Tied with a bow update

Bow motif jewelry is always so pretty. I will be stocking all these pieces today in the shop!

1. 1940s LICORICE faux leather shoe clips || 2. 1950s AUNT JUNE locket brooch

3. 1960s SUNDAY SCHOOL goldtone earrings || 4. 1980s SUGARED PLUM costume earrings

5. 1930s WINTERGREEN faux peridot necklace || 6. 1940s BRACKETS rhinestone bracelet

7. 1960s AU LAIT beaded purse

 

Sweet Bean and I go to a wedding

    

Happy Friday! Mr. Jean Jean, baby (who I've been calling Sweet Bean lately) and me are headed to a wedding in Ann Arbor this evening. We're driving down early so that we can run some errands and stop at a few of our favorite places. It feels a little bit like playing hooky. The rest of the weekend will be pretty quiet and I'm super thankful for that. Bon weekend to you - I'll see you Monday!

Tunic dress || Motherhood Maternity     Necklace || 1930s Art Deco carnelian, ebay 2010

Tights || A Pea in the Pod     Ring || 1930s German sterling and faux chrysoprase, antique mall

Boots || Dear Golden Vintage     Bracelet || 1920s Czech glass and brass, antique mall

Art Deco Horses

I am so happy to stock this Art Deco horse pin today! Horse motif jewelry, along with all other types of figural jewelry (birds, insects, dogs, etc.) was hugely popular during the 1920s-1930s and is very collectible today. Brooches were the preferred medium for this type of jewelry, with all kinds of clever designs developed by the popular companies of the day. Here are a few more examples of Art Deco horse motif jewelry.

Image from Leigh Leshner's "Vintage Jewelry, 1920-1940s" pg 182

A singing Halloween house

The house singing "Thriller"

The house singing "Monster Mash"

I sat at my desk and giggled like a schoolgirl for several minutes when I discovered these videos. THEY ARE SO AWESOME! I think the person/people who made this happen should get some kind of award. Or free Halloween candy for the rest of their lives, maybe.

P.S. The "Monster Mash" video is dedicated to my friends Reina and Sus :)

The Queen's stockings

A few pairs of Queen Victoria's silk stockings will be up for auction November 1st in Edinburgh. The black pair are mourning stockings - aren't they lovely? They are part of the Forbes Collection at Old Battersea House, the London home of the Forbes family. The auction catalog is fantastic.

Image courtesy of Lyon & Turnbull

To Australia with love update

The spring/summertime theme of this update is dedicated to my Southern Hemisphere friends, who are enjoying warmer temps than most of us these days. 

1.  1930s EUCALYPTUS Art Deco necklace || 2. 1930s AMARANTH filigree bracelet

3. 1930s HIBISCUS glass pendant || 4. 1930s FAN PALM faux chrysoprase ring

5. 1930s HELLEBORES New England Glassworks brooch

 

Family Baby Shower

 

Last week Soren and I traveled to Minneapolis for our family baby shower. It was a fall-themed, open-house style party with lots of friends and family stopping by. There were about forty people there including my little family from Iowa (that's us in the first pic)! Soren's mom and dad offered to host it at their house which was perfect. They have a big backyard and the weather was beautiful so people could visit outside by the fire if they wanted. The food was lovely (homemade pulled pork and chicken salad sandwiches, a salad, pumpkin cream cheese and apple pie bars), we picked flowers from the garden for the bouquets, etc. Simple, good stuff.  Opening presents with Soren was unexpectedly fun. He got so excited about everything we got, saying things like "I can't wait for him to wear this/play with this!"  I broke down sobbing once during the party but otherwise made it through like a champ. It was a great day.

A Thanksgiving solution

This split pie pan from The Spoon Sisters is pretty genius. I think I would still opt for full versions of each pie, though. Pie leftovers are so good!

Images courtesy of The Spoon Sisters

Winter coats, 1983

      

       

Yet another glimpse into the fabulous world of early 80s fashion, courtesy of my old copy of the 1983 Fall/Winter JCPenney's catalog. My mom had a couple of these coats for sure! You can see other vintage catalog posts here.

TURNING LEAVES UPDATE

I'm back from a long weekend in Minneapolis, where the weather was crisp and sunny. I couldn't resist these colors today. I will be stocking these pieces throughout the day.

1. 1930s SUGAR MAPLE glass necklace | 2. 1940s PAPERBACK BIRCH bakelite bangles
3. 1950s HONEYLOCUST earrings | 4. 1980s BEECH Skal ring
5. 1960s HORNBEAM carved pendant | 6. 1910s QUAKING ASPEN bodice ornament

   

A pretty girl in a locket - what more could you ask for?

There are few things that make me happier than seeing pretty ladies wearing Jean Jean Vintage jewelry. Robin shared these photos of herself on her blog, A Chow Life, last Friday and totally made my day. Robin develops pitch-perfect recipes in her Seattle kitchen and shares them, along with witty writing and beautiful photographs, on her excellent blog. If you don't already check in on her from time to time I highly suggest that you start now! I cook from her recipe archives frequently and am always super pleased with the results. My favorites? Lamb Ragout, Escarole, Sausage and White Bean Stew, and Goat Cheese Enchiladas.

Photo courtesy of A Chow Life

She's a beauty

This little German beauty has all of the elements of a perfect 1930s necklace, in particular the dainty brass chain and the delicate stamped and enameled links. The carved bakelite roses are the icing on the cake. Shoppers hint: sometimes these old, carved pieces are marked leukorite, which is just the commercial name for bakelite. This necklace is now in the shop!

Haunted Victorian Lego Houses

A fellow named Mike Doyle is a hero to Lego lovers all over the world. Why? Because he designed and built these three Victorian houses entirely out of Legos. The last one here, titled "Lego: Victorian on Mud Heap," took him 600 hours, uses over 100,000 Legos and measures almost six feet tall. I mean look at the curtains! Bad ass. You can see some of the step-by-step process on his blog.

Images courtesy of Mike Doyle

We ate cake

I went to a little cake sampling session last weekend with Lauren and Maria. We tasted four cakes and picked out two for my baby shower in a few weeks - Mexican Spiced Chocolate and Apricot Ginger. I got to take the leftovers home!

VIBGYOR update

 

Geez this was a fun update to put together. I hope you enjoy it! Did anyone else sing the "rainbow color" song in pre-school, otherwise known as VIBGYOR? This is the exact song that I learned. Just listening to it makes me feel like I am five again.

1. 1980s TAFFY JAR bracelet 2. 1940s FLOCON glass earrings

3. 1950s JAPANESE MAPLE brooches 4. 1940s GRAPESICLE costume ring

5. 1940s SMARTIES bakelite necklace 6. 1940s AMBRATO toy ring 

7. 1980s SLOANE Napier drop earrings

This week in the shop

Boy howdy, all these pieces are new in the shop this week! Well, except the Victorian brooch - but it's my favorite so you get to see it again. Bon weekend everyone - what are you up to? I get to see Maria of Adelaide's Homesewn and Lauren of Dear Golden today/tomorrow. We'll be lunching, going to a cake tasting (testing flavors for my baby shower next month) antiquing, eating chili, roasting smores . . . all that good stuff. I hope you get to see some friends this weekend, too!

A blazer and a belly

I was getting dressed yesterday to pick up Mr. Jean Jean from the airport and I thought, "You know what would look great with this blazer? Some 80s earrings!" Then I remembered this great pair of Napier drops in the cue for next Monday's update and . . . well I just sort of ended up raiding that entire collection for a little dress up session. So here you have glimpse of a few pieces in the 10/10 update and a peek at my belly. We've officially entered the 3rd trimester my friends!