Collection 21: Vintage Stuffed Animals

 

Recently Mr. Tiny over at Wacky Tacky posted about this wonderful pink poodle he got as a gift.  It inpired me to collection all my weird vintage stuffed animals from around the house and bring back my collection series! I'm up to 21, but I'm pretty sure I have at least ten more. Vintage stuffed animals aren't something I set out to collect, but sometimes I just can't leave them behind.

 Here are most of them, I found two more after I took a group photo. And two MORE after I put the camera away! Haha. Also, we have a new neighbor and I was sure she was going to come knock on my door and catch me taking photos of my toys like a big weirdo!

I love seeing old stuffed animals at sales, but I don't bring them home very much. I usually just take a photo and that satisfies me. But sometimes I can't stop myself and they end up in this little collection. I have them up on top of a built in shelf in our room.

Funny puppy with a plastic head.

 Monkey lady with a skirt and beret. If you move her tail her head moves back and forth!

 Kind of sad vinyl elephant missing his ears. I still think he is cute!

 A little seal that Travis brought me home from the Goodwill outlet, he knows me so well!

 I love an old, handmade sock monkey. This one lives next to our tv on top of my karaoke machine. And that Koala has eyes that blink! He belonged to a girl named Mary Sue Head! I bought a BUNCH of 1950's baby clothes at her house, including a dress covered in skiing squirrels! One of the best sales I've ever been too.

 A little knit sheep with the sweetest felt eyelashes.

Blue kangaroo and her baby!

 Isn't he cute? Even without having back legs.

 I think one at an antique mall in Sevierville. I passed it up, and Travis was like "Don't you want this?" I thought the tag said $25, which is CRAZY! But it was just $2.50, so now he lives with me. Do you like his jaunty beret?

 A puppy with sassy felt eyelashes.

This is a Push Me Pull You from Dr. DoLittle, the 1967 movie version! Have you seen it? Its on Netflix right now and it's awesome! My favorite part is when he sings the romantic song "When I look in your eyes" to a seal wearing a dress and a bonnet! I couldn't find a clip of it, but here is the preview. Oh man, I need to watch it again soon! The giant snail!

A little homemade pig/dog thing. I can't resist a google eye!

This little wiry guy was in a weird flea market booth. I think he is so cute!

This guy is a radio! He nose is the volume knob. I haven't put batteries in it to see if it works yet. How cool is a puppy radio though?

The speaker is in the back of his head. You can kind of see the outline of it.

And of course, my favorite little stuffed animal had to get in on the action. Look at that sweet face! I hope you enjoyed this peek into one of my weirder collections!

Watch

We've been going to the movies like crazy lately! It is one of our favorite things to do, and with a combination of bargain matinee prices (I love that Carmike charges just 5 bucks between 4 and 5:30!) and a bunch of movie gift cards we got for Christmas we've been able to really indulge! Here is what we've seen in the past few weeks:

Bettie Page Reveals All: This is a documentary about the queen of pin ups, narrated by Bettie herself! I LOVED it! She was so beautiful and had such a strange life. Though you wait the WHOLE movie to see a photo of her from when they recorded the interviews, and  the movie ends with a quote saying she wanted people to remember her as she was. Ah! But still, definitely recommended!
Anchorman 2: I like the first one a lot, this one was just ok. A few really funny parts, but overall bleh. We saw it in a pretty full theater and most of the other people seemed to agree. Such a bummer.
her: I saw this the other day by myself because I knew Travis wouldn't be into it. I loved it! The world Spike Jonze creates is really beautiful, and the story is so unique. And there is something oddly alluring about Joaquin Phoenix with that dad mustache and high wasted pants. I got a few good cries in, which I love in a movie.

Inside Llewyn Davis: Another beautiful movie to watch, with great music and performances.  I had to read some reviews of it after I got home because I left the theater feeling a little confused, which isn't always a bad thing. Great story telling and characters, just what you expect with the Cohen brothers.
The Wolf of Wall Street: I didn't expect to LOVE this movie as much as I did! It isn't one I want to watch over and over, but it was really great. Leonardo DiCaprio really should get that dang Oscar this year. I didn't find this film to be as shocking as a lot of people seem to (maybe I'm on tumblr too much, haha).
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: We both enjoyed this one.  It is beautifully shot, especially the parts in Iceland. I thought Ben Stiller was surprisingly good in it as well. It isn't as dreamy and surreal as the pr makes it look, but it was still worth the price of admission.

12 Years a Slave: Really well done, and shocking, and sad. I had never heard much about free men from the north being kidnapped and sold into slavery. The lead actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor, is really amazing, and so was Michael Fastbender. Another one I don't really want to see again, but it was poweful.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: I am a total middle earth nerd (surprised? probably not) and even though the first Hobbit was ok, I was excited for this one. It is MUCH better! Lots of good action and amazing effects! I haven't read the book in years so I don't get upset about these movies adding stuff. The barrel fight scene was probably my favorite part, and the effects for Smaug were SO INCREDIBLE! I can't wait for the last one!
Saving Mr. Banks: The storytelling of this is a little clunky, and the backstory part in Austrailia never really comes together, but I really liked this movie over all. Of course I'm super into the time period and loved all the scenes in the writing room and with Emma Thompson. Jason Schwartzman and BJ Novak as the Sherman brothers were probably my favorite part. Wouldn't you love to see a spin off of about them and their lives!

Now we're going into the time of year that nothing great comes out for a while. the only things we're looking forward to are the new Jack Ryan movie (Travis likes action movies, I like Chris Pine's handsome face!) and Travis can't wait for The Monuments Men. I think that one looks pretty good too! I also might try to catch American Hustle before it's out of the theaters. We'll see. Have you seen anything good lately?

Instalife

 It is so cold here in Nashville! Today the high was 9 degrees! I know for some that is par for the course in winter, but it is really unusual here! I had to search the house for gloves this morning and all I could find was this mismatched pair of skeleton gloves. Haha, I think I need to buy myself a real pair of gloves.
Thankfully the ice storm the news anchors in town were predicting didn't happen. When I left for work at 6:30 am today there wasn't any ice on the roads. That made me so happy! Now we just need to get through the rest of the cold spell comfortably. There has been lots of cuddling with the dogs on the couch, and the cats are sleeping in piles!

I made these cookies for a party in December and I've been hooked every since! One of the best vegan cookie recipes I've ever tried! And they turn out looking like regular cookies too! Highly recommend!

Phyllis had her annual check up. The vet wants to start seeing her twice a year since she is a senior now (how can it be?). Her check up went ok. She is now totally blind in her left eye, with about 30% vision in her right. We've got to start giving her eye drops because that left eye is borderline not producing enough tears for her. And of course the same old bad joints. But it is all to be expected from an old pug. Nothing we can't handle.

Scampi the cat has started sleeping on MY pillow all day every dang day. Believe it or not, I'm allergic to all animals, but all the critters I live with usually don't bother me. But it does make me itchy on my pillow. So I'm trying to remember to put it up every day. And there on the right you can see Franklin, our porch kitty. He lived in our house before we did, but his owner died and the family left him behind. The neighbors feed him and take him to the vet. I wish we could bring him in. I'm thinking about him in this cold cold weather.

One thing we're trying to do this year is eat out less. We have been budgeting and before we were spending a TON of money on eating out. So wasteful! So goodbye to Woodlands for now! I'll miss you masala dosa!

Just my poodle collection. I'm going to hopefully start taking my Christmas stuff down tomorrow, so these guys will be back in their place of honor.

We got to see our nephew Ellis this past weekend, and he and Travis ended up in the same shirt! Haha, how cute is that? I think it looks like Travis has a ventriloquist dummy! Ellis is getting so big and can really interact with you now. I can't wait until he can talk to us!

I found a whole board of buttons from the 1960's at a local antique mall. It was so hard to choose which ones to get! I passed up on "Jesus was a drop out" and "apple pie makes you sterile". I love these two!

We're also trying to go to the movies less. At least the full price night showings. Recently we've seen Saving Mr. Banks (I really liked it!) The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug (the dragon was so cool!) Bettie Page Revels All (a new documentary about Bettie, it is great!) Anchorman 2 (just ok. Funny, but not as hilarious as the first one) and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (beautiful to look at. Pretty entertaining).
I really want to see The Punk Singer (that new movie about Kathleen Hanna !!!!!) and Inside Llewyn Davis.

We haven't had a lot of time to hang out with our friends through the holiday season, I hope that changes soon! We are talking about doing a friend vacation again this year. I really hope it happens! Also, we have spent at least the last four new years eve's with Crystal and Marc. I hope that continues until we're old.

And last but certainly not least, in December I had the honor of attending a friend's home birth. I was nervous about it, but wanted to do it. She gave me the job of tracking contractions which was good because it gave me something to do. I saw that little dude born in the early hours of the morning and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! What a great way to close out a great year!

Flea Finds

Here are the few little things we picked up at the December flea. I was looking at a pile of Christmas stuff from one guy and he was like "Take it ALL for 50 cents!" It was mostly garbage, but I got this little bit. The angel is so pretty! And that little sequined mitten.

We found this gem to go with our Colonel Sanders Tijuana Picnic record from earlier this year. Doesn't he look sweet sleeping by the stockings? It looks like there is also a Christmas Day record. I'm on the lookout!

Travis found these for me. I have a THING for aluminum measuring spoons. I have a bunch and use them all the time. I don't have a set like this though. I don't know what it is about them, I can never resist!

And of course, the photo pile. One of my goals this year is to get all of my photos into albums or on my photo wall. I have probably 200 loose photos tucked all over the house.

Some highlights include: This group in costumes with powdered hair.

This guy with his leg thrown causally over the fence.

One of the sweetest little pups I've ever seen! Look how he's sitting up, with his little eyes closed!

And score! Some old photo christmas cards! I LOVE these and display a bunch on my wall every year. These are so good! Notice the little girl in the top one has a TINY beer stein to match her parents.

And what is not to love about this one? I might steal this idea for our Christmas card next year!

Nashville Flea: December

How was your New Years? I had a great time at a friend's house, and I'm STILL sore from dancing all night. Thankfully I took off through the 5th so I can rest up, haha. That makes me feel so old! We spent new years day sleeping in, going to the movies (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. It was pretty good), and relaxing on the couch. Travis is working today, so I rented the One Direction movie and am enjoying it with our new surround sound system.As soon as it's over I'm going to make myself get started on taking down the Christmas decorations.
A couple weeks ago I made it out to the Nashville flea for the first time in months! For the past few months I've been working mid-shifts all three days the flea is going on. I'll have to change that this year. Anyway, we went on Sunday, and it felt so deserted! Probably because there were bad storms and tornado warnings in town the night before.

There was still good stuff to see.

I still don't have even one putz house. I love them so much! But I'm too cheap when it comes to vintage Christmas. Maybe this year I'll find a stash at a yard sale or something.

Look at this amazing jacket I saw at the Thriftophile booth! If it wasn't teeny tiny I would have been tempted.

There is nothing I like more than a big pile of vintage photos. Travis is awesome and helps me sift through them all, not matter how long it takes. I ended up buying 27! from this dealer!

We saw this little baby table, I hadn't seen anything like it before. The seat folds down so it can be just a normal little table too. If we had a kid I would have been tempted!

And look! We found a photo of a baby in a similar table that same day! How weird.

I like that elephant bottle a LOT.

My flea market buddy. Stops at every case of pocket knives.

Last but not least, look at this little bulldog bulb! Isn't it CUTE! I wanted it, but they dealer wanted to sell a whole box of old figural bulbs for $150 and wouldn't split them up. Ah well.