Hershey's Cookbooks Again, And An Old Find

I have written before about these Hershey's Cookbooks,  back in this post and this one.
But my new thrift store find, a hardcover edition, was "revised and expanded" in 1992, and the best thing about it (for me) is that it has fifteen brand new photos, not used before in either of their previous editions.

The thing I like most about all three of these is that the photos were styled using almost exclusively all wonderful old and antique dishes and props.
Here's one of my favorite examples:

Cookbooks with photos inside of vintage dishes and kitchenware are my favorite kinds! (Mary Engelbreit's gorgeous cookbooks that were published from 1998-2003 have the same sort of vintage stuff in the photographs, too. You should check them out, if you've never seen them. They are great books.)
The one you see below was printed in 1982, and it had some eighteen new photos that were unique to the edition, as well:

 In this one, we have an old radio, vintage glass candle holder, Tom And Jerry mug and punch bowl:

 In the next one , gorgeous cobalt blue depression glassware and a wonderful tablecloth:

The 1982 book had chapters to take you through the decades, up to and including the start of the 80's and on the page below, you see some cool 1970's canisters:

 Oh, how I would have loved to have been a photo stylist for a cookbook like these!
Lord only knows I have enough props, with all of my collections!
Now, to get to the rest of this post: my favorite picture in my newest book was this one.......

.....  partly because it features my all-time favorite type of vintage kitchen table (the search for which has, thus far, eluded me) - the fabulous red and white enamel-topped table.
But also because of that canister you see sitting on the table. Not the big glass one - though it's certainly a nice one, but the other one - the little covered grease jar.
You see, I had found the one just like it, shown below, very recently at a thrift store. Tina has collected these for years, she has a number of full sets including the shakers.
I just happened to have found this one just like the one in the photo, although the red is faded somewhat.
It was super-cheap, considering that it is, after all, very, very old.

Actually, it's only from the 1940's, but Tina and I have a running joke about things being "very, very old", based on something we saw in a shop years ago.
 These Vitrock range sets were made by Anchor Hocking in the early forties. (Complete sets of the six different colors/patterns are shown on page 182 of Gene Florence's book "Anchor Hocking's Fire King And More".)
 We saw a "set" of these types of canisters/shakers (mind you - Tina knew all about them, she'd been collecting them for years) at an antiques store along Highway 49 probably 20 or 25 years ago. The "set" of three items being sold together did not even match. All three were different patterns. NOT a set, by any means. And the person who was selling them had a completely ridiculous price on them, with a little note added, indicating that they were "Very, very, old." Just to make sure you knew that, you see. As though that explained the price. And yet, the person didn't indicate what decade they were made, nor give any further information. This was back before eBay was popular. Well, I'm sorry, but they were not worth anywhere near the asking price on the tag, and we had a good laugh about the description (not out loud, not while we were in the store, we aren't that rude).
So anyway, many years later, and only about 20 miles down the road, I came across this one in a thrift store.
Goodness sakes, can you even imagine?
I mean, if they were "very, very old" back then, they are now very, very, VERY old! (So, they must be worth a VERY high price, right? LOL! )
And I got my little old Vitrock grease jar for $1.29.
So there.

Bernice Stapleton, A Very Talented Artist

I found this gorgeous original flower painting on wood at a thrift store a few weeks back (luckily for me, on a half-price day):

Believe it or not, I recognized the artist immediately, even though I had seen her work only once before.
Because I  also remembered her name.
 You see, I had found this mixed media painting three years ago, at another thrift store about 75 miles away in another town:

I thought it was beautiful too.
Unfortunately, I sold it. Not because I didn't like it or didn't want it, but because I did not think I had a place for it.
Bernice Stapleton, you certainly do/did beautiful work!

I admire her talent. In fact, I became so fascinated after finding this second painting, that I searched online and found a few more examples of her artistry:

Sorry this last photo is so blurry - that's how the online image is of this crocus painting. It's for sale right now on eBay for $130.00. Love it, but I'm glad my find cost much less than that!

Lovely paintings, all.
Now, what in the heck am I going to do with this latest find?
(Because I am kind of kicking myself for selling the first one!)
Try to find a place for it, Heidi.
Try real hard.

Finds Made Of Fabric Or Fibers

Today's post is all about soft goods - you know, textiles and linens and such.
We'll start with these pretty handmade coat hanger covers.
 I found padded hangers in baby blue satin that coordinated perfectly with them.
 Oh, and that's a fabulous vintage sheet underneath them:

I found a crocheted pillow cover in avocado green and harvest gold. So very 70's:

I found a nice little handmade handbag in navy blue:

I think the gorgeous vintage fabric that lines the inside is the best part:

Pom-pom trim in hot pink and green (couldn't resist it), skirt pins, and other assorted trims:

A pillow that is truly a work of art in stitchery.
It is in need of repair, (and also a new backing), but it was very inexpensive and I think it's so unusual and cool.
 It is another example of that sort of "Somebody put a LOT of work into this." type of item.
 I want to give it some attention:

More vintage sheets and pillow cases; I can never seem to pass up bright florals like these:

 I especially like the flowers on this one:

And this last one is a midcentury bark cloth remnant in a wonderful riot of greens.
 I think there's enough for a pillow:

It's so striking, it deserves to be made into SOMETHING!

Placerville Banners on Main Street

The banners are back on Main Street, Placerville. Or so I have heard. I haven't gotten down there to see them yet, but wanted to share a photo of my favorite.  The grizzled miner with the poppies in the background below was voted second place. It was painted by Galen Ramos.

It is entitled "49er". I love it!
Come visit and see all the great banners. We have a bunch of talented people around here!

The Perfect Gift

My husband's birthday was this past weekend. He is notoriously difficult to buy gifts for.
He doesn't really need anything, and the things he WANTS, he just buys for himself.
 So I have a hard time.
 But this year, I managed to surprise him with something I KNEW he would like!
This t-shirt from Disneyland, with the Disneyland Railroad on the front:

I had been lamenting the fact that you are really hard-pressed to find much of anything at Disneyland that features the Railroad (pins, anything) so when I saw on Facebook that they were coming out with this shirt, I jumped on it!
It was not available when I was there back in November.
 I pre-ordered it and waited, knowing it would arrive in plenty of time for his birthday.
Yes, he loved it.
Of course, his birthday celebration always includes his favorite meal, and this year was no exception - homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu:

 I can't seem to make them smaller; neither of us even finished it. That's all right - we love leftovers in this house!

 This year, rather than his fave German Chocolate Cake, he asked me to make German Chocolate Brownies again, like I did last year.
The easy brownie recipe is from this book:

 And then I just make the Coconut Pecan Frosting for the top...

It seems appropriate that I should bake and store them in this vintage aluminum baking pan that has been here in the house he grew up in for probably 50 years or more:

They made for a pretty yummy birthday dessert!

A Vintage Find For Memorial Day

Celebrating Memorial Day with this gorgeous find:

A pillow cover, found recently at a thrift store,
which features a beautiful embroidered flag
 and these three little words:

"Forget Me Not"......

.....and we will NOT forget - to remember to honor those men and women who gave their lives in service to our Country.
Thinking of them on this day of remembrance.

What's Penny Wearing? #103 Mad Men Style Slinky Sexy Maxi

Penny is looking pretty good in this long vintage dress I found at an estate sale:

I think Megan Draper could totally rock this slinky, sexy, dress, made in a soft knit:

It has slits on the sides up to there:

I love the colors and the pattern of the fabric:

It's a good one:

Zips up in the back:

Maxi length and oh, so sleek and stylish:

I like it with this vintage necklace, too:

Nice.
This season's last episode of Mad Men airs tonight. 
I am looking forward to it.
But then after that, we have to wait months and months to see the final episodes of the series.
 I don't like that part!

Patterns From The Past: Butterick 3551 And Lori's Embroidery

Today's pattern is an embroidery transfer pattern from the 1970's, with model Bonnie Lysohir on the front.
I found it at a thrift store, and when I showed it to Lori, she said from across the room ,
 "Oh, I had that one.
 Does it have a palm tree on it?".

Why, yes - yes, it does.
 You can see it on the young man's jeans, above.
 And also here:

She had done the palm tree design in embroidery on the back of a long-sleeved denim shirt back in the seventies.
I had borrowed some shoes from her while I was at her house, and when I went to put them back into her closet (she was no longer home at that point), I saw the shirt hanging in her closet!
 So I took this picture to share with you:

Pretty, isn't it?
Here is the back of the pattern - the one I found:

I think Lori still has hers, too.
I think it's pretty cool that she still has the shirt.
I embroidered the back of a denim shirt back around the same time. I showed you the iris I did back in this post.
My shirt was worn until it literally fell apart.
But I saved my embroidery - I worked hard on that!

Russian Nesting Dolls All Over

I found this pretty (and very large) scarf with Russian nesting dolls in the fabric design at a thrift store when I was on my way over to see my sisters in Placerville the last time:

And then at my next stop up the road a bit, I found the little set of nesting dolls:

Cute, huh?
The scarf is huge, really - it's big enough to use as a tablecloth over a small table. I just thought it was funny that I found them on the same day, as I don't often  find nesting dolls at thrift stores, and I've never even seen a scarf with them on it.
 Oh - and it was half-price-day everywhere I went that day, too!
That's always nice.

Great Finds

Popping in today with some more of my recent thrift finds.
 Let's start with this fabulous cheese board,  from Arabia,  made In Finland - and found at the Waste Management store!
As in: somebody threw it away!
 Golly gee, SO glad I was able to rescue this beauty:

I found this sweet set at a thrift store that usually does not yield anything too great - two canisters and two mugs that match, lovely little ladybugs:

And I got this little cutie (from Maddux of California) another bird for my collection. Now I have to make room for him in my curio cabinet! I can do it.....

I have seen lamps just like this one in the pages of my vintage Seventeen Magazines, so I was excited to find this!

It still has a working light bulb inside that's from the 70's! I had never seen one like it before so I "Googled" it, only to discover that they were made from 1977 through the early 80's:

 Either this lamp wasn't used much over the years, or the claims about these bulbs being long-lasting are totally turtle true!

Made by Westinghouse. I just think it's cool that it was still working.
This wall decoration below may be plastic, but I think it's very nice-looking:

Two vintage recipe boxes, one has the "Spice Of Life" motif from vintage Corning Ware, or at least the design is similar:

This next one is my favorite, though. A big, beautiful green glass canister.
It was sitting in a weird place - with the Christmas stuff, which some people barely give a second glance at this time of year.
Good thing I look at everything, and I'm sure glad I spied it before anyone else got it:

Some flower power found it's way into the mix, too. A pair of casserole dish baskets, a single glass tumbler, and a nice set of four salad or dessert plates:

One more thing - a sweet little set of salt and pepper shakers from Avon:

Perhaps you will agree with me that this is a nice selection of items!
They're certainly colorful, to say the least.