I guess it's a been a few days since I've last posted. I'm not sure where I went or what I've been doing but I'm sure it was fun because it usually is. I'm so sorry I missed doing a recipe this week though, I'll catch up next Tuesday.
So there are a couple of things coming up for this weekend (and beyond) that could be interesting.
First of all, The Phoenix Pin-Up Dolls will be showing up both Friday and Saturday at the Phoenix Convention Center (100 N Third Street in Phoenix) for the Art of Miniature Modeling IPMS Expo. They'll be there between 9 am and 6 pm both days.
You can find their site here: http://www.phoenixpinupdolls.info/ . These gals don't just dress up retro and get their photos taken though. They have a higher cause, helping the morale of our overseas troops. Using money they earn through their modeling, they send packages (along with photos) to the troops. This is a small group of women that put their art and their heart into helping someone else. The more support they get, the more of our men and women they can give a morale boost to.
The second thing I want to give a shout out to is the "In The Mood" exhibit over at the Phoenix Art Museum (http://www.phxart.org/exhibition/exhibitioninthemood.php). This exhibit, which is focused on World War II fashion, has been going on since April but is ending August 15th. It's worth going to see. I took my nine year old son to the museum in May to see the Ansel Adams exhibit (which is no longer there) and ended up spending the better part of the day wandering around. The museum has been recently renovated and is fantastic. It is a wonderful way to spend even a small part of your day. You can find all of the admission times and prices using the above link. But get over there before this fashion exhibit is gone for good.
So get out there and do something with yourself this weekend.
I gotta tell you, that key lime pie recipe is awesome! I had a couple of minor issues in the creation, but overall, it turned out fantastic.
Issue number one was that I don't have a proper zesting implement. I had a zester at one time but I haven't seen it in years. I most likely gave it away in some kitchen clean out I did. I also used to have a shredder that had tiny holes that would work in a pinch. That unfortunately is floating somewhere in between our previous home in Nebraska and our current home in Arizona. Along with the rest of an entire box of last minute items that somehow didn't make it all the way. I'm pretty sure it made it on the truck because I did about ten final walk-throughs instead of the normal one before and after the movers left. There was nothing in the house. And I'm pretty sure it made it off the truck because I went through with the checklist and accounted for every box on my invoice. And yet, I am missing a whole bunch of things that I used to use regularly and I have no idea where they went.
Anyway, so the lack of an implement to zest the rind made me try to use my other shredder. Which has normal size holes. Which doesn't so much "zest" as it does "peel" the rind. I tried to only use the smallest pieces but after it was all together you could still see them floating in the pie.
Like so...
Here it is. The home I was telling you about last week. That I gave you snippets of on several occasions. This is not a foreclosure, not a short sale. It's just a (mostly) untouched 1968 ranch style beauty.
The carved door in the foyer (there's that light!) surrounded by blue side panels.
It looks like I forgot to set up to allow people to leave comments on my posts. It should be fixed now, but if not, please email me and let me know that I'm still clueless :). Thanks!
Every Saturday night there's a informal car show held at 20959 N 83rd Ave in Peoria. It's in the old Safeway parking lot. Since Safeway shut down at this location, there's usually plenty of parking. There's a Panda Express, Sardella's Pizza and a Berry Good Frozen Yogurt shop right in the parking lot. The cars start showing up around 5:00 pm so grab a bite to eat and then enjoy the cars.
I went in late May and saw this...
Last Saturday at my food co-op, I got handed ten limes. Not being big drinkers of Corona in this household, I needed to figure out what to do with them. It didn't take long for it to hit me that I could make a classic dessert with my new fruit and hopefully pass on a good recipe at the same time. I plan on making this today and sharing it tonight with my family.
Key lime pie has been around since at least the mid 1800s. With the advent of canned sweetened condensed milk, Floridians created this delicious pie. At the time it was created, it was in a typical pie crust and would have been covered with a meringue topping. In the late 1940s however, the graham cracker crust was added and refrigeration made possible a whipped cream topping. So, the version I've included would have been the most popular starting in the late fortiess and through the fifties.
Key Lime Pie
4 Large egg yolks
4 tsp lime zest
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
1/2 cup key lime juice
Baked 9 inch Graham Cracker Crust (see below)
Fresh whipped cream
Whisk together until thick and light green:
Eggs and lime zest
Beat in sweetened condensed milk.
Beat in lime juice.
Set aside at room temperature until thickened.
Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Make the crust:
Using a fork, mix together until blended 11 graham crackers and 3 Tbsp sugar.
Add in 5 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted)
Put crumb mixture into 9 inch pie pan and, using a measuring cup, press into the bottom and up the sides.
Bake on a center rack for 15 minutes (until lightly brown)
Remove and cool to room temperature
Then pour the lime filling into the crust and bake for 15 minutes or until set (it still should wiggle when shaken).
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
Refrigerate at least 3 hours until chilled.
Top with whipped cream.
I just finished reading this book...
I wish.
Instead, it's currently 109.6 outside with a heat index of 116 degrees. And our air conditioner died last night. This is when I look at my husband and say "this is why I keep asking you to let me live in an old house." Because if we did, the dead ac wouldn't be such a big deal.
Because we live in a relatively new home, built in 1998, it is not as efficient as it should be. Being in real estate, I hear all the time about "green" houses. I know all about all the things that supposedly make homes built recently so much more efficient that homes built years ago. But guess what? Older homes were built to be efficient because they had to be. Older houses usually didn't have an option of air conditioning. But it still got hot in the summer so they were built to stay as cool as possible.
In the Midwest, where my first house was, older homes had tons of windows and used cross ventilation as a primary means of cooling. My ceilings were high and the walls in my home were lathe and plaster. The outside siding was made of asbestos, which is probably the most effective insulation you'll ever run across, just don't break it and breath the dust! I did have an air conditioner on the home but I don't really remember having to use it more than a few times. The house just didn't ever get that unbearable.
In Arizona where I currently live, older homes were built of adobe, brick or slump block. Most of them have large overhangs, especially on the West side of the house. And most of them used larger windows on the North and South sides and smaller (or no) windows on the East and West, especially the West. There was generally more space between your house and your neighbors, which encouraged any little bit of air to come into your windows. There was also a consistent effort to place trees around the home in such a way that they blocked the harsh western sunlight.
Homes built starting in the 1980s and getting worse as time went on, were built with getting the maximum amount of square footage in mind. In order to do this without raising the price beyond what most people could pay, builders started cutting corners. The overhangs that used to help block the hot sunlight from coming into your windows started shrinking. Over the last thirty years, they've shrunk so much that anymore, they're really more of a decorative bump out at the end of your roof than anything else. Walls are consistently built with the bare minimum of materials, plywood sheathing over 2x6 with a sheet of drywall on the interior. Sure, there's insulation but even with that on a really hot day I'll bet your walls are warm to the touch.
And then there's the lots the houses sit on. Builders jam as many houses as they legally can onto a plot of land. What we end up with are houses where we can stand at our kitchen sink and pass a glass of water to our neighbor as he stands at his sink. And because we're so close, our houses effectively block any slight breeze that might go through.
We also don't believe in landscaping for coolness anymore either. Because of our small lots (and some HOAs) we can only fit "dwarf" versions of trees in our yards. In case you're wondering, a dwarf tree doesn't provide a whole lot of shade to anything but a play house. And because of our small lots, most people use any decent size trees they do have to block their neighbors view of their yard. So instead of having large shade trees next to the house, they line the block fences that surround our yards. This creates lots of privacy but very little usefulness.
So back to my current issue...when the ac started to go, it was 74 degrees in my house. By the time we got four window air conditioners in and running (about four hours later), it was 90 degrees inside. It took us that long because we had to debate whether the ac was actually going, figure out what to do and go and purchase two new units from two different stores (we already owned two units). So, four hours with no ac and the temperature in my house went up 16 degrees. So much for progress.
Yesterday was lights, today we'll look at a few examples of the details of everyday living that make vintage homes so wonderful. You'll have to excuse the poor quality of photos as on the day I took most of these I had forgotten my Nikon and instead was forced to use my camera phone. Moving on...
This wonderful (working) oven was in a foreclosure property built some time in the mid-late fifties. My buyer was looking for something cheap, which this was. He didn't end up offering on this house because he didn't want to have to deal with "a whole kitchen renovation". Thank goodness. I loved the pull out burners, what a space saver in a small kitchen!
In most of today's houses, lighting fixtures are pretty standard. Builders buy in bulk in order to save money. And most builders end up buying the same cheap fixtures no matter what part of the country they're in because it's not about being original, it's about profit margin.
In vintage homes, there is some consistency in lighting fixtures by era, but it wasn't generally about what was cheapest. It was about what was available and, more importantly, what would add to the home. Builders had a sense of pride in their work, because their name was on it. They used the same guys to build the houses from start to finish. Every one on the job could point out the house to their kids and say "I helped build that."
With that in mind, let's look at just a couple of different styles of lighting...
This dining area light is (or was) hanging in a foreclosure property that was built in 1952. It had original tile in the kitchen and baths, built in cabinetry and this cool light. The house was bought by an investor so there's no telling if the light is still hanging but usually investors will "update" these properties to make them more appealing to the masses. What they end up with is what I call "flipper beige"...beige walls, slightly darker beige carpet (with "tile in all the right places!"), beige counter tops and stainless steel appliances. But no character or originality.
Okay folks, it's Taco Tuesday here at Vintage Arizona Real Estate. Every Tuesday I'll be featuring a nostalgic meal that will hopefully make your mouth water. Today's main entree for will be a 1950's classic, meatloaf. This should be served with mashed potatoes and peas and carrots. Dinner will be followed by peach cobbler for dessert. All recipes were pulled from the 1950 printing of Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book...
Fluffy Meat Loaf
Mix thoroughly:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb. ground lean pork
2 cups soft bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
4 tbsp. minced onion
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. sage
Pack into a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Unmold. Serve hot...or serve cold. For Catsup-Topped Loaf, spread 3 tbsp. catsup over top before baking.
Green and Gold (Fresh peas with young, tender carrot strips.)
Shell peas just before cooking, do not wash. Carrots should be pared into thin strips.
Cook covered in a small amount of boiling salted water, 1/4" deep in heaviest saucepans...up to 1" deep in the lighter weight pans. Boil for 8-20 mins for peas, 6-15 mins for carrots.
Serve mixed together and buttered.
Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
Cook potatoes until tender, not mushy. Drain. Shake potatoes in kettle over heat until dry. Mash thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Add butter and heated milk (1/2 cup to 8 potatoes). Whip into potatoes, beating until fluffy.
Peach Cobbler with Shortcake topping
Topping:
Sift together
1 cup flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Cut in fine with pastry blender 3 tbsp. shortening
Stir in 1/2 cup milk to make soft dough.
Cobbler:
Mix together in saucepan:
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
Stir in gradually 1 cup boiling water
Bring to boil. Boil 1 min., stirring constantly, then add
3 cups sliced, peeled peaches with any juice on them
Pour into 10x6x2 baking dish
Dot with 1/2 tbsp. butter
Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Using Shortcake Topping above, drop by spoonfuls onto fruit. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 mins. Serve warm with cream.
My name is Kelly Tjon and I'm a Realtor in and around Phoenix, Arizona. While I can and do help buyers find homes of all ages, I really love working with the homes that qualify as vintage. For me, this encompasses homes built all the way up to the late 1970s. Each era has a look and feel that appeals to me. The incredible craftsmanship of the early 1900s, the detailed yet simple look of the forties and fifties, and of course, the clean mid-century moderns.
I have loved vintage homes since the very first one I bought when I was just twenty years old. That first house, built in 1917, opened up a whole world of love for me for the old. The heavy duty woodwork throughout, the leaded glass panels in the cabinets flanking the massive fireplace, the ornate concrete planters on the front porch. The details all added up to something I just knew I had to have, even if the neighborhood was less than stellar.
My next older home was actually newer, as it was built in 1968. While lacking a lot of the decorative details that made my first house so appealing, it did have the same attention to workmanship that I appreciated. Not long after closing escrow on this home, I pulled back one corner of carpeting in the back of a closet in a bedroom and discovered what I'd hoped for, original hardwood flooring! My husband was more than fine with the carpeting and didn't want to have to deal with removing it. So I did what any lover of vintage would do, I waited until he went on a business trip and started pulling it all up. By the time he got home, I was working on removing the tack strip. Once he saw how gorgeous the floors were, he agreed that it was worth the subterfuge. The thing is, I am 99% sure those floors had never seen the light of day prior to that. They looked like they had been installed and immediately covered in carpet. When we went to sell the house three years later, those floors were what everyone commented on.
A few years ago, my husband suggested that I quit trying to convince him to go to open houses of older homes and just get licensed as a Realtor. So I did. Now, I get to see all sorts of homes in my travels. Some of my clients insist on nothing but newer homes and I absolutely respect that. Not everyone wants to live in an "old" house. Not everyone wants to deal with some of the things that inherently come with buying an older home. And not everyone wants to undo what the previous owners have "updated" in order to try and bring back the former beauty of retro real estate. But some people do. And this blog is for those people.
This blog is for everyone who has ever walked into a home they were thinking of purchasing and breathing a sigh of relief at seeing pink tile in the bathroom. This is for everyone who appreciates a home that doesn't look like every other house in their neighborhood. And this blog is for everyone who has ever pulled back one corner of carpeting in the back of a closet in the hopes of finding a treasure underneath.
Welcome home.
