Saturday, November 3, 2012

Vintage Phrase of the Day...


Put on the dog:  to behave in an elegant or extravagant manner

In doing some research, I came across something that said “putting on the dog” came from a colonial custom of making shoes or gloves out of dog skin.  However, it has also been suggested as far back as 1865 that the newly rich displayed their wealth by keeping pampered lapdogs.  Wherever it comes from, I think it is a dandy term, and I love to hear old people utter this phrase.  I’m going to find excuses to use it in my own vocabulary.
Another cute phrase that means about the same thing is "Putting On The Ritz".  You may remember the early 80's song by Taco, but it was done much earlier by the likes of Bing Crosby and others.  I have included a link to a cute Youtube video.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAZhHXsknd8

"Putting On The Ritz" was used in the 1920's, and named from the fancy Ritz hotels.

Monday, October 29, 2012

Costume Craze





 
Before I start a crazy week of Book Fair, being the treat person for both my kids Halloween parties, and my birthday, we had a fun weekend getaway including a costume party.  I love, love, love dressing as couples to these parties, and so does my husband.   Usually, I start trolling the internet for costume ideas in August. This year, we were a mermaid and pirate (pictured above).  We have also been Oktoberfest style and Robin Hood with Maid Marian (also pictured above) in the past.  Next year, perhaps we will be a garden gnome and fairy.  Below are several ideas for couples costumes I put together on Polyvore if you ever want to try one yourself. Happy early Halloween!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Sunday Dinner


The scent of chicken, wafting from the crockpot in the kitchen keeps bringing my children upstairs to ask when dinner will be ready.  Some days, one wakes up with extra energy and inspiration.  Today was one of those days for me.  I decided to fix a delicious Sunday dinner that we could share around the table tonight.  My mom used to make chicken and noodles often when I was a child.  It was one of my favorite meals she fixed, and I have many fond memories of sitting at the kitchen counter eating that very meal with my family after watching Growing Pains in the living room.  I called her this morning to get the recipe, but she wasn’t home.  Thank heavens for the internet.  I looked up the recipe for chicken in the crockpot, and found it on Tasteofhome.com.  Taste of Home is one of the coolest magazines ever, and I have rarely, if ever had a recipe that wasn’t simply delicious from there.  I will give them most of the credit, but the reviews said it was a little bland, so I doctored it up a bit, and I am making my own homemade noodles with my daughter to go with it.  If you want to make a heartwarming meal for your family, that cooks all day while you relax or work, the recipe is below.
First, make the noodles:
2 to 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon cold water
Directions
Mix 2 cups flour and salt in a deep bowl (for a little healthier version, I substituted ½ c whole wheat flour for ½ c of the flour). Make a well in a center of the flour; add eggs and water. Gradually mix with a wooden spoon until well blended.


<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Gather into a ball and knead on a floured surface until smooth, about 10 minutes. If necessary, add remaining flour to keep dough from sticking to surface or hands. Divide the dough into thirds. On a lightly floured surface, roll each section into a paper-thin rectangle (this took some muscle, maybe because of the wheat flour).

 Dust top of dough with flour to prevent sticking while rolling.
Roll dough, jelly-roll style. 


Using a sharp knife, cut 1/4-in. slices. Unroll noodles and allow to dry before cooking.




For the chicken and noodles, I put 4 cups water and one can cream of chicken soup in the crock pot, and mixed it.  I added ¼ cup butter, and one chopped onion.  Then I rubbed a chicken with kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and sage, and place it in the slow cooker.   Next, I put a bay leaf on each side of the chicken, and turned the slow cooker on auto(high four hours then switches to low).  It probably needs to cook about ten hours this way.  Make sure it is done when it is time to eat, food safety is nothing to mess with.  When the ten hours are up, I will take the chicken out, and take a slotted spoon to the broth to make sure there are no little bones that have escaped.  Then I will turn the heat back up to high, and when it is nice and bubbly, I will add the noodles for about 15 minutes.  During this time, cut up the chicken, and add the boneless, skinless pieces back to the crockpot.  Some people eat this on top of mashed potatoes (total naughty comfort food style).  I think I may be naughty tonight and do just that, but a green salad should make it a little less devilish.  I hope someone makes this and enjoys it, and feel free to comment about one of your favorite meals growing up.





Saturday, October 13, 2012

Vintage Word Of The Day



"Tattie Bogles"-potato scarecrows 
In Scotland, one would make a scarecrow, and use a huge potato for a face to discourage birds from eating their crops.

"Neep Lanterns"-turnip lanterns made by scooping out a turnip and cutting through the skin to create eyes, nose and mouth. A candle was then placed inside.  Does this sound familiar?  It is the original Jack-O-Lantern.

The "Neep Lanterns" and "Tattie Bogles" were often made by Scottish children around Halloween, not knowing they were carrying on the old tradition of placing skulls on poles to keep evil spirits away.



Monday, October 8, 2012

Halloween Decor and Crafts




The above pictured poison labels come courtesy of Country Living Magazine.  They have to be one of the coolest Halloween decorations ever, and you can make your own right off the website.  http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/data/1012-poison-labels.pdf  The above pictured scary apocathary only cost me the price of the ink and the stickers.  I had the jars and bottles around the house.   It was a wonderful excuse to purchase some yummy Halloween candy as well, atlthough as you can see by the Strychnine jar, my family has almost already devoured all the "poison".   The website also had the cutest craft for lace candles.  Mine didn’t turn out as well as the ones at Countryliving.com, but if you want the directions on making them, go to  http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/halloween-decoration-ideas#slide-1.  This is seriously one of my favorite Halloween issues of the magazine ever.  I love the Arsenic and Old Lace theme.  Check it out, and if you have any cool Halloween decor ideas or cool traditions, please comment below.

My haunted piano.  The vase is filled with dead rose stems.  Notice the macabre picture on the piano.  It can be printed out from Good Housekeeping Magazine online.

Some more haunted decor...

This cute little vintage ghost belonged to my beloved late grandmother...

Some evil pets I rounded up at the dollar store.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

October


Butterflies have taken up residence in my tummy with the onset of October.  Fall is my favorite season, and October is my favorite month.  It seems like fall gives one a little bit of every season.  The beginning contains the last warm summer days, and the delicious harvest of the summer veggies.  Then, the gorgeous leaves change, the air becomes crisp, and delicious spicy scents fill the air.  Of course this is my favorite part.  I love the spookiness of October (perhaps because I was born on Hallow's Eve Eve). Then, we get to experience the first silent, glittery, cleansing snow.  A good book, a hot drink, and a cozy blanket are all that is needed to enjoy that.  I don't even mind pushing the snow shovel around a bit during the first snow.  I hope you all have a lovely October.  Please let me know what season/month you love best and why in the comments.




Sunday, September 16, 2012

Goodbye to Summer Lunch


With the first day of autumn coming in a week, I decided to make a delicious “Goodbye to Summer” lunch.  Honestly, with the heat this year, it isn't so sad to have summer leave.  There were no convenience items on hand such as buns and patties, so I decided to make hamburgers and buns from scratch.  I also came up with a fun pasta salad to go with it.  There was a can of baked beans so I cheated and used them.  If you feel so inclined to have your own “Goodbye to Summer” meal, I have included the recipes.

Hamburger buns:

Ingredients

·         3 cups warm water

·         4 tablespoons molasses

·         1/4 ounce fresh yeast

·         3 tablespoons olive oil

·         8 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

Directions

1.        In a large bowl, mix together water, molasses, yeast, and oil until yeast has dissolved. Slowly add flour, mixing until a dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead until smooth, about 30 seconds.

2.        Return dough to bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing plastic wrap onto the surface of the dough. Let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

3.        Preheat oven to 400 degrees; line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Divide dough evenly into 12 pieces and roll into balls. Place balls of dough on prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart and cover with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm place until doubled in size.

4.        Fill a spray bottle with cold water and generously moisten each ball of dough (Sprinkle Poppy Seeds or Sesame Seeds if desired) Transfer to oven and bake until brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on baking sheets


The Dough rising

Ready to go in the oven


Beautiful finished buns

 

Really Good Hamburgers:

Ingredients


  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon steak sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
  • 4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
  • 8 cooked bacon strips
  • Optional toppings: lettuce leaves and tomato, onion and pickle slices

Directions


  • In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into four patties.
  • Grill burgers, covered, over medium heat or broil 3 in. from the heat for 4-7 minutes on each side or until a thermometer reads 160° and juices run clear. Top with cheese. Grill 1 minute longer or until cheese is melted. Serve on buns with bacon and toppings of your choice. Yield: 4 servings.
Here is my chopped garlic for the hamburger patties.  My hands smell so good from chopping it, I just want to eat my fingers.  Gross.
 

Penne Pasta Salad:

½ box penne, boiled and cooled

½ chopped cucumber

¼ c chopped onion

1 sm chopped tomato

1 cup mayo

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp fresh chopped basil leaves

Salt and fresh ground pepper

Mix the pasta with the mayo, sugar, salt and pepper and basil leaves.  Fold in the veggies.

I also marinated some cucumbers to go on the hamburgers.
 


Saturday, August 18, 2012

Vintage Phrase of the Day

The Bee's Knees = An Outstanding Person Or Thing/ The Height Of Excellence



Although the origins of this phrase come from the 18th century meaning something insignificant, the slang of the 1920's brought it to a new place.  Honestly, a bees knees do store pollen, therefore they are extra sweet.  People tried to make other slang phrases that didn't quite pan out.  "The Canary's Tusks", "The Elephant's Instep", and my personal favorite "The Flea's Eyebrows". "That flapper dress is simply the flea's eyebrows."  I could just hear someone saying that.  Another one that did survive is "The Cat's Pajamas".  Do you know any cute old expressions?  Please tell me in the comments.

Cleaning Time

I decided to nest for back to school by deep cleaning my children’s rooms while they were out of town.  I had no idea what I was in for.  My daughters room took 8.5 hours, while my sons took 5.  I couldn’t believe the mess that had acquired since I did it last summer.  Part of the problem is I buy them something just about everywhere we go.  It is compulsive, and it will now stop.  I couldn’t believe the mess in my daughters room.  There were dirty laundry, crayons, markers, paintbrushes (she is an artist), light brite colored pieces, legos, pieces of pretzel and tortilla chips, daddy long legs spiders and flies, dead bugs, little cut up pieces of paper, polly pocket clothes and shoes, and tons of other things hidden in the closet, behind the dresser, under the bunkbed, under her desk, ect.  I now know what she does once a week when I make her clean her room.  My son, however, never gets his room cleaned, therefore he never gets his allowance.  I now secretly wish my daughter never cleaned her room, because that was such a horrifying experience cleaning her room.  I used to get to those rooms every six months, but for some reason it took a year this time.  That will never happen again.  Nor will I ever buy my children another toy.  I’m so excited for them to come home and see their rooms.  I would like to think they will be happy, but you know how artist are(I am one, so I know personally).  I bet my son will be glad his room is finally clean, but my daughter will cringe, tear the sheets off her bed, and rearrange any cleaning I have done.  Luckily, there won’t be any dirty laundry or spiders underneath.  (For a few weeks at least).

This is my daughters atrocious room after a few hours of cleaning.

I opened the closet, and to my horror, this was inside.



This is her room after I finally finished cleaning.


My son's room was pretty messy as well.



This is how it looked when I finished cleaning.



Maybe part of the reason it took so long is I had to organize everything.  I hung thier little shirts by rainbow color.  This is before we went school shopping.  Therefore, there would be a nice clean closet to hang the new clothes.




I am so relieved to have this project done, and honestly after a few weeks, the rooms aren't too bad. I have been having them clean up every Friday for an allowance, and after they clean, I look under the bed and behind dressers to make sure the junk doesn't accumulate again.  What is the worst thing you ever found when cleaning your house or your childs room?  Please comment. 



Friday, August 17, 2012

Vintage Word of the Day

Roasting Ears = corn on the cob

Today a cute old man from our town called up my husband and said, "Would you like some roasting ears?"  My husband said, "Yes, that is so sweet."  When he hung up the phone, he turned to me and said, "What are roasting ears?  Is it corn."  I laughed and replied, "yes, it is corn on the cob."  I love the words and phrases old people say, so I decided to incorporate it into my blog.  So, today is the first vintage word of the day.  I hope you like.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Missing Grandma Lou


Today is the one year anniversary of my grandma Lou's death.  The kids and I went to visit my mother to take flowers to grandma's grave.  She got the cutest little smiley face pot with yellow flowers inside.  She said it reminded her of Grandma's cute, smiling face.  We placed the plant and said a few words, and then we went to search for my great grandparents grave.  Finding their grave was a fun adventure with my mom.  When we did finally find it, there were pretty little flowers planted there by my mom's cousin.  There were also pesky weeds that must have come up since Memorial Day.  So my mom and I weeded, and she said the sweetest thing.  She said, "It is an honor to weed the flowers in front of their grave."  We then went to lunch, and we even saw her sister.  We were able to tell her of our adventure and show her little pics I took on my phone.  I am sharing these pics with you all as well.  It should have been a sad day, but it seems like the sun was shining a little brighter after our adventure.  Although we all still miss someone, we can try to live in the little moments like these, and appreciate those we still have with us. 

Beautiful Blue Margaritas


A couple days ago, my friend from middle school came to our home town (about 20 miles away from me), and she graciously invited me to dinner at her mom’s house.  When I asked what I could bring, she said, “Just a bottle of wine.”  Well, on my counter I had a fairly cheap, yet delicious bottle of wine, but in my freezer I had the fixings for margaritas.  I texted her back, would you rather I bring wine, or my famous margaritas.  I don’t have to tell you what she said.  Anyways, we had such a blast, and we helped her mom get ready for a garage sale she was having in the morning.  At one point, we decided to sneak off and walk a few blocks to the nearest park with a swingset.  We swang and chatted, and the weather was marvelous at night.  Anyways, at one point, she asked if I had the recipe memorized, and I said yes I do.  Here is the recipe if you ever want to taste some delicious frozen summertime margaritas yourself. 

½ cup each silver tequila (get 100% agave), blue caraco, and sprite, 1/3 cup limeade concentrate, 2 cups ice.  Put in blender and blend.

I have made nonalcoholic ones for my kids.  Here is the recipe: 1 cup sprite, ½ cup limeade concentrate 1 cup ice.

I usually salt the rim, because my husband likes it, but I have used blue colored sugar or even mixed the two with a beautiful effect.



Thursday, August 2, 2012

Contest!

A wonderful blog I follow is giving away a $40 gift certificate to Fairyfiligree Vintage Fashion.  Check it out at http://www.chronicallyvintage.com/2012/07/enter-to-win-40-gift-certificate-from.html#comment-form.  Also, while you are there, follow the blog Chronically Vintage.  It is delightful, full of recipes and vintage fashion, and written so well.  If I win, I may just pick up the cute pink nighty pictured above.  What would you get?

Major Tooth Fairy Fail

Once again, I have failed as the tooth fairy.  Only this time I completely, 100% forgot to switch the tooth for the money.  In the morning, my daughter came upstairs and said, my tooth is still there.  Luckily, she already knew I was the tooth fairy.  She always jokes about it.  I still think she gets excited to see the exchange in the morning though.  Anyways, I said, "Give me the tooth."  She gave it to me, and in return I gave her the money.  It was like a little business transaction.  Epic fail.  I hope I'm not the only mom who did that.  Feel free to tell me about your tooth fairy stories in the comments section.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Little Black Dress


Although I love flowers, frills and romance, I am always intrigued by the macabre.  Every once in a while, I trade my pink dress for a black one.   I love fall, when all the colors turn, and the trees turn creepy, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and I hope to live in an old “haunted looking” Victorian house one day.  I was at a parade this weekend, and I saw the coolest old horse drawn hearse.  If I weren’t getting cremated, I would totally want to ride in one of those to my burial.  There is a city in Kansas where some of my relatives lived at one point, called Atchison.  It is supposedly the most haunted city in America.  They have haunted trolley tours that look so fun, and they even have a haunted tea party.  I tell you what, one day I am going to drive thirteen hours and spend the night in Atchison, and do all the haunted activities just for the chills and tummy butterflies.  I’m so excited to see where my relatives used to live, and check out all the cool old houses there.  Have any of you ever been to Atchison?  Do you have any real life ghost stories?  Please share in the comments.

This is the cool hearse I saw in the parade.

Gargoyle House in Atchison, KS.


The Haunted Trolley Tour


The Haunted Tea Room


My Great Grandparents who resided in Atchison


My Great-Great Grandparents who resided in Atchison


Thursday, July 26, 2012

Jammin’


As Bob Marley sang, “hope you like jammin’ too”.  Perhaps he was talking musically, but I like jammin’ in the summertime with fruit.  My sister and I have a tradition where every summer, we get together and make jam.  She lives eight hours away, so we don’t see each other very often.  Jammin’ with her is a special time to enjoy one another’s company, while doing something productive and fun.  We even made up a fun little jam dance to help the jam “set”.   Below is a picture of my sister doing the Jam Dance.  Sometimes we laugh so hard, I just about pee my pants.  Unfortunately this year, we weren’t together in a location with a stove, so the Jammin’ didn’t take place.  I decided to make jam anyway in honor of my sis, after seeing her last week.  Although it was bittersweet without my sister, I did have some help from my two precious children.  I also took a pic of me doing the jam dance without her (shown below).  My sister may not have been there, but, hopefully,  she will smile when she receives a package in the mail containing her jam.




If you want to make the jam I made last night, buy a package of Sure Jell powdered pectin and about 4 cups of your desired fruit.  The pectin has the instructions inside for cooked jams and jellies.  I did the blueberry last night, but I did substitute some rhubarb and strawberries for part of the blueberries.  They all go well together.  I sanitize my jam jars and lid rings in the dishwasher, then I dry them thoroughly.  I boil the sealing lids and dry them before using them.  When the jam is done cooking, I put it in the sanitized jars wipe the lids, and invert them.  They seal that way, and you don’t have to process them.
Whoops, I dropped a blueberry....don't worry, this won't go in the jam.
My lovely assistant helping pick out the stems.

 cooking and smashing
 Inverted jars

Do you have any fun summer traditions with family or friends?  Please comment.