Happiness is a little bit of kitsch and vintage fun when you least expect it. Regular visitors to Presque Isle and Erie, Pa may recognize this scene at Sara’s Restaurant near the park entrance. They have a lot to look at and enjoy!
Happy Wednesday, friends. Go find something that makes you happy.
This moose mascot is outside a gas station convenience store/Taco Bell in Strasburg, Ohio. He’s eye catching enough I saw some teenager pose for a selfie with it while we were there.
Do you remember all the fun advertising gimmicks of the past? Big statues, nice kids’ meal prizes, colorful fast food playgrounds, and memorable tv commercials have been replaced by industrial eating areas, grey and brown decor, and cheap junk prizes in the kids meals.
It’s like a swarm of depressed accountants have taken over the world. The homogenization is truly uninspiring.
I clearly don’t belong in this modern world of ours. I like kitsch, color and things that make me laugh. I was as delighted by this moose statue as could be. Silly, probably, but I do like character and this guy has it in spades.
I have seen signs that home design trends are veering away from the minimalist look and into something that looks more curated with textures, color and antiques. This is my personal style so it makes me happy to see cozy, collected, and warm spaces catch on.
Will we see a shift in public spaces too?
I hope so.
If you’ve been around here for a while you know I like things that are “a little extra,” as the kids say.
Why have a standard bus stop bench in front of the library if you can have one that looks like an open book?
This bench sits in front of the main library in Chillicothe, Ohio. Here’s a view of the back.
Good for the library for adding whimsy to an everyday thing! Life would be more interesting if we all took a page from their book!
When it comes to vacation souvenirs, I am not a shot glass and coffee mug girl. I always hit up the local bookstores, find a Christmas ornament or two, and sometimes buy a t-shirt if there’s one I really like.
While in Cody, Wyoming last year, we visited a few thrift stores including one that benefits the local senior center. It’s called the Thrift Barn and it’s right next to the senior center in Cody. We were actually there twice.
If you read the suitcase story last year, you can likely guess that we had to go back because I left something behind. There’s definitely a pattern to this behavior but I had good reason.
You see, I found these absolutely gorgeous wolf bookends for just $15 for the set. One depicts a female and baby while the other is a male. Had I been driving home from Wyoming, there would be no question they should come home with me. However, I was flying and bag space was at a premium.
They are just heavy enough and large enough that I wasn’t sure I should try to take them home. I think they weigh about ten pounds.
So I left them behind, went on with my day, and waited for the store to close to panic over my obviously poor judgment.
We rearranged our plans so we could go back the next morning and they were still there, waiting patiently for me to take them home. I looked into having UPS ship them home for me but the cheapest they could do was $75.
So I ended up buying a cheap luggage scale and some packing material, putting one in each bag and saying a prayer that they could withstand the baggage handling system of three airports.
Luckily, they made it home safe and I am quite thrilled to see them every day.
Long story short, just buy the thing when you see something you really like. Don’t be like me and require two trips for the things you regret leaving behind.
By the way, this is a really nice thrift store that’s nicely organized and fairly priced. I also like that they use it for outreach to get seniors into the senior center. While we were there, they approached an older man who shops regularly for books and invited him into the center to see the books he can borrow. I bet they talked him into staying for lunch too!
Last night I stood in the middle of the living room, holding a precarious stack of books and despairing over what to read next.
I was paralyzed with indecision.
Have you ever struggled in this way when faced with too many choices?
I consistently struggle in three main areas:
When it comes to books, there literally are too many interesting books being released every year on top of all the things written in the past to ever feel like there’s enough time.
Issues with letting go of things seem to be genetic and related to my Appalachian roots where holding on to stuff has been an economic decision. My ancestors knew the value of a dollar, of a thing, and of having a stash of stuff for when you need it. Packrattery is a survival mechanism.
And travel decisions are hard because, like books, there are finite resources (time + money) and an infinite amount of places to go. How do we begin to choose?
These areas have felt like an uphill battle for some time now.
When it comes to travel, I typically take longer trips with adventure pals and shorter trips with my fella. Life circumstances for my adventure pals have made it harder for them to go on those longer journeys. And honestly, I’ve just been lazy about getting some shorter trips on the calendar. I used to have adventure ideas in my back pocket every week. I need to get back to those roots but am often torn by the multitude of places to visit and other life things to do.
But I digress.
Back to that stack of books last night,
I am not an especially fast reader but I am a devoted one. I watch little tv and carry a book nearly everywhere including to the dentist’s office yesterday. Most nights I fall asleep with a book in my hands and wake up to the thunk of it falling on me.
How my face isn’t black and blue is beyond me.
When I finish a book, I pick up another, switching genres to keep things interesting and prevent any ruts from forming.
I like the feel of a physical book in my hands and the smell of a book is one of my very favorite things. If you ever see me smelling a book, keep moving. There’s nothing to see here.
I did finally choose something and I have high hopes for it. All the same, I had reservations when walking away from that stack I had pulled. By itself, that stack represents about a month of reading. We are already about a third of the way through the year. When will I get to them and all the others?
Clearly, there needs to be more reading hours in my day along with more time to travel. And perhaps some time for therapy because I do sound like something of a basket case.
This I know.
We are the culmination of our habits. If we want to do more of something we need to prioritize it and build our habits around that thing.
What do you wish to do more of? Does indecision ever interfere? Please tell me not the only one!
Today it houses medical offices but this fabulous art deco building was once home to one of the country’s most popular automats.
What is an automat? I’m so glad you asked.
Basically it was a self-serve restaurant with a wall of food behind glass plated doors. You would insert your coin, turn a knob and remove the single serve plate or bowl of food. It was sort of like a giant vending machine only the food was fresh made and delicious dishes like mac and cheese, casseroles, soup, salisbury steak and mouthwatering desserts.
It combined the convenience of fast food with affordability and a pleasant atmosphere.
It is very possible you’ve seen automats in old movies and there’s a great scene in the show The Marvelous Mrs Maisel where the two main characters are eating together in a truly spectacular automat. I also recall Sylvester the cat visiting one once.
We were going to or fro on Philadelphia’s Chestnut Street when I spotted this place and snapped a quick photo.
This building was the home of the old Horn and Hardart Automat and was the first of its kind in this country beginning in 1902. These places were especially popular during the Depression when diners with just a little change in their pocket could get cheap, hearty food.
This concept didn’t survive for even a full century as our last automat closed in New York on April 9, 1991.
Personally, I would like to see these places make a come back. It seems like there’s room for them in our dining landscape and the idea is just fun.
This public domain photo of a Horn and Hardart Automat illustrates the concept.
Want to know more? This CBS News story tells the story really well and includes some great imagery.