Inspiration: For the Love of Aprons!

Hey y'all!  Sorry i haven't been posting as usual. I've been terribly busy with my Victory Garden and sewing and crocheting for upcoming events.

This morning i wanted to do a little apron post just because i love aprons.  Who doesn't?  I've recently become addicted to them and thought i would post some pretty pictures and patterns of vintage aprons.
I love to sew them.  Not only are do they serve a wonderful purpose (for i am quite messy in the kitchen) but they are SUPER cute.  I usually wear a half apron when cleaning around the house, a full apron for cooking and baking (for obvious reasons) and when one of those gets old and worn out,  I put them out in the barn/shed for gardening and yard work.

Here's a tip, even if you haven't mad the apron yourself, you can still put your own mark on it.  Dressing it up with rick rack, piping, harmonizing colors of bias tape or lace can revive an old apron and give it a vintage feel.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of vintage aprons.

Be sure to CLICK HERE for an adorable sewing project from one of my favorite blogs, Country Farm Home to learn how to turn an old pair of jeans into an apron!

~1920s

how cute is this?






does anyone see her dress? her shoes? (swoon)



~1930s




A smile makes an apron so much prettier!




The color possibilities are endless with this one






i love over the head aprons.
The only 'problem' I've ever had with them is a good, voluminous set!







~1940s




nothing says WWII or 1940s than a red, white and blue apron!






  I love the empire waist and criss-cross back on these!






Gingham and Pie! my two favorite combinations!





Simple, fabric saving aprons (because of fabric rationing)
were dressed up with embroidery and colorful fabrics










~1950s


The cute 50s housewife!



\











This one is just perfect for a party on the porch!  (notice the little tulip pocket!)





His and Hers!






~


That's all for now. 
I hope you enjoyed this little trip through history with me.

Which one was your favorite?

Ready to get crackin' on vintage aprons now?

Beth

What's On My Bookshelf: Dear Enemy by Jack Cavanaugh

(no, this is not a sponsored post, just an example of what i like and love and call my own.)

Good Morning and Happy Monday!  I trust that you are having a wonderful Monday for a wonderful week.
Today i wanted to do another one of these 'What's On My Bookshelf' posts because i read a wonderful book last Friday.  Really, i read it in one day.  I couldn't put it down it was so good.

Dear Enemy by: Jack Cavanaugh, published by Bethany House Publishers, copy write 2005.
Here is the description from the back of the book:
"Nurse Anne Mitchell, after seeing firsthand the atrocities of war, has concluded, along with most of her fellow Americans, that the enemy is inhuman and thoroughly depraved.  But when a rouge rescue mission ends in tragedy, a bereft Annie finds herself in the middle of Belgium's Ardennes Forest, behind enemy lines- and captured.  What transpires in the bitter cold of the following days, however, is impossible for Annie to reconcile with er preconceived ideas about the enemy.  Her captor, Karl Hausmann, doesn't fit the stereotype she has embraced- and the encounter changes everything for her.  Tested by prejudice and the separation of time and continents, Anne must build on the awakening if life and love are ever to hold any true meaning for her again.  Dear Enemy is the story of heroic love, faith, and the unexpected, emerging in the wake of one of WWII's most fierce and bloody battles- the Battle of the Bulge."

I have to say that i truly love this book and that i will be reading again.  I read a lot, all the time.  I go to a couple different libraries a couple times a month and  I love it.  I enjoy a lot of books but there are few that i really really love and get into like i did this one.

This book made me laugh out loud at times.  I really loved all of the characters and Cavanaugh made me feel like i knew each one, they were colorful, hilarious, shady, people i loved from the start and people that made honest to goodness shivers run down my spine.  The wit and humor was masterful and crazy (in a way that i love because i could never in a thousand years think of it myself).

It was dramatic.  My emotions were on edge, the situations were tense and real.  Cavanaugh is truly blessed with his writing talent and the way he can weave words so that you really feel the fear, humor, anticipation, eagerness or whatever it may be.  I really got into this story, it was historically, time-period and geographically accurate.  He takes the story smoothly from one surprise to another.  There were so many unexpected happenings~

Another thing is that it is refreshing to read male authors.  Their writing style IS different from female authors, but sometimes they skip some 'important' things and leave us gals wondering.  Not here.  All of my questions were answered leaving just enough to the imagination of the reader.

I think that's enough for now, so I'll close by saying that i will totally recommend this book to anyone, especially for people who love WWII, history and stories with just that perfect touch of romance!

Crazy People

The Boswell Sisters  were were the most popular singing sisters of the 1930s.

Martha, Connee and Helvetia had a startling close harmony and interesting rhythmic  way of singing that has captivated listeners for years and years.

Although i have not found any official information to confirm this, I have watched and listened to the sisters quite a bit and have come up with this conclusion. 

In the video i have posted below and in the top right picture,  Martha (the oldest) is sitting at the piano and singing lower harmonies.

Connee, (changed her name from Connie in the 40s  and went on to have a solo career) is singing lead and sitting with Martha on the piano bench.

Helvetia is singing higher harmonies and is standing behind them.

It is to my knowledge that this is the parts they sang whenever they sang together.

Today i have one of my favorite Boswell Sisters songs, Crazy People, which always makes me smile and marvel at they way they can easily slide from one time to the next, slowing down and speeding up, it just sounds perfect.

Be sure to watch Martha, she appears to be having a wonderful time at that piano.

Enjoy.

(please remember the music player at the bottom left of the page)

WWII Cooking: Baking with Honey

Hello, and happy Monday!

During World War Two, thrifty housewives cleverly thought up ways to substitute sugar, which was rationed, without sacrificing sweetness.  I got to wondering how and what they used.  I did some research and here is what i came up with.

Honey was sometimes used, but did not automatically substitute for sugar across cookbooks or their recipe cards.

It couldn't.

  The two sweeteners are quite different.  One is a liquid, a thick liquid, but one just the same.

The other is a dry ingredient, which affects how they are measured and when and how they are combined with other ingredients. 

In addition to contributing sweetness to a recipe, honey also adds a slightly different flavor.

And still, the best results were achieved when using recipes that specifically devised to be made with honey.

  When the war ended,  women switched back to using sugar in almost all recipes, but a few of my Grandma Mae's survived WWII.  I realized that i might just have some from her hand written recipe cards in my collection.  (!!!)

So here it is: an authentic 1940s/WWII recipe using honey.

After much digging around in my old junk that i feel like i just cant get rid of,

I have finally come up with a Chocolate Cake recipe that uses honey.

(And the moral of the story is... never throw anything away!!!)

CHOCOLATE HONEY CAKE-

Mix and beat with a spoon or electric mixer

2cups sifted cake flower

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

                                                           1 teaspoon salt
                                                           1/2 cup shortening
                                                           1-1/2 cups honey
                                                           2/3 cup water
                                                           2 eggs
                                                           2-1/2 one-ounce squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted
                                                           1 teaspoon vanilla

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.  Sift cake flour, baking sod and salt together.  Set aside.  In large bowl, stir shortening to soften.  In small bowl, combine honey and water; add half of the mixture to creamed shortening.  Stir to blend thoroughly.  Add eggs; beat well.  Add dry ingredients.  Stir slowly until well blended, the beat hard one minute.  Add remaining honey and water mixture along with melted chocolate and vanilla.  Blend well, the beat hard two minutes.  It is importantly of count only the actual beating time, not blending time, regardless of whether the mixing is being done by hand, spoon, or electric mixer.  The finished batter will be thin.  Pour into prepared pans.  Bake 30 minutes or until cake tests done.  Cool  cake pans 10 minutes before turning  out onto cooling racks.  When cake is cool, frost with Easy Honey Frosting.  Serves 16.

Easy Honey Frosting:
1 egg white
dash of salt
1/2 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
 
  In small bowl, beat egg white with salt until stiff peaks form. 
Add honey in a fine stream; beat constantly 4 min. or until frosting
holds shape and is of spreading consistency.  Beat in vanilla.

Norman Rockwell and the 1940s

  I silly little habit of mine is to go to the library and get those great big books of famous paintings that stick out of your book bag, nearly take off you arm trying to hold them all and causing the librarian to frown to herself as she hauls them over the counter to under the scanner.  Some of my favorite ones are Norman Rockwell collections.  They're almost like a photograph, almost better, in vivid color with comical or meaningful messages.  I especially like to look at the ones from the 1940s.  The give a clear picture of what life was like, what Rockwell saw and thought and created. 
 
Take, for instance, Rosie the Riveter.  Where in the world would we bee without Rosie? (far right)

 Or the cute little USO ladies in their Sunday best, cooing over Willie Gillis Jr. with treats and attention that renders him speechless and makes us smile?  (far left)
 
And then there's the realistic, thought provoking story teller from Rockwell's Freedom series.

 Now, I'm not going to gush over how great and wonderful Rockwell was,  i'm just saying i enjoy his work and it helps give me a colorful look inside the 1940s when i write or daydream. 

 I'm also not going to complain about how black and white movies and photos are hard to look at and not as interesting.  No, quite the opposite.  I love black and white photos.  They're so much more mysterious and i prefer them over color.  I'm just saying it gives you a better idea.

  Many times when we picture the past, we picture it in black and white or sepia like all the great photos we've seen.  I just think it's nice to see the green and pink dresses for a change. :)

  Because of my 'addiction' to Rockwell's paintings of the 1940s, i just had to include some of my favorites.

  One more thing, some of them may be from the 30s or 50s too and i'll try to blow them up so you can see them better.

  Enjoy

(i think, though i can't be sure, that that's Kathrine Hepburn in the magizine on her lap)

That's really all i have time to do now.  of course, there are so many others that i love and could but here but i'll let you find those for yourself.
I hope you liked it!
So long and thanks for reading,
Beth

Chattanooga Choo Choo!!!

One, if not the most popular song in the early 40s, Chattanooga Choo Choo was a cute little song about a train (more or less) and Glen Miller made my favorite arrangement of this song.  Please watch entire video.  It is part of the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade featuring Glen Miller and his Orchestra. I've heard this song since i was young and it was wonderful to get to see them perform it and the black folks at the end made me smile more than i already was.  I wish i could dance like that!
Anyway, i hope you'll watch and enjoy this as much as i did...

Isn't it swell?
So long,
Beth

World War Two - Buy War Bonds

                   "SCARED KID?"

              "[Heck] no.  I don't scare easy.  But I'm no fool eaither.  I know where I'm going... and its no to a church social.  But I'm an American, and all my buddies are Americans.  We've got a messy job on our hands and we're doing it.  Because we know it's got to be done.  You folks back home have a job, too.  Like buying War Bonds.  And I dont mean War Bonds you can afford eaither... I mean War Bonds you can't afford.  War Bonds that mean being inconvinanced... one-thousandth as much as those guys who havent had their wet, stinknig clothes off in three weeks of crawling around in the jungle.  War Bonds that mean being uncomfortable... one-thousandth as much as those kids lying out in the desert, waiting for the medical boys to give them a hypodermic... So forget that 10% stuff.  Buy War Bonds untill you can look at the guys who come back with one arm or no leg or no eyes, without a guilty feeling in your heart."
   Full page ad, Felt and Tarrant Manufactaring Co., Time, July 12, 1943
          
     War Bonds, purchased by american civilians during WWII helped finance the war.  They intally cost $18.50 each.  Buying them was highly encoraged by newspapers, schools, radio, posters and the like, was widley viewed as ones patriotic duty.  And what a patriotic duty, with a final amout of $350,500,000,000, Americas effort in the war could have "never been financed without them!"