Since 2020, stylists and designers have noted a shift from the clean and fettered Mid-Century Modern/Atomic Age style to a curated Maximalism eclectic look that mixes colors and textures, and favors collage walls, collections, and house plants. It's a boho style that has many roots to 1970s trends. Who knew my choice decorating style had a name and is now the latest thing?

And who better to inspire us for fabulous decorating than the ones who knew it best, the 1970s designers at Sears and Roebuck, purveyors of the everyday American look.

Again, thanks to Christmas.MuseTechnical.com for procuring, scanning, uploading, and making searchable these catalogs and more.

Though the year isn't quite over yet, I say thank you for another wonderful year on my Merry Mushrooms journey. Happy Holidays and best wishes for the new year!

Nearly two years ago, I explored the maker's marks, import stickers, and other bottom markings on the napkin holder. At the time, the back stamped "MA" or "MR" mark on the bottoms of many of the pieces was a mystery, though I supposed it was the original maker's mark.

Jack Buchanan tells the story that he got the idea for creating a kitchen coordinate line with mushrooms after stumbling on a patch of mushrooms in his backyard in Chicago, Illinois. But what could have been those fateful fungi? What did those real mushrooms look like?

To find the answer, I turned to my fungi books. Besides hunting for Merry Mushrooms in thrift stores and rummage sales, I'm constantly on the lookout for real mushrooms around the neighborhood and in the woods.

Not to clog this blog post with pictures of fungi, but look at all these varieties I've "collected" throughout southeastern and central Wisconsin!

The hunt for the Merry Mushrooms of our Northern Neighbors continues! Earlier this year, I snagged the 1976 Spring/Summer, 1978 Fall/Winter, 1979 Fall/Winter, and 1980 Fall/Winter Simpsons-Sears catalogs for decent prices.

Based on the catalog listings so far, the Canadian collection wasn't nearly as extensive as the US one. However, the difference in style and coloring is lovely and compliments any mushroom collection. For more on the Canadian Merry Mushrooms, see Family Album: Canadian Connections and Family Album: Meet the Canadian Cousins.

Last week, my husband, Nate, and I headed southwest from home to Branson, Missouri. Billed as the country music capitol of the U.S., we were instead lured to the area by the combined siren songs of the wax museum, the Titanic museum, many rounds of mini golf, Table Rock Lake, roadside attractions in Missouri and Arkansas, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Mansfield. It's like the Wisconsin Dells and Helen, Georgia put together.

​By our last day, the weather turned unseasonably hot, well into the 90s and humid. Looking for indoor activities to pass the hottest part of the day, we turned to our old friend, thrifting.

This is it! It's down to just two Merry Mushrooms pieces, the Ice Cooler/Stool and the Knife Block. Which one will be voted the most sought after, the most intriguing, the most unique Merry Mushrooms item for 2022? This is all in good fun, so vote away! Don't forget you can vote every day.
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Final Round voting is now closed.