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    • A TASTE OF NOSTALGIA
    • SUNDAY SUPPER CLUB
    • Monthly Newsletter
    • GENERAL STORE
    • VINTAGE ADVICE
    • ABOUT KIKI
    • Contact
  • A TASTE OF NOSTALGIA
  • SUNDAY SUPPER CLUB
  • Monthly Newsletter
  • GENERAL STORE
  • VINTAGE ADVICE
  • ABOUT KIKI
  • Contact

A Taste of Nostalgia

A Taste of Nostalgia A Taste of Nostalgia A Taste of Nostalgia

MEALS WITH MEMORIES

MEALS WITH MEMORIES MEALS WITH MEMORIES MEALS WITH MEMORIES

SUGAR & SPICE & VINTAGE ADVICE


Whether You Ask for It or Not, Darling!

Pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of coffee, and let's visit for a while.

Long before social media and search engines, homemakers shared their best ideas across backyard fences, over steaming coffee cups, and around well-loved kitchen tables. The simplest tricks were often the ones that worked the best—and they were passed from one generation to the next.

Sugar, Spice & Vintage Advice is my little corner of A Taste of Nostalgia, where those timeless tips live on. From old-fashioned cleaning secrets and baking know-how to gardening, preserving, entertaining, and practical household wisdom, you'll find the kinds of ideas Grandma probably knew by heart.

Better yet, this isn't just my column—it's ours.

Have a kitchen question? Wondering how homemakers did something before modern conveniences? Looking for a clever household trick or an old recipe technique? Send me your question! I may feature it in an upcoming edition and share a little vintage wisdom with readers everywhere.

Because some of the best advice never goes out of style.

So come on in, Darling... there's always room for one more around this kitchen table.

 Kiki ❤️


 A Little Fine Print, Darling:
Sugar, Spice & Vintage Advice is for entertainment and general informational purposes only and isn't a substitute for professional, medical, legal, financial, or mental health advice. Questions may be edited for length and clarity. 






ASK KIKI

Watching My Pennies

Watching My Pennies

Watching My Pennies

 

Dear Kiki,

Every fall I want my home to feel cozy, but I don't have a decorating budget. How can I make my house feel warm and inviting without spending much money?



Dear Watching My Pennies, 

You don't need to be a Rockerfeller to add seasonal touches to your home. Decorating on a budget is possible! 


 Mother Nature has been decorating for free since the beginning of time. Take a walk and gather colorful leaves, pinecones, acorns, and interesting branches. The neighbors will either think you're simply getting your Fitbit steps in or doing clean-up for community service. Oh my! 


Fill a basket with apples, tuck a few pumpkins on the porch, use hubby's old clothes to build a scarecrow (great way to get rid of those outfits you despise)  and suddenly you're home looks like it belongs in an autumn magazine. 


Now here's my favorite way to decorate for the seasons -   Spend an afternoon wandering your local thrift store, yard sales  and discount stores. You'll be amazed at the treasures waiting to come home with you—a plaid wool blanket, a stack of vintage books, a ceramic pumpkin, an old crock, or a wicker basket. 


 Even better, ask if you can "shop" Grandma's attic or your mother's china cabinet. Sometimes the most meaningful decorations are the ones that have already been loved, and paid for by someone else.  wink 


 And remember, cozy isn't something you buy—it's something you create. Light a candle, simmer cinnamon and apple peels on the stove, bake fresh cookies or bread- talk about inviting and cozy!-  turn on a soft lamp instead of every overhead light, much better filter anyway, dear! Put on your favorite record of soft tunes. That's the kind of warmth money can't buy. 


Remember -  A cozy house has one tiny problem... nobody wants to go home, darling! 


With Love, 

Kiki 










Caught Off Guard

Watching My Pennies

Watching My Pennies

 

Dear Kiki, 

Unexpected company always seems to arrive when my house looks its worst! What's the quickest way to make my home look welcoming? 


 Dear Caught Off Guard, 

First, stop looking around through your own eyes. Your guests won't notice half of what you notice! They came to see you, because obviously you're Fabulous, darling! Why else would guest come without notice. 


Do a quick sweep! Hide anything questionable in the nearest laundry basket. Every good homemaker has one. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Actually buy a cute container for this very purpose. A big basket, a storage tote witha lid, a child's wooden toy box, an empty cedar chest.   


Slip into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee to brew.  A house that smells wonderful automatically earns five extra housekeeping points.


And here's your official permission slip: if your guests open closet doors or drawers while visiting, they're no longer guests—they're snoops. 


 A little clutter means people actually live there... and probably enjoy doing so! 


With Love, 

Kiki 

 

Busy Mama

Watching My Pennies

Busy Mama

Dear Kiki,

 My family is always eating in different rooms. Is family dinner really worth fighting for? 



 Dear Busy Mama, 

Not every dinner has to look like a Norman Rockwell painting, but family dinner still matters. 


Every family deserves time around the table. Yes, restaurants and take-out delivery count, dear! 


If you can gather around the table three nights a week, you're doing just fine. The goal isn't perfection—it's connection. Turn off the television, put the phones away, and make it a household rule that everyone must sit at the table for their meal. 


Encourage everyone to tell the table one good thing about their day and one not so good thing. Suddenly the dinner table becomes a safe place to share, as well as a place to offer support and interest in each family member. 


Those thirty minutes around the table may not seem like much today, but one day they'll become the stories your children tell their own families.


Besides... you'll have the little darlings close at hand for  cleaning up.  


With Love, 

Kiki 



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 Ask Away, Darling. Kiki’s Listening. 

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