Mama Says Vintage

It's that time when we begin to reflect on the year that's come and gone, and start looking forward to the fresh start January 1st will bring. I'm a planner and a dreamer, so my list-making tendencies are in overdrive. Art, craft, and home projects are filling the pages of my notebook as quickly as I can jot them down. One of the projects at the top of my list is a new bloggy collaboration between my sweet friend Heather and I.



Mama Says Vintage is a blog about living a simpler, more self-sufficient life and raising a family in tune with the wisdom of the past. You'll find posts about natural homemaking, thrift and making do, and simple, inexpensive activities for children. Of course, it's about more than just recipes, gardening, and kids--we'll also throw in a few country girl glamour tips and some vintage fashion as well.

I'm a gal who has many widely varying interests and passions, and I sometimes feel that some topics I want to write about may not necessarily be a good fit with Sweetheartville. I mean, in this big huge world, probably not all that many folks are as excited about vintage hairstyling, kitschy crafts, and Nudie suits as they are about homesteading, Farmer's Almanacs, and folk wisdom. Mama Says Vintage gives me the opportunity to write about mothering, gardening, and cooking, while leaving Sweetheartville for art, craft, rhinestones, vintage beauty operatin', and kitsch. So there you have it. Swing by Mama Says Vintage and let us know what you think!

Pioneer Girls

A while back, our friends Heather and Audrey accompanied us to The Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder's home site near Independence, KS, for a day of exploring and picnic-ing. I had not been since I was a little girl, though I've lived within a couple dozen miles of there most of my life. As a child, I was smitten with Ms. Wilder's books, and used to roam the pastures and creek beds of my grandparents ranch, pretending I was a pioneer girl, straying too far from the homestead. I loved anything old timey. I read all the pioneer diaries the library contained, and wanted more. I dreamed of one day living in a log cabin full of twig furniture. I desperately wanted a wardrobe of long period dresses to wear. I wanted to play old-timey instruments and sing folk ballads. Really, not much has changed. I'm still that girl. As much as I love the sleek lines of an Eames chair, and the futuristic, light-filled airiness of a Joseph Eichler home, the rustic simplicity of a bent Willow rocker just speaks to something deep inside me. I'm not inclined to believe in anything as magical as past lives, but if such a thing exists, then I must have once lived in a little cabin, tucked away deep in a mountain holler.
My little one doesn't yet have the attention span required for the Little House series, but soon enough, she will. I'm looking forward to sharing with her the books that were such a large part of my own childhood. For our Little House excursion, I decided to put her in a dress I had worn when I was her age, sewn for me by my mother. Here's my little Sunbonnet Sue in the dress her Nana lovingly stitched, nearly thirty years ago.
She and Audrey had a wonderful time exploring the site together.



It's great to have friends who share our love of the old-fashioned. I think a lot more adventures are in store for these pioneer girls.