Favorite Things Friday!

Vintage Cook Books

In pursuit of a two-year-old New Year’s resolution (never surrender!), I’m going to try to be a better blogger this year. Not because I think anyone is waiting with bated breath for my musings, but because I know regular writing is really good exercise. To ease myself into it, I have two regular topics to fall back on in addition to anything that occurs to me. One will be Favorite Things Friday, a nod to Barbara O’Connor’s  Things I Love Thursday posts. My first Favorite Things Friday item is VINTAGE BOOKS!

I am charmed by most aspects of vintage books: typeface, vocabulary, silky pages, fancy end papers, charming spot illustrations, old-fashioned spellings. Cookie looks so much cuter spelled cooky as it is in my 1930’s cookbooks. I especially love vintage advice books, and not just for the actual advice, some of which is very practical (wash windows with white vinegar and newspaper. No streaks, no lint!). I love what they say about the author and the way they provide a kind of snapshot of society at that point in time. Sometimes old advice books have helpful suggestions. And sometimes the most useful takeaway is not to behave as the book would have you do!

Today’s favorite thing leads me to what will be my other regular feature: Vintage Advice. I will select tidbits from my collection of advice books and share them with anyone who needs to know how to plan a fantastic (!) party for teenagers, improve their complexion, refine their bedside manners, and/or become a better dancer. There’s more, so much more, but you’ll have to wait!