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Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 299: Cut-Outs, Medicine, Babies, Feeding

 

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On time this week for Sepia Saturday!  Here we have two babies and the one on the left is chewing on a rattle.  The back is labelled, “Betsy en Jacob,” or Betsy and Jacob, two children of Willemina Dijkema and Derk Rop.  Willemina was a sister of my husband’s paternal grandmother and stayed in Holland with her children and husband.  I’m not quite sure who is who of the two adult women, nor who is who among the children, but I know at least that the children are Betsy and Jacob.  Based on their birth/death dates, this was likely taken in the early 1940s in Holland, probably somewhere around Groningen.  Short and sweet this week, looking forward to the big 300!

Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 298: Girls, Twos, Dogs, Steps

 

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Better late than never for Sepia Saturday this past week!  I’ll admit that I wasn’t entirely sure what photo I was going to use this week, but I settled on another unknown photo in the collection from my maternal grandmother.  Probably taken around 1950 in Clearfield or Cambria county in Pennsylvania, these photos show some young boys with puppies and a dog.  I have absolutely no clue who they were – there are no labels and no living relatives recognized them.  If we go a little broader with the theme, these fit in nicely as children with dogs.   The young boy above is sitting with three little puppies.
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These young men are sitting with the puppies and the dog who I assume is the mother of the puppies.  It makes me think that perhaps someone’s dog had a litter and all the young boys in the neighborhood picked out a puppy to bring home.  It’s possible that they may even be brothers since they seem to look similar with curly light hair and similar facial features.  They’re really adorable photos even if I don’t know who the boys were!

Subscription Boxes

Nerd Makeup Box September 2015

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Beta testing for the Nerd Makeup Box has come to a close with this box.  However, it’s only a few months to wait before subscriptions open to the public in December and begin shipping for January which is incredibly exciting.  I’ve had a TON of fun being a part of this box, and it’s so neat to see what they come up with for new designs each month.

  • Cosmetic Glitter – $7.50 – I received the color, “Invincibility,” which is a bright yellow glitter.  I’ve mentioned it before, but I tend to go subtle with makeup, so crazy bright yellow glitter is probably something I won’t put on my face.  The card in the box said it can be used as glitter eyeliner, but my eyes are SO sensitive that I can’t see eyelash glue and glitter playing nicely around my eyes.  The info on the website says it can be used on eyes, cheeks, nails, hair, or lips, so I think this is destined for nail art because crazy bright yellow nails could work!  Or I really do need to embrace my inner wild child and go for the glitter eyeliner at least once.
  • Nail File – $.50 – I’m SO glad these show up in every box, because I seem to misplace the last one by the time I open the next box.  One day I’ll find them all huddled together behind the couch or something.
  • Killer Nail Wrap – $10 – This one is one of my absolute favorites, and it’s the glitter version!  With Halloween next month, this one is definitely making an appearance in October.
  • Teleporter Nail Wrap – $10 – It’s a purple tonal glitter wrap.  It’s still glitter, but it’s definitely one of the more tame wraps they have.  Not a problem – I love purple and this is a winner for me.
  • Unicorn Blood Nail Wrap – $10 – RAINBOW NAIL WRAP!  I got the glitter version of this during the last Kickstarter campaign, so it’s great to have the regular plain gloss version to try out too.
  • Ludicrous Speed Nail Wrap – $10 – Just when you think they have to be running out of ideas, out comes this one.  I nearly dropped the box laughing so hard!  The tagline under the wrap title is, “They’ve gone to plaid,” and they glow in the dark.  Absolutely perfect.  And unlike Colonel Sanders, I’m no chicken and can’t wait to use this one.

Total value comes to $48 which is consistent with the other boxes.  I know I mentioned in the last post about doing a half-box or every other month option because I do SO love these, but it’s a bit too much for me to have four wraps every month

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2015 – Week 19

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The weather turned crisp and cool over the past week, and I decided it was time for chili!  Usually husband is the chili master, but the pork shoulder was on special sale at the farmer’s market, so I went for pulled pork chili done up in the crock pot.  I used the remainder of the leftover tomato sauce, added some spices, onions, and peppers and let the whole thing simmer for hours until the pork fell apart.  I added some beans towards the end, and topped the whole thing off with blue cheese and a biscuit from that biscuits and gravy breakfast.  A juicy asian pear on the side and a glass of homebrewed cider, and we have a meal!  It was just the thing for a cool evening.

Ingredients:
Buttermilk Maplehofe Dairy
Pork Shoulder    M&M Creek Valley Farm
Lard  M&M Creek Valley Farm
Flour  Mill at Anslema, Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
Asian Pear – North Star Orchard
Beans –  North Star Orchard
Onion –  Jack’s Farm
Peppers – Clover Hill Farm
Cider – Homebrewed from apples picked at the grandparents’ house
Cheese –  Birchrun Hills, smoked blue
Non Local – Spices, salt

Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 297: Washing Line, Pegs, Laundry

 

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Another week closer to the big 300 for Sepia Saturday.  This week featured a photo of a woman hanging laundry, and luckily  the above photo came across in my batch of scanning this week!  A rather fortunate coincidence and a perfect fit for the theme.  Even if there’s no one hanging laundry in the photo, it’s clear a bunch of  houses ran on the same schedule for wash day.  It’s not a sight you see often anymore, but I happen to be a big fan of the solar drying method.  In fact, once when I had hung out a batch of clothes on a crisp spring day, the neighbor came over to ask if my dryer was broken and offered me use of hers.  She was a little stunned to find out that I had hung out laundry to dry on purpose!  My mother almost never used the dryer we had at home – clothes were either hung outside on the line on nice days or inside on racks when the weather didn’t cooperate.  It’s free, using no electricity, and the clothes don’t get beat up and ruined as fast as they do in the dryer.

This photo was likely taken in the mid 1950s  in New Jersey likely at the home of Hiljea and Doede Jaarsma.  There’s no date or information on the back of the photo other than, “Wash day.”  A rather short but sweet post again, but one that brings back memories of fresh, crisp, line-dried sheets.

Subscription Boxes

Nerd Makeup Box August 2015

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Did I mention how behind I am with.. everything?!  Yes, this box arrived in August, and I’m only posting about it now.  *hangs head in blogger shame*  But, here I am, and here’s this box!  This is my third Nerd Makeup box as part of the beta testing for the public launch that will open up towards the end of the year.  I was lucky enough to nab a spot in the extended beta testing and have not been disappointed!

  • Mineral Pigment – $7.50 – This is GORGEOUS and something unique that I don’t already have.  They call it a pigment because the usage isn’t limited to just being an eyeshadow, it’s safe for use on eyes, cheeks, nails, hair, or lips.  I’m probably most likely to use this as an eyeshadow though and it’s a really wonderful brick red/brown color that I can see being perfect for a crease color.  I tend to go really outrageous with my nails, but with makeup, I’m definitely more of a natural/basic sort of person which isn’t entirely in line with what Espionage Cosmetics does.  They have some incredible artistry using their pigments, bold and wild makeup, but this is a color I can see still working for day-to-day use which is perfect for me.
  • Nail File – $.50 – You can never ever have too many.  I’m positively sure of it.
  • Smashing Nail Wrap – $10 – You can’t go wrong with purple and green radioactive glitter.  Perfect for hulking out!
  • Patchwork Nail Wrap – $10 – This is one I picked up during the Kickstarter Campaign version 2.0, so I don’t mind seeing it again!  It’s a bright neon in a stitched up pattern.
  • Steampunk 2.0 Nail Wrap – $10 – It has some sparkly glitter accents on some images of gears, screws, and brass plates.  Fun and industrial looking.
  • Eagle Nebula Nail Wrap – $10 – Glow in the Dark and science nerdery, featuring images of the Eagle Nebula.  This is so nerdy, I almost cannot contain myself.

Total value comes out to $48!  The box costs $25 plus $4.11 in shipping in handling, so the value more than covers the cost.  The whole purpose of beta testing is to find bugs and offer suggestions, but so far the only thing I can think of is to have a half-box or allow for every-other-month shipments.  Having four nail wraps covers almost 8 weeks of nail coverage since the wraps seem to last around two weeks.  If I get four wraps every four weeks, it would end up being a surplus, so it would actually be nice to see two nail wraps (just the two new ones) and a makeup item for say, $15-$18.  It’s a little too much for me to have four nail wraps when I may use one a month or maybe two at most – my regular nail polish has been getting lonely, feeling sad and neglected.  Or at least, I imagine them feeling that way next to these awesome nail wraps.  I love getting the new designs and the old favorites though and would definitely sign up again if they offer a smaller box option!

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2015 – Week 18b

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The husband isn’t terribly fond of mushrooms, so what do I do when he’s gone?  Put mushrooms in ALL THE THINGS!  There are only a few foods that he’s not particularly fond of including mushrooms and fennel most notably, which happen to be two of my favorite things.  If fennel happened to be in season, it would be in this meal, but I had to settle for making a galette with mushrooms, onions, chorizo, and blue cheese.  I added a half an asian pear to the side, a salad with blue cheese dressing, and a glass of homemade cider.  We actually pressed and brewed that cider ourselves using apples from the house where my grandparents lived.  We have no idea what variety the apples were, but the trees gave up an incredible harvest last year and made for a tart, dry cider that’s exactly how I enjoy them most.  For the galette crust, I used a recipe from here that uses yogurt, substituting honey for the sugar.  I also added a tablespoon of lard instead of milk to help lighten the crust since goat’s milk yogurt is rather low in fat in comparison to a cow’s milk version.  It came out not quite flaky enough, which means more lard next time!  All in all though, the spice from the chorizo, paired with the onions and mushrooms came out incredible and I’m super happy with this one!

Ingredients:
Mushrooms  Oley Valley Mushrooms
Cheese  Birchrun Hills, Smoked Blue Cheese
Dressing –  Birchrun Hills
Onions –  Jack’s Farm
Tomatoes Full Circle CSA
Lettuce –  North Star Orchard  and  Charlestown Farm
Cucumbers – Our Garden
Asian Pear –  North Star Orchard
Chorizo –  Countrytime Farm
Lard –  M&M Creek Valley Farm
Goat’s Milk Yogurt –  Shellbark Hollow
Flour –  Mill at Anslema, Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
Honey –  M&M Creek Valley Farm
Non Local – Salt, Pepper

Subscription Boxes

Goodebox September 2015

 

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This arrived almost two weeks ago, but I’m finally getting around to posting the review.  I FINALLY got that 100% pure mascara and I LOVE it.  The box overall is pretty decent and I’m rather happy with this one!  Probably one of my favorites of all time.

  • The Seaweed Bath Co Argan Shampoo – 12 oz / $12.89 – (Sample is approx 1.5 oz, value of $1.60)  I still have the same gripe about the sample bottles they use – they don’t squeeze, so you have to wait till the product trickles out by the force of gravity.  It’s incredibly frustrating.  I received the “Smoothing Citrus Vanilla” version of this, but I won’t be able to try it because it contains dimethicone, an ingredient (a silicone) I don’t use on my hair.  I’ll pass it off to someone who will use it though.
  • 100% Pure Blueberry Mascara – .24 oz / $25 – (Product is full size)  WOOHOO!  I finally got this in my box after seeing it the past two months show up in other boxes.  I can’t quite express how much I love this for basic, daily use.  It smells like fresh blueberries and it’s definitely a deep navy blue, but doesn’t show up as Mimi-style bright blue makeup.  It’s a lighter sort of mascara, not heavy and clumping, so it’s perfect for everyday use.  Did I mention that it smells amazing?  Oh and it didn’t bother my eyes at all and washed off easily.  These are all super good things in my book.
  • Treat Peaches and Cream Lip Balm – .5 oz / $9.99 – (Product is full size)  It’s like they know me over at Goodebox because this is incredible.  The flavor is amazing, and a gal can never have too many lip balms.  It goes on smoothly without feeling sticky or too oily, and is honestly the perfect formula.  It’ll probably go in my everyday bag to remind me of the last bits of summer as we fall into pumpkin-spice-everything season.
  • S.W. Basics Exfoliant – 3 oz / $24 – (Product is .7 oz, value of $5.60 by volume or $12 as mini  size on their website)  I haven’t tried too many S.W. Basics products before, but I keep hearing good things, so it’s great to see two products from them in this box.  I do like a good exfoliator, but this one is maybe a bit too gentle for my tastes.  When wet, it’s a little like putting cookie batter on your face with the main ingredients being oat flour and almond flour.  I assume those work to pull out oil from your face, and it seems like it did indeed do that, but I didn’t quite feel like it exfoliated as good as a traditional salt or sugar scrub.  I do like that the ingredients are simple and I’m glad I got to try it, but this doesn’t quite rank in my favorites.
  • S.W. Basics Cream – 3 oz / $32 – (Product is .7 oz, value of $7.47 by volume or $12 as a mini size on their website)  Super thick and rich cream, again with simple, basic ingredients, unscented.  Doesn’t feel so thick and rich or greasy that it gets relegated to bedtime-only use which was a bit of a surprise.  I figured this would be a little on the greasy side, but it’s actually something I can keep at my computer desk for dry winter hands and use all day long.  A wee little pea sized amount thorougly covered  both hands, so the price doesn’t seem too outrageous when you consider how well such a little amount works.  Really rather love this!

Also included (not pictured) was a $5 coupon to Target for anything in their Made to Matter set of brands.  I broke up with Target a few years ago and refuse to shop there which is a story for another time and includes an incredibly rude cashier who refused to use the reusable bags I brought, and when I repacked everything into those bags and handed her back the plastic bags, she stuffed the plastic bags in my cart and said I could just throw them out.  (Sorry, I did get into it.. annnyywayyy)  I’ll hand that off to someone who will use it, but it has absolutely no value to me.  Without including the value of the coupon, the box comes to a total of $60.59 which is pretty phenomenal!  The mascara is the big winner this time with the S.W. Basics cream a runner up, and even if I’m not terribly keen on the exfoliator, I’m glad I got to try it.  Of course the Treat lip balm is always something I’ll use.  Overall, a really terrific box, and I’m already looking forward to the next!