Which one of these persons in this 1940s photograph does not belong?  Is it the man in sunglasses, wearing a hoodie and holding a compact camera — evidence that time traveling does exist?

This photo was part of the Virtual Museum Canada exhibit, and after undergoing testing, it’s evident that there was no digital tampering.  And while the young lad looks like a time traveler, further analysis forgetomori shows that it’s quite feasible for this young man to be totally in his time element.  The sunglasses, university sweater, and camera all existed in the 1940s.  Isn’t it crazy how fashion repeats itself, again and again?

210 vintage-inspired posts, 5000 wonderful comments, and two years later, Poetic Home celebrates its second birthday today!

I wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for making the last two years inspirational — and for sharing your days with me on Poetic Home.  To have an opportunity to share with you ideas and treasures that inspire me, as well as experience what inspires you, has been very wonderful.  I truly enjoy your company, as well as all of the friendships that have blossomed from our shared appreciation of vintage treasures.  Cheers to another two years of inspiration!

(Photo: Taken in 1926 of Ruth the elephant and her 150-pound birthday cake by Bettmann/CORBIS)

Taking advantage of heirloom pumpkins this year, I created a simple pumpkin “rainbow” for our fireplace mantle to celebrate fall and Thanksgiving.  Aren’t all the colors of the pumpkin rainbow splendid?

Small hang tags stamped with fall messages accent some of the pumpkin stems, wishing all a happy fall!

May you have a wonderful autumn weekend filled with bounty and delight!

Although it’s been five years since I left the hallowed hallways of Berkeley, the fall always reminds me of the promise of new knowledge.  For the fall issue of UPPERCASE magazine (which you can still enjoy through a subscription), I was inspired by the quintessential symbol of  timeless wisdom: library card catalogs.  Of course, in the spirit of Poetic Home, my article is filled with ideas on how to repurpose these wonderful biblio-antiquities.

Here is a closer look at the current rendition of my most recent library card catalog cabinet find.  It’s a cabinet of vintage curiosities for now, but I’m in the process of repurposing it for the baby’s nursery.

Does the fall remind you of back-to-school nostalgia too? It may be time for me to take a trip to the library this afternoon….

“Ah!” our fairy godmother exclaimed.  “How could I forget the magic slippers?”

However, we would not see any of that glass slipper nonsense.  Our fairy godmother, who has been fashionable through the centuries, knew that only stilettos would suit a modern goddaughter.  And being an intelligent godmother, she fashioned from the House of Nature a pair of slippers – with cute ankle ties, nonetheless – that would not fall of any respectable lady’s feet.  Indeed, not walking barefoot was more important than leaving behind a “clue” about the transformed princess.  After all, with the population boom the fairy godmother has seen in the last century, it would be impossible for a modern prince to find his princess with just one shoe.  “That’s what Facebook is for,” she thought to herself.

And so our lovely fairy godmother waits in her fall fairytale, ready to come to the aid of any goddaughter looking for a modern “happily ever after!”

And on that note, I wish you a happy, happy Halloween friends!

With the pumpkins ready for an instant carriage transformation, our fairy godmother started gathering baubles and regalia to adorn a needy goddaughter.  While she had no diamonds, emeralds, or rubies, she knew that with love and a wave of her magic wand, the rhinestones, pearls, and brass would transform into glittering beauty.

“Oh!  I must be getting old and forgetful!” the fairy godmother cried.  At the last minute, she pulled out her trusty antique alarm clock and set the bells for midnight.  “An ounce of preparation is worth a pound of magic dust,” she proclaimed.

However, our fairy godmother knew she was missing something else in her planning.  What could it be?  Chime in to help her remember what she’s missing, and tune in tomorrow for the final chapter of this fall fairytale.

(P.S.  If you don’t have time to carve your pumpkins for Halloween, why not adorn them with a few of your choice costume jewelry pieces?   Your dark sapphire and onyx pieces would look spooktacular!)

Once upon a time, orange pumpkins were touched by a magical godmother, who transformed the gourds into pale, whimsical pumpkins with a natural vintage patina.  While the fairy godmother had already completed her duty for her famed goddaughter, Cindy, she still had plenty of magic to share.

Just in case another poverty-stricken goddaughter needed to be transformed into a princess for just one night (we are, after all, in a recession), the godmother readied her collection of pumpkins.  To expedite the transformation from pumpkin to carriage, she repurposed her Victorian-inspired orchid magnifier into a ready frame for a royal carriage.

But the fairy godmother’s work is not done!  After all, she is all about preemptive planning.  What’s next for this fall fairytale?  Tune in tomorrow, as this story is to be continued….

The adage “If you love something, set it free.  If it comes back, it was truly meant to be yours” is true — and I have definitive proof!

You may recall my 1930s ladies writing desk from My Favorite Vintage Things series.  Sadly, I had to sell the antique desk during the preparation for the move to Hawaii, as there was no economical way to ship this incredibly heavy wooden desk to the islands.

Imagine my surprise and utter elation, then, when I returned to San Diego — and my husband found the desk again!  Indeed, the lady to whom I had sold the desk was herself moving and had the desk listed for sale on Craigslist.  When we went to her home to pick up my desk, it was like all the stars cosmically aligned and all in the world was right (save the recession, disease, and global warming, that is).

Doesn’t my desk look happy to be back with me in my new home?  This MY desk — I had set it free, but it was truly meant to be mine!

It’s been nearly five months since I’ve enjoyed a steamy soy latte — and boy, will the baby need to give me plenty of coffee IOUs when he’s born!   In the meantime, will you visually join me for a virtual cup of coffee?

Yes, my cravings for coffee are so powerful that I’ve been creating “steaming” cups of paper sprinkled with coffee grounds in vintage Italian cappuccino mugs.  The sad part is that I am only half kidding!

The empty coffee canister seems so naked…but thankfully, he is accessorized with retro type!

I promise I won’t even plug in my espresso maker! (Thank goodness for Italian stove-top ingenuity!)

Thankfully, I can still enjoy an occasional cup of green or white tea.  I’ve also grown partial to Roobios, as it is delicious and naturally caffeine-free.   (P.S. If you happen to spot the above mid-century modern tea set I prop sourced to Mad Men for the new season, please let me know!  I sadly don’t watch the show, as we don’t have a TV in our house.)

What is your favorite indulgence beverage? May you enjoy one or several this weekend!

In our most recent ultrasound, my husband and I had the pleasure of seeing…our son!  We are so excited to welcome our baby boy, and I can now truly begin curating treasures for his nursery.  In the process, I have been contemplating and researching what vintage treasures and toys would be safest for baby.

From what I’ve read, babies like to put everything in their mouths…which does not bode well if vintage toys have lead paint or other dangerous toxins.  Sadly, it does not seem that many vintage toys will make the cut until baby stops chewing on all items in his grasp.

• Toys made before 1978 may have lead paint.  While lead paint usage decreased throughout the 1960s, the CDC did not officially ban lead paint until 1978.
• In 1931, there was tremendous growth in the usage of phylates, which are present in plastic toys.  Although these were banned in the EU in 1999, in the US, we did not ban them until 2009!

Thus, what toys can be safe for a baby?  Based upon the above, my logic says:

• Vintage toys with paint that are manufactured after 1978 should be safe.
• I don’t think I will be buying plastic toys made in any era, including the current one.
• For pre 1978 toys (which I find to be the cutest), I will be looking specifically for non-painted wooden vintage toys.  To the best of my research, I could not find information connecting wood finish or shellac to lead, as lead was used specifically in paint as a pigmentation extender.  Thus, if there is no pigment in wood finish, this prompts me to believe that there is no lead (although I’m not sure how this applies to stain finishes).

Here are toys I think would make the preliminary safety cut.  However, for vintage or antique toys that make the pre-qualifications, I will still be testing them with LeadCheck swabs for my peace of mind.

Here are vintage toys that would have to be stored away until baby stops chewing on everything, unless they happen to pass the Lead Check test.

In my research, I was greatly shocked about how lax standards have been for toys, both vintage and modern.  In fact, did you know that asbestos is still technically allowed to be put in today’s toys?!   Indeed, the CDC has NOT banned the use of asbestos in toys.  All I can say is thank goodness for Waldorf-inspired wooden toys, handmade organic softie toys, and lots of creative crafting at my house!

As a new soon-to-be-mom, I have so much more to learn about baby safety.  I sincerely welcome and appreciate any advice you may have about choosing safe vintage toys!