A Mid Modern Housewife's Day of Spring Cleaning, Decorating, Sewing and Cooking

It's been a little while since a new post. I have been debating whether to keep my blog public as well as my twitter. My husband and myself  have discussed what we should do considering posting parts of our/my life. We are unique and want to share it. Unfortunately there are a group of people and we all have certain people (exes, morons, jealous haters) that we would like to leave us alone and let us live our lives. That's in a perfect world unlike the one we live in. So here it goes I hope they love my life and apparently we will always have our own private "fan" club.

It's finally acting like Spring here in Maine. We have been hit by snow storm after snow storm and freezing temperatures late into the season. This week I have been able to stop using that soot factory, I mean wood stove.

1957 Special Valentine Family Dessert Recipes

Valentines Day is coming up and I have found some very affordable and uncomplicated recipes  What better place to find 1950's recipes than looking through my vintage Ladies Home Journal magazines. These particular recipes come from the June 1957 issue.

Crown Jewel Jell-O

I'm not usually a big fan of Jell-O but I saw this wonderfully colorful and fluffy dessert and I was drawn in. 

Pretty Simple and of course pink. 

As it says... When you want a really special treat to draw admiring "ohs" from your guests.. Try this elegant new Jello-O gelatin dessert. 

The Recipe

Prepare seperately a package of Raspberry, Lime and Black Cherry Jello-O , using 1 Cup hot water and 1/2 Cup cold water for each. Pour into 3 shallow pans and chill until firm. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes. 

Next, make the fluffy filling by heating 1/4 cup sugar with 1 cup of canned pineapple juice to boiling. Dissolve 1 package of Strawberry Jell-O in the hot liquid. Add 1/2 cup cold water. Chill until just syrupy. Whip 2 cups cream and fold it into the syrupy Jell-O. Fold in the little jello cubes. 

Now, line two 9-inch pie plates with ladyfingers (or maybe vanilla wafers) about two packages and pour in the Jello-O mixture. Chill about 4 hours. Crown Jewel Jell-O serves 16 beautifully...and tastes every bit as delightful as it looks. 

This recipe may be a little time consuming because of having to wait for all the jello to firm up. I guess us 1950's housewives have plenty to do during the wait. Wink.

Dole Mint Diamond Dream!

Very simple and and most likely requires a double boiler that every modern house wife of the 1950's had. 

Recipe

1 egg white beaten with 1/3 cup of Mint Jelly over hot water until fluffy. 

Fold in drained Dole Fruit Cocktail. 

Chill and Garnish 

Diamond sprinkle with silver decorettes. 

I believe this is for one serving. 

I will be making dessert number one and I will update with my version. I'm so excited to have a wonderful husband to treat on valentines day with this vintage 50's dessert recipe.  

Thanks for reading! Happy Housewifing!!

My Search For Mid Century Home Decor

Looking for vintage at our local thrift stores is a favorite past time for myself and husband. He says it's "who" he is shopping with that makes it fun for him. I also think he loves the thrill of the hunt. He has gained quite an eye for vintage. We are currently looking for gems from the 40's to 60's. These items are often over looked at out local thrift stores by locals.

This weekend we found a few goodies for next to nothing. For example on our trip to the Salvation Army we found two large mid century Maxey trays for .49 each.

We also found the "Blue Heaven" atomic partial set at an antique store for next to nothing. I will add to this set from here. It came with six coffee cups and plates, butter dish and creamer.

I realize it is from Circa 1964-1965 but I love the Atomic Design.

I also picked up these little wooden Salt and Pepper shakers on Ebay. Mr. Salty and Mrs. Peppy. Circa 1950's

I'm still looking for a 1950's Kitchen Clock. Meanwhile I am working on making Atomic print kitchen curtains. I will blog soon with photos on my progress. 

Thanks for Reading! Happy Housewifing.

The Oh So Glamorous 1950's Alligator Handbag...Oh My!

On my quest to find some vintage purses on ebay I came across the "Alligator Purse" of the 40's and 50's. I was thrifting with my handsome husband this weekend and we actually found a beautiful Alligator/Reptile? handbag/purse.

My alligator/reptile purse is much more understated than the ones I was browsing on ebay and etsy and honestly it may be a faux alligator. I was so surprised at what some women were carrying their lipstick and shopping lists around town in. 

Here are some photos of the Alligator purses of the 40's and 50's made in Cuba.

Etsy - TheeAntiquesQueen

Etsy - GoodSoulVintage

Etsy - MyChildhoodChristmas

Etsy - VintageHeartBreaker

I really want one. I think I would get a lot of comments at the grocery store if I pulled my wallet out of this creepy/glamorous purse. Ha ha!

Thanks for reading. Happy Housewifing!

1950's Kitchen update - Jadeite Walls

Hi everyone. I've started my 1950's kitchen renovation/re-do. I chose to go with the classic colors of jade walls with pink cabinets. I went to Walmart for the paint. I brought with me a vintage 1947 Glidden advertisement I have from one of my vintage Better Homes and Gardens magazines. 

I love this kitchen with its Pennsylvania Dutch tole painting. I am not sure if I would go all out and do this to my cupboards, although it is adorable. Any ways the color in the advertisement was called "jadeite". I walked right over to the paint swatches and found almost the identical color and I looked at the swatch name and it was "pale jade". I am happy it took all of five minutes because I didn't want waste a ton of time trying to find the paint. Below are before and after photos of my kitchen walls. I was quite impressed at how this color changed the look of the room instantly setting the scene of a circa 1950's kitchen. 

Before. I started to paint and almost forgot to take a before photo. 

After the Pale Jade Paint

More kitchen updates to come. Pink cabinets next and of course I will have to find vintage hardware for them as well. 

Thanks for reading. Happy Housewifing!!!