The National Vintage Awards...yay!

Mrs Nostalgic is very very proud to report that we are one of four nominees in The National Vintage Awards - Best Online Shop - Homeware!  We are so excited here at The Nostalgic Kitchen HQ!  The nominees receive public votes in order to go through to the final three and attend the posh award ceremony in Birmingham.  I am currently in last place :( However I am just so pleased to be part of it and get the publicity and exposure.  As my lovely blog reader I would be very grateful if you would vote for me.  You just click on the link below and tick next to The Nostalgic Kitchen. Thanks everyone and keep everything crossed xxxxxx

http://thenationalvintageawards.co.uk/vote-here/best-online-shop-homeware/

You know you are getting old when...

Hello readers...Mrs Nostalgic is feeling old!  I was having a little chuckle to myself yesterday as I was thinking what the young me would say to the old me now!!!!!  I was thinking how I've changed and there are a few key traits that prove I'm aging...You know you are getting old when....

You start bird watching!  I knew it was the final straw when I asked my Mother in Law to buy me a bird table for Christmas.  Don't worry readers I don't go out for the day with my binoculars and twitch but I do enjoy a cup of coffee looking out the window watching Mr Robin and the little black bird on my bird table.  The highlight of my morning is watching the bluetits on the peanut hanging thingy.  They are really pretty.  You see there I go again! Old!

There are certain foods, as well readers, that one only acquires a taste for when one gets older.  Sun dried tomatoes, olives, Stilton cheese and beetroot.  Of course an appreciation of a good wine comes with age as well but I seemed to develop that skill in my late 20's!!!

Getting washing dried on the line...well actually the whole process of hanging it out, monitoring the weather and joining others in the comment when a black cloud comes over "oh no I've got washing on the line"!!!!! When you were young you didn't care if it dried outside or in as long as you didn't have to do it frankly!  I also have line envy!  We have a whirly and I so long for a long sweeping line to sway backwards and forth.  See old!

Monty Don makes your heart flutter! Not only that but he knows how to cultivate a good brussel sprout!  I get really excited about Friday nights...no not because I'm getting ready to go out clubbing but because it's time for Gardeners World on the tele and I get to pick up tips whilst lusting after Monty Don! I need help I know.  I love gardening ..that's an age thing. My best friend and I talk about our gardens when we meet up now and how the slugs ruined our foxgloves last year...we used to talk about boys, sex and rock & roll.  Planting up pretty pots gives me as much pleasure these days as dancing on a podium once used to! By the way planted up some alpine strawberries in an old vintage baking tin and put on a shelf in the garden and it looks really lovely...try it xx

So Mrs Nostalgic is quite content with the aging process and quite frankly it's a relief to be able to let go of the pressure that is being young, acting and  looking hip & trendy. I'm off to put the kettle on now and have another cup of tea from a bone china mug...you appreciate a bone china cup as you get older you know!!!  
xxxxxxxxx

Marble in a Tea Kettle

A little something I thought I would share with you....A glass marble placed in a tea kettle and left in there permanently will keep limescale at bay!  It bounces around when you boil the kettle chipping away at any limescale!

How do I know this?  Well I was picking up a kitchen larder to renovate from a house that was being cleared by a family after the death of their elderly relative.  She sounded like an amazing character who always did something for a reason.  She collected newspaper clippings with tips and ideas for making household chores easier.  When I picked up an old brown enamel tea kettle there was something rattling inside it.  When I looked inside and saw the marble I wondered why on earth there would be a marble in there.  I asked the family and they didn't know why but said there must be a reason as everything was done for a reason!

I kept the marble and the kettle and returned home to research the reasoning behind the marble in the kettle! Quite a common notion I discovered and so from now on I will put a marble in every stove top kettle that I sell with an explanation of course and keep this useful tip alive.  I am going back to this lady's house on Saturday and I will have a little smile in her kitchen for the useful tip she has passed on to me!  Wish I had known her.....oh the things she could have taught me!

Gonna sit down now and have a nice cup of tea...limescale free....cheers!

The Nostalgic Kitchen Update

I have been dithering about putting off writing my latest blog post as I had lots of things to write about but no particular subject and so here are my latest ramblings and updates on all things Nostalgic Kitchen...
Firstly readers an update on my very own Mrs Nostalgic Kitchen's makeover.  We have finished decorating now and I just have to place all my wares around the shelves and walls.  I have completed the little glasses section which I am really pleased with..



It was Farmer Bob's idea to paint the radiator green and I'm thrilled with it...who'd have thought it!
My hooks are up and yellows, greens and vintage florals are hanging around

I carried on this bright vintage colour scheme when preparing for my fairs last weekend as I thought everyone needed cheering up with vibrant vintage in this cold depressing dark weather.  I did a fair at Abbington Park Museum in Northampton on Saturday and although snowy it was a great success and thoroughly good fun!  Here are some piccys of my stall..

The fair was set around the exhibits at the museum.  One particular display caught my eye....

How fabulous!!!! Although I find mannequins like this really creepy!
Anyway Easter this weekend and I am planning lots of yummy food to come out of The Nostalgic Kitchen..... Here is an Easter recipe for you to try love from me taken from 'Come into the Kitchen' by Alexie Gordon & Trudy Bliss 1947 xx

Spring Song - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers!

I have decided that if I think about, sing about and talk about spring it will finally arrive!  I have always loved the film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers with all my heart and when signs of Spring arrive I honestly can't get this song out of my head.  For those of you that are also fans of the film will know what I mean!  I am going to design this blog post around the song and you can sing each little bit as you read.... lyrics in green...

CALEB:
Oh, the barnyard is busy in a regular tizzy,
And the obvious reason is because of the season
Ma Nature's lyrical, with her yearly miracle
Spring, Spring, Spring.

In the film the seven brothers kidnap seven brides from the local town however an avalanche traps the girls at the remote farm house and their families are unable to rescue them.  They are stuck there through what is a very very long winter.  Just like we are experiencing.  By the time spring arrives they have all fallen in love, lambs are being born, daffodils appear, ducklings are swimming and everyone sings.....
We have got lambs in the field behind The Nostalgic Kitchen however that's about it!  No daffodils yet and I'm desperate to sing! Mrs Nostalgic Kitchen is a bit like Millie from the film with her passion for cooking and homemaking!  I have been baking lots of yummy dishes for Farmer Bob to keep us warm and brightening up our home with a spring clean and spring flowers dotted here and there to get us in the mood for better weather.

BENJAMIN:
All the hen-folk are hatchin'
While their men-folk are scrathin'
To ensure the survival of each brand new arrival.
DORCAS:
Each nest is twitterin',
They're all baby-sitterin',
Spring, Spring, Spring.

I have been starting my spring displays on my online shop and at my unit in Kibworth Antiques Centre.  It's such a pretty time of year and easy to make things look bright and cheery!

FRANK:
It's a beehive of buddin' son and daughter life,
Every family has plans in view.
Even down in the brook the underwater life
Is forever blowin' bubbles too.

LIZA:
Every field wears a bonnet
With some spring daisies on it,
Even birds of a feather show their clothes off together.
EPHRAIM:
Sun's gettin' shinery, to spotlight the finery,
LIZA:
Spring, Spring, Spring.

I've got lots of Easter ideas to put on my website so make sure you keep checking it in the next couple of weeks for Spring inspiration in your kitchen.  I'm going to bake Bunny biscuits tomorrow. These little bunny jelly moulds are a lovely gift to yourself or for someone else.

GIDEON:
From his eyrie, the eagle with his eagle eye
Gazes down across his eagle beak
And a'fixin' his lady with the legal eye
Screams "suppose we fix the date this week!"

Are you still singing? In my next post I will be sharing vintage cleaning tips for all you budding housewives and househusbands out there.  My washing/cleaning section is growing online and it's time you all knew the secret tips of the trade!  www.thenostalgickitchen.co.uk

CALEB & RUTH with DANIEL & MARTHA:
Yes, siree, spring disposes
That it's all one supposes
It's a real bed of roses
Waggin' tails, rubbin' noses.

All BROTHERS (except Ephraim) & All BRIDES:
Each day is Mother's Day
The next is some other's dayWhen all is King ...

 I hope you enjoyed your little spring sing song and if you would like a special spring treat head over to www.thenostalgickitchen.co.uk and enter the code  8080  for your 10% discount.  Goodbye form me and goodbye from the cast of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.