Saturday, January 29, 2011

Something in PINK!


Something in PINK!

A pretty doily.




The doily sits on top of my Mom's jewelry box.  I bought the jewelry box as a gift for my Mom years ago.  It holds some of her costume jewelry.  

I always thought my Mom was very pretty..she was slim and tall at 5 foot 6 inches (3 inches taller than me).  She had the prettiest blue eyes (...I have my Dad's brown eyes) and thick wavy hair (...I have my Dad's thin hair).  And, oh, my...thin ankles to die for!  She looked great in high heels.   

And my Mom loved, I mean LOVED, to dress up.  

She would fuss for hours in her bedroom going through clothes and jewelry.   Clothes for work the next day were selected the night before.  And she never left the house without looking good.   I was so proud of her.  

My Mom as a young teenager with three of her four sisters.

Left to Right:  Aunt Vee,  Aunt Helen, Aunt Rita and my Mom (Dorothy).

Mom was the youngest of the five girls.    She married at 17 probably just a few years after this photo was taken.

But that's not all of the kids.  Mom had three brothers too...one older and two younger.  I loved her family.  We had a ball at family get togethers.   Sadly all are gone now except for one brother.      

My Mom started to work when I was around 7 - 8 years old back in the years when moms traditionally stayed at home.   There weren't many conveniences for working moms back then (no microwaves...LOL) and no concessions at work.  You had to show up or you were fired.  Women dressed up for work...pretty dresses, girdles (which she didn't even need), garter belts, nylons and high heels very day.   Think MAD MEN fashion.   

Unfortunately her daughter (that's me) went through a period of long straight hair and wearing blue jeans for every occasion much to her dismay.  But she still loved me...blue jeans and all.            

People didn't eat out back then...restaurants were too expensive.  Mom fixed a meal for us every evening after her long commute home from work including a nice roast beef dinner on Sundays.  We all sat down together at the kitchen table for our meals.  She worked hard at home too making sure we had a clean home to live in.   As a grown woman I understand the sacrifices she made to provide a good, clean, healthy environment for her husband and three children.   It wasn't all hard work Mom was fun to be around too...we loved to play games with her. 

In this age of very casual dressing it's fun to look back to see when dressing up was important and defined a person's character.     




Welcome to Beverly's Pink Saturday .  Click on her link to see more PINK!




14 comments:

  1. Love your post! What a beautiful doily too! Sometimes I wish we still lived in those days, but I love my microwave too much & am thankful I don't have to wear high heels everyday! haha. :)

    Hope you're having a fabulous Pink Saturday!!
    Sheri :)

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  2. So your mom could have been a "Mad Men" hottie! This is a sweet post. Thanks for sharing, Sandy, and the pink doily is so pretty. Are the flowers tulips?

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  3. Hi Sandy,
    Happy Pink Saturday! Your mom sounded like a lovely lady; a real heroine to me! She did it all! I enjoyed hearing about her. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your weekend.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  4. What a sweet post about your Mom Sandy. Women sure worked hard in those days didn't they. Working all day then coming home and doing all the work in the house and cooking too. Gosh cooking is such a chore I know I do it twice a day now making meals as we cannot eat anything prepared as it probably has grains in it. I run the dishwasher once a day now with all this cooking something your Mom did not have an option to do.

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  5. I absolutely love this! Great post! Sandy, I have a polkadot dress almost exactly like the one in the photo, it's navy blue with white polkadots. I wear it. :) Love the photo too and the memory you shared.

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  6. What a sweet tribute to your mom, Sandy. And I so agree that our mom's sacrificed so much to nurture their family and to make sure we were well cared for and all our needs were met. She sounds like a dear soul. Thanks for sharing and I love your doily ... very pretty.
    ~ Lynn at www.cottageandcreek.com

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  7. Absolutely beautiful.I remembers those days.Thank all those moms who make those sacrifices.
    ENJOY!
    Jany
    Don't forget to "Look in the Nook"

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  8. My mom was like that also. What sweet memories you have.

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  9. Oh, so pretty. Your are getting so fancy with your font and all. You have to share with how you did this... Always a treat to stop by.

    kate

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  10. What a sweet post about your mom. Women really did used to dress like ladies, not so much now. I know I'd much rather be in comfy clothes than all dressed up. Saw your previous post and can't believe all the snow! Checked your profile and saw that you live in PA so y'all are probably used to that. I live in the deep South so no snow for us, although we have had a really cold winter.

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  11. What a beautiful post!! The doily is beautiful. I love them too. And your mother is gorgeous!! She sounds like a true lady. Today we don't see that much anymore. I'm guilty of it too. I let the everyday life overwhelm me and buy McDonald's or some fast food. I do make sure all the dishes are clean before going to bed. One thing I am proud of is the fact that no matter what we are having we do all sit down and the table and eat together. You just can't replace those moments! Thanks so much for sharing!
    -April

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  12. I love that story.
    I had a wonderful, hard working mom too.
    The doily is beautiful - one of the prettiest I've ever seen. Really.

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  13. Reminds me of my Mom and her family. So fun to read about yours.

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  14. Your Mom reminds me of my grandmother :-) Ironically I wanted to tell you that that my grandmother had the EXACT SAME jewelry box where she kept her costume jewelry. It now sits on a dresser in my bedroom and I got a little misty reading your post about your Mom :-)

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