Big Boy and Aunt Chick

Sugar Pea and I hit an estate sale and two garage sales this morning where, despite being dressed in a white shirt with orange ruffles and butterflies, she was repeatedly mistaken for a he. Apparently if a baby is wearing jeans, said baby is automatically assumed to be male, aka a "bruiser". Take a look at what we scored. Besides a GIANT box of records for ten bucks, I found a turquoise plastic bowl with a lid and a fancy cheese cutter(?) to add to my constantly expanding collection of 50's and 60's turquoise things, mostly kitchen ware, but also furniture, clocks, and ceramics. And I found a pretty turquoise and gold ashtray, and an old metal colander with legs. Though it leans a little further late 60's than I generally go for, I bought the insulated drink server should another occasion arise like the soiree I was privileged to attend last evening where, being the designated beverage person, I would have loved to provide some ice cold "Sweet Tea" had I only possessed the means to transport it and serve it with vintage flair. Instead I brought various kinds of pop, or soda for those of you in locales farther north. I also scored these old cookbooks, the prize of which was the "Big Boy Barbecue Book" put out by the Big Boy Manufacturing Co. of Burbank, California in 1956. It's full of really useful cooking and grilling tips and recipes, not to mention fabulous illustrations and technicolor photos. Lest you think it's all about meat, take a look at the Fruit Drink Coolers which, we're told, "belong in the easy-does-it department". Also interesting is the well worn and loved copy of "Aunt Chick's Pies", a cookbook and mail order catalogue dating from 1953 packed with instructions and tips for making perfect tarts, ravioli, cookies, doughnuts, and pies, as well as several ingenious pie pans and utensils and the cutest cookie cutters you ever saw for sale. It's written by Aunt Chick, herself, in a very girlfriendish, down to earth manner with sections like, "Meringue...Let's Talk It Over". Yes, let's.
Being intrigued by the local Tulsa address for the company, I did a Google search and turned up this informative article on Nettie Williams McBirney, better known as Aunt Chick. Well, butter my biscuits! You learn something new everyday. See, Dollfaces, junk collecting can be educational, as well as economical and fun.Last, but certainly not least, I found this little leather cowgirl vest for Sugar Pea to dress up in when she's a little bigger. She'll be cuter than a basket of speckled puppies when she wears it with her little red cowboy hat and vintage gun holsters.