Virtual matryoshka haul (and more)

I love the matryoshka (aka Russian nesting doll). Put a matryoshka on anything and I will probably buy it. That's what lead me to a very thorough scouring of the internet last night. Behold, the results!

Well, first behold these fun salt and pepper shakers from a friend.

Stickers. Stamps. Fabric. A chalkboard matryoshka. Post-its. Doesn't even matter that I have neither a Kindle Fire nor a Samsung Galaxy S4 mini nor a child, these two covers (here and here) and nursery art prints are adorable. And holy matryoshka- there are even cookies!

But as everyone knows, you get on the internet to do one quick thing and three hours later, you're still planted in front of the computer. That's how I found loads of other neat stuff on Etsy.

Very cool: the ultimate Ukraine necklace.

I would so get this decal... if I had a car to put it on.

Jewelry for fans of Dostoevsky.
The flowery headdress that's popular in Ukraine on holidays, made into cute earrings.

Cyrillic Washi tape.

Badass t-shirt for a true Ukrainian patriot.

Best Ukrainian Christmas cards ever.

Meanwhile postcards, soap, kids' underwear, curtain rod rings, coloring books- all kinds of debris from the USSR has washed up on the shores of the internet. A Soviet door handle from the 1940s? A decades-old clothes hanger? Unused corks from a Soviet pharmacy? A leather bicycle seat from the 1970s? Seriously? I would really, really like to meet the person who would buy those things.

But there's definitely someone who would, taking into consideration the 250 pages of listings. I'd even probably buy a few things, like this poster harkening back to the days of the Space Race. Love it or hate it, the USSR is fascinating. It's like a modern day version of the Ancient Roman Empire. A global superpower, a military might, a state that has since passed into the history books... except the Soviet Union was so recent that no one is digging these artifacts of daily life out of the ground. For me, the most interesting thing is how memory endures- how, unlike with Ancient Rome, people my age remember living in a world where this now-vanished union of republics existed- but I digress. Back to the stuff.

Here's a slightly creepy... well... Original Soviet 'Cold War' Overcoat Wrapped Deconstructed Chair with Kalashnikov Bullet Detailing.

Vintage food tins. I want these!

22 postcards of mushrooms. Sure, you could get them, but who would you send them to?

This medal makes me sad. We have one of these here in our apartment. I took it from the Simferopol apartment the last time I was there. It belonged to D's father. Whose father did this one belong to?

A ROLL OF TOILET PAPER FROM THE SOVIET UNION. I'm speechless. And awed.

With money you can buy... money. Although I guess the proper term is collectible banknotes.

I showed D a rubber rabbit that looked like his beloved childhood toys. "Look, you can get fifteen bucks for the horse!" He glared at me. "No way. I'd never sell it, not even for thirty thousand dollars. Never." Sorry, Etsy shoppers.

What kind of online shopping/browsing do you prefer?

Any other matryoshka collectors out there? : )

Kharkiv's giant matryoshki during Euro2012.