Verity Vintage Studio

Thanksgiving Thoughts Over Apple Pie

Every year, when Thanksgiving comes around, we're supposed to specify what we are thankful for. There are always large things, like family and friends and freedom, that make the list. 

But this year, I've found my thoughts turning more toward my growing notice and appreciation of little things. Like aprons and apple pie. 

In preparation for one of the three of our large dinners for 65+ people around this time of year, I made a real old-fashioned apple pie.

I used an apple-corer-peeler-slicer this time, which saved me half an hour in a busy day and some weariness - I'm thankful for gadgets! I tossed the apples with spices and sugar and lemon zest - I'm thankful for scent!

I packed them in the wonderful homemade pie crust - our own lard makes them extra good! - so artistally crimped by my sister - I'm thankful for sisters!

I put the top crust on and made a little heart on it - I'm so thankful for the variety and beauty in something we work with so many times a day...food!

Then it came out of the oven, browned and fork tender, with butter bubbling madly around the edges - I'm thankful for butter!

And in between steps, as I wielded the rolling pin and listened to music, I wiped my hands on my cheerful apron and could watch the busy little lives of the birds in the tree outside the kitchen window. 

Little things are the stuff of life. Happy Thanksgiving!

Memorial Day

Little white cross in a faraway land,

What do you mark in the place where you stand?...

Symbol of mercy, help us learn

When all of the tears are dried,

How we may earn the right to live

As bravely as those who died!

 

- from "Little White Cross" lyrics

Vintage Quilt Airing

I love vintage fabric, patchwork, and colors. So it stands to reason I love vintage quilts too.

 

I was lucky enough to pick up this one generously sized for a twin-size bed, for only $10.

 

The patchwork was beautiful and colorful. It was in good shape, too, with little wear to the patches and a few stains. It was soft and cuddly. It was backed with flannel, so it won't slide off a bed.

But it smelled like it had been in an old house for 50 years. Which it probably had.

 

 

Besides washing machines being hard on vintage fabric, a wet quilt is so heavy the stitches can tear right out of the fabric.  So I hung it dry out on the line for a day.

The sun and breeze are natural refreshers.

 

But I helped them along by using a spray bottle filled with water and about 12 drops of lavender oil.

That would dampen it and help it to smell better without the weight of submersing it in water.

 

It was fun to watch it blow.

 

I thought that the sun through the top looked like stained glass.

After about an hour I could already tell it was smelling better. I sprayed it two or three times throughout the morning, and let it hang until about 4:00.

 

Patchwork closeups:

 

So then I could spread it on my bed.

 

It matches my curtains! (Yes, my room is full of vintage hats, books, and pictures of Roy Rogers.)

 

It makes me smile and adds vintage charm to my room.

 

It looks like my room came from another era. Which I like.

And because I love it so much I had to share photos! Thanks for looking.

 

 

(Incidentally, it matches my wallpaper border too. :-)

 

Verity Vintage Studio's 4 Tips for Decorating Retro

Everyone's style is different when it comes to home decor and Christmas decorations. Some folks like blue flashing lights on their porches - others only want white ice-sicle lights. Some enjoy the big inflatable snowmen or Santas, while others opt for more traditional Nativities and live greens.

We like to decorate each room a little differently, with color coordinated Victorian style ornaments in the living room, heirloom and antique ornaments in the parlor, and homemade ornaments in the kitchen. But regardless of decorating style, these tips for retro Christmas decorations can be helpful to incorporate. 

 

Tip #1

Use what you have before you buy what you have not. The candelabra shown here and in the photo above is a good example. While usually year-round it is just a wrought-iron candelabra with a potted plant in the basket in the center, during the holidays we really jazz it up with vintage ornaments and crocheted snowflakes and poinsettia swags to transform it into a holiday centerpiece that is easily the focal point of the dining room.

If you already have pictures on the wall, stick a few stems of Christmas tree clippings behind them. Do you already have white curtains or gold candlesticks or green potted plants? Just add a little red, a few ornaments, or a holiday wreath. Instantly that brings the Christmas look to something that may have looked cottage chic before that. 

Or in this case, a hutch already red becomes a Christmas hutch instead of just a red hutch when we stick some evergreens on top and loop some wooden beads - the work of a minute.

Tip #2

Homemade doesn't have to mean kitschy. While salt dough ornaments or zany fat felt appliqued figurines may be what you think of when someone says "homemade", it really is easy to find or make decorations that fit your style without sacrificing quality. 

Here's a fun homemade ornament you can make, that takes hardly any time or talent, and can be used for many different styles from Rustic to Victorian - vintage sheet music paper ornaments. 

Just take some vintage sheet music (usually cheap at antique stores) and trace around a cookie cutter lightly with a pencil. Cut it out and pierce it with an ornament hanger. They are so lightweight they can hang even on the most delicate surfaces. Also adorable to glue on a Christmas card!

Tip #3

Use live greens - at least a little bit! Besides a few fake wreaths and the poinsettia swags, we use only live greens. It's some work, but it really takes your holiday decorating a step up! But it doesn't have to be a lot of work. It can be as simple as cutting two short branches, twisting a twist-tie around the center stems, twisting on a bow, and using a thumbtack to secure it above a door. A swag in 1 minute!

Tip #4

Use any display cases you already have for holiday display. A china closet now helps decorate a room, thanks to laying a few stems of holly around or among the china, which is of course already decorative. You can do the same with curio cases or glass-front bookshelves.

But of course the main thing to remember when decorating is that it should be fun - not stressful or too much hard work. "Decking the halls" for the festivities with a light heart and smiles, more than the most elaborate trees or fancy bows, will "prepare Him room".

Hopefully you enjoyed that little tour through our retro-Victorian house this year!

 

Preparing for Thanksgiving...

...with apple pies!

No, we don't eat them a week old. I know Thanksgiving Day isn't until next Thursday. This one is for our church's Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. 

If you think it looks delicious, you should taste it! The recipe - legendary in the church - from some friends is the best I've ever tasted, and will be published in my cookbook (with their permission, of course). Firm yet tender, thin-sliced apples tossed with citrus and spices and sugar...scrumptious!

If I had to make too many of these, though, I would want an apple corer-peeler-slicer gadget!

 

O Give Thanks unto the Lord,

For He is Good!

 

 

In the Music Box

It's hard to believe that even though the maple trees in my yard still are yellow torches standing in perfectly circular pools of yellow, Advent will soon be here! I learned that the month of December is not enough time to listen to all my favorite Christmas music as often as I want to listen to it, so I start in November now so I have a whole 2 months.

Here is some of my eclectic collection as played in the various music "boxes" throughout the house now that it's November.

(And keep tuned for my November tutorial later this week! This time it has to do with a needle and thread, remnants of vintage fabric, and vintage buttons!)

Related articles

In Celebration of Fall

In Celebration of Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year – hands down. Although I love aspects of other seasons – the coziness of winter by the fire, and the glories of the Advent season; the incredible regeneration of life in the spring; summer's smells of curing hay and sun-warmed grass – I am reminded every year why fall is my favorite season.

Pennsylvania is at her best in the autumn. Once the humidity is gone and the sun is still warm, it's a joy to watch the colors slowly come into the trees fringing the pastures or on the blue sweeping line of mountain. I love it when everything is still green and yet the goldenrod and wild asters shout that “summer is over” along the hedgerows. L. M. Montgomery calls wild asters, “farewell summers”, and I love that name for them. (Incidentally, it's time to read the Pat of Silver Bush books again!) 

By the time the asters are over, the tree colors come in earnest, although at different times. The maples can be still all green while the walnuts and cherries are completely bare already. But there's always lots of color. Funny how dying life could be so splendid! Perhaps they know they'll be back next year.

Fall is a feast for the senses. Nothing can equal the glory of morning or evening sunlight streaming through crimson maple leaves in air that makes everything seem 3D. The eyes are full of seeing and the tongue with tasting. The riot of birdsong outside my bedroom window in the morning will soon give place to silence over the cold winter months.

 

In our family, fall is time for...

 ...making applesauce! We have a family work day on a Saturday and do a whole year's supply, with the help of a copper kettle. This year we did over 130 quarts, plus 2 batches of apple butter!...

 

  

 ...photo shoots with friends...

 

...comfort foods like Pumpkin Soup – a yummy favorite in cold weather!...

 

 ...the last crocheting on the porch swing for the year...

 

 ...wearing sweaters again, and vintage gloves and hats...

 

 ...crystal clear days, still warm but crisp...

 

 ...and hearty breakfasts!

 

In the fall we...

 ...look forward to the fires we will enjoy...

 

...take our last summer rides...

 

 ...finish up building projects (see the chicken coop in progress on the right)...

 

 ...do up the last of our food storing for the winter ahead...

 

 ...and so do the porkers!

 

 We look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners...

 

 ...while enjoying an incredibly beautiful world to do our daily work in...

 

 ...and basking in all the manifold blessings God has given us so abundantly.

 

Summer and winter,

Seedtime and harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

 

(from the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness”)