This Vintage Chica

Back-to-School Book Week: Cookbooks!

Sorry this post is up a bit later than I had hoped...but behind the scenes, we are preparing for what has the potential to be a pretty nasty hurricane.

But on the front side...It is still Back-to-School Book Week!

And to day the book subject is cookbooks.

Favorite Old Stand By:

Better Homes and Gardens, New Cook Book (1996).  My copy is so worn out it lost its spine cover several years ago.  But everyone knows its a BH&G with that red and white checked cover.  I have an even earlier copy (1975) that I picked up at a thrift store that is taped together with duct tape.  I have a feeling these cookbooks are lots of people's old stand-bys.

Favorite New Purchases:

The River Cottage Family Cookbook I love this cookbook!!!  I love everything about it.  I love the gorgeous photos!  I love how the pages feel in your hands.  I love that all of the recipes are fairly easy and are family focused.  I love that they include little tips here and there for substitutions, omissions, little educational tidbits here and there.  Love this cookbook!

Mad Hungry:  Feeding Men & Boys by Lucinda Scala Quinn.  I first picked up this cookbook for the title alone.  As a woman living with 4 boys (1 being my husband who can eat an entire chicken in one sitting) I was interested right away.  This book contains simple (but very hardy) meals that will "stick to your ribs".  But the surprise to me was how she explains teaching her boys to cool right along side.

Favorite Gluten Free:

The book I use most often is The Gluten Free Gourmet:  Cooks Fast and Healthy by Bette Hagman.  I like many of her recipes, but if anyone has another favorite that uses more items you already have on hand, I'm looking for another to have on hand.

Others:

I still have a stack of MS Everyday Food magazines.  And still rely on them for quick ideas if we're having someone over for dinner unexpectedly.  I may not end up using a recipe out of them everytime I pick one up, but it really inspires me to make a great (and attractive) meal when I being the process.  And the smaller size is perfect for throwing in your purse.

I can not wait to get my hands on Jamie Oilver's, Jaime at Home: Cooking Your Way to the Good Life.  We are 5th on the list from the library.  We've followed Jaime's Food Revolution and are big fans!!!

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How about you?

What are your old stand-bys?  And your new favorites?

 

Back-to-School Book Week: Craft Books!

Its book week here!  See the original post here.

And up first are my favorite craft books.

I haven't had a chance yet to post about Craft Hope: Handmade Crafts for a Cause by Jade Sims yet.  But if you haven't purchased a copy of this book, run out and buy it...right now.

The publishing of this book is such a personal experience for me.  If you have been reading this blog long enough, you know about my visits to Nicaragua with ORPHANetwork.  You can read the original post on Craft Hope.

The book contains over 30 projects with step by step instructions and templates.  Each project is paired with a a worthy charity in need.  Perfect, eh?  Make two...one for you and one to give away!

There are two projects in the book benefitting ORPHANetwork.  One is for more dolls for the new children coming to the Casa Bernabe orphanage and another is for crib sheets and burp cloths to benefit the childcare center outside of La Chureca, the Managua City Dump. Of course these are the projects that mean the most to me, but some of my good blogging friends have also included a project or two that will benefit their favorite charity.  You might recognize a few of them...

Stefani Austin, Ellie Beck, Amanda Carestio, Christina Carleton, Lisa Cox,Maya Donenfeld, Malka Dubrawsky, Molly Dunham, Celine Dupuy, Cathie Filian, Wendi Gratz, Betsy Greer, Jenny B. Harris, Vickie Howell, Rebecca Ittner, Rebeka Lambert, Kathy Mack, Kaari Meng, Manda McGrory, Aimee Ray, Eren Hays San Pedro, Amanda Blake Soule, Blair Stocker, Amanda Swan, Susan Wasinger, Dana Willard, Rebekah Williams and Geninne D. Zlatis!

All  are amazing projects, all thoughtful, and all beautiful... and all designed with the intention of helping and giving. 

Lark Crafts has given their Craft Hope contributors each an extra copy of the book. They even recommended that their designers sign them. So I will do just that, and send it off to one of you... with a little bonus surprise tucked inside... just a small something, I crafted with love and care for you. As always, I'll ship it anywhere in the world...  please leave a comment by next Wednesday, September 1 noon EST, and I'll announce the winner on Thursday morning.

Other craft books I am loving:

• A new favorite, Green Crafts for Children by Emma Hardy
• Homemade Fun: 101 Crafts and Activities to Do with Kids, Rae Grant
• Sew Liberated, by Meg McElwee
• Handy Dad for the crafty man in your life!
• An old time favorite I keep coming back to, Japanese Crafts: Lacy Crochet
• And finally, I don't have this book yet, but I can't wait to get my hands on The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt

Tomorrow's Back-to-School Book Week brings you COOKBOOKS!

If you are playing along, leave a comment below with your link.  I can't wait to see everyone's recommendations.  My book list always has room for a few new books!

Back-to-School Book Week

back to school book week, originally uploaded by eren | thisvintagechica.

Have a list of trashy novels you read this summer? Or how about a cookbook that is just rocking your world lately? A craft book that you can't wait to dive into?

In honor of going back to school,

Join me in a Back-to-School Book Week!
(Aug 30-Sept 3)

Monday: Your favorite craft book(s)
Tuesday: Your favorite cookbook(s)
Wednesday: Your favorite fiction book
Thursday: Your favorite non-fiction book
Friday: Free Day! Any book you think deserves mentioning!

Feel free to play along all week or just one day.

From Orchards, Fields and Gardens

 

This is two posts in a row that have new books as their subject.  I've been reading (and ordering) a lot of books lately.

I have many more books to bring you as well.  In honor of our kiddos getting back to "hitting the books", how about a book week next week?

Anyone else want to play along? I was thinking about sharing a few of my current favorite books with a different category each day.

Monday - cookbooks

Tuesday - craft books

Wednesday - etc....

What do you think?

Today, I want to tell you about this little book above.  I am in love with it.  Enchanted by everything about it.

Rarely do I read a book cover to cover.  I am a skimmer.  And it is not unusual for me to put down a book for months only to finish it at a much later date.

But I knew From Orchards, Fields and Gardens was different from the moment I unwrapped it at the mailbox.  I knew that night I needed to put the boys to bed early (we are starting school in a few weeks after all), pour myself a glass of wine and read.

So that is exactly what I did last Friday night.

Although it is a small book, I read every single work and did not move from my chair the entire evening.

Here is an official description of the book:

From Orchards, Fields, and Gardens: Art and Rememberings Celebrating Sustainable Agriculture and Good Food, a book curated, compiled and edited by Kerstin Svendsen. The book "features writing from 11 authors, and photos and illustrations from 21 artists". And what an amazing line up of artists and writers it is! It is abundantly clear Kerstin put her heart and soul into this project. She is also donating proceeds to the Seed Savers Exchange and to the American Farmland Trust.

You may recognize many of the artists and photographers included as I did.

But the thing I loved most is that the stories shared are all real accounts of how each author fell in love with gardening or farming or growing flowers on their balconies, etc.  Most recall childhood memories of walking through their grandparent's gardens or visiting the market with their mother.

The book called me to remember similar stories of when I was a girl picking peaches at my grandparent's orchard or learning to snap green beans with my mother.

If you have any interest at all in sustainable agriculture or just pretty writings about gardens, you will enjoy this book.

You can order your copy here. 

Book Giveaway - Is He Really Coming Home!

There are times when the things that end up in this space seem very trivial - pretty vintage fabrics and flowers freshly cut from the garden.

But if you have read this blog long enough, you know there is also another part of our life that I do not write about often.

We are a military family.  My boys have never known life without a Papa who goes away for long periods of time to very dangerous places.

And if you share this title with us, or you know a family that does, I want to recommend a new book to you.

Is He Really Coming Home! is written from a child's point of view about life in the military and issues families have gone through for years. The mother having to break the news when the children are so excited to have their dads/moms back in their lives again, even if it means that their lives have changed forever due to the injuries of battle.

Our family is blessed to know both the author of this book and the young illustrator.  Both are family friends.  You can watch a short video from the local new station that explains more about how this book came to being.

So in honor of Linda and Alex's amazing work, I'll be giving away a copy of Is He Really Coming Home! to one lucky reader.

The only stipulation to this giveaway is (and this is on the honor system folks!) that you must be a military family or plan on giving it to someone who is.

Good luck!  The lucky winner will be drawn from the comments below at noon on Wednesday, August 25th.

Or if you can't wait, order your copy on Amazon.

 

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Update!

I ended up with two signed copies, so the winners (generated by our new kitten who chose to bat two numbers around the floor) are Lisa and Kelli !!!  Yay!!!  Send me your addresses you two (or Lisa, we can just finally meet at the beach or something ;).

Friday Vintage Fabric Finds

This summer I had grand plans (as always) of making it to yard sales ever Saturday morning even if it meant bribing the boys with doughnuts along the way.

But like grand plans sometimes...that hasn't quite happened.

However, the few pieces I have found I am really thrilled with.

There is something to be said for the less is more concept - having a few pieces that you absolutely love as opposed to too many that you sort of like.

 
The fabric at the top of the post is my favorite.  It is a 3 yard piece of vintage printed linen.  I love the colors.  And the print reminds me of people raising their hands above their head in celebration...either that or it looks like a bunch of neckties.  Either way, I love this print.  There isn't enough of it to make two full curtains, but maybe pieced with another fabric it might work.

Next, the red fabric is a great oriental print I found at an estate sale.  These were shoved down in the bottom of a box that had been in the shed for Lord knows how many years. They were pretty stinky.  But after a good soak in my bathroom tub in woolite, they are much happier.

I have a use for two of the panels and a friend of mine wants to make some floor pillows for her playroom with one of the other panels.  That leaves three large panels left.  I would be happy to sell the last three if anyone likes them and is interested.

(Sorry people, Melissa snagged them.)

 

And lastly, I found this great wool plaid at my favorite thrift store a few weeks ago.  It has been hanging out on the back of one of our living room chairs.  I have been staring at the combination of prints in the curtains, the pillow and the plaid fabric.  Something about it really works for me.  I think the wool will make a great blanket for cozying up this winter.

We are doing a bit more thrifting this weekend...for school clothes.  And everyone needs a new pair of shoes too. 

Hope you have a great weekend!

A Moment of Weakness

I think we all have days when we let our kids get by with a little more than we normally would.  Times we need just another 10 minutes in bed in the morning.  Or a few more minutes chatting with a friend on the phone.

I especially have these moments of weakness when S is out of town.  Or when I have stayed up too late watching a movie.

Popcorn and lemonade for lunch?

Sure...

Can I watch another episode of Flipper.

Absolutely!...

One day last week I had one of these such days.

The only difference a few days ago is that we happened to be at the pet store.

The boys have been begging for fish and a fish tank for months.  And I have been telling them that after summer visitors and vacation are behind us and we will have a bit of extra time to put the tank together, we would make their little dream a reality.

So, innocently we went off to the pet store with our eyes on mollies and neons and a "sucker fish" or two.

So, how is it that we came home with two guinea pigs and a kitten rescued from the SPCA?

Meet Ace...

 

And Bugsy...

And Daisy Dash.

It was a moment of weakness I tell you.

Pray for my soul friends...S is going to kill me when he gets home.

The Real Souvenirs

We are home!

Portland, Maine was amazing.  

Many of you all asked about how this house swap came about...well, last December while visiting my parents in Texas, I was reintroduced to the daughter of family friends.  Julie and her family live in Portland.  In the course of conversation, I mentioned that I had always wanted to visit Maine.  She echoed with her desire to visit Virginia.  We joked that we should just swap houses for a week.

Later Julie emailed me to see if I was really serious about the swap and the search for a date began.  4 months later, we were in Maine and she and her family were in our home in Virginia.

The boys and I (and Whitney, our kidsitter who tagged along since S couldn't come this time) visited two beaches, ate Maine lobster, wandered around Old Town Portland, found Bull Moose Music, picked blueberries at a local farm and generally enjoyed the cooler weather.

Yes, we brought home Maine blueberries.

Round, weathered rocks.  And pockets full of shells.

But more than the tangible souvenirs the now sit in our windowsills (and in the freezer) we bring home a fullness of spirit.

My boys feel like Lewis and Clark having read their own maps and explored an uncharted coastline.

And I am feeling empowered (having driven all the way to Maine by myself).  More hopeful and sure of everything I know to be true.  Elated to have had a secret (sshhhh!) meet up with a friend.  More committed to eating right, allowing my little men to be who they really are, thankful that we are a family who stick together through thick and thin.  

I have plans of extending our garden because of Julie's amazing site. (more on this later)  I am dreaming about might be in store for our family after our retirement from the U.S. Navy in a few short years.  Land?  A farm?  A camp for kids?  The beach?  The mountains?

It is a wonderful place to be...so solid in what I know, but full of questions for the future.

How is it that hitting the open road gives you all of this and more.

Where would you go if you could house swap with someone?
 

The Colors of Coastal Maine

 
As we were driving North from Virginia toward Maine, each child had their own laminated map of the U.S.  As the boys followed along our route, Wyatt got a serious look on his face.  He had a question.  "Why was Deleware orange on the map, but was still green and brown outside the car window?"

But after arriving in Portland and upon visiting Mackworth Island we learned that in face, different areas of the country do in fact have different colors.

Even though our trip is just beginning, Maine will forever be brilliant colors of amethyst purple and brilliant cerulean yellow-green.

This has me thinking...I wonder if our house swap friends think our beach has "a color pallet"?  

What colors would a visitor notice in the natural areas of your hometown?

Interesting thoughts today.