Happy 7th Birthday Big Pile of Stuff!

Today, July 30th, is the 7th birthday of this, the Big Pile of Stuff blog. For the first few years, I made all kinds of fun graphics for the special occasion, but then the last few years, I have actually forgotten about the day completely. Today, I wanted to to acknowledge 7 years, but I was kinda lazy, so I have just recycled one of my favorite graphics from a previous birthday. I love this one because it looks so much like something you would see on Sesame Street, with the large foam letters on sticks parading around their apartment.
As a special thank you to those of you who actually read this, I will be having a cool giveaway in a few days, so keep your eyes peeled for my next post.

Little Golden Book Monday #175

Today's Little Golden Book is Disney Planes based on the upcoming Disney animated movie of the same name. I saw some previews of this movie about a year ago and thought it looked very much like a direct to DVD film, but that didn't stop me from picking up the book, and I'll be there on August 9th for opening night of the film. At least this book has me a little more interested in seeing the film.

Denny's Celebrating 60 Years Retro Style Menu

I love collecting ephemera, and restaurant menus are a favorite of mine. They are something you see all the time, but you don't generally have the opportunity to add them to your collection which for me makes them all the more desirable. Yesterday when we visited our local Denny's I noticed they still had their very cool celebrating 60 years menu. Denny's seems to change their menu more often than other restaurants, so I figured they may be close to getting rid of these ones. I took a chance and asked our server if I could have one. She seemed very surprised that I would ask, but thought it was very cool when I told her that I collect menus. She went and asked her manager, and a few minutes later she came back and handed me this menu. It has now joined my small but very cool collection of menus. My favorite being the Disneyland Hotel's Monorail Cafe which sadly no longer exists.
Here are the photos of all the pages of the menu. It is filled with lots of great Denny's trivia such as "It began with a donut stand and a promise. Denny's made its start in Lakewood, California in 1953 as a donut stand called Denny's Donuts. The owner, Harold Butler, started his business with this commitment: "We're going to serve the best cup of coffee, make the best tasting food, offer the best value and stay open 24 hours a day." In 1959, the 20-location chain was renamed Denny's Restaurants to avoid confusion with another chain, Doughnut Dan's.
Today, with over 1,700 restaurants in 10 countries, we're committed to keeping that original promise - from our new, better-tasting coffee to our ever-expanding menu of American diner classics. We're America's diner. And we'll continue to serve our guests with the same emphasis as Harold Butler did some 60 years ago.