Betty Crocker, Fig Leaves, Blythe & Birds

After much too long of a hiatus, I resumed my favorite past time-- thrift shopping-- yesterday.
You can keep the girl out of the thrift shop, but you can't keep the thrift shop out of the girl. Or something like that. The pickings were a bit slim, but I thought I 'd still share some of my finds-

Just what every burgeoning chef needs, Betty Crocker's New (if you are still living in 1973), Boys and Girls Cookbook-

This one is wonderful for the photographs and illustrations alone. But there are some cutesy recipes tucked within too.

That being said, there are also some gross ones.
No, those are not delicious, fudgy, cake-like brownies topped with homemade vanilla ice cream.
It's a pan of round meatloaf with scoops of mashed potatoes on top. Ewwww.
What was up with always making big hunks of brown meat the centerpiece of every cookbook photo? The job of food stylist, as we know it, obviously had not been invented then.

I also found this adorable generic doll that I have named Blythe, thanks to her keen resemblance to her much more famous big-eyed fifth cousin, (twice removed).
This doll looks to have come from a five & dime or maybe a carnival or fair? I love her perfectly molded hair and her adorable red & white polka dotted dress topped with a sweet little lace trimmed apron. I need to make something like this for Amelia (or me) to wear. Too cute! Amelia has already ripped Blythe's head off while inspecting her. Poor thing. 40 years of living, completely unscathed. Less than five minutes in our household and suddenly headless. Thank goodness it just conveniently slid right back on. Ding!! Good as new. Now why doesn't mine do that?


I also picked up some grandma style sweet little birds. When I asked Michael how much he loved them, he stared at me blankly then said, "um-hum", which in my experience typically means... not a lot. So, as they are a little too old fogey for him, these birdies will be relegated to my own little office/studio space. That's just fine by me.

A few kiddie crafting books. I especially love the vintage 70's one with lots of egg carton, meat tray, turpentine, borax & macaroni style crafting. Who knew putting your child in such compromising positions, as far as safety goes, could be such fun? :-)

Then there was this delicate little feather, sitting all alone on a shelf next to a stack of chipped plates. I couldn't stand to see him (yes, I know he's pink) lose his dignity like this. I rushed him home, fed him some brunch and ran him a warm bath. Now he's smoking a pipe, in his slippers, curled up in a lazy-boy in front of a fire. Proud as a peacock. A changed man, I mean bird.
(p.s. he's sitting pretty for his photo on top of a sweet little halter dress I found for me. i plan on wearing it over a heather gray turtleneck with some cropped jeans until it is full on spring).


Oh and in celebration of spring....lookeee here...
Maple leaves a sprouting-
And fig leaf curling out veeerry cautiously...
Hurray!! Spring soon will be here!!


And last, but not least, congratulations to wunderkind Christian Soriano on his much deserved Project Runway win!! That 21 year old man-boy is a prodigy. I love his flair for the dramatic and constant creation of couture like there's nothing to it. I must say I found him to be a bit annoying (or at least the way he was edited) over the course of the show. I don't know. Maybe it was one too many "fierce(s)" that put me over the top. But I do think he is personality plus, which will undoubtedly lead to sale, sale, saleability for whoever lassos this supremely talented little money-maker in.