1940 Sears Christmas Wishbook

1940 Christmas Wishbook

Christmas Catalogs - 1930s - 1980s

Christmas Catalogs 1930s - 1980s

Peanut Butter Fudge (Family Recipe)

Peanut Butter Fudge
Time: 1 1/2 hr. before serving. 3 doz. squares. 2 lbs.

1 16-oz pkg. light brown sugar (2 c)

4 T butter

1 t vanilla

1 can evaporated milk

1 t cider vinegar

1 12-oz jar peanut butter (1 1/2 c)

1. Butter 8"x8" baking pan; set aside. 

2. In heavy 3-qt pan, mix brown sugar, evap milk, butter, & vinegar; over med-low heat, heat to boiling, stir constantly. Set candy thermometer in place & continue cooking, with out stirring, until temp. reaches 238 or soft-ball stage. Remove pan from heat.

3. With wooden spoon, beat until mix begins to thicken and cool slightly. Stir in vanilla & peanut butter until well blended. Pour into pan.

4. Refrigerate fudge until firm. When cold, cut fudge in 6 strips, then cut each crosswise 6 squares.

~Ashley

A Day of Thanksgiving

Pecan Pie (August 1954)

Pecan Pie

Makes 1 nine-inch pie

Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes, then at 325 degrees F for 35 to 45 minutes. 

3 eggs

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1 TBSP melted butter

1 tsp Vanilla

Pinch of Salt

2 Cups shelled Pecans

1. Prepare pastry shell (recipe below).

2. Beat eggs slightly in large bowl; add sugar, corn syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. 

3. Beat until mixture is well blended and frothy; stir in pecans. 

4. Pour into unbaked pastry shell.

5. Bake pie in hot oven (425 F) 10 minutes; reduce heat to slow (325 F) and bake 35 to 45 minutes longer, or until filling is firm in center. 

Pastry Shell

Makes one nine-inch shell

1 Cup sifted flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1/3 Cup shortening 

About 3 TBSP cold water

1. Sift flour and salt into medium-size bowl.

2. Cut in shortening with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture is crumby. 

3. Sprinkle water over flour-shortening mixture; mix lightly with fork until dough just holds together.

4. Roll out to a 12-inch round on lightly floured pastry cloth or board. 

5. Fit into 9-inch pie plate; trim overhanging to 1/2 inch; turn overhang under, folding flush with rim of pie plate: flute edge. 

 Recipe from: "Family Circle: August 1954" 

Image from: telegraph.co.uk

Apple Pie Recipe {Gluten-Free}

Apple Pie Filling 

5 C. Apples {about 5-6 apples}

1 /3 or 2/3C. Sugar {depending on taste}

1/4 C. Cornstarch or Arrowroot powder

2 tsp. Cinnamon + any spices you enjoy!

Splash of lemon juice 

Add all the ingredients together in the pie crust. Bake according to your pie crust instructions. 

Crisp Topping {For Pies or Crisps}

1 C. Flour {any kind. For a Gluten-free option I use almond meal from Trader Joe’s}

1 C. Oats

1/2 C. Brown sugar 

1/4 C. White sugar

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 C. Butter {soften} 

Sprinkle of salt 

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well with a mixer. Crumble crumbs on top of pie. 

___________________________________

Pie Crust

For the pie crust I just use a pre-made gluten-free one from Whole Foods. You can use your favorite pie crust recipe, or a pre-made one.  Enjoy!

~Ashley

Cindy Goes to a Party....

Vintage Recipe Sites

Vintage Recipes - http://recipecurio.com/   

Retro Housewife Recipes - 1940s - 1950s - 1960s - 1970s 

A Vintage Recipe Collection - http://a-recipe-collection.blogspot.com/

Vintage Recipes - http://www.vintagerecipes.net/

Charming Vintage Recipes - http://charmsofdays.blogspot.com/

Grandma's Vintage Recipes - http://grandmasvintagerecipes.blogspot.com/

Purse Giveaway

Go to Bramblewood Fashion and enter to win this purse. Hurry though! The giveaway ends at 10AM EST today!

Quote of the Day

"Get books into your houses, when you have not the spring near you, then get water into your cisterns; so when you have not that wholesome preaching that you desire, good books are cisterns that hold the water of life in them to refresh you.... So when you find a chillness upon your souls, and that your former heat begins to abate, ply yourselves with warm clothes, get those good books that may acquaint you with such truths as may warm and affect your hearts."  —Thomas Watson (1662)


painting from google images. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies
By: Ashley P. of A Girls Guide to Home Life 

Oven - 375 degrees

1 C. Butter soften

1 1/4 C. Brown Sugar

1/2 C. Sugar

2 eggs

2 TBSP Milk

2 tsp Vanilla

2 C. Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

2 C. Chocolate Chips

2 1/2 C. Oats (If, you want oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I didn't add the oats when I made them for the seniors luncheon.)

1 tsp Cinnamon (Optional. I sometimes add this in the cookies when Fall weather comes.)

You can also add a few drops of peppermint and red sugar sprinkles around Christmas and Valentines for a holiday cookie. =)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Beat together butter and sugars in a mixing bowl, until creamy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Mix in flour, soda, and salt. Add in chocolate chips, and any of the optional ingredients now. Mix well. Drop by teaspoons, or what ever you use to scoop out cookie dough, onto a greased cookie sheet or, parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Cool for a few minutes on cookie sheet before removing cookies onto a cooling rack.

~Ashley

North & South Paper dolls

I found some North & South {2004} paper dolls online. Paper dolls are perfect for girls of all ages to play with. You can print these out on card stock so that your girls, sisters, granddaughters, or yourself may play with them.  =)

North & South Paper Doll 1 - http://digne.livejournal.com/156008.html

North & South Paper Doll 2 - http://digne.livejournal.com/156855.html

North & South Paper Doll 3 - http://digne.livejournal.com/157119.html

North & South Paper Doll 4 - http://digne.livejournal.com/162663.html

Enjoy!

~Ashley

Quote of the Day - Audrey Hepburn

I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.
— Audrey Hepburn

Quote of the Day - Audrey Hepburn

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It's the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years. 

— Audrey Hepburn

The Lady's Crochet Book by: E.M.C (1877)

Want some picture inspiration?

Check out my tumblr were I post a bunch of vintage images that I find all over the internet. Don't worry, I will still be post here. This is just for pictures I find interesting, or may want to look back at again so I don't have to search all over the internet to find it again. =) 

http://girlshomelife.tumblr.com/

P.S.
You can follow my tumblr through Google Reader.

~Ashley

Bernard-Hewitt & Co. Summer 1928 Apparel Sale Catalog

Cutting-Out and Dressmaking by E. Grand'Homme (1879)

Play Clay (1965)

"You can make play clay for the children right in your own kitchen. To make enough for two or three children to work with you will need 2 cups baking soda (one 1-pound package), 1 cup cornstarch and 1 1/4 cups water. Mix all three together in a saucepan, heat to boiling, stirring constantly, and remove from heat as soon as mixture reaches a dough like consistency. When cool enough to handle, knead slightly.

To make enough for four to six children, follow the same procedure with three 1-pound packages of baking soda, one 1-pound package of cornstarch and 4 cups water.

To color the entire batch of clay, add food coloring or tempera paint to water before adding other ingredients. Or leave clay white and color with paint, crayon or felt tip marker when dry. Clay can be stored in a Pliofilm bag or in a airtight container and will remain pliable for several months.

Finished models will dry overnight or they may be placed in a warm turned-off oven for half an hour or parked on the radiator for an hour or two.

The number of projects that can be made from play clay is unlimited. A pretty wall plaque or paperweight could be made by rolling the clay into a ball then flatten it into a thick pancake. Press little shells, colored pebbles or snips of colored aluminum foil into the clay to form a collage-type design. Then press figures of appropriate size into center of pancake. Remove gently. Color indentation with paint or felt tip marker. Press shells or pebbles into clay around edge to form frame.

Let the children make some decorations for Christmas trees by rolling clay into balls about one inch in diameter. Insert regular Christmas tree decoration hangers or paper clips and roll ball in colored glitter.

Play clay is an inexpensive modeling material that is safe for the children to play with, won't stain clothes or furniture, and will give children hours of fun and pleasure." (The Workbasket and Home Arts Magazine Number 10 - Vol. 30 - July, 1965)

Vintage Pattern Covers

I bought some vintage patterns this weekend and thought you all would like to see them.

1. 1930s ?

2. 1930s/40s ?

3. 1940s

4. 1940s

5. 1940s

6. ?

 7. ?

8. 1940s ?

9. 1940s?

10. 1940s

11. 1940s

12. 1940s

13. 1940s

14. 1930s ?

15. 1958

16. 1940s

17. 1950s

If anyone knows the correct dates, or eras for the patterns with question marks. Or even if I dated some of them wrong. Please let me know! Thanks. 

~Ashley

Strawberry Cream Roll (1965)

Strawberry Cream Roll (1965)

Serves 10.

Cake: 

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

1 cup of sifted cake flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1/2 pint heavy cream, slightly sweeten and whipped

1 pint strawberries, sliced and sweetened

Beat eggs and vanilla at high speed of mixer or with rotary egg beater until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar until mixture is fluffy and thick. Sift together dry ingredients and add all at once, folding them in by hand. Pour into 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan that has been lined with foil , lightly greased or into foil pan, lightly greased, on a cookie sheet.

Bake cake in moderate oven (375 F.) for 12 to 15 minutes or until a very light brown. (Do not overbake.) Turn out on large of foil, which has been generously sprinkled with sugar. Peel off foil lining or foil pan. Trim off crisp edges. Roll up in sugar-sprinkled foil sheet, leaving ends open, and let stand just 15 to 20 minutes. Unroll and spread with whipped cream and strawberries. Roll again and chill 1 hour in refrigerator before serving. Cover with foil during chilling. (The Workbasket and Home Arts Magazine Number 8 - Vol. 30 - May, 1965)  

picture from: Life Images on Google

The Hand-book of Dress-making by: Mrs. M. J. Howell (1845)

E-Pattern giveaway!

There is another giveaway on my blog Bramblewood Fashion. This time it is for an e-pattern from Sense & Sensibility Patterns! But hurry, as it ends Tuesday, May 18th at 12:00PM EST.

Enter giveaway here.

~Ashley

A quote for Mother's Day

The modern challenge to motherhood is the eternal challenge — that of being a godly woman. The very phrase sounds strange in our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other kind of women — beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career woman, talented women, divorced women, but so seldom do we hear of a godly woman — or of a godly man either, for that matter.

I believe women come nearer fulfilling their God-given function in the home than anywhere else. It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife than to be Miss America. It is a greater achievement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a second-rate novel filled with filth. It is a far, far better thing in the realm of morals to be old-fashioned than to be ultramodern. The world has enough women who know how to hold their cocktails, who have lost all their illusions and their faith. The world has enough women who know how to be smart.

It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure. We need women, and men, too, who would rather be morally right that socially correct. - Peter Marshall (In 1950 before the United States Senate.)

Image from: http://www.erasofelegance.com/

My Wife by: Robert Louis Stevenson

My Wife

by: Robert Louis Stevenson

TRUSTY, dusky, vivid, true,
With eyes of gold and bramble-dew,
Steel-true and blade-straight,
The great artificer
Made my mate.

Honour, anger, valour, fire;
A love that life could never tire,
Death quench or evil stir,
The mighty master
Gave to her.

Teacher, tender, comrade, wife,
A fellow-farer true through life,
Heart-whole and soul-free
The august father
Gave to me.

Image: "In the Garden" by: Charles Schweninger from: http://www.erasofelegance.com

A Giveaway....

Hello everyone! I'm having a giveaway on my other blog, Bramblewood Fashion. Go and check it out. But hurry! As it ends on May 9th. =)

~Ashley

Textiles and Clothing by Kate Heintz Watson (1911)

"The Liberty Song" - John Dickinson

 The Liberty Song

by: John Dickinson 

Come, join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
And rouse your bold hearts at fair Liberty's call;
No tyrannous acts shall suppress your just claim,
Or stain with dishonor America's name.

Chorus:
In Freedom we're born and in Freedom we'll live.
Our purses are ready. Steady, friends, steady;
Not as slaves, but as Freemen our money we'll give.

Our worthy forefathers, let's give them a cheer,
To climates unknown did courageously steer;
Thro' oceans to deserts for Freedom they came,
And dying, bequeath'd us their freedom and fame.

Chorus

The tree their own hands had to Liberty rear'd,
They lived to behold growing strong and revered;
With transport they cried, Now our wishes we gain,
For our children shall gather the fruits of our pain.

Chorus

Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall;
In so righteous a cause let us hope to succeed,
For heaven approves of each generous deed.

Chorus

Picture taken by me in Lexington, MA.

Quote of the Day

"The faith of the church must be tried by God's Word, and not God's Word by the church; neither yet my faith." ~Lady Jane Grey

The Millinery Depatment by: Charlotte Rankin Aiken (1918)

Ladies of the Reformation by: Rev. James Anderson (1855)

The Good Housekeeping Hostess (1904)

As Unto The Bow

As Unto The Bow

by: Henry Wadworth Longfellow

As unto the bow the cord is, 

So unto the man is to woman:

Though she bends him, she obeys him;

Though she draws him, yet she follows;

Useless each without the other.

Image: Godspeed (1900) by: Edmund Blair Leighton from: http://www.erasofelegance.com

Treasures in Needlework by: Mrs. Warren and Mrs. Pullan (1855)

Godey's Lady Magazine (1858)

Quote of the Day

"For one, I care but little for the government which presides at Washington in comparison with the government which rules the eight or ten millions of American homes. No administration can seriously harm us if our home-life is pure, frugal, and godly. No statesmanship or legislation can save us, if once our homes become the abodes of ignorance or the nestling-places of profligacy. The home rules the nation. If the home is demoralized it will ruin it."

- Theodore Kuyler

Image: On the Threshhold (1900) by: Edmund Blair Leighton from: http://www.erasofelegance.com