Magpie Ethel

Weekly Bread

I have a bread starter that I feed every week. I got it about 10 years ago from my sister in law who had had it herself for about 17 years.  It lives in the fridge and I feed it potato flakes, sugar and water about every 10 days or so.

It makes the yummiest home made bread ever. I always serve it at parties and it gets devoured.

While on the subject of bread...I have this adorable little pamphlet "Tummy Tingles" put out by the Wheat Flour Institute in 1937. Dancing cakes, pies and biscuits...those vintage illustrations get me everytime!

It has cute little poems about cupcakes, pancakes, biscuits and such.  The illustrations and this charming little poem about bread are sure to bring a smile to your face.

Bread,  I love you - yes I do!  Truly, I could just EAT you - Fresh from Mother's baking pan, or bought from our nice bakerman.

Bread, I love you spread with jam, peanut butter or minced ham. And marmalade or jelly makes you taste as good as the finest cakes!

I don't know when I love you most, when you're white or when your toast. But either way I feel well fed, when you are with me, Mister Bread.

I love you bread, you are my friend - to me your strength you gladly lend. And your friendship I would share, with hungry children everywhere.

Ode to bread. I prefer my bread warm from the oven with a little butter.  Happy Day!

 

Enchante...A Sweet Field Trip

I am lucky enough to live near an amazing boutique type candy shop with a Parisian flair called Enchante.  It is about 10 minutes from my house in downtown Milwaukie.  

It is one of those shops that you walk into and your jaw drops. It is like walking into an old fashioned candy shop.

Row upon row of yummy treats. The attention to detail on the packaging is amazing. This is a shop that just makes you happy shopping in it.

My friend Kim has owned this shop for 16 years. It is where I go to get all my special sweet gifts.  The Easter bunny always shops here.

Not only are there wonderful handmade chocolates and candies, but there are lots of wonderful gift items as well.

Kim creates a magical world for each and every holiday. Every time I go into her shop, it is a different experience.

Penelope the giant faux chocolate bunny is one of my favorite props in the shop (it was a  birthday gift from her sister).

It is not one of those places I can make snap decisions in, as I have to look around and take it all in.

I am always happy to leave here with a bag of treats. Even my purchase is thoughtfully wrapped...again, attention to detail!

This little gem of a shop was also mentioned in the USA Today last year as one of the ten best places to savor the sweet life in the US! If you live in town, it is so worth a visit.

Enchante.  10821 SE Main St, Milwaukie, OR 97222.

Tue-Fri 11 am - 5:30 pm, Sat 11 am - 4 pm. My favorite place to buy sweet treats! Ooh La La!

Graduation Party

My son is leaving a month from today to head to Oregon State University for his freshman year there.  We did not do a party immediately after graduation as we had to much on our plates and the weather wasn't great.  My house is too small to host a big party, so I needed a nice summer day. I got a 95 degree day...I am not a hot weather person!

I decided to do an ice cream social theme with a 1-4 open house time.  I wasn't sure on the number of party guests that would show (invites went out to a potential 70 guests) but figured with the ice cream theme, folks could drop in when they could, make their own sundae and visit for awhile.  We also had quite a few little nieces and nephews coming and I knew they would love making their own sundaes.

The mascot for OSU is Benny Beaver and the colors are black and orange. I did a postcard style invitation and took this photo for the one side of it (the Beaver was a cardboard cutout we got during orientation and I knew I could use it for something).

I did the whole ice cream sundae area in the black and orange theme. 

 

Lots of toppings. Lots.

If made sure I had some black and orange toppings and added a "Go Beavers" message to those tags.

  

I purchased a styrofoam cooler for the ice cream and added some OSU logos.  I got dry ice to keep the ice cream cold (dry ice on the bottom, ice cream on top of that) and this worked really well for the party.  People could serve themselves and  the ice cream stayed hard despite the hot weather.

I had to add some vintage ice cream bowls even though they were small. We also had disposable paper bowls.

I found this great old Benny Beaver stuffed animal at an estate sale the weekend before the party.  I stuck him in a wire basket and he guarded graduation gifts that Ben received.

Ice cold drinks.

I had fun with the orange and black theme, but my backyard where people ate, had my more typical colorful vintage theme. 

A peak over the back fence.

Vintage tablecloths and dahlias.

The table on the left with the green container is actually an old ironing board that I always use for extra table space.

We ended up with just over 40 guests and my backyard was fully shaded by the time the party started. It was a fun time although it was lots of work (glad it is behind me). Go Beavers and congrats to Ben....may you have a wonderful college experience!

Summertime Flatware

Last year I did a post that mentioned my flatware collection.  Alot of people contacted me about where I found my flatware, and for the most part I have found it to be a seasonal item.  Well the CUTE FLATWARE SEASON has begun again.

Today I found these cuties to add to my stash.

I found the set when I browsed my local Homegoods store today and was smitten.  I am quite drawn to polka dots.  They were added to my pretty patterned stash.

I know they are mismatched, but they work together and make me happy when I use them.  They are the flatware that I pull out for parties, not our everyday use.
I love them all jumbled together with their different colors and patterns.

So for those of you interested in starting a fun flatware collection...now is the time to keep those eyes open.  Look in the summertime section.  I've had good luck at Target and TJ Maxx in the past as well.    This wasn't an overnight collection for me as I've been at it probably five or six years.  I seem to add a pattern or two each year, but look where I am now!

Let the flatware season begin...the hunt is on.