Thanksgiving Kitsch

Thanksgiving is not the easiest holiday to decorate for. It's like the forgotten child between Halloween and Christmas, both of which I love, but Thanksgiving is the holiday we get to host, so I want to make it count! I'm very pleased with my display, especially since I spent a total of $2 in new items to pull it together. It has a slight "poultry" theme, since I happened to have the Miss Chicken Big mug and Foghorn Leghorn glass already. I definitely use what I have!

Deck the Halls for Halloween!

You know I love decorating with records! Here's our Halloween record display, with a bunch of tiki mugs thrown in for good measure. I consider it a warm up for Christmas, when I will go really berserk with the hall decking. Have you decorated for Halloween? I would love to see what you've done!

The Velveteen Lounge Tour of Records Begins

On our live broadcast Sunday evening we mentioned that there are record album covers decorating most of the corners of our house. They change seasonally and, in some cases, with every Velveteen Lounge Kitsch-en episode. I love decorating with album covers because they're typically very inexpensive, fun and they make unique wall art. And how many pieces of wall art can you listen to?! Here are just a few of the album covers we have on display right now:

Our tiki dining room

The headboard of our bed

The Liberace Powder Room

Nautical cocktail records - a collection within a collection!

If you're inspired to begin collecting album covers for your walls, here are my best tips:

Great album covers are everywhere! You'll be able to find striking covers most quickly if you visit eBay and stores that specialize in vinyl, but don't overlook thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets and library sales. It takes longer to amass a collection that way, but you'll save lots of money!

If you're looking for albums recorded for mid-century cocktail parties, "how to" records and the like, look for bins marked "Weird," "Strange," "Oddities," etc. These are typically not arranged by artist.

Allow plenty of time when hunting for records. Many of the best scores are in the $1 bins, which stores typically keep on the floor, below the shelves with more valuable records. They're usually in no particular order, so it can take a while to comb through all those bins!

Dress for crawling around on the floor. I often don't follow my own advice and find myself on the floor in a little dress, trying to stay covered. Not ideal. Comfortable shoes are also recommended.

Craft stores, such as Michael's, carry album frames, which make even the cheesiest $1 records seem downright artistic! Save money on those frames by downloading store coupons, which they always have online. Don't pay full price, since you will never need to!

More of our albums coming soon, since they change constantly! 

Recipes for Record Store Day

Tomorrow is Record Store Day, celebrating independent record stores, along with those who work in them and those who love them. As a bonafide record lover, I think this calls for a celebration! The leaflet, Three Wiki Wiki Parties for Teens by Dole (I'm going to guess early 1960s) even has a special recipe that's perfect for the occasion, a pineapple pizza for your platter party!

You could take their suggestion and accompany it with tall, cool glasses of milk (and, if you're actually entertaining teens I highly recommend it). However, you may just want a libation that's a bit lovelier. In that case, how about a big bowl of Champagne Delight Punch?

We have the Anchor Hocking Party Starter Punch Recipe Book (I'm going with early 1970s for this one) to thank for this punch. That's a lot of hooch! Whatever you imbibe, put some records on the turntable (find your nearest record store and purchase some if you don't have any) and lift a glass to Record Store Day! 

Recipes on the Record

Last night we had the good fortune to appear on the fabulous YouTube series "Thrifty Business with Jay and Nay," talking about one of my favorite topics, kitsch!



One of my favorite categories of kitsch is what I think of as "housewife records," and one of my favorite subsets of that is records with recipes on the back cover or inside, if the cover folds out. Last night I made recipes from two different records, including this Pineapple Refrigerator Dessert from the card party-themed album "Foursome."

Of course we need cocktails! We recently discovered this album in a thrift store and it has become one of my favorites. Ready for some "Smooth Sounds" (and smooth drinks)? I won't tell if you don't actually mix with Gordon's. ;)

Have a fabulous weekend!