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A day of worry is more exhausting than a day of work. ~John Lubbock
The new year is 15 days in, and I'm just catching up on my writing. I love the holidays but the days are a whirlwind of activity that seem to last way past Christmas by the time we manage to visit everyone, and then recover. Of course, having my twelve year old daughter and both my sons home always takes away from work as we watch movies, play board games and bake cookies. That is also the reason it's my favorite holiday:)
My dad gave me some wonderful vintage magazines during our visit and I'll be sharing recipes and tips from many of them this month. The first article revolves around meat recipes from January of 1928. The graphic above is an advertisement I found from that year. When I was growing up we shopped at an A & P grocery store, but that was in the 70's, not the 20's. I'm not quite that old. I like the advertisement because it shows the fashion of the times.
I think you'll enjoy the recipes and the tidbits on what was happening that year. You'll find it here: http://oldfashionedliving.com/1929-Meat-Recipes.html
~Brenda
He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ~Roy L. Smith
I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. ~Charles Dickens
Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. ~Washington Irving
All of us at Old Fashioned Living wish you a very Merry Christmas! Please drive safe, stay warm and we hope you make many new memories with your families:)
~Brenda, and the Old Fashioned Living staff
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale
During World War I times were difficult and it was often hard to keep up spirits, especially around the holidays. I shared an article last week with gift suggestions from the Modern Priscilla magazine, written during 1917. They also shared suggestions for a "modest" Christmas dinner. This is such a fascinating look at how different things were back then. What we consider "modest" now, was sometimes thrifty during that time period. You'll find the article here:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/A-Modest-Christmas-Dinner.html
My kids are all home, and we've been baking, decorating and wrapping all weekend. I hope all of you are enjoying yourselves as well. Remember to enjoy the Christmas season, even if that means cooking a little less, or resting a bit more!
~Brenda
Like snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather and dance - each beautiful, unique and too soon gone. ~Deborah Whipp
First, I want to say how my heart breaks for the families who lost loved ones Friday in Connecticut. There are no words to express how horrific of a loss these families have suffered. Let us keep them in our thoughts and prayers, and treasure the children in our own lives, giving them extra hugs and kisses this week to help comfort our souls.
I was going through my books and recipes and came across a Modern Priscilla magazine from 1917. It's the December issue from that year and it is fascinating for so many reasons. World War I began in 1917 and by Christmas many families would have been without the men in their lives because they were fighting in the war. Money was tight, and morale was low, which meant the homemakers of that era were doing their best to give their family a nice Christmas within a very tight budget. I wrote an article sharing some of the tips sent in to the magazine that year. While I was writing I found myself thinking of little ways I could brighten our own holidays this year without spending too much money. We're cooking and baking from scratch, both for ourselves and our friends and family. My daughter and I are also sorting through our holiday decor, setting aside things we can recycle and craft into new decorations. We are also keeping things simple this year, focusing more on enjoying the time we spend together and less on buying a lot of gifts or running ourselves ragged.
You'll find the article here:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/Christmas-Lessons-from-the-Past.html
I hope you enjoy it!
~Brenda
What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace. ~Agnes M. Pahro
My daughter and I have been making plans for our big holiday baking day. She's 12 this year, and has been thumbing through the cookbooks and magazines for her choices. We've also been asking friends what their favorite cookie is, and we already have our decorative bags and gift tags. It's fun having a full fledged baking partner to help during the holidays:)
In the midst of our planning I realized I hadn't done my yearly check of our baking ingredients, which led to an idea for an article on how important it is to pay attention to the shelf life of items such as flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder. I did some research and wrote the article, which you'll find here:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/The-Importance-of-Shelf-Life.html
I hope your Christmas baking and gift buying is going well!
~Brenda
Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time. ~Laura Ingalls Wilder
I'm writing articles this weekend in between decorating the house for Christmas. When I woke up this morning everything was coated in a beautiful white snowfall. It's just what I needed for holiday inspiration! I decorated the blog, as you can see, with pretty graphics. I'm always giddy when I look through the old fashioned pictures and postcards images I've collected over the years. I love decorating the blog almost as much as decorating my home.
Today I also wanted to share links to some of my favorite articles on Old Fashioned Living. Over ten years of articles makes for a lot of holiday tips and recipes:) I've been making homemade candy, cookies and crafts for 25 years now. The articles below I wrote with tips and recipes for making your own homemade gifts from the kitchen. I've given these gifts to teachers, co-workers, friends, family and special guests that drop in at the holidays.
-Mixes for Tea, Chili and more...
http://oldfashionedliving.com/giftmixes2.html
-Gifts of Fudge
http://oldfashionedliving.com/fudge.html
-Savory Treats and Mixes
http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/savory.html
-A Sandart Brownie Mix
http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/jarbrownies.html
-Tea and Beverage Mixes
http://oldfashionedliving.com/giftmixes.html
-Homemade Candies from Nuts
http://oldfashionedliving.com/giftnuts.html
-Homemade Candy Recipes
http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/candy.html
-Homemade Mixes for Coffee Lovers
http://oldfashionedliving.com/coffee.html
-Bean Soup Mixes
http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/beanmixes.html
-Cookie recipes including gingersnaps and pantry cookies,
which I've made for years and everyone loves them.
http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/gingersnaps.html
-Gifts for the Breakfast Lover-
http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/breakfastmixes.html
Lastly I wanted to share a picture I took this morning of the snow covered pine tree in our front yard.
I hope you have a lovely weekend,
Brenda
Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveller, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home! ~Charles Dickens
Tomorrow is December 1st, and so begins the Christmas season, at least in my mind. If we base it on when the stores started carrying Christmas items, then it began back in October, but as usual, I ignored that early marketing. This weekend we're putting up our decorations, and our Christmas tree, which I love doing each year. My tree is a hodge podge of ornaments, some from when my husband was a kid, as well as all the handmade ornaments my kids made over the years, and things given to us by friends and family. I love opening the boxes, and looking through everything we've collected over the years. I hope all of you have special ornaments and decorations too.
The first article I wrote for this holiday season has tips on decorating the family table. I share my own ideas plus a few out of a vintage book from my collection. You'll find the article here: http://oldfashionedliving.com/The-Holiday-Table.html
~Brenda
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