Hey, Rudolph!

Junk Love: Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

The countdown has begun. Only hours remain until Santa lands on your house, and then you'll wake up to a snowy (or, in our case, rainy) Christmas morning! Unless you live in the desert, in which case it'll be a sandy Christmas morning, and good for you! Anyway, after a delicious breakfast, a second cup of coffee, and a quick kiss under the mistletoe, you'll get down to the business of opening presents and celebrating the holiday while looking utterly innocent and cute. Right?

Well, these ladies make it look easy. You might want to take notes.

 

And once the living room is covered with crumpled paper, shredded tissue, and wrinkled bows (which someone else should have to clean up), you might want to get a little fresh air. Apparently, this is a pants-optional thing.

And when you return to the house with flushed cheeks, tingling hands, and a bright red nose, the best way to warm up is to make use of that mistletoe one more time....

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Countdown

The Blackbird girls love making lists (just like Santa!), and they often result from heated, near-violent (not really) debates about important things, like movies. And with the holiday season well under way, the only movies worth debating are pre-1960 Christmas movies (despite what all of those headlines and Twitter wars are telling you lately). We may still disagree about the exact ranking, but you know how it goes--she who types the blog gets to pick the order! The players, however, were unanimously chosen, which is one of the billion reasons why we get along so well. And if you're expecting It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street to be on this list, you might as well stop reading now. Christmas joy is great and all, and we've both shed a tear for a kind-hearted Santa in our day, but the BEST Christmas movies are made of humor, romance, and fashion. So here are the top five holiday movies from the golden age of film (and you get Judy Garland as a prize for making it all the way to the end!):

1. Christmas in Connecticut (1945)--This is a major moment, because until two days ago, I had never even seen this movie. In fact, after seeing it I had planned to rank it third on this list, but after a bit of soul-searching, I had to bump it up to the top slot. Barbara Stanwyck is witty and gorgeous. Dennis Morgan is fine. The plot is the perfect mixture of hilarious mixups and romance. The house is fantastic. And, it's got S.Z. Sakall, who is without a doubt one of the most adorable character actors in the history of Hollywood. (The man's nickname is Cuddles, for Pete's sake. It does not get cuter than that.) And, you know, the clothes, like the GIANT SPARKLY MONOGRAM:

 

2. White Christmas (1954)--Seriously, it's got Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, which are four excellent reasons to indulge in some cinnamon cocoa and couch cuddling on a snowy winter night. Plus, the title song is one of the most iconic Christmas songs, and it's guaranteed to make almost everyone feel warm and fuzzy. And, you know, the clothes:

3. Holiday (1938)--Not really a Christmas movie in the traditional sense, but it does take place during the holiday season (with a climactic New Year's Eve engagement party). Cary Grant. Katharine Hepburn. Already, it's a winner. Add to that a wonderful "money can't buy happiness" plot, plus some great witty (and acrobatic!) moments and between two of the greatest actors of all time, and you've got a fabulous movie. Plus, the clothes:

4. Holiday Inn (1942)--It covers all of the major holidays, but it's really a Christmas movie. Bing Crosby wins again, and he's accompanied by Fred Astaire (so you know there's some great dancing!). And, clothes:

 
5. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)--Judy Garland makes Christmas. Enough said. And, that dress:

I will give an honorable mention to It Happened on Fifth Avenue, which I need to see again because it's been a while. Who knows? It may even displace one of the movies in the top five. I just don't remember enough about it. But I do remember the coat and hat (priorities!):

Junk Love: Holiday Greetings!

Every year, I peruse the displays of my local shops to find the perfect Christmas cards to send to my favorite people. The problem is that I have more Christmas cards than I do favorite people, so I always end up with extra. The next winter, I try to make myself reuse those leftover cards, but I hate to repeat myself. The solution to this problem? Vintage cards.

Here

Unused ones are, of course, the best. And the great thing about them is that they're cute, affordable, and you can buy only as many as you need. Here are the best that Etsy has to offer this season. Hope you find the perfect ones!

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Sorry! This one sold....

Junk Love: Dear Santa

At the Blackbird estate, we have many Christmas collections, but none bring us joy as much as our dear friend, Ugly Santa:

Etsy

He's flocked! He's happy! And apparently, he has a very active lifestyle (according to Etsy)....For example, he bowls.

Etsy

 He skis!

Etsy

He sleds...

Etsy

He skates...

Etsy

And boogies with the missus.

Etsy

He rides deer bareback through the tundra (Shhh! Do you hear that? The forest is calling!)

Etsy

And decks the halls.

Etsy

He cheers!

Etsy

And gets up to some shady crap with Frosty.

Etsy

And, occasionally, indulges in a little girl talk (I don't know...do you think this suit makes me look fat? I'm thinking about changing my pompom. Do you like my pompom?)

Etsy

But we wouldn't change a thing about him. Provided, of course, that he still makes time to bring our presents!

Junk Love: Which Witch?

Halloween is one of the Blackbird girls' favorite holidays, and one Blackbird mother is even crazier about the day than we are. So, for the month of October, my junk love mind will probably wander to vintage Halloween stuff more often than not. Today's journey is about witches.

The witch is the Blackbird mother's absolute favorite character from this holiday. She has collected Halloween items for years, and she has LOTS of items, but she is downright passionate about witchy stuff. She has so many things that, in a lot of cases, it is really hard to find an example that she doesn't already own. I decided to make this my quest today, so here is a selection of wish-list items that will make her drool if she ever sees this post.

As a fan of paper ephemera, of course I looked for those items first. These are my two favorites, both of which I have never seen before. I really want this place card:

Vintage 1930s Gibson witch place card, From Etsy

I also especially love this 1930s die cut witch because she is double sided, and the crepe cauldron is still in great shape.

Stirring and stirring and stirring my brew..., On Etsy

This is probably the cutest candy container I have found. Yeah, she's got her broom, but she certainly doesn't need it to go fast (even though the $300 price might slow me down a bit)....

Vintage Rosbro witch on motorcycle candy container, On Etsy

We always look for vintage Halloween post cards as birthday or Christmas gifts for the Blackbird mother, and this is one that absolutely cracks me up (and it's another item that I've never seen anywhere before).

Vintage Halloween post card, From Etsy

And here are the budget-busters (yeah, the candy container is super-expensive, too, but these are special because they are incredibly rare). The first is a limited edition vintage Ouija-style game called The Salem Witch Board. The board itself is plywood, and has great graphics printed around the border of witches and other Halloween-y stuff (hehe..."weenie"). The instructions state: "The Salem Witch Board is a talking number board used in the attempt to contact the Spirit World through the use of 66 different numbers, each with their own meaning." This one is for sale on Etsy for $125.

Vintage Salem Witch Board game; On Etsy

The second is a very rare fortune-telling game from the 1920s. Even though I don't collect this stuff, I would be tempted to hang on to this if I ever came across it (Ssshhh! Don't tell....), but at $220, I'll sadly have to deny myself this one.

Vintage 1920s Fortune Wheel, On Etsy