A visit from family

Source: My Everyday Graces

Have you all been wondering where I went? Well, some family decided to drop by for an extended stay! Between all the catching up, sightseeing, and assorted adventures, suffice it to say I had no time for posting on the Hausfrau Journal!

Source: Refining Ashley

One of the highlights was a horseback riding lesson with a fantastic local instructor. I think I'm hooked!

Source: A Vintage Cottage Home

We also biked to two castles through some stunning wilderness.

Source: Charleston Cycle Chic

And how can I forget the relaxing day at the spa, complete with muscle-melting massage?

Source: My Daily Green

As a present to my husband for kindly putting up with all the hassle, I took the whole day yesterday to clean the house thoroughly.

This is what I looked like when I started...

Source: Reflections of Yesteryear

...and when I finally finished.

Source: My Everyday Graces

A Touch of Elegance: Shelf Trim

Lovely readers, what do you know about lace edging on shelves? I've taken a recent interest in this topic, and here's why:

Ever since Caroline from Caroline's Clothing left me a comment on one of my recent posts about how she loves edging like this on vitrines and cabinets with glass doors and actually reproduced this effect on the buffet in her kitchen, I've been scouring the internet to find out more about this tradition.

(Caroline, to answer your question, this photo was taken in a local antique store. I snapped this picture to remind my future self to try this out if I ever get the right cabinet!)

From the calendar "Aus Großmutters Küche" by Christa Versley, Korsch Verlag

But it seems very little has been written on this topic! So I'm going to offer every bit of knowledge I've acquired about decorating shelf edges, and in exchange, I would love to hear anything you know about this topic! (See the end of this post for more details.)

Apparently shelf decorations can take two forms:

Happy May Day!

I hope all of you are having a lovely May Day! As I was searching online this morning for antique May Day postcards, this sweet paper doll of a raven-haired May Queen by Barbara Hale practically jumped out of the screen at me. The image originally comes from a McCall's magazine published in 1921, but Marianne Dow of Ms. Dow Antiques scanned it in for her blog 'Tique Talk. (Thank you, Ms. Dow!)

Enjoy, and happy May Day!

How to make a watering can for free

A while ago when I was browsing through Pinterest, I came across an image showing an ingenious way to make a watering can of sorts from a regular bottle with a plastic lid.

This idea intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try. Plus I figured that I could then finally retire my teapot from as my current watering can of choice. (Yes, I know…)

Here's how I did it:

1950s Children's Fashions from East Germany Part 1

I love the fashions of the 50s, and I can see by the poll on the side of my blog that many of you do, too!

So chances are you will be as fascinated with my little east German pattern booklet showing a variety of children's clothing styles.

Sundry Items

Top to Bottom:

"Weck" canning jars in the sun
...a fond summer memory

Retro-styled grocery wrapping paper
...like going back in time

Lace on shelves
...a lovely touch

"Mein grösstes Glück, mein grösste Freud' ist meine stille Häuslichkeit"

...very sweet, but I like other things, too!

 The "Swiftsure", British Vacuum Washer Co., Islington, Liverpool

...I own a handy version in blue plastic

Proud peacock

...showing off for the ladies

Ephemeral forsythia

...soon to be gone

Recipe: Cocoa Plum Millet with Marzipan

Today I want to share a very special, mouthwatering recipe with you. You can cook it up in about 15 minutes, and the preparation time is minimal. In the last few years I've had several occasions to cook up a batch for guests, and every time I am overwhelmed with compliments on the taste and texture of this dish.

Since I learned to cook using imperial measurements, that's how I continue to write all my recipes down, regardless of their origin. Someone in Germany (forgot who!) taught me how to make this dish around 10 years ago. The version below is one I settled on after many trials and tweaks. You may need to change the amounts I give according to your ingredients and preferences.

Hausfrau's Cocoa Plum Millet with Marzipan

• 1 cup millet
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 t salt (to taste)
• 1/2 cup canned plums, chopped into pieces
• 1/2 cup plum juice
• 2 teaspoons real cocoa powder (or more, depending on type and preference)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I prefer the Vietnamese kind)
• 1/3 cup marzipan, chopped into little cubes
• apple sauce
• cinnamon sugar

In a saucepan or small pot, add millet, water, and salt. Bring to a boil and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, being careful not to stir until the water starts to boil. When the water is mostly absorbed, add cocoa, cinnamon, plum juice and plum pieces. Stir gently.* Add marzipan bits. Stir gently again. Cover and let sit 5 minutes. Serve with applesauce and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.

*Stirring carefully ensures that the cooked millet does not disintegrate.

Makes 2 to 3 servings

♥
Enjoy!

Liebster Blog Award - Sharing the Love

Attention, everyone! Charlotte from Sew Far Sew Good has flattered me by choosing the Hausfrau Journal for a Liebster Blog award for blogs with fewer than 200 followers!

Source: Bloomsbury Loft

Thank you, Charlotte, for considering my work worthy of this honor.

Both of Charlotte's blogs make fascinating reads. Sew far sew good is a journey through the world of garment creation and self-discovery, whereas My Family My Way details the joys and challenges of raising her four sons with a healthy appreciation of the world with an anthroposophical bent. She also contributes to another blog, the Refashion Co-op.

Source: Birdhouse Books

True to the intention of this award, I would like to pass on this honor to five small blogs whose authors I believe deserve recognition for their work:

The values of reducing waste and embracing vintage espoused by the author of "Reduce, Reuse, and Rummage" really resonate with me. I also find her style of writing quite charming!
http://reducereuseandrummage.blogspot.com/

Lucy Santos's blog "The Glamourologist" is bursting with fantastic posts on utterly fascinating topics relating to make-up and perfume with a horde of well-chosen pictures.
http://theglamourologist.blogspot.com/

When I read Frøken Toft's blog, I feel like I'm a little fly sitting on her shoulder observing her fascinating life in Denmark.
http://toft-toft.blogspot.com/

Not fluent in Danish? Plug the text into Google Translate. Personally I don't let a foreign language stand in the way of enjoying others' blogs.

And neither should you! So hop on over to the smallest blog on my list "Dengang i 50erne", which translates to "Back in the 50s". The author of this blog (another Dane like Ms. Toft) manages to dig up the most enthralling magazine clippings and photographs from the 1950s and scans them in for the world to enjoy.
http://dengangi50erne.blogspot.com/

Now that you've mastered Danish, why not try a little German? Beswingtes Allerlei (how in the world should I translate that in to English???) covers a range of topics for the modern woman who loves old-fashioned things. Check out her recent post on making cherry earrings a la Carmen Miranda.
http://swingincat.blogspot.com/

At the risk of sounding cliché, there were so many other blogs I would have loved to have nominated as well. Excellent writers with creative ideas are starting up blogs every day as blogging becomes more and more popular. Sometimes getting through that first phase where you only have a few (albeit devoted) readers can be a struggle.

Source: Dibble Dibble Dee

In that spirit, I would like to make a special mention for Incurlers, who came up with a great idea for a blog but hasn't posted for a little while. I sincerely hope she develops her idea further.
http://incurlers.blogspot.com/

As long as you're still here, I will also openly confess my love for the Debora's pristine and utterly elegant style at the Black Pinafore.
http://theblackpinafore.blogspot.com/

Are you one of my five nominees? Please include the picture on your blog and thank the blogger who nominated you. Carry on the tradition by selecting five small blogs with fewer than 200 followers to receive the Liebster Blog award.

Magical millinery: an iron for hat making

Source: Frankston Weekly

To be honest, hat making has always been somewhat of a mystery of me. Being completely uninitiated in this art, I think that most millinery tools look like somebody combined a magic wand with a dental pick, and what one does with this bizarre combination is completely opaque to me!

Source: Damsel in Regress

Now, I'm not proud of my ignorance, and I plan to remedy this problem someday when I have more free time. Until then, I take full responsibility when my lack of millinery knowledge causes me to purchase items for which I have absolutely no use.

What am I talking about? Here's an example:


A couple months ago while I was browsing the nooks and crannies of a local thrift store, this bizarre gadget caught my eye:

As probably guessed, the "Original Bügelfix" mounts onto a table with the turn of a lovely heart-shaped screw. Plug the cable into the wall and the round head heats up, just like the bottom of a normal steam iron.

Honestly, I hadn't the slightest clue this was actually for hat making! I bought it on a whim since the price was incredibly low—just a few Euros—and I thought it could be used for ironing difficult articles of clothing like blouses with puff sleeves.

"Bügelfix" translates to "Fast Iron" or "Quick Iron"

(In case you are wondering, the "D.R.P." on the sticker label stands for "Deutsches Reichspatent", that is, a patent dating to before 1945, which gives us an idea of when this device was manufactured.)

An old-fashioned plug without the grounding prongs

Never make hot-headed decisions, right? Guess this was one of those impulsive buys I've always heard about.

Source: Craig Swanson

Not even an exhaustive internet search could turn up any information about this curious device, but I did discover two pictures of a model sold over eBay (the listing is now deleted) for which the power cord can be completely detached.

And here's a screen shot of an eBay listing from a year ago. Apparently someone bought an iron just like the one I have for 60 Euros, much more than I paid for it.

Right now a perfectly usable hat making rarity is just sitting on a shelf in my laundry room collecting dust!

Perhaps the time has come when my Bügelfix and I shall part ways...

Source: lebabovard.com