNESS. WHAT. A. LUNCHBOX. This is $82, and honestly, if I saw this at an estate sale or the flea market, I would try to dicker them down and buy the dumb thing. Because it is GLORIOUS. There are spacemen on the sides, people. Every side of it is like a mural I want in my house. Siiiiiiigh.
This isn't a very good picture of one, but moon globes are amazing. I came to the realization the other day, when confronted with a particular good deal on a sixties' globe, and being possessed of a really great fifties' globe (see this post), that unless you're going full "theme" on a room, there really isn't place for more than one globe in an average house. You may disagree, but for me: one. ONE. And done. I fell into a pit with vintage cameras and radios, and now have so many it's not fun to display them because you feel like "Ugh, why are there so many? Which do I store? WHY DID I BUY ALL OF THESE?!"( #vintagehoarderproblems, I know). I would definitely break this rule for a moon globe, though-- HOW COOL ARE THEY. And it might look nice next to aforementioned globe (#notevenclosetoaddressingvintagehoaderproblems)....
This lunchbox is RED. HOT. It looks like some kind of outdoor grill accessory is rocketing through a foreign moon's atmosphere. Five'll get you ten there's a Twilight Zone episode waiting to happen on that planet's surface.
Even though I get really frustrated with this hand held pinball doohickeys from back in the sixties', I like the background art enough on this one to say, "You got me". Plus, how good would this look displayed as a wall hanging? A: Very good, thanks, someone please buy me one.
I really like that this moon puzzle is based on an actual map! Again, educational toys that are as dry and stuffy as these just make my heart pine for less multicolored, less "make it fun!" days of combining learning and play. Isn't the fact that it's the moon enough for you, kid?
Speaking of multicolored, though, I love the neon on the background of this flight game board that comes with your Avon lunar landing commemorative perfume bottle. Oh, Avon. Your vintage perfume and lotion bottles are NEVER a disappointment to me.
So! Do you have moon fever yet? Did you have any hilariously cut-and-dry educational toys as a child? Which of these moon items would you most like to take back through the airlock? Lemme know!
I was carrying it (and dropping it) around the store thinking, "Ah, this is ok, but am I being bad buying more tchotckes?" Answer: It is never bad to buy more tchotckes. Especially when they're lunar-related!
I love that moon lamp! I think that was totally worth your tour around town. I love just about anything vintage space related. I have this huge toy box (from most likely the 50's) that has a space scene on it. Strangely enough, it's not full of toys but hundreds of vintage cat photos. Whatever.
The more I look at the moon light, the higher it raises in my estimation! I love it. That moon toy box filled with vintage cat photos of yours sounds like THE FIND OF THE CENTURY. I wish you could have met whoever thought to put these two great tastes together in the first place! :)
I love the moon! So fun. My boyfriend is kind of obsessed with retrofuturism. This weekend, after we got back from the space center- we went to the gas lamp antique mall and he got a set of really cute kitchy apollo mission commemorative glasses and some kind of recording of a mission. Most of the stuff at that place is grossly overpriced- but we stumbled across a couple reasonable things.
Also, sidenote- not moon related....I am smitten with your rivergate thrifted coat. So glam.
Those apollo mission glasses and audio recording sound neat! I almost can't go to Gas Lamp because I get so discouraged by sticker shock. You're right, though; if you keep looking, you CAN find reasonably priced stuff, it's just the heartbreak of the expensive stuff that gets me!
Thanks about the coat, too! I was having the most lackluster luck in Rivergate two weekends ago and, like a shining beacon on hope, there that coat was in the very front of the store just before I left. I can never get trapeze coats to fit me right, but this one is perfect (and red)!
Isn't that lunchbox GREAT? Every side of it is amazing! When I win the lottery, I'm going to have a lot less control over my buying habits on the internet. :)
I love the lunchboxes! Also your coat. And the answer to vintage hoarder problems is an antique mall booth. I can happily buy all of the crazy stuff I want and enjoy it in the booth. And then it goes away! No hoard!
Haha, you're right! When I eventually bite the bullet and become the vintage *seller* in addition to being the vintage buyer, I'm going to have to pick your brain for tips. Your booth is freakin' adorable.
I love your coat! I have to admit to not being terribly into space stuff (the shame!), but since Paul's an aerospace engineer, I feel he has enough astro-enthusiasm to balance me out. It is fascinating, though, to see how far people thought we would have come by now. I'll bet they'd be disappointed! "Where's your moon colony?" "Don't have any but we do have teeny tiny computer-phones." "Oh."
Thanks! I love what you said about the disappointment factor of the current state of space exploration. I have a whole soapbox speech about that! I almost wish we hadn't gone so we could still imagine little green men peering down their telescopes at us on a moon made of cheese. That's still so neat your guy is an aerospace engineer! When we finally find those green men, he'll be one of the first to know about it! :)
I am not a space enthusiast myself, but your lamp is pretty awesome; what a cool nightlight it would make! I might even start packing my lunch if I had a lunar lunchbox!
I know! I hadn't thought about how it would look in the dark when I bought it-- it's even neater with the lights out AND remote controlled! I don't know why I get such a kick out of that. And oh, that lunchbox. SOMEDAY.
I witnessed the moon landing! Mom was a real Current Events kinda parent. We had a cutting edge Magnavox color TV, and I was bedded down with my blanket and pillow in my hideout behind the Danish Modern sofa. She kept prodding me to keep me awake, 'cause it seemed like the deep dead of night for me. They fiddled around FOREVER before the egress. Lots of odd shadows and heavy breathing in helmets. A ladder, a foot, and the news ribbon crawling across the bottom of the screen...MAN IS ON THE MOON. It was cool! After all of the ominous stuff on the tube in those days (biting dogs,war anxiety,assasinations, hippy hate)it was really great to watch something that didn't make the grown ups groan.
I hadn't thought about all the breathing and shadows that would be in that initial footage! How exciting, though, when that news ribbon finally declared it official. WE MADE IT! (This is, of course, assuming that it didn't happen in Arizona, with O.J. Simpson, like in that movie Capricorn One) PS Mrs. Leapheart stories are the best stories.
That moon lamp is all sorts of awesome! I love retro/vintage moon or space travel items too. It's just lovely to look at and admired.
ReplyDeleteI was carrying it (and dropping it) around the store thinking, "Ah, this is ok, but am I being bad buying more tchotckes?" Answer: It is never bad to buy more tchotckes. Especially when they're lunar-related!
DeleteI love that moon lamp! I think that was totally worth your tour around town. I love just about anything vintage space related. I have this huge toy box (from most likely the 50's) that has a space scene on it. Strangely enough, it's not full of toys but hundreds of vintage cat photos. Whatever.
ReplyDeleteThe more I look at the moon light, the higher it raises in my estimation! I love it. That moon toy box filled with vintage cat photos of yours sounds like THE FIND OF THE CENTURY. I wish you could have met whoever thought to put these two great tastes together in the first place! :)
DeleteI'm jealous you have your very own room. That's too cute! Sweet dreams. :)
ReplyDeleteNestled in Nostalgia
I love the moon! So fun. My boyfriend is kind of obsessed with retrofuturism. This weekend, after we got back from the space center- we went to the gas lamp antique mall and he got a set of really cute kitchy apollo mission commemorative glasses and some kind of recording of a mission. Most of the stuff at that place is grossly overpriced- but we stumbled across a couple reasonable things.
ReplyDeleteAlso, sidenote- not moon related....I am smitten with your rivergate thrifted coat. So glam.
Those apollo mission glasses and audio recording sound neat! I almost can't go to Gas Lamp because I get so discouraged by sticker shock. You're right, though; if you keep looking, you CAN find reasonably priced stuff, it's just the heartbreak of the expensive stuff that gets me!
DeleteThanks about the coat, too! I was having the most lackluster luck in Rivergate two weekends ago and, like a shining beacon on hope, there that coat was in the very front of the store just before I left. I can never get trapeze coats to fit me right, but this one is perfect (and red)!
Your lamp is awesome and I like the toys you listed as well! Especially the lunchbox!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that lunchbox GREAT? Every side of it is amazing! When I win the lottery, I'm going to have a lot less control over my buying habits on the internet. :)
DeleteI love the lunchboxes! Also your coat. And the answer to vintage hoarder problems is an antique mall booth. I can happily buy all of the crazy stuff I want and enjoy it in the booth. And then it goes away! No hoard!
ReplyDeleteHaha, you're right! When I eventually bite the bullet and become the vintage *seller* in addition to being the vintage buyer, I'm going to have to pick your brain for tips. Your booth is freakin' adorable.
DeleteI love your coat! I have to admit to not being terribly into space stuff (the shame!), but since Paul's an aerospace engineer, I feel he has enough astro-enthusiasm to balance me out. It is fascinating, though, to see how far people thought we would have come by now. I'll bet they'd be disappointed! "Where's your moon colony?" "Don't have any but we do have teeny tiny computer-phones." "Oh."
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love what you said about the disappointment factor of the current state of space exploration. I have a whole soapbox speech about that! I almost wish we hadn't gone so we could still imagine little green men peering down their telescopes at us on a moon made of cheese. That's still so neat your guy is an aerospace engineer! When we finally find those green men, he'll be one of the first to know about it! :)
DeleteThe pinball one was actually created to demonstrate how I ultimately landed on earth.
ReplyDeleteYou are cute. And from the moon.
DeleteI am not a space enthusiast myself, but your lamp is pretty awesome; what a cool nightlight it would make! I might even start packing my lunch if I had a lunar lunchbox!
ReplyDeleteI know! I hadn't thought about how it would look in the dark when I bought it-- it's even neater with the lights out AND remote controlled! I don't know why I get such a kick out of that. And oh, that lunchbox. SOMEDAY.
DeleteI witnessed the moon landing! Mom was a real Current Events kinda parent. We had a cutting edge Magnavox color TV, and I was bedded down with my blanket and pillow in my hideout behind the Danish Modern sofa. She kept prodding me to keep me awake, 'cause it seemed like the deep dead of night for me. They fiddled around FOREVER before the egress. Lots of odd shadows and heavy breathing in helmets. A ladder, a foot, and the news ribbon crawling across the bottom of the screen...MAN IS ON THE MOON. It was cool! After all of the ominous stuff on the tube in those days (biting dogs,war anxiety,assasinations, hippy hate)it was really great to watch something that didn't make the grown ups groan.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about all the breathing and shadows that would be in that initial footage! How exciting, though, when that news ribbon finally declared it official. WE MADE IT! (This is, of course, assuming that it didn't happen in Arizona, with O.J. Simpson, like in that movie Capricorn One) PS Mrs. Leapheart stories are the best stories.
DeleteLove that glow moon! Fun post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!
DeleteI'm very jealous of your moon lamp!
ReplyDelete