This and That

Lemon Squares for the Holidays

Another favorite...from Susan Branch's Cookbook 

Favorite Holiday Recipes

This is about the ONLY time of the year that I bake...and I love Susan Branch's recipes. Thought I'd share a few favorite ones with you over the next several days. And if you try them, let me know how the treats turned out!

 

 

Antiques Are Green

By buying antiques and vintage items to use again or to repurpose into something useful again you are helping to conserve our natural resources. Join Antiques Are Green to promote the use of antiques instead of having these treasures from the past end up in landfills.

Invest in the future...recycle the past.

Recipe for Christmas

Touch Hands

"Ah friends, dear friends, as years go on & heads get gray

How fast the guests do go!

Touch hands, touch hands, with those that stay.

Strong hands to weak, old hands to young."

La Vie Parisienne from French Frolic

 

     

La Vie Parisienne  magazine was first published at the end of the 19th century as a social and artistic guide for glamorous Parisiennes. The magazine quickly became a high class, slightly risqué magazine combining satire, humor and lots of scantily clad young ladies. The covers and pages were the work of many acclaimed artists of the time.  You can find these original French covers at French Frolic. This new webshop is owned by a charming couple, Lesley and Geoff. They moved several years ago from the UK to a lovely Limousin region of France, where according to Lesley "the pace of life is unhurried and tranquil." They live in a 200-year old chateau which they are renovating. They shop the rural brocantes for antiques and vintage French magazines/posters. We love the La Vie Parisienne covers framed and grouped above a sofa or buffet table, or in a hallway. Tres chic, don't you think? 

Salute to Women in the Military

             1943 Recruiting Poster for WAC

Holiday Open House

Our Holiday Open House yesterday was a great success! We all spent hours the day before preparing our spaces at Serendipity Antiques for the event. Bonnie, who loves Christmas as much as I do, decorated with several trees throughout the shop, filled with lovely ornaments. She filled cupboards and shelves with even more decorations! Visitors were welcomed with fresh coffee and homemade sweets. Taylor Linens delighted customers with a new line of quilts, shams and pillows in Fall/Winter colors. I managed to display my line of French burlap pillows throughout the shop.

My case {I don't have floor space} was filled with handmade Christmas pillows and my favorite Noelle Garrett Designs journals {we are a retailer for NGS}, as well as many vintage items.

                                             

Holiday decorations {most handmade} and other items for sale at the shop can also be found on our website.

Have a fantastic week! ~ Cheryl

  

A Love For Old Seasonal Postcards

This is the time of year when I find myself searching for vintage postcards, especially those created in the late 1800s and early 1900s by artist Ellen Clapsaddle.  Most sell in the $10-50 range. Reproductions of her illustrations frequently appear on vintage-style decorative accessories, as well ~ cards, ornaments, calendars.

The artist's life was filled with high's and low's, like many artists. Ellen was born January 8, 1863 in South Columbia, New York. She developed her artistic skills studying at the Cooper Institute in New York City.  She illustrated several postcards that caught the attention of International Art Publishing. Her artwork was featured on calendars, cards and other types of ephemera  from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. She is best known for her colorful artistry found on vintage greeting postcards, many of which featured children and youth with sweet expressions. During her career, Clapsaddle completed close to 2,000 postcard illustrations. While later working for the Wolf Company in the early 1900s, she moved to Germany. When WW 1 broke out, she was stranded in Germany. The factory where her original illustrations were stored was burned; she was alone, and no longer able to earn a living as an artist. She wandered the streets until one of the Wolf Company brothers traveled to Europe and brought her back to New York. She was 55 years old; she had never married. In 1932, Ellen Clapsaddle moved to the Peabody Home in New York where she lived the last two years of her life. She died penniless just before her 69th birthday on January 7, 1934. But her talent continues to be recognized worldwide.

These are some of my favorite holiday Ellen Clapsaddle illustrations. They can be reprinted for use on holiday tags, homemade greeting cards, magnets, etc. Enjoy!  ~ Cheryl

 

 

 

and my favorite...

My Love of Vintage French Wire Baskets

Previously I posted about my love for wicker baskets {actually, any vintage wicker}, but I also have a passion for vintage French wire/metal baskets of various designs. 

This old basket was originally used to hold eggs gathered at the farmhouse or bought at market. I like to use them to hold a variety of kitchen items {all those collectible corks; fresh vegetables} or in a bathroom to hold scented guest soaps and linen towels.

      
And of course, living in Wine Country, I collect {and sell a few on our website} and use the vintage French wine carriers. The more patina, the better!  

And for the office or laundry room...the old metal gym locker baskets {okay..they aren't French...but still charming}.  Have a great weekend....browse those flea markets for treasures you can use or repurpose with your creative mind!