Category

Holidays

You’re going to find out I’m obsessed with aluminum Christmas trees.

Naughty & Nice: Ode to Haddon Sundblom, the Man Behind Pin-Ups & Coca-Cola’s Santa

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Santa Claus. How do we describe Santa’s appearance? White beard. Red Suit. A bit on the portly side perhaps? An icon of Christmas, Santa has seen many different interpretations over the years, but today we all pretty much agree on his appearance here in America, and there is an urban legend that the modern appearance…

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Massive trees edge a street and are decorated multi-colored lights.

A Drive Down the 100 Year Old Christmas Tree Lane

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Amid this pandemic, there is a strong need for fun, while of course staying safe. And with the Christmas season, I’m even more thankful for festive holiday lights, including Christmas Tree Lane, an LA area tradition that just turned 100, laying claim to the “oldest large scale outdoor Christmas display in the world.” Normally, Christmas…

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A photograph of oranges on trees with snowcapped mountains behind makes up most of the postcard. A poinsettia in the upper left, and a golden poppy in the lower right. Text below the image reads "Orange and Snow Capped Mountains." Text across the top reads "Christmas Greetings from California" And text along the left reads "A right good time to you and yours This bright and happy season."

Vintage California Christmas Postcards

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A couple years ago I started to share my collection of vintage Christmas cards, but there is a various specific part of this collection have decided to share with you this year, vintage California Christmas postcards. As many of you know, Christmas is a bit different here in California, especially Southern California. Most of us…

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A man and a woman walk carrying a massive pile of presents. A pale green background has red snowflakes all over it. Red script reads "What's On Your Christmas (play)list?"

What’s on your Christmas (play)list?

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With Thanksgiving tomorrow, many, including myself, already are in the Christmas spirit, which means it’s time to blast some Christmas music and that means once again sharing some selections from my massive Christmas music collection. Many a Christmas song deal with gifts, both the kind we want and maybe even the kind we don’t. Below you’ll…

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Myself wearing a black top that features an open skirt, with black cigarette pants underneath. A white blouse peeks out at the top and a large orange bow with a print of black cats is worn at the neck.

Anaheim Halloween Parade – Drive Thru Style

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I’m lucky enough to live in a town that has a Halloween parade every year. Under normal circumstances, there is a fall festival during the day before the parade starts. The festival is full of games, artists selling their unique works, and live music. Then as the sun sets the parade, with its collection of…

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A boy and girl bite into the same apple inside a pumpkin. Text at the top reads "Halloween."

The Long Lost Matchmaking Rituals of Halloween

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When it comes to holidays about true love, one typically thinks about Valentine’s Day, but once upon a time, it was Halloween. Yes, Halloween, the time of year we typically associate with more macabre imagery than that of cupid, used to have a rather romantic element, Halloween matchmaking. Some of the earliest noted methods of…

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Myself, wearing an orange cardigan over a black t-shirt with a black and white illustration of black cats running around a fire that has spooky ghost cats rising from it, and black jeans.

When Black Cats Prowl…

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Obviously things are different this Halloween season as a result of COVID-19, and Halloween is big business here in Southern California. Typically all of the amusement parks have special events, rural areas become autumnal havens full of pumpkins and apples, while LA has its very own Haunted Hayride, and even local homes do their own…

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