March has flown by! March for many is a time to start thinking about Spring, but for us North Dakotans Spring is oftentimes still a few weeks away! Nonetheless, I still start to dream about spring by adding in fun elements of spring decor. And let's not forget the great holiday of St. Patrick's Day! I am very Irish, so this is often a holiday I don't forget! Here are a few items to add to your hunting list. I am patiently counting down the days until I get to start my garage sale sprees and flea market trips! Garden Tools Garden tools have so much wonderful character. Just the sight of them gets me excited for the blooming garden on the horizon. I love to bring these tools inside ...
“You’re My Everything” Bagel Valentine Party
Each year my girls and I celebrate Valentine's Day with a small breakfast or lunch with just us gals. In the past we have done mini pancakes, donuts, fruit arrows and this year the request was for BAGELS! There is nothing more that we love than a good everything bagel. What could be more perfect, because these little girls are truly my everything! The Table The table this year centered on nothing more than the bagel! I used the adorable mini jadeite cake stands from the Magnolia line on top of a vintage Alice jadeite plate. Add a vintage tablecloth and a few vintage napkins and it's a party! I also incorporated my favorite jadeite reproduction pieces too, you can find out more about ...
The Vintage Hunt – February Edition
February is on of my favorite months (a close second behind September). It's my birthday month, the month of LOVE, and typically the time of year we take a little vacay! I am an avid Valentine's Day decorator, so many of these pieces center around the day all about LOVE! Keep your eyes peeled for these sweet vintage items! Mailboxes When I bought this mailbox I never imagined all the joy it would bring our home. I love to use this mailbox for Valentine's day, stuffing it full of beautiful blooms or vintage letters. This mailbox also doubles for Christmas, as the keeper of all those letters to Santa! Anything with a HEART It could be milk glass with a dainty heart or a rug ...
Victorian on Van Buren Demo Day
I'm not sure what it is about demo day that is so exciting? Is it the act of demolishing things or the fact that you are left with a beautiful clean slate at the end? Nonetheless demo day at the Victorian on Van Buren was exciting, history was to be found in every corner we demoed! Personally I think demo day is super fun, I love cleaning, so naturally taking something ugly and making it beautiful again is fun in my eyes. There were several areas that needed demo work. I'm going to break down each area and explain a little more about why the demo was needed and necessary. Main Floor Kitchen The main floor kitchen was in pretty rough shape. Layers of various paint colors, VERY ...
Retro Recipes – Strawberry Loaf
Who doesn't love a little J-E-L-L-O? Its colorful, its sweet, and most importantly its got a great jiggle! I was so surprised to learn that Jello has been around since 1897! This sweet little cookbook titled" Today....what salad...what dessert? JELLO brings DOZENS of answers....." is from 1928. Let me tell you, there are some interesting recipes in this little paper cookbook! The best one (and most disgusting) was Tuna Fish Salad - just the thought of Jello and Tuna - yuck! Thankfully this recipe has all the right ingredients - sugar, cream, jello, marshmallows and strawberries! It was super easy and I would highly recommend for any beginner jello chef. It was also super ...
Retro Recipes – Creole Shrimp in Rice Ring
I looooove cookbooks, like I have way too many for any one person. I have recently started collecting vintage cookbooks too and I thought it would be fun to start sharing a few retro recipes from the tattered pages of these cookbooks. It is so very interesting to see all the unique combinations that were the norm back in the day. Even the type of ingredients used is very fascinating. I will be sharing lots of interesting tidbits with each recipe too. This first recipe hails from the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook. It is located on page 174 in the casserole and one dish meals tab. The interesting note that I took from this specific chapter is that back in the day everything ...
Sledding Party
Do you remember those days, those days when you listened to the radio to determine if school was canceled because of the copious amount of snow on the ground? Once you determined is was a SNOW DAY, you made plans to build the best snow fort, make snow angels, have a snowball fight and most importantly SLED! I do remember these days and they were glorious! No matter how cold it was, we would head out to sled down our driveway or clean a path among the many pine trees so we could get the most speed. Once you were done sledding, nothing was better than a warm meal and toasty drink of hot cocoa. This sledding party is just that - a hearty lunch after a full day of sledding. I decided to ...
The Vintage Hunt – January Edition
I met a follower this Fall that literally said to me, "I'm hunting here at this flea market asking myself what would Courtney buy!" So I thought it would be fun to put together a list each month of items that you may want to add to your hunt list as you venture out to garage sales, flea markets, estate sales, and antique shops. This month's list centers around winter decor - winter greens, bright whites, and cozy textures. After the holidays it can be a little disheartening to put away all the Christmas charm, so these pieces are critical to keeping our spirits bright in January. 1. Sleds I'm starting with my favorite of the entire list! I love to pick up vintage sleds ...
How to Fix Broken Glassware
I can honestly say this is the first piece of jadeite that I have ever broken. I bought this Fireking grill plate at an antique stop in Illinois. When I purchased the plate it had a hairline crack that I didn't think anything of, until I got home. Upon opening the box, my heart sank when I saw the shattered piece of jadeite. Typically chips and cracks do not scare me, especially with more rare pieces of jadeite. This plate typically retails for $35-40, so it truly is worth fixing and Krazy Glue was the perfect solution! Krazy Glue has been a household staple for over 45 years, so I truly trust this brand to help me fix my broken valuables. I chose the Krazy Glue All Purpose with the ...
Homemade Apple Juice
It's September, the start to one of my favorite seasons of all - FALL! We are back in the swing of school and I've got to say we are BUSY! But never too busy to make a batch of homemade apple juice! I am so lucky that I have access to the BEST apple tree in all of North Dakota. It sits in the yard of my brother-in-law's old house. Thank goodness our good friends moved into the house, because I don't know what I would do without these apples every fall! How can you not love Fall, the cool, crisp fall temps, apples, pumpkin spice, fall colors, leaves, and Halloween just around the corner, I couldn’t ask for anything more amazing. This recipe for apple juice embodies all of those ...
