Build It Yourself, or, How Mister Hit the Jackpot...

On a recent antiquing jaunt, my Mister was lucky enough hit the jackpot!

I'd recently heard about Iroquois Antiques & Collectibles in Bainbridge, NY and thought it sounded worth the trip. What a fun multi-dealer shop! And what an amazing array of vintage, antiques, and collectibles - just about anything you can think of!

Iroquois Antiques & Collectibles, Bainbridge, NY

Well, we weren't too long in the place when my Mister discovered a treasure trove of Popular Home Craft magazines... all from the 1930s, no less... and only $1.50 each! 

 Of course, he ended up buying all twenty-two issues.

Along with the brightly-colored covers, the magazines contain all sorts of do-it-yourself projects. Here is a sampling from the March/April 1934 issue... including building your own travel trailer and wiring a doll house for electricity!

What's your favorite "vintage jackpot" experience?

Grandma's Thanksgiving Dinner...

As I was perusing my November 1938 and 1939 Good Housekeeping magazines recently, I thought it would fun to put together a "Thanksgiving dinner" using the old-timey advertisements and photos. Something that struck me while in the process of choosing my menu items was that some of the brands available to Grandma in the 1930s are still available today. Do you recognize or use any of these?

First, we must find recipes in the Settlement Cookbook ("the way to a man's heart").


Now, don't forget to season your stuffing before you put it in the bird at 5:00 am!

Ah, who can resist the lovely jewel-like glow of cranberry sauce?

And don't those niblets look nummy?

Turkey in the straw? No, turkey on the table.


To keep your turkey from trotting off the platter, you might want these anchor carving pins.


Do you suppose he's got anchor carving pins? Or is he just that good?


It MUST be true, because Flako's got the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval!

Speaking of pie... my favorite is good old-fashioned pumpkin, but the one shown here with Brazil nuts sounds interesting. What's your favorite?

Well, I don't know about you, but I feel stuffed! And I keep humming "Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother's house we go"....

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Few of My Favorite Fall Things...

One of my favorite vintage magazine covers includes a few of my favorite fall things...

McCall's, September, 1944

...going to an orchard for apples and cider, seeing the sky a shade of blue that only happens in autumn, having a fun fall outing as a reason to wear cute overalls and braids.

This weekend, my mister and I will be off on our annual October excursion for apples, cheese, maple syrup, and hopefully a bit "leaf-peeping" (see this post about our swell lunch stop on last year's trip). At the moment, the fall foliage isn't too fabulous in this area. The recent rain knocked most of the leaves off the trees that had already turned, but I must say, I'm still hopeful.

Our autumn excursion always includes stops at Jayne's Orchard, LeRaysville Cheese Factory, and Back Achers Farm, as well as an interesting lunch spot. In past years, we've sometimes just stopped at a roadside rest to enjoy a snack of apples, cheese, and cider. Yum!

One of my most favorite fall things is seeing the asters in bloom. I love the purple petals with the yellowish-orange center. Here's one of the spots in my yard where I have asters blooming even as we speak...

Hope you're enjoying this autumn season too, wherever you may be!

What's on your coffee table?

Here's a fun thing I like to do that you might enjoy too...

At the end of each month, I pull a stack of the next month's magazine issues from my vintage magazine collection and display it on the coffee table. There's usually a range of years - anywhere from the 1920s to the 1950s. The great thing about this is that I can browse at my leisure through the magazines looking for recipes, decorating ideas, fashions, hairstyles, or interesting stories that are appropriate to the particular time of year. Why, this past Christmas, I found a fabulous recipe for Cherry Pinwheel Cookies in a December 1958 issue of Household Magazine - and were they a hit!


With Valentine's Day fast approaching, it's a good thing there's no end of recipes for delicious-looking desserts in these vintage February issues. Now if you can get past the love stories and complexion enhancer ads, this Woman's Home Companion from February of 1947 has all sorts of delectable cakes, cookies, cupcakes, and even a Pineapple Cheesecake recipe. Often the recipes are courtesy of an advertiser encouraging you to use their product because it's better than the rest, but in this particular issue there's a "Light and Lovely" 2-page spread with such delights as Quick Silver Cake, Fudge Cake, and Jeweled Cupcakes.
















Now, the cake I absolutely must make is this Sweetheart Valentine Cake....


...because I'm pretty sure I'll get the same results as our blonde Valentine's Day heroine here: "I feel a kiss coming on!"

This cake recipe is from a Spry Pure Vegetable Shortening advertisement. Apparently the cake will be lighter and more delicious when you use Spry. Unfortunately, I don't believe it is still available, so it might not turn out the same using a different shortening. Egads! The cake will be heavy as lead and taste like cardboard. Maybe I'd better pass on making this one since I don't have any Spry - so I probably won't feel a kiss coming on ;)




Speaking of whether products available then are still available now...


Here's one you'll recognize: Avon! I find it fascinating to see just how old some companies are. This same Woman's Home Companion issue from 1947 has ads for Windex, Pepto Bismol, Kraft Velveeta, A-1 Steak Sauce, Midol, French's Mustard, Vick's VapoRub, and V-8... to name just a few that still exist today.
















And then there are the stories. For a half hour's diversion, you can't beat a short story, novelette, or serial installment from a vintage magazine. In some cases, you'll find a complete novel, as in this 1935 issue of Cosmopolitan.
















Oh, and let's not forget the articles - always timely and informative! Interestingly, vintage magazine article topics really don't differ much from the article topics of today's publications. People still have the same basic concerns about such subjects as weight, appearance, parenting, aging, celebrities, and relationships. The philosophy may change from time to time, but I've found that, oftentimes, how we're advised to handle such topics has pretty much come full circle.




Now, see how much fun this can be?! That old-timey stack of magazines on your coffee table or in your magazine rack simply adds to the overall charm of vintage living.

Oh, and do have a Happy Valentine's Day!