Vintage Photograph: Dress Up

 I fondly remember being at my grandmother's house having a bin full of crazy dance outfits and too-big dresses, making crazy combinations and then prancing around the house. It was (and still is) one of my favorite things to do. I was so excited to find that years before, in Mexico, my aunt was doing the same.
-Ladybird

Hand Me Downs: Doiles and Embroidered Lovelies

I just had to share one of my absolute favorite gifts of all time, from my mommy: a pile of vintage doiles and embroidered pieces that my great grandmothers had made. I wish I would have taken a photo of the package before I opened it, as she had wrapped them so nicely in one of the tea towels, with an embroidered pink H (her maiden name was Holmes) on top and a sprig of rosemary tucked in the string. The details on these pieces are incredible and are really inspiring me to get out my hoops and get to work. I was given a great book from my mom last Christmas called Embroidered Effects by Jenny Hart, that has so many great ideas and patterns to follow. There is even one that takes a photograph and uses it to embroider someone dear's face (I know what everyone is getting for their holiday gifts next year, shhh.) When I finally finish a piece I will share, as it is on my list of things to do this year.
-Twill

Vintage Photograph: Spinning Teacups

I was so excited when my Pappy gave me this photo of him from when he was little, on the teacup ride with his mom. An actual vintage teacup ride photo from the family, so great! He said she had to go to the nursing station afterward because he spun her so fast.

-Twill

Vintage Inspired: Touring Car

While in San Francisco, Alex's brother Josh was kind enough to take the family out on a night tour of the city on one of Mr. Toad's vintage touring cars. They kept the original styling of the cars, but updated them to run on propane, so they are eco-friendly too. The car was so cute, the driver was dressed in the most dapper vintage outfit, and the old mansions were decorated with holiday twinkly lights. It was such a neat and classy alternative to open air tour buses, and a lot of fun! It was a bit chilly at dusk in an open air vehicle, but they provided lap blankets and we had each other for warmth. We drove past the Golden Gate Bridge right at sunset and learned a lot about the different neighborhoods as our driver was full of fun facts.

-Twill

Recipe+Vintage Apron: Rhubarb Strawberry Crisp

Just having moved into my new Apartment, I decided to have a little gathering with my family. For this gathering, I wanted to make something fall inspired, as the weather is just turning fall and rhubarb and strawberries are in abundance. So I settled on making a strawberry rhubarb crisp. I used a recipe from my favorite cooking blog, 101 cookbooks.

This recipe is fairly simple. I took out pine nuts, port wine and pepper from her recipe.

Ingredients:

butter for greasing skillet/pan (about 1 tablespoon)
3/4 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup  natural cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup natural cane sugar
1/2 lb.  strawberries, cut into quarters
12 ounces trimmed rhubarb, sliced into 3/4-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Combine the flour, oats, sugar, and salt together. Add in butter, I heated mine a tad to make it easier to add. Then mix well and flatten and put in freezer to chill.

Make the filling by adding together the cornstarch and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then, add the strawberries and rhubarb, and toss until evenly coated.

Transfer the filling to the prepared pan, remove the topping from the freezer, and crumble across the top of the filling - make sure you have big pieces and small.
Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, until the topping is golden and the juices are bubbling!

-Ladybird