The T-Cozy

Flagelicious

This summer, my daughter has been doing an internship on New York City's Upper East Side. Every morning, she stops at bagel shop around the corner from where she works. There she has discovered a yummy new taste treat . . . the flagel. 

 

What, you might ask, is a flagel? A flagel is a flat bagel. Hannah brought me home this one and it was so tasty.

Flagels starts out just like regular bagels where the dough is mixed together, kneaded and then shaped into the traditional round shape with a hole in the middle. After rising, they are boiled for a few minutes. But before they head to the oven, flagels are flattened to almost twice the width of regular bagels. 

A flagel has more crispy crust than a traditional bagel and the inside is dense and satisfyingly chewy. Though its thin profile makes it more difficult to cut in half, it is much easier to toast in a conventional toaster. Plus, it provides a broader canvas for sandwich making. 

Flagels can come in all of the bagel varieties. I like the whole wheat; Hannah prefers the "everything" flagel. Yesterday, she brought home two for John and Jacob to try. I bet they will find them flagelicious!

Susan 

Apron Allure

What is it about vintage aprons that makes them so appealing? I simply can't resist their designs sewn from cheerful fabrics and trims. If these vintage aprons could talk, I'm sure they'd have some interesting stories to tell. They probably witnessed a Thanksgiving dinner or two, and perhaps a few birthdays, bridge parties or coffee klatches of yore. 

 

The six books above are my favorites that celebrate the art of the apron. They discuss the apron in history and share wonderful stories, photographs and patterns for making new aprons. 

Two beautiful books by EllynAnne Geisel... The Apron Book, Making, Wearing and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort and Apronisms, Pocket Wisdom for Every Day. 

Two collectors guides by Judy Florence... Aprons of the Mid-20th Century: To Serve and Protect and Gingham Aprons of the '40s & '50s, A Checkered Past. 

And two more inspiring books is you'd like to sew your own apron... The Perfect Apron, 35 Fun and Flirty Designs for You to Make by Rob Merrett and A is for Apron, 25 Fresh and Flirty Designs by Natalie Mornu.

I think what I love most about aprons is that they are both pretty and functional --- the perfect combination. How about you?

Susan

A Darling Dressing Table

Look what I found . . . another vintage piece of child-size furniture! 

Isn't this the most precious little table? Listed for sale today in my Etsy shop, this vanity was made just like the full-sized ones with arms that swing out to reveal a drawer and bench seat underneath.

Skirted in its original floral cotton fabric and sporting a real mirror, this vanity is just the right size for large dolls, like the American Girl ones.

I love the charming flower basket decal on the drawer. I'll bet this table was made in the 1940s. Look how cute it is with a few mini accessories on it, below.

Measuring 15 inches long and 16 inches high, wouldn't this little vanity look sweet displayed on a larger bureau or dressing table? I hope it will soon find a happy new home.

Have a nice weekend,

Susan

Chic Chapeaus

Over the past week, I've listed some vintage hats in my Etsy shop. 

Mostly made by hand, these chic chapeaus are like little works of art, sporting loads of style and beautifully crafted details.

A couple of them already sold and have been shipped off far and wide. The red Stetson beret, above right, was mailed to the United Kingdom and the jaunty Milgrim beret with the funky gold ornament, below, is on its way to China.

Back in the 1920s to the 1950s when they were most in vogue, hats like these gave women a chance to express a bit of their individuality and creativity. Today, these relics are popular collectibles and are fun to display. Why not hang one off a hall tree in a foyer? Or line up a row of hats on wall hooks in a bedroom. 

I keep a trio on display in my studio. I especially like ones that are embellished with milliner's flowers. Sometimes the flowers can be even more collectible than the hats!

Do you have any vintage hats? If so, how have you displayed them?

Susan

Views from the First Day of Summer

Here's what June 21 looks like outside our front door . . .

. . .  dampled sunshine on this, the first day of summer! The front garden is really coming along now.

We've had an ample amount of rain so everything is green and the window box flowers are getting more lush every day.

My antique chair planter is filling in nicely, too.

Over by the side door, you'll find more Impatiens, Coleus, Vinca Vine and Browallia, while Honeysuckle and Clematis climb up the trellis.

This planting season, I kept it simple by repeating the same plant varieties in the window boxes and various planters. I was afraid that it might be boring, but now I think it keeps things looking more unified. Do you agree?

This cute concrete planter is looking good, too.

And finally the Foxglove are in bloom. So pretty.

Happy Summer!

Susan

A Charming Doll's Cupboard

And finally, the last in my series . . . 

. . . and perhaps the cutest piece of child-size furniture I own. This little wooden cupboard measures only 14 inches high by 10 inches wide and is just the right size for little girls to use while playing with their dolls. Can't you picture tin toy plates, pots and pans on it? 

This hutch is a perfect place to display a grouping of vintage Shawnee Pottery miniatures. If these tiny vases were scattered about the larger pottery pieces on the vast shelves in our family room, they'd look a bit lost, so placing them all together gives them more prominence.

Judging from the appealing girl decals on the cupboard's doors, I'd say this hutch was probably made in the 1930s or 40s.

Isn't it the sweetest thing?

I hope you have a nice weekend and a very happy Father's Day!

Susan

A Stately Salesman's Sample Cabinet

Here's part two of my child-size furniture series this week --- another of my scaled down relics. I purchased this small yet stately cabinet a number of years ago from Joan, one of my favorite dealers who has a booth at the Stratford Antique Center.

This piece may have been a salesman's sample, meaning it would have been made as an exact duplicate of a large cabinet enabling a salesman to carry it on his rounds to take orders for the full size version. Have a peek inside . . .

Measuring only 20 inches high and 15 inches wide, this diminutive piece sits atop an old dresser in my bedroom and is just the right size to keep my collection of costume jewelry organized.

The Stratford Antique Center, a large multi-dealer shop where I discovered this cabinet, is in Stratford, Connecticut, just off I-95 at exit 31. If you ever find yourself heading up the New England Thruway, it's worth stopping in. You never know what you might find.

Susan

A Victorian Child's Dresser

Aside from by beloved Hoosier cabinet, this little chest of drawers may well be my favorite vintage piece of furniture. 

Here's how I acquired it. A number of years ago, the nicest lady stopped by my antiques shop and tea room. She was downsizing and wanted to lighten her load. She had an array of nice old items, most of which I bought, cleaned up and put right out for sale in the store. But when she brought in this amazing child-size dresser, I knew it was a keeper. Isn't it charming?

This dresser is ample in size measuring 30 inches high by 21 inches wide, therefore I doubt it was a salesman's sample. Perhaps it was made for a little girl's room to hold her treasures or dolly's clothes. I use it to store my vast collection of rubber stamps and stamp pads in my studio. It does a great job of keeping them organized.

I like to place scaled down furniture like this atop a larger table, desk or chest giving it prominence and bringing it to "adult" height. I just can't resist children's pieces like this. After all, like babies, puppies and kittens, isn't everything cuter when it's in miniature?

Susan

Vintage Child-Sized Furniture

Next week, I'll be presenting a series of posts on the trio of relics below that are near and dear to my heart . . .

This scaled down child-size dresser houses rubber stamping supplies in my home studio.

A miniature yet stately cabinet holds jewelry in the master bedroom. 

And on a shelf in our family room, you'll find an old doll hutch displaying a collection of tiny Shawnee vases.

I hope you'll visit The T-Cozy next week for a closer look at all three of these charming pieces. And be sure to have a great weekend!

Susan  

Vintage Wall Pocket Bouquets

A while back, I shared this unusual wall pocket with you . . .

Filled with one of my handmade vintage button bouquets, you'll find it among the cottage prints and needlework on my studio's wall.

 

On this rainy day in Connecticut, I decided to make a button bouquet especially for another unique wall pocket.

This wooden one has a primitive cut-out design and a red painted flower on the front. It's matching button bouquet is in shades of tan, brown and red. I plan to list in my Etsy shop sometime this week.

Vintage pieces like these are so interesting to me and I'm always curious about who made them. Perhaps it was a devoted son who crafted it for his mom in shop class. Or maybe it was someone who liked to putter around in his/her basement workshop. 

I especially like how this clever pocket can either stand on its own or hang on the wall. Isn't it fun? 

Susan   

The Height of (Tea) Fashion

New York City is known for its ultra chic and oh so creative window dressing. It's fun to check out the inspiring window displays at Saks or Bergdorfs. But here's something a little different that I shot the last time I was in the city. It's the latest in "tea" high fashion.

This mannequin, gracing the window of a coffee and tea bar, is wearing a dress made from Lipton tea bag packets. Did you notice her tea bag hair? And the back wall is covered with coffee filters. Doesn't it remind you of some of the wacky Project Runway challenges where the contestants have to make clothing out of grocery items? I wonder when the next PR season is starting. I love that show.

I enjoy strolling up Fifth Avenue admiring all of the lovely store windows. If you'd like to do a little NYC window shopping, click here for Bergdorf Goodman's link to their beautiful window displays. 

Susan

Next Week on Etsy

It has been a while since I've had time to do any new Etsy listings, so I'll be dipping back into that gargantuan linen lot I purchased back in February. The vintage textiles, below, will make an appearance in my Etsy shop sometime next week. Here's a little preview . . .

Aren't they sweet?

Have a great weekend!

Susan      

Simplifying My Website

It's been a year and a half since I launched Tpartyantiques.com, my sweet little website. Over that time, I've learned a lot about having an ecommerce site, especially what sells best in its Shop section. So recently, I've revamped that section to make life a little easier.

First, I pared down the Loose Leaf Tea page to the nine best selling varieties . . .

I still carry the same Tea Infusers, Brown Sugar Cubes and Tart Servers. But I have reduced the number of Bee House Teapot from ten to six colors. Matching Tea Mugs are now offered in four colors.

Other products that remain are my Handmade Tea Cozies, Tea Mug & More Sets, and the From the Heart Party Favors.

Perhaps the biggest change has been consolidating all of the fun and funky Vintage Treasures offered on the site into my Etsy shop. 

Unlike blogs which which use an interface allowing them to change at the drop of a hat, web pages can be difficult to alter. Although it took some time and effort, it was so worth simplifying my website. Now I sell only what is most popular. That means I have to store a bit less inventory, which translates into a bit more room in my home studio. 

Susan