This morning I had one of those epic swap meet days, the kind where every direction that I looked I saw something I would love to bring home. I did pretty good, not caving to the temptation of dropping my loot off at home and returning for multiple car loads of goodies.

Lucy and I have been haunting the thrift stores in our area lately. You see, I decided recently that I would open another etsy shop (my pattern shop is here). There isn’t much that I enjoy more than the thrill of finding secondhand bargains, and Lucy has grown to love it as well (though I admit, on occasion I bribe her with a book or cheapy toy!).

Anyhow, yesterday evening I opened the virtual doors to my new vintage shop, A Taste of Honey Vintage. I spent last night listing children’s clothing, and made my first sale within two hours! Tonight I am listing some non clothing vintage items (including those cute squirrel salt and pepper shakers in the first photo). I also created an instagram and a twitter account to get sneak peaks of items before they hit the shop.

After the atrocity that was my last retro recipe, the Patio Salad, I needed something safe. One quick flip through my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook and this recipe for date pudding practically jumped off the page. I have really only had date pudding once before, a year and a half ago for my 30th birthday at King’s Highway in Palm Springs. It really was one of the most delicious deserts I have ever had.

How would I describe this delicious dessert? Ooey, gooey, sticky, and sweet deliciousness, made even better with freshly made whipped cream. That sums it up pretty good. Try this one when you need a good sugar kick!

Date Pudding

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat together eggs and sugar. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to egg mixture, stir in dates and walnuts. Pour into a greased baking dish (8×8) and bake in a pan of hot water for one hour. Serve warm, topped with whipped cream. Serves 6.

Isn’t that bad? Russ was sweet enough to spend last weekend scraping the paint off with chemicals. My spare time throughout the week has been spent out on the patio sanding, sanding, and more sanding. I am only about 1/3 of the way done, but I hope to be finished and ready to stain at the end of the weekend.

Stay tuned to see the finished product. Oh, and I promise a more active week around here next week!

Well, that looks horribly unappetizing, doesn’t it? This chunky, crunchy, chewy, creamy orange dish is called Patio Salad, recipe taken from the Knudsen Recipes book (which I also used last week to make a delicious, but not so crunchy, Apple Crunch) from 1962. It is slightly sweet, and packed with flavor. Unusual, why did I think I would like this, sweet, flavor.

As you may have already guessed, this one was not a winner. Upon first bite I thought to myself, ‘hmm this is interesting’, and with each subsequent bite my taste for this unique salad lessened and lessened. I think I made it four bites in before I decided I was done, for good, forever. Patio salad is not for me, at least not in this incarnation.

The ingredients in this recipe should have been a warning sign, but I hoped that maybe this was one of those odd recipes, where once it all came together it would create a party in my mouth. Or, at the very least, I figured my non vegetable eating three year old would like it with all those dates and pineapple. Wrong and wrong. No one liked it, I am almost afraid my compost pile will throw this one back in my face.

Anyhow, here is the recipe. Who knows, you may like it.

• 4 medium sized carrots, shredded
• 1 tablespoon candied ginger, chopped
• 1 cup pitted dates, chopped
• 1 cup celery
• 2 cups Knudsen Hawaiian Pineapple Cottage Cheese (since I am pretty sure this product no longer exists, I used 2 cups plain cottage cheese and 1/2 cup pineapple chunks, running the pineapple through the processor before mixing in)
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Mix carrots, ginger, dates and celery with the cottage cheese (and pineapple), chill. At serving time toss with sour cream. Serve on crisp greens.

The burger and fries were amazing!

Wednesday. Hump day. I always disliked that term. Maybe it is my inner 12 year old speaking, but whenever I hear the term hump day I either giggle or cringe. Anyway, here is a rather fluffy blog post about some of the things I have been loving lately.

1. These funky vintage horse head bookends that I found in the thrift store last week. I haven’t quite found the proper place for them yet, but they are just like some I had been eying on Etsy a while back. Bookends always come in handy around here!

2. Not the healthiest meal, but possibly the tastiest I have had in a while. Biscuits and gravy with eggs. I used the veggie breakfast “sausage”, which I don’t usually buy, but oh I am glad I did. This meal hit the spot, and just looking at the photo again has me making plans to make it again this weekend.

3. This nail polish by OPI called Samoan Sand.

Not pictured:

- The heat! It has been in the high 80s and low 90s the past few days, and I love it. I know I will tire of it come July or August, but right now it is wonderful. Lucy and I lay outside in the grass until 6 in the evening, playing and enjoying the weather.

- That moment at the end of the day when I hear the keys in the door and I am no longer parenting alone. There is nothing better.

This is one of my favorite things to come across when I am out looking for treasures. Sometimes the pictures inside are pretty, but nothing special, and then other times you find real winners, like this book I picked up from the swap meet yesterday morning. Inside are the most wonderful images of a couple that clearly liked to have a good time (and toward the end of the book very few of their child!). The pictures range from 1954 to 1961. Enjoy!

Aren’t these fun? I am quite partial to the first one, of the gal in the kitchen as well as the couple kissing. Which is your favorite?

Just popping in to wish all a happy weekend. Here is a little sneak peak at my enormous belly–it is wild that I am only 12 weeks, I must have been at least 18 weeks before I was this size last time around!

This recipe is inappropriately named Apple Crunch as there was nothing crunchy about it. Perhaps a better name would be apple porridge or apple pudding. Either way, it was delicious, and just what this lady with a baby was craving. We don’t eat a lot of sweets or desserts around our house, but when I do get a hankering for something sugary I prefer desserts with fruit in them. Pies, cobblers and crisps are right up my alley.

Yesterday I was in the mood for something sugary and decided to treat myself to a doughnut while Lucy and I were out. The doughnut was not nearly as good as it looked and left me feeling pretty underwhelmed and still craving a sweet treat. Today I decided I better appease my sugar craving, so we tried this recipe from Knudsen Recipes cookbook from 1962. I followed this recipe  to a T (well, other than not using Knudsen products!) and was very happy. It was just sweet enough and I loved the unique taste that the sour cream and cream cheese gave to the dish.

(Scroll down for recipe.)

Apple Crunch

• 6 apples
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel and slice apples. Place them in a shallow, greased baking dish. Mix the flour and sugar and add the sour cream. Spoon over the top of apples. Top with diced cream cheese. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot, topped with half and half.

Anyhow, it has been a while since I posted a vintage knitting pattern, so I thought I would get to that today. This gorgeous pattern is from Vogue Knitting Book, Fall and Winter 1957. Even though it is from their Fall and Winter issue, I think it would make the perfect Spring cardigan, don’t you?

Sizing is as follows:
Size 12: Bust 32”, Waist 25”
Size 14: Bust 34”, Waist 26”
Size 16: Bust: 36”, Waist: 28′

So…..

Baby #2 is coming this October and I have been feeding him or her well on these delicious (and very stereotypical!) peanut butter and pickle sandwiches.