Brownies and Bostonians

The first brownie recipe appeared in an 1905 edition of The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, written by Fannie Farmer. As a teacher of the Boston Cooking School, Farmer was credited for introducing the method of using a knife to level off the surface of a cup or spoon for more accurate measurements. In the past, recipes tended to be loosely defined, describing "heaping" and "rounded" measurements. In fact, have you ever watched America's Test Kitchen? That kind of science-based cooking was originally popularized by the influential Boston Cooking School in the 1880s.

The name "brownies" may come from Palmer Cox's comic strips about mischievous mythical elve-like creatures called Brownies. The comic strips were popular from the 1880s to 1910s. And yes, the Girl Scout Brownies names themselves after the Brownies, who were supposed to be helpful spirits.

In Honor of Lord Sandwich

I thought I was going to set my dolls, dressed in 18th century garb, around a gaming table, playing cards, too busy to pause for a proper meal. One of them would, of course, be John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, who according to legend, asked his servant to bring him an easy to consume meal--a slab of meat between two slices of bread.

By the way, in 1778, Captain Cook named the Sandwich Islands (present day Hawaii) and South Sandwich Islands after Lord Sandwich. Cook. Sandwich. Haha. How ironic.

A modern day sandwich made by Pippaloo.

Miniature Pumpkin Pie by Pippaloo

Three Fun Facts about Pumpkins and Pies
1. The word "pie" may be derived from "magpie," a bird that had a habit of collecting a variety of objects for its nest. Early pies usually had a wide collection of ingredients in it.
2. The term "eating humble pie" comes from "umble pie," a dish filled with heart, liver, and other offal from cow, pig, and deer, which were eaten by the lower classes.
3. Pumpkins are a fruit squash from the genus Cucurbita. The word pumpkin is of European origin, from the Greek word pepon, which the French adapted to pompon, and then the English to pumpion. The American colonists then turned it to pumpkin. The word squash, however, derives from a Massachusetts Native American word, askutasquash, meaning "eaten raw."


Miniature Pumpkin Pie made by Pippaloo,.

ThreadsofTroy Rebecca Outfit

Chrissa is modeling a WWI outfit appropriate for Rebecca. ThreadsofTroy created this outfit based on a Mel Welch pattern.

Orange Caraco for Felicity

Created by Aquila400. Note the pearl detail.

VintiqueDesigns's Regency Gown On Sale

Hurry, hurry, before someone snatches it up! :)


http://www.etsy.com/people/VintiqueDesigns56?ref=ls_profile

Samantha's Green School Dress by Terristouch

My Rosie (#23) is modeling a Samantha dress created Terristouch. There were a limited number of dresses made from this pattern--in fact, I don't even think this version ever made it onto an Etsy listing.

Let me tell you a nice thing that Terri does for her loyal customers. She maintains a special mailing list for her repeat customers who have opted-in to receive it. Every few weeks, she sends photo previews of her latest creations. The customers select and layaway the outfits they want. Based on a mutual honor system, she holds the outfits until the customers feel ready to pay. This could be over a course of a few weeks. This way if the customers are patient, they can save money on shipping or hold something until payday. Terri seems to have developed quite a following because sometimes I don't think the preview outfits make it to Etsy as an open listing because the older customers have already reserved it.

I think if you contact her via Etsy, she probably would add you onto the mailing list. I'm not sure, but whether she will do layaway with you might depend on if you had a previous smooth transaction with her.

Etsy Watch

ThreadsofTroy is back on Etsy. Ok, ok, I'll let you all have first dibs. I've already bought three outfits from her, and I must say each one was immaculately executed. Of course, if this outfit isn't sold by the end of the month, I *will* get it.



CarmelinaCreations is another one of my favorite Etsy sellers. I've bought a few Tudor and Renaissance outfits from her and each one had beautiful detail.


Sugloafdollclothes is also Kmkdollshop on Ebay. I admit I haven't bought anything from her yet, but I have been admiring her listings for at least three years. She recently opened up a shop on Etsy as Sugloafdollclothes



Ah, Tomi Jane's work, beautiful as ever. I'm still smacking myself for missing that blue regency gown, but for all you 1950s lovers, she has a couple of listings in her Etsy shop.


BedandThreads
I thought I should add this in because the woodwork looks lovely.


Miniature Kitchen does 1/3 scale. Yes, and I bought some cheese. I also bought a miniature strawberry shortcake. I can't wait for the order to arrive. I'm also contemplating getting scones, beignets, whoopi pies, antipasto, sticky buns...but I need to make sure the scale will be correct. I've heard from another collector the scale is right on most of the time...


Ptomczak sells Civil War and Revolutionary War gowns.

Molly's Plaid Scottie Dress by Suzebella

The following dress was made by Suzebella of Ebay. I love how the Scottie applique matches perfectly with the black rickrack and is themed with the red plaid fabric. Plaid and rickrack were very popular during the 1940s.

Molly's Peach Checkered Dress

A lovely peach dress by Dollies' Dressmaker.