Thrifty Finds & Vintage Recipes

Sometimes I find just WHAT I was looking for, but not WHERE I was looking.

I was out running errands the other day and Mom called to tell me about a great sounding estate sale she found on Craigslist, so I hustled on over and found...

nothing I wanted.

But as I was driving away, I passed a yard sale, and thought, "Why not. I'm already here." And boy, am I glad I stopped.

Pretty, pretty, Pyrex. The large Pink Gooseberry 404 Cinderella bowl, a 401 Scroll bowl, and

TWO of the Spring Blossom Cinderella bowls (441,442). All on my wish list. All for $12.00. They have some scratches, but are still shiny. The seller also gave me a Butterfly Gold butter dish for free.

A few days later, Mom and I went to an estate sale and bought...

an unopened can of baking powder and
a half a bottle of 409 cleaner (to test for bakelite).

Whoopee! (not)

But once again, as we were driving home, we stumbled upon another estate sale.
This is what we got:

I had been looking for a cake pedestal and dome for months. The only place I could find one was at the antique malls, and they wanted at least $28 - too pricey for me. This dome is not quite as big as the pedestal, but for $5, I'm very happy.

We also got: a pressed wooden cheese plate that can also be used with the dome, a little pink pitcher to hold toothbrushes in the bathroom, a little blue stool, 2 small shelves (not shown), a ricer, a salt & pepper set, a Campbell's soup spoon, two wooden pestles, and some free vintage magazines, pamphlets and cookbooks.

I love looking at vintage recipe books. This one is quite unique.


Printed in 1960, it seeks to capitalize on the popularity of tv, by photographing each recipe as it is made, "just like the recipes that you see demonstrated on television." Some of the recipes are quite appealing, such as:

height of sophistication... celestial concoction... perfect...
(I guess they didn't worry about raw eggs and salmonella back then.)

Others are quite appalling:

Tempting combination of flavors... Cottage Cheese and Kidney Bean?? Who are they trying to kid? Tempting to hide it in a napkin... tempting to slip it to the dog... as if he would eat it... tempting to throw it in the garbage...

And this:


Appetizing... Aw come on! What did we Irish Americans do to them? Italian-Americans have pizza and pasta and marinara; Mexican-Americans have tacos and enchiladas; Asian-Americans have egg rolls and lo mein; Irish-Americans have... well, one dish, and they have to go and muck it up. Why? Were they mad because Kennedy was running for President? Was this some sort of a political plot?


A cookbook featuring Campbell's convenience foods - meaning food in a can...

like barbecued beans, which can be used as a base for:

Beans & Franks Apricot Garnish - okay, franks & beans, not bad...

Or Skillet Chops 'n Beans - a little heavy on the beans, but still pork + beans, ok...

Mexican Bean Burgers - what the heck? Since when are pork 'n' beans Mexican cuisine? And pork 'n' bean sandwiches?
Oh, I get it. A burrito has beans in it and it's kinda like a sandwich, so we'll just call it Mexican and nobody will notice how stupid...NO, NO, NO!!

Barbecue Bean Salad - Holy Mother of Pearl!
Salad greens topped with cold beans, then topped with mayonnaise...YIKES!

In fairness to Campbell, I should mention we received a free cookbook from them a few years ago and the recipes have improved greatly over the years.

We also got the Dec 1966 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine.
Here's an ad for Fisher Price toys.

I love that toy iron!

And a very interesting Kraft cheese ad.

Putting a little girl in a bubble bath to sell cheese...hmm... Not sure they'd do that today. But I am loving that cool modern bathtub. I wonder if it's a real tub or just something invented for the photo shoot.

And look at this 1943 Kerr Home Canning Book.

Apparently not all the government research was channeled into nuclear weapons. It would appear the National Nutrition Program was creating peaches as big as a human head. Yowzers!

I am linking this post to:
Thrift Share Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays
Thrifty Thursday at Bloggeritaville
Debbiedoos' Garage Salen Party
Come join the parties.