Chez Panisse, enfin

        

 

 

Before we moved out to Berkeley for the semester, my mom gave us a gift certificate to Chez Panisse. Originally, I thought we would go for my birthday in January but I couldn't get a reservation. That was OK, though, because it was kind of fun to have that certificate burning a hole in my pocket these last few months. When Soren and I finally went last night, the experience easily met our high expectations. The menu was set so all we had to do was take our seats and enjoy the show! The four courses landed in front of us at perfect intervals and they were all delicious. Even the menu cover art was great!

Dress || Banana Republic
Jewelry || 1930s sterling filigree glass ring, rhinestone line bracelet, pot metal and rhinestone necklace
Purse || 1940s satin and black bead clutch

The man of your dreams might be hiding in your bracelet

I was moments away from listing this 1950s identification bracelet the other day when I suddenly realized that there was a hinge on one side of the name plate. Could it be a secret compartment?! I pulled and tugged and eventually it popped open and lo and behold there was a man smiling back at me! He looks a little bit like Frankie Valli. Given how difficult it was to open the compartment, and the fact that the manufacturer's photograph is still inside, I don't think that the owner of this bracelet knew about this secret feature. But now you do! This bracelet will be in the shop today.

P.S. I have been giggling for almost a week now because the title of this post got cut off in my blogger "draft" list to read, "The man of your dreams might be hiding in your bra." Imagine that, if you dare.

I blame Downton Abbey

I've got early 20th century jewelry on my mind lately, thanks to Downton Abbey. But not even Lady Mary had this necklace in her jewelry box! It looks like a bit of lace suspended on a chain, doesn't it? That is the beauty of very, very fine filigree - in this case, platinum set with diamonds and sapphires. It is a perfect example of Edwardian jewelry, which was light, feminine and romantic - a big departure from the styles of the Late Victorian era (think Cousin Violet).

You can see more great examples of Edwardian jewelry here. Prepare to be stunned.

Photos courtesy of Lang Antiques

Art Deco cats

  

 

  

I love vintage photographs of animals (see my doggie post here). I especially like finding photos of animals in vintage lockets because it means they were truly loved. I've only found three animal lockets in the two + years I've been buying for the shop - two doggie lockets and now this cat one! The car in the left photo looks 1930s to me, which matches the age of the locket. These Art Deco cats (and their locket) are now in the shop.

Licorice

1950s black and goldtone flower earrings

1930s Czechoslovakian glass and faux pearl triangle necklace || 1930s onyx and marcastite cockatil ring

1930s red and black glass bead necklace with brass findings

1960s faux pearl earrings || 1960s glass and rhinestone earrings

1930s carnelian and sterling silver cocktail ring

1940s glass and lucite bead necklace || 1930s plastic and brass pin

I had quite a bit of red and black in the jewelry box so I decided to put them together for today's shop update. The color combination makes me think of licorice twists! I am a black licorice person, how about you?

The best fruit crisp

Photo by Romula Yanes for Gourmet, 2007

Tonight I'm participating in a Pop Up Shop with Purple Deer Vintage and Verseau Vintage. It should be fun. I'm taking about 70 pieces of jewelry, most of them totally new!

I'm also taking a Plum Berry Crisp to share. I love this recipe from Gourmet (everyone can take a moment here to cry a little bit for the loss of this great magazine). If you don't have plums, you can use rhubarb or even apricots. It is so good and so simple - I've made it dozens of times!

Plum Berry Crisp

Adapted from the August 2007 Gourmet recipe by Shelley Wiseman

FILLING:
1 1/2 lb plums, rhubarb or apricots, sliced
2 cups berries (blackberries, raspberries or blueberries)
1/3 to 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (Billington's is best)

TOPPING: 
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into bits and room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
a handful of chopped walnuts (optional)

METHOD: 
Prehat oven to 425ºF. Toss together the berries and filling sugar in a 2-quart shallow dish and back 10 minutes. Meanwhile, blend together all the topping ingredients in a bowl with your fingertips until the mixture is well combined and crumbly. Stir the fruit filling then sprinkle the oat mixture over it and back about 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the crisp is golden brown.

If your name is Anna

If your name is Anna, this locket has your name on it (ha ha). I just found it this week and listed it this evening!

Pendleton pillows

I'm quite smitten with these handmade pillow covers from Little Byrd Vintage. They are made from vintage Pendleton wool.

kal-SEH-doh-nee

Up until about a week ago, there was a tiny antique shop about five blocks from my house here in California. Kind of a dream, I know! Unfortunately, it just closed after nearly 35 years of business. The owner was a spunky woman named Diane who just happened to have an amazing collection of antique jewelry. I visited several times and never left empty handed. The last time I visited I bought two things for myself - a 1930s chalcedony (pronounced kal-SEH-doh-nee) cocktail ring and matching pendant. I love how the stones have a waxy luster and a cloudy semi-transparency. Chalcedony was popular during the Art Deco period, but not as popular as other quartz gemstones like carnelian, chrysoprase and onyx.  I rarely see vintage (blue) chalcedony jewelry on the market so I am pretty excited, needless to say!

There is a pretty faux chalcedony Art Deco ring in the shop here. 

Take me there

Please take me to Tel Aviv so that I can buy these shoes! I caught a glimpse of Liebling's spring/summer collection in this Oh Joy! post and fell deeply in love with the shoes and the photography. And just when I thought I couldn't be more in love, I saw their fall/winter catalog. Mercy, mercy me.

Photos courtesy of Liebling 

Lemon yellow

1920s yellow satin bead sautoir

1940s goldtone hinge bracelet || 1930s pot metal and cabochon glass brooch

1930s marbled bakelite bead necklace

1920s glass pin || 1930s channel set glass earrings

1980s silver and glass festoon necklace

It's been dreary and drippy weather around here for the past couple days so I'm revolting with a lemon yellow shop update today. All of these pieces are shop-bound this morning!

A reunion

Lauren et moi at the Richard Avedon exhibit in Detroit, October 2009

These next few days I get to host the lovely Lauren of Dear Golden Vintage! I haven't seen her since December and that's a long damn time to go without seeing your buddy. She left some ridiculously beautiful and balmy weather behind in MI and I'm afraid that the Bay Area will not be able to match it (i.e. rain is in the forecast). No matter - we'll still have fun. I hope you have a good weekend with good friends, too!

We meet again

Finding matching vintage jewelry really makes me happy. It is so interesting to see different versions of the same design, isn't it? It also gives me a sense of what it must have been like to go shopping back in the day, when ladies had a choice of styles and colors at the jewelry counter. These brooches are from the 1930s/1940s - the yellow one is in the Jean Jean collection and the blue one is from the pages of Warman's Vintage Jewelry (2008). The yellow brooch will be part of next Monday's sunny shop update!

Cool girls wear these

When I saw these 1940s photos, I knew that I needed to get on the ball and start collecting identification bracelets. I mean, how awesome is this girl?! I'm pretty sure she is wearing nine ID bracelets. I've been stockpiling them for Jean Jean Vintage this last month and the collection has grown to well over a dozen bracelets. I couldn't resist staging a look-a-like shoot after I finished photographing all of the bracelets for the shop. All I need is a chocolate malt and a time machine and I think I could hang with this girl.

Photos courtesy of Life Image Archives