Etsy Every Day Project - Made it through January!

Well, as usual time has flown by and January is over!  The days just melt away (even though the snow doesn't)  I managed to list at least one item every day and sometimes several more...now to keep the momentum going...

Here are the rest of the January items:

#22 - Polka Dot Half Apron

#23 - Indianapolis Speedway Souvenir Pennant

#24 - Mid-Century Mad Men Roly Poly Glasses

#25 - 1929 Honeycomb Valentine

#26 - Kittens in a Basket Plate

#27 - Watkins Glen, New York Souvenir Postcard Folder

#28 - 'My Recipes' Recipe Binder - never used

#29 - Mid-Century Bamboo Glasses

#30 - Missions and Landmarks of Southern California Postcard Folder

#31 - Nova Scotia, Canada Souvenir Pennant

That wraps up January -- 31 down, just 334 to go (gosh, that sounds overwhelming)!

On an equally fun note, the shop went past the 400 sale mark, so I'm busy pulling together items for a giveaway to celebrate.  I think I'll theme it 'My favorite things', which guarantees that there will be at least one postcard folder, one souvenir pennant and some kind of vintage Christmas in the mix.  More on that soom...

Staying Home to Bake

There were LOTS of sales to go to today, but I decided not to go to any.  The weather helped me with that decision -- it was snowing and slippery, so there was no reason to drive 20-30 miles to look at stuff that wasn't even calling my name. 

So I stayed home to bake and, oh, do I love to bake!   I learned everything I know about baking from my grandmother, whom we called Ningle. 

She lived with us from just a few weeks after I was born and was my main caregiver, because my mom worked.  Ning was one of the best bakers around!  Yesterday was her birthday (she was born in 1891) so I've been thinking about her a lot.  Her mother died when Ning was only 13, and she became the 'mom' at her house, in charge of the cooking & housekeeping for herself, her dad and her brother.  Her father sent her to Fleischmann's (the yeast people) cooking school, which wasn't like a culinary school would be now, but more like a high school home ec class would be.  I still have the cookbook that she used there.

Fleischmann's cooking school book

I think part of the reason we all love Christmas cookies so much is that they connect us with the past.  When I make different cookies I remember the people I loved who liked those cookies best -- my dad liked Hermits (if you're not German, you might not know what those are), my mom liked Mexican Wedding Cakes and Ning liked Springerles (also German).  Baking them sort of keeps them alive in my memory. 

My family's original Hermit recipe, cut out of the paper in the 50s -- it's the one I still use

Hermits

Springerle

I also use some of the old implements I grew up with!  This nut grinder is the same one I used at home as a little girl 'helping' to make the cookies.  Turning the crank was my first helper-job, just as it was the first job I gave my boys when they were little.   My guys thought it was really funny when we'd go to antique malls and they'd see the nut grinder we had at home for sale as an 'antique'.   

See the silverplate spoon next to it?  Look at the end of the bowl -- it's completely flattened from running it around pans and bowls.  It was Ningle's favorite cooking spoon and it has been like that for as long as I can remember.  It's so precious to me!

So today I was really happy that I got a chance to just catch up on some Christmas prep and do some baking.  The Mexican Wedding Cakes & Hermits are finished and the cut-out sugar cookie dough is chilling in the fridge.  Happy Birthday, Ningle!

Three Bits of Happy News!

I've been so busy at my day job that I haven't had a minute to blog.  I'm going to take a day off tomorrow and had to get 4 days of work finished in 3, because I had to have all my usual tasks finished before I could go.  So I've been working until 6:30 or 7:00 every night this week and get home too tired to do much but the necessary at-home jobs.

Anyway, I have 3 happy things to tell you about:
I just got word that one of the items I have listed on Etsy (an old cookbook) was chosen as the Etsy Vintage Team's Facebook Item of the Day.  That's HUGE for me!   This cookbook is one of the most unusual and interesting things I've ever found (it may be the only one of its kind in existence, and how many of our vintage items are that?)  Think of it as an early version of the standard fundraising cookbook that many of us have bought  -- the kind where lots of people in the school, church or social club turn in recipes and then they all are compiled into a cookbook.  This one is lots of recipes from the ladies of Bath, Michigan back in the 1920s or 30s and it's completely handwritten!  Most of the ladies are listed only by their husbands' names, such as Mrs. John Smith.  It even has handwritten ads in it for places like the local pharmacy or grocery store.   Here's what it looks like:

 I'm really proud to be part of the Etsy Vintage Team.  It's a group of smart & creative sellers who all love vintage as much as I do, and one only gets into it after an application and review process.  That's cool all by itself, but to have my item chosen from all the items of the over 250 members is SWEET!  Here's the Facebook post.

The other happy thing is that my blog was nominated for a Liebster Award!  I'm counting it as 2 happy things because it was nominated twice -- by Bargain Hunter over at Bargain Hunting Treasure Seeker and by Emily at {thrifty nifty kitchen}.  I'm really thankful to have been nominated.  I found out from them that Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, beloved, loveliest, cutest....  The award is for an 'up & coming blog' with less than 200 followers.
Thank you so much, ladies!   I'll post more about this tomorrow when I have more time and I'll look through the very long  list of my favorite blogs for some that I can nominate, too.  Thanks again, SO MUCH, Bargain Hunter and Emily!

Well, that's it for now -- it's been another long day (but one with happy surprises) and it's time to shut down the computer for a while.