MID-CENTURY MEMORIES: BERKELEY!

Hi friends! Sorry I've been kind of a.w.o.l. on this blog. A lot has been going on, mostly good (our son's 2nd birthday, a fun trip to Berkeley, California over Memorial Day weekend), but one not-so-good (root canal ... ugh) too. But now we're getting a little break before everything gets hectic again starting tomorrow (two children's birthday parties on one day). Thought I'd take some time to update a bit.

Our trip to Berkeley was just wonderful! I went to college there (Go Bears!), and we hadn't been back for a long time; also, my husband and son had never been there, so this seemed like the ideal time for a trip. The weather was near-perfect, and the following day was a holiday so we could relax after the long trip.

Berkeley is in many ways a little mid-century time capsule! It was, after all, one of the epicenters of the '60s  countercultural revolution, with the Free Speech movement of the early '60s that started at the UC Berkeley campus. To this day, it's a place where many hippie-type folks still get together and live their lives.

Here are some mid-century highlights from our trip. First, on the famous Telegraph Avenue, the quintessential hippie transport, a VW van!

And of course, Berkeley is full of tie-dye, lots and lots of tie-dye! It's a very popular print among both students and other Berkeley residents. These tees were being sold by a couple of street vendors:

On campus, the Golden Bear Cafe is a wonderful example of mid-century architecture, with its accordian-pleated roof detail:

But we saw one of the cutest mid century buildings at the end of our trip, a still-operating Foster's Freeze! We just had to stop here for some ice cream: 

 

All in all, we had one of the most memorable trips ever to Berkeley. Can't wait to go back!

MOTHER'S DAY 2013!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and caretakers of children out there!

I'm new to Mother's Day, having celebrated it only for three years now. But I love it! And I love celebrating all the mothers (both birth and like-a-mothers, including single dads!) I know, including my own mother.

This year, I found this adorable 1970s stoneware mug for her! I went crazy when I saw it because it was a perfect container for the pretty pair of earrings I also got her. They're wrapped in the tissue paper:

And here they are! She loves post earrings, so I got her this elegant and tastefully bling-y pair from Macy's:

I hope she'll love this little gift as much as we do. It was one of the cutest Mother's Day gifts I've ever found. 

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Update: My mother loved the earrings and started wearing them the next day! Yay!
Hope you all enjoyed a fun and peaceful Mother's Day!

HAPPY SRI LANKAN INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Today, February 4, is Sri Lankan Independence Day! You can read more about it here. In short, the island-nation of Ceylon gained its independence from the British Empire in 1948. Its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972, the year I was born! After many years of foreign rule, Sri Lanka finally gained its independence. The years that followed have not been peaceful or easy, but now that there is finally peace in the country (after over 30 years of civil war), we all hope for a better future for every Sri Lankan.

Here's something intriguing: my grandparents were born in the British colony of Ceylon, my mother was born in the independent nation of Ceylon, and I was born in the newly-named Sri Lanka!

This is the flag of Sri Lanka: 

 

Midcentury Ceylon seems to have been a great place to live. I always love looking through photos of my family members from the '50s and '60s. 

Here are some wonderful midcentury images of Ceylon as an emerging tourist destination:

The above are TWA airlines' ads for its new service to the island of Ceylon, and below it a gorgeous mural by artist Mario Zamparelli depicting Ceylon, with a sari-clad lady and a detail of ancient lions statues. The Asiatic lion is an symbol of Sri Lanka.


I'm going to try and find some more Mid Century photos of family members, to give you some idea of what people were like in Sri Lanka those days. Stay tuned!

TEA TIME!

Sri Lanka is famous for its tea, which was introduced by the British in the 19th century. "Ceylon tea" is famous throughout the world to this day. Personally, I think it's the best tea of all time, but I'm biased! ;o)

Back in the day, tea was packed and sold in tins, which got more and more colorful towards the middle of the 20th century, and to me these mid-century tea tins are the prettiest. 

Sometimes you can find these little gems online, but they can be pricey. I'm fortunate to inherit one from my mother, and it's one of my prized possessions!

Here are some examples of vintage/mid-century Ceylon tea tins:

A Tetley tea tin from the 1920s

 

A beach scene tea tin from the 1930s

 

A groovy mid-century tea tin from the '50s!

 

 And this is my tea tin, another mid-century one from the '60s:

 

My mother shares my love of these kinds of things, and she brought this pretty tin over from Sri Lanka. She's had it for many many years. Now I want to do a nice little flower arrangement in it for Spring ... maybe silk hydrangeas? 

If I had the money I'd collect vintage Ceylon tea tins. They're so beautiful and evoke a bygone era so well!

POSTERS FROM MID CENTURY SRI LANKA

I love Mid century travel posters!  Those from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) are particularly dear to me, but reprints are hard to find and originals are exorbitantly expensive. Sri Lankan author Anura Saparamadu has written a great book on vintage Sri Lankan posters, Vintage Posters of Ceylon, and you can see some of them on his website. There was also an exhibition of the posters at the Barefoot Gallery in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Wish I could have attended that! It must have been just amazing.

You can find a few reprints of vintage Sri Lanka posters online, though. Here are my favorites: 

A Dutch tourist poster print, available at Zazzle: 





A reprint of a vibrant 1948 C.K.L. Samarasinha poster advertising Kandyan dancers, available on eBay: 

An adorable midcentury poster advertising Air Ceylon, from the Mary Evans Picture Library: 

Can't wait to add these prints to our collection! 

I'll post some photos soon of vintage Sri Lanka prints that we own, especially precious because they're not available anymore. In the meantime, I hope more of these gorgeous posters can be reprinted and made available to everyone!