Tea for Two

I found this cute little 1954 apron pattern the other day, with tea cup pockets!
 It reminded me of the movie Tea for Two with Doris Day and Gordon MacRay. Of course they also sing the title song!

 

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies are a great way to celebrate fall! Over the weekend I made these and wasn't quite fast enough to get a photo! Sorry!

 Though they are not a sweet cookie, the chocolate chips perk it up and a secret ingredient adds a third dimension. What?? you ask, secret ingredient? Yes! Orange Peel! It is such a great combination. At first I thought it sounded like too much bother to grate orange peel for cookies, but they tasted like they were missing something. So I found a tangerine to use. Then I wished I had put it in all the cookies! Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

2 cups sugar

2 cups canned pumpkin

1 cup shortening

2 tablespoons grated orange peel

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Mix sugar, pumpkin, orange peel and shortening together. Combine all dry ingredients, stir into pumpkin mixture. Add chocolate chips. The dough will still be sticky. Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Flour fingers lightly and smooth dough into balls. (You can just leave them, but they will look very craggy. These cookies don't do anything in the oven, just bake!) Bake 8-10 mins. Until nicely brown on outside.

The 1947 General Electric "Stratoliner"

Did you notice the stove in the background of my pictures last week?

  A 1947 GE Stratoliner!! Isn't it a beauty!

"It's your Range dreams all wrapped up in one - the newest "Speed Cooking" beauty by General Electric!" Quote from ad. 

I bought it at an estate sale a couple of years ago, for $6.50. That is right $6.50! Who could pass up a bargain like that?!?

 "Streamlined? Just look at it! Sparkling - clean too - and so simple to keep that way!"

"Only General Electric has this big, easy-to-clean Tripl-Oven!" Really? This is big?!?

 "Most versatile range of any type ever built... The new GE Stratoliner boils, broils, bakes, simmers, fries, cans, pressure-cooks, roasts, steams, braises."

Mom found the manul in a local antique store, which was very exciting! I thought it would be fun to have some old ads for it too. The stove originaly cost $334.75. And had all the modern features; timer, broiler, even a built in pressurer cooker! 

I don't think the previous owner did much cooking, the stove is in great shape! I was vetoed by the family from using it until it is re-wired, which has not been done yet. So for now it makes a great filing cabinet! The other problem is it weights half a ton. Seriously, they don't build things like they use to. I don't know what we are going to do when is needs to be moved.

Fire King Swirl Dishes

 Saturday the Sis and I hit a few estate sales. We found some good things. Most of it was for our booth we rent at our local antique store. I thought I did quite good as the only thing I kept was these dishes. It is so hard! We find such great stuff, I want to keep it all!

Made by the Anchor Hocking Co. in the 1950s, under their brand name "Fire King". It was a type of glassware that was oven proof. Made from the early 1940s throught the 60s, "Fire King" came in quite a few colors and patterns, including the ever popular "Fire King" green. These dishes are the "Swirl" pattern, sometimes called "Shell".

  I had fallen in love with this pattern before and picked up one dinner plate. I now have five dinner plates, two soup bowls....

...A serving bowl and three fruit bowls!

A Few Aprons

Here are two aprons that I forgot I hadn't post yet.

I would say this is 40s or 50s. I think it was a waitress apron, before it was embroiderd and dyed with tea. I couldn't resist it! Febuary is my birth month.

 To me this one shouts 1930s! It has a little different yoke design.

Margy Apron

If you remember I posted about "State Fair" and the apron Margy wore. It has been on my to-do list to make for awhile. Finally, here it is!

Margy in her apron singing "It Might as Well be Spring".

And me in my apron! But no song.....

 I am very pleased with the way it turned out. Just wish I had the blouse to go with it! :) Don't you love the pocket ruffles?

 I couldn't quite decide from the picture whether the white is binding or rick-rack. I went with rick-rack because it is very 40s! If I make it again, I think the ruffles could be a wee bit wider.

Close up of the ruffles.

My New Aprons!

Yey! I finally have pictures to share! I am so excited with the way these aprons turned out.

This is made with a flour sack towel. A fun idea! Besides we are always drying our hands on our aprons. Of course I had to find a cute cherry print to bind it with! The cut off point makes a perfect pocket.

Close up of the cherry applique. I think it is vintage, I picked it up at a fiber show.

Back/side view over how it wrap around you. I am hoping to put together a picture tutorial on how to make one soon.

This one I took the pattern from this apron. I am so happy with the way it came out! It is super cute! Sorry for the crease down the middle, I was so excited to take the picture that I forgot to iron it!

This was one of the fabrics I bought a few weekends ago when we went to the quilt shop. So very 30s. I am still debating on if and where a pocket should go. But pockets are so cute on aprons! I think I will end up putting one on. Aprons need pockets.