Happy Birthday, Curly Wurly!

Sending big, anthropomorphic birthday wishes to Maria of Curly Wurly!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Now if you want to see some really great Valentines, then head over to Curly Wurly for some Valentines any sweetheart would be lucky to receive!

Movers and Shakers

I was recently flipping through the June 2011 issue of Martha Stewart Living and was pleasantly surprised to find this article on collecting vintage fruit and vegetable-shaped salt and pepper shakers:

Although only the first page features anthropomorphic shakers, this is still a step in the right direction. One thing I feel has been really lacking in the magazine is food with eyes. I always enjoy the collecting articles, especially when someone's unique collection is profiled. As I have not seen a food with eyes collection profiled yet, I would be happy to volunteer my collection, Martha.

Incidentally, these great shakers come from the the New York antique store Mood Indigo, which has a fantastic array of 1930s-50s kitchen and bar ware.

Happy National Watermelon Day!

Yes indeed, it's National Watermelon Day! There's still time to celebrate with the National Watermelon Promotion Board's cool mascot J. Slice:

It's worth a visit to the Board's Games and Activities page to see the fantastic coloring books available for download:

J. Slice Saves Princess Cupcake from the Downhill Sugar Slide I wish those guests came to my birthday party!

J. Slice Rescues his Friends from the Clutches of Layzee I love their TV-mesmerised eyes!

J. Slice Saves the Planet from Professor Junk Food I'm offended by the stereotypical presentation of scientists as evil in this one. I, for one, have  never tried to take over the word or even held fruits and vegetables captive over a vat of boiling chocolate (well, maybe fruits, but not vegetables).

You can also download instructions for how to grow your own watermelon. However, they are quick to point out that you'll probably only get a vine, not an actual watermelon, and if you somehow do manage to get a watermelon, it probably won't taste as good as one you would buy in a store!

So enjoy National Watermelon Day with your store bought watermelon!

Yankee Doodle Dandies

For those of you celebrating Independence Day today, here are some cookout favorites to get you in the mood:

Patriotic Hamburger and Hot Dog found at Trader Joe's

Some National Deli mustard for the hot dogs

Campfire Marshmallows for the S'mores



Note the original Campy mascot



De La Rosa Extra Giant Marshmallows



Close-up of a marshmallow roasting a smaller version of itself



Two little marshmallows frolic, unaware of imminent roasting...

A complete s'mores kit (found at Kmart)

They Call Me MISTER Shivers!

Once again, my sister Maria of Curly-Wurly has outdone herself in the anthropomorphic food gift department! On a recent visit, she presented me with the most wonderful refrigerator magnet: Mister Shivers!

At 14 inches tall, Mister Shivers is not your ordinary refrigerator magnet. He looks to be strawberry (?) soft serve, and in a common but disturbing food with eyes theme, he is about to eat a smaller version of himself. He is made by Accoutrements and has a few companions pictured on the back of his package:

Upon bringing Mister Shivers home, I had to carefully weigh the options of the best place for him to reside. We sadly have a trendy, non-magnetic stainless steel refrigerator, so he could not have the place of honor in the kitchen. I then thought about having him adorn my car:

Although I liked both the door and hood locations, I was too concerned that someone would steal him to chance it. After all, If I had seen a car with Mister Shivers on it, I would have been awfully tempted to take him. So in the end I decided he would fit best on the washing machine in my retro-themed laundry room:

Now he sits there happily among other food-themed magnets, poised to lick his chocolate cone.

Eye Candy

Here's a new crop of gumball/candy machines featuring food with eyes!

First, a variation on Nitwitz, this time with Kooky Bananas:

Next, the ominously-named Sweet Revenge Secret Flavored Candy:

Perhaps red is orange-flavored, yellow is grape, blue is lemon. Or perhaps its something much more insidious than that...

And last, this cool Limeade bubble gum guy:

I found the first two candy machines in the entryway of Best Buy. As I was taking the pictures, a big dumb guy started making fun of me! Is is really remarkable to see a 39-year-old woman taking pictures of anthropomorphic characters on gumball machines with an iPhone?? I ignored him, but later wished I had the presence of mind to offer him a Sweet Revenge Secret Flavored Candy (with the hope that it turned out to be manure, vomit, mold, rotting flesh or the like).