little red fox

vintage; both in finds and birthdays

I think I found my very favorite new purse :)

We just got back from a wonderful birthday celebration for my mom's 60th in Mississippi. We made and ate delicious foods including Ina's Lobster Mac and Cheese...we made a couple of tweaks that I think helped it.

I have come to the conclusion that anything served in individual ramekins makes it that much more special.

We also had (among many other delicious things as my mom and all her friends are into gorgeous, fun food) some beautiful roasted tomatoes with basil, perfectly grilled cornish hens, an improv-ed and perfectly delicious butternut squash soup (which I will try and recreate this week)... And for dessert, since Betty isn't really a cake person, I made her a beautiful lemon mousse...

(See the 'B' in the middle? My first attempt with a pastry bag went swimmingly!) The multi-stepped recipe is here. It was complicated, but so good I think I'll make this for Thanksgiving, as well. It's a gorgeous alternative to a cake and such bright lemon flavor!

We all went to the thrift store and I found the purse above, a new winter coat ($9!!) and both of these pairs of shoes which I just can't believe...

When I tried on the sequined flats my mom said "It looks like you could join the circus in those" which were, of course, the magic words :)

And this strange little plastic frame. The 70s pictures are horrifying, but I think if I paint this red or black and add some strange little drawings behind the window...it could be the neatest little Edward Gorey tribute or something similar, couldn't it? It's hard to believe the things some people want to throw away but thank goodness they do since we all have different tastes!

My mom also gave me these little milk glass candy dishes that belonged to my great-grandmother Mamere (she was from France). They're so pretty and I love that they were hers.

I also found this:

An old beautiful plate from 1923. Complete with the calender year laid out...

Looks like November 2nd was a Friday in 1923 :)

And I've been meaning to show these for a few weeks. I didn't thrift them, my friend Larry (or 'Eagle-Eyed Larry' as he shall henceforward be known) found these for me at a garage sale in Michigan...

Might they remind you of a similar something seen in a certain line of clothing you might have seen from a certain post? So delightful! What good fortune!

Oh, Eagle-Eyed Larry, I owe you one :)

And Happy Birthday, Mom! I owe you quite a few more than one :)

it's pronounced vin-TAJH...

I wanted to share some recent vintage finds. We've traveling a bunch lately, seeing family, a wedding, etc., and I've been seeking out vintage/thrift shops whenever we have a spare minute (the iPhone really is amazing, I have to say). My husband is very sweet to humor me. I keep telling him "you never know! You have to increase the odds!" So these things are from Memphis, Vermont and Massachusetts. The above is (obviously) a sweet little vintage apron that I got for only $4. I've been avoiding collecting vintage aprons because it seems like a slippery slope--they're so cute and so varied and there's so many of them! But I may have just found my gateway apron. The fabric is just darling:

 

At the same store I found this which I am in love with:

 

I've always wanted a KitchenAid mixer but they are waaaay out of my price range. But I just love this one. We plugged it in at the shop and it works as is! It just needs a good cleaning (which it will get today) and I thought I could probably find some mixing attachments on ebay if I needed them. I already have some recipes planned from this book which I just checked out of the library to try today. I may just have to go ahead and buy it, I think it might be just the cookie book for me...

(Update: I just bought the book! It was only $3.19 used on Amazon so I just figured why not? The link above will take you there. I'll post on it later after I've made some of the recipes from it in case you'd like more info.)

I found these little beauties in Memphis:

I'm a sucker for vintage gloves. I'm lucky because my hands are really small, so vintage gloves tend to fit me, which makes me very happy. I try to just admire from afar, but these weren't too expensive and I know I'll wear them out come fall. And it's weird, but I'm already excited for fall weather. (??) Totally premature. I'm thoroughly enjoying this gorgeous summer so far, I'm just saying I won't be sad when it starts to cool off in a few months...

And lastly, from an antique store in Vermont:

 

The hair...oh my. I've never seen anything quite like it. How long must that have taken? I found a bunch of great old photographs that he was selling for only a dollar a piece but I had no cash (save $1 in coins) and he didn't take credit cards. But at least I had enough for her! I love these old photographs /images so much, so I've decided to keep them "collected" over here for awhile and see if that satisfies my itch...

Also: just finished watching this movie and highly recommend it if you can get your hands on it. The music in it (and there's a lot) is WONDERFUL and you get to see Connie Boswell performing which was a real treat for me. :)

Well I've got some baking to do! Be back with some recipes tomorrow. I've so missed cooking and baking while I was so busy with the show! I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of that in the weeks to come...enjoy your day/night!

in praise of Mississippi

I'll bet that's not something you hear very often, unless you actually live there. I don't live there anymore--but I used to and both parents and their families (for the most part) are also from there. So though I spent part of my life in/around New Orleans, I am also most definitely part-Mississippian. The particular area I'm talking about is the Mississippi Delta (where the best music EVER came from--in my humble opinion :). The Delta is mostly flat farmland (famous for cotton!) and compared to a lot of the U.S., one doesn't see many places like this anymore:

(farm land and abandoned house outside Tunica, MS)

(abandoned 'downtown' of Duncan, MS)

(the stretch of Highway 61)

('Old Delta Farms' silos on Highway 61)

('Club No Name' in Gunnison, MS)

Sandbar out on the Mighty Mississippi where we spent the day before the Fourth riding in the boat, floating in the water, playing in the sand...I just love a big stretch of nothing.

And where my nephew zonked out for a bit after his first-ever beach trip...

(young cotton)

And a sunset off our balcony. Total soul-healer. Exactly what I needed after finishing the run of the play-- rest, quiet, nature. Crickets! The sound of nothing: