Recent Acquisitions: Barbie's Dream Kitchen and Dinette and a Really Strange But True Tale

   UPDATE: Regular readers will know we are taking a trip to England soon, (A treat from Ken's sister.), so he will be off work without pay for two weeks. In view of this, and our shrinking space in the house, we have decided to sell the Dream Kitchen to help with the house payment that will be due not long after we get back from England. You can find it now on Ebay. I'll let you know what happens with it.I'll be sorry to see that tiny Corning Ware go, and I could have used that kitchen step ladder in my Dreamhouse! Oh well...
UPDATE TO THE UPDATE:The Dream Kitchen has sold. That will help alot. Thanks to the bidders!

 To start off, there are quite a few followers that have somehow slipped in without getting the traditional welcome. So, here goes. Welcome to Joyce Swanger,lollylocks,Deanreen,Allenoel,rodrigo_argentino, valerie shakhov, Marcy G, and of course, Miss L Spooky, our giveaway winner.If I've welcomed you before, you just got welcomed again. If I still missed you, send me a comment. I really wish these names showed up in my dashboard in the order you joined so I could keep track better.
  In my post updating you on what I've been doing recently I forgot to mention that I started a Flickr account a while back. So, if you are interested in seeing some of the pictures from the blog without all the yap, check it out HERE.

  Today I'm showing you an item I found at the Hospice Garage Sale a couple of Fridays ago. It's the hard to find Barbie Dream Kitchen and Dinette.

The original catalog listing for the Dream Kitchen and Dinette.

This is the paper that originally came on the Kitchen and Dinette. The picture is borrowed and I'll be happy to remove it if asked. I wanted to give you an idea of what it looked like new and with all the pieces.

It was just sitting in the driveway and I picked it up as I came up the driveway and kept on walking.
According to some of the sources I found,The Dream Kitchen and Dinette was produced in 1964,two years after Barbie's first Dream House,and the same year as Barbie's New Dream House.

Other sources say it was produced from 1965 to 1966. 

The above catalog ad says the 'toys on pages 441 through 673 can be ordered from now until September 1,1966'. I would say that means this is a 1966 catalog.or late 1965 at the latest. Of course, the Kitchen and Dinette could have been in the catalog for more than one year.  But from the look of the Kitchen and Dinette, with it's bright colours and more modern design, I would say the later date is probably more accurate.

The dining room.

 Skipper's Dream Room was also produced about the same time. Gee, these guys sure dreamed alot.
The only part of the actual structure that's missing from my Dream Kitchen is the small piece of wall to the right of the built in oven that has the fridge on it. I guess you can't have everything.In this case, no refrigeration.

There are two stools for the counter and a kitchen step ladder. I think the step ladder is my favourite piece!

All the curtains are there.

And I have all the cloth items except the tablecloth.

"You might want to put this apron on before you start those dishes."

"Thanks. Here Midge. I'll wash and you dry." There are two tea towels and an apron too.

And these three pot holders.

Two place mats and two napkins.

  These were no sew pieces you cut out yourself.
I think I also have all the furniture: kitchen table with two chairs...

  Most of the accessories seem to be here too.

The toaster really pops the toast out. The knives are real metal. I have a fork too, but the tines are broken. The cups and plate are the  same ones that were sold as part of the Barbie Go Together collection.

I also have two casserole dishes with lids...

I love these, but isn't the little one really too small for Barbie?

...and the matching coffee pot you can see way above and coming up.

...the table service for two, in blue.
There's one cooking pot you can see above and below too. I'm not sure how many originally came with the set.The green cups and telephone were also part of the Barbie Go Together line of furniture and accessories.

There's also a phone book and Barbie's cook book.

There's that coffee pot. That pink thing with holes is the open dish washer.

One of those counters where you can sit and eat or talk to the person in the kitchen.

Ok, now here's where it gets weird. Also in this kitchen/dinette were these little homemade boxes.

Some kid spent a lot of time on these. I'm wondering if they had a pattern for these, or if they were totally the kid's creation. But I digress. 'What's so weird?', you're wondering. Well, I was looking at the little boxes and I noticed there was a 'Happy Aniverseary' one.(The kid's spelling, not mine!)

Nice handwriting though. Better than mine!

Whose anniversary? (Sorry, aniverseary...) Oh, here's a box with some names on it.

Oh. Must be Barbie and Don's 'aniverseary'. Barbie and Don?! Where have I heard that before? Ahhh!!! Remember last August when I went to Salvation Army and found a Barbie's New Dreamhouse that they practically made me take home and only charged me 10 cents when I insisted on paying for it?

Well remember what I found in it?

"You are invited to our wedding tomorrow at 6:30 pm. Sincerly, Barbie and Don"

How weird is this??!! And lest you think it might not be the same kid, look at the B's and 'r's in 'Barbie' and 'Barbra' and the D in 'Don' and 'McDorm'.

The outside of the invitation.There were a couple of the old metal Barbie stands and a Skipper/Skooter stand in the Kitchen Dinette too. They must be  Barbra, Mardge and Scooter McDorm's stands!

This is so strange! I got the Dreamhouse because while I was in Salvation Army shopping somebody dropped it off and it was still outside when I came out. I happened to see it as I was putting my stuff in my van.  They were going to throw it away because it was in pieces and needed reassembled. They thought it was trash! I didn't get to the Hospice sale as soon as they opened , although I was pretty early. There were about 4 Hospice sales in that little housing development, and we went to the other three first. The Kitchen and Dinette was sitting there when I walked up and no one cared. What are the odds I would find both of these Barbie structures, belonging to the same kid, at two different places, a year apart?! Why was the Kitchen still sitting around to be donated a year after the Dreamhouse was donated to Salvation Army? Really weird! Now what I really want to know is, where are this kid's dolls?! Barbra! Mardge! Scooter! Don! Wait for me! I'm coming!

More Amazing Barbie stuff today!

  This summer has been vintage Barbie Bonanza time as far as yard sales go. I have never run across so many vintage Barbie and family dolls, stuff,and similar friends in one summer. If you read one of my earlier posts you will have seen that I found quite a few vintage dolls and clothes at a yard sale earlier this summer. I also managed to get a Deluxe Reading Dream Kitchen, thanks to a friend,a Tammy's Ideal House at another yard sale, and today I made this find:

Sorry about the plastic nudist colony.

  These dolls were waiting for me at a garage sale where I was helping the lady drag her stuff inside out of the rain. I almost missed them, but I heard her confirm to another lady that there were 'antiques and collectibles inside' on her sun porch. These guys were just inside the door. I also got a vintage Ideal Thumbelina and another older doll, some miniature baskets, a set of Krazy Ikes wooden building toys in their original box,and a couple of very cute old framed prints, which turned out to be 1959 menus from a Holland America cruise ship. I got everything for $31. The Midges are really nice, with only some minor lip rubs (I could fix that.) and hairdos needed. They have completely different skin tones.

The paler girl has super curly hair (Which makes me think she might be one of the earliest Midges.) and all her finger and toe nail paint. The other has all her finger nail paint.  Ken and Allan don't even have any hair rubs.The Tressy dolls have really nice faces. I love the dark haired one. The other one will look nice once she's dressed. She's very like the one I have from when I was a kid. The Thumbelina doesn't work, but she has her original wooden knob. I don't know who the other girl is, but I'm hoping my friend Connie can fix her up a bit. She has most of her mohair hair, and her crier still works.
  The pictures are so cute.

 
  The lady who sold them to me was an older lady, (To me, and I'm 51.) and they belonged to her mother in law, Flora. Flora wrote lovely notes which she kept with all the things she had saved over the years. The girl  picture had this written on the back.

"I think this little lassie has a guilty look---could she have swiped the flowers she is holding back of her?"

  I was very tempted to buy the napkins and tablecloth to which Flora had pinned some notes, including one detailing how she had bought 2 yards of fabric and sewed it into the set of linens in 1921, and how proud she was of her work at the time. So sweet. I wonder why her family wouldn't keep such such things.I was also tempted to buy a gift card to Flora from her husband Zeke. It had a pretty poem which I have unfortunately forgotten now.I may have Ken buy it tomorrow since he has to take back a necklace that was accidentally put in my bag. I'd go myself, but I am doing a doll show tomorrow. It's a long drive, so Ivy and I have to be up super early in the morning and we'll be gone all day. I just hope it's worth it.
  I also got something in the mail today.

  When I was a kid we had this Barbie's New Dream House. My sister gave it to me when she outgrew it, but then later she conveniently forgot she had given it to me and gave it to her first husband's nieces.It's one of the more expensive Barbie houses, so I thought I would never get one. I happened across one online recently and although it was a bit more than I would spend on myself,there were mysteries in the closet! There was only a little showing in the auction pictures, so I'm dying to see what's inside!

I'm already getting excited!

  I thought if I could sell the mystery items (I identified a couple in the auction pictures, but there are more lurking!), I might be able to pay for the house. I always loved that house, especially the sliding patio door! That was my favourite part!

The sliding door! And the handle isn't even bent on the outside!

When we made Emma a dollhouse one of the things I made sure was included was a sliding patio door! 

I'm hoping that one of these fur stoles goes to the Junior Prom dress that I spotted in the auction.

  And it  was! I think I just paid for my Dream House!

  And the good stuff just keeps coming.

I spy with my little eye Junior Prom,Enchanted Evening, Barbie in Holland,a red sheath dress,and Sophisticated Lady!

And the rest of Barbie in Holland was in the cupboard above the sink.(And the Spanish Inquisition was hiding behind the coal shed.) That's where I always keep my clothes.

Well now we know which Barbie this kid had.

I have to love the kid that owned this house. Look what they were using as a tv screen!

The Beatles card is taped to one of the original tv screens that came with the house.

  About the only thing I that can tell is missing is the base to the living room lamp, and, unfortunately, the other tv screens, including the one that made me fall in love with Larry the Lion!

Super minty Barbie in Holland, red sheath, and Skipper hat. Slight fraying on the Barbie hat.

The paper rug, which is the only piece I have left from our childhood Dream House, has no tears or dog eared edges.

  There is a bit of water damage, but mainly to the flap that will be covered by the bed when the house is set up. Set up where? I have NO idea!

  The furniture is minty. No bent chair or table legs. There's some tape on the house, but that looks like it may have been put on when they put the house together. The house seems to have been played with very little. Some of the walls and doors appear to have never been folded open.
  So I had a pretty good day!