Mid-Century Mom Makes a Snowman!

Hello, dear sweet readers of mine! It sure has been a long time. In fact it has been such a long time that this post is woefully out of date! But let's turn lemons into lemonade (ooh, another great idea for a mid-century mom post) and pretend that I did this on purpose--it is SO HOT outside I am sure many of you will enjoy this journey to a much cooler environment, in other words, Virginia in mid-February of 2010.

I was very excited to do this particular "chore" for you all. I truly believe that when you have snow, you need to enjoy it while it lasts. I might HATE snow (yes, it's true), but I can see why it is special. Plus, kids love snow, and what kind of mid-century mom would I be if I didn't get out there and enjoy it with my children?

So when enough snow had melted...remember, there was almost 36 inches of it where we lived...we took the kids outside to make a snowman. It was still too high for darling CW (see pics below), and she barely had a good time, but at least she can say that we gave it our best shot. I also had to do this task wearing my best approximation of what women in the mid-century would wear to do the same basic task (p.s. not a whole lot of images of retro housewives outside in the snow...lol).


Above is one of maybe three images I could find of a retro woman in the snow. Thank you, darling destinationkittatis.com for providing me with the image I so desperately needed. :)

I hope you notice that although she is wearing pants, she is still the very epitome of lady-like, gloves, kerchief, pants and coat that nicely hug her figure (yet not too much), and sturdy, yet in no way manly boots. Doesn't she make you want to find a nice cold place and play in the snow with your husband and dog (even though we all know that it is 12 degrees outside and that snow is probably over four feet tall)?


In my beret, tailored coat, borrowed from the boys jeans, gloves, and boots, I feel very put-together, yet no so much that I can't get "dirty."

I don't know if you can see this, but CW is sitting on a part of the snow that was sturdy enough to hold her...much of the snow just swallowed her up and there she was, her torso peeking out of the snow while her legs and feet were covered. Poor baby. :)


At this point, with the world's teeniest snowman (who knew that even with a lot of snow, if you have the wrong snow, it is hard to make a snowman--huh!), we are adding the finishing touches. Nothing fancy here, just some rocks and sticks.

Please do note that I am doing just fine in my ensemble. Thank goodness ladies from the '50s didn't wear dresses and heels to do winter "outside" work.


Oh, isn't that snowman cute? It is a baby snowman! :)


It is hard to tell from my snow pics what I actually am wearing, so here is a closer look.

The sweater is covering a blouse. Even though I am going outside, I chose to find a very lady-like look as I still want to be 100% housewife. (If I showed you what I would wear if I wasn't doing a mid-century mom post, you would see a much more casual get-up.)


And the coat? Pure femininity.

Final Thoughts: I really loved this "chore". I just wish my kids had been able to get more into it, as well. I think I will try this post again when they are a bit older and there isn't *quite* as much snow on the ground. (Which shouldn't be hard--our last winter was one for the record books and unlikely to be seen again for another hundred years or so.)

Ease of being a mid-century mom: 5 out of 5 (5 is the easiest to be a mid-century mom). I again truly appreciate that even in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, women were reasonable about their outdoor wear. This task would have EASILY been a 1 out of 5 had I had to do it in heels, dress, and stockings.

I would like to let you know that I am ready and able to keep up with this blog again. It wasn't that this blog was a "chore" to me, it was that I was uninspired, and unlike my other blogs, I don't want to litter this blog with bad writing and posts that are not well thought out. If it is a while between posts, it is simply my way of keeping this blog as wonderful as possible. :)

On that note, there will be one more post today (yay, two in one day!) as I HAVE to celebrate the return of Mad Men tonight. I know many of you will watch and I hope you enjoy!

Mid-Century Mom Shops for Christmas Dinner!!!

Howdy, All!!!

Sorry for the two week absence, but things were busy in the Mid-Century Mom's life. Between crazy snow (which I did not shovel in a dress or heels, I am not crazy), last-minute Christmas shopping, and cleaning the house, something had to give...

But I am back, and I am proud to say, I took Mid-Century Mom on a field trip to the grocery store to do some Christmas dinner shopping.

The store was just about to close on December 24, 2009, but Mid-Century Mom found a way to make what could have been a stressful, time-crunched outing into something delightful. It even included un-ruffling the feathers of a certain Mid-Century Dad who was sure that as soon as the clock in the grocery store struck 7:00 p.m., the whole of the mid-century family would be incinerated by the evil forces of the grocery management. (Definitely did not happen, as Mid-Century Mom predicted while gently feeling the winter squash for any imperfections. Mid-Century Mom loves her husband, but is a voice of reason in unsettling times. Just like a good housewife should be...)

We took thirty minutes in the store to purchase the makings for dinner including ham, sweet potatoes, squash, pearl onions, butter, green beans (in a can), brown sugar, and pecans. There was also a little tipple in the basket, some very nice white wine.


I found this image over at a BRITISH newspaper, the Daily Mail, and thought it was perfection. This experience we had was very similar in feel to this photo. I even made sure to wear gloves, heels, and a hat. This may be one of my favorite mid-century images, ever. :)


We had started in produce, but as I said earlier, Mid-Century Dad was having a melt-down about the closing time and flatly refused to take a photo. After my little "speech," he acquiesced and decided the images would be fun...especially since Mid-Century Mom made such an effort (look at the gloves, I know it was cold out, but I wore leather gloves with a RUFFLE at the hem...points???).

Here I am with my son checking out the green beans in the can. We were on our way to my dad's for Christmas Eve dinner and he mentioned he needed more green beans (for the yumminess known as Green Bean Casserole)...so I picked a couple up for him. (The rest of the things I mentioned getting earlier in this post were for CHRISTMAS dinner at our place, with my dad and brother as guests.)

Even when I am not Mid-Century Mom, I always check for dents on my cans. Why? I really don't know. I think I heard once that dented cans can leach metal into the ingredients, but that probably isn't true. Still I check every single can...probably a bit of OCD kicking in...


Found!!! Two cans that are perfect. Apparently Mid-Century Son (Rex) has spotted something ominous in the racks...


And there they go, into the buggy. Doesn't Mid-Century Daughter (CW) look thrilled?


Yes, Mid-Century Mom, her buggy, and her heels took extra care at this wet floor (I suspect it was dry by that point, but you can never be too careful).


And in good Mid-Century Modern Family fashion, one MUST take a waltz down the chilled aisles of the frozen food section. Food that stays good AND yummy for months? Lovely!

Final Thoughts: This was such a nice outing. I truly felt special walking down the aisles of the local Safeway in this outfit. (Can you imagine a time when all people dressed like this to go out?) It wasn't even that difficult. I am already tall enough at 5'8", but those extra 2" that the heels gave was helpful with grabbing some things from the very top shelf. I had an extra spring in my step because there appeared to be something magical about wearing a well-made silk taffeta shirtdress to the store. I felt like the skirt lifted to life in motion with the wheels of the buggy. I suggest all ladies give this type of an outing a whirl.

Ease of being a mid-century mom: 5 out of 5 (5 is the easiest to be a mid-century mom).

Talk with you all later...must update my other blog with this outfit's information (in case any of you are interested in those details).