Cathee’s Second Time Around

Be still my heart! A new consignment/second hand/thrift shop…and in my neighborhood! There’s nothing sadder than a store that closes leaving a gaping hole in the community so when the last one closed up I was heart broken. Think about it. Every store has the potential to provide work to at least 2-3 people, often more. Plus, it gives me a place to look, imagine, and play. This store does just that. It isn’t overwhelmed with so much you can’t walk. There’s no dank, musty smell (thank you), and it’s clean (yay, I can keep my gloves in my bag). The furniture ranges from 1930’s to the 80’s, all in good condition. Here’s a few pictures:

                

                     This rocking horse is possibly handmade, don’t know.

                    My grandmother had something like this, although not in the bamboo look. She called it a breakfront. I still don’t know if that’s what it’s really called. She used it to keep her fancy dishes in. This is a nice piece. Vintage look.

      Now, straight up, this isn’t my color but I like the chest. Great for storage and to use as a spare seat.                                   Somebody made this….the wood is old. Very craftsmen.

  This is a honey. Probably from the 30’s. Full size, before queen and king size beds became popular. All wood…imagine that, no particle board/pressed stuff. Hmmm.                      Now, you know I couldn’t pass up saying something about this cutie.   I spotted this little honey across the room. It’s gorgeous.

Well, if you come through Old Town, check out the store. The furniture changes all the time. Might be worth a look-see. Here’s the address….25811 SE Highway 19 Old Town, FL. They even have a Facebook page. Click HERE to get to the FB page and see their latest items.

New Deal Cafe

On a recent trip to Gainesville, I stopped at the New Deal Cafe. It’s right next to Mildred’s Big City Food. Mildred’s has been around a while and is know to serve pretty good food but I wanted to try something new. I love vintage and the name “New Deal” made me think of FDR and the 1930’s….total nostalgia.

The place is cute and the food is today. I ordered the beet salad…..spring greens, beets, walnuts, and goat cheese. It’s served with corn bread. Very good. Here’s what it looks like:

 

Reasonably priced.

Kitchen Ideas from A Cook's Delight Vintage Cook Book

A Cook's Delight
Future Homemakers of America
Newberry High School

While yard saling I found this awesome cookbook called "A Cook's Delight" from the Future Homemakers of America, Newberry High School, Newberry Florida from 1961. The book has some wonderful old recipes in there but I found these Kitchen Ideas I had to share.

"If a cracked dish is boiled for 45 minutes in sweet milk, the crack will be so welded together that it will hardly be visible, and will be so strong it will stand the same usage as before.

Put a layer of marshmallows in the bottom of a pumpkin pie, then add the filling. You will have a nice topping as the mashmallow will come to the top.

Dip your bananas in lemon juice right after they are peeled. They will not turn dark and the faint flavor of lemon really adds quite a bit. The same may be done with apples.

A leaf of lettuce dropped into the pot absorbs the grease from the top of the soup. Remove the lettuce and throw it away as soon as it has served its purpose.

To prevent splashing when frying meat, sprinkle a little salt into the pan before putting the fat in.

If the juice from your apple pie runs over in the oven, shake some salt on it, which causes the juice to burn to a crisp so it can be removed.

Add a little vinegar to the water when an egg cracks during boiling. It will help seal the egg.

Small amounts of leftover corn may be added to pancake batter for variety.

Use a strawberry huller to peel potatoes which have been boiled in their 'jackets.'

To make bread crumbs, use fine cutter of the food grinder and tie a large paper bag over the spout to prevent flying crumbs."

I can remember my grandmother adding salt to the pan before frying but didn't know what for.  I have to try the pumpkin pie and the lettuce ideas. As for a strawberry huller.....I don't even know what one looks like, much less use one!

Eleanora’s Quilt Shop: Cross City, FL’s Newest Addition

The other day when I stopped in one of my favorite haunts I heard the ladies talking about a new shop opening across the street. “It’s going to be a quilt shop” my friend said. “She’s going to sell her quilts.” Well, that was all I needed to hear. My interest was piqued. I had to see the quilts. Eleanora finally opened her shop this week and what a treat for the eyes it is. Her work is wonderful! Here are a few examples of her work:

Many of her quilts are traditional pieced patterns and machine quilted. I love her choice of colors. She said she loves the idea of recycling fabrics into quilts. She has a hard time throwing away good fabric (I know the feeling) and makes doll quilts with smaller scraps.

This is a pattern block I hadn’t seen before, The Dahlia. I love it!

How about this little guy on a baby quilt? She has quite a few beautiful baby quilts. She also has handmade dolls, potholders, and ornaments, too. Everything is reasonably priced with most of the small things, like dolls and ornaments under $10, some under $5. Imagine a handmade doll under $10! Well made, too.

She’s also a member of the Dixieland Quilters. They meet every Tuesday (I work every Tuesday, darn) and turn out some awesome stuff. She takes special orders, too.

If you’re in our neck of the woods, North Central Florida, be sure to check out her shop. Check out the quilt shop in Trenton, FL, too, when you have a chance. We are becoming a to-go place for quilts.

To get hold of Eleanora, call 352-542-9438 or 352-356-1970. Tell her you heard about her from GoofingOff. Thanks.

Post by Eileen Patterson

MissEileen aka GoofingOff