I love glass. I love it for the same reason birds love it, it’s shiny. Cleaning the glass around my house, including my windows, mirrors, and the glass on pictures is one of my chief (and some would think, strangest) decorating tips for the holidays. Glass makes the perfect palette for candlelight and twinkle lights to shimmer and shine which does a lot to make magic in any room. Like the trail Tinkerbelle leaves as she flies by. ♥
Receiving this dish in my early 20’s was probably the thing that alerted me to the possibilities with glass and started the obsession. It was a gift from my Aunt Maroline and Uncle Bob when I got married. When I first saw it, I didn’t know what it 
was or what I would DO with it; there were no bananas in it when I unwrapped it, so I wasn’t sure what its purpose was. I love things with a purpose, so when my aunt told me it was to hold bananas, I jumped for joy. It had a reason to exist! I could have it! The pure charm and whimsy of the thing took hold of my heart, and this banana dish has been on every kitchen table, island, or counter in every kitchen of my life. It is a mainstay. I would be bereft without it. We are never without bananas in our house. ♥
Inspiration is funny. You never know when it will hit or what form it will take. One summer afternoon, many years ago, we were sitting at the picnic table in the backyard belonging to a French man we know here on the island. He spread a white table cloth over the wood table, brought out beautiful cheeses on a board, and served us cold white wine in short, straight-sided thin glasses like these, while French cafe music drifted out the open French doors to his house.
I thought, oo, la, oui! How continental! How adorably foreign! How Charles Trenet! I must have this!
And so it began, the glass collection that will never end. Because
it was becoming obvious that to lead an original romantic life, on the model of the early Zelda Fitzgerald, where dreamy French music and entertaining would take place, I was going to need to gather the ingredients (props); these glasses looked like a good place to start.
We’ve collected ours mostly one at a time. We’ll see one on a shelf in an antique store, it will cost a dollar, and we will jump on it like it’s a trophy. Our eyes narrow and shift around the store, to see, does anyone else notice this wonderful thing is only a dollar? And they don’t, so we grab it and run. What is a dollar these days? A candy bar is a dollar.
Because we find them one at a time, our collection of these little glasses is very mix and match. We’ve found them in pink and green depression glass, etched with fruit and flowers, swirled, and hand-painted.
We have found them etched with the Lord’s Prayer.
We have found ones that we can’t believe have survived so long!
Some of them could definitely tell a story. We found this one from the first Queen Elizabeth in the little antique store on board the QEII. It was not a dollar. But it had our name written all over it. The Finding-Nemo seagull word formed on the lips, “mine” it said, irresistibly, as in take me I’m yours.
Over time, we realized that others, with slightly different shapes, make wonderful water glasses. I know some of you understand this love of pretty glasses, because a couple of weeks ago we put three sets of these little glasses, colored and etched, in the Vintage section of our website, and they were snapped right up! Sets are really hard to find but Joe and I got them out shopping as we were crossing the country! So happy you (whoever you are) got them! I will keep looking, when I’m out and about, for more.
We have found them in all colors . . . and have broadened our definition of “what is acceptable” to include different shapes. We had to, there was no choice; do you look at these yellow jewels and say, oh dear, no, the ridges just won’t do? No, you do not. You don’t even think it.
Setting the table can be like putting together a puzzle, a little of this a little of that. But, for better or worse, however it turns out will be very unlike anyone else’s, because, as you know, you can’t walk into a store and just get this stuff any time, it takes a long time to gather this, a person has to be choosy and get just what she loves. ♥
Glass obsession knows no end. It graduates from wine glasses, and gets its wings with serving bowls, candle sticks, and cake plates. It was probably thirty years of antiquing before I found this at a price I was willing to pay for it. I’m just not paying $200 for a cake stand, but I will pay $56. Yes, I will. Here it is, home at last! Holding my mom’s famous Coconut Circus Cake with pink sugar frosting. ♥
Pitchers and ice bowls call my name too.
Early morning light comes in through the windows and falls across the dining table, and this is what we get, free of charge.
Glass star bobeche and colored-glass vintage sugars and creamers are perfect for the holidays.
And here is my newest find. Something I almost never come across, do you recognize it? Yes! It’s a really beautiful cut-glass Banana Dish, about as perfect as it can be. But, you are saying, “She already has a banana dish . . . this isn’t fair!”
And I am saying, “I didn’t get it for me. I got it for you.” ♥
Yes, I did; this little jewel is going to one of you, and all you have to do to be entered for the random drawing is leave a comment and tell me (and everyone!) your favorite housekeeping tip. Or, like last time, you can just say hello! Or maybe a Jell-O recipe would be good. 🙂
In a couple of days, after everyone is all signed up, we’ll draw a name. More fun in this giant mutual admiration society of ours! Willard starts going out this morning…today and tomorrow. I’m off to work on my book! Talk to you later! Happy day to all! ♥
What a beautiful banana dish!
Let’s see …….. my favorite housekeeping/cleaning tip? Don’t get it dirty in the first place 🙂 Just kidding of course. I can mess it up all by myself by doing absolutely nothing.
Thank you for always cheering me up when I see a post on your blog 🙂
Thank you Barbara!
So love all of the comments so far….
I am so not a country girl like my husband’s Mom (Huntsville, Ala.) since I’ve lived all my life in So. Calif. That little piece of glass reminds me of the stories she told of having to take the cow to pasture each day and having to milk her and then having to churn the butter as well (NOT her favorite chore). Although, it was her country cooking that I miss the most. Her warm “Banana Puddin ‘” with hand whipped cream, Nilla wafers and REAL banana chunks in it. (I grew up on the cold, ungarnished boxed stuff, sadly….*sigh*) was always a treat. I have one piece of depression glass from my Mother-in-Law’s china cabinet. A little something from her mother. It is amazing how an item so simple as glass can hold a memory, a moment in time and make you wonder the stories it could tell if it could. I wonder the stories this beveled gem would whisper.
A little tip: Put a slice of white bread in the container with your homemade cookies to keep it moist and soft.
I’ve done that an it works, there and in with the brown sugar! A miracle in the brown sugar!
I have a thing for glass as well. (plus numerous other things like salt and pepper shakers and cream and sugar dishes!) My Grandmother had left me a beautiful set of pitcher and juice glasses in pink depression glass, which my Aunt had supposedly in safe keeping for me. Unfortunately I never got any of them as they were all broken by my cousins. C’est la vie. I have learned in life that things are only things. When my husband broke one half of my fireking cream and sugar set and also one half of my little bluebird cream and sugar set, I gave up!
Not to worry, right? It happens.
Hi Susan!
I enjoy getting your blogs; you are my “treat” for the day as you remind me of who I am (or could be) at home and to take time to enjoy nature and a garden, cook something delicious, have a party, take tea, etc.
Just wanted to let you know that I visited “Half Price Books” recently which is one of my favorite haunts and when I was browsing the cookbook section I saw a couple of your books–The Summer Book and Christmas Joy–and thought how could anyone give up a Susan Branch Book (they had writing in them so obviously gifts at one time)? Obviously the seller must be incapacitated in some way because SB Books are too wonderful and beautiful so of course they would want to keep them. I have every one of your books and they are SPECIAL to me. I reread them time and again and they are inspiring for sure; you obviously are doing what you were meant to do and I thank my lucky stars that I wasn’t born before tea or Susan Branch.
You are a doll Deborah, thank you!
No household tips, but I love reading all the ones posted! Instead, here is a recipe for White Jello:
2 envelopes gelatin, 1/2 cup cold water, 1 20-oz can crushed pineapple (undrained), 1/2 cup sugar, 2 8-oz pkgs. cream cheese (room temperature), 1 7-oz jar marshmallow creme, 2 envelopes Dream Whip.
Dissolve gelatin in the cold water. Mix pineapple and sugar together in a saucepan. Add gelatin mixture and simmer to dissolve. Let cool. Cream the cream cheese and marshmallow creme together. Add to gelatin mixture. Refrigerate until it starts to set. Whip Dream Whip according to package directions and fold into chilled mixture. Refrigerate. Serve chilled. This recipe will also make two 9″ pies. Our favorite is a graham cracker crust.
Every day I look for your blog in my email. It just makes my day to read them. I love the pictures of your home, your collections, your trips – you share so much of yourself with us! Thank you! Also, I can picture bananas in that dish; they will look like they are surrounded by diamonds!
Interesting recipe! Surrounded by diamonds! Yes!
I will make it also! I saw in Martha Stewart that jello salads are all the rage now and making a huge comback! Just in time for Thanksgiving…..my mom always made a “seafoam salad” and it was served in an antique Waterford crystal bowl with a beautiful sterling silver spoon. that white jello would be pretty as well 🙂
Dear Susan,
Thank you for giving me such a wonderful start to the day. I don’t know if it’s the pictures or the words that cause such a depth of feeling, I guess it’s cause it’s from your heart. You make me see things in a whole new way, and appreciate them and life even more.
I have never seen anything like your beautiful banana bowl before! Maybe they are an east coast thing. Any way, I have an easy recipe that my kids love, and I always get asked for the recipe.
Strawberry Creme-microwave to a boil 2 cups water in a pyrex 1 quart measuring bowl. Add 1 large package strawberry jello carefully, it often foams up. Stir and make sure all the sugar has melted and then add enough frozen strawberries to make 3 1/2 cups in the bowl. Stir for a few minutes and then refigerate until thick but not set. Mix 1 cup whipping cream in a mixer and when fully whipped add the strawberry mixture. Blend until well mixed, and pour into a shinny glass bowl, making sure the strawberry chunks are spread throughout and let set for an hour or two. It’s so easy and so good, I hope all the girlfriends enjoy it!
Mmmmm thank you Kate! The banana dish came from Texas where my aunt lived, to me in California, where I lived at the time, then got packed up and definitely became “an east coast thing” from then on! 🙂
Greetings Susan,
I have so many cleaning tips rattling around in my head but one of my favorites is grabbing a slightly damp micro fiber cloth and giving surfaces a quick wipe before company arrives.
Your calendar hangs in my kitchen and provides limitless joy and inspiration. I envy your talent, love your life and glean little tidbits of it here and there to enhance my own. You are a wonder and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the lovely things you bring to us all.
Now about that lovely dish…..How can you bear letting it go? Hard to understand but bless you for putting us before yourself!
Deepest thanks, warmest regards and best wishes for the upcoming holiday season!
Liz
Thank you Liz! I already have the one my aunt gave me, so it just makes sense to give it to someone else who would love it!
Dear Susan,
This is my first chance to tell you “thank you” for a lovely, inspiring blog. I have to tell you that I enjoy a cosmo on Friday nights using the recipe in “Girlfriends Forever”–it is the highlight of my week. 🙂 On to a housekeeping tip–ever wonder what to do when talking on the phone? When I talk on the phone, I make a paste of baking soda and water and clean the grout between the tiles on my kitchen counter top using a toothbrush. Presto–the grout is cleaned and it didn’t seem like any effort because I was multi-tasking!
I really can’t stand to talk on the phone unless I’m doing something else, folding clothes or something . . . this is perfect! Thank you back Kimberly!
Susan – I, too, love glass. Will not drink my morning coffe out of anything but a glass mug. Collect shot glasses from around the world. Put out my grandmother’s orange depression glass in the fall. Have quite a few glass pumpkins in my pumpkin collection. I have even written an essay about the magical properties of glass! (and been published!) Born and raised in Millville, NJ one of the glass making centers of Cumberland County due to the right sort of sand – how could I NOT love glass. Looking at the pictures of your home I admit to suffering some glass envy. 😉 you are an inspiration…
M Sherman
I’m suffering right back at you right now Marcia 🙂 !
Good morning, Susan 🙂 Just returned from seeing my family in NY, and my mom inspires all my housekeeping 🙂 At 84, she cleans her house top to bottom – washing windows, all curtains, decorating for seasons, washing, ironing, table settings – even cleans wood paneling! – and her house is warm, inviting and shining! She has beautiful glassware and cranberry glass – I learned that sparkling white curtains and dusting and vacuuming with a fall and spring cleaning lift one’s spirits and the spirits of all who enter the house – it’s like a welcome hug to guests and family! I can hardly keep up with her, but since I know the warmth and smiles that result from keeping a clean, neat and decorated house, I love to follow her lead in keeping mine! Cheers to Mom! and you, Susan, for your wonderful blog and art!!! ♥♥♥
p.s. – the banana dish is just gorgeous!!!
Thank you Mari, love your mom!
thanks 🙂 She’s my role model, and when I think of housekeeping (having just been at her house), I think of her and all she does to keep hers beautiful and sparkling 🙂
Now it’s back to work – have a wonderful day! 🙂
You too!
Oh! I cried out with delight when I saw the bobeche! My friend Linda and I discovered them first at an antique store in Holly Michigan. the woman who sold us each one told us the name. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? LOL…then a while later we couldn’t recall the name, so we investigated and found to our delight the many shapes, sizes and styles! LOVELY! now we continue to collect them and always include them as part of the centerpiece. Tea parties, definitely Christmas and New Years! Once I saw on TV an interview of the president in the White House…but was I listening? NO! because I saw on the fireplace mantel in back of him…what is that?? Bobeches! and how old must they be? what president’s wife bought them or had them made? Please TV camera man, please zoom the camera on the bobeches! but nope! guess no one but me noticed them! LOL ahhhhh bobeches, I think I’ll go and wash mine right now 🙂
LOL, “Please TV camera man . . . ” How many times I have said that! They are so charming aren’t they! I have one with little glass fruit hanging off it, in clear colors, and use it in the summer with green depression glass candlesticks! Totally fairytale!
I love your banana dish and all your other glassware. Would love to win this beautiful piece.
my favorite household tip is this: don’t buy anything that doesn’t speak to your heart. So what if it is mismatched. I love, love, love your dining room table. All of my things are mis-matched and I would have more if I had the kitchen space. And if you do not love your dishes and such, neither will anyone else. I love the little star bo-thingumies. Would give tender, loving care to this banana dish as well! Much love – Raquel XO
Thank you Raquel, great advice!
I read all the tips, I think, and I didn’t see this one….. I have found that using a denture tablet in a glass vase gets it sparkly again–if it is a vase that is hard to reach to the bottom— or if it just has some pretty bad staining in it—add some rice and shake. As far as a gelatin recipe—a large box of lite cherry gelatin, a can of lite cherry pie filling and a 15 ounce can of crushed pineapple in its own juice. Dissolve gelatin with 1/2 the amount of boiling water called for on the package. Add the pie filling and pineapple. Put in a 9X13 dish and refrigerate. I used to have a collection of jello molds. I used this recipe and 3 bean salad and a chicken salad for luncheons at my b&b (since closed). I love the banana dish and though I had seen them and had one or two never knew what they were for–I love your blog!!!
Thank you Madelyn, good tip, good recipe!
I used to get (ok, I still do), overwhelmed with cleaning my house and would flit from room to room doing a little here and little there. A good friend of mine said just focus on one room at a time. Simple advice that works for me.
And, that banana dish is so bananas (I’ve been watching the Rachel Zoe project 🙂
Yes, as my mom said, “I only have two hands!” Thanks Tamsen!
I always start in my kitchen, when my kitchen is gleaming I’m gleaming. I light scented candles while I clean, so when I’m finished cleaning my house not only looks clean but it has the smell of the season. I get rid of all the junk mail first, actually I get rid of my junk mail as it comes, it’s my husbands piles of junk mail and newspaper next to his chair.
Have A Great Fall Ya All~
Brenda
I try to leave my junk mail in the recycle box at the Post Office and not even let it get inside my house . . . that’s because we have to go to the PO for the mail … if someone is dropping it off at your house, you don’t have much choice! Thanks Brenda!
We pick up our mail on the way home from work every evening and, as it is down the road from our house, we are in the car. Then when we pull in the garage, we sit there in the car and go through the mail and the junk mail goes right into the garbage can in the garage, it doesn’t even come in the house! 🙂
So smart!
Just read my Willard over breakfast 🙂 A great way to start the day!
xoxo! Happy day to you Kelly!
Hi Susan….like so many others, I am grateful for your blogging and just love being able to peek into your life which is so eclectic. Putting the table settings together like a puzzle is exactly how I feel about getting ready for company….the table is a gift in and of itself!
As for cleaning tips, microfiber is one of my best new friends. I dampen one cloth for wiping things down and a dry one for those surfaces that might looked streaky if not wiped dry. Also, love to sprinkle Oreck’s carpet freshener not only on the carpets where my guests will be but also in the sweeper bag itself. It makes my own cleaning efforts a bit more pleasant.
My grandmother and mom both appreciated cut glass and etched glass. I have admired their collections and know that someday, some of them will be mine to use with my guests. The banana bowl is new to me though and it begs the question, “Who doesn’t need a banana bowl??” Maybe this Hurryin’ Hoosier will be the lucky one to enlighten others in our home who have never heard of a banana bowl!? (we always keep bananas on hand….it’s the best quick grab and go nutrition we can think of)
Can’t wait for your next blog!
Thanks so much Betsy! Love having you here! Good tip!
Good Morning Miss Susan, Thank you so much for sharing yourself, your art and your inspirations with all of us. You make me smile! :o) I have never seen such a beautiful little thing as a “banana dish”. How adorable. I am enclosing a recipe for FALL . Not So Famous Pumpkin Custard
1 C. sugar 1/8 tea. cloves
1 tea. salt 4 large eggs
1/4 tea. cinnamon 1 large can (28oz) Pure Pumpkin
1/4 tea. ginger 2 cups canned Evaporated milk or Almond Milk
Mix all together and pour into 2 deep pie dishes or other baking dish. Bake 425 degrees for 15 min. then turn down oven to 350 and bake another40-50 min or until custard center is done. :o) DELICIOUS AND NO CRUST TO MAKE!!
Yummy, love pumpkin so much!
Love the banana dish! I collect pink depression class and display it on a shelf my husband built high in one of my bedrooms.
My tip comes from a few magazines I have read this month that remind us of an easy way to clean silver. Place silver in an aluminum foil lined sink. Sprinkle baking soda over the silver and pour boiling water over all of this. Tarnish will lift off.
Looking forward to my Willard coming today!
Lorie
You can see that in actual pictures if you click HERE ! Although I used salt, and it works like a charm!
Loved all your pretty glassware. Everything just sparkled! I’m wondering how you are able to find enough room for all your treasures. Do you have to discard (eek!) one before you bring another one home? I love collecting cookbooks but I only have so much space so I have to be very selective. Same way with dishes. It can be quite a dilemma when so many things are calling my name!
I am careful to not start storing things. That doesn’t appeal to me, so I call it “upgrading” and TRY to give things away. I have wonderful yard sales!
Oh regina, a girl after my own heart! I have 5 bookcase shelves of cookbooks, well 2 of those shelves holds binders of clipped recipes from newspapers and magazines! There is (or was?) a shop in NYC that is strictly for cookbooks and like minded things, saw it in probably Country Living, would LOVE to go there! I even clipped that! I once tried to get rid of some, when we moved, and do you know I needed that one book the next summer when I needed to can or freeze our garden produce?
So, you just never know when you will need the very thing that you get rid of! LOL!
Oops, I forgot to say my new cookbook addiction is to find ALL of Dear Susans books! I have 2 now and 1 on the way!
Yeah!
Have a great day!
Very excellent addiction! 🙂
Probably best to hold on to everything! lol 🙂
Jeannie,
I try to sort through my cookbooks every so often, but I keep finding that they are all my favorites. I usually get them at garage sales or at our library’s annual booksale. So I never spend very much on them. But I do have all of Susan’s and I have gotten most of them on amazon.com, the older ones. Such precious treasures and they give so much pleasure!
Ooohhh, my heart swooned when you showed the Banana Dish earlier, and then to have the opportunity to win one…be still my heart! I have an obsession with cut glass, really any glass!
It started with my paternal grandmother. Before every meal she would lovingly wipe down all the cut glass components that would grace the table (salt & pepper shakers, butter dish, sugar dish, condiment jars) so they would be fresh and sparkly for her guests. After I got married, she would give me a piece of her collection as a Christmas gift every year. She was a collector of candy dishes, the kind with lids! Gorgeous! So, naturally, her love of glass passed onto me. It’s our bond!
OK, so really quickly I LOVE TO VACUUM! No tips, just do it!! I love the feeling it gives me, one of satisfaction.
Thanks again for this great give-a-way!
Kim Wright
Love it Kim, love the bond! Just lovely!
Love glass…love SB…LOVE this time of year. The best “tip” for me this year is that I moved! Change houses! My husband and I built our home 8 years ago, then this past year we followed his job to a new town…therefore a new house. Now my Autumn-leaf garland, collection of pumpkins, haunted-house village made by my pre-schooler, etc. all have new places to sit! Decorating a new home helps ease the changes.
It’s fun, and you have a great attitude!
I would use this beautiful bannana dish to store the fruit for some wonderful pancakes…….once I get a great pancake book that is…. 😉 😉 (that means wink wink Susan…you probably already know that)
Favorite housekeeping tip…hire a maid. (if you can) If you can’t-like me….use vinegar….1001 different ways….. vinegar along with newspapers cleans windows the best ever.
Love Ya Susie Q…u r the best!
Soon! Loving this book too! Thank you Tami!
Susan…LOVE your blog…a peek inside of your world! Also, love the learning trails you include! I would like to share this tip about housekeeping – share the gift of HOSPITALITY!!! Do not wait until your house is perfect, or you have the latest whatever, or until you can do it as well as whomever…just open your home…offer you and your home with grace and love and acceptance…establishing relationships…because when it is all said and done, it is all about PEOPLE!! So many do not know what a HOME is these days…if you have one – share it!!!
This is so true ! And reminds me of a wonderful quote by Alice May Brock, “Just because you have four chairs, six plates, and three cups is no reason you can’t invite twelve to dinner!”
Hi Susan~
I am going to try a condensed version of my post that did not post. Must be computer gremlins! This past weekend I found a ” find ” at an estate sale. I bought a 1930
( 18th edition) of The way to a man’s heart The Settlement Cook Book for $3.00!
I’m from Wisconsin and the book was compiled and printed in Milwaukee (WI.) by Mrs. Simon Kander with recipes tested by the Settlement Cooking Classes, The Milwaukee Public School Kitchens, The School of Trades for Girls and Experienced Housewives. It was written for immigrant women to use when they came to America.
The only gelatin recipes are for gelatin puddings. Did you ever hear such things?
As for household tips this book has household “rules.” The same thing I suppose as tips.
Here is one for Proper Dress for the Kitchen-
Jewelry should not be worn in the kitchen. Wear a cotton wash dress or a cover-all apron with a pocket for a handkerchief.
Have a small hand towel that buttons on band of dress or apron.
Have two pot holders, fastened together with tape and attach to dress or apron.
Wear a washable cap that covers the hair. Can’t you just picture yourself!
No “rules” so far in the book as to how to wash a banana dish…….. Or where to place in on a table……..
Many more recipes and “rules.” So if you are an interested in anything relating to 1930 home keeping I’d love to share!
Happy Homemaking!
Lynn
Place it oops!
Crazy, because I answered this, because I have that book too . . . I hope we don’t have a list of us saying this to each other. . . . there are gremlins in the blog today (and yesterday) — just want to make sure you are properly thanked for all those wonderful tips!
Thanks so much! No more gremlins!
Hooray! Thanks Lynn!
I was born in Milwaukee and my mother ALWAYS used the Settlement Cookbook – The Way to a Man’s Heart 🙂 After she died the cookbook came to me…..and I’ve taught my daughter that every good recipe can be found in the Settlement Cookbook! pies, cakes, roasts, cooking for babies, you name it! My sister heard I had the book and was quite upset, so I bought her a 1940’s version off of EBay and put some of mom’s handwritten recipe cards inside the front cover…mailed it off to her last Christmas and she was thrilled 🙂 Just last week I ran across a newer version in a bookstore and was tempted to buy it, but the cover was torn so I left it on the shelf for someone else to find. Congrats on finding an inexpensive ’40’s one!! yeah for discovering a treasure!
You are a doll! Great surprise for your sister!
I have 27 pairs of glass candlesticks! Do I need to elaborate any more than that on my love of glass!!! I never realized what an obsession I have until I started drooling while looking at all of your glass! You made my day!
No I think you have made yourself very clear! 🙂 Thank you Cindy!
Oh.my.goodness! You sure do have a lot of glass! I have a few glass things in my hutch, all were given to me. Some of them were my grandmother’s and one bowl was a wedding gift given to a great aunt of mine when she got married in 1900! I love your mismatched glasses. So much fun!
Thanks Robin!
Dear Susan,
Love your collection of glassware. I too am a fan. My sister and I collect as
well.
Best Regards,
Mary
Thank you Mary, and say hello to your sister!
An easy tip: wrap a swiffer cloth around the broom bristles and you can swipe & wipe cobwebs away easily in ceiling corners.
Now….I NEED that banana bowl.
I am making a note of that!
Your collection is just beautiful. BTW, Ms. Branch… did you ever find Patricia, or am I behind in the times?
Shine on, girlfriend. : )
Yes my pink diamond friend, we found her and her box is on the way! Thank you!
Thank goodness! See what happens when I work instead of read your blog…. I miss so much. : )
I hope you have learned your lesson! 🙂
Hello! My tip is that I do a little bit of housecleaning every night, between the commercials of my favorite shows. You would be amazed at how much you can get done at 3 minute intervals! Susan – I just love your stuff! I’m glad I’m not the only one that has & loves mismatched table ware! Thank you!
Thank you back Traci!
Oh Susan, I love glass also. I collect glasses and trays, anything made of glass. I have never seen a banana dish(probably have but didn’t know what it was). I love it, I want one so bad!! One of my housekeeping tips is to clean one room thoroughly a day, and straighten up the other rooms. It’s overwhelming when you have to deep clean the whole house at one time. Can’t wait to read my Willard!
Angie V
Thanks so much Angie!
Oh my….I LOVE…LOVE…GLASS!!! I have never seen a glass banana “bowl” it is just lovely. My Grandmother had Pink/Green Depression Glass and I have some of the Pink (my fav) in my home now….there is something magical about glass I don’t know if it is the shiny etchings or just it’s natural beauty. It is very hard to recognize the old original depression glass because they manufacture it and some antique shops try to pass it off as old? Shame….I think an old lady told me once in a small shop that there is a “signature” like a straw mark on the original so everyone look for that!!! Susan, you are so sweet to share your treasures with all of us (or at least those lucky enough to be chosen)….I’m keeping my fingers crossed (for ME) on this giveaway…oh how selfish did I just sound?? Luck to everyone!!!
Also, I think the old glass is thinner — but if you really can’t tell the difference, and you think it’s beautiful, and it doesn’t cost too much, then I say go for it! xoxo Thanks Deborah!
Dear Susan, Love glass as well. Last year we did glass totems…stacking various glass pieces and glue them together. My friends would empty their cupboards, but I couldn’t. And I had a hard time watching them use their beautiful glassware! They thought I was a little cukoo! 🙂 I would go to GW and purchase other people’s tossed beauties and even had a hard time doing that. I think I get it from my mom….she has a lot of cut glass beauties in her cupboards. Anyway, would love a banana dish! Never saw one before. And a tip….hmmm… this is what I use to clean things with. Take a spray bottle and mix ammonia and water. (Not too much ammonia or you won’t be able to breath!!) Anyway, it makes a great spot cleaner for kitchens, baths or outside even. I always have one in my camper too. Have a great day, Susan!
I have to agree, I might be able to do it with a new piece, but I could not put glue on my old ones! Thank you Amy!
Lovely blog as usual! Thanks for brightening my day.
My mother in law gave me a banana dish once and I am little embarassed to say I never knew what it was for. I used it to hold mail!! omg I am so embarrassed.Sadly I lost my bowl in a flood several years ago.
Now, my number one household hint is to use a cleaner that you looovvve the scent of! I told my daughter this when she moved into her first apartment a couple of years ago. My cleaner has the smell of basil!!! Work doesn’t seem so daunting when you enjoy something about it….my daughter often thanks me for this one little piece of advice.
Very smart! Thanks Pam!
Susan,
You continue to find the most unique things. The banana dish is lucious and I would love to have it too. As for cleaning tips I don’t think I have one. Having spent the last two days on my hands and knees cleaning the only tip I have is knee-pads! Living in Florida, I call this my ‘spring’ cleaning because it is cooler now and we can have the windows and doors open at last. I love your blog, as well as all your products. Can’t wait for the new book. My collection of Susan Branch books needs it’s new friend. Happy writing!
Pat
Thank you Pat!
My thing for glass started when I was getting married. A gift, a cut glass, sparkling, shiny candy dish. My eyes grew wide when I saw the sparkle for the first time. It was surely, love at first sight. Since that day, oh so long ago, I have added many glass perfections to my collection. When my grandmother passed I was lucky enough to receive many items from her collection. I love sparkle and color and when my eyes fall upon an etched glass, I hold my breath and think, how lovely can one little glass be.
Your grandmother chose the right person to leave it to!
I also love old glass especially the pink depression glass pieces. I am always on the lookout for it at estate sales and garage sales. You are such an inspiration to me…I so look forward to hearing from Willard! Thanks!
Today, he should be coming by your house today!
Glass has always attracted me. Thanks for the inspiration to use what I have and love it! Now to go do the washing up and get them sparkly. Every body feels better when the glass sparkles so that is my tip. Enjoy dish washing as it is all so pretty when clean! LOL
Yes, it sure is!
The china closet (an oak secretary of my grandmother complete with the curved gass door) is full of heirloom goblets, bowls, glasses and plates and my finds as well as the oak buffet. I especially treasure the cake stands and stack them. Right now, a pumpkin sits on the depression glass stand with a cloche over it.
I have a fear, dust balls the size of cattle! You?
Wouldn’t want to see one! Love your pumpkin display!
I love clean floors, you know, so clean I can walk around in my bare feet without feeling crumbs or anything. My dear husband is so good to remove his shoes when he comes in,simply to please me! I do find kernels of corn in the dryer on occassion. (He’s a grain farmer) Also, I like to iron~ there’s something gratifying about conquering wrinkles! In short, I’m happy being a HOMEMAKER!
Most creative job in the world! xoxo
OH, THE THINGS WE CHOOSE TO ENLIGHTEN OUR HEARTS…….
It’s so interesting that I have the same glass with the Lord’s prayer on it. It was my mom’s when she was a child.
I found another one, gave it to Judy — I don’t know how many there are out there, but I do love mine!
Hi, Susan! I’ve been a fan of yours since I was in high school (I’m 36 now!)! 🙂 I even wrote you in college and I when I got a letter from you at Auburn, I ran to our outside roof deck w/ my girlfriends (I remember it like it was yesterday!)and I was so excited to read it! I still have it, by the way! I just love how you see the world and nature (I’m a Horticulture major, so I am constantly taking in everything blooming and changing colors outside!!)…You really see it and appreciate it…one of the keys to a happy life! 😉
Okay, getting to the point of glass…I have always had a crazy passion for glass and dishware…I get this from my grandmother who loved colored glass! (especially purple glass!)…I still have her favorite lavender glass that she used to wash out her watercolor brushes (We both watercolor paint and I inherited this glass and all of her brushes…some of my most prized possessions!!)…
One of my new glass finds is a celery glass! Do you know what that is? My family recently moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan (husband works for Kellogg’s!) and Kzoo is known as “The Celery City”…They used to be a huge grower of celery and shipped it all over the country…There’s a darling park here called, “Celery Flats” w/ old barns w/ peeling red paint, a pond w/ ducks, railroad tracks, and an old house (Stuart Manor) where you can have themed teas in the Spring (front garden full of lilacs and peonies…simply a “religious experience” to go there w/ an SLR camera when they’re in bloom!)-it was where they used to grow celery! :)…Anyways, a celery glass looks like a very deep stemmed wine glass…Way back when (~1940’s?), ladies would fill these glasses w/ water and cut celery and have them on the table to serve. They are now collectible and you can get them vintage or even buy them through a new company, “Two’s Company”, one of my favorite gift companies (I used to buy things at the Atlanta Gift Mart for a nursery in Atlanta)…I always love their things!…I bought one from the Two’s Company line when we were visiting Lexington, KY and I now use it as a vase for hydrangeas in the summer and will fill it with berried branches in December…It just seems like something you’d appreciate!!
Loved looking through your pictures of your glass treasures!! Willard was wonderful (as usual), too!! (It always makes me want to call you up and invite you over for coffee! I love the way you write! 🙂 Still enjoying your wall calendars and pull out my seasonal SB books so I can thumb through them each season!! Gave “Girlfriends Forever” to all of my bridesmaids in 2000 and my closest girlfriends in Kansas City before we moved 2 years ago!! A true treat!!!
Happy Fall to you! Enjoy Dinner Party Season!!!! :), Ashley
Hi Ashley, you are one of my “kids”! Love hearing from you . . . You sound wonderful, like you have all the keys to a happy, creative life! So happy to hear it! I love celery glasses too, they’re a lot like spooners! You are so creative with them! Thank you for spreading the good word with your girlfriends at your wedding . . . makes my day to hear it. Keep in touch! xoxo
Hi Susan,
Love everything that you do. The cut glass brings back wonderful memories of my Great Aunts’ home where my dad was born. He called it the “old homestead.” When we had to clean out the house, we discovered tons of cut glass in the huge pantry. I have just one piece as my mom would take a piece to anyone she went to visit for lunch or dinner or a weekend stay – quite a nice hostess gift! She loved sharing it. The banana dish is lovely. Thank you for the opportunity.
I think my best housekeeping tip is my mom’s old recipe for getting stains out of a rug – works on wine, juice, and especially pet stains. Just dab the soiled area with one drop of mild dishwashing soap on a wet cloth and lightly scrub. Then, rinse it by blotting it with sparkling water and a clean towel until the soap is out. Blot the excess water with towels, leaving it still somewhat wet and then, sprinkle cornstarch on top. Leave until it completely dries (usually about 24 hours), vacuum and stain is gone!
Good tip! Nice mom!
Such a beautiful piece that you are willing to share! I don’t have many helpful hints, but now that it is fall I really recommend everyone embrace their slow cookers! Take them out, and make stews, soups and roasts…It is such a great tool and you can stockpile your freezer for the upcoming busy holiday season. It is great coming home to a hot dinner after shopping and decorating or just being out celebrating the season with friends…
Love the smell the slow cookers make, keeps the house warm! Thank you Winnie!
I love the table settings. I don’t want to shout, but you have so many posts. Just wanted to know WHAT IS IN THE DIPPING DISHES ON THE TABLE???” It looks like maybe oil, spices, mozzerella? YUm!!
mmmm yes, it’s soft Goat cheese, rosemary, olive oil, salt and pepper–I can’t remember, maybe a tiny bit of red pepper flakes.
My new, just discovered tip is how to get those very fine, wire-meshed tea or coffee strainers clean. Mine gunk up in a year and become clogged and useless. I tried soaking in vinegar, but in only helped a little. The trick is to use bleach, diluted 1:5, and soak for 20 minutes. The strainer will be perfectly clean. Amazing! (Especially because bleach is alkaline and I assumed an acid, like vinegar, would be the thing to use.)
But my favorite housekeeping tip is this: many hands make light work! If I divide the housecleaning into seven parts and give each family member a share, we can have the whole house clean in 45 minutes. That is truly amazing!!
Perfect! Thanks Laura Ann!
My favorite household cleaning tip – use the swiffer duster!
I have never seen a banana dish! It is so much nicer than those wooden things with a hook! Love it! I cannot believe you, girl! Another giveaway!? You are so generous…..love you!
Household tips? Hmmm…I just got home (we have a new grandson….Emil Oliver!) so I haven’t had time to read everyone’s tips yet. I’m sure everyone has covered things well. I have one little cleaning “tool” that I cannot do without….it’s a brown square plastic scraper (got mine from Pampered Chef)….I use it to scrape pans….scrape off countertops…floors….stuck-on messes on the stove….gum off shoes! On and on! Have a happy day. xoxo…kp
Handy little item! Congratulations on Emil Oliver!!!
I don’t have any major tips or recipes to share, but still wanted to tell you how happy I am to find out what these special little glass type dishes are for. I’ve seen some over the years in different antique stores, but never picked any up, because I didn’t know how to use them. Now that I do, I will definitely pay more attention when I see them. And I’m sure one or two just might follow me home!
Could very likely happen! 🙂
Okay, since we’re talking about glass, my favorite housekeeping tip is using Norwex cloths. Oh – my – goodness…my friend turned me on to these and they are amazing. It is an antibacterial, microfiber cloth (not your run of the mill kind). I wipe with the main cloth and then dry with the window cloth. That is it. No chemicals, no buckets of water, no sprays, no newspapers, no squeegies, etc. I clean everything with them, but windows, mirrors, glass tops, candy dishes, etc. are a breeze. And did I say, “No chemicals.” I have a huge slider in my living room that faces the back yard. I don’t use curtains because I feel like our living room extends to the outdoors. Anyhow, I have a 72 lb labradoodle. There are nose, paw and lick marks all over the slider, but cleaning it with those Norwex cloths makes it a breeze. (LOVE bananas, LOVE the banana bowl.)
Thank you for that good tip Roxanne, I’m learning so much!
I never knew those were banana dishes, even though I have seen them before! Reading this makes me want to run down to our nearby Antique store (where we first met!), and start hunting for one for our home…. We ALWAYS have bananas on hand, and it would make a beautiful addition to our table, don’t you think? I also want to start collecting little sets of different glasses as you have done Sue. Since I have beautiful sets of dishes, they need their special coordinating glasses, don’t you think? 😉 It is always fun having specific things to look for when we visit our favorite Antiques shops! Thank you again for sending us your wonderful and inspiring ideas! It makes me want to go do my spring cleaning in the Fall!! ~~~ Love you girl!! xo
I wrote you a long reply, but it simply vanished…. =( I should have copied it, and so I could repost it….
Was that it . . . about collecting glasses? Because I have to do spring cleaning too, just before Thanksgiving! We have blog gremlins — I don’t know what’s going on! Have a wonderful day Bonnie!
I also have a beautiful banana boat that my BFF of 40 years gave to me. We’ve been friends since 7th grade and still see each other just about every week! I can SO see your gorgeous banana boat on the other end of my buffet! Thanks for your beautiful, holiday inspiring words! Welcome Home!
Thanks Dana, happy to be here!
Susan,
Love the old glassware, put me in the contest. Heres a recipe for an easy fall snack. AUTUMN SNACKS
1 bag of m&m’s , 2 cups of raisins, 2 cups nuts of your choise, 2 cups of pretzels. THAT’S IT. Love your website. It really makes my day starts me out in a good frame of mind. Joyce
I think, because I am bad, I would have to pick out the m & m’s!!
For some reason I am not receiving my Willard subscription and want to make sure to do so. What address do I add to my book so as not to have it dileted as a spam please. Thank you for your RSVP.
I’m not sure what you do on your own computer to allow it to get through, but the Willard takes two days to go out, it will go out twice today, so wait until later and see if it comes. If it doesn’t show up, write to [email protected]/~susanbs3/susanbranch/ and she can help you (when she gets back from Hawaii, which will be long before the next WILLARD) — so sorry!
Oh Susan, what a beautiful collection of glassware! I have a tall etched glass flower vase that was saved for me by my favorite Aunt, it was my Mother’s! I also received some from a friend who was getting rid of some that she didn’t want! I also would not have known that was a banana dish, how clever!
My hint: I wait for Dear Husband to go to the garage or outside for a while, I crank up the volume and put in one of my favorite cd’s and lose myself in singing, dusting and vacuuming! What I usually do when I dust is move things around to different places, and I always have fond memories of the items I am cleaning! If I don’t feel an attachment to it I try to give it away or take it to GW.
Thanks for the blog, take time to smell the fresh air while you are doing your new book!
xoxoxo
Oh don’t worry, that dirt road in the woods is the best part of my day. . .! Thank you Jeannie! Say hello to Dear Husband!
I love glass also. I have quite a few pieces and whenever I go into an estate sale or antique store, I always look for glass items. I love the sparkle. Some of my best finds are the pieces in the stores which are covered in dust and grime. After getting them home and cleaning up my “find” I discover a piece or pieces that are remarkable. My cleaning tip is to soak glassware in 5 parts water to 1 part ammonia. The glassware will be sparking clean with minimal effort after a quick rinse. Also, place this water/ammonia mixture in a spray bottle and use on mirrors and windows and clean with newspaper or a micorfiber cloth–your mirrors and windows will shine!
Have a great fall day!
Thanks Donna!
I live in a suburb of Toledo, OH the home of the art glass movement. I have taken glass-blowing classes and lamp-working classes (to make glass beads!) at our wonderful Toledo Museum of Art where you can see all kinds of wonderful art glass!!
Wonderful Kathleen! Nice to know!
1,146 comments! This is getting to be like the lottery! Much more fun! I have many glass pieces from my grandmothers and they are very dear to me. No one to pass them on to unfortunately so as my eye sees the distant future, I pray that they will be a treasure to an unknown glass-lover — a special find in an antique store. It’s comforting to know that after reading all the previous comments.
Never fear, there will always be US, lurking and waiting for beautiful things.
Love all the old glass, too. I usually get something glass for each wedding gift I buy.
My housekeeping tip is something my mom taught me: Use a solution of hot water and a bit of white vinegar when rinsing your glasswear and it will really sparkle!
Nice gift giving thought!
I’ve never heard of a banana dish! Cool! I don’t have a housekeeping tip, except it’s a necessary evil. However, I love to decorate with old aluminum coffee pots. You can use them to put flowers in transforming them into a vase, or you can just display them. My two favorites belonged to my mom. I remember her preparing our morning coffee on the stove top. That coffee was the best, and these new coffee pots just don’t make as tasty a cup of coffee as those did. In fact, I sometimes use one of the pots to perk a cup even though I have a newfangled pot! Susan, I know that you are a tea drinker. I also drink tea, and this putting your cup in the microwave just doesn’t cut it for me either. Steeped tea in a tea cup or pot is the best. Have a great day, and I love your blog.
I agree! Gotta go the long way! Thank you Joanne, loved the coffee pot talk!
Hi, Susan: As always, loved your Willard and loved your newest blog! I’m crazy about your banana dish and would love to be entered into your contest to win the one you picked up for us, your loyal followers. I’d be honored to have it adorn my dining room table for all eternity. I, also, am a banana lover and eat one every morning. I recently lost 40 lbs on Weight Watchers and have another 40 lbs to go! A banana a day is one of my tricks for losing the weight. Anyway, thank you for all the inspiration. Your love of life and the little things that make life worth living are so uplifting to me. I look forward to reading anything and everything you have to say. Your words always cheer me up! Bless you!
I LOVE that banana tip! Congratulations on those 40 lbs, YOU GO GIRL — fabulous!!!
Do you know the cleaning cloths you get with a new pair of glasses? They work great to give your cyrstal one last bit of sparkle before guests arrive. With Thanksgiving coming, my mom will be making my dad’s favorite jello dish: Lime jello with diced celery and green olives topped with Miracle Whip. eww….he has not been able to convince any of the grand kids to eat it, and has given up on his own children. But she makes it for him every year, regardless!
That does sound pretty terrible! But she is a doll to keep making it for him!
I too have a “thing” for glass. Most recently I have been finding Carnival Glass. I am facinated by the iridescent shimmer that the glass has. Adding glass pieces to my collection has brought a warmth to my home reminiscent of my grandmothers house years ago. I am currently in the process of a kitchen remodel and plan on putting in glass doors so all my wares can be nicely displayed.
Nice Debbie!
House Keeping tip:
Only touch junkmail once. When you check the mail, if it isn’t a keeper it goes straight to recycle or the shredder. Voila! No stacks of cluttery junkmail 🙂
I L-O-V-E my “stuff”. I have collected old linens for years and not just to look at, but to actually use them. You’ll find them on my table all the time. I also love to collect Homer Laughlin dishes and have quite a mix of those. I love the pictures of your home – they just beg for someone to come in and “sit a spell” as we say in the South. If I could get you to offer sweet tea to drink, it would be perfect! Thanks for all you share with us.
Love Homer Laughlin too! My mom’s name is Patricia Smith! Thanks for visiting!
Hi Susan,
I just love that cut glass banana dish ~ I can see it on my dining room table at my little B&B, looking as cute as it can be, in my blue & yellow dining room, as the centerpiece each morning! My friend Sandy thinks yours is Fostoria glass ~ she is an antiques aficionado and she actually has one on her counter too! I have a few housekeeping tips to share too! Since I own a little B&B , I do a lot of housekeeping, so I have tricks to multitask. You will notice it is my time to nurture my body, mind & spirit while accomplishing some pretty mundane tasks. Somedays I literally incorporate my aerobics into my routine by getting my heart-rate up and keeping it up for at least a 1/2 hour. Another favorite is to carry my computer from room to room and listen to things like “OPRAH’S LIFECLASS” as I dust & Polish. But my absolute favorite is to get lost in the moment ~ kind of like meditation in motion 🙂 ~ that is when I find myself actually humming along and totally in the moment!! This state happens with inside housekeeping a lot, but almost always when I am tending to my garden.
Thank you for all of your inspiration!! I just love it all!
That was great Janis, wonderful happy tips! Thank you! Tell Sandy thank you for the diagnosis!
Wow, this beautiful glass dish is surely for top bananas! Ok, just had to say that. A Jello recipe for individual now shiney salad glassware, or spread for crackers or apple slices. Dissolve 1 pkg. (3 oz.) lemon jello in 1 cup boiling water; add 1/4 cup cold water and 1/4 cup dry white wine. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream and chill until very thick. Stir in 1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese and 2 cups finely diced unpeeled red apples. Chill in 1-qt. mold or individual molds. Chill until firm. Diced apples are optional in this recipe. Enjoy! And thank you, Susan for all you share with all of us. Judy Z.
I didn’t realize how many wonderful banana jokes there are!!! Thank you Judy!
Thank you! Oh, and with just 1/4 cup dry white wine in recipe, that leaves plenty more for those thin-glass vintage grape glasses! Ha! Life is good!
Hahaha, yes it sure is!
Dear Susan…..a Woman after my own heart….favorite tip…listening to Harry Connick, Jr. on Youtube while reading all the tips and comments…favorite recipe, in the Fall must be English Muffin bread, so yummy and no fat in it…simple to make, and a favorite here in southcentral PA, where there are lots of good Pa Dutch cooks and Amish…and on a gloomy day, why not browse your blog and have a cup of tea whilst listening to Harry! and yes, I love that glass dish, did not know it was a banana dish, could also be used for lots of other stuff too!
Mmmmm English Muffin Bread…need that recipe!
Lady after my own heart… I LOVED Harry Connick, Jr.!
Will promise to post for you…I’m currently “working” but I will do from home!
Wonderful!
So does it encourage you, Susan, as you’re working on your book to know that you have all of us girlfriends behind you cheering you on? Can you feel us breathing down your neck as you’re working at your table, trying to catch a glimpse?! ‘Cause you KNOW that we are! 🙂 xoxo…kp
I have to tell you, you are all hugely empowering to me!!!
Susan, your blog is always so beautiful. It is so refreshing to see your finds.
We are in agreement that glass objects, whether dishes or mirrors should “shine”. Glass dishes have always attracted me and I have collected a few. I especially enjoy vases and pitchers. As a child I was always looking through my Grandmother’s collection.
Your collection of glasses is one of beauty. Drinking from plastic has never been an option for me. The enjoyment of lemonade must comefrom the glass in which it is served.
What a generous person you are to just share your travels, Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this.
My household tip is only that we must keep our glass shinning!!!!
Thank you so much Patricia!
Good morning, Susan!
I can’t tell you how tickled I was to see Williard in my inbox this morning. I live in Colorado Springs, and right now the snow is flying and the high today (31F) will be over 40 degrees colder than it was just 48 hours ago! I have a demented Rufous Hummingbird at my nectar feeder along with our usual winter birds. (I’m changing the nectar every hour or so to keep him going!) I just wanted to tell you how nurturing I find your blog and how encouraging it is. You remind me to slow down and really live in the moment.
Blessings,
Denise
Love it Denise, love your demented hummingbird too!
Beautiful glassware Susan! I just LOVE your cake stand! And the banana dish…..I have never seen one of those…..how absolutely darling is that! …… I think it has been mentioned a few times already, but if you are blessed with a super sweet husband that helps you clean, you’re a winner! (he does all my floors for me, wish I could share him with all of you!) Here is a cleaning tip he discovered to clean all that scum out of your bathroom sinks and tubs. Dish soap and a good brush. It really works, and without the toxic smell of harsher cleaners. My advice is to make your bed as soon as you get up. When I walk by my made up bed, it just keeps me moving to get the rest of my cleaning done. Have a beautiful day Susan! Looking forward to Willard. : )
Thank you Lisa and say hello to that good husband of yours!
Hi Susan, I can’t seem to see my response I sent in yesterday, it must be lost in cyber space somewhere! But my housework tip was to “Whistle while you work”! Or , sing, dance, hum, and listen to music,…it goes by faster and all things are more fun with music. Also, I try to eliminate the junk mail pile up by sorting and tossing as soon as it comes in, very helpful.
I love the banana dish, it looks like a fairy princess dress up dress…all cute and frilly! Thank you again for sharing such fun and happy finds and bring up all together!
It was there, I saw it, but the gremlins probably ate it for tea, like all my replies to comments! Let’s see if this one goes!
Williard was a blessed way to start a beautiful Fall but grey day here in Pittsburgh..after reading that with my coffee, listening to Frank & Tommy, reading the blog and then all the comments I’m sooo late to my quilting group (missing out on talk, food) that I’m just gonna say I don’t have but really need a banana dish! My grocer probably thinks I have pet monkeys when really it’s just my hubby & me..they’re such a great whole easy food! I have so much glass but have never seen this before..love it, and knowing there’s still things left out there to hunt for..unless I get lucky 😉 love you SB, you make my world a happier place! Susan Vicary
Thanks Susan, yes, this is what I love how the world works, there’s always something around the corner! Hello to quilt girls for me!
I have a wonderful glass punch bowl with cups that belonged to my grandmother from South Carolina. It is beautiful and everytime I look at it I think of the wonderful summers my sisters, brothers and I spent with her. She also left me a wonderful glass “old oaken (sp?) bucket” that I love filled with colorful zinnias! Glass really does carry me to another place…so many memories!
Lovely Susan!
The housekeeping tip I have is one I gave an overwhelmed friends many years ago. If you don’t know where to start… take out all the garbage, recycling and then change the sheets. That way if you can’t get everything done you can at least fall in to a clean bed!
That’s always been my tip for moving. First, set up the bed and put the sheets on! Everything after that is gravy! Thanks Tami!
What a pretty banana dish!!! Your newsletters always put me in a mood for decorating my home. I loved the phrase you used in Willard “the house of creativity” I think I’ll rename my home that 🙂
Thanks for the inspiration!
Deb E
It took me a long time to realize I’m a creative person . . . probably sounds odd, but it did. Now that I know it, I see this house as the haven for it!
I’m a “glass freak” too! When we walk into a shop my husband says, “We don’t need any more glasses!” He’ll say it under his breath but he might as well be using a mega-phone – his message is loud and clear – but somehow I usually don’t hear him! I loved the first pic of your banana dish – and thought how clever you were to use a napkin holder for bananas!!! I had no idea it was actually for bananas! I learn something new every day! I would LOVE to win your banana dish – and would promise it a good home – with yellow bananas and never brown! Love you! Love your blog! It’s always filled with inspiration! xo, Nan
Thanks so much Nan — sometimes I don’t hear Joe either…and he hardly ever hears me! 😉
Oh please, don’t get us girlfriends started on husbands and significant other’s who “don’t hear” or “don’t listen”. You did hear that joke, didn’t you? Women DO talk twice as much as men because they have to repeat everything they say”… we love them anyway! 🙂
Hi Susan,
My housekeeping tips are not very original but work for me. I always try to make the bed first thing, and then after that I always start my cleaning in the kitchen. Just doing the dishes and tidying up the counters makes me feel like I have a handle on things. Once those two things are done, then I feel more motivated. Little rewards are good too……after I finish mopping the floor, then I can have my tea break, etc.
I really enjoy your books, calendars, Willard’s, and blog. Although we have never met, I feel like you’re a penpal friend. Back when the Willard’s used to come by mail, I would squeal when it came in the mail in that big envelope. ( I still have them.) Now I do the same in the e-mail age.
The glass banana dish is beautiful and you are sweet to give it away to someone.
I love your blog. You make my day a little brighter each time I receive it.
Love doing it too, always wanted all the Willard people to meet each other, and now it’s happening!
Oh… I am wishing for a big vintage house to store all the lovelies I can imagine having! I can make room in my little vintage cottage for one more though if I win it! Seeing all the comments it is going to be almost as hard as winning the lotto. My favorite tip besides having the children all grown up and moving out, is “Get it clean, keep it clean”. I don’t understand it, but someone told me this 10 years ago and it works. Just pick up after yourself and family every day, several times a day. Be committed to keeping it clean. But of course, you have to get it clean first!
Thanks Gayle! Always room for one more little wonderful thing!
I have never seen a banana dish before.. I have a banana tree and we also always have banana’s in the house. My best housekeeping tip? It’s let the weather motivate you. Nice Spring weather?, open the windows and attack the couches and curtains. Cold winter day? Great day to clean out cupboards and drawers or sort through my yarn which has gotten out of control! 🙂
Good idea, it’s a seasonal thing!
I have no housekeeping tip, except living alone will keep your house neat and clean but it wouldn’t be as interesting as living with a family and pets!!! Love your BLOG it brightens my day!!!
I lived alone for a while and I can’t say that was enough to keep my house clean! 🙂 Thank you Nancy!
Oh, I do love glass, too. Beautiful stuff. I don’t have a Jello recipe, but I do have a Jello story… my dear, and totally serious little grandma used to tell us how important it was to eat red Jello. “It’s good for you,” she’d say, “it keeps your blood nice and red, and that’s important.” There was never any point in arguing. Red Jello with sliced bananas in it brings back floods of memories.
hahahaha, so cute!
Hi Susan, I don’t really have a good housecleaning tip since I tend to clean only when it’s absolutely necessary…BUT I love,love your glass blog! I have never seen a glass banana dish before and was all ready to hop right onto ebay to see if I could find one of my own. Thanks so much for your fun,bright, and inspirational blogs. I can’t wait to get my first Willard!
Hope it comes to you today!
Hi again…please disregard my last post…i thought the first one didn’t send and i don’t want you to think I’m trying to get my name in the hat twice for the dish!!
We have some sort of glitch running around this blog, I can’t tell what comes first, but our random picker knows not to choose matching addresses, so it’s OK!
What a beautiful bowl! You are very generous. Thanks you for all your writings. They are marvelous!
Thank you Marion!
My dear friend Jerri gave me my first book of yours years ago and now we share Willard news and your recipes. I am a retired schoolteacher and I joined a collecting group called the Questers. I have been collecting for years and I also love glass! I have an apple collection of different colored glass, and other pieces of glass my mother and grandmother have shared with me. I’m originally from Iowa and I have never seen a banana dish. Yours is daring and could hold many things like flowers, candy, cards or napkins? when you have No Bananas! : ) Maybe, I have walked right by banana dishes not knowing what they were. I will keep my eyes open next time we all go searching for treasures! I will be asking my friends in our group if they have ever heard of this dish.
Oh yes, next year, my friend Jerri and I want to come up north to see you when you are in California. A field trip! : )
Thank you for sharing with us!
Sincerely,
Kathy Paulos
Quester Chapter #1480, Orange County Blossoms, Orange County, California
P.S. I have started to shine up all my glass for the holidays. : )
Thanks Kathy… I like the name of your group, Questers — Joe and I always say we’re on a quest when on the road and visiting antique stores. Say hello to Jerri for me!
My favorite housekeeping tips are to make your bed first thing in the morning and keep the kitchen sink empty and counters cleared. Whatever happens in your day your house will seem ok even if you are busy with children or work or play! And you will have a pleasant place to crash when the day is done.
Sounds good Bobbi!
I LOVE all of your wonderful ideas. My home is the place I most want to be in the world. My favorite tip is to dim the lights and put out lots of glass, mirrors and candles. The whole house looks like a magical fairyland!
Sounds lovely!
Enjoyed reading the housekeeping tips — can’t think of any tips to add, though. Loved your glass blog, Susan, and that banana bowl is such a cute thing! I’ve never seen one before. It would make the other fruits in my fruit bowl very pleased to have more space if the bananas moved into the own special bowl 🙂
lol, cute Michele!
You are truly an inspiration to all who read your words, view your artwork and see how you live your life. So simple is so good. We farm here in Iowa. The crops are harvested and the kids are at school, well a couple of them. The others are raised and finding their way in life. I am surely going to share your website with them. I’ve oiled my wooden spoons and cutting boards and how beautiful they look! Any
tips on seasoning my iron skillets? I’ve used the directions on the internet but am looking up to you for pointers. Thanks for all you do to make my day wonderful:)!
All we do with a new pan is coat it with canola oil and bake it at 350 for an hour. Then the trick is not to wash it for a while, just rinse it in hot water, and wipe with paper towels. You season it every time you use it; it’s the constant that seasons it. Ours are so “seasoned” now, we never have to even think about it, can use soapy water to wash. They should never go into the dishwasher, but you probably know that. Thank you so much Mary, for the kind words. My mom and grandma were both born in Iowa, so I feel a kinship to you!
Hi Susan,
No housekeeping tip here – I don’t know if that says something about me or not – but I have seen a banana stand before and never knew what it was. Now I wish I could go back and found one and buy it!! I also love glasses. When I am a friend’s home and they just have an ordinary glass or plastic cup, I don’t understand how they don’t want to look for something different to have around the house. I look everywhere and find the best and different glasses. I have run out of room to show them. I don’t want to just put them away because then I can’t enjoy them.
I totally understand!
I already wrote yesterday but I just had to pop in and say thank you for the tip to hang colorful fall leaves in the window. We had a beautiful day yesterday so I brought in lots of leaves and hung them in the window and scattered them around on the tablecloth – red, orange, yellow. Today we have 8 inches of SNOW! I am sooo glad I did that. Our poor trees are dragging on the ground with the heavy wet snow – but I have my beautiful leaves to remember autumn. . . .
Perfect timing . . . the leaves probably look gorgeous against the white too!
I listed all my weekly housekeeping chores and divided them into five parts somewhat equal to the time it takes to complete them. Every weekday morning I do one part. This leaves my afternoons free to do what I want. On Saturday I bake and Sunday I rest. This system makes the chores manageable for me, conserves my energy and my house is always in order.
P.S. I remember Million Dollar Movie too! Thanks for mentioning it as I couldn’t remember the name of the other program I used to watch old movies on back in the day.
Loved it . . . every night the same movie for a whole week. I would watch it over and over 🙂
I’m sorry – just one more comment – Does anyone remember cleaning windows with the “pink paste” ??? I remember my mother smearing pink paste all over the windows and when they dried she would buff it off with newspaper. Was funny to me to come home from school and all the windows were pink!!! This was in the 1950’s.
I remember! It was called Glass Wax. We used to use stencils and Glass Wax to decorate our windows for Christmas. The stencils came free with the Glass Wax (seasonally). When the season is over just rub it off and poof….the windows are sparkling clean! Yes I am a child of the 50’s!
Hi Susan,
My husband would laugh at me if I pretended to have any housekeeping tips 🙂 But, I will say I have encountered many from you, and also some friends. My best practice is simply picking up my husbands clothes whenever I start to see them lying around. On the couch, the floor, the chair- I even have seen his clothes in my car? Then I ask him, “Honey, are these dirty? If they are, could you put them in the hamper?” And he says , “No honey, they aren’t dirty I am going to wear them tonight/tomorrow/later” And I proceed to put them in the hamper:) And he never asks about them. That is my best tip yet:)
That is like a full story with a happy ending!
I just came to say hello! I’m from Brazil and love to work on themes similar to the ones you like. You draw and paint very well. I write. For mothers of babies, for children on Christmas, for ill people, for people needing a word of comfort. It’s a pleasure to be writing to you! Talita
Hi Talita, so nice to see you here!
I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a Banana Dish! How fun! I have been tossing mine into a wire basket I keep on my countertop…. along with the vitamins! lol. I think I need one since I saw yours and now know what it is….and they are so pretty. I dont think I have any original tips for cleaning…I just clean as I go and then do a bit of deep cleaning as needed. When I feel really industrious, I get out my Bissell hand-held steamer and attack some of the scary areas in the house. I dont know how a place can get so dusty and dirty, but it does! I hope you have a wonderful day and week and fun on Halloween! You brighten my days and I hope that you can feel the affectionate feelings of friendship from one of your many “fans”!
I can Diane, thank you . . . love the “scary areas!” 🙂