Home Sweet Home!

What Aunt Betty Learned On Vacation

Sorry the blog is a bit late today, but your Aunt Betty is still recovering after a fabulous week-long vacation in San Francisco last week! The whole family went and we hit all the landmarks: The Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown­–we even ventured down to Santa Cruz (what a boardwalk!), Monterey and Carmel. No, we didn’t see Clint Eastwood, but we did see baby sea lions sunning on rocky cliffs with their roly-poly moms nestled close-by!

But like every great vacation, the West Coast adventure taught us just as much about “home” as it did about the city by the Bay.

No matter how many rolled-up balls of socks, Ziplocks full of shampoo and toothpaste, or cell phone chargers I carefully pack, there’s always that one thing I kick myself for forgetting! This time it was my Marilyn Monroe Glamour Purse! It’s the perfect size for my wallet, maps, digital camera, hand sanitizer and every other “mom” travel essential. Plus, its soft, sateen retro-style would’ve been oh-so-chic in San Francisco! Nostalgia is very cosmopolitan!

And speaking of nostalgia, healthy California cuisine is fine and dandy, but I’ll tell you–when it’s 2 a.m. in a hotel room and you can’t sleep, you dream of White Castle hamburgers! My son wore his White Castle t-shirt one afternoon, and thereafter, I couldn’t wait to get home to sink my teeth into 3 or 4 or 12 of those tiny slices of Heaven!

And speaking of snacking, getting the family together for an in-room movie over 2 mini bar packets of crackers was not exactly a cinematic event. We were exhausted after a day of hiking steep Frisco streets so we made due, but once we got home to Florida, I popped a fresh buttery batch of popcorn and filled our Disney Popcorn Bowl that includes a cute Mickey Mouse-shaped salt shaker.

I still have laundry to do and it’ll be weeks before our photos are emailed and printed, but all of that can wait. For now, I’m enjoying the best part of every vacation: relishing how much I love being home.

Count Your Coins!

Tax Day Is April 15th!


How’s it going with your income tax returns?
Have you reached the point of total insanity yet?


I managed to get mine finished online last week, but it took a lot of rearranging of errands, schedules and priorities to rifle through my oh-so-organized shoe boxes full of files and paperwork. Still, once I hit that “send my return to the IRS” button, I let out an enormous sigh of relief!


If our maddening modern-day system has you pining for days of old when two sheep bought you some gunpowder and a petticoat, travel back in time with our collection of vintage coin sets!


The Declaration of Independence Coin Set would make John Adams and Thomas Jefferson proud. Three bicentennial coins honoring America’s 200th birthday are presented alongside a beautifully crafted facsimile of the Declaration of Independence.


Still too modern for you?


How about the Ancient Coins Kit? It includes 5 unrestored coins minted from 1500 to over 2000 years ago. Buried for centuries, these pieces were coin of the realm during the last years of the Roman Empire and there’s not a W-2 in sight!


And who couldn’t use a little Sunken Treasure? In 1985, coins from a perished 1809 British trading ship meant for the East India Company were discovered, packed in wooden casks and trapped in the thick mud, still in mint condition! They feature the coat of arms of the East India Company on the front and the value in Indian script on the reverse!


I’m already planning for next year with my Lionel Railroad Crossing Bank. Oh sure, I’m pretending it’s for the kids to “teach them the value of money.” But it’s so much fun with its 2 red flashing signal lights and real whistle sounds, we’re keeping it in the family room to remind the whole family to save our pennies.


That way, when tax time rolls around next year and I’m tearing through my shoe boxes full of files, I’ll know I have enough saved-up to treat myself to a pedicure once the deed is done!


Good luck and hang in there!

Have An Indoor Picnic!

Keep Cozy With Vintage Coca-Cola

I know the expression says “April showers bring May flowers,” but could Mother Nature cool it with the rain already? Checking the national weather forecast for today, it looks like much of the country is going to be wet and soggy. Again.

Rainy day blues call for one surefire cure: an indoor picnic! Call off the fire department; there’s no propane involved here, just good old-fashioned skillets on the stove sizzling with juicy burgers and bakery buns toasting in the oven. For the kids, slather a pan with butter and melt them some grilled cheese sandwiches (crusts optional) just like mom used to make. Slice some pickles, red onion and tomato. Peel off slivers of tangy swiss and cheddar. Break off hunks of crisp, market-fresh salad fixings and rip open a bag of salty chips. Top it off with sweet fizzy Coca-Cola in every glass!

In our house, we break out the portable radio (actually, these days, my kids insist on their mp3 player plugged into speakers because they think “radio” is hilariously barbaric) and we whip out the party tunes. We take turns: the kids get some Hannah Montana and Arctic Monkeys and Mom gets The Beatles and at least one Cher song (usually “Half Breed.” I like to dance and horrify the kids).

Mr. Betty’s Attic wields the spatula wearing his Personalized Diner Apron. When he signals that the burgers and sandwiches are “up,” I put the finishing touch on the whole day: the vintage diner-style Coca-Cola luncheon set. I’ve got the plates, butter dish and salt and pepper shakers and let me tell you–there’s something about their nostalgic ‘50s drive-in design that makes a hamburger cooked indoors on a rainy day taste like sweet, sweet summer.

If you close your eyes, turn up the radio and take a big bite you can almost feel the sunshine on your hair.

And it sure beats video games all day.

Here's to sunny days right around the corner!!!

Tomorrow Is April Fool’s Day!

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Fools!

Did you know April Fool’s Day has been around for centuries?

Turns out there are oodles of wacky stories about its origins. One of the best stories took place in Britain in the 13th century. At the time, royal law stated that any road the king touched became his property. When the town of Gotham got wind of this, they hatched a plan to hang onto their land.

When King John approached Gotham, the residents refused him entry. But he was, after all, the king, and he sent knights to storm the town. So all the Gotham townsfolk pretended to be completely looney tunes by “drowning fish” and “trying to trap birds in roofless cages” (cutting-edge comedy in the 13th century). The king fell for it and declared Gotham “too foolish to punish.” And the people of Gotham kept their hamlet all to themselves!

Much later, in the 20th century, theater owners realized that fools equaled comedy gold!

From vaudeville to movies and, later, television, we’ve fallen in love with bumbling buffoons. The Three Stooges, Laurel and Hardy, and Abbott and Costello all boast at least 1 to 3 fools. Barney Fife from The Andy Griffith Show is another fine fool. Bad Boy Benny Hill mixed foolery with saucy hi-jinks for an irresistible combination (you know you watched when your parents weren’t around).

Some of my favorite fools are the cartoon characters I grew up with.I still crack up when Daffy Duck hisses “You’re despicable!” I giggle when Bullwinkle says “Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!”

So, this April Fool’s Day pay homage to The Fool with your old friends: Scooby Doo, Johnny Carson, Fred Flintstone, Rodney Dangerfield, Charlie Brown, Bob Hope, Homer Simpson–and more.

And yes: I did just put Bob Hope in the same category as a crime solving dog. Doh!

Happy April Fool’s Day!

Grease Is The Word!

The Pink Ladies Are Back & Better Than Ever!

I feel I can admit to you guys that when Grease first came out 30 (really?) years ago, I became so obsessed with Olivia Newton-John, that I made my mom buy me a flannel nightgown just like the one Sandy wears in the sleepover scene so that I could practice singing “Hopelessly Devoted To You’ into my hairbrush night after night. I honestly don’t know how many times I made my mother take me to see Danny and Kenickie hold court with the coolest girls in the universe–The Pink Ladies!

Sure, the Frankie Valli song was great. The duets between Olivia and Vinnie Barbarino were magical. And the whole “boy meets Australian girl at the beach/disses her/wins her back at carnival where girl is painted into shiny Lycra pants” theme was mesmerizing.

But to a 9 year-old girl just entering the awkward Ugly Duckling phase of adolescence, The Pink Ladies were the girls I desperately wanted to be friends with. They were cool, tough, and funny. I knew, even at nine, that I was supposed to identify with sweet Sandy and aspire to ever-lasting love in a pleated poodle skirt.

But, honestly? It was Rizzo I empathized with the most. She tried so hard to keep her guard up when, deep down, she was a mess just like me! Besides, she was played by Stockard Channing and I thought “Stockard” was the coolest name ever besides Cher and Daphne from Scooby-Doo.

Frenchy’s hot pink helmet hair and Marty Maraschino (another great name) with her wallet-full of boyfriends were the perfect comic foils. Ask any girl between the ages of 30 and 60 to hum a few bars of “Look At Me I’m Sandra Dee,” and I’ll bet you get the whole song, complete with props!

We love those Ladies because they connect us to the fun of the 1950’s–and to our own childhoods. We don’t get to sing songs in our PJs with girlfriends much these days, but we can play with these new Mattel Barbie dolls based on our favorite Grease trio!

Sandy, Frenchy and Rizzo are more fun than ever in our set of 3 collectible Grease dolls. From Sandy’s pom poms to Rizzo’s pencil skirt, they bring back wonderful memories. My daughter had to pry them out of my hands and now she won’t give them back! She loves Grease, too! I guess it’s her turn. She just turned eight and I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure I caught her singing into her hairbrush the other night...

We go together like ramma lamma lamma–ka dinga da dinga dong!

Gotta Have Game Night!

New MONOPOLY Games Take You From Oz To The Caribbean!

Call me nostalgic, but I miss Family Game Night.

Every now and then, my parents would reach into the hall closet and slide out our slightly-dented Monopoly box. I can still smell the folded press board and crisp paper money. My brother and I always fought over the top hat token–why, I now have no idea.

Oh, it started out innocently enough: somebody bought Marvin Gardens; somebody plunked down their first hotel. But eventually, it turned competitive and before we knew it, we were fleecing each other for all we could! Afterwards, we finished off with ice cream and, if it was a chilly night, hot cocoa (with those mini marshmallows)!

I miss those nights and therefore, I’m hereby bringing Monopoly back! And there couldn’t be a better time!

With our treasure chest of specialized versions, fame and fortune await in all sorts of far off exotic lands...if you dare to roll the dice!

‘80s kids can buy, sell, and trade their favorite Nintendo characters: from everyone's favorite red-capped plumber, Mario, to barrel-tossing Donkey Kong in Nintendo Monopoly!

Or duke it out with Megatron for Anti-Matter and Energon Cubes in Transformers Monopoly!

M&M’s lovers can wade through a veritable sea of chocolate, trading adorable M&M’s ads along the way. But don’t “Lose our M!” You could lose your cash!

Other collectible versions include the metal and chrome Harley-Davidson Monopoly, A Christmas Story Monopoly (don’t lick the pole, Ralphie!) and...coming soon...The Wizard Of Oz Monopoly allowing you and your siblings to fight over tokens of the Ruby Slippers, Tin Man, Dorothy and Toto, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion–even a Tornado token and no, I have no idea how they made that one!

Want more? Hop on over to our sister site, The Lighter Side, for Cat Monopoly, Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy Monopoly, and more!

Settle in for a cozy night, the fun old-fashioned way. Before you know it, you’ll be tearing around the board waving wads of cash in your kids’ faces. Just don’t forget the ice cream, Hot Shot!

Happy Birthday, Telephone!

March 10, 1876–The First Telephone Call Was Made

In our fast-paced, techno-savvy world, it’s darn near impossible to imagine life without the telephone. I don’t just mean living without the finger-dancing text message goodness of the cell phone–I mean any phone, period. Whatsoever.

If you lived before 1876, you either got a lot of exercise running door-to-door to share your thoughts and office gossip, sent loads of telegraphs, or quietly seethed with pent-up gossip and bitter sarcasm you never got to express. Combine that with no pizza delivery and life looked pretty bleak, didn’t it?

And then a scientific genius named Alexander “Aleck” Graham Bell moved from Scotland to Canada and everything got a lot better!

Born in 1847, Bell was profoundly affected by watching his mother slowly lose her hearing, which began when he was only 12 years old. He invented a “finger tapping language” he used to communicate to her what other family members were discussing so she wouldn’t feel left out. It was this devotion to her, and his dedication to helping her, which led him to study the science of acoustics.

After years of teaching elocution–the art of public speaking–just as his father had, and later running a school for the deaf in Boston where he tutored countless students including Helen Keller, Bell returned to his primary obsession: transmitting the human voice across telegraph wires.

Enduring many agonizing, exhausting trials–on March 7th, 1876 Bell and his lab partner, electrical engineer Thomas Watson, received U.S. Patent Number 174, 465 for the “telephone” even though Bell hadn’t quite perfected it yet.

Three days later, on March 10th, he did! Bell, at one end of his experimental telephone transmitter, spoke into it saying the now-famous words, “Mr. Watson–Come here–I want to see you.” Watson, at the other end in another room on the receiver, heard all of Bell’s words clear as a...well, you know.

The Bell Telephone Company was created the following year and the rest is history! And some enormous cell phone bills for parents with teenagers!

One really neat way to add a functional touch of retro to your home is with a vintage-style telephone. Outfitted with modern push-button technology, all three of these models take you back to simpler times with sleek, classic style. Choose from the 1950’s Pay Phone (no coins necessary), the Black Candlestick Phone, or the Deluxe Wood Wall Phone.

Trust me, with phones this cool around, you’ll save your cell minutes for “Venti or Grande?” text messages and enjoy good-old fashioned gab sessions at home, just like you did when you were a teenager!

Have fun!