What do you get when you combine one part 1950s TV with two parts of a vintage typewriter?  A fantastically retro Philco PC, but of course!

Designed by SchultzeWORKS, a design studio in Pasadena who has created electronics for the major names like Microsoft and LG, this Philco PC placed in the top three contestants for a challenge that called for a “radical reinvention of the personal computer.”  Isn’t it interesting that a “radical” reinvention would mean traveling back 50 and 100 years to be inspired by antique typewriters and vintage TVs?

The best part is that this design might actually become reality.  I will be the first in line to trade in my uninspiring keyboard and plastic framed monitors for this vintage-inspired technology!

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UPPERCASE Magazine certainly knows how to start of 2010 the right way!  In Issue 4, there is a fun tongue-and-cheek paper calendar insert of perpetual calendars, and I have just the spot by my desk waiting to enjoy this creation year-round.

I also had the great pleasure of penning and photographing a piece on vintage perpetual calendars in the Living with Vintage column, and I can’t wait to indulge in all of the creative goodness that embodies UPPERCASE Mag.  If you have not yet subscribed, this may be just the issue with which to begin, and while we all wait excitedly for our issues to arrive, enjoy a sneak peek of the upcoming issue.

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As I grow more eco-conscious about our family’s holiday decisions, I find myself pining away for vintage feather trees, which are beautiful alternatives to either cut trees or today’s petro-artificial trees.   In the mid 19th century, the German forests were in danger, and cutting down the trees for Christmas became banned as reforestation efforts arose.  Subsequently, the feather – or goosefeather, rather – Christmas tree was invented!  Interestingly, although these trees look quite artificial to us at first glance, they were modeled after the living trees found in the German forests.

This charming vintage feather Christmas tree at Terrace Hill, the Governor’s Mansion, shows the beauty in simplicity.

Simple yet charming is certainly a common theme for feather trees (via Country Living).

Of course, vintage feather Christmas trees love to be dolled up with baubles (also via Country Living)!

Simple, yet luxuriously sophisticated continues to be a prevalent feather tree theme (again via Country Living).

Even with a living Christmas tree in the house, a feather tree would make a dashing entryway presentation (via Martha Stewart).

While this is not a real feather three, the shape and simplicity of this living tree give it the same type of feel (via fjorn).

There are a variety of feather tree DIY kits and classes that I’m contemplating. Have you perchance enjoyed one of these?

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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!

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