did you buy that new?

flapper fabulous

posted by katie, motherbumper

Fetish alert: I have a thing for purses.  I'm not a girly girl by any stretch of the imagination, in fact I was never comfortable carrying a purse until I added "parental unit" to my resume, but all my life, I've collected bags and purses.  The more dainty and delicate, the better.

This 1920's gem came from my paternal grandmother's home.  She wasn't a fancy lady, in fact she was a shining example of how to be practical.  That woman reused, reduced, and recycled long before it became fashionable; raising a family in the 1930's rural Canada will do that to you.  But obviously before the Dirty Thirties hit, my nana had some fun times and purses to match.

The purse is made of woven metal in gold, turquoise, and orange.  It's big enough to hold a lipstick, compact, and for those naughty girls who felt prohibition didn't apply to them, a small flask.  For the record, my grandmother would not have been one of those girls.  But I would have totally been one of those girls.

tea for the mistress

posted by katie

Back when my mom was still a giggling bride-to-be, her friends threw her a bridal shower as is the fashion (note: my mother has never giggled in my presence but I liked the image it conjured).  The trend du jour was a teacup party which to me, sounds divine.

Every so often I'll ask my mom to tell me the story of the teacups and over the years I've heard some of those stories that give me a glimpse into the lady she was before we met.

Many of the cups have either lost their soul mate saucer or met an end with smashing results but the survivors are beautiful.  Forty plus years later and they still shine and look very dignified.  I love the moth - or as I like to think, fly - that adorn both the blue and red peacock cups.

Don't you wish you had such a beautiful shower theme - or is that just me being girly?  Forget how impractical it is, just think of how you could impress the Queen if she ever showed up on your doorstep unannounced (I heard Liz is famous for doing just that).  I sure hope mom thinks of me when she decides to give them away (*hint hint*).  And they also sure beat the hangover and not-fit-to-print gifts I received at my shower.  I'll save those for a more raunchy day of posting.

refurbished

Years ago, my Nanny left me a fur coat - a 3/4 length silk moire lined raccoon coat that was the most fashionable thing in the roaring twenties but absolutely politically incorrect in the 1990s.  That's my Nanny proudly wearing her coat while taking my Father out for a sled ride.

I loved that coat, and I love my Nanny so I did not throw red paint on it as many of my friends encouraged.  Instead I hid it away in my one of my parent's basement closets, praying that PETA wouldn't find me out.

My parents were never too hip on how I used them for a free storage facility.  I expect karma will do the same to me someday, when I actually have enough closet space to hold one of my daughters apartments, lock, stock, and smoking barrel. 

During one of my parent's closet purges, my father came up with an idea on how to recycle that fur coat and set out like Tim Gunn to make it happen.  A few inquires later he found a woman outside of town who could execute his plan.

A snip, snip, sew, sew later, my Nanny's raccoon coat turned into three of the most beautiful teddy bears.  One for me, one for my sister, and of course, one for my Father who I'm sure has more memories of that coat than I have space to share.  Behold Theodore, one of the triplets who sprang from the loins of that beautiful coat.  PETA be damned.

posted by Motherbumper