thrift-store find: holly hobbie

anyone else hear “holly hobbie” and get instantly transported back to their childhood?

i had a holly hobbie sewing machine as a young girl. now that i think of it, i am pretty sure i also had a holly hobbie metal lunchbox and thermos too. mention sewing or holly hobbie to me now all these years later, and i still get a little weak in the knees.

when i came across a vintage holly hobbie plate the other day, i knew exactly where it was going: in our basement (after renovations this month) where we’ll have a little music corner set up.

my husband and i met in highschool, and while we both leaned towards the sciences and maths, we were heavily involved in the music program and participated throughout our years in highschool.

music was a big part of our lives, and it continues to be, just in a different way now.

we listen to all kinds of music, from weird al to wagner (or should i say “veird al to wagner”? see? music geek :)), johnny cash to jamiroquai. we attend concerts in the park during the summer, while the kids run around the folding chairs and picnic blankets spread across the grassy field. on occasion, we open up those dusty black boxes lined in velvet, which hold the instruments from way back when. much like riding a bike, our fingers remember where to go; it’s only our embouchure that needs a bit of work…

we hope that our kids grow up with an appreciation not just of music, but for all that music can bring to life.

i often forget this myself. i’ll be walking around the house in a funk, moody and miserable for some reason or other. a little black raincloud, it happens to all of us sometimes. if i have the presence of mind to flick on some music, the day is saved nine times out of ten.

music, much like a smell or a memory, can instantly whisk me away from where i am. or it fills that space in my mind that sometimes entertains negative chatter.  it can set the tone for a dinner party, or a quiet afternoon alone while the littlest ones are napping. it can also be the cause of a twitchy eyelid, if say, the husband has to listen to beastie boys at full blast on a saturday morning before i’ve had my first cup of coffee… but more often than not, music makes life better.

while the sentiment on this plate is a little too cheerful and sweet for my usual taste, and while i never thought i’d be the kind of person to buy a decorative plate (if i ever buy an elvis or queen elizabeth plate, you have my permission to shoot me never visit my blog again)… well, what can i say? holly hobbie makes me do crazy things.

(1972, mint condition, $1.99)