Vintage Skills and Style in the Modern World
When everything in the modern world is focused on convenience, and “hacks,” and recipes that take 30 minutes, there’s something to be said for slowing down every once in awhile. Tedious projects give us the chance to build our concentration, unplug from the frenetic pace around us, and test the depth and variety of our vocabulary of curse words.
And thus, gingerbread houses.
Yesterday, in particular, I felt like I got sledgehammered by the news. Does gingerbread make it better? It most definitely does not. However, it keeps me going to fight another day, and in a dark and stormy world, I’ll take my tiny hope where I can find it.
So did “smart homemakers” in 1948. I know this, because I happened across the December 1948 issue of Mademoiselle’s Living Magazine, which is, explicitly, the magazine for smart young homemakers.
I love home magazines, and this one, from the late 1940s, did not disappoint. Continue reading “6 DIY Christmas Decorations From 1948 To Try (Plus 1 NOT To)”
There’s the physical darkness. Here on the eastern edge of the Central Time Zone, it’s getting dark early, as we approach the Solstice later this month. The days are getting shorter and shorter, and the sun appears less and less frequently.
But the physical darkness can be fought. With candles, with blankets, with UV lamps aimed at our faces and vitamin D supplements. The darkness that threatens me now is a dark night of the soul.
