1. This delightful collector of tiny things
Jane Housham is a collector, sorter, cutter-outer, writer, artist.
2. This charming 1950s menu
When French restaurateur Andre Frelier and his wife Yvonne opened L’Omelette bistro in 1932, it quickly became a favorite spot for Stanford University students because of its cozy lounge, open fireplace, reasonably priced drinks and rarely checked IDs. After their marriage ended, Yvonne opened her own restaurant – Chez Yvonne – in nearby Mountain View, California, along with her son Roger. It had a similar ambience but was even more laid-back – IDs were checked less frequently. Both restaurants were popular, and both served superb French food. This Chez Yvonne menu is decorated with lovely illustrations of a beret-wearing French poodle, quaffing wine and serving food. If you look closely at the menu cover, which is from the 1950s, you can see charming touches such as the birds singing in the trees ( French chansons, of course) and a little mouse running up the street. Chez Yvonne was in operation from 1949 to 1980 when it was demolished to make way for the Mountain View Residence Inn. Yvonne, who has been described as a ‘fiery French Moroccan,’ apparently kept a cheetah as a pet in her retirement. The Frelier family obviously had a talent for cooking because another relative Roger Pierre was personal chef to stars such as Dean Martin, Tina Turner and Johnny Cash.
You can purchase prints of the original menu here.
3. Sleep in a (hotel) cupboard in Amsterdam
Somewhere in between traditional Dutch culture and Japanese capsule hotels, the quirky De Bedstee Hotel draws on the 17th-Century tradition of the Dutch bedstee (box bed), a bed concealed behind cupboard doors to create a cosy sleeping nook.
More about the hotel found here.
4. An Oak Chapel in Serbia
This is a chapel dedicated to St Pantelija which was built inside of a hollow ancient oak (which is the holy tree of the thunder gods) near the village of Jovac, Vladičin Han region, South-eastern Serbia. The chapel was built by a local villager Dragoljub Krstić in 1991.
Found on 1001 Gardens.
5. The Windsor Ruins
Windsor mansion was located on a Mississippi plantation that covered 2,600 acres. Much of the basic construction of Windsor mansion was accomplished by the slaves of the plantation owner, Smith Daniel. The mansion stood from 1861, surviving the Civil Wa. In 1890, it was destroyed by an accidental fire when a guest left a lighted cigar on a balcony.
For more than 100 years, the outward appearance of Windsor mansion was a matter of conjecture. But in the early 1990s, an 1863 sketch of Windsor mansion was discovered in the papers of a former Union officer, Henry Otis Dwight, of the 20th Ohio Infantry. Historians believe that Henry Dwight made the sketch while his unit was encamped on the grounds of the mansion.
– Wikipedia
More photos of the ruins on Flickr.
6. Portrait of a Home with Barbara Cartland
I’ve gushed over her incredible 1980s cookbook. But here is a tour of her home!
7. Extras on the set of Spartacus
Extras playing corpses on the set of Spartacus assigned with numbers so that Stanley Kubrick could address them individually and give them instructions.
Found here.
8. An Online Museum of Found Grocery Lists
There are 3,700 of them to go through on this website. Just because.
9. Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, 1925
Found on the USC digital Library
10. This Round-up of Wacky Vintage Transport
Full round-up found in this Flickr album.
11. A Train Coach makes a Fine Library, 1931
Found on the California State Library Tumblr
12. The Valuable Secret of the Central Park’s Lampposts
If you ever get lost in Central Park, each one of the 1,600 lampposts around the grounds have a special code to help you map where you are. Each ornate lamppost has a unique number inscribed on the base of the pole that actually acts as a navigational tool for travellers and locals alike, designed by Henry Bacon in 1907 and having been in place since the early 20th Century
The first two or three numbers in the code specify the closest cross street, while the last number indicates what side of town is nearby. Even numbers mean east side while odd numbers mean west side.
Found on Lonely Planet.
13. What was it like to be a teenager in the Victorian era?
This is an incredibly rewarding watch…
