Saturday, March 24, 2012

My 1934 compact

I went antiquing on my way to the grocery and found this wonderful YAY! item. It is a 1934 makeup compact. It has the patent number engraved in it so I could identify the year.




This is the lovely top. I am not sure what the material is but it is a lovely coral red and appears to be carved (but I could be wrong).  I am still learning my camera so the picture is not as sharp as I would like
Below is the inside when you first open it. The left has a nice and unmarked mirrored metal surface and the right is where the powder goes. And what is extra special is behind the mirrored metal!




Yes! That is a rouge compartment and it still has the little puff and a bit of 1930's rouge. I have also opened the puff section where the powder goes and you can see the little screen for the powder. It is in wonderful shape but needs a bit of cleaning on the outside. Unfortunately, the pan for the powder is gone so it cannot be refilled.



Isn't it a lovely find, though? And only cost me $3.00 US.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Nan and Sam have a cooking day

Today Sam and I went to my mother's (from this point on referred to as 'Nan') where he is spending the time cooking. No matter how good Mom's food is, grandmothers always are the better chef.

Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies
(they just used the recipe on the back of the Toll House bag.)
2 1/4 cups all -purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packaged brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12 oz.) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Grease 15x10 inch jelly-roll pan. Spread dough onto prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.




Reuben Sandwiches
(no picture, they were eaten too quickly)
Sliced corned beef
Sliced rye bread
Sliced Swiss cheese
Bavarian Sauerkraut (or sweet sauerkraut)
Thousand Island dressing
Butter

Spray the frying pan with baking spray. Build the sandwiches and then brown the sandwiches in the pan until they are golden brown on each side.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Lucky Thirteen by Melanie Jackson

Lucky Thirteen review

One of the things I like about good writers is that they can entertain and teach me something new without me noticing. Not only is Melanie Jackson a wonderful writer, but she also researches her subjects before she writes. In Lucky Thirteen Chloe and Alex travel to Florida for business and attend a horse race. Chloe, being Chloe, almost gets killed rescuing a dog and earns the friendship of one of the racehorse owners. Following this, she and Alex are invited to visit the horse breeding facilities and fall into the intrigue of professional horse racing. Chloe is once again pulled into solving a crime and preventing the financial ruin of her new friend.

Melanie Jackson has always been one of my favorite writers as she always knows her subject and presents it in a clear, tight story. I have become very fond of her Chloe Boston cozies and find that they fit my new reading lifestyle. They are short, interesting and I am never able to figure out the ending before Chloe. This is definitely a YAY in my book.

Available from Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com as well as http://www.melaniejackson.com