Back to School

If you've been a visitor here for awhile you will have seen most of these items already...but I am going to show them anyway :) - In honor or the new school year here are some items from my vintage school collection.

 Lunch box & Thermos

Vintage Paint Box & Tape Tins

One of my favorite items - a vintage pencil sharpener.

Another pencil sharpener

I store my colored pencils in an old peanut butter can.

These are amazing! I found these books at an antique store. They are writing/grammar books from 1896. The penmanship is incredible. Both books were owned/completed by the same student.

 Each page has a different sentiment written in cursive.

Rulers - The bottom one was a freebie from the Coca Cola Company.

Vintage chalk. I have 3 chalkboards in my home so these sit on the chalk ledge.

Vintage Flash Cards. I love to display these around the house using metal flower frogs.

Happy Back to School!

KayteeJane

Recipe Box

I recently decided to organize my recipe collection. I was using a 3-ring binder to hold favorite recipes and magazine cuttings. It worked fine but I didn't really like the way it looked. Yes, looks do matter {sorry}. I had this cute antique recipe box already so I decided to put it to good use. I went through my binder and re-wrote all the recipes I wanted to keep on index cards and filed them in here - the rest of the clippings were thrown away.

The system is working well. I am only filing recipes that I've actually tried and liked or are family recipes.

Speaking of good recipes I made an easy snack/dessert recently to share at my weekly bible study. They are chocolate covered fruit kabobs. Here is how I did it.

You will need:
Fresh strawberries - washed and dried

Mashmallows & Bananas

A large bar of Hershey's Special Dark chocolate

Some wooden skewers. I had some very long ones used for grilling so I just cut them in half.
Cut the stems from the strawberries & cut the bananas into small pieces. {I made this dish about an hour before we were eating it so I didn't worry about the bananas turning brown. If you are worried about that you can soak the pieces in a lemon juice/water bath to keep the pieces from browning.}

Make the kabobs by placing a marshmallow, strawberry, banana & another marshmallow on the stick. {Really you can use any fruit combo that you choose.}
Once the sticks are put together I melted the bar of chocolate in the microwave for about 1 minute or so. Use a fork to drizzle the melted chocolate over the kabobs.

I let the chocolate harden {you can speed this up by putting the kabobs in the freezer for a few minutes} then flipped them over and did the other side.
They turned out very cute - and super easy.
Place finished kabobs on a serving plate.

I think I may make these for my daughter's birthday treats to take to school.

These would be delicious with pineapple, strawberry and pound cake with chocolate drizzle or with apple chunks, pound cake & caramel drizzle for fall.
The possibilities are endless!

Hope you like them.
KayteeJane

Stacking Your Pyrex

 
If you are a Pyrex collector you will probably already know about this little secret - how to display your Pyrex bowls so that all the bowls are showing. If not, here is the how to. I actually received a few emails from readers asking how I stacked my bowls for display so I am so happy to show that. Truth be told I had to google how to do it myself. I was visiting a lot of blogs about Pyrex collecting and seeing all the bowls stacked so beautifully. I wondered, is that styrofoam in there? What is keeping the bowls standing? Luckily I found a few blogs that explained it for me.

You will need to buy some plastic food containers. Since I was just using these for display I went with the cheapest possible - the dollar store. I was able to buy a pack of 3/$1.00 and smaller ones for 4/$1.00. You will need 3 containers for a 4 piece set {in other words one less container for the amount of bowls in your set} - you may also need to experiment with the sizes of the containers for the best display. The bigger the bowls the larger the container and so forth.

In the largest bowl place your container in the center. I chose to put mine open side up.

I think this way holds the bowl more securely because it sits inside the container instead of on top of it.

Keep adding to create your tower of bowls. I found that I had to use a smaller sized container on the last layer {when I was displaying the smallest size bowl}.

 

Viola! A beautiful display!

These bowls are just too pretty to be hiding away in a cabinet!

KayteeJane

Recent Finds

Here are few of my most recent vintage finds.

A set of vintage metal trays. I love these trays so much and when I see them I buy them. Great for fall. Found at a Habitat for Humanity Store.

Vintage "Cookie" Jar. Hubby found this at a yard sale. I love it so much. It is shaped like a coffee pot. It originally had a black lid with a fake percolator. I have decided to use it for utensils right now.

Pyrex Verde Set. Found in the original box from 1972 in someone's garage.

I've been finding pieces of Pyrex to complete sets. I almost have a complete primary "fridgie" set. The blue piece was just purchased at an antique mall in Virginia. I don't have the lid yet.

I am also working on completing my New Dots set. I found the yellow dots at an antique mall in West Virginia. Now all I need is the green dots to complete the set.

I could go to ebay and just buy the green bowl or any of the other missing pieces that I am looking for - but truthfully I enjoy the hunt as much as I enjoy owning these things. When I find a piece I have been searching for - either at a yard sale or thrift store - it is quite a rush!

KayteeJane

Gifts

Today I want to show you some awesome gifts that were given to me recently from friends.

Alexis gave me this Horizon Blue divided casserole. It is my first piece of Pyrex with an opal lid. Isn't it pretty? I love the turquoise bottom too.

 

Frannie (who also collects Pyrex) was generous enough to give me this!

 

It was a duplicate  in her collection. How awesome is that! I have been wanting the Hot Air Balloon Chip & Dip set for years now. I only saw it for sale in person once at an antique mall and didn't buy it because at the time money was tight and I didn't have the funds. Now I am half way to havng a set of my own.

I love both of these treasures and when I use them I will think of the lovely ladies who gave them to me.

KayteeJane

Organizing

I keep plugging away with my organizing projects. Today I tackled my spice cabinet. I decided to put to good use my new "vintage" blue ball jars.

I used a Sharpie to write on the lids - easy peasy.

So much better now!
KayteeJane

13

I want to take this time to share a milestone in my family's life - my daughter Gabriella turned 13!

Here are some pictures of this momentous day.

She is in love with pink & zebra right now so that is how I decided to decorate her cake.

 I tried to make the inside look like zebra too. I found this idea on Pinterest - of course!

Lunch at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate.

Happy Birthday my darling Gaby! I love you so!
KayteeJane

Cleaning the Kitchen

So far this month I have been on a frenzy around the house cleaning out, rearranging, purging and working hard to get organized and orderly before the craziness of school, work and routines begins. No room is exempt from my cleaning! Today I am showing my kitchen - after it was cleaned and I rearranged the shelves. I love my open shelving - but YES, the stuff on the shelves does get dirty and greasy if not used often. Even so I love being able to display my collections in my kitchen. I used to have tradition cabinets and all of my vintage items that I love were hidden behind the doors. I much prefer this. Twice a year I pull everything down, wipe the shelves and wash everything. Then I decide what I want to get rid of (if anything) and enjoy rearranging things.

I decided that it was time to feature some of my Pyrex collection in the kitchen. While I still have a lot behind the scenes, I love looking at the things that I did put out on display. I didn't want it to look too cluttered so I just focused on some of my bowl sets.

The Amish Butterprint bowls on this shelf are used daily in cooking and are in easy reach.

I also decided to part with several of my vintage glass cake plates. I had over 12 different ones. While lovely, I didn't need them all. I am selling several right now on ebay. Above the microwave I featured my aluminum cake carriers and two blue milk glass cake stands that I did keep.

As you can probably tell, red & white are the primary colors of my collections - with some blue, green, yellow & pink mixed in. I love how the white background of my walls lets me focus on my collections. I have a heart for the 1940's & 1950's which shows in my things.

This wall is between two doorways. It isn't deep enough for more cabinets so we put a little breakfast bar there. I have been wanting to hang my vintage pot holder collection in the kitchen for over 6 years and finally got that goal accomplished. Hubby helped me to hang a vintage clothesline dispenser from the wall and the pot holders are hung using clothes pins.

I am happy with how it looks! I hope to share more rooms around the house as they are re-organized.
Thanks for stopping!
KayteeJane