A Vintage Daycation in Palm Springs

Growing up in Southern California definitely had it's plus's &

one of them has always been Palm Springs.

In high school on a beautiful sun filled day, it would not be unusual for me &

my girlfriends to decide to have a ditch day. I'd wear my bikini under my clothes,

throw a towel in my back pack & when my girlfriend came to pick me up, instead

of heading towards school, we would giddily point the car towards Palm Springs.

{ps:I NEVER had the car, lol}

Our game plan was this:

We would park the car at a big, fancy hotel...

we would take our clothes off in the parking lot, grab our towels & then, as if we

belonged there, stroll casually to the pool gate. The gate was ALWAYS the scary part!

If we could be brave enough to open the gate, we knew we were in.

When the gate slammed behind us, with hearts pounding, we would jump into the

pool as quickly as possible trying not to look too obvious. We always figured once

we were wet, we'd look like we belonged there.  ;)

Silly Girls!

Palm Springs holds a lot of memories for me.

I hadn't thought about how many for years, until hubby & I decided to spend the day

there yesterday. In some ways the landscape has changed with the times. Now,

windmills cover the desert coming into town, like sprinkles on a cupcake. 

And yet Palm Springs has embraced it's history & golden era of the 50's & 60's,

when it was a hideaway for Hollywood Stars & amazing architect's like Donald Wexler

created the indoor/outdoor style of design which would come to be known as Desert Modern.

The Palm Springs Visitor Center is housed in what use to be an old Gas Station

as you come into town, right at the entrance to the tram.

Inside, we were delighted to find a wonderful collection of Vintage Palm Springs.

From vintage postcard collections to ashtrays from various hotels long ago closed,

this building was filled with memorabilia & I LOVED looking at ALL of it!

We got a map for another day trip that shows the location of Frank Sinatra,

Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Lucy & Desi, Bob Hope, Elvis Presley & many more stars,

Desert Modern vacation homes...I can't WAIT to share that with y'all!!

Looking towards the San Jacinto Mountains, we decided to head up towards

The Palm Springs Aerial Tram.

I haven't taken this Tram ride since I was in high school,

but it's a spectacular ride from the desert floor to the mountain top peak of 8,500'.

Here is the Tram Station which is at about 2,000'. The tempatures will vary

about 30 degrees from the valley floor to the Tram's drop off.

If you look to the center of this pic, you can see the Tram's support structure

& cables...

here it is just a little bit closer.

No, we didn't go up the Tram on this particular day...awwweeee. It's an all day event,

but what it did do is spark my imagination into thinking this might be the perfect

surprise anniversary getaway for me & hubby at the beginning of October.

It will be gorgeous down in the valley & cool & crisp & clear on the mountain top.

They have an excellent restaurant & we could spend the evening having a glass of wine,

a wonderful meal & watching a spectacular sunset...how romantic!

Well Sweeties, off for now...more Palm Springs to come I promise. This little

adventure was just what I needed to remind me that sometimes the greatest

adventures of all can be found right in your own backyard!!

XOXO

vintagesusie

I'm in GYPSYVILLE, Yeeee Hawwww!!!

Greetings Friends from far & wide!

I hope you're all lovin your weekend & enjoyin these last days of summer...I know I am!

Soooooo, y'all know how much I LOVE Round Top, Texas, right?

And y'all know that from my very 1st trip there, I fell MADLY in LOVE with the

Darlin Junk Gypsy's!

 Here's my Junk Gypsy's during Round Top's Spring Festival at

Miss Teresa of Garden Antique's, blog party...

Miss Amie, Miss Jolie & Miss Janie.

I sooooo ADORE them!

 Well, check this out Sweeties, I'm so DARNED excited I could BURST!

{that wouldn't be purdy now, would it? lol}

If you click right HERE , you'll see what all the fuss is about.

Yes, that'd be my 'SPOONIN' necklace in GYPSYVILLE...

'FREE BIRD'!!

Can you BELIEVE it???

Me, an honorary Junk Gypsy...Yeeeee Hawwww, Baby!!!

Yeeeeeeee Hawwwwwww!

Thanks Sweet Gypsy's, y'all just give me WINGS!!

XOXO

vintagesusie

My Beads Are Here From Sweden!!!

 Hi Sweetest of Hearts...I hope you're having a wonderful week!!

I have been ever so patiently waiting for my beads to arrive from my new friend,

Malin of Beading by Malin de Koning,

my Bead Soup partner from Sweden & can I just tell you...

THE BEADS WERE WORTH THE WAIT!!

 Malin sent me several little, beautifully packaged jewelry boxes,

each filled to the brim with complete yummieness!

My very favoritest one is filled with beads of various textures & sizes.

Glass, wood, ceramic, all in subtle hues of blue, cream & brown.

Like I said, simply 'YUMMY', I adore them Malin!   ;)

 She also included a drawstring bag filled with fiber...

How did she know I needed a little more fiber in my diet?

 And a box filled with lovely silver clasps & silver beads,

big chunky, white tulip beads, white beads of all shapes & sizes,

including 2 little animal shaped beads,

3 red, white & blue beads

& some vintage silver toned chain.

Such a thoughtful & perfectly balanced bunch of ingredients for me to make my SOUP with!

With all that said, am I allowed to say what I LOVE the most about my SOUP?

It has something to do with sari silk & blue ceramic...

Don't forget to stop back by to see the Big Reveal on September 17th,

I can't hold myself back anymore...

it's time to start COOKING!!!!

Is it SOUP YET??

XOXO

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Soup is ON, Bead Soup That is!

Hey Sweeties...

I may disappear for a minute, flying off the grid...

but you can't get rid of me that easy! lol

Many of you probably already know this, but once again...drum roll please,

it's time for

BEAD SOUP!

Lori Anderson of Pretty Things Blog's, most delicious concoction.

I am so excited to be partnered up with a jewelry designer that I have never had the pleasure

to meet before, Malin de Koning from Stockholm Sweden.

She loves to work with beads & buttons & textiles & her

style seems to be full of color & texture,

sooooo gorgeous!

I'm sooooo excited for my foreign parcel to arrive!

I can't wait to see what she has sent to me,

but I'll bet you one thing...

I just know it will be FULL of COLOR!!!

Take a peek at Malin's beautiful blog, Beads By Malin de Koning

 & as the ingredients for our SOUP arrive,

there will be so much more to share with you as

we gear up for our September 17th Reveal.

Stay Tuned & Enjoy this Beautiful Week!

XOXO

vintagesusie

Some Days Your Spoonin & Some Days Your Forkin...

Today, I've been forkin...

Today, I've been reminding myself of who I am

& where I'm headed.

Today, I've been thinking about the forks in the road

& the paths one chooses to take & why.

Today I made a fork necklace for myself,

so if I ever get lost I can read it & remember.

Mark Twain's words wrap around me like a summer breeze...

'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed

by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.

Catch the Trade Winds in Your Sails

Explore

Create

Dream

Discover.'

I added the Create.

And just in case my compass ever gets totally broken,

today I did a little spoonin too.

1956

Long Beach

with a 1917 Vintage Souvenir Spoon handle from

Long Beach, CA.

My simple reminder of where I began.

I hope you had a Beautiful Sunday

Sweet Friends!

XOXO

vintagesusie

Thank God for AAA

Now, I know I'm getting REALLY old...I mean, old as DIRT kinda old!

I'm so old that I actually remember a time when service stations were just that, Service Stations.

I remember a rubber hose that ran along the ground & as you drove over it it would ding,

alerting the Service Station attendant that he had a customer.

He'd come running out, smile on his face in his clean, white uniform, hat cocked

to one side & yell out "What can I get ya?", & as we all sat comfortably in the car

my Daddy would yell back, "Fill her up with Ethel please."

I never knew who Ethel was until I got much older, but I figured she was a nice lady cuz our

car always ran down the road perfectly after we got filled with her.  ;)

These gentle men not only filled your car up with gas, but they also:

washed your windshields spotless,

checked your oil,

checked the radiator,

checked the air pressure in your tires

& if any of these were amiss, they fixed the problem immediately, with a smile.

I MISS those days, I really do. Life was just SWEETER.

Fast Forward fifty years...

Yesterday, I had a tire blow out. Not just a little, I came out of the store & my tire was flat

or a small, slow leak of air as I was driving down the road & had to pull over.

I had a going, 65mph, on a 2 lane HWY, in the middle of NOWHERE

BLOWOUT!!!

'Shut the Front Door', I'm surprised I didn't die.

It was 6:30pm, I didn't know what city I was in cuz I was in the middle of the desert,

the shoulder WAS the desert, I was an hour from home, an hour from my friends house,

cars & semi's were flying past me at the speed of sound, I was freaked out, a little stupefied

& the one thing I AM GRATEFUL for in these modern times, is my cell phone.

So, what do I do first...

Call my Hubby & what does he tell me to do, call AAA & call him right back.

THANK GOD for AAA!!!

I called the emergency hot line & talk to Angie.

I gave her my card number & she then asks, "Where are you?"

I panicky answer like the brilliant woman that I am, "I don't know!"

She asks "What city are you in?" I answer, "I don't know, I'm in the middle of a desert."

Brilliant, right?

Long story short, through my vague ramblings & inaccurate information, she decides my

location & sends a AAA tow truck out to help me. It will take 54 minutes.

Call Hubby back, we decide it's silly for him to drive that far, I will wait.

He tells me there are crazy drivers out there, not to wait in the car...

I say I'm scared of someone seeing me & kidnapping me {oldnapping me}

or maybe even worse, getting bite by a snake.

He says, just take my water & take a little walk off the road & make it a pleasant wait.

I say ok...I stay in the car & put my seat belt on, Angie calls again to check on me.

An hour later as the sun is getting lower in the sky, I hear the sound of a truck

pulling up behind me...yipppeeee, I'm saved!!!

I hop out of the car clapping my hands & waving...do all women do this

or am I just a moron? The sun is now slightly behind the driver as he jumps out of the

truck, clipboard in hand, blue one piece uniform on & a smile on his face.

"Are you Susie?", "Yes, yes, that's me...I've been waiting!"

"Can I see your card Mam?" "Oh yes, here it is, I've got it!"

"Thank you Mam, no worries. I'll take care of everything. These drivers out here

are crazy! If I could have you step back & away from the car for your own safety,

I would really appreciate it."

"Certainly, certainly, why didn't I think of that!"  ;)

He now went to work & with the sun setting behind him, there was a soft glow of light

surrounding him. His skin glistened & his hair blew softly in the desert breeze,

at least that's the way I remember it.

He mentions that he was leaving to go home when he got the call, but was concerned

about a women being stranded out here alone...I think he's my savior.

As he finishes up, I thank him profusely & run over to my purse to get him a tip.

I only have $3 & I fold it up & put it in his hand. He says no, he can't except it. I say

he must. He says he can't take my last few dollars & I say he has to take it. I say he saved

me & it's the least I can do & wish it were more.

He shakes my hand & says, with a smile on his face,

"It's just my job."

I get in my car & slowly merge back out into the traffic, finally heading for home.

I think, I hope he stops at a bar before he goes home & has a beer on me.

THANK GOD for AAA!

XOXO

vintagesusie