HAPPY BEISTLE DAY!

Not to be confused with the French Bastille Day Dear Readers!

Yesterday I received my purchase from Vintage Beistle, I heard about this company through the blogging grapevine.. but I CAN'T remember where! Any who, I am TOTALLY thrilled with my reproduction purchase! This pack of four cut outs retails for $4.50 (shipping not included) and has patterns from the 1950's and 60's. I really like all of them, the iconic Beistle Pumpkin being my favorite!

I have to say I am super surprised with how BIG these are! I know it says 14"-24" in the description but for some reason I thought they'd be small, but they are worth every bit of the $4.50.  Another neat/vintage touch is that the images are printed on both sides, One side is glossy, and the other is matte, which lends an authentically vintage look.

 I am super excited for Sunday, we finally get to put up our Halloween decorations at the Casablanca. This year I have found more paper lanterns and vintage paper goods, so we should be able to make quite the impression on our Costume Ball guests!




I can't wait to show you!

-Mick-

Backstage Fun!

West Side Story ends this weekend, and what and amazing, emotionally charged show it has been.

 "A picture is worth 1,000 words" So here's a photo essay...

-Mick-

Fur Real! Patricia's 21st Birthday Present!

This present has been eight months in the making, and I owe a huge thanks to Friends- Missouri Michael and Cheryl J!  For a while now Patricia has wanted a fur, we've rented a few from the theatre "just for show" but she's wanted one of her very own for a while.  So I tell Michael if he comes across one to let me know... THE NEXT WEEKEND he found this mink for a STEAL at $20.00! So then came SEVEN months of waiting to finally present her with it, and BOY was that hard to do... Patricia almost blew the surprise on our summer trip to Missouri when she nearly bought a fur of her own. (Of course Michael and I double teamed and made that pelt seem like the most moth eaten and worthless thing we'd ever seen. When Patricia finally passed on it, he and I BOTH breathed a sigh of relief! THANK YOU SO MUCH MICHAEL!

 *  *  *

 So then one night I am watching a nondescript old black and white movie studded with 1940's starlets in evening gowns and I notice that the woman who owns the mink has her initials monogrammed into it... Hmmm I think, that would be a classy touch to this gift!

(Patricia Marie Bierra.)

So I consulted with my wonderful costuming friend Cheryl J. at the theatre, and after I had sworn her to secrecy she arranged to have the fur sent to Dallas and monogrammed with Patricia's initials.  In a weeks time the fur was back and had been beautifully monogrammed over the stain lining in the right pocket. (SURPRISE! This stole is actually called a "motor coat" because it has pockets... it also turns out our $20.00 mink is worth about $200.00! what a deal!)  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP CHERYL!

*  *  *

FINALLY the day of Patricia's 21st Birthday arrives, by this point she knows she has a gift, but has no idea the story behind it and is DYING to get at the giant gold box in the back seat of my car.  I pick her up to go to dinner around 6:30p.m. when we arrive at olive garden I can tell the anticipation is killing her so I finally let her open her present! I wish I had filmed it! Patrica's eyes lit up and she was totally, shocked/ thrilled/ and dumb founded and very softly she say "I have a fur!" then not so softly she jumps up and down saying "I have a FUR! I have a FUR!" She loved her present!

(She's not gonna love that I used this picture. 

But it's the only one I have right now of her wearing it!)

It was a complete success, she LOVES her mink, in fact I'm pretty sure she is sleeping in it. I couldn't not have pulled it off with out the help of friends Michael and Cheryl, you guys are the best! Thank you for your wonderful help.

(Here we are, a much classier picture of Patricia on her 21st!)

Happy Birthday Dear!

-Mick-

It's Buddha-ful!

My Favorite thrift store (that has long been dry) has been showering me with fantastic finds Dear Readers! A few months ago I first saw the "Buddha bowl" over on Dana's blog Mid2Mod and I was smitten. I was not so smitten about the $38.00 price tag... So picture my total SHOCK and and double take when I spot a "Pacific" color (Turquoise is my FAVORITE color) Buddha Bowl on a shelf for a mere $1.41!!! Modern style this great, for this price, AND in my all time favorite color... THAT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN HERE!

I am a thrift store bum, NAY a thrift store king and I have no shame of it!

-Mick-

Want It Wednesday!

 (Orange and black honeycomb decorations.)

More like whine about it Wednesday... I have no grounds to "want" as I am really blessed with the things I have. I've made several trips to my storage unit for Halloween decorating, and I think to myself 'wow it only takes a few years of collecting have some nice things!' I can remember when I was a baby blogger, and was new to the party... everyone had decorations for everything and I was jealous! Now as I said I have a few pieces i've collected and I'm proud of, but I would LOVE to add about 10 of these to my stock pile!

I have hunted high and low, but I know i'll find one or two someday! It's all about the thrill of the hunt... and while we're hunting, I would love to have one of these cut out all my own.

(I have tried to replicate my own, and have failed miserably!)

Halloween is on my brain, and we wont be able to decorate until October 13th! Since the Casablanca is hosting the cast party for the West Side Story cast, I'd like to keep the house in its natural late 1950's state for that party, but have it totally fixed up and decorated by the next weekend for our annual Costume Ball!


Happy Wednesday Y'all!

-Mick-

A Pyrex Fairytale!

Behold Dear Readers!

(Friendship, Friendship, just the prefect "Blend"ship!)

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about this find!  You always hear about those CRAZY "in the wild" Pyrex stores where someone picks up a treasure for pennies, well I can now add to the testimonials!  Last Thursday when I got off work, I had a clairvoyant feeling that I should head down to my favorite thrift store (where I scored the pumpkin blow mold)I was feeling lucky and thought I might just end up with another blow mold!

So I pull into the parking lot and check the windows of the store, RATS... no new blow molds. But I had a feeling I should go inside anyways. I walked straight to the back of the store into "housewares" and there on a low shelf to my right I spot two orange 501 fridge dishes with the lids taped to them, I swoop on them and turn around and MUCH TO MY SURPRISE there is the 503 with its lid!!! I swoop on it to and then to my right on a lower shelf I find the red 502!!!! (I hunted and hunted but could not find the 502's lid.) I was TOTALLY broke but I hoped I had enough on my debit card, I made my way to the front of the store and get to the check out do the mental math in my head and hold my breath as the cashier rings up each piece and my total comes to-

$6.29

SIX DOLLARS AND TWENTY-NINE CENTS!

  I was beside myself with ecstasy! The cashier swipes my debit card and I had $6.94 in my checking account (payday would be the next day!) This is hands down one of the COOLEST Pyrex finds in my collecting history. (This will be a Christmas present for someone special I know.) I'm just in SHOCK I was prepared to pay $75-$125 for this set and then WHAT DO YA KNOW?! haha

So that's my story, Pyrex Magic IS out there!

-Mick-

Thrifted Thursday... Blowmolds and Pyrex!

IT FINALLY HAPPENED TO ME!

I always see posts from all you other bloggers finding amazing deals on all of our dream items! I've been jealous, and I've longed for the day it would happen to me... well at long last my ship has come in! (sort of) I found the blow mold pumpkin at my favorite thrift store! Value Village it was in the window and I snagged it for the staggering price of $6.53! I was so happy and this pumpkin is HUGE I stood my large Samsonite suitcase on end to show just how big, as you see its taller than said suitcase!

Then I come home this is sitting on the picnic table, one of Moms friends sent it to me!

(So photogenic!)

Mom's friend Pam gave me a 1980's "Trailing Flowers" promo piece WITH its original cover, and the best part?!

(IT'S NEVER BEEN USED!)

Pam received it as a Wedding gift back in the early 80's and just never used it! So it came complete with cover and the original care card! How cool is that.


So there you have it, my thrifted finds!

(Provably the best picture ever taken of Myself)

(With Patrica, Alex, and Wes at Colling Castle in Turner Falls Oklahoma.)

I must apologize for my lack of blogging, and lack of commenting on other peoples blogs. It has been a really crazy month and a lot has been happening. Labor day weekend Patricia and I celebrated our three year dating anniversary! We drove up to Turner Falls Oklahoma with friends Wes and Alex to spend the weekend and celebrate (a surprise I had planned since February) it was so much fun!

My 1984 Lincoln Town Car is dead. While driving along the highway a radiator hose busted and it all happened so quick, before i could get pulled over the engine over heated and we think the pistons in the motor snapped in half. So I am car-less for the moment (until I get some money saved up.)

With the Passing of my car, construction has been brought to a grinding HALT as it would make sense not to get a car before continuing. I never planned on my car burning up, and its not that I spend every dollar I have, just every free dollar i've had this year has gone into construction. So funds are tight! I'm still hoping to  have the walls up and painted before December and our beloved Thanksmass, but if not then we'll just have to wait for (next year) Thanksmass 1960 for things to be perfect!

 (The Jets! I'm fourth from the left!)

Factor in the crazy horrid brutal  Tech week and OPENING night of our show "West Side Story" and its not to hard to see why I've been on a blogging hiatus!

As soon as I have two seconds to take pictures I will post pictures of the WSS set, I'm actually trying to get a few images copyrighted that I designed. All of our gang graffiti and insignias for our show I created, and some of it turned out REALLY cool! (I'm particularly proud of the "Jets" and the "Sharks" Insignias!)

And fear not! Scrimping and saving for a new(er) car will only have minor effects on the festivities out at the Casablanca... We will be hosting the Cast party for West Side Story with a "Dance at the Gym" theme, as well as our 8th annual Casablanca Halloween Costume Ball!

I know you all are provably shaking your heads thinking "he should be throwing parties if he's saving for a car..." Well Dear Readers, I already have all of the Decorations from years past (and I think homemade and vintage decorations are the best!) so really very little will have to be spent on the gatherings and everyone always brings food and drink!

So that's that!

-Mick-