A Pan Collar and Felt Flower Brooch

Every once in a while I will actually try things that I have pinned on Pinterest. As many of of you know my daughter Freckles and I have been doing a study of the 1940's era. I had started a Pinterest board with some inspirations and thought I would give a couple things a try. One started with my love for Peter pan collars on vintage clothing. So adorable. As a doll maker I have put many Peter pan collars on my characters, so i thought, heck why not make myself one. I am not too old for that...Am I?
I found a pattern for a collar here and sewed it in less than an hour. Note the pattern says fur collar on it...It doesn't have to be fur...You can use cotton just as I did.


The felt flower brooch was inspired by the 1940's as well. There is plenty of inspiration on felt flowers throughout Pinterest. I did not follow a pattern for the brooch I made however. I was inspired by what I saw on the boards and just winged it as best as I could. I wanted it to match the collar. And quite pleased that it complimented each other very well.

 

I even put my hair up, which I have not done in years. I will definitely be making more colors and brooches to coordinate with other outfits. I even got some sweet compliments from several ladies at church. I was humbled.

I will also be teaching Freckles how to make the felt flower brooch soon.
 Happy pinning to you.
 Hope you find some inspiration there on Pinterest.
I have a little goal to actually trying out the pins I pin.
Heck, why not.
Have a great week ahead.

Sunday Soup Supper~ Heirloom Tomato Bisque

One of our favorite kind of meals is soup for supper. With Autumn slowly approaching and somewhat cooler evenings. I decide to make some different soups. The best night to have a lovely soup would be Sunday evenings, when you want something light after a day of church.... For a less laborious Sunday, you can make this the night before. I also thought it would be fun to share some of the soups we have for supper...So here you go. This also goes along with the study on the 1940's which Freckles and I have been working on. Tomato soup was definitely one that would have been made in that time, except with all the rationing they probably didn't use the butter and cream much. So with just a handful of tomato's, one could feed a family with it.

Here is a more creamy version for you.
 Beware...There is a lot of butter and cream in this. I used this recipe....
But doubled it so my family could have soup for lunch during the week...
Note* The recipe I am providing here is not doubled.
****
~Heirloom Tomato Bisque~
Saute 1/2 C. diced onion and 1 Tbl. minced fresh tarragon in 6 Tbl. butter
Add 4 cups diced tomato's. I used heirloom and regular tomato's & 4 cups chicken broth: bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

 

 

 

In a separate pan, melt 2 Tbl. butter, add 2 Tbl. flour, and stir for 3 minutes. Stir in 1 1/4 Cups heavy cream and 3/4 cup half-and-half: bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

 

Stir in 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley and 1/4 cup honey. Add to broth mixture,
puree: and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
 Serves 6.

Now enjoy. It has wonderful flavor...
and goes well with a nice grilled cheese sandwich.
 Yum.
Happy Sunday

Baking Peanut Butter Cookies

There is definitely one thing Freckles loves to do and that is baking. As a part of homemaking/kitchen skills, she is learning how to cook and bake different foods. Her favorite is cookies. After dinner, our sweet tooth's were getting the better of us...Freckles suggested baking peanut butter cookies. One thing...We didn't have all the ingredients for a typical peanut butter cookie...So we searched for one with minimal ingredients...and found one that was so easy....It's going to knock your socks off.

 

We have been dabbling a bit in a couple of our vintage cookbooks for recipes, which makes it fun. Things that most Gramma's would have baked in the 1930's~1940's. A good Peanut Butter Cookie would be found in a cookbook back in those days. So, I decided this would also be a great project, since we have been studying the 1940's.

 

 

 

And of course we used our vintage aprons and Pyrex...
We felt as if we were back in time, in a Gramma's kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The house smelled of comfort....The cookies were beautiful.

 

And they tasted delightful.
It was the perfect opportunity for a wonderful life lesson and bonding
 time between mother and daughter.
These are moments I know we will cherish together.
I love those moments.

S'mores...Italian Style

one of our favorite pastimes is making s'mores over an open fire while camping, at the beach or just because. it's a hot, sticky and sometimes, burned mess. yet, that doesn't detour us from enjoying the yummy, ooey gooey goodness of marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker. okay, so i'm not a huge fan of burning, smokey smoke from a fire...so what to do if you don't like the smoke, or perhaps you don't have a fire pit, but you love making s'mores...or maybe you don't like molting hot marshmallow scorching your tongue?

we have a wonderful idea...which we found ingredients for at World Market.  a lovely package of  Italian Pizzelle cookies, a jar of Italian Nutella and a jar of marshmallow fluff....oh my.... it's easy to make...a little messy, but easy. just spread the fluff and Nutella on one side of
each Pizzelle and sandwich together. then enjoy...

 

 

 

 

Mama Mia....they are delizioso...
Enjoy......
this is also the last installment for our Summertime vintage 1940's posts. but,
will be doing more posts and projects for the 1940's this Fall. Stay tuned.

Fun fact:

              IN THE 1940s

After World War II, America was on the go. More and more families bought cars and began taking family vacations to campgrounds and national parks. Making S'mores over campfires became increasingly popular during this decade.

Hello

Hope this Summer day finds you well. We've been a little cooped up this week trying to finish all the cleaning, putting away stuff and canning the second batch of peaches I found on sale at Sprouts for .49 cents a pound. I had finished up the last of the apricots from the tree and made some yummy jam from an unlikely pair.

 

Four delightful Summery jars filled with apricot and strawberry jam. Oh my is it delicious. I spent about 8 hours canning all the peaches and a batch of rhubarb sauce from some gorgeous stalks of fresh cut rhubarb, which were given to me from a sweet couple/ new friends from church.

 

I also made a white peach and a batch of yellow peach jam. 

Now to do some strawberry and plum when our friends plums ripen 

then I think we will be covered for the rest of 

the year in the jam department.

I also managed to fit in a bit of sewing time to finish my 40's quilt project, which became cushions for our chair. I hated cutting it up... for each square block was hand sewn.....all that time someone spent on each stitch, with hours and hours of work. I ended up cutting into it and really love how it turned out...It was just what I envisioned. Bright, bold and cheery.

I am quite happy with how the living room turned out....All the happy colors...It brightens up each day we awaken from our slumber. This will be a comfy place to spend our family time together as well as with our friends. We look forward to opening up our home for fellowship soon.

 

 

I do think our little coffee table will get a new color and perhaps just a couple more pictures will be hung on the wall, other than that...It's now our new home sweet home.

One more thing I wanted to share are these beautiful flowers my dear Mr. Darling brought home for me...Just because. I just love and adore him and his sweet sentiments.

 Makes my day even brighter.

Have a great Summer day...It's almost the weekend.