January Begins

 

I'm tiptoeing very quietly into the new year. I hope everyone had a pleasant New Year's celebration even if it was greatly scaled back yet again. We had a reasonably quiet night, and New Year's Day as there was bad weather keeping people home. That was such a blessing. I haven't been out in over a week and had to cancel a medical appointment as we await my husband's pcr covid test (UPDATE-he's negative). More people in his department are getting sick, but so far he feels fine. I really hope he can manage to avoid it. Dan goes back to school on Wednesday and I'm very concerned. Not much he can do except wear the mask and stay in his room at home ( UPDATE-His school mandated masks, so there's that. He's living in his room but he does that anyway). We'll be driving home from school with the windows down and masks on. It wouldn't be necessary if...ah well, what can I say? Our governor is trying to blame the increase in cases on fat people and he's launched an exercise initiative. In a pandemic. No measures to curtail capacities in public spaces, have state testing available, mask mandates or anything like that, just blame fatty. God what an idiot. He did find time to go to the capitol to complain to the legislature that the 400 million dollar surplus should be given back in tax cuts. If the money is burning a hole in his pocket I'm sure it could be well spent on our public health departments given the pandemic and all but no, he wants his rich friends to get a tax cut. Yay. 

Moving along...

This skirt has a matching jacket that I couldn't find though I suspect it is in Dan's closet, and I didn't want to wake him just so I could have good outfit photos. I hope I never become that sort of mother. I've read stories about the children of influencers and it sounds terribly grim. I'm no parenting expert but some things are just obvious. Anyway, the skirt is something I typically wear with a beige sweater but this time went with a vintage rayon blouse. It felt like there was major decision making required at each stage of whether shoes would be grey or beige, what colour belt, handbag, etc. Eventually it came together but mixing silver and gold has never come easy for me and with the muted tones here bright silver or gold wasn't going to work. 

This handbag is made from a yarn with metallic thread shot through. It is a beautiful piece probably from the 40s or 50s. The inside is satin lined and appears unused. Must have been a special occasion bag. 

Apologies for not being able to manipulate the photo to the correct position. That happens sometimes. The brooch is vintage celluloid, the earrings are 50s glitter, and the bracelets are modern plastic that do a good job of looking vintage. I've yet to find a piece of grey bakelite, but surely it must exist. 

Most of the holiday decorations have come down now (not all)( UPDATE-I put it all away!) and after seven years I finally put up the fancy French tapestry thrifted for a couple of dollars at the Goodwill. 

Likely purchased as a tourist item (doesn't appear to have been previously hung) and forgotten before being donated. 

I enjoy nice things, but I enjoy them at thrift store prices. I won't be hitting the shops for some time now until this surge subsides, but I know that there's an endless supply of nice things someone didn't want. After a year of not going to the shops I've been reluctant to buy a load of things I don't need but I have to think if another tapestry presented itself on the rail I would almost certainly purchase it. Sure, no one requires a French tapestry, but I am delighted to have it. 

It was only a matter of time before I put Dan's waffle maker to use producing savoury quick breads to go with soup. These are made with 100% rye flour, ground up caraway seed, dehydrated onion flakes, a bit of oil, oat milk, and egg and some baking powder and salt. They turned out great! Light and fluffy even with the rye flour and something novel to have with soup instead of crispbread. And the boys think I'm a genius 😁. I'm not, but I can bake. Looking forward to using buckwheat flour to make blini waffles. That should be fun.

The soup was nothing but cabbage, onions, carrots, celery, white beans, and some spices with stock. I fried some ground lamb into meatballs and served it together with the waffles and some pickled summer squash I unfortunately didn't get a photograph of. It was yellow squash with red onion and fresh rosemary-really pretty too. It was a bog standard cabbage too-a heavy green one rather than the savoy or other more delicate varieties. Cabbage is turning into a luxury good in Nebraska along with root vegetables and at a dollar a pound (!) I was determined not to waste it. I sent it down to the basement on a tray for Mr. ETB and I don't know if a tureen of soup just tastes better when isolated from everyone else, but he did keep texting to tell me how much he enjoyed it. Cabbage soup is good winter food. I'd be a bit distrustful of anyone that said they didn't care for it. 

I've reached the "purple tinted shampoo stage" of having grey hair. It does a good job of lifting the yellow out of my hair and the strange colours from the iron in our hard water. A trip to Marshalls a couple months ago provided the biggest bottle of shampoo I've ever seen outside of a professional setting. It was under a tenner, so I bought it. Hair doesn't get washed much in winter though-no patience for the hairdryer. 

Spending so much time at home provides an opportunity to sort through the handbag collection. This one doesn't get used nearly enough.

The suede lining is so beautiful. This wouldn't have even been a high end bag from what I can tell but by today's standards it is downright luxurious. It really all went to shit after the 80s. 

Similar story with footwear, though I think these were from the 70s. 

Brick red shoes don't seem like an obvious wardrobe requirement, but I'd hate to be without them. 

This silly 70s twin set got quiet a lot of love on Instagram and it is such a strange little set. Unfortunately there wasn't a maker label inside as everyone seemed to have some guesses about the maker. Eventually it will turn up in an old advertisement, but I don't have the ambition to go searching. Not over an acrylic twin set. 

An assortment of 70s jewelry seemed the way to go. The earrings are Coro, the Eyepiece necklace is 1928 (the brand), ring with faux cinnabar is Sara Coventry, faux cameo is Avon, bracelets are unmarked save for the middle one which is Goldette. I have an identical Goldette bracelet given to me as a child from a friend as a birthday present but it has lost most of the plating and I keep it packed away as it is sentimental. Finding an exact duplicate was nice and I can enjoy wearing it without fear of losing it. 

I'm not Russian, but I can appreciate recipes from a cold climate that make use of vegetables that can be stored for long periods of time. This book is worth purchasing just for the vegetable recipes. Soups, pickles, salads-there's some very good, easy to follow recipes that also make use of pantry staples like tinned sauerkraut. I've made a few of the breads over the years and the recipes are good. I know I've baked the kulich with good results. 

Back to the clothes...

These are both items I've owned since the 80s. The skirt is a hand-woven piece from Ireland that I've unfortunately lost the tag to. Thirty years ago I wasn't so careful keeping track of things. The blouse is I think, machine made lace that looks like tatting, but I'm not positive. I did tatting years ago and this is much more consistent than anything I produced. Maybe I was just really bad at it! I tatted with a needle as I never could get the feeling for shuttles. It is an easy enough type of lace to make if anyone is looking to take up a new, inexpensive hobby for 2022. Literally, a large needle and string. 

V

Vintage Naturalizer shoes and a telephone cord bag. I felt almost pretty dressed in all my favourite pieces but of course, I wasn't going anywhere. 

Front of bag

Reverse

Assorted baubles. The pearl and chain necklace is vintage Napier. For costume, they really did make beautiful pieces. It looks absolutely real. The cameo pendant is real, seed pearls all miraculously intact given the age. I think it is Mid- Late Victorian. I've seen similar pieces listed as Georgian, but I think they're wrong. 

I finally had a chore to do away from home, and oh my goodness, it got cold! 

Thankfully, I know how to dress for it. I've lived all but 10 years of my life in the American Midwest, and winter happens every year even though people act like it is the first time they've seen snow or freezing temperatures. I'm wearing thermal tights with over-the-knee wool socks atop. The boots are both waterproof, and fleece lined so my feet were taken care of. Over the tights and socks I layered a heavy knit skirt. Beneath the wool sweater is a lighter wool sweater and a cotton bra-lette (I've given up on proper bras like everyone else). 

I finished it off with a puffer jacket I used to wear for running in cold temperatures (won't be doing that anytime soon) by Everlast (I can't say enough good things about the brand. The name really does say it all-well made stuff!) and a wool beret. Not shown are the gloves I wore and the scarf I had to wear over my N95 mask as even more protection. So I was warm. Or at least, not freezing. Once inside, I shed the coat and heavy sweater so I wouldn't over-heat. Is it fashionable? Probably not. Could it be stylish with a bit of imagination? I'd like to think so. Nebraskacore 😁.

What I did while I was out was refill medical Rx's, and do several week's worth of grocery shopping in one go, all very early before the Covidiots are up and about. They tend to not shop at 7AM for whatever reason. The store was mostly empty, and the few unmasked people were easy to avoid. Hopefully, I won't need to go out again until the numbers start coming down. As of Saturday the 8th, we had over 1,800 positive cases in Omaha. That's just the tip of the iceberg as it is getting impossible to find testing. Staying home never sounded so good. 

Since I was home, cooking a load of lentils for future meals sounded like a plan. The store had beautiful spinach, so I purchased a few pounds and have been using it all week in various recipes. The orange bits are a small butternut squash I'd been intending to use, and some red onion and sausages to round out the meal. The boys both loved this one.  There's also some roasted cherry tomatoes. I'm lucky enough to have a thriving rosemary plant in my kitchen window so we've been using plenty of it. I think rosemary has some sort of anti-inflammatory properties which certainly couldn't hurt. 

 

Can't cook lentils and skip the lentil loaf, can I? This one had oats instead of rice or breadcrumbs (better for the diabetic) and some vegan cheese. I used regular eggs to bind it, but egg replacer works really well in this sort of application. I used what I had (grated carrots, onion, celery, spinach, garlic) but mushrooms would be nice here too if you had them. They demolished it, which is always a good sign. Sometimes the simplest things can be satisfying, particularly in cold weather. 

We've arrived at the time of year for wearing Loden. I have a pair of trousers as well. I bought it all as a set in the 80s but have since moved along the jacket and waistcoat as I never wore them. They're good pieces, and though I was unsure of the investment at the time (they were slightly above my budget) I've since congratulated myself for the wise purchase. Loden is more or less waterproof and shakes dry. The pieces are also fully lined. I don't know that I could buy something similar today for any sort of money. I don't like being cold, but I like being wet and cold even less. 

Vintage shoes that were only worn inside for photographs. Slipping on ice isn't my idea of fun. 

This necklace looks antique, but is by Monet. Like Napier, they made some very convincing pieces. 

I almost never wear anything with an elephant on it because I don't want anyone thinking I might be a republican! I know it isn't fair to the elephants, but so it is. 

This skirt might look familiar from older posts, and that's because I found an identical one recently in a smaller size. I'm very happy to have a version of my favourite denim skirt I can wear under the current circumstances. Finding it brand new was even nicer. What goes with a 70s denim skirt better than a pair of clogs? I was staying in, so no concerns about ice. The poloneck is silk, which is very, very, warm. Every time I wear it I am amazed that someone gave it away. I'm glad though. Celery green isn't my best colour, but it isn't my worst either. Who would have guessed?

Love the side-snaps.

I'm making an effort to wear more of my scarves. I'm not sure about the scarf AND chain, but I'm going with it. It feels very retro to me. The earrings are made from green stone chips glued together. There's a matching brooch but that felt like perhaps too much. 

My bathroom is tiny and it is hard to get a good photo, but I finally purchased a Pterrible Dinosaur shower curtain to go with my bath mat. The dinosaurs come from the brilliant mind of Vincent Briggs. Have a look through the shop as there's now fabric and all manner of interesting things. I love being able to support artists when I can-the world definitely needs artists more than ever. 

This makes me laugh so much when I go to take a shower and say to myself, "Woshed! Cleen! Not Stinky!"

Redbubble items are very good quality. I've been happy with everything I've ordered from there. 

I'm going to leave you with two excellent thrift finds. The first being this jacket. 

The second being these shoes.

I don't care if it is too big. That's what cool looking belts are for. There, I fixed it.

It fits well in the shoulders anyway.

Guitar earrings are Sugar Fix from Target last summer. Just finally wore them.

So the shoes. Miu Miu is a Prada brand, right? 

Cheaper line for Prada but still obscenely expensive. I paid ten bucks for these. 

The shoes could use a brushing, but otherwise appear unworn. Imagine having that much money to throw away.

I thought that was an obvious pairing until someone pointed out to me the designer is spelled differently. 

a bit on the company HERE. So not the same as the perfume company. 

Instagram working on tags brought up a bunch of photos of Simone Weil for me when I tried tagging the post and I've got to tell you, she's the last person I want to look at right now. Well, maybe Franz Kafka would be the VERY last, but I sure as hell didn't need photos of a starving Simone Weil staring back at me this morning. At least she starved to death for a worthwhile cause. There's that. So now I know to avoid that tag! Once the shock wore off, I did have a gallows humour sort of laugh about it. OK comrade! I really, really, really hope I don't end up getting religion. I don't have the energy for that.

Thanks again to everyone for your understanding on the previous post. Hope you're staying well and finding something good in the new year.