In the Kitchen...

Good morning, my friends!

I've always loved Gooseberry Patch...I just always have!  For years, I've collected their cookbooks, loved their calendars and catalogs, their fabulously vintage-inspired kitchen wares...all of it!  So when they asked me to be their featured blogger this week, I was obviously thrilled!  You can see the article here...

You'll have to go there and check out my Grandmother Velda's amazing cheesecake recipe...you'll love it!

Of course, this got me thinking about our kitchens...we spend so much of our life in them, don't we?  So many memories of meals, laughter, family gatherings...most of it happens in our kitchens.

Here's a kitchen from my long-ago memories...in my Grandma & Grandpa Smith's house...that's them on the left, along with their dog, Vinegar.  I don't know who the other ladies are...I remember those wonderful refrigerator units above the counters--what a cool thing!  (No pun intended!)  I remember they were a creamy yellow...and I want them!  Such a '50's kitchen, don't you think?!

Yesterday, I made two cards just for me...just for fun!  I think my favorite images are the kitschy kitchen images...and Crafty Secrets has provided so much of that wonderful fun for us to play with!  Here they are...

Can't get more kitschy than this, can you?!  Love this very excited baking mom--"You take the cake!"  The image inspired the wonderfully vintage colors of aqua and peachy-pink--love them together!  The images comes from Crafty Secrets' "Homemade" Images & Journal Notes booklet...

Of course, I couldn't do this one without an overabundant amount of silver glitter and rick-rack! 

And this one...

I love this image--brings to mind all the wonderful mother-daughter baking days I've shared with my grandmother, my mother, and my own sweet girls...This image is also from the "Homemade" booklet...

Once again, plenty of silver glitter, ribbon, lace, a wonderful button that reminded me of cross-hatch marks made with a fork on a homemade peanut butter cookie...For both cards, I typed up the wording in my favorite "Apricot" font--so vintage!

Here's another vintage kitchen memory...this one hails back to my infancy...I was born in Boston, Massachusetts while my Dad was attending Harvard Business School.  We lived in a very old house in Cambridge that was divided into 3 apartments.  My Mom said it was built by the "Mahogany King" of Boston, and there were beautiful mahogany touches all through the house...here you can see it on the doorframes...

...another very '50's kitchen!  Here's my beautiful young mother (Karen) fixing her mother's (Velda's)  hair...I love all the little knick-knacks and appliances you can see in the kitchen...

My daughter Annie had a class party today, and needed to bring some cookies.  Whenever I want to try something new, I always turn to my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks (I have lots!)  They are always delicious, and usually turn into new family favorites.  This time was no exception!  This is what we found in their "Church Suppers" cookbook:

Granny's Chocolate Fudge Cookies

2 6-oz. packages semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped nuts  (I omitted the nuts--my family is nutty, but they don't like them in their cookies!)

Heat chocolate chips, butter and condensed milk in a microwave-safe bowl on high setting until melted, stirring every 30 seconds.  Add vanilla, flour and nuts.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.  Makes 5 to 6 dozen.

Easy peasy, and very fudgily delicious!

Oh, yes!  I added white chocolate chips to them, too--yum!

One last vintage kitchen image to leave you with...

Here's my Mom, Karen, in her college apartment kitchen in the late '50's...love the hair, Mom!  Isn't she cute?

Thanks for stopping by today--and thank-you, Gooseberry Patch, for the kind words and for continuing to make me smile--you always bring lots of yummy joy to the Campbell Kitchen!

Make some delicious memories today...

Home Again...a Blustery Day...and Easter Re-visited

Good afternoon, my friends!  I feel like I have been gone forever...hope you still remember me!  What a great vacation we've had!  We went to Utah to see my parents & our college girl and also two of my brothers and their families--so much wonderful visiting!

The funny thing about the trip, though...it felt like WINTER!  It snowed so many of the days we were there...and yesterday coming home...all day!  It got a bit tricky up in the Sierras on our way back to California, but here we are...safe and sound once again...

Vacations are wonderful things, aren't they...but there's nothing quite like being home again.  I couldn't wait to get back to my blog again and visiting you all...I'm so far behind!  Had to get my juices flowing again today, so I made this little card...

Oh, it felt SO good to get inky/gluey/glittery again!  My hands are a mess & I'm covered with glitter and I couldn't be happier! 

This sweet little spring image is from Crafty Secrets' "Seasonal" Images & Journal Notes booklet.  I love blustery feel of the image--how the kite, the little girls' dresses, and the big, fat hollyhocks are all blowing about so wonderfully--such a beautiful scene!  This is how spring feels here today--very cool, just a bit sunny, and a nice, fresh wind blowing...better than all that snow yesterday!

The blue & white gingham print is from Crafty Secrets' "Earthy" paper pack, and that luscious floral print behind it is a new one I picked up by My Mind's Eye, called "Quite Contrary"--isn't it gorgeous?!  The flowers on it felt like the hollyhocks in the image...

I printed up my own saying using my favorite vintage-style font..."Apricot".  Some pretty crocheted lace, ribbon, buttons and lots of glitter, of course--that's about it!

Before I go, I thought I'd share a few scenes of Easter with you from my parents' house.  My Mother is a wonderful and fanciful decorator--such a child at heart.  I love it when I can go for a visit during different holidays and see that season celebrated through her eyes...

Mom has a wonderful little alcove in her entry--we call it "the shrine"--it's always the focal point of her holiday decorating...

...she's got quite a knack for it, don't you think?!

 I love this bunny swinging in the Easter tree...

A pretty, folksy piece I love...

An adorable bunch of chickies...

...fun, colored glass bunnies surrounding one of my favorites...

...a gorgeous bouquet of beaded flowers that she made when I was a girl.  There's really nothing this Mom of mine can't do!

Well, that's it for today--hope you enjoyed my look back at Easter--what a beautiful and peaceful time of the year.  It was such a blessing to be surrounded by so much of our family.  Thanks, Mom, for always making it so wonderful to come HOME.

Thanks so much for all of your kind visits while I was away!  Looking forward to visiting all of you and catching up! 

Hope your day is wonderful!  I'll be back very soon with something new...