Music Monday - "It Ain't Me, Babe" by Johnny Cash & June Carter (1965)

I love Johnny Cash.  I love Bob Dylan.  And I especially love this Johnny Cash and June Carter cover of Dylan's "It Ain't Me, Babe" (1965). 

Friday Fave: Overdrive - The Library Comes To You

Happy Friday!

If you love books, I have a great app for you today.  It is available for: iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet, Windows computer, Mac,  Kindle, or Nook.   

This free app lets you access the digital collection from your library to download books in eBook format (i.e. Kindle) or audiobook.   

I have used this on my computer, Kindle, and iPad, and I really love it.  I often listen to audiobooks via Overdrive when I am working here.

Here's how it works:  You go to the Overdrive link (just click here!).  On the right side of the page you can type in your zip code and see if Overdrive is available at your local library system.  If it is, you can download the app for your computer or device of choice.  Then you log into Overdrive with your library card and download audiobooks or eBooks to your heart's content!  The books have a lending period similar to what you will find at a traditional library (i.e. 2 - 3 weeks) and you check them out online and return them online as well.

I am a great fan of eBooks (Kindle) and also enjoy audiobooks when I am working.  I cannot recommend this app highly enough for book lovers.

Music Monday - "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" by Perez Prado & His Orchestra (1955)

"Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" by Perez Prado and His Orchestra always reminds me of Spring.  This mambo song was popular in 1955, and it is one of those songs that sounds so much like a different time and place.  (I can imagine this playing on a hi-fi player at party in the 1950's.)   I have a weakness for mid 1950's to mid 1960's instrumentals, and this is one of my favorites. 

Friday Fave: Sky City - Southern Retail Then and Now

Hi all!

I'm on the run today, but wanted to send a super quick Friday Fave.  Sky City: Southern Retail Then and Now is a really fun site.  If you lived in the south during retro years, you are sure to find some old shopping memories here - with lots and lots of photos!

For instance, there are links to a couple of malls I loved to visit growing up.  North DeKalb Mall was the little mall where we usually shopped.  There are even pictures of my beloved neighborhood Rich's store at this site.

Lenox Square was "the" mall in Atlanta during my childhood.  It was in Buckhead (across town for us) and going there was an event.  It was big and they had a great toy store, as well as Rich's and Davison's department stores.

I love to list old mall and store postcards in my shop when I can find them.  I have a little stack of them that I need to add soon.  You'll find a few at this link: vintage store postcards at Birdhouse Books.   The picture above is a postcard from Clearwater, Florida, featuring a Maas Brothers department store on the waterfront.

Would love to hear about your retro mall memories in the comments section, below.

Have a great weekend!

Return to Rich's Exhibit at the Breman Museum, Atlanta - Rich's Department Store

I had a wonderful time yesterday at the Return to Rich's exhibit.  This exhibit at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta celebrates the history of Rich's Department Store.   The exhibit closes May 27, 2014, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in Atlanta history.

One of my dear friends from high school and her mother hosted a private tour and luncheon.  I'll share a few photos with you, so you can enjoy the exhibit too.

Rich's department store was founded in the 1870's, and the downtown store was built in 1924.  It was an Atlanta institution until it closed in 1991.   There were also stores at malls all over the Atlanta area.  The mall stores were bought by the Federated department store chain.  They were renamed Rich's-Macy's, and eventually became Macy's stores.

When I was little, we used to go downtown to ride the Pink Pig (photos follow!) and see the Great Tree (giant Christmas tree).  The big downtown Rich's store had an amazing book department, and they had a restaurant called the Magnolia Room.

My Mom and I used to go to fashion shows at Rich's North DeKalb (a small local mall) and we would buy Polly Flinders dresses and Buffy dresses (inspired by Anissa Jones from the television show Family Affair) at that store.  I am pretty sure that all my Easter dresses came from Rich's.

I worked at Rich's North DeKalb in high school in the Juniors department.  At that point I was clothes crazy, so I loved that!   Later, in college, I became really interested in cooking and worked a couple of years at Christmas (seasonal employee) at the same small store in Housewares - Kitchenware.  

On to the exhibit! 

Here are a couple of postcards from Lenox Square mall, including Rich's.  I would love to find some of these!

 The Rich's clock is a famous Atlanta symbol ("meet you at the clock").

Another photo of Rich's at Lenox Square Mall.  I loved going to Lenox Square when I was a little girl.  It was an open air mall at that time, and they had giant, colorful balls in the parking lot to help you remember where you had parked.   The mall design was very Mid-Century Modern.

This vintage mural shows fashion through the years, with some photos of Rich's fashions.  I love that 1960's sleeveless dress with plaid skirt.  I would wear that today!

This is a 1960's photo from Rich's Fashionata.  This was an annual fashion show event held at the Fox Theatre downtown Atlanta.  Note that one of the models on the right is holding a cigarette.  Thankfully, times have changed!

These photos depict the Magnolia Room restaurant at Rich's downtown.

These items also are from the Magnolia Room.  I remember the children's menu.  I loved to go there to eat.  It felt like such an event!

Atlanta Journal-Constitution author Celestine Sibley wrote a wonderful book about Rich's called Dear Store.  It is hard to find, but worth a search.

 Another Rich's clock:

I loved Priscilla the Pink Pig!   This monorail ran through the toy department at Rich's downtown.  There was a reindeer petting zoo, Secret Santa shopping (where children could shop, supervised, for their parents), and photos with Santa.  The third photo down (with pink wire) shows a close-up of the Pink Pig interior.  The little seats inside the Pink Pig were tiny.

Here are some Rich's Christmas themed items on display:

And there are more Pink Pig items as well.  I have a copy of the book I Rode the Pink Pig.  It is really cute and brings back lots of happy memories.

This is a tribute to the Great Tree, a giant Christmas tree displayed yearly at Rich's downtown.  The lighting of the Great Tree was an annual event.

After the tour, we had a luncheon with dishes inspired by the Magnolia Room menu.  My friend and her mother have an amazing collection of Rich's memorabilia, and they displayed it in the room where our luncheon was held.

I hope you enjoyed traveling back in time to Rich's with me.