Stenger in Austin

A couple of days ago, Retro-luxe posted a picture of this beautiful A. D. Stenger home on their blog.

modern austin

It makes me sad that I'll probably never live in a house like this unless I move to America (which I don't think is on the cards). They just didn't seem to build any houses like these in England.

Here is a 'before' picture of the same house on Chuck Voetler's flickr photostream where he documents the restoration/remodelling of this beauty. What a difference removing the 'boxed in' carport made.

chuckvoetler on flickr

I managed to find Googie in England so I'll keep looking but I've certainly not seen anything like this around here - sob.

Behind The Orange Doors

Last week, The Cottage Cheese blogged about orange doors. Well, they've been stuck in my mind ever since so I went on a search to discover even more orange doors.

I have decided that I will have one. When this will ever happen, I can not say.

photo art portraits' via flickr

eclectica miami via flickr

Michael Greene via flickr

Populuxe Books

plastolux

Central Florida Modern


California Crafter


Long Beach Neighborhoods


EichlerForSale.com

Calling All Technorati Bloggers

Technorati is basically a big ol' blog directory or blog searcher.

Basically the more links you have (within a post) pointing back to your blog - the more 'authority' you have. My understanding of this, is it makes your blog more visible and more likely to be 'found' and read by other people.
Well, hey, I want that!

If you do too, make a blog post with a link to MoonDoggie and I'll link to your blog here in return. You can even use my link love image if you'd like.

Make sure you claim your blog on technorati.

Or if that all seems a bit much, you could just fav me by clicking this little button:

The Crazy Suburban Mom

I found out about this idea from The Crazy Suburban Mom.
Don't judge her til you've gone a mile in her minivan!
I particularly like her Retro Tuesday feature.

Archie... Archie Andrews - where's your mind?

I found out via 'Things I Want to Punch in the Face' that Archie, of Archie Comics fame, is proposing to Veronica in the next issue! A google search shows that people are NOT happy about his choice of bride. If you have ever read these comics, you would know why.

Regardless of the uproar Archie's choice has caused, this 'proposal' story line has been a marketing stroke of genius as it seems to have got people talking about Archie comics again - they just better make sure the whole thing was 'only a dream'!

I love Archie comics. I collected them as a child and won't let mum throw any out. I'm not really sure why I like them so much. They very rarely make me laugh out loud so maybe its their wholesome quality I find so appealing.

I always preferred the older stories, especially ones illustrated by Dan DeCarlo. I don't even like that Archie doesn't drive around in his old jalopy anymore. I understand it would be odd in this day and age for a teenager to have his own classic car but they could've at least let him drive around in the modern equivalent of an old banger.

Archie comics can be quite the time capsule as well. These images are all from 1970 issues of Betty and Veronica digests:

Flower Power

Free the feet

Talking 'bout my generation

The mini versus midi skirt must have been quite the dilemma as it was involved in a lot of stories and pin ups in 1970. It is easier to find examples of fashion rather than furniture but here are a couple of examples:

Love the furniture in this one

Gasp! Poking fun at my precious Mod!

jl.incrowd has uploaded a lot of examples from the 60s on to a flickr set which are worth a look and Comics Worth Reading has an interesting post on how they've attempted to modernise a pin up gag from 1965.

As for where I stand on Archie's choice of bride, I'm sure Betty would be better off without him. I never understood what Betty saw in him really and he always treated her like crap.

I've Just Seen A Face

Don't get me wrong, I like The Beatles just fine, but as I have so many of their albums on itunes, whenever I shuffle (which is a lot) every second song seems to be a Beatles song - especially when I'm playing my 60s playlist.

To combat this I unselected their whole albums from my playlist and just left the 'best of' type tracks. It worked for 2 songs then played 3 Beatles songs in a row. Is this some kind of 'Beatles karmic' retribution?

One Beatles song I never seem to tire of is 'I've Just Seen a Face'. It has such a happy feel to it.

This fan video from YouTube uses scenes from their movie 'Help!' - if you've never seen it, its quite a trip (and rumoured to have inspired the creators of The Monkees - who I lurrve).

Watch out for the arc lamp in its natural habitat at the beginning...

Gone to the Chapel

Today is our 2nd wedding anniversary!

In honour of this occasion, here are some famous mid century weddings.

Grace Kelly and Prince Albert of Monaco

Elvis and Priscilla

Maurice Gibb and Lulu

John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad Hilton

40th Anniversary of Woodstock

via screenhead.com

In honour of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, I trawled Etsy's vintage section for items with a Woodstock feel.

Unfortunately these images will only last until I add more to my favourites - so check them out while you can.
Peace.

Edited to add: Feel I should note that the Mexican, embroidered peasant top is actually vintage style (just noticed myself).

Stringing Along

Whilst browsing through Retro To Go, this colourful string curtain got me thinking.

Is it tacky or fun?

I've concluded its a bit of both. Perhaps its the tacky factor that makes it fun, or maybe it's just fun because it's so darn colourful. It certainly has a vibe about it anyway. I can just picture lava lamps, shag rugs, a record player cranking out tunes and possibly some other paraphernalia.

They're available at Dutchbydesign.com for £19.50. I'd really like to get one but don't think it'll fit in here. The only place for it is the entrance to the kitchen and I do believe my dear husband will rip it down before long.

Waaaah! I need a house so bad!

We're all going on a...

... summer holiday.

I returned late last night from my driving trip to Devon (& Somerset). Genealogy is a passion of mine so when I get the chance to visit the stomping grounds of my ancestors, I'm happy.

We had a lovely time in the gloriously scenic countryside, wandering through stunning caves and filling up on cream teas. That is, scones with jam and clotted cream, served with tea - a West Country specialty and absolutely scrumptious.

I didn't come across any thing particularly mid century though. The closest to it were the old caravans on the motorways. Now, I'm not a camping person at the best of times, but it does irk me when people profess to love camping but don't actually give up any modern conveniences. I thought the whole point was to forget hectic, modern life and relax by getting back to nature. At one point, we were driving behind some huge caravan/trailer which also appeared to have a satellite dish! Not really getting away from it all, is it?

Check out the steamy paperback cover I found on flickr (to the right) which I found while searching for vintage caravan pics -

Sin on Wheels: The uncensored confessions of a trailer camp tramp.

Sordid!

I love the look of vintage caravans but unfortunately a childhood of caravan living with a hole in the ground for a toilet, means I would prefer not to spend my holidays reliving the nightmares.

However, The Big Woo, over at Atomic Addiction has been on a bit of a vintage trailer mission lately. I certainly thought of them when I came across the site, Vintage Vacations. They have ten Airstreams that you can stay in to experience what a vintage vacation may have felt like on the Isle of Wight.

Although Airstreams are super cool, I think I'd prefer The Shack situated near the beach.

If this is your kind of thing, check them out - they have pics of all the interiors of the trailers too. But if I'm honest, I'd still REALLY prefer a luxury hotel.

Mid Century Gravy Boat for 1p?

I found this little treasure at a car boot sale mixed in with a bunch of random stuff. I adore the classic shape of this gravy boat and the colours seemed very mid century to me.

Stamped on the bottom is this image (found at thepotteries.org), which indicates it was made between 1954 and 1960 for J & G Meakin's Studio Ware Line.

Unfortunately the poor little thing has been damaged at some point in its life. The handle has been reattached (seemingly with glue) and a chip remains at one of the seams. So for this reason, I have put it up on ebay for the bargain starting bid price of 1p!

I have only recently become an ebay buyer and this will be my first foray into the world of ebay selling. I have other vintage items in my etsy shop but as this piece is damaged, I had no idea what price it should be so thought it best to set it loose upon ebay. Good luck my little gravy boat - I hope you go to a wonderful new home.

You can bid on this thing of beauty - here.

In other vintage selling news, the vintage alfoldi plate I blogged about here, sold on etsy last week. I was sad to see it go - but glad it will go to somebody who loves it.