Here we are just a week away from the big holiday dear readers! If your month has been a flurry of activity like Ms. Jeannie’s and you find yourself flustered about what to give whom, then you’ll her find her last minute sale for last minute shoppers a true treasure.
For two days only – December 18th and 19th, take 50% off your order using the coupon code fifty2015 upon checkout.
If you have hard people to shop for a vintage book always makes a lasting impression, a thoughtful gift or a nice reminder of a shared experience. Find such favorites here. Or help your pal set up a perfectly appointed library with some 100% unique and one of a kind decorating pieces that add instant, effortless personality to any space. Find those marvels here.
Why just two days, you ask? Because that will give Ms. Jeannie enough time to gift wrap your item in pretty paper, tie it with a bow and pack it off in the mail in time for Christmas. Live outside of the Southern region of the continental U.S.? No problem just send Ms. Jeannie a message and she’ll add expedited shipping charges to hurry that package right along to you.
In 1963, a new edition of a popular 12 year old cookbook was published by Beverly Pepper.
The cookbook was Glamour Magazine’s New After Five Cookbook containing a year’s worth of dinner recipes designed for the young modern woman who didn’t have a lot of extra time to sit down and menu plan. With an audience comprised primarily of busy career girls, new mothers, college grads, young marrieds and the over extended singleton…
photo via pinterest
the After Five Cookbook was a dream come true. Broken down by month and then further by week, each section begins with a pantry staple list needed for the month followed by a weekly shopping list of all ingredients needed over the next six days..
The recipes are laid out from from Sunday to Friday of each week with Saturday of course left out, assuming either a night off, a party engagement or better yet, a dinner date out.
The last twenty pages contain special large-scale menus ideal for holidays or house parties when ladies were cooking for a crowd.
photo via pinterest
This is the section where Ms. Jeannie found the recipe for this blog post – a feast of flavor (or a gourmet gangfest as Beverley Pepper liked to call it) that serves eight but could easily be doubled or tripled to feed the proverbial army. Time is always short-handed in December so while this recipe does take two hours to prepare, it freezes wonderfully, sits well in a chafing dish, makes excellent leftovers and transports easily if you are tailgating or pot-lucking your way through the month.
Mexican Beef with Olives (serves 6-8)
3 lbs. cubed grass-fed stew beef
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lb. ground grass-fed beef
2 minced garlic cloves
3 green peppers, cut in 1″inch strips
6 onions, chopped
2 tblsp. tomato paste
6 dashes Tabasco sauce (or equivalent hot sauce)
3 tblsp. chili powder
3 cups chicken broth
2 cans corn kernels, drained but reserve the liquid
1 cup spanish olives, sliced
salt and pepper (to taste)
In a large pan, brown the stew beef, ground beef, garlic, peppers and onions in the olive oil over medium high heat until the beef is browned and the onions begin to caramelize.
Add the tomato paste, tabasco, chili powder, salt and pepper to the pan and mix well.
Add the chicken broth, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer for one hour.
Add the corn kernals and simmer uncovered for an additional 30-45 minutes until most of the liquid is consumed.
The mixture at this point should be thick and saucy, if it looks too liquidy or thin let it simmer longer, if it looks too dry add some of the reserved liquid from the drained corn kernels. Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, add the olives and stir thoroughly over medium heat for 4 minutes.
If you prepare this dish ahead of time add the olives just before reheating.
Serve with rice, soft tortillas, hard tacos and lime wedges.
Ms. Jeannie served her tacos with white rice that was lightly tossed with freshly squeezed lime juice (half of a lime), a touch of salt and a few dashes of cumin. Other serving options that would be equally delicious include: sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro, and/or sliced mango.
Fun for family and friends, this recipe only gets better as it sits in the fridge making leftovers and quick dinner reheats fast and easy throughout the week. A fun gift for food bloggers, kitchen experimenters and vintage cookbook lovers, the After Five Cookbook is available here.
In 1960, John Hay spent the month of November on the coast of Massachusetts.
John Hay
In 2015, Ms. Jeannie spent the month of November on the coast of Florida.
John Hay was writing a book about the seasonal evolution of life on Cape Cod – a month by month collection of observations he would publish in 1961 under the title Nature’s Year: The Seasons of Cape Cod.
In November 2015, Ms. Jeannie was navigating a bevy of hospital hallways and doctors offices with her sick dad.
John escaped to the beach to think about life. Ms. Jeannie escaped to the beach for a brief break from life. Both John and Ms. Jeannie found solace on the shores of November.
55 years, 1300 miles and 11 states separated John from Ms. Jeannie. Does that matter? Does the seasonal effect of nature change so emotionally at sea? Fundamentally month by month are we more different than alike? Ms. Jeannie thought about these questions while she walked the beach and tried to make sense of the medical mysteries surrounding her father. Decades earlier John thought about these same questions while he walked the beach and tried to make sense of the natural mysteries surrounding humankind.
In this post we’ll be looking at one month from two sets of eyes to see how the natural world compares and contrasts between decades, between states, between regions and between people. Just how different is November from one place to another?
” The clouds cover the sky like gun smoke and the air feels cold and restricting.” – John Hay, Cape Cod, November 1960
In November 2015 in Florida, the clouds also covered the sky like gun smoke but instead of being cold and restricting the air was oven hot and heavy with humidity.
“November rolls into view with cool, solemn, formal consistency…daylight diminishes. The summer no longer pounds at our temples. The fall color is gone. There is nothing to look at and very little to hear… to a city lover it is silent and deadly dull.” John Hay, Cape Cod, November 1960
In Florida in 2015, November rolled into view on the body of a heatwave. Temperatures hovered for most of the month in the mid-90’s. The air felt consistently relaxed and languid. If Ms. Jeannie was blind-folded and asked to guess the month she would have said August by the sticky feel of things around her. Summer was holding strong.
“Out on the bay the low waves look as if they have a harder push and pull to make, imbued with new heaviness.”- John Hay, Cape Cod, November 1960
In Florida in November 2015, the waves are not low. They are tall and fat and strong. So full of energy and life, their crashing chorus’ take up all the audible room in Ms. Jeannie’s eardrums.
“There is a kind of ice sludge being nudged in by the tides along the shore and through rippling purple waters of tidal inlets.” – John Hay, Cape Cod, November 1960
In Florida in November 2015, the tide drags ashore signs of autumn color in the form of clumpy pumpkin-tinted seaweed that stretches the entire length of the beach.
“Seeds, on grasses and weeds now grow thinner, drier, more colorless, are not only rich in generation on their own account but they provide beyond themselves. The simplest food chain suggests the links in many others. The time for persistence is coming, when those grasses we take so much for granted will hold our earth together.” – John Hay, Cape Cod, November 1960
In Florida in November 2015 as a whole it is easy to overlook the wild greenery in excitement to get to the water. The waves have a way of calling all attention.
But nature s running its course and Ms. Jeannie sees that the Florida beach grasses are also going to seed. Look closely below and you can see a little lizard scampering around the stalks.
Southern beach grasses wave hello and goodbye all at once as they share their seeds with beachcombers of both the two and flour-legged variety.
“The oaks are monumentally persistent. Cut them down fifty times and they will sprout back from the roots. This is their chosen land. The late fall wind makes their leaves rustle and stir…the whole year is full of the collaborative music of air and trees. ” – John Hay, Cape Cod, November 1960
In Florida in November 2015 there are no oak trees. In fact, surprisingly on the stretch of beach Ms. Jeannie visited there were very few palm trees. But what there was in great succession was a thick barricade wall of sea grape trees. Like an enchanted garden, they formed natural vestibules to and from the street to the beach and the beach to the street. Those are the trees in Florida that have made choices. Those are the ones who will continue to fight for life whether they are cut down fifty times or 1500 times.
“Since Cape Cod is surrounded by the sea it has another depth, another range, were other populations roam while the rest of us wait and shiver.” – John Hay, Cape Cod, November 1960
In Florida in November 2015 the most interesting and immediate animal life to observe was the multitude of shore birds. They provided beauty…
and comic relief…
intrique and mystery…
and even the threat of tragedy…
After a consult with the lifeguard and a call into animal wildlife patrol, Ms. Jeannie was happy to hear that this bird was no sick or injured creature who seemed helplessly hopeless clinging to the sand when she spotted him. Instead he was a just a baby learning how to fly…
“In fact there is no fundamental separation anywhere in this common world of life, despite the greatly various environments of water and and what we use to help us differentiate between the species. Winds blow through. Tides lap over. Each plant and animal is proof of general contact and association.” – John Hay, Cape Cod, November 1960
After seeing the baby gull and running through the gamut of emotions and feelings of wanting at first to observe him, then protect him, then help him, then understand him, Ms. Jeannie realized whole-heartedly that there is no real difference in the Novembers between years and states and places and faces.
Sure the typography changes and the climate varies but similarities are equally as present. We all just want to survive in the place where we are rooted. November is as much a natural state of mind as it is a calendar month, and although the landscapes may vary from North to South and East to West, fundamentally we are all the same at heart. We are all the little gull plopped down on the sand, learning how to fly. learning how to survive. learning how to make it from one day to the next. We are all the little gull trying to make our way in the big world.
Do you have any natural wonder stories from the month of November – something that surprised you dear readers? If so, please contribute your thoughts in the comment section below. In the meantime, if you’d like to see what John Hay has to say about the 11 other months of life on Cape Cod in 1960, you can find him in Ms. Jeannie’s shop here.
For your palm tree fill, visit Ms. Jeannie on Instagram!
Cheers to the new month of December! May it be equally as enlightening:)
Summer has always been synonymous with big blockbuster movies. You know the kind dear readers… big-scale, action-packed, testosterone fueled. If there is a building to be blown up or a car to be flipped or some sort of post-apocalyptic disaster to be explored you can bet you’ll experience it first-hand in a crowded movie theater on a steamy summer day.
One of the biggest summer blockbuster movies of all times premiered in July 1988, making Bruce Willis an international icon…
Die Hard and the four sequels that followed…
Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), A Good Day to Die Hard (2013)
spanned a total of twenty plus years of blockbuster magic. That’s one incredible feat! But the film series actually spanned even more years than that. Did you know dear readers, that Willis’ character, NYPD officer John McClane, really stems back another twenty years?
In late May of 1968, just as summer was getting underway, Frank Sinatra starred in this crime thriller…
as professionally capable yet personally troubled police detective Joe Leland determined to solve a grisly murder mystery. His character was adapted from the runaway bestselling novel of 1966, The Detective…
by American author Roderick Thorp. Containing just under 600 pages the book was lauded for its gritty yet sensitive themes and layered characters not often portrayed in the typical detective novels of the time.
Scene from The Detective. The movie also starred Lee Remick, Jacqueline Bisset and Robert Duvall. Photo via pinterest.
Frank Sinatra brought the character to life on the big screen making the movie just as sensational as the book. Due to the popularity of Roderick Thorp’s novel, the success of the Frank Sinatra film, and the enigmatic character of Joe Leland, Thorp wrote a sequel to The Detective which was published in 1979 titled Nothing Lasts Forever. In this new novel Thorp continued on with Joe’s adventures fighting crime while battling with his own inner demons.
Again, history repeated itself and Nothing Lasts Forever became a bestseller and was green-lighted for film adaptation. Only this time there was one hitch. When Frank Sinatra originally starred as Joe LeLand in 1968, his contract stated that he would be offered the title role to any and all sequels. But unlike his character, Sinatra aged at the normal speed of a human being, which means that by the time the film version of Nothing Lasts Forever was ready to be made in the 1980’s Frank Sinatra was in his early 70’s – too old to play Joe.
Frank Sinatra on set of The Detective, NYC 1967, photo via pinterest
So legend has it – that in order to get around this clause in Sinatra’s contract, the title character’s name would have to be changed so that another actor could fill his spot. Joe Leland became John McClane and Bruce Willis replaced Frank Sinatra. Nothing Lasts Forever usually gets all the notoriety of being the inspiration for Die Hard, but really it all started with the roots of the main character in The Detective.
Roderick Thorp
Thorp went on to write 10 other published works with some pieces being adapted for television, but none had the intensity nor the popularity of character quite like Joe. The Die Hard movies went on to become film industry gold earning over one billion dollars world-wide. Thorp died in 1999, which afforded him the ability to see at least the first three Die Hard movies made and experience the big-budget frenzy and marketing empire that they created. It must have been pretty exciting for him! To know that he created a character three decades before that was still storming the minds and hearts of crime readers and movie-goers around the world. A blockbuster indeed – write (pun inteded!) from the beginning!
You can find The Detective in Ms. Jeannie’s shop here and the trailer for Sintara’s 1968 film portrayal here.
What is your favorite summer blockbuster dear readers? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!
From the pinterest boards of Ophelia’s Renaissance
“And for your part Ophelia, I do wish
That your good beauties be the happy cause
Of Hamlet’s wildness; so shall I hope your virtues
Will bring him to his wonted way again…”
– Queen Gertrude from Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Poetic, romantic, cinematic, storied these are just a few words that Ms. Jeannie would use to describe one of her most favorite pinners on Pinterest – Ophelia’s Renaissance. Beautifully melancholy, just like her namesake, the picture boards of Ophelia’s Renaissance tell a million timeless stories. From board titles like …
Picked and pleasantly arranged…
and
to the actual images themselves, Ophelia’s Renaissance is an incredible example of a well-curated theme. Part literary, part history, part high fashion and part dark art, this week we’re stepping behind the screen to learn about a prolific pinner and what inspires the brain behind the boards.
From the Ophelia’s REnaissance board Let’s Find A Place Where We Don’t Care
Ms. Jeannie Ology: How long have you been on Pinterest?
Ophelia’s Renaissance: Approximately four years, I believe.
{Ophelia’s Renaissance at present includes over 75 boards and over 100,000 individual images. Clearly this is not something built up in a weekend! That is the wonderful thing about Pinterest and pinners like OR – they represent an exercise in intuition performed in small steps over vast time. It’s putting together a gallery of personal tastes and possibilities. It’s a cultivation of ideas and aesthetics, of conversation and curiosities. It’s a veritable art gallery of thoughts and emotions view-able by anyone anywhere around the world.}
From the board All The World’s A Stage
MJO: What are three words that describe your style?
OR: Elegant, classy, and traditional.
From the boards of Ophelia’s RenaissanceFrom the board For the Home
MJO: What do you look for in a pin-worthy picture?
OR: It needs to be visually appealing, or provide some insight.
From the board: Libraries
{Naturally, Ms. Jeannie is drawn to the library photographs!}
From the Board Libraries
MJO: Tell us a little about yourself (anything you like) work, hobbies, etc.
OR: I am a high school English teacher who enjoys reading and writing. I also love to decorate.
{Pinterest is so inspiring that way! You can gather ideas, dream the day away or simply just pause for a minute and admire a moment in time captured by a camera. Whether spur of the moment or staged, photography requires thought.}
From the board
MJO: Of your own boards, which is your most favorite at the moment?
OR: “Resuscitating Ophelia and Virginia” or “Nascent Phase”
Resuscitating on the left, Nascent on the right
(Okay, Ms. Jeannie confesses she had to look up the word nascent which means just coming into existence or beginning to display signs of future potential. A fantastic word! Nascent is O.R. children’s themed board. So clever. This is exactly why Ms. Jeannie is such a fan!}
MJO: Regarding other people’s Pinterest accounts – which board or person do you most admire?
OR: I honestly don’t have a favorite. I look to different boards for different interests. If I am scrolling through Pins and I am not finding anything, then I revert to those I consider my favorites.
From the board Evoke
MJO: How does Pinterest influence your daily life?
OR: Before I was on Pinterest, I would look forward to receiving my home decorating subscriptions such as Veranda, Traditional Home, Southern Accents, Martha Stewart, Country Home and Country Living. I would escape into these beautiful rooms and cut out pictures so as to try and emulate the designs that caught my eye. I would create binders, so I could remember what it was I wanted to create for my living space. When I was really young, I would cut out beautiful pictures from magazines and post them on my closet doors. Pinterest offers the same escape and allows me to gravitate towards things that I find visually appealing. It also affords me an opportunity to post everything else I enjoy such as books and music. It is just my preferred pretty hang-out when I need to rid myself of stress.
From the board: Evoke
{So well said. In our modern day and age, Pinterest is everyone’s closet door. It’s an escape like Alice in Wonderland’s looking glass or Dorothy’s tornado dream of Oz. It transports you to places you naturally want to go. And just coming off an introspective study of The Artists Way, Ms. Jeannie understands that Pinterest can also serve as both a catalyst and a definitive of who you are and where you wish to go.}
MJO: What’s the story behind the name Ophelia’s Renaissance?
OR: I always wanted to own a store and imagined this as the name. Ophelia, is one of my favorite characters in Shakepeare’s Hamlet. There is something about those who are driven to commit suicide, either in life or fiction, that disturbs, and simultaneously intrigues me. So here, on Pinterest, I have created the rebirth or revival of one of my favorite characters.
From the board Resuscitating Ophelia and Virginia
MJO: If you could fall into any Pinterest picture and spend some time there which one would you choose and why?
OR: Again, there are so many pictures that provide a lovely escape, I would find it difficult to pick one.
{Understandably so! The boards of Ophelia’s Renaissance are not for the fly-by-nighters who have just one second of free-time. They are boards meant to be explored and discovered, appreciated and enjoyed.}
Like Hamlet’s tragic heroine, Ophelia beautiful both inside and out, knew the right time – her own time – to make the story her own. Centuries later her quiet impact still inspires. A fantastic thumbs up to Shakespeare for creating such an indelible character and for modern day English teachers for keeping her spirit alive! Never underestimate the power of pinterest!
From the board The Effect of Fairy Tales
If you are not familiar with pinterest, Ms. Jeannie highly encourages you to take some time and poke around the site here. Take a little tour around Ophelia’s world here. Find Ms. Jeannie’s pinterest boards here.
From the boards of Ophelia’s Renaissance
Do you have a favorite pinner on Pinterest dear readers? If so, please share links and thoughts below!
Fireworks flew high this weekend all over the place in celebration of the 4th. But in the Ology household the Jeannie’s were celebrating Independence day for a whole extra reason. Can you guess what it is dear readers? Here’s a little hint…
This past weekend of the 4th marked the year of the 1st…
The first year of Indie!
Exactly 365 days ago incredible Indie appeared like some sort of mythical, magical creature – a gift of fate and of such good fortune Ms. Jeannie could hardly stand it.
First photo – July 5th, 2014
Since that firecracker day, Indie’s bounded through the year like a champ.
She’s been a devoted roadtripper alongside Ms. Jeannie…
She’s figured out the best thunderstorm bunker is the laundry room…
and the best water dish is the front yard bird bath…
She’s run with the wild ones at the dog park…
And enjoyed the quiet contemplation of a summer morning*…
There have been wild wonder field trips… canine to cat conversations… and pretty photo-ops…
A deliciously decadent year of all things dog. Of course, Ms. Jeannie had to ring in the year with a treat – a celebratory cake just for Indie made with peanut butter and apples and frosted with greek yogurt…
Party approved! And most very importantly – puppy approved – 365 days over:) Happy first homecoming to Indie, Miss Independant, Indiana Bones and all the other little nicknames bestowed upon this one free spirit;)
*If you are curious as to what types of books Indie enjoys reading, click here.
Dear readers! There’s going to be some changes around the land of Ms. Jeannie Ology. If you have been a regular reader of the the blog over the past few months you might have noticed a more book-centric theme winding its way through each blog post. After many months of deliberation, in a breakthrough finally come to light thanks to The Artist’s Way, Ms. Jeannie is tailoring both her vintage shop and her blog towards the greatest love in her life (aside from Mr. Jeannie Ology, of course!) … the world of vintage books and the eclectic decorating of the well-appointed library.
Ta-dah!
What does this mean exactly?
Visually you’ll notice a new banner at the top of the blog as well as in Ms. Jeannie’s Etsy shop. You’ll also notice a new theme running through the veins of every blog post from here on out: a vintage book. Now hold on, there tiger – it doesn’t mean stuffy book reports or boring book reviews. The blog is still going to be all about cooking and decorating, about vintage treasures and about movies and gardening and traveling here and there. It’s just going to tie in a vintage book in one way or another.
Let’s take a look at some past examples of this unique twist…
On August 20th, 2012, there was a post about the curious life and legacy of children’s book author Margaret Wise Brown born from Ms. Jeannie’s introduction to her 1942 bestseller The Runaway Bunny…
Another year, another August brought Tuesday in the Kitchen making Chicken with Scallions (or Kotopoulo me Kremidakia Freska) thanks to a recipe from the 1960’s Art of Greek Cookery cookbook by the clever fund-raising ladies of Long Island’s Greek Orthodox Church…
January 2013 brought an interview with a modern-day French bookbinder who uses antique books as a springboard for her one of a kind handmade journals and guest books…
Love From Lyon: Bookbinding Born From New Beginnings
and in March 2015, the winter landscape was warmed up with a cheery post about the 1948 publication day for world-renowned mineralogist Edgar T. Wherry and his book of wildflowers…
On This Day in 1948: Flowers Bloomed In A Book
So you see dear readers, the vintage book to Ms. Jeannie is like a spinning top toy. Ms. Jeannie as the spinner can twirl a story in a hundred different directions – all unique, all unusual. You just never quite know where it all is going to land and that is what makes it fun and exciting. Ms. Jeannie promises to keep it most interesting.
What does this mean as far as vintage items offered in Ms. Jeannie’s shop?
A more literary look! With an eye towards appealing library essentials, you’ll find all sorts of new themed treasures unveiling themselves over the next several months. There will be bigger things like vintage chairs, rugs, wall art and lamps…
Vintage Brass Library Lamp
and a collection of smaller things that can be tucked in or on a bookshelf. Like vintage bookends and one of a kind decorative accent pieces these are the types of details that add life and style to your space…
There will also be cozy vintage blankets perfect to curl up with on a cold winter night…
Vintage 1930’s Feedsack Cotton Blanket
vintage tea cups to keep you hydrated during that book reading marathon of yours and even a few handmade vintage book paper crafts to add whimsy and dimension to your space.
Handmade Book Paper Wreath made from 1930s and 1940s romance novels
And of course, there will be plenty of vintage books spanning all genres in the shop as well! So you get the idea, dear readers. A fun and varied collection of timeless and classic library-ish decor. Ms. Jeannie is really excited about this newly refined direction. Cheers to new chapters! And cheers to you dear readers, the very best readers in all the world:)
Summer is in full swing here in the garden, dear readers! Since this is the first year living in the schoolhouse it has been exciting to see what new things pop up in the garden and, so far this summer has been no disappointment. Apart from the seedlings that Ms. Jeannie has planted she has been pleasantly surprised to see beds full of iris, roses, tulips and lilies, all in an array of different colors and varieties. The latest to present her pretty face…
the dahlia – of a most elegant height (almost 5’feet!) and a most robust disposition. Dahlias have been around since the 1600’s thanks to their “official” discovery in Mexico by these guys…
the Spanish Conquistadors, but it was the Aztec Indians who actually first utilized the flowers as a water source integrated within their hunting communities. Back then, the Aztecs knew the Tree Dahlia – a massive 20′ foot tall tree full of flowers (how pretty!)…
but as the flower slowly became introduced into Europe and then England over the next century, smaller more-plant like types were cultivated and world-wide familiarity bloomed alongside a diverse amount of varieties.
Lady Elizabeth Webster Holland is credited with introducing the dahlia to England in the early 1800’s thus securing its survival in eastern Europe
In the 1950’s, the dahlia became a popular home garden flower and made its way center-stage to flower shows where it gained new found attention and supporters in the form of dahlia clubs all across the United States. Marian Walker, a novelist and avid gardener herself devoted an entire book to them in 1953, which Ms. Jeannie just listed in her shop…
Dahlias For Every Garden by Marian C. Walker – $8.00
Full of mid-century gardening advice on how to care, cultivate and enjoy these flashy flowers as well as the story of their natural history and evolution, it also contains information on how to professionally show them, dissecting what makes a prize-winner vs. what just makes a pretty garden. A special photograph section in both color and black and white emphasis the dramatic differences between the 20 individual types within the species …
Thanks to avid enthusiasts there are now over 50,000 registered individual dahlia varieties throughout the world today. Imagine that, dear readers! It’s no wonder though really, with their cone shaped petals, flashy colors, and multi-stemmed flowers they produce some of the more dramatic statements in the garden landscape. And with their ability to reflect light in all sorts of dramatic ways, they make for especially stunning bouquets. Even after they are passed their prime, and have technically expired, some varieties like this all-white version from Ms. Jeannie’s garden, still looks pretty as it dries to a crinkly brown…
In a nod to bringing the outdoors in and to incorporating these pretty flowers into living spaces year-round, Ms. Jeannie is now offering dahlia flower wreaths made out of vintage book papers in her shop…
Handmade Vintage Paper Wreath – $38.00
Just like the real flowers, these paper versions take on different personalities depending on the changing light within a room from morning to night…
Above are photographs of the same wreath taken at different times throughout the day! Because this wreath itself is made out of three different shades of aged paper from three different books – all romance themed fiction novels that date to the 1930’s and 1940’s – it takes on an ombre style color pattern graduating from light to dark. And at 23″ inches in diameter, it makes for an eye-catching wall display that’s ever-changing throughout the day.
Carrying themes of love, adventure, mystery and drama within each book page, these nature-inspired beauties not only make for dramatic wall decor, but also for fun gifts or decorations for weddings, showers and parties. Since no two are alike they appeal to Ms. Jeannie’s sense of decorating outside of the ordinary!
photo via pinterest
Whether you are planting them in your garden, collecting them in your bookshelf or hanging them on your wall, dahlias (in all shapes, sizes and forms!) can add a bit of pretty personality to your life.
Cheers to their strength, adaptability and individuality!
Stayed tuned to Ms. Jeannie’s shop for new dahlia wreath additions each week!
Vintage Italian Travel Poster by Island Art Store via Etsy
Dear readers, in this week’s post we are all heading on a European adventure to the country best known for two things: food and romance. On this trip you will be transported through food and film back to 1960’s Florence, Italy for an authentically magical night of escapism that will make you feel like the fanciest of weekend jet-setters! .
The Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Lo Pinto c. 1963 First Edition
In your glass: 1967 Grifone Tosacana wine (slightly chilled)
On the big screen: The 1962 romantic drama, The Light in the Piazza, starring Olivia de Havilland, Yvette Mimieux and George Hamilton which was shot entirely on location in Florence.
Ms. Jeannie fell in love with this movie not only for its gorgeous location and costumes but also for its unexpected story and wonderful acting. Olivia deHavilland (who most famously played Melanie in Gone With the Wind) plays Meg, a modern American mid-century mother in a coming of age story centered around her daughter Clara’s budding romance with handsome Italian Fabrizio (played by George Hamilton).
Its not your typical love story, Clara is not your typical young woman and Meg is not your typical mother. With a plot that takes all sorts of twists and turns in unexpected ways, each character reveals several layers of depth, facing situations that are complex and timeless. It’s also very funny and Yvette as Meg’s daughter, Clara, does a delicate job of creating a woman who is both fresh and feisty. Ms. Jeannie will not say anything else so she doesn’t spoil the surprises in the movie but here is the original trailer so you can get a sense of the adventure…
Florence, located in central Italy is known for its gardens, beaches and simple delicate cuisine. So in keeping with the movie Ms. Jeannie chose a recipe from the vintage cookbook, The Art of Regional Italian Cooking by Maria Lo Pinto which organizes the foods of Italy by section within the country.
Combining the best of the beaches and the gardens – the dinner menu represented both attributes with wild fish and garden greens. Adding in a glass (or more!) of the Tuscan blend Grifone Toscana 1967- a 2009 vintage made in the same central region as Florence and a rustic baguette on the side made this authentic Italian dinner complete.
Both dishes were fresh, fast and easy to prepare – perfect summer cooking! Ms. Jeannie purchased both her fish and the wine from Trader Joe’s. Just a little preparation note – tuna cooks best when its is semi-frozen. So if you buy frozen filets like Ms. Jeannie did, you want to just thaw them in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before slicing and cooking.
Tuna Viareggio Style (serves 4)
1.5lbs fresh tuna, sliced 1″ inch thick
1/2 cup flour
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 small clove garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 anchovy filets, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup warm water
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt to taste
Dust tuna slices with flour. Fry in skillet in two tablespoons of oil, over moderate flame, until lightly brown on both sides. Remove from pan and keep hot (on a plate covered with a lid works great!). In same pan saute onion, garlic and parsley in balance of oil. Remove garlic and add anchovies and wine: cook slowly until wine almost evaporates. Dilute tomato paste in warm water, and add with rest of ingredients. Cook covered over moderate flame for 15 minutes. Add fish carefully and cook 6-10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.
The Sauteed Arugula Greens were a modification from Maria Lo Pinto’s Sauteed Dandelion Greens recipe. Since Ms. Jeannie couldn’t find dandelion greens anywhere, the arugula was the next best substitute. You could also use spinach but cooking times will vary a little bit.
Sauteed Arugula Greens (serves 4)
2 lbs. fresh arugula
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large garlic clove, cut in half
3 anchovy filets
Clean and wash greens. Roughly cut them in 2″ inch pieces. Heat oil in saucepan, add garlic and brown. Remove garlic and add greens, cover saucepan, and cook 5 minutes or until tender. Cut anchovies into small pieces and add. Mix well and cook 2 minutes longer. Serve immediately.
And there you have it dear readers! A mini-mental vacation to the land of good living! If you were feeling especially festive, you could also plan an outdoor movie night and set this one up under the stars. It would be very romantic. Or as they’d say in Italian… questo e molto romantico!
The Light in the Piazza is available for download or dvd purchase on Amazon here. The cookbook is available for purchase in Ms. Jeannie’s shop here. Catch up on past blog posts featuring other Italian recipes here. A special thanks to Mr. Jeannie Ology for the handsome hand modeling!
In celebration of the fun and breezy holiday weekend ahead, this is a fun and breezy blog post centering around a curious trend that Ms. Jeannie has been noticing lately as she has been preparing book bios for the book club.
A lot of people are starting to look alike around here. Hmmm… a little backstory…
Every book that goes out in the book club is accompanied by an information sheet containing the following:
– a story bio (so that you know what your book is about)
– an author bio (so that you can learn more about your book’s writer) or a vintage review of the book (so that you can get a sense of what the critics thought of your book way back when)
– and a photo portrait of the author.
After two years with the book club, you can imagine Ms. Jeannie is amassing quite a lot of information and quite a lot of author photographs. It was in working on that aspect of the club that she began to notice certain facial characteristics between authors long ago and contemporary actors today. Is this too many late night hours spent researching author bios and laying out book bio cards? Or is it the ultimate genealogy challenge – could all these actors be related to their novelgangers (thanks to Mr. Jeannie Ology for the creative twist of the word doppleganger) through some sort of crazy branch in their family tree?
Here’s some examples…. (contemporary actors on the left, vintage authors on the right)
Dear readers you decide! Do you see the similarities too or are Ms. Jeannie’s eyes getting too warbled up in her work?! Post your comments below or if you’ve noticed similarities with other actor/authors too send them along and Ms. Jeannie will post them as a follow up.
In the Vintage Kitchen: Where History Comes To Eat 