Valentine's Day Sale!

Happy Valentine's day! Here's a coupon code 

and a shop update to help you celebrate!

★ 20% off with coupon code CUPID ★ 

Sale ends Tuesday, 2/14 at midnight!

Tour de Egg & Cheese Sandwiches!

Usually, we're here looking at vintage dresses, mid century decor that James and I have added to our home, or coveting items on Etsy . . . but today, I want to chat a little about this fun food tour we did with my favorite local foodie, Daniel B. I've been following Daniel B. on yelp since we moved to Albany in 2008 (he had also recently moved here), so we had the same sort of "what the heck . . . where can I eat good food in this town?" feeling. James and I wasted a ton of money in first couple of months of our relocation trying places blindly and being disappointed. Now, I pretty much yelp everything. I don't necessarily allow the yelp reviews of an establishment to prohibit me from trying it, but they better equip me for what to expect. That being said, Daniel B. led me to a few places that were "meh, I must have gotten the wrong thing" (repeatedly, in some cases). Generally, he's spot on for what the jessjamesjake crew is looking for, so we were stoked when his blog started running local food tours. They did a couple that we missed (tour de fish fry, tour de soft serve), so our first was his 2011 Tour de Apple Cider Donut. It was so much fun! We have amazing apple orchards here in NY State, so this was a perfect idea. The next tour was to be savory (sweet and savory must alternate). I was trying to think up an affordable, group-friendly tour, where meat was not included/optional, and that was savory . . . Bingo: Egg and Cheese sandies! Daniel B. tweaked the idea to make it more Upstate-centric (it had to be on a hard roll).

First up: Jack's Diner (1st choice of averaged tour ballots, my 4th place)

I was shocked that this sandwich won. I realize I'm biased because I like a well-done egg when it comes to a sandwich, but the other problem with this sandwich was the roll: barely warm, with no toasted edges. What Jack's did do well was the cheese.

Next up: McCarroll's (2nd overall, 1st place for me!)

Yum! I got my well-done, fried egg at McCarroll's, as well as a locally made poppy-seed bun. I'd never been to this place before the tour, but I intend to go back often. It's a little grocery-meets-deli down in Delmar, NY. The prices were really reasonable and the staff was very friendly!

*I have to just skip the 3rd location . . . I understand why it was added to the tour . . . but it was just a yucky disaster. (Stewart's convenient store, Whitehall @ New Scotland, unanimously last place).

4th up: Bella Napoli (4th overall, 2nd for me)

This was solid. Nothing too memorable, except being a little disappointed that the cheese wasn't thoroughly melted. I did think Bella Napoli's hard roll was very good.

Last up: Famous Lunch (3rd overall, 3rd for me)

I wanted Famous Lunch to be my 2nd place because it had such a great vibe, and the guys behind the counter were a lot of fun. Unfortunately, they took the idea of a "toasted bun" a little too far.

Want more results and pictures?

The tour results via FussyLittleBlog.

The tour results via AllOverAlbany.

From the Teaspoon To the City!

"It is not true that what is useful is beautiful. It is what is beautiful that is useful. Beauty can improve people's way of life and thinking."

- Anna Castelli Ferrieri

Agreed! Though you may have seen our Ferrieri modules on Etsy's Get The Look: Vintage Decor, we still consider this one of our most exciting newest additions! We stumbled on a set of these amazing space-age Anna Ferrieri containers awhile back and since then have been carefully cleaning them and sliding the tiny curved doors back and forth in amazement. The design is wonderfully simple and functional as you can see from the dismantled pieces. Each unit consists of a sliding door and a circular container. They stack directly on top of each other, each one functioning as the top of the next and the finished slide for the door. The only other piece is a topper. Unfortunately we are missing one topper, so our quest continues. But so far, we've put a houseplant in one, stretching out its leaves from the small round doorway. Another has small hand painted clocks. James and I each have our own for our keys, wallets, hats, etc. They keep everything so organized!

Here's a bit more on Anna Ferrieri's fascinating career and innovative design...

Anna Castelli Ferrieri is the embodiment of the Italian creative philosophy that advocates designing "from the teaspoon to the city."

Trained at the famed Milan Polytechnic Institute as an architect, Castelli Ferrieri worked in the office of the postwar rationalist Franco Albini, who became a role model for her. Castelli Ferrieri started designing for Kartell in 1966, after being chosen as the architect for their headquarters. Famous for its critical role in the introduction of plastic as an acceptable material into the consumer market, Kartell was founded by Anna's husband-to-be, Guilio Castelli. Castelli Ferrieri became intrinsically linked to the company both as a designer as well as its Design Director, instrumental in bringing such innovative designers to Kartell as Joe Colombo, Marco Zanuso with Richard Sapper and Achille Castiglioni.

Anna Castelli Ferrieri
Photo Courtesy of http://www.woont.com

In her own designs for Kartell, Castelli Ferrieri exploited new materials through innovative forms. For her "4970/84" container elements, Castelli Ferrieri treated the design as a mini architectural exercise, with units that are stackable and interchangeable based on the needs of the new lifestyle of the 1960s. For her beautiful and useful designs, Anna Castelli Ferrieri has won numerous design awards, including the prestigious Compasso d'Oro, but the fact that most of her pieces are still in production bespeak the highest praise.

They brightened up quite a bit - we had to use a magic eraser for the most stubborn scuffs, but most everything else lifted with a little Meyer's All Purpose Cleaner. After hosing them off, letting them air dry, and then assembling them, this is what they look like:

Currently, ours frame our fireplace:

Here's a few more we'd like to get our hands on.

Photo courtesy of www.museedelaville.agglo-sqy.fr

Photo courtesy of www.architonic.com

1950s Dresses (Plus Size and XL)

Happy New Year! Here's a 2012 sneak peek of an amazing lot of 

50s dresses I will be listing soon. Here are 4 of my favorites: 

1950s Miss Smith dress, in a spring floral cotton. A vintage size 20 (Bust 46"/Waist 34"/Hips 70").

1950s Cape Cod Casuals dress, in a midcentury plaid cotton print. Bust 46"/Waist 39"/Hips 47"

1950s Saybury dress, in a midcentury geometric cotton print. Bust 43"/Waist 46"/Hips 53"

1950s Young Size dress, in a classic navy blue silk. Bust 50"/Waist 39"/Hips 60"

Look for them here, soon!

Who is Jake?

Hello! This has nothing to do with vintage, or fashion, or etsy, but I just had to share this video of my little, grumpy, old dog. 

A bit of history: We're from Arizona, but haven't lived there for years. Every winter, it's more and more clear that Jake knows where he's from and is pretty angry that our current location (Albany, NY) is so chilly. I'd say we keep the house cool/comfortable, because we try to be aware of our energy consumption, but Jake is apparently anti-green and demands his own space heater. This is what happens when I do not turn the space heater on . . . in less than a minute, you'll see all of Jakey's tactics for convincing the space heater to turn on: gently nudging it, licking it, biting it, and eventually, the takedown.

To answer the original question: Jake is our dachshund, rescued from an abusive home 9 years ago. He'll turn 10 this December, and enjoys warmth, sweaters, walks, sleeping, digging, playing fetch, and cuddling. Though his name is in our shop name, he is not committed to vintage shopping!