Retro Republik Finds: An Etsy Valentines'

Oh Etsy, you have stolen my heart!

For Valentines Day I found my hubby this warm Dark Wood Print wallet made of Gaffer Tape from Etsy seller and Portland based Duct Tuff. This photo-realistic print is rich, dark wood grain but is not thicker than a strip of tape. It only set me back $21 big ones.

Other cool items from Duct Tuff include an RFID (radio frequency identification chip) blocking line of Duct Tape wallets...Stop a would-be thief by blocking the signal with the Duct Tuff Resistance Machine wallet that has a flexible metal lining that stops radio frequencies from getting through.

Gaffer Tape Wallet with a Dark Wood Print

Next Etsy stop: bowsandarrows vintage, based in Sacramento, has a slew of super fun select pieces from the retro 1950s to the nifty 1990s.

With the extra money I had left over from the killer wallet deal, I picked myself up this pretty little Sante Fe vintage number from bowsandarrows vintage, only $14 bucks.

Vintage Santa Fe woven bag

Retro Republik Finds: Santa Barbara

You know you're a retro nut when you spend your Sunday afternoon poking around town on a quest for the perfect retro floor lamp.

My first stop was our local swanky emporium, Retroville.

Retroville (512 State St.) appears to have more vintage housewares (Crosley, Bauer pottery, Moda Home linens) than the Mad Men set!

Retroville also carries women's, men's and children's clothing, shoes and accessories - both vintage and new...and vintage appliances too!

Retroville even has a cool & cleaver video to woo you into the store:

The Road to Santa Barbara

All this shopping has been famished and thinking what's for dinner.

On Craigslist: Santa Barbara I tracked this retro appetizers cookbook for only $10 bucks.

Appetizers is part of the Retro Recipes series that recreate the delicious diner offerings and sophisticated cocktails of the 1950's for a modern audience. Every recipe is illustrated with period advertisements and packed with ideas and variations on classic foods.

Appetizers include such classics as shrimp cocktail and iceberg lettuce salad with Thousand Island dressing.

Next stop, the local Goodwill store. I found this green bean for only $19.99.

Cleaned up the lamp & added a Black Martha Steward lamp shade with metallic lining from Kmart $15.99.

Tossed it all together and voila:

Beam me up...Buttercup

Recently we had a chance to spend some time at the historic Ojai Valley Inn & Spa - a serene, and beautiful retreat just 40 miles SE of Santa Barbara with our cousins.

The spa was luxurious...

the Spanish colonial rooms were rich in palette with colorful Moroccan accents...

the golf & tennis we're a blast...

...but my favorite feature of the resort was the retro Moon Beam Alarm Clock in each guest room. This 'most famous getter upper' seamlessly tied the casual elegance of the room together.

1950 Moon Beam Big Ben Alarm Clock

Over the weekend I was luck of enough to receive one of these darling Moon Beam Alarm clocks in the vintage and classic Buttercup color, from my stylish cousin Jordan...Thanks Jord!

The clocks can be purchased online or directly at the resort.

Wasting no time, the buttercup Moon Beam Alarm Clock has found its new home on my nightstand alongside my favorite blue owl bank and my sculptural jefdesigns' Legna table lamp.

New Products: Retro fresh sunburst clocks

Oras Designs' retro fresh sunburst clocks have Retro Republik seeing stars!

Each cool clock is laser cut from warm and natural walnut with the perfect dash of color. The clocks come in two shape choices:

And in one of four retro colors: turquoise, pear green, pink or orange.

History Lesson: PEZ®

According to pezcentral.com in 1927 Edward Haas came up with this new peppermint candy in Austria. The word PEZ comes from the German word for peppermint (pfefferminz). It was an adult breath mint that he decided to market as an alternative for smoking. From the word pfefferminz they took the first, middle and last letter and came up with the word PEZ.

At that time PEZ was carried around in pocket tins. Then in 1948 they came out with the "easy, hygenic dispenser" that we all recognize now to be a regular PEZ. In 1952 PEZ wanted to expand their sales so they set their sights on the U.S., to make their product more appealing to Americans. They placed heads on the dispensers and marketed it for children.

To date PEZ has made about 300 different dispensers, here's some of Retro Republik's favorites:

Check out how a Retro Republik customer turned her retro bullet planter into a swanky PEZ display table by only adding a piece of glass to the top of the planter...now that's retro with a modern twist!