As you probably know, I love vintage-y things. There are a few random vintage things I’ve been especially enjoying lately, and I thought perhaps it would be fun to ramble about them a bit for you.
~ my vintage-style apron
I received some delightful Christmas presents, and one of them was a beautiful vintage-style apron. Here it is in all its glory.
I like how it comes up higher at the top than aprons often do, since my apron before left a lot of blouse unprotected (with dire results sometimes). The trouble is that I’m afraid of getting it dirty; it’s so pretty! (It also does wrinkle quite a bit in the wash, since it’s made fully of cotton, so I think I’m going to start ironing it…but I think the bit of extra effort is quite worth it.)
~ doing my nails
In my post from last summer about dressing vintage on a budget, I mentioned that I was experimenting with growing my nails in the long oval shape that ladies from the ’30s – ’50s ish time period did…and since I was used to keeping my nails very short, I wondered if I’d get sick of it and give up. Well, that has not happened. I absolutely love keeping them long now (although the ends usually break off before they get that long, much to my dismay, agony, &c.), and of course using my trusty bright red Walmart nail polish. (I have been trying to find just the right brand which perfectly balances Not Costing Much with Not Chipping Immediately. My search has not been successful so far, but I hold out hope that it will be eventually.)
~ Jack Lalanne workouts
It’s a bit of a stretch to say I’ve been enjoying these lately, since I haven’t done them regularly since the summer at the latest, but I wanted to mention them anyway since I did really enjoy them when I did them.
Jack Lalanne was, I believe, the pioneer of the recorded TV exercise program. His show started in the early ’50s, and his workouts were aimed specifically at housewives who spent a lot of time in the home. A few early episodes from his show are available on Youtube, and I quite liked doing them. From the beginning of the first episode you might think that all the workouts will be ridiculously easy, but they actually aren’t. And Mr. Lalanne has a very motivational and likable screen presence – he’s one of those fitness people that you feel actually cares about helping other people and isn’t just interested in his own ego, which is always nice.
~ 1950s-inspired cleaning lists
(Yes, strange as it may sound, I actually do enjoy cleaning if I’m in the right mood…especially, of course, if I can listen to my vintage playlists as I work.)
About a year ago I wrote a post detailing my day in the life of a 1950s housewife. The same person who put together the schedule also had a list of specific chores for each room (I think probably more inspired by 1950s lists rather than taken from them directly, since it includes tasks like purging/organizing one’s DVD collection). I’ve begun using those lists as a jumping-off point for my own cleaning routine. Not that I’m doing all the things listed on anything like a regular basis (if it comes to that, I haven’t actually gotten to do everything listed yet at all), but I’m using it as a guide for slowly cycling through various rooms and getting to various chores that usually just fall through the cracks. Because I mean to say, who thinks to go clean a lampstand or dust the blinds unless it’s specifically spelled out? So I find it very helpful to have a list to work from.
And its being vintage-y just automatically makes it more appealing. That is the Way These Things Work.
~ trying out vintage recipes
I intended to do a lot more vintage cooking over December than I did…I’ve only tried out one new vintage recipe in recent history. But I love leafing through the 1955 Good Housekeeping Cookbook (virtually, that is; it’s available for free on the Internet Archive!) and in the past year or so I’ve tried out its recipes for shirred eggs, hamburger pizza, and sautéed mushrooms (MANY times, since the recipe has become a household favorite), among others. I love finding new ones, so maybe I should institute a weekly trying-out-a-new-vintage-recipe day. (Which could make a fun blog post series, actually…would you be at all interested in posts about my vintage cooking escapades?)
And today I finally sprang for some foam hair rollers, so I’m hoping that curling my hair is going to join this list. My hair does not take kindly to curls (after many attempts I’m able to sort-of-kind-of pin curl it, but it takes such a long time that I don’t do it often), so the suspense is palpable, let me tell you.
And that’s enough from me for one sitting, I think. What are some vintage things you’ve been enjoying lately? Do you ever enjoy cleaning house? Any vintage recipes for me? Any advice for making straight, fine hair hold curls?
Discover more from Starlight and Saucepans
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Oh, this was so much fun, Lizzie! (I always say that. But it’s always true.)
The apron is lovely!! So vintage and fresh and frilly and it has a bow!! (And, on a side note, I love your cross pendant 🙂 ) Oh, and those workout videos look fun, and it might be more motivational to do such things if they were vintage, like you say about cleaning…
…which I love. I just love cleaning and tidying and organising and sometimes I even find myself saving organising and clearing out until I’ve done other things because I look forward to it. And I am printing off a copy of those cleaning lists – thank you!
Ooh, well done with the nails! Nail polish is chippy, isn’t it? ‘Tis vexing. My nails are stubbornly refusing to grow long…
Ooh, (again, but vintage things are exciting!) I hope the rollers work! I’m afraid I don’t have any useful tips as I have the same problem myself. Unless I use a lot of hairspray, which I dislike doing on a regular basis, curls just don’t stay in for me!
Aw, what a lovely compliment – thank you 😀
Isn’t it delightful? The bow is actually the ends of the apron strings – they’re designed to cross around the back and tie in the front in the most delightful way. Yes, exactly – exercise videos are all well and good, but vintage exercise videos are much more appealing somehow. 😀
I can understand that! Though I don’t usually put organizing off for last myself, because once I’m tired it loses its charm for me. 😛 I hope you enjoy using the lists!
‘Tis vexing indeed. Nails are stubborn creatures…(I’ve heard that making sure you’re eating a lot of protein will make your nails grow stronger, actually, so maybe that could help yours grow? :P)
Thank you! I’ve experimented already and decided that the biggest rollers are probably not going to work (thankfully it’s a set with several different sizes)…probably tomorrow I’ll try the second biggest, so we’ll see how that goes! (I had some success this morning with using a couple rollers on my bangs, which is nice.) I’ll definitely let you know if this turns out to be a good curling method 😀
Oh wow! That’s very clever and also very pretty 🙂 Yes, doing vintage exercise videos sounds much more fun – modern ones seem somehow too – well, too modern, I suppose! Also, like you say about some modern ones, they can be a bit “look at me doing full-length press-ups with just the fingers of one hand” sort of thing.
I am going to print them off today! *claps excitedly*
I’ve heard that too – maybe I need to eat cheese and fish instead of chocolate cookies 😉
How did the rollers go, if you’ve had a chance to try them out? I recently tried the curling method where you wrap your hair round a dressing-gown cord overnight, and it worked AND I got some sleep, which wasn’t what happened last time I tried!
Yes, that’s just the sort of attitude that annoys me too 😛
Let me know how they go! 😀
Well, Lent is coming up…I suppose that would be a good time to cut down a bit on the chocolate cookies in favor of the protein ;P
The rollers definitely worked better this time! I still need to work things out a bit (I still had trouble actually shaping/brushing out the curls the way I wanted), but I think that’ll probably come with practice and some extra fiddling. Ooh wait, if that’s the method I’m thinking of, I’ve done it too with good success!
What a fun post! My mom and I have been listening to a lot of vintage Christmas music (iykyk 🙂 so this is definitely fitting! What a beautiful apron! I know it is so tempting to save it, but since it’s cotton, I have a feeling it will be forgiving and wash well.
As for curls, I have frizzy/wavy hair. When I was growing up, my mom would put my hair in foam rollers overnight after I had washed my hair. I now curl it with a hot iron or occasionally use foam rollers. My biggest suggestion would be to wet your hair, either by washing or a spray bottle, before curling, but if you do wash it, make sure you towel dry and let it dry outa bit first. If they’re too wet, they won’t dry thoroughly once in the rollers, so let your hair dry a bit before curling the damp hair. I hope that helps! I’ll be interested to know how your curling adventures go! 😀
I also think a vintage cooking series would be so fun to read about!! I’m not great in the kitchen myself, but if I read about others and they make it seem fun and easy, I just might get a little adventurous myself!
Hope you’re having a blessed day!
Oh, I’ve been discovering new vintage Christmas songs this Christmastide as well! (“We Wish You the Merriest” by Les Brown is a lot of fun :)) I washed and ironed it a few days ago, and since I never do it I actually found taking the time to iron quite soothing. 😀
Thanks so much for the tips! Once I get the rollers curling my hair properly, I may have to do a post about them. (And thanks for the encouragement on the vintage cooking posts! While I like cooking I often just make the same things over and over, so this might help both of us get more adventurous ;))
Hope you’re having a blessed day as well!
Thirding the others, what fun! I do like to do exercise videos, so I may have to try a Jack Lalanne.
Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it; I really liked his videos.
Ohh loviness, a vintage post😍
I’m with you, cleaning can actually be a lot of fun in the right mood… Just making things nicer than they were is very gratifying, I find… And these lists do sound very useful that way, reminding one to to the out of sight, out of mind things too!
Ooh, vintage recipe escapades, yes please and double helpings!!
Now I can’t wait to hear how the foam rollers go! Do let me know if I should invest in some too, will you? And don’t I wish I had advice for straight, fine hair being induced to hold a curl… I do know that brushing a small bit of clay powder (yes, I know this sounds weird, but it works when very few things do, (hairspray included,) so it wanted Mentioning :P) into your hair seems to improve grip quite a lot, if that’s any help🤷♀️ Though for dark hair you might have to tint it first…🤔
Oh yes indeed! It is so satisfying to take something dirty or messy and make it a thing of beauty once again 😀
Lovely, I shall have to get going on that then ;D
Ooh, intriguing! Thank you very much for the tip (though you’re right, I probably would have to tint it – it wouldn’t do to look like I’m going all grey xD), and I will indeed keep you updated on the foam rollers. I’ve tried them once so far with not-too-great results, but I’m going to try a slightly smaller size next time (fortunately the kit I bought comes with various sizes) and we shall see how that goes 😀 (I’ve had better success already with using just one for my bang section, which is nice.)
It really is…
Ooh delightful, I shall be keeping my spyglass to the horizon and on the lookout for it!
Yeahhhh, that wouldn’t be exactly the look one would be going for 😛 (A little cocoa powder and charcoal ought to be a help at preventing that particular catastrophe, I should think.)
Oh, here’s hoping it’s a success, and I can’t wait to hear how it works! (It working for your bangs already makes this sound promising 🙂
I am APPALLED and BETRAYED because I never got an email about this post. WordPress. This is not allowed.
I loved this post! *insert heart eyes here* Your apron is Delightful. And I would be interested in reading about your vintage cooking escapades! Alas I have no helpful words for stubborn hair. 🙁
Oh come now, WordPress, that is just Rude. *shakes head reproachfully*
I’m glad you enjoyed it 😀 (Now I just have to actually institute those vintage cooking sessions…my track record for following up on things I said I’d do in blog posts is not great :P)
The apron is glorious! It really could be a whole dress with the pattern and all, and it’s so colorful, and I think it’ll just light up the whole kitchen!
Let me know how the foam rollers go! My hair is stubbornly straight and thick and I can’t get it to curl at all, even with a curling iron and hairspray 🥲 I really like the 1940s wave though and am sad I can’t replicate it lol
I’m enjoying watching some vintage beauty routines right now, as well as old videos on general health and wellness. They’re actually really relatable and motivational haha
Thank you so much! Isn’t it lovely?
I feel your pain xD I’ve tried them a couple times, and I think I’m making progress…but I probably should find some kind of hair pomade to use, since any shaping/brushing out that I do of the curls just doesn’t stay. 😛
I know, they are! People like to make fun of vintage advice on such things, but it actually tends to be really good!