Fisher Price Friday - Goldilocks and Three Bears Playhouse

Today on Fisher Price Friday I'd love to share one of my new favorite Fisher Price sets.  Made between 1967-1971 Goldilocks and Three Bears Playhouse #151 is a lovely little set.  It of course is the familiar children's story about Goldilocks visiting the Bear Family but it also has other fun features like a shape sorter and various clacking/clicking sounds.

The plastic and wooden house base included 4 figures and a plastic key attached by a cord.  The figures are the three bears (Papa, Mama and baby) as well as Goldilocks.  Goldilocks is the same little girl FP piece used in many other FP sets but the bears were exclusive.  

The have shaped bases (triangle, circle and square) that fit in the shape sorter roof as well as on lithograph spaces inside the house.  The pieces had wooden bases and plastic heads, except for Goldilocks which came in a wood/plastic or wood/wood combo depending on the year.

Each side of the house is covered in lithographs.  These lithographs are often torn and worn due to age.  Fortunately mine are still intact and bright.  

The shape sorter side of the roof has a square, triangle and circle hole for each of the bears to fit in.  They can also fit in the chimney on top.

The lock/key side of the roof has a space for the big yellow plastic key to fit in.  When you turn the key around it makes a clicking sound!  This side of the roof is the one that lifts up to show the inside of the playhouse.

One end of the playhouse has the sweet "face".  With big blue eyes, bushy eyebrows, a red button nose, rosy cheeks and a slight smile this is a very pleasant house indeed.  When the yellow (key) cord is pulled the house makes a ding sound and the eyes move up and down.

The opposite side has the front door with a welcome mat and a garden of flowers on each side.  You can also see the little green wooden porch base.

This set is just the right size for my little 3 1/2 year old.

Now to move inside the house.  There is one room with a built in table and lithographs on the floor, one wall and the table top.  The wall lithograph shows the Bear's bedroom, a broken chair (baby's) and a picture of "Paw".

The table is set just as the Bear Family left it and after Goldilocks helped herself to Baby's portion.

The Bears each have their own shape to rest on that matches their color/shape as well as the color of the bowls on the table.

My daughter loves this set, so fun to be able to act out the original story as well as other imaginative (and a little noisy) play. :)

Fisher Price Friday - Meet Lucky

If you love vintage Fisher Price this dog will look familiar. He's Lucky aka Fido, the family dog and friend.  Meet Lucky was published by Little People Books/Marvel Books in 1987.  He is one of four large Little People (board) Books.  The other three books were Meet Penny, Meet Timmy and Meet Baby.

Meet Lucky introduces Lucky and describes a day of adventure as Penny and Timmy prepared for his birthday celebration.

With sweet illustrations and reinforced "board" book pages this is a perfect story for little hands.

For more information on Meet Penny and Meet Timmy go here.

Yummy Antioxidant Green Smoothie Recipe

Last week my family once again had another plague in the house, this time in the form of influenza.  While I took care of my girls I worked hard to avoid getting their virus myself!  I did this with the basics (washing my hands, cleaning surfaces) but also by eating powerful nutrient rich foods and beverages.  

A favorite cousin of mine emailed me a yummy green smoothie recipe full of good nutrients and I gave it a try!  I made a couple changes to work with ingredients I had on hand, but it was pretty close.  I found it a tasty meal replacement and I could just feel my body absorbing the flu-fighting ingredients! :)

So far so good, no flu for me!

Antioxidant Green Smoothie Recipe (1 Serving)

1 cup kale (no stems),
1/2 cup coconut milk & 1/2 cup water (or 1 cup unsweetened coconut water)
1 frozen banana
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp almond butter

Mix it all up in the Vitamix (or blender) and enjoy. Simple. Good.

Be well!

Sick Days

My blog has been quiet the last week as I've been taking care of sick kids.  Between medicating, soothing, cuddling, dr visits, drug store pick-ups and laundry (yuck!) I didn't have time to share any new recipes or fun facts.  Ha!

I have had lots of time with my girls and they've enjoyed (sort of) the many many many hours of video watching which is a treat even when you're feverish and feeling icky.

So far I've stayed healthy but with these two coughing directly on me I'm not sure how long that will last.  I'm drinking lots of antioxidant smoothies, spreading on essential oils and trying to get lots of sleep.

Hope your family is healthy too!

For more info on the Fisher Price Children's Hospital #931 go here.

Fisher Price Friday - Pull-A-Long Lacing Shoe

It's time to start the new year with a new (old) Fisher Price toy.  This week it's the Play Family Pull-A-Long Lacing Shoe #146.  Made from 1970-1975 this rolling shoe was a shape sorter with a few fun tricks.

The red, yellow, blue and white shoe is made of plastic with a wooden base and plastic wheels.  It should have a red/white or blue/white lace up the front.  My lace is missing as is common in many used sets.  It also came with a yellow plastic pull in the front, typical of other pull sets.

The family included 4 children, a mother and the uniquely shaped dog.  The children were two yellow triangles; a girl with a smile and a girl with a frown and two red squares; a boy with a smile (and no hair) and a freckled boy with a smile.  You will notice that I have two of the same red boys rather than a red boy without freckles.

It can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between girls and boys, the girls had "ribbons" on the top of their otherwise bald heads that look a lot like curly hair.

The original set (1970-1973) came with people that had wooden heads and bodies.  My set has a few of each as seen in the photos.  The Lucky dog is special and was always all wood.  He has a lovely black circle/bell shaped base and a white head.  The last figure is the mother, who was all wood originally then changed to a plastic head.  However, note that she should be wearing glasses which makes her resemble a grandmother more than a mother despite her original description as "mom".

The shoe had shapes painted in the front opening for each shape to correspond with.  The squares, triangles and circle sit on top while the mom sits inside a hole.

Around the sides and back of the shoe are marvelous lithographs of the mother and her children.  If you look closely you can also see a black and white spotted dog, the same pull-a-long shoe toy, kittens, a squirrel, birds, two children holding hands and a boy riding a tricycle.  

Each side also has shaped holes for the corresponding figures to fit into.

Lithographs on this toy tend to be pretty beat up and often missing completely.  Because of the curve of the shoe they are easily torn and worn during play.  My Pull-A-Long Lacing Shoe is typical of wear for a toy this age.  They are often missing people, laces, pulls and lithographs!

This was not the first shoe play set from Fisher Price, it was actually the third and final in the series.  

To check and see if my shop has a Pull-A-Long #146 for sale go here.

For more Fisher Price Pull Toys Check Out:

Happy Little Helicopter #498

Queen Buzzy Bee #444

School Bus #192

Little Snoopy #693

Chatter Telephone #747

Milk Wagon #131

Bossy Bell #656

Jolly Jalopy #724

Magnetic chug chug Train #168

My New (Easy At Home) Mocha Obsession

Over Christmas break I was taught the most marvelous way to make mocha (or hot chocolate) at home.  I had brought my 7 Minute Fudge recipe for a holiday get-together and one of my neighbors informed me that a square of my fudge would be perfect for hot-chocolate.  

Since my recipe is only chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, butter and heavy cream (yum) it melts with ease and creates the most delicious mocha flavor in my coffee.  Oh my it is good and oh so easy in my Keurig!

Directions
Brew Coffee
Add fudge square (start small around 1 inch square and add more as needed)
Stir
Enjoy!

I also add a little steamed milk to make it extra creamy.

So go make some 7 Minute Dark Chocolate Fudge and give it a try! :)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!  We're excited about 2015, lots of new (old) toys to play with. :)

Playing around with our School Days Play Desk #176.  I have one for sale in my Etsy shop right now if you want to play too!

This Christmas my girls received some great vintage toys.  The #969 Musical Ferris Wheel, #2455 Gas Station, #151 Goldilocks and the 3 Bears Playhouse (my favorite!!), #347 Indy Racer Set and the #125 Music Box Iron.

A couple toys needed some lithograph help and thanks to CarrieKsToyBox (on Etsy) they are (or will be) looking good as new for my girls. :)

Happy New Year.  May 2015 be filled with lots of Fisher Price, Family and Fun for you too!