October – In the Vintage Kitchen: Where History Comes To Eat

Photograph by George Marks – Getty Images

Happy September, happy October and happy Autumn everyone! That’s three cheers, two months and one season that has happened since the last post. Oh my. The majority of September around the Vintage Kitchen was spent curating and collecting items for the shop and went by in such a hurry I officially coined it the hi/bye month because that’s exactly what it felt like. Here one minute, gone the next.

October started in the same way, with the same humid temperatures and the same busy schedule. Hot summer weather has hung around with gusto until just a few days ago, making this new season and curating for it, a bit of a challenge. My heart was wrapped up in the idea of Fall – all those colorful leaves and pumpkins and baking projects – but my head couldn’t quite get over the fact that it was still 90 degrees outside during the day and looked very much like August instead of October. New arrivals in the shop over the past 30 days reflect those dueling situations. Fall that feels like Summer.

New (old) items that fit into the Fall 2018 Collection are wrapped up in all the traditional touchpoints that ignite sentimental feelings of nostalgia and embrace the cozy, crisp months to come…

Cozy is the name of the game around here. New Autumn inspired vintage (from top left): 1930’s feedsack quilt square; 1970’s Jack Daniels whiskey glasses; vintage wood pocket shelf; 1920’s National Ivory teacups; vintage restaurantware plate, 1960’s World of Nut Recipes cookbook; 1950’s botanical prints; vintage enamelware bowl; 1970’s glass spice jars; 1970’s Mikasa Duet pattern plate; 1960’s Cookie Cookery cookbook; 1960’s red plaid tin.

Vintage spice jars, whiskey glasses, quilt squares, mixing bowls, teacups and fall foliage art prints help set the mood for the season in your kitchen, while homemade cookie recipes, holiday menu guides, and nut-themed delicacies help satisfy the seasonal cravings in your belly.

Some highlights from this collection include this 1960’s whiskey decanter made by the Van Winkle family in Louisville, Kentucky – one of the few distillers legally able to operate during Prohibition…

This 1960’s dinner plate – one of the very last patterns made by Salem American Ironstone in 1967 just before their pottery closed its doors forever…

This vintage quilt square table topper made in the 1930’s from recycled feedsack materials…

These National Ivory teacups made in the 1920’s during a similiar point in time when women’s roles, rights and liberties were also being redefined…

This 1970’s cookbook – the delicious work of internationally recognized pastry chefs/ husband and wife team, John and Hazel Zenker, who shared over 300 cookie recipes containing old-world charm and European heritage…

New arrivals in the shop that fell under the still-feels-like-summer category include this batch which I call September Skies…

…named for the matching colors found in the pretty sunsets that blushed over the city throughout September and October. They include floral serving pieces, ceramic planters, travel cookbooks and embroidered linens that bloom in thread. It is somewhat ironic how each piece in this collection speaks of all the pretty elements of this past summer but also really reflects the colors in the September/October sunsets…

Perhaps this was Lady Nature’s way of reminding me to be patient – that Autumn would come eventually because it always does one way or the other.

A new pal to the patio this week – butterfly dressed in Halloween colors but feasting on summer flowers!

Whatever weather you are experiencing in your neck of the woods this Autumn – hot, cold, crisp or humid, I hope you are having the happiest of Octobers. And that you are finding beauty in the season and celebrating it in style.

Fall in love with history and its many assorted faces in the shop here. Up next on the blog is a sweet treat recipe for Plum Cake circa 1963, from one of the most famous American cookbooks of all time. It’s a lovely Fall dessert that combines spices, baked fruit and a thin layer of cake that is light in constitution yet heavy in flavor. Stay tuned!

Fall colors are just starting to seep into the autumn landscape here in the South. Usually, in Ms. Jeannie’s area, peak fall foliage time hits in early November, a couple of weeks before the Thanksgiving holiday, so we are just at the very start of the season now. But today was a blustery day, with leaves flying all over the yard and Ms. Jeannie couldn’t help but admire all the pretty colors turning from green to gold to rust that had just started occurring these past few days.

Primarily from mid Georgia to south Georgia the state is made up of pine trees, which of course are green all year round, so in order to get a fill of fall foliage, one must look to the decorative trees. Here are a few samplings of some traditional (non-pine!) Southern trees on their colorful journey from summer to fall…

The Scuppernong Grape Vine — The Scuppernong Grapevine

When the afternoon sun hits the grapevine it is like a giant light has been turned on inside the vines. So bright that it almost hurts your eyes to look at!

And Ms. Jeannie’s most favorite…

The Magnolia tree is really the grand spectacle of fall foliage in the South. All these leaves come from the same tree and were picked on the same day, so as you can see it is a colorful character in Fall. Ms. Jeannie thinks it is Mother Nature’s equivalent to the argyle sweater, with all of its blocks of repeating solids! The color range is spectacular. In the picture – the center leaf is a metallic silver, but can also count copper, lime, canary yellow, russet, pumpkin, neon green, chocolate brown, amber , hazel, emerald and cinnamon among its many shades. Fascinating that all that could be on tree at the same time. Add some pretty smelling, dinner plate size magnolia flowers to the mix and the tree is absolutely perfect!

Many Southerners use the leaves as garlands for their front porches and mantle pieces. Holiday time in the South really is a beautiful experience.

Magnolia garland for the stairway. Photo via pinterest.

Magnolia garland for the mantle. Photo via pinterest.

Magnolia garland for the front door. Photo courtesy of RSHcatalog.com

An unexpected surprise occurred when Ms. Jeannie took a first time road trip to the North Georgia mountains, in early November, several years ago. About an hour away, near Blue Ridge, Georgia, the trees offer up a completely different view of the season…

There, the foliage rivals the best of any Vermont town. Red, green, orange, yellow, brown – one tree after another just gets prettier and prettier. And because it is up in the mountains – the air is crispy, the roads windy and the fruit stands plentiful. Whenever Mr. Jeannie and Ms. Jeannie get a little nostalgic for their New England Autumns of past, they make a trek up to the mountains. Close your eyes for a second and then open – and tah-dah you could very seemingly be in Vermont! To give you an idea of the dazzling array of color – here are a few pictures courtesy of pinterest – that were taken in the North Georgia mountains…

Ms. Jeannie is making a trip up to the mountains in the next couple of weeks, so that she can go apple picking. It’s officially time for apple pie season! So stayed tuned for more fall foliage pictures to come!

In the meantime, are leaves changing in your neck of the woods yet? If so, what color palette is Mother Nature painting with in your yard?