Ch-Ch-Changes...

Y'all, I'm going to be honest, this is a long one so you better take a potty break now cause I'm not stopping later so you can go. lol ;)

First of all, I hope you have been having a great week so far! Things are going well on my end (Toot is finally feeling 100%, WOO HOO!) and I've been working my booty off on a new project that I hope y'all will all enjoy! And here it is:

Time for a little (huge) announcement! :D

When I first started this blog (originally called "Katamommy Damacy") it was to have a place where I could talk about things that I felt didn't fit with my video game blog. My aim was to create a blog where I could talk about Toot (then about 3 months old) and being a gaming parent. I think it was within a couple of weeks to maybe a month after that that I really stepped up my scrapbooking and it was at that point that Katamommy Damacy morphed into more of a scrapbooking and crafty blog (which was when I met most of you fine folk :D).

Once I got a few regular readers (bless you!) I decided that my name didn't fit with the theme of the blog and thus "Just Add Glitter and Stir" was born along with a new look to incorporate my craftiness, my life as a stay at home mom and my love of vintage/retro. Then began my attempt to straddle the proverbial blogging fence as it were and write posts for my fabulous crafty friends as well as my new found amazing vintage buddies.

Which worked for a while but lately I've been feeling like instead of including everyone I've satisfied nobody. lol My purpose and greatest desire is to make anyone that visits this blog feel like I am speaking to them specifically, I want them (that's you) to know that I value their time spent with me and look forward to each and every comment left behind. I fully admit to trying my best to write amusing posts to bring a smile to your beautiful faces, to entertain you. I would hope that people look forward to visiting my blog as all of the time and work spent in running it is all for you, my dear readers.

"Maggi, what the heck are you trying to say?! Get on with it!"

I'm getting there! I'm getting there!

All that to say, the #1 blogging rule is this: Know your audience. So far I've been trying to serve two audiences: The Crafty and The Vintage. I'm starting to think that it's just not working as well as I would like SO I have come up with a solution that I am SUPER excited about and I hope you'll feel the same way!

Presenting...

Yes, I've started a new blog devoted entirely to my passion for everything vintage called Circle 7-2099.

"But Maggi, what does this mean?!?!"

Simply this: I will be posting the same amount as I do now. The only difference is that if it pertains to my personal life (i.e.-Toot) and anything crafty, I will post it here at Just Add Glitter and Stir. If it pertains to anything vintage (including my family vault pictures), it will get posted at Circle 7-2099. Clear as mud right? lol

"But Maggi, what does this mean to me?!?!"

Well, if you have a vintage blog that I have linked in my blog list, you will be moved over to Circle 7-2099. If you have a personal or crafty type blog, your link will stay here. I will still visit all of you like I do now and whenever you see a comment from me, it will still say "Maggi". The only difference is that now you have a choice of where you'd like to meet up with me. :D

If you would prefer to keep up with my crafty adventures (or just want to see Toot) visit me here or if you would rather kick it "old school" (haha) then visit me at Circle 7-2099. Now, you are more than welcome to visit me in both places! lol But I know that visitin' time is valuable and now you have your pick of the posts as it were. lol

This change is effective immediately and I've been working hard to get Circle 7-2099 up and running so go check it out and please let me know what you think!!! And if you would like to follow me at Circle 7-2099 I would so appreciate it! :D (If you follow me on Twitter, that won't change, I'll use the one account to give updates on both blogs.)

Whew...I think that about covers it! LOL

Thank you so much for spending your time with me, whether it ends up being here or at Circle 7-2099. I appreciate each and every one of you, your lovely comments and your wonderful blogs!

Family Pictures: Album Eight

Holy crow, are we up to album 8 already? What the heck am I going to do when I've posted all 11??? By the way, I should totally be crocheting Christmas gifts right now and instead I'm blogging for you fine folks and watching "White Christmas". What? I've got my priorities you know... :D

Oh and if you're new to my family albums, here's the low down:

These are some pictures from our Family Vault (i.e. the box of 11 albums in our den). You can read about and see the first one here, the second one is here, the third album is here, the fourth album is here, the fifth is here, the sixth album is here and the seventh is here.

As always: I'm sure it goes without saying that these pictures are not to be posted anywhere or used in any way without express permission from me. Period. I can be contacted at katamommy at gmail.com. I promise I don't bite! :D

Ready? Here we go!









I just love seeing these fun silly poses.



Check out the camera she's holding. This is a total shutterbug family for sure!






Me want kitschy Christmas...*drool*







Thanks for taking a gander at these pictures with me, I love sharing them with all of you!

Have a great day!

Gentlemen Prefer The Roller Derby and a Wool Suit

Okay, I know I've talked about PaperBackSwap.com before and I don't want to sound like one big commercial but I just had to share. I've traded some books since joining up and have been lucky enough to add the autobiographies of Marion Davies, Ginger Rogers and Jane Russell to my collection.

Speaking of Jane Russell, I was watching "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" the other day and decided to do a little research (this is all leading back to Paper Back Swap, I promise! :D) Come to find out, the 1953 musical starring Russell and Monroe was based on the 1949 stage musical which was based on the 1925 novel written by Anita Loos (who also wrote a sequel called "But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" which was made into a forgettable sequel to the movie starring Russell (as Dorothy Shaw's daughter!) and Jeanne Crain). There was also a silent movie adaptation made of the novel in 1928 which has been lost unfortunately.

ANYWAY, all that to say that I decided to look up the original book by Loos on Paper Back Swap to see if I could find it and low and behold, someone had a copy which I quickly snapped up. I had no big illusions on what edition the book would be as I was assuming it had been printed and reprinted multiple times. So just imagine my exclamation of "HOLY MACARONI!" when I checked my mail today and saw this:



Yup, a 1926 (10th printing) edition of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Can you believe it?!?!?! AND it has the most fantastic 1920's style illustrations by Ralph Barton:



It is just in beautiful condition for its age and I feel SO fortunate to have inadvertantly made such a find. So this lovely treasure will be a permanent fixture on my bookshelf. I'm also planning on harvesting Paper Back Swap for some free books I won't feel guilty cutting up and gluing to something. LOL :D

So let's jump ahead a couple of decades and discuss how fab it would be to own this 1950's three piece wool suit from Cheap Vintage.



Gimme gimme gimme! LOL

And last but not least...guess where I'm going tomorrow????



Oh baby, the roller derby....WOOOO HOOOOO! Last match of the season and I will be there with my Barbie skates on! Okay, I don't think I'll wear my skates which is a shame, they sure are cute...The husband's birthday is Monday and our friends: D & D are treating us to the roller derby which we are both super excited to go check out.

So what are your plans for Sunday? I've been hearing some of you are getting snow, how about sending some my way???? :D

Family Pictures: Album Seven

Happy Wednesday everyone!

It's time once again for some pictures from our Family Vault (i.e. the box of 11 albums in our den) and if you're just joining us you can read about these albums and see the first one here, the second one is here, the third album is here, the fourth album is here, the fifth is here and the sixth album is here.

And as always: I'm sure it goes without saying that these pictures are not to be posted anywhere or used in any way without express permission from me. Period. I can be contacted at katamommy at gmail.com. I promise I don't bite! :D










Oh what I wouldn't give for this huge Santa head to hang on my house. lol



Have a great day everyone!

Friday Night Fab Five from Family Album Six

Hello everyone and welcome to another Friday Night Fab Five where I list 5 things that are super groovy. Actually this week I was going to post these family pictures in a separate post but I could only get 5 picture safely out of the sixth album (freakishly strong picture eating glue for jerks) so I figured, Friday Night Fab Five family style, why not?

So time once again for some pictures from our Family Vault (i.e. the box in our den) and if you're just joining us you can read about these albums and see the first one HERE, the second one is HERE, the third album is HERE, the fourth album is HERE and the fifth is HERE.

And as always: I'm sure it goes without saying that these pictures are not to be posted anywhere or used in any way without express permission from me. Period. I can be contacted at katamommy at gmail.com. I promise I don't bite! :D











Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday Night Fab Five: My Blog Is Alive...With The Sound of Music

Hi everyone and welcome to another Friday Night Fab Five! I felt a little guilty bumming y'all out last week so this week is all about making you smile on this Friday the 13th...

:) <-----See? When I was a kid, I got into musicals in a major way. Which my mom started to hate because I would walk around singing the songs for days after watching one of them. (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was banned from our house for about 2 years because of my incessant singing. :D) I was watching a special on the history of musicals and I got that feeling again: the musical number chills. You know when a song or dance number is special because you get those "chills" and you can't quit smiling for a week. Anytime I'm down, I know I can turn to musicals which funny enough, is a large reason how they came to be in the first place: to give Americans a way to temporarily escape from The Depression. I'm lucky enough to be going with a friend to the theater this Sunday to see a matinee of "South Pacific" and I can't wait! I've only seen two musicals in person: "Guys and Dolls" and "Mama Mia" (Please please please see Mama Mia on the stage and NOT the movie version! *shudder*) Anyhoo, these Five hold a special place in my heart because they were a big part of my childhood, even if I wasn't around when they first came out. I could have named this post the "Friday Night Fab 100" but I tried to keep myself to only choosing those songs I remember specifically driving my folks nuts with singing around the house. :D 1. "America" - West Side Story West Side Story was HUGE for me. I knew every song, every dance, every line, every THING about this musical. I watched this number over and over so many times I would dance it in my living room and to this day it gets me tapping my toes. We used one of the songs for our wedding, I still sing "I Feel Pretty" whenever I have a good hair day and I don't care what you say...dancing gangs are awesome.

2. "Singin' In The Rain" - Singin' In The Rain

Oh boy, another big one. The whole movie is enchanting but this number in particular never fails to inspire me. I love this movie so much and I always sing "Good Morning" to Toot every morning when I go in to get her. :D



3. "On the Street Where You Live" - My Fair Lady

I never understood why Eliza would go for Higgins when she could have had this pretty boy. lol I remember watching this movie and thinking how romantic it would be if someone sang this song about me. lol And I totally wanted to wear Hepburn's ball gown as my wedding dress (but I hated her hair in that scene as a kid for some reason, lol).



4. "Pure Imagination" - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

They made us watch this movie in school every year and I would be glued to the TV if I knew it was on (much to my mother's consternation). This song and Gene Wilder's performance of it will be magical to me until the day I die. I worshiped this movie as a kid, lol. Maybe that's why I never got into Burton's version...



5. "The Best Things Happen While You're Dancing" - White Christmas

Christmas time or no, my best friend and I wore this video tape O-U-T. (Yes children, there weren't always DVDs. lol) The musical numbers in this movie are out of this world and the whole thing just works. I always loved the thought of letting the music carry you away...



And because I can't stand not including this one too, my Fab Five honorable mention:

"I've Got a Golden Ticket" - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

I know I'm doubling up here on this movie but this song is so fun and inspiring to me. Anytime you're having a great day (especially after having a crappy day), it just feels like you've won the best prize and this song embodies that feeling for me.



Well, there you have it! Another Friday Night Fab Five has come to a close. *sniff* Like I said, I could have mentioned SO many more musicals that mean so much to me...Oklahoma, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, State Fair, Showboat...Do you enjoy musicals? What are your favorites?

Have a great weekend everyone! :D

Family Pictures: Album Five

First of all, concerning my last post that included some Renaissance Festival pictures...did anyone else notice (besides Carmen lol) that Twig the Fairy HERSELF commented on my post?!?! HOLY SMOKES! Coolest thing ever! lol Thanks for your comment Miss Twig! :D

So it is time once again for some pictures from our Family Vault (i.e. the box in our den) and if you're just joining us you can read about these albums and see the first one HERE, the second one is HERE, the third album is HERE and the fourth album is HERE.

Album Five is a little sad. Not because the pictures are not as fabulous as the others but 90% of the pictures are so stuck to the pages due to the evil picture eating glue in these types of albums that I couldn't safely get a lot of them out. Thus, there aren't as many pictures to share with you today unfortunately! :( That being said, this album was so delightful and full of treasures, I hope you enjoy them!

And as always: I'm sure it goes without saying that these pictures are not to be posted anywhere or used in any way without express permission from me. Period. I can be contacted at katamommy at gmail.com. I promise I don't bite! :D

















Have a fabulous week everyone! :D

Family Pictures: Album Four

Hello all! Time once again for some pictures from our Family Vault (i.e. the box in our den) and if you're just joining us you can read about these albums and see the first one HERE, the second one is HERE and the third album is HERE.

Album Four is interesting because it contains pictures mainly from the 40's with some 20's, 30's and 50's "misplacements" thrown in for good measure. I was lucky to find some years written on the back of a couple and have noted it with the specific picture. There must have been at least a couple of the men in the family that served in WWII because I found quite a few shots of men in uniform. I hope you all enjoy Album four!

And as always: I'm sure it goes without saying that these pictures are not to be posted anywhere or used in any way without express permission from me. Period. I can be contacted at katamommy at gmail.com. I promise I don't bite! :D


This one has "1926" written on the back.


This one has "1937" written on the back -EDIT: just got a call from the husband and he said that the happily married couple in this photo are his grandparents.












This one has "1944" written on the back.





Have a great day everyone!

Family Pictures: Album Three and a Winner!

Wow, y'all are too sweet! Thank you so much for all of the fabulous birthday wishes for Toot! I cannot wait to show these to her when she is older, these will definitely be a part of her scrapbook! :D The party was a total success and her first taste of cupcake was a major experience that she loved. I think if she could have licked the tray she so would have, Toot was enamored!

I've got some more family pictures to share with you but before I do that, we have some business to attend to yes? The winner of my amigurumi cupcake:



At the time I put the numbers in Random.org, there were 39 total comments, one of which had been deleted so I only counted 38 all together. I guess it pays to be early to the party because the winner is...*drum roll*...


Sorry the picture turned out so small! Yikes! lol

Which is...DJ! Congrats dearest! Please e-mail me at katamommy at gmail dot com with your address and I will mail out your prize. :)

I'll be sure to share some birthday pictures soon (when I'm done being lazy) until then, please enjoy some more family pictures from long ago! If you need to catch up on the story (and pics), you can find the first album HERE and the second album is HERE.

I believe the third album is from the 1920-1930's. There are some random pictures stuck in this album that look "newer" as you'll see. I found this album so fun for a couple of reasons: a lot of good shots of cars, some fabulous close ups and the dogs in these pictures was obviously very loved because they are in quite a few pictures.

And as always: I'm sure it goes without saying that these pictures are not to be posted anywhere or used in any way without express permission from me. Period. I can be contacted at katamommy at gmail.com. I promise I don't bite! :D

Enjoy!































Have a great day everyone! I hope to get caught up on my blog reading ASAP! :)