GOAL FOR THE GOLDEN YEARS: A Blue Umbrella and a Pie

Source   I love the pies of Fall ... pumpkin, pecan, apple.  They don't even need a fancy china plate to make them look better; they're just perfect as they are.  Truthfully, I love a good piled-high-meringue pie, too ... chocolate, lemon, key lime.  But I'm not writing about pies today ... at least not exactly.   In a recent conversation, my mother told me of an event that took place in January 1991. She was spending a few days helping my sister after the birth of her first child.  The morning was cold and rainy, but messy weather couldn't stop the elderly woman from arriving at my sister's front door carrying her bright blue umbrella ... and a pie.  Upon returning home a few days later, my mother told an older ... Keep Reading...

STORAGE: How to Care for Vintage Linens & Lace

Welcome!  Today, we're going to cover proper storage of linens.  If you missed any of the other topics ... washing, drying, ironing, storage stain removal and mystery stain removal, just click on the Vintage Linens tab above.   Whether you like to store your linens in a book-shelf style display cabinet, an 18th century linen press, or a traditional closet, there are some basic Dos and Don'ts if you want your linens to be around for generations to come.  I'm going to give you tips for how to give extremely good care to your linens ... while telling you up front that I don't follow my own advice 100% of the time.  My comfort level for time investment is probably closer to 90%.   General guidelines ... Store linens in a ... Keep Reading...

EVERYDAY STAIN REMOVAL: How to Care for Vintage Linens & Lace

We've finally made it to the final stain removal post of this series.  If you missed any of the previous topics (washing, drying, ironing, storage stains, and mystery stains), just click on the Vintage Linens tab at the top of this blog to catch up.   Today I want to briefly cover some common everyday stains that tend to get on my vintage linens.  I suspect you have some of the same ones.  As with other types of stains, I have tried various removal methods through the years.  Sometimes they work.  Sometimes they don't.  Sometimes they just "set" the stain so that it will never come out.  So frustrating!   In fact, if you do an online search for how to remove particular stains, very often you'll find a suggestion followed by ... Keep Reading...