A Meme and Some Glass Nappies

Toontz invited me to do a fun meme the other week and I have been thinking about it, and procrastinating a little too, as that is a favorite hobby of mine. And now I am actually going to do it.

The idea is to take a book that you are reading and go to page 123. Then you grab the 5th sentence on the page as well as the next three, and post them.

I have just been looking at Successful Entertaining At Home (1952) by Carolyn Coggins – which itself is pretty entertaining (and I am at home, so it works out). I last mentioned her in a post about galley kitchens, and one about frosted ham. She was a New York gal who had a tiny apartment (and mini galley kitchen). And she used to give big cocktail parties therein. And she liked frosted hams – but we’ll just let that be, shall we?

On page 123 Ms. Coggins is discussing a fancy-schmancy “Sunday Breakfast At Noon” and sentence # 5 is as follows:

Now you can see that this is a breakfast designed for the woman who has all those electric things and might as well use them. [You know, those electric things...]

[Next three sentences]The electric grill for the bacon and the waffle iron look very efficient and promising on the table, as does the chafing dish which holds the dried beef to top those waffles. Maple syrup in a colorful glass pitcher, spiced prunes in little clear glass nappies, those toasted almonds in a small silver or colorful lacquer bowl – these make a pretty picture. And of course you use your thinnest, prettiest cups for the coffee.

What in the world is a glass nappie, pray tell? And why would I want to put spiced prunes in one? Never mind, I don’t really want to know. (Well, actually I just found out, and am going to tell you – they are little glass bowls, see here. And here is an excellent history of the glass nappy – it was a low bowl named for the cut-glass Napoleon pattern, I gather. It is an unfortunate nickname for tableware though, don’t you think?)

I am not sure how this fancy breakfast is going to turn out, what with chipped beef on the waffles (what about the maple syrup, is that going on too, because if so, blech) and the prune nappies….I think I’ll just go out for brunch, thanks.

I’m supposed to tag 5 people to do this, so here we go:

Amy at I Love Retro Things
Apron Queen
Scooterblu
Frisk the Frigidaire
Miss Cedar

Image from Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management (1909 edition), via the New York Public Library Digital Gallery. Not a glass nappie in sight, though.

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Bubblegum Kitchen

This is the first time that I have seen a pink kitchen (with pink appliances, I mean) since visiting family members who had one, back in the 1960s. They had the pink oven, pink sink, and pink fridge – and a little breakfast nook with booth seating, like in a diner (that wasn’t pink though - I don’t really remember what color it was). Well, I thought that this was just the greatest kitchen ever, it fascinated me. The notion that you could have pink kitchen appliances. Don’t start the revolution without me!

I still really dig the pink. I even like the aqua/blue table and table settings. Not sure about the floor, it sort of looks like a school gym floor. But I am willing to overlook this. Oh, and the avocado jar on the counter? I want to keep it, but I think it goes in another room. The avocado room!

I believe that the rotisserie mentioned in the caption is on the far right.There seems to be a hunk of some sort of meat waiting on top of it. Why isn’t this next to the oven?

You can see a little bit of the next room, very woody and angular. I want to go right into the photo – like Mary Poppins and Bert went into the chalk picture, remember that? – and explore the whole house.

This wonderful picture is from the Ladies’ Home Journal Cookbook: New and Basic Recipes from 1960.