This is a Great Banana Bread Recipe!

I seem to use a lot of online recipes these days but there are always the tried and true ones that you  come back and bake time and time again.  I've tried many recipes for banana bread - but this one has to be my favourite - can you tell by the look of the book?

I've had it since 1992 - I think I got this for Christmas - I always like this type of cookbook - a local book that offers recipes that are not only easy but tasty.

I'm making good use of this Glasbake loaf pan I bought a few weeks ago.

I find that if you wrap the loaf in tin foil  and wait until the next day - it's just so moist and so good!!     

Click on the picture and you can see the recipe  in all its glory, baking stains and all.  I've also made the Chocolate Chipit Bread on top - it's really good too!!

Today I'm joining up with Scrumptious Sunday Link Party at Addicted to Recipes and for the first time - Sunny Simple Sunday Link Party

A Pyrex Beauty but What Is It?

This beauty was bought this morning at a church sale for 50 cents!   I was taken to the colour because after all it is a Pyrex colour, it was strange to me because the wheat part is metal.   I lifted it up to inspect it, it had a candle warmer in the bottom, that flew out and shattered all over the floor.  Great!!  I didn't even know what it was at that point, when I lifted the cover off,  I was sure surprised!  

The glass insert is Pyrex - it says 595 - Trademark Pyrex, Made in USA - and then A-X below that, it measures approximately 10 inches across - have you ever seen anything like this?  The top handle is sort of wobbly and has a big blob of putty of some sort on it, that will have to come off!  I didn't NEED this dish at all, but I couldn't pass it up, mainly because of the beautiful colour and the price!!  I think it was a really good find!!

I didn't hesitate to grab this Snoopy mug - 25 cents.

This old Fisher Price Radio actually works - it plays Humpty Dumpty  - price - 25 cents!

Finally, there is a sign of warm weather and nice days.....

Joining in with Share Your Cup Thursday and Thriftasaurus

Do You Have a Collection?

Op Shop Mama has a Collection Selection link party up and going - that's the place for me to share because I always have a collection of some sort on the go.    I always have collected something - some of those collections are long gone now - I get it honestly, my Mom had a collection of over 500 hankies, I guess you could say I have a hankie collection now because I have them all!  Here is my basket full of Vera scarves - I need a new basket badly!

I've mentioned my Vera collection of scarves many times on my blog - that is Vera Neumann, not to be confused with Vera Bradley!  Vera (1907-1993) was an American artist and entrepreneur best known for her boldly coloured linen patterns and scarves, signed "Vera" and many featuring her signature lucky "ladybug".  I've been collecting them for  a little over a year, I have 143 different scarves as well as three designs of napkins.  I've bought most of these at thrift shops, never paying much more than $2 for a scarf.  I've been really fortunate to receive some as gifts too, which I so appreciate.     I hit the mother lode back in March - here's what I found - it was just the best day - for a Vera collector, anyway!!

There are so many designs - florals, geometrics, solids - various shapes - long, large square, small square, wing tip - I do wear them sometimes, the large square being my favorite.  

Aren't they beautiful?

Op Shop Mama has a neat collection of vintage sifters, they are so nice - if you are a collector like me, you really need to check this out here.  I am also linking with up with Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

Easy No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls - Pinned & Liked

I forgot to do my Pinterest pinned and liked post last week - I just made these cinnamon buns yesterday and will definitely be making them again!  I love cinnamon rolls, I always think I am not very good at rolling dough, but they turned out good, I'm pleased with them!!  I pinned the original recipe from Back for Seconds, that recipe called for icing, I don't really care much for icing on cinnamon buns, but maybe you do...  I always heat them up for a few seconds, love that cinnamon aroma in the kitchen...  

Today I'm linking up with Addicted to Recipes

We Went to an Auction

We spent the afternoon yesterday at an auction here in Town - we have gone to auctions before and usually don't stay more than an hour or so, this one had a lot of good stuff, so we settled in.   Items went for very reasonable prices, some of the merchandise was a steal, that's for sure, and some items didn't get a bid, you can't even give a tube tv away now...  It was a fun afternoon and we ended up going out to eat for a bite to eat after, it was perfect!

See the yellow slips - we bought a few things!!

This is the third one of these we have - they hang in our game room.   I just did a little research on this - it was made in Burlington, Ontario in 1965 by Munro Games - there are numerous games to play but no instructions ever came with the board nor game pieces.

This is on the other side.

This was the first thing we won - it doesn't work but I wanted it!  Love the graphics - I'm going to clean it up and it's going on a shelf!  

I was taken with this old drum too - tin toys like this are hard to come by and not easy to get at an affordable price - it was also made in Canada by Eagle Toys Ltd.  Are there even toys made in Canada anymore, I'm thinking there aren't many....

My husband goes for the games - this is a miniature croquet set - some pieces are missing but the ones that are here are so neat, look at those little mallets...

Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Speak no Evil - not much to say about these guys but we thought they were kind of cute, in a funny sort of way!

I had this very bank!!  It came up near to the end of the auction, nobody else bid - the Colonel is in great shape.  I guess he was a one time bank, there's no slot to get your savings out, looks like you had to cut the Colonel in pieces.

Of course, when you go to an auction, there is always something that you think you need and get a bit carried away in the excitement of the bidding - I think I feel that way about this box lot of linens - they're nice though, I will probably try to sell some.  Lots of washing and ironing ahead of me here...

Do you like auction sales?  It's amazing to see the stuff that people are buying and some people bought so much.....

Today I'm linking up with Share Your Cup Thursday,  Thriftasaurus and Magpie Monday

The Winner Is.....

Random.org picked the winner and it's A La Carte Linda - this great package will be coming your way.....

Thanks to everyone that entered, I really appreciate you stopping by and I always love to see comments.  Have a great weekend!!

Stuff

We were away last weekend and that means some different thrifting opportunities - I can tell you, it was pretty slim pickins' - I went to four different thrift stores and this is all I bought..

I'll be packing this away for next year's Easter - I think I was desperate at that point because I had not bought anything, I paid $5 for this at Goodwill, a little more than I would normally pay but it was made in Japan and it is cute!!

Since I'm talking about made in Japan, I'm including this planter I bought ages ago, I just took it out of the closet, it's not in the best of shape, you can see the fine cracks in it but it is another cute one that was made in Japan.  

I was happy to find a couple of Vera's on the weekend - lately all I've been finding are the split tip ones but I'm not fussy!

We went to a couple of antique markets as well, there's always lots to look at and lots that is way overpriced - I bought one item at each market - 

This box of vintage postcards was $13 - there must be 75 cards in there - Easter, Christmas, Valentines - a little bit of everything.   It really was a good deal!!  They'll be great for gifts, SMASHING, decoration - I love reading the messages on the backs -  it really gives a hint about  life back in the early 1900's.  

Cards for Mother & Father

This card is  postmarked 1910

To Clara, From Freddie

Aren't they cute?

I bought a bag with 8 greeting cards in it - the images are quite different from what we see now...

This is a strange one....

and another one....

I've been on some sort of lucky streak as far as blogging contests are concerned - I've won two in the past couple of weeks, both of my prizes arrived this week - I love getting mail like this...

My first prize to win came from Chloe at L'Heure Bleue at Home - thanks so much for the beautiful hankies and the brooch, it was all packaged so nicely!

Later on in the week my next prize arrived from Pam at VirginiaRetro - this is the sweetest little book on grandparents and is full of so many cute illustrations - and also a runner, I know just where I'm going to put it too!  Pam had her card decorated and used washi tape on her package - love it!!  Thanks!

These are not vintage but I just wanted to show them to you - I bought them last week at Winners - they're cases with vintage Ladybug book covers - I couldn't decide so I bought two!

Today I'm joining the link parties at Junkin Joe and Thrifty Things Friday

One More Day to Enter the Draw!

One more day to enter my Blogiversary Draw - if you haven't entered  - come on over and put your name in the hat - make a comment on the original post here or on my Facebook page - good luck!   The lucky person to get all these neat vintage goodies will be announced tomorrow.

Cocoa Swirl Coffee Cake with Orange Glaze

This recipe comes from Holly in Newfoundland - after I saw pictures of her cake, I just had to get the recipe  - it's  from a cookbook called Fabulous Desserts.  This is the second time I've made this - it's delicious and easy to make!!    Thanks, Holly  - this is going to be a regular at our house!

I gathered all the ingredients, got out the Pyrex and read the instructions off my iPad -this seems to be the way I follow a lot of recipes now...

Cocoa Swirl Coffee Cake with Orange Glaze

1 1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. plus 2 Tbsp. sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1/4 c. shortening

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2/3 c. orange juice

1 tsp. orange peel, grated

3/4 c. icing sugar

1/2 c. nuts, chopped (optional)

1/4 c. cocoa

3 Tbsp. melted butter

Orange Glaze:

1 c. icing sugar

2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

1/4 tsp. orange peel, grated

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in mixing bowl; cut in shortening with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add eggs, orange juice and orange peel; stir just until blended, set batter aside.

Combine icing sugar, nuts and cocoa in small bowl; stir in melted butter to form a crumb mixture.

Spread 3/4 c. batter evenly on bottom of greased 8 inch pan ( I used a bundt pan); sprinkle half of crumb mixture over batter.

Spread another 1 c. of batter, sprinkle remaining crumb mixture and cover with remaining batter.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.

Cool slightly, spread with orange glaze and enjoy!

I'm linking this great recipe to Weekend Potluck at The Country Cook,  Scrumptious Sunday Link Party at Addicted to Recipes and for the first time - Fluster's Creative Muster Party

My blogiversary draw closes on Friday - click here to leave a comment or like me on Facebook and leave a comment there - good luck!

Red Haired Mermaids!

It happened to me again, I think I found something really good at Value Village, which probably should have been in the showcase.  When I got to the cash, the cashier said - "those are collectibles" - that would be why I picked them up!  I'm following the advice of  Thrifter Sister Erica -  she buys anything with Japan on it, so I am too - that's if it's cute, well, this was way too cute....

  They're Lefton Mermaids - I'm partial to anything with red hair because I did give birth to a red head!  The only marking was Japan and 3107 - I can see where the Lefton sticker was - what do you think?  There's no a chip on them, they're not faded - they're the sweetest.  I paid $5.99.

I researched them online, there are plenty of images, many that have been sold on Ebay and Etsy and a few listings now for buy it now - ranging from $150 and up!    That was definitely the steal of the week!!

This old reader looks like it was never used - it's from 1966 - I only know the Dick and Jane readers, I've never seen this one before.  Every chapter is about David...

This isn't an old book - it's the story of Anne before she came to Green Gables.  PEI is the land of Anne, my home, so I had to get it and see just how Anne really did end up with Matthew and Marilla.

I found three Vera's in the last couple of weeks - it's funny, for a while I don't find any wing tip or split tip, whichever you want to call then and now that's all I've found lately - each one was $1 - that's only my second solid colour Vera - I would never really know except it still has the tag.

I had mail this week from Astrid - her blog is Fab and Thirty-Something, check out her blog and maybe start following her - she finds some great vintage things  and in her travels she picked this Vera up for me - I love it - thanks, so much.  And, look at the cute card she sent - it's sweet!   I'm going to SMASH it!

This week is my two year blogiversary - check out the prize here - leave a comment on that post or on my  Facebook page - you just might win!!

Today I'm linking up with Junkin Joe, Vintage Thingie Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday.