Dear Abby: My Christmas Wish List

Dear Friends,

I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!  We will be busy with the holidays the next couple of Fridays, so I wanted to pop in and share my Christmas list with you.

I wish for more afternoon naps, ideally with Momma joining me.  Afternoon naps are just about as good as treats.

I wish for neighborhood fireworks to become suddenly illegal and never be used in the area near my home again.  Ever.

Ditto thunder. No more thunder.

I wish for peanut butter spread in Kongs.

I wish for lots of sunny days and very few rainy days.

I wish for the joy of burrowing in warm blankets.

I wish for everyone who wants to add a puppy or dog to their family to adopt instead of shopping.  There are so many wonderful dogs in shelters and foster homes and animal rescues ... and they are looking for forever homes.

I also wish that people adopting dogs would remember that dogs who are seniors and dogs with special needs also need loving homes ... and they have a lot of love to give.

Oh!  And mixed breed dogs like me.  A dog does not need to be a purebred to be pure of heart.  I wish for them all to find great forever homes.

Other than that I wish for yummy treats, soft toys to cuddle, and extra long walks in the New Year.

And I wish the happiest of holidays to you and yours!

With lots of love,

Abby xoxoxo

Throwback Thursday - Vintage Christmas Baking Ads

If you read my blog often, you will know that I spend way too much time at Pinterest!  I love that site.  I am forever seeking - and finding! - great vintage images there.

I wanted to share a few fun vintage Christmas ads with you today.  They all feature retro baking.   Since I love all things vintage, retro food photos, and baking, these are terrific fun.

This ad features a Durkee's Candy Cane Cake (1956).  It's coconut, so I am predisposed to love it.

This 1941 Pillsbury ad features Frosted Christmas cookies:

Okay, I am now ready to go look for Durkee's Coconut (does this product still exist?!).   This 1950's ad features a Snowman Cake:

This Crisco ad features Christmas Cookies (and they look delicious!).

More Christmas cookies, from Gold Medal Flour -- bell and Christmas tree shape cookies.

Do you enjoy vintage food ads?  Have you ever tried a recipe from an old ad like one of these?   I'd love to hear from you in the comments, below.

Book Review and Giveaway - I Love My Pet Elephant by Lauren Micchelli

Book Description for I Love My Elephant:
A colorful tale of friendship and fun between a little girl and her best friend - her pet elephant!

I Love My Pet Elephant is a delightful medley of reality and fantasy, with shenanigans and adventures brought to life through vibrant illustration and simple rhyming text.

Buy I Love My Pet Elephant here:
Amazon 
Barnes & Noble 
Chapters/Indigo 

Other Books by Lauren Micchelli:

A Day of What Ifs:
A unique book filled with quirky scenarios and colorful pictures. A twist on the ordinary, this story touches the imagination with an entertaining assortment of "what if" possibilities! (ages 3-6)

The Snootzytime Adventures of Maddie & Murphy: A Christmas Journey to the North Pole
The first book of the Maddie and Murphy series. Maddie's dreams take her on different nighttime adventures. Accompanied by her dog, Murphy, Maddie finds herself where no child has gone before - the North Pole! (ages 4-8)

The Snootzytime Adventures of Maddie & Murphy:
To the Moon and Back Maddie gazes out her window at the night sky. As bedtime nears, Mom tells Maddie a secret - that a wish on a star could really come true! An excited Maddie makes her wish - to go to the moon! What unfolds is so much more! (ages 4-8)

Buy Lauren Micchelli's books on Amazon 

Book Review:
I Love My Pet Elephant is such a sweet picture book for young children. It tells the story of a little girl who has a special best friend -- an elephant.

The story is told in rhyme, and it is lively with a gentle humor. Children are sure to enjoy lines like:

"He has giant ears
That are floppy and grey
When he flaps them too quickly
He flies up and away!"

The book is formatted perfectly for a read aloud, with a picture and then a short rhyme on the facing page. The big, bold illustrations by Thomas Barnett add a lot to the story. The elephant has so many cute facial expressions!

I recommend this book for a home collection or preschool library. It is a story that young children will want to read again and again.

Author's Bio:
Lauren Micchelli is a newly published author, having penned her first book in 2014. She has since continued the Snootzytime Adventures of Maddie and Murphy series, and went on to publish A Day Of What Ifs and I Love My Pet Elephant.

Impressively, she was the recipient of New Book Award 2015 for I Love My Pet Elephant.

​Lauren Micchelli grew up in West Caldwell, New Jersey and currently resides in northern New Jersey.

Connect with the author:
Website 
Twitter 

Giveaway
Prizes: Win 1 of 5 print copies or 3 ebook copies (Apple) of I Love My Pet Elephant & 2 X $15 Amazon gift cards (10 prizes total) (USA & Canada)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received this book from iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Wordless Wednesday - Vintage Christmas Postcard - Girls Reading

Found at Birdhouse Books:  Christmas Postcards

Did You Know Tuesday - Shiny-Brite Ornaments

Shiny-Brite ornaments are a perfect example of Mid-Century Christmas decorations.  The great ad, above, is from 1966.  

These ornaments date back a little earlier, though.  The first Shiny-Brite ornaments were made in 1937 by Max Eckhardt.  He worked with the Corning Glass Company to produce them.  These ornaments were originally sold at Woolworth dime stores.

Shiny-Brites were popular during the 1940's - World War II vintage - because they were American made.  The 1940's box top featured Santa Claus shaking hands with Uncle Sam.

The ornaments were originally manufactured in New Jersey.  They were sprayed inside with silver nitrate and then they were lacquered so they truly had a shiny and bright appearance!

Not all vintage glass ornaments are Shiny-Brites.  You will recognize them by the Shiny Brite name on the metal ornament capper.  During World War II this capper was made of cardboard because of war time manufacturing restrictions.

Here is a glimpse of a 1950's box of Shiny-Brites:

This 1956 Sears catalog page features Shiny-Brites galore.  The variety of designs was fabulous -- balls, tear drop shapes, bell shapes, indents, birds, and more!

The company stopped production in the 1970's.  However, in recent years Christopher Radko has started producing Shiny-Brite ornaments, and his selection is always lovely.

Do you remember Shiny-Brite ornaments?  Were there any of these beauties on your childhood Christmas tree?  I would love to hear from you in the comments, below.