So with no furthur ado, I give you the ballad of Renee and Eric:

Couple: Eric Esper, artist and Renee Posdal, executive assistant/office manager

They met one fateful night at Gold Star Bar on Division Street in Chicago. Renee was with her friend from work, Eric was with some buddies from Michigan. She noticed his handlebar mustache, he noticed her bright red shoulder length bob (thanks to Manic Panic!).  Although the union was short the first time around, a trans-Atlantic move to London for Renee, a few different relationships for each, the reunion led to a lasting relationship. They now live in Logan Square (Chicago) and share a pug named Monster.

Married October 3, 2009 in Sturgeon Bay, WI.

Dress: BCBG Max Azria

Veil: Something Bold with fascinator from Claire’s Boutique

Bracelet and Earrings: Nanda on etsy

Boutonniere: Ardesign on etsy

The shoes are the most amazing rich chocolate brown with a petite, kitten heel.  I presume these could be worn to walk to work, kept on all day and then they could carry you right into a little wine bar.  They would be adorable and appropriate at all avenues of a working gals’ day! (Sidebar: I actually was going to purchase these, but my insole is too high?  Have you ever heard of such a thing? My small block, flintstone feet stick again!?!)

Now, I could not decide between these two dresses so I chose to include them both.  The floral patterned fabrics, form fitted waists, sleeve lengths and amazing condition of both of these  numbers completed drew me in. The belted gal feels a little more work or Sunday entertaining, while the 3/4 sleeve could be dressed up for dinner or  a casual fall wedding.

I found all of these on the Etsy site for DearGolden Vintage.

Click the images to find the sale or follow her on twitter @deargolden.

So this week for Mad Men Monday, I am relying on the trusty Mod Cloth to help me out.  All the clothes I like are usually very Joan-ish.  Next week, I will try to find some Betty goods.

We have a day and night version of the same dress and then the navy number is a little of both.  It has a nice professional collar, but the short length is all about the par-tay!

I did my search for $5-$100 to keep it within Budget Retro standards.  Let me know what you think.

The first lamp would probably just look rather ordinary if you saw it a garage sale or in a cluttered shop, but the staging and great lighting and photography really feature this guy as a star!  The dark wood looks lustrous and the shape is beautiful.  Only $65!

The 50′s desk lamp–how can you not love it?  I think my favorite shade of these is avocado green, but this one is in pristine conditions and it’s just so adorable.  I am envisioning this one sitting next to my typewriter with a glass full of freshly sharpened pencils. $22 is a steal, for real.

This large lamp draws attention from it’s massive size, but the texture is really amazing.  It kind of reminds me of fruit. Is that weird?  The two-tier shade is also a nice added element for depth.  This style of shade also look pretty when it’s illuminated.

Now I obviously saved the best lamp for last.  This is the lamp that transcends all lamps!  If I actually owned a home or had a lounge or bar or really any “additional” space to entertain I would find pure entertainment out of having this large lamp fill the room.  Not only would it be a great conversational piece–but ummm…who wouldn’t want a woman’s fishnet clad leg to admire on a daily basis?  They have entire websites dedicated to buying souvenir items from the movie.  They even have the red bar of soap that Ralphie had to put in his mouth.  Hilarious!  And it’s…drumroll, please….only $99.  I am sure not everyone is in agreement with me on this one, but I like kitschy stuff in moderation.

I did some scoping on ebay to find some lovely clocks to highlight.  I tried to find clocks that had extended auctions or buy now options. Click the images to find the auction page.