Mother In-Law Goodies

My mother in-law is an amazing woman for many reasons. First, she raised five kids, the oldest of whom was 18 when the youngest was born (!). She managed to raise most of these kids while her incredibly hard-working husband fought lymphoma. She's razor-sharp at cards and will kick your butt in sidewise at 500, leaving you cowering in a ball on the ground wondering what in the world just happened.

I could go on. I am blessed to have such a fantastic MIL. BUT, this isn't a blog about MIL's, is it? So why am I even bringing her up? It's because she LIVED kitsch for years and never realized it. Well, she didn't realize it because it was the 50s, and heck! Everyone was living that way! In honor of my MIL and the many amazing kitschy items she has handed down to me over the years, I have christened a posting category after her.

Let's begin. Last summer, MIL decided that she had to move out of her cute little home of 50 years into a place that better suited her needs as a single lady with grown kids. The kitsch did overfloweth during the moving process. I think I could post a hundred items at least right here (believe me, I'd love to do it! So fun!), but since this is going to be an ongoing feature, I shall post in moderation.

The first item for today:
These glasses were bought on her honeymoon in 1956 to Niagra Falls. Originally they were a set of four, but misfortune befell one and it was broken some time ago. They must have sat around in the dark recesses of her liquor cabinet forever, because I never, ever saw them until moving day (and I have known my husband's family closely since I was six). The third one I use to hold my marking pens/pencils and my seam ripper. It declined to be photographed.




The second item is a box of (originally) 36 Dennis the Menace cocktail napkins from 1951. I hate Dennis the Menace. I always wanted to rip his little face off when I watched the show on Nick at Nite as a kid. Although I harbor this deep- seated animosity, I totally dig the box. 27 napkins have managed to survive until present day. The really cool thing about this box is that these were inside...





"The hurrier I go, the behinder I get." Sorry the pics are so cruddy. I haven't had my coffee this morning and don't feel like fighting with the camera. 2nd post and already I am hopelessly lazy! Woo! Ok, back to the goodies. Cocktail napkins and matching paper coasters. I love the colors and the style. I love the ticked off farmer woman. Who knew cocktail napkins could be so fun?