Holiday Memories

Who remembers the Wishbook? My brothers and I would spend hours looking through these books and circling everything that we wanted for Christmas. Now kids spend hours looking on Pinterest and the Internet looking for what they wish for. They do not make the Wishbook anymore. You are lucky if you get a little circular in the mail from the store. I would love to be able to show my kids one of these books. They were huge!

Springtime Memories

I love Spring. I love the smell of the flowers blooming. I have a rush of memories that come over me as soon as Spring arrives. I am reminded of when I was a young girl, playing outside with the neighborhood kids, going camping with my family, mom buying us new clothes for the warmer weather & I am reminded of spending time with my grandmother who was dying from lung cancer.

I took care of my grandmother when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She was 63 years old. She was a smoker her whole life. When she was first diagnosed they did surgery to remove the tumor and some sessions of radiation. When the tumor grew back, she moved on to chemotherapy treatments. That is when it took a toll on her body really bad. I remember her and I would drive around to the local fruit and vegetable stands to try and help her eat fresh things to try and gain some strength. She was so weak. I literally watched her wither away before my eyes. It scared me to death. She would always tell everyone in the family to quit smoking, she would beg them to stop. She regretted her choice to smoke so bad. She was a very fun person, very sociable, had a lot of friends, and got along with anyone. It was so heartbreaking to watch someone like that wilt away to nothing. By the end of her life, she was laying in a hospital bed in her dining room. When she died, we sat with her that whole day and night, talking about things we remembered her doing, reminiscing about the holidays with her, and other good times. We still held on to hope that she would somehow pull through. That was not the case, I left her house and drove about 10 minutes to my house, my aunt and cousin went to their rooms, they lived with her, and about 20 minutes later my aunt went down to check on her, and she was dead. I think she waited until we left. I wish she wouldn't have though, I don't think anyone should die alone. I was devastated, but part of me was relieved that she no long suffered.

Every spring since she has been gone I am overwhelmed with the memories I have of her, its almost like I can sense her with me. Its odd. Its the only time of year that I have that feeling. I think of her often, but not the way I do when spring arrives.

She had rose bushes outside of her house. When she died, we chose to put mini pink roses pinned on a satin heart shaped pillow in her coffin. She loved roses.

I was really blessed to have loving grandparents. I no longer have any. I lost my other grandmother 2 years ago. I was so sad to realize that I no long have grandparents. I really try to take my kids around theirs, I want them to have the same type of relationship that I had with mine. Its such a special bond.

If you still have grandparents, call them today and tell them you love them.

Here is a pic of my grandmother who was taken so soon by cancer. I think she was really beautiful.

Friday night memories......

As a kid I lived for the weekends like most young people. We had so much fun going to the Drive in movies, Skateland, spending the night at friends homes, Pizza Hut, and watching horror movies. There was nothing better than putting in a good VHS tape of something that would make us walk each other to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

In Middle School the popular horror movie was Nightmare on Elm St. I would stay at my best friends every weekend and we would stay up all night telling ghost stories, playing records, and watching TV.

Once in awhile we would all meet at the local skating rink. They would have contest on who could skate backwards the fastest, I must say that I won that one just about every weekend. I would not be able to do that to save my life now.

I can remember one time where we bought home perms and decided to practice on one another's hair, bad idea! It was awful. I have never had a perm since then.

We would also ride around the local fast food joints just to catch a glimpse of whoever we had a crush on that week.

I remember putting on Jordache jeans and using a closehanger to zip them up! They were so tight!

Of course we would lay in bed and talk on the phone for hours, long before texting and cell phones, what would kids do today without a cell phone!

I remember playing spin the bottle with the nieghborhood kids, we always had such fun. It was really innocent, nothing like what todays kids seem to be doing. Oh, makes me worry for my kids!

Oh to be young again, the time goes by so fast. I always tell my kids that they need to enjoy this time, one day they will look back and wonder where it went.

Did I mention that this was a BAD idea for 2 young girls to do by themselves? haha!

Remember this? Good food and better times!

Do you remember this from Pizza Hut?

I cant forget the endless hours that we spent talking on the phone late into the night. I love this phone.

We still love going to the drive in with our kids, its so much fun!

Who remembers going to Skateland? I loved this place!

I still LOVE watching these cheesy 80s horror flicks.

Playing records was always a good time.

Don't forget the tighter the jeans, the better they look!

Of course no weekend would be complete without a game of spin the bottle! Remember that one?

What are some of your favorite childhood memories? I would love to read them.

New Year! 2016!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a great beginning to the New Year. I am looking forward to some good things this year, lets make it better than last! I am sharing some cool vintage pics of celebrating the New Year in the past. Hope you enjoy!

Drink up!

Wanna Dance?!

                                             Lucy & Desi

                                         I hope its a great one!

                                           Debbie Reynolds

                                             Jayne Mansfield

                        I never forget our Military & all they sacrifice.

                                         Happy New Year!

                          Haha!! Looks like someone is having a great time!

                      Its happens.

Vintage Christmas

I love looking at vintage Christmas cards. We send cards out every year. I love getting mail. It seems like no one writes anymore, no cards in the mail, no letters, and we seem to communicate mostly through email and text. It definitely makes it easier to be able to text someone, so I am not going to dispute technology being convenient, but I do think we are missing out on the communication of hearing someones voice or seeing their handwriting. There is something about getting a letter in the mail, it just warms the heart.

I hope you enjoy some of these vintage cards that I found on the internet and pinterest.



I love this pic of the little kids looking at Santa out the window. I remember as a kid peeking out my window Christmas eve hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa. I never did see him ;)

I love this picture. I love the truck, the bookstore, and seeing the man load up the real Christmas tree and put it in the back. It has a real "down home" feel to it. Do you have a real tree or artificial?

I love this picture. Look how nicely dressed the couple is while out Christmas shopping.  I wonder if its Black Friday ;)

This little girl is the cutest. Our daughters always wants to help me in the kitchen. Baking cookies is a must during the holidays. I love this time of year.

Look at the kids in the bed. My brothers and I would always sleep together on Christmas eve. Mom and Dad didn't mind since we were all so excited. We would stay up so late and talk about what Santa was bringing for us. We would peek out the window. I miss being a kid. They were good times. 

There is something about a train and christmas that make me feel like a kid. I guess its because we would put a train under the tree some years. I love that look. You don't see that much anymore. I would love to get a nice train for our kids and put it under, maybe I will have to look for one. Do you put a train under your tree?

Our daughter wants a bike this year. Do you remember your first bike? I do. It was pink Huffy with a basket. I loved that bike. I road it everywhere. I can even remember Dad teaching me how to ride. I was so scared, but he stayed right there with me as a wiggled back and forth. I love this picture. This is the same bike my Dad said he got for Christmas one year.  He swears its the best bike ever. 

We would wake up our parents so early Christmas morning. I don't think they cared at all. They were just as excited as us kids. I love this picture. 

Don't forget the good food during the holidays. I love gathering with the family and eating some good food. Everyone brings a dish, you exchange gifts, and spend time together reflecting on the year. In my opinion there is nothing better than that. Do you cook a big meal on Christmas?  My mother always baked a ham. We would have family over.  I do the same thing with our kids now. This is what memories are made of.  

Vintage November

I love this time of year. Here are some cool vintage Thanksgiving pictures I came across on the web.

This one in particular is the same decoration that my mom hung every year. I love it! I wish I could find it somewhere.

Every kid loves to take a pic with the turkey!! I loved waking up to the smell of the turkey in the oven. My husband does ALL the cooking on Thanksgiving. I wake up and the house smells so good. He makes the BEST stuffing and all I have to do is clean up the mess. I guess I can't expect him to do it all, can I?

I always make sure to DVR the holiday episodes of the old TV shows. I love watching them with my family. They don't make TV like they used to. 

I Love Lucy. I never miss an episode. Our kids will sit and watch it with us. Not many shows on today where you can sit and watch as a family. 

Thanksgiving isn't the same without The Macy's Day Parade. Its my favorite thing to have on during the day, we decorate for Christmas while my husband cooks. Its our little family tradition. Here is a picture of Betty White and Lorne Greene.

I love the old vintage ads. Everyone loves Disney and Mickey. Our kids will watch all these old cartoons.

This was on TV today and I set the DVR so I could watch it later. I never watched the series when it was on, I would love to get it on DVD and watch the whole thing.

How cute is Shirley Temple? I think she is the cutest thing. Our daughter loves watching her sing and dance. I wish more shows were on today like that.

Here is another cartoon we don't miss. We love Charlie Brown, and we especially love the holiday episodes.

Lucy baking. How many of you bake a ham with Thanksgiving dinner? My parents always have a turkey and a ham. I am content with just the turkey. We love the leftovers. Nothing better than a turkey and mayo sandwich.

This is one of my favorite covers of the Post. I love how the son is sitting and helping with the preparations for dinner.

Well I hope this holiday season is a wonderful one for everybody!

Pistachio Cake

This cake is really good! Its so good that I had to share it with all my friends who follow my blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!

Pistachio Cake

1 box of yellow cake mix
1 box of pistachio pudding
1cup of milk
1 cup of oil
3 eggs

Mix all the cake ingredients together, add a few drops of green food coloring for a brighter green.
Pour in a cake pan and bake @350 for 35 minutes.
Let the cake cool before you add the icing.

Icing

2 cups of heavy whipping cream
1 box of pistachio pudding
Beat together until the icing thickens. It won't take to long to thicken, once its done refrigerate it until the cake is cool and the icing is stiff.

Add the icing to the cake and sprinkle chopped pistachios as much as you like on top.

I hope you enjoy!!