Monday, December 7, 2009

Vintage Christmas In A (Sort Of) Vintage Kitchen

My house was built in the early 70's, which was readily evidenced by the horrific shag carpeting and dark brown kitchen cabinets when we moved in.  We purchased it from the original owner in 1992 and over the years have made many improvements including replacing some of the carpet and repainting the cabinets.  As with many things in my life, I have a love/hate relationship with my stove.  I HATE it in the summer since with the pilot lights blazing away it's usually too frigging hot to remain in the kitchen very long.  However, I adore it in the winter since it's the warmest spot in the house.  The cat spends a great deal of time sitting on the griddle in the middle--I had to shove him off to take this picture.  The lady who owned the house apparently spent most of her time either taking care of her elderly mother or cleaning--there are some serious scrub marks on the stove.  We replaced the hood and keep meaning to do something with that stainless steel backsplash.  One of these days.



This sweet Relpo Madonna & Child planter is a recent addition to my Madonna & Jesus collections. 

As with so many other children of a certain age, our parents or grandparents had these stockings made for each of us four girls.  Amazingly, mine is still in perfect condition.  I guess I would be, too, if I stayed wrapped up in a plastic bag in the dark for 11 months out of the year.


One of my fondest childhood memories is when Mom brought out these mugs and made hot chocolate from scratch.  HA HA HA.  Can you say EN EE ESS TEE ELL EE ESS?  Yup, Nestles made the very best CHAAAAAA-klit.  Straight from the can into the hot water.  Plop a couple mini-marshmallows on top and wahoo, it's Christmas!!


Oh man, have I got a brutal case of warm & fuzzies right now . . .

11 comments:

  1. We have similar stockings! Wow, those mugs are GREAT!! I've been *thinking* of trying out home made hot cocoa. The NESTLE is too sweet, and not enough cocoa for me.

    Seems like nothings sacred when it comes to planters, no?! :)

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  2. Great photos honey. I really appreciate the comments on my Pearl Harbor post. It was wonderful to read such a personal story about this amazing place. I hope you had a great weekend doll. Kori xoxo

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  3. We rented a place years ago that had a similar stove, and our neighbor's Siamese cat was ALWAYS on pilot light. Those old stoves work great -- and have great big ovens, too.

    I remember that Nestle commercial -- do you remember the dog puppet's name? Farfel!
    Ha. I'm pretty dang vintage myself.
    Cass

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  4. You Snowman mug is wonderful! Just this year iv strated collecting "Vintage" christmas mugs, and all of them have Candy cane handles like that! I have a mrs Claus that was my great grandmothers, a frosty the snow man i picked up for $0.66 and a santa one! I like your planter too! :)

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  5. fun, lady! i love the vintage elements of your kitchen! found you via lidia's blog. come visit me, i think we'll get along swimmingly: www.kitschenfeast.blogspot.com

    h

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  6. I really love your stove! It's so big!

    I appreciate it might not be *quite* what you want in summer, but it's nice to have something warm and toasty this time of year!

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  7. That's so funny that the cat likes to sleep on the stove! Love that snowman mug, and the Relpo Madonna. I love anything Relpo!

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  8. Hey Christine, for some reason I can't see all of your photos. #%*@ computer!!I have been wanting to make some really decadent hot chocolate lately with homemade marshmellows. Just what my blooming figure needs! Oh well, what the hell. I have earned the right to a little bit of decadence. That stove is to die for. Sorry it heats you out in the summer. Enjoy it in the winter.

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  9. Love the snowman mug! I've only seen the Santa ones. I thought my mom was the only person who knew about Nestles!

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  10. I have to laugh..."children of a certain age..." I feel like the oldest person in my office - parents married in 1946, I had granparents that had those figurines (although they were too cheap to have stockings done for us)- my grandparents had a home with metal cabinets...so nice to see someone close to my age still appreciates these things. I love your blog!!

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  11. Susie and I still have our Christmas Stockings, too.....still in perfect condition. Mom must have been the caretaker of mine for all of the years I "roamed"!

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