A Few of My Favorite Things - July

I've had good reviews from you all about sharing my favorites the past few months and I still find there are a few items that I just think are well worth the money spent on them.  Remember these are items I like and use routinely and I do not get any compensation from anyone for promotion.

I love to hang platters and trays and such on my walls.  We just hung a trio of Tole painted Nashco trays on the wall in the kitchen.



Finding the stretchy sort of plate hanger the size needed for these days is hard enough.   these are metal.  I certainly didn't want to bend them! 

I've also hung old china plates on the guest room walls several months ago.  I've read repeatedly that hanging china with those stretchy sort of hangers stresses the old plates and  I wanted something safer to use.   I recalled seeing a product on the old Kitty Bartholemew decorating show years ago.  I looked for and found these on Amazon.


I ordered them for the plates I was hanging and so when I decided to hang the trays, I knew just what product I needed to buy.

Flatiron Disc plate hangers are awesome.  They are easy to use.  You clean the item you want to hang with dish soap and water.  Then when it's dry, you wet the adhesive on the back of the disc.  Wait 4-7 minutes, then apply to the dish and allow 24 hours before you hang your item to insure that the adhesive is good.  YES, they can be removed.  All you need to do is soak them with water and they come right off.  The adhesive will wash off your plate. I know this because I've actually done this.  I just wish you could reuse the disc.

I cannot recommend these things highly enough if you want to hang plates or trays or other flat objects on the wall.  I've not attempted to use them on wood items (yet. I will eventually try, you can be sure of that!), but I have used them on the metal Tole painted trays and on china.  I've never had one of them release and let the object fall from the wall.  They come in multiple packs of four and I think they run around $9 for the package most places.  I got mine through Amazon but according to my research you can purchase them at Walmart.com and other places as well.

I like chips and salty snacks at times but carb counts mean I am very limited in what I'll allow myself to have.  Nine chips is nine chips any way you look at them and that's just not enough chips unless you're eating them as part of a meal.    I kept seeing these bags of popcorn at the store and I recalled loving packaged cheese popcorn as a kid.  However, it's popcorn which is cheap as...well not chips because we all know chips can be pricey...but homemade popcorn is one of the least expensive snacks around.


I can't remember just where I was but I found an individual sized bag of Smartfood popcorn one day while we were out and I bought it for myself.  I looked at the carb and protein counts and was very impressed.  1 3/4 cups per serving, 13g of carbohydrates, 2g of fiber, 2g of fat and 4g of protein.  Remember in counting carbs you can subtract fiber for the 'true' carb count. It's whole grain, no artificial colors or preservatives or additives.  It's gluten free, too, for those of you that must avoid gluten. 

Suddenly these bags of flavored popcorn didn't seem like such a huge splurge to me, especially after I found the big family bags on sale.  One family sized bag has lasted me a month (John refuses to touch it for some reason).  It's such a satisfying snack to me.  It's salty and cheesy and I can feel good about eating it, where I just stress over the idea of eating 18 chips instead of 9.  Oh and I've yet to eat a full serving at any time.  I don't need to because it's filling, as well.

This next item is something I consider to be in the  'can't live without' category.  I do go without if money is very tight but usually I can manage the cost easily enough.


The top photo is from my mantel today.  The bottom photo is from last Fall.  I seldom spend more than $6 for flowers every two weeks.  Often I just purchase one bunch for $4.  The gladiola were $4.99 for the whole bunch.  They must have sold very well this week because there were only four bunches to choose from yesterday when I purchased mine.  The mums I am pretty sure I bought two bunches of just for the sake of filling that old blue stoneware jug but at that time the cost was $3 a bunch.  The store raised the price to $4 this year on these 'basic' bunches of flowers.

I could spend $5 on a fast food meal.  Instead I choose to purchase fresh flowers for my home.  It is a rare pay period that goes by without  a fresh bunch of flowers in the house, unless I have flowers in the yard.  I think they are worth every penny I spend on them and they are always one of my favorite purchases.

I suppose I should have shown one of my new to me vintage magazines but I took no photos of them. I'm sharing a photo of one displayed online.   However, when I speak of things I really enjoy that are reasonably priced, the vintage magazines I purchase most assuredly come in that category.



Again, for around $10 I can have something that I will get loads of pleasure from having.  That $10 cost includes shipping.  It takes patience and looking hard sometimes to find good copies that are affordable but it is possible.  I bought four new magazines for July and no I didn't spend $40 on the four issues I purchased.  I bought them for much less, less than the cost of a year subscription to any one of the modern magazines would cost.

Why do I enjoy the older magazines so much, when I live in a modern day world?  Because I find that the older magazines carry some really good money saving advice.  Not advice for today's world but good, sound basic advice.  They also are filled with diy instructions, fiction stories, advertisements that are just fun to read (and often instructional), and just plain good thrifty ideas.

9 comments:

susie @ persimmon moon cottage said...

Your trays look very nice hanging on the wall. I have my delftware and blue and white plates hanging on the wall with those spring wire hangers. They are dangerous for old or thin china and will chip it. I bought some of my blue and white plates at thrift stores and garage sales. A couple of the plates have tiny chips exactly where the spring hanger grip was when I put the hanger on at my house, so I assume those chips were made by the metal hanger that the previous owner used. I may give the adhesive ones that you found a try.

I love vintage magazines. The articles in them are so much more informative and detailed than what is written in the magazines that I have seen lately. Since I quit buying magazines, the ones I see are in doctors waiting rooms. Well known magazines that have been around for years now feature articles that are less than a half a page long, and usually don't give me any more information than what I already know. Just a quick blip of words. The rest of the page is advertising. Even the advertising in vintage magazines is interesting to me. Clothes and hairstyles, graphics, artwork. The old ads are interesting to look at.

Carolyn @ Our Gilded Abode said...

Those plate hangers sound like a really good option. Which vintage magazines do you like? I love looking at the clothing from those eras. And the recipes are interesting too.

Anonymous said...

That is reminder from the past, Kitty Bartholomew. One of my very favorite shows! Win! Win! A snack that John doesn't like plus it is within our carb count. I don't feel bad for John, I am sure he does not lack for treats. Right now in my frig, the most delicious, decadent peanut butter chocolate pies ever! And all I feel i should eat is a tiny, tiny sample. Oreo and butter crust, delicious peanut butter filling and thick chocolate ganach. My daughter made it and brought it when she came. My carb count goes up just thinking about it. LOL. Gramma D

Wendi said...

My grandparents were children during the Depression so they saved many, many things. Their basement was a delightful place for a kid to explore. I use to sit in their basement and read McCalls, Ladies Home Journel and Readers Digest for the 1950's and 60's. They didn't have air conditioning so it was cool place to spend a summer afternoon.

terricheney said...

Gramma D, I know about Kitty B being a blast from the past I was a bit taken aback when I realized how long ago that was, lol. As for your pies, I had a bit of coconut cake this week, bought a single slice at the bakery. I won't eat anything else sweet this week...

Carolyn, I lean hard on Woman's Day. I like Family Circle and do enjoy McCalls, LHJ, Redbook, Woman's Home Companion, BH&G, American Home and Better Living. I tend to choose magazines from the mid-20's to 1959. I rarely indulge in anything before 1965, prefer to stay within the 1950's at the latest.

Wendy, sounds like perfect summer reading to me. My Granny used to have old magazines saved for recipes and how to ideas and I enjoyed digging in them to read. I was so disappointed to discover she'd used the boxes and boxes of magazines to fill in her old well...It nearly ruined my summer, lol.

Susie, If the plates are mostly thrift store buys and already damaged, I shouldn't worry but if they are family heirlooms or true antiques and precious certainly get those flatiron disk hangers. They are well worth saving the plates!

Anne said...

I, too, purchase old magazines, but lately I've been coming up empty on Amazon. Do you have a different source you can recommend?

Debby in KS said...

You've got me so curious about the vintage magazines that I'm planning a fall trip to my local antique mall to hunt for them. I'm dying to just look. If the price is okay, I might buy one. I do know that I have my mom's old Workbasket magazines in my craft room. I haven't looked at them recently so I don't know what year they are. Probably the 60's, when I was young and she was in her late 20's. I know they have a little of everything *housewife*.

I have an old fashioned favorite thing year around. I love my daily newspaper. I look forward to sitting down with it every day and especially to the Sunday NY Times Crossword.

I also have a couple of silly little traditional things I eat throughout the year.
*I buy a box of Lucky Charms every March. They were my fave cereal as a kid (and a very rare treat!!) so I indulge my inner child once a year!
*I have a bologna sandwich every summer (usually Aug). We used to camp all the time and that was always our lunch. With Lay's. I'd make it with white bread, mustard, 2 slices of bologna, & a layer of Lay's between the bologna. CRUNCH!
*The Saturday after Thanksgiving is Taco Bell Saturday in our house.
After my parents divorced, my mom would make us kids T'giving. She lived 3 hrs. away so we all ate leftovers while they lasted...usually Sat. afternoon. By Sat. night, we were all craving something with a zing & my brother suggested Taco Bell. We drove to the only Taco Bell in her town and the line must've been 25 cars long. The inside was packed. Apparently we weren't the only ones looking for something besides turkey!! So, we christened it Taco Bell Saturday. Even though my mom is gone and my brother is still in Cali, my husband & I go and we know they're with us in spirit!!

terricheney said...

Anne, Try EBay. That's where I do my shopping for magazines. There are many dealers who do a 'buy it now' rather than bidding for a magazine. And be sure to look for 'lots' of magazines. Shipping is better and cost per magazine is often much less than buying individually.

Debby, I like your 'traditions'. I allot myself one piece of Coca Cola cake in February at Cracker Barrel. That's my birthday month. And I allow myself one serving of Peach Ice Cream every summer. I've had mine for this year. I like to have Warm Vanilla Milk in January for my evening milk...Oh and I make an Apple Pie every September or October, but never at any other time of year...Yep, I do seasonal treats, too.
Be aware that some antique shops do have old issues of magazines but they can be pricey. Look around a bit and see if you can't find someone with some that are less in price. I found three issues for $5 each in the Spring which was a very good price...and no shipping costs!

Anonymous said...

Than you for all the magazine information. I feel more akin to the homemakers in the older magazines than the ones today. Todays seem more fashion and buying than saving and home. I miss the crochet or sewing or craft patterns for sale that once were in the daily newspapers too. The older magazines had a lot of DIY but not all of it was redoing your home. There were the crafts and such articles and true or fiction stories and how to DIY leftovers. :) I can feel myself calming down and relaxing when I can read one of the older women's magazines.
I have my Mother's old coke trays I want to hang so now I know hot to do it. Thanks again. I had not heard about the stress the metal hangers put on the old plates either. I know you watch your budget closely so knowing you and other bloggers do go ahead and buy themselves flowers I know how special they must mean to you since set money aside to get them. :) They are beautiful. Kitty's show was one of the first DIY type shows I saw. What a talent! I wonder what she is doing now?
I haven't seen the Smart Food cheese pop corn yet but will be looking for it or another that might do. Sarah

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