Lucky-Tea-Split

 

 

take 2

 

I threw together this fun tea setting for March featuring some of my favorite gold and green tea cups and accoutrements  The cup featured in the close-up is particularly dear to my heart because it was a gift from my fellow thrifty sister, Chrissy….she got it for me because the design is “Jennifer” – which happens to be my name.

Aside from the cup and saucer from my sister, just about everything else came from the goodwill (the doilies are from my grandmother).

May the luck of the Irish be with you this month!

 

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I LOVE thrifting/Thrifting Bingo

 

There are a few things that I can’t resist when I thrift (its like a thrifting Bingo if you will): vintage games, wooden spools of thread, puzzles, vintage holiday decor, vintage cook books, rulers, horse things,  chalkboard, paperdolls and Nancy Drew Books. Today, on my two Goodwill Outlet stops in Indy I found everything except the last one on my list.  My favorite finds: sheet music for Star Dust, which I’m looking forward to gifting, and several vintage valentines and games.

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I also found a lovely vintage bingo game set and a mind-teaser puzzle. Both had several small pieces, which I combed through various bins to find…and then I proceeded to drop the stack I was holding into a bin, and then onto a floor, and even after I finally moved everything to my cart, I somehow managed to drop everything once more. Admittedly, It was not my finest day, but thankfully there were folks who were kind enough to help me each time.

Whenever I dig through bins to find pieces of puzzles or games, I always assume that I’m not going to find everything…so I wasn’t too sad when things fell all over the floor (repeatedly) – more embarrassed, really (but I’ll chalk it up to not having any lunch).   I didn’t drop any of the puzzle pieces I collected, yet I only came close to finishing one of the many puzzles who’s pieces I collected. Miraculously, I ended up with all the pieces of the Bingo game and the puzzle game (thanks to my husband’s help; after I gave up looking, he kept combing through cards and boxes and managed to find the few of each that I was missing).

Here are my take away lessons from today’s thrifting adventure: 1) pay attention to the small stuff; it would have been so easy to miss out on all the fabulous valentines I found today (in fact, I felt like my repeated spills of other game pieces kept leading me back to find more valentines), 2) bags and carts are your friend, and  3) have lunch!

 

I Love Tea

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Thanks to my sweetie for getting me some silver polish so that I could shine up the set I got from my grandmother.  It has the most delightful flowers and insects depicted on it.

 

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Start your engines!

Its a new year and I’ve already found some fun finds…including some cool vintage Indy 500 treasures including a collectable bottle of 7Up from 1979, a postcard, a poster signed by Al Unser, and a set of glasses from 1973…which happens to be the year I was born, which made it an extra-cool find.

I also found a beautiful red glass cream and sugar set, a Santa and Mrs. Claus Salt and Pepper Shaker set, vintage sewing patterns and a pamphlet and ownership certificate for a Brunswick sewing machine from 1916, an amazing stash of vintage puzzles, a few games, some fun art, and a delightful autograph book with some fun inscriptions.

Holiday Tea Time

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I found this festive vintage table cloth at the goodwill outlet…and found the holiday cups and most of the decor there as well. The red, depression glass cream and creamer were another goodwill outlet find.  Someone handed me one…and it was a fine enough treasure on its own…but I wasn’t sold until I found its mate a short time later.

Cooking up some treasures from the past

I found a few fun Christmas Cookie recipes in some of the cookbooks I’ve collected over the past year.  Some turned out well…and others proved a bit more challenging, but all in all it was a fun adventure and it produced some delicious results.

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Spritz Cookies

Recipe from The American Woman’s Cookbook, copyright, 1938 (1942 reprint)

2 ½ cups sifted flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup butter

¾ cup sugar

Dash Salt

1 egg, unbeaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift flour with baking powder. Cream butter, sugar and salt, add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add sifted ingredients in small amounts. Mold with cookie press on cold ungreased baking sheet. Bake in 375 degree oven 12 to 15 minutes (makes ~45)

 

Mint Surprise Cookies

Recipe from the Betty Furness Westinghouse Cook Book, copyright 1954

Preheat oven to 375, baking time 12-15 minutes

3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour, sifted before measuring

1 teaspoon soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 package (9 ounces) chocolate mint wafers

Sift flour, soda and salt together. Cream shortening, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat thoroughly. Add dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Chill dough in refrigerator. Use approximately 1 tablespoon (level) dough for each cooky. Drop on greased cooky sheet, 2 inches apart. Press a mint wafer into center of each and fold dough around mint so it is covered. Do not make cookies too large. If you wish, you may put a pecan or walnut half on top. Bake. Remove from pan to cake cooker immediately after baking. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

 

Swiss Christmas Stars
Recipe from Hellen Corbitt’s Cookbook, copyright 1957

Cream together:

2/3 cup butter and margarine, half and half

¾ cup sugar

Add:

2 well beaten eggs

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Beat and add:

2 cup sifted flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Mix and chill in refrigerator. Roll out to 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured board. Cut in star shapes and brush with slightly beaten egg whites and colored sugar. Bake on buttered coooky sheets at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

 

Flaky Nut or Mexican Sugarless Cookies

From the Family Home Cook Book, copyright 1963

Mrs. Del Lanphear, Woodland Wash.

The flavor of these cookies improves with age. The recipe came to this country through the pen-pal correspondence of two schoolgirls.

Set out cookie sheets.

Finely chop and set aside

1/2/ cup (about 2 oz) nuts

Sift together into a 1-qt bowl

1 cup sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Cut in with pastry blender or two knives until pieces are size of small peas

¼ cup butter

¼ cup shortening

Add gradually, mixing well after each addition

1 egg, well beaten

Blend in the nuts.

Roll dough 1/8 in thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into desired shapes with floured cookie cutter. Place cookies about 1 in. apart on cookie sheets.

Bake at 375 F 12 to 15 min. Remove to cooling racks and immediately sift over cookies

Confectioners’ sugar

Cool completely. Makes about 5 doz. small cookies

 

The Best Cookie Recipe 

Internet Recipe Swap (late 1990s)

1 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Almond extract
2-3 drops food coloring (if desired)
Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in the egg. Sift four and salt together and add to other mixture. Add almond extract and food coloring. Chill dough for 3-4 hours and roll and cut into desired shapes.  Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350. Remove from sheet and cool on rack and decorate

Icing (optional):

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp. Milk
1/2 tsp. Almond extract
Food coloring

Mix until you have smooth/semi-thick frosting. It will harden as it dries.

I think its nearly impossible to mess this recipe up (and thus the reason that I love it so much) you can stick the dough in the freezer for 30 minutes instead of chilling for 3-4 hours and the cookies tend to be forgiving if you leave them in a little past 8-10 minutes.  They keep really well and they taste awesome!!