Halloween Hoosier – All Treats, No Tricks

October 4, 2019decorcottage kitchen, fall, fiestaware, funkins, halloween, halloween decor, hoosier cabinet, october, retro, vintagearthurized 3 Comments

It’s time to pull out the Halloween decor and get ready for Fright Night. (Actually, my Halloween tastes tend toward spooky/goofy/vintage rather than gory and horrific.) The Hoosier has a prominent place in our kitchen, so I love to decorate it for seasons and holidays. Care for a tour?

I used my Fiestaware and created a cake stand to give this pumpkin some height.

Our neighbor Norman (may he RIP) grew the gourd and gave it to me to paint. It’s been part of my Halloween decor for 13 years. I found these sweet ceramic jack-o-lanterns at a thrift store. Their insides are sooty from a previous owner burning what must’ve been the world’s tiniest tea light candles in them.

Rabbit Trail: I don’t burn real candles in the Hoosier. Have you ever seen a candle flare? Mark and I were watching TV one night and I had a jar candle burning on the coffee table. All of the sudden, the flame shot up about three feet into the air! It burned that way for just a second and then went back to burning as normal. We couldn’t believe what we’d just seen! That’s why I like to leave clearance of several feet around real candles.

The papier-mâché ornaments are from Department 56.

No such thing as unlucky black cats when they’re this sweet.

While the Hoosier is festive by day, it’s pure magic at night.

For the past several years, we’ve carved Funkins at my sister’s Halloween soiree. The Hoosier is chock full of them. Our nephew gave us the spiderweb candle below….about 20 years ago!

I debated placing the “G” marquee letter in front of the “eek”! We do geek out over Halloween.

The star led lights are from Anthropologie. They usually stock them before Christmas; I like to buy them on Boxing Day clearance.

Most everything in the Hoosier is thrifted, gifted, handmade or found on sale.

We put the string lights on a timer so they’re on for a few hours in the morning, and on again in the evening until we go to bed.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little jaunt through the Hoosier. Happy Halloween!

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Milk Glass in the Kitchen

August 9, 2019Cottagecollecting, fiestaware, kitchen decor, mason jars, milk glass, pyrex, thrifty decor, vintagearthurized 2 Comments

I’ve been collecting milk glass and using it throughout the house for years now. (Too many years to count!) Back when I began collecting, I could find pieces at the flea market and thrift stores for twenty five or fifty cents. While the days of that pricing are long since over, I still find pieces in the wild for a dollar and up. The milk glass I collect is most useful if it can serve multiple purposes. To that end, I like to use it in unexpected ways. Here are a few ideas for using milk glass around the kitchen:

Use a large vase to keep favorite cooking utensils handy next to the stove. See that wooden spatula in the back? I bought it at Tamarack in Beckley, West Virginia. It’s handmade, sturdy and obviously, very useful. Also, I had to buy it because it was labeled “cookie shovel”, and when life gives you an opportunity to own such a magical item, you take it.

Turn a wide-bottomed bowl over and place a large plate on top to create a DIY cake stand. If you’re concerned about stability, a few dabs of hot glue or sticky dots will hold the two pieces together. Gather soaps, brushes and dishcloths by the sink. My sister brought me that tiny bud vase from Mexico. I just love it!

Because our kitchen is tiny, and we need all the drawer space we can find, we keep our eating utensils in containers on the counter. We tried this using drinking glasses until we knew that this set-up would work long term.

A cake stand makes a useful and decorative display for citrus. I’ve seen onions and garlic presented this way as well, but I think lemons, limes and oranges are prettier. It’s that whole “I love color; not into neutrals” thing.

No milk glass? No problem! Use what you have. Fiestaware is great for this use. With a mix of Fiesta plates and bowls, you can have a cake stand in every color of the rainbow.

How about Grandma’s china? (Perhaps we shouldn’t use the hot glue gun on that?) Mix and match dishes and bowls for a boho look. I used a small, vintage Pyrex bowl in this aspect.

Mason jars make perfectly charming utensil holders.

Use your imagination to see your things in a whole new light. You’ll be amazed at what you can create! If you try try this quick project, I’d love to see your results. Let me know in comments, or email me at: arthurized dot home at gmail dot com.

Deviled Eggs, Three Ways

June 24, 2019Foodanchor hocking, bacon, clean food, cook with kids, fiestaware, gluten free, guacamole, halloween, keto, low carb, milk glass, real food, vintagearthurized 1 Comment

Much like Peeps marshmallow candy, deviled eggs are polarizing. You either love them or you hate them. We’re in camp Love Them. Deviled eggs that is, not Peeps.

Because they’re are a pain in the butt to make, I usually make a large batch of deviled eggs, 8-10 whole eggs at a time. We eat them until we don’t want to see another one for six months or so.

This deviled egg plate belonged to my husband’s great aunt, Ruth.

To make hard boiled eggs:
Bring a large pot of water (mine holds 7 quarts) to a rolling boil. Gently, gently lower 8-10 eggs into the water. Don’t crowd them. Leaving the pot uncovered, lower the heat to a medium simmer. Simmer for 14 minutes and transfer the eggs to an ice bath for five minutes. Peel the eggs.

Once the eggs have cooled enough to handle, slice them in half lengthwise and release the cooked yolk into a mixing bowl.

Classic Deviled Eggs
For 8-10 eggs, mix 1/2 cup (or so) of mayonnaise, a little finely ground salt and white pepper into the cooked egg yolks. Add a teaspoon of honey, or other sweetener to taste. Mix until the filling has a smooth texture. Pipe or spoon into egg halves and lightly sprinkle with paprika and chopped flat leaf Italian parsley (optional).

Classic Deviled Eggs with Bacon
Because bacon makes everything better! Mix bacon crumbles into the classic filling, spoon into whites and sprinkle more crumbled bacon on top.

Guacamole Bacon Deviled Eggs:
Not the prettiest deviled egg, but dang, they’re tasty! Serve these babies immediately so that the avocado doesn’t oxidize. My version is loosely based on this one. Instead of making my own guacamole, I take some help from the store and use pre-made. I like the classic guacamole from Aldi.

For 8-10 eggs, I use 6 – 8 oz. of guac. I substitute Cholula hot sauce for the jalapenos, because I never remember to take my contacts out before chopping jalapenos and things get ugly from there. Mix bacon into the filling, sprinkle more on top.

Bring literal deviled eggs to your next Halloween party with little slivers of red bell pepper for horns. So cute! The horns would work well with any of these variations, with or without other garnishes.

Now, go throw that bacon around like confetti!

Decorating the Hoosier for Summer

May 17, 2019decorantiques, dala horse, fiestaware, hoosier cabinet, kitchen, kitsch, lisa larson, patriotic, pyrex, retro, summer decor, thermos, vintage, vintage linensarthurized 2 Comments

Even though it’s still spring, it will feel like summer this weekend with highs in the upper 80’s. I’m so excited because I love all things summer: long days, wearing flip-flops, garden produce, campfires and going to the beach!

I’m getting a jump on summer decor, starting with the Hoosier cabinet. Having red, white and blue as my color scheme, I’ll leave this up from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Of course, the star represents the Star City; and the thermoses are vintage, picnic fun!

Some of these pieces are a nod to my Minnesota childhood. The birch bark canoe is a reminder of summers spent paddling on the lake. The dala horses and the Lisa Larson figurine were gifts to our family from a Swedish exchange student.

I’ve had these metal sand pails for years now. My mother-in-law loved Mary Engelbreit and beach vacations, so these bring back memories of her.

This little guy was part of a Children of the World project that Larson produced for UNICEF. I love his sweet face and little “innie” belly button! He has the cutest bubble butt too, but I’ll try not to embarrass him here.

I’ve collected vintage linens for quite some time. Many of these are gifts from my sister-in-law who started my collection almost 25 years ago.

A little life advice from the Father of His Country. I found this little goodie at a thrift store; and I love the script calligraphy.

The Lone Star State tablecloth was a gift from my Grandpa to his mother when he was working in Texas.

Do you see the navy saucer peeking out from the red bowl? It belonged to my Hoosier Grandma. The California cloth is in memory of my Grandparents; and with love to all my family in the Golden State. The tablecloth is a new piece made to look like vintage, state map hankies.

I’m enjoying the irony of featuring beautiful, English dishes in my celebration of independence from British rule. Which reminds me of the time when my husband wore his Union Jack hoodie to watch the fireworks on July 4th!

The Fiestaware here is a mixture of old and new pieces. The large, navy bowl was my Grandma’s as well; she used her Fiesta everyday.

I usually keep the Hoosier doors open, but here you can see the design on them. I think the hinges and latch are so cool. She’s pretty even when closed!

This cabinet is chock full of sentimental pieces that to an outsider might look a bit like a yard sale! Nearly everything else is gifted, thrifted or from the flea market.

I hope this inspires you to use your well-loved pieces in new and unusual combinations! If you need a few tips for displaying your collectibles, see my Spring Hoosier post.

Bring on summer! I’m ready!

Tips for Displaying Your Collectibles – Decorating the Hoosier for Spring

April 9, 2019Cottage, decorarthurized home, collectibles, colorful cottage living, decorating, display, fiestaware, kitchen, pyrex, spring decor, vintagearthurized 5 Comments

This Hoosier cabinet is a kitchen workhorse. It’s been a pantry, storage for extra dishes and large pots but most often it has been a display area for seasonal decorations and collectibles.

Several of the items in here have sentimental value; a memory tied to an experience, found or given to us by family, starting with the Hoosier itself. A gift from my sister.

This bird nest was part of the decor at my Indiana grandma’s 90th birthday party. The china belonged to my grandma in California and was lovingly shipped here by my aunt and uncle. Other items were collected over time from the flea market, thrift stores and yard sales. Some pieces are new, purchased at a discount.

The bunnies are new pieces, the leaf plates are a gift from my mom. The vintage table linens below were collected over time, mostly gifts from my sister-in-law.

“Chocolate” bunny found at TJ Maxx.

This apron was sewn by another sister. She chose cherry fabric for me because at the time we had nine cherry trees on our property.

The Fiestaware is a reminder of my Indiana Grandma and her colorful kitchen. She used Fiesta as her everyday dishes and had a glass front cabinet in her kitchen chock full of it.

These chick vases were found on a shopping trip to Dixie Pottery in Abingdon, VA with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. They are new pieces with a vintage look.

This cookbook holder with illustrations cracks me up! If you need an infographic for how to hold a cookbook open; perhaps the cooking is best left to someone else?

My husband bought this little teacup for me. It’s hard to read the message, but it says “Be always happy”. I imagine the original owner drank her tea from it and her thumb resting on the cup wore off the word “always”.

The lemonade pitcher and glasses were a birthday gift from my sister-in-law.

Here are some tips for displaying your collectibles:

Decide on a color scheme/theme. In this case, I’ve used all pastel and Spring/Easter items. You could go with brights, all white, monochromatic, etc.

Group like items together. Odd numbered groupings look best.

Vary the height of the pieces on each shelf. Try to arrange vignettes of triangles and inverted triangles. This creates movement and helps to guide the eye through your display.

When decorating shelves or bookcases, group colors and stagger them from right to left in a vertical zig-zag pattern.

Most importantly, use what you love! From the outside looking in, this may seem like a strange group of unrelated pieces, but nearly every item reminds me of an experience or someone I love. And that is the real story of my home and yours.

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