Why 'My Mink Betty'?

Why 'My Mink Betty'?
I'm not your common, everyday twenty-something year old and when I graduated from High School I got an equally uncommon gift. My parents found for me a beautiful 1940's mink stole at a garage sale. It had belonged to the woman's Great Aunt Betty who had married late in life to a man with money and had only allowed him to buy her this one luxury. The unusually styled stole has the name, Betty L. Jones, embroidered in the satin lining so that's what I call her. They never had children of their own and the mink was passed to Aunt Betty's niece and on to her daughter. Until it got to me, no one since Aunt Betty had worn it. Now Betty the mink and I go to the theater together on special occasions and I hope that someday I can take her to the Symphony or the Ballet. Although Betty hadn't been worn or loved for many years she was waiting for someone to love her again as are most other things I look for when thrifting.

Monday, January 31, 2011

But Really, No More Baby Planters

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you probably know that my mother and I share a fondness for vintage baby planters. I've blogged about our collection before, here and here.

So you'll probably understand why I was surprised last month, to hear Mom say "I think we may have too many baby planters."

Too many baby planters? Is that even possible?

The plan has always been for us to find a shelf unit for the bathroom and display the planters on it. Mom was looking at the wall in the bathroom and imagining what that shelf would look like, when she realized not everything we owned would fit.

So it was decided that we would lay off the baby planters for a while.

Until we find a shelf to put them on.

Or until Mom saw this at Goodwill the day after Christmas.

An Elephant! On a flying carpet!
Okay, it's not really a flying carpet, but Mom likes to think so.

But really, no more baby planters.


Until I saw this at Goodwill two days later.

I had to do a double-take to realize that this was indeed a french poodle pulling a carriage.
Pulling a freaking carriage!

AND the carriage has a giraffe on it. I love giraffes.

When I was very little, I thought French Poodles came in four NATURAL colors: white, black, pink, and blue. And I wanted a pink dog. Badly. So I had this obsession with poodle things and therefore wanted a poodle skirt. Apparently, even as a child, I belonged in the fifties.

Some poodles might consider pulling a baby carriage a demeaning job, but not "Jean-Luc Picard the Poodle" (Yes, I went there, and it's still it's a cool name). He holds his head high and takes his responsibility seriously. No doubt he's had to take a bit of ribbing from the fellows. Judging by the little scars on his face, I'd say he's been in a few fights.

If you look closely enough, you can see his mustache. I have a slight fascination with mustaches. I'm not sure if it's healthy or not, but they make me so darn happy.

So apparently the short-lived moratorium on baby planters was over.

This cute little boy came from an estate sale. I love the politically incorrect boxing gloves.

This cowgirl and boot came from The Salvation Army. Mom and I had each seen it on separate trips to the store, and decided against buying it. It's bigger than most, and we were trying not to buy more planters. But we were intriqued by the unusual cowgirl theme, so when it was reduced to half price, Mom brought it home.

She seems to be wearing a denim diaper. Ouch, that would chafe. I think she may eventually end up in North Dakota, when the next girl cousin is born.

That's one of the nice things about baby planters. If we really do have too many, they make good gifts.


But really, no more baby planters.


I can't say I've been terribly tempted lately.

Not all planters are cute.

Some are downright scary.

I seriously thought that was a chainsaw in his hands at first.
Which means the red stuff would have been...

Never mind.


I'm joining these parties today:
Thrift Share Monday

 http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

Follow the links and see what cool things others have found.

10 comments:

  1. Those are so cute - no wonder you can't resist getting more! Although that monkey at the end is definitely scary~!

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  2. Thank your for this cute and funny post! I am laughing and smiling right now. I love baby planters but have not 'gone there' ...well yet! I agree with you not all of them are cute. I have a couple and love them but the poodle one you found is soooo cute! I hope you get your shelves up and can show us the display of them. Still smiling! Linda

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  3. You mean that's not a helper monkey? LOL He looks like one of the flying monkeys from Wizard of Oz. Those things still creep me out.

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  4. Oh how could you resist the poodle with his flirty eyes? Puppy eyes always get me (I have a cocker spaniel, after-all). I, too, thought poodles came in pink...my Mawma had 2 poodles as we were growing up and the owner of the groomer had a PINK GIANT POODLE. When I found out that Fancy Francis could indeed be dyed pink....oh how the begging started.

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  5. Love the planters! I think it would be fun to collect them, and if you have too many, they'd make great gifts {filled with plants, candy, etc.} for teachers, new moms, friends and probably others, too.

    What? I was just saying you probably don't have to pass up the very cutest of them. ;)

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  6. Oh no, that monkey is one scary planter! You are too funny. Maybe you could figure out something fun to do with the baby planters and sell it on ebay. Maybe fill them with some useful baby stuff.

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  7. Lol, P, if that's a helper monkey, I'm doing fine on my own.

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  8. Thanks for the comment on my blog, Betty! I LOVE the little elephant. I'm pretty sure it will kill my resolve to not buy any more planters if I saw it, as well. I'd never heard of baby planters before I read your blog post, thanks for the education. I'm sure I'll see them everywhere once I start looking.

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  9. Wow! It didn't take long- I saw a whole collection in the next thrift store I went into (earlier today). Since all my friends are transitioning from having weddings to having babies, I grabbed a few for upcoming baby showers. Expect a blog post in the future.

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  10. I went to an estate sale last Friday. The woman was a hoarder...and a florist. Baby planters as far as the eye could see! Her store closed down in the mid 70s and she never threw a thing away. I eyed a few planters but didn't know the resale value. *sigh* I should have bought some!!

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