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Vintage 1960s Space Age Tie Tack

July 1, 2021 by Chris Leave a Comment

This vintage 1960s space age tie tack was given to my dad after he worked on one of the Apollo programs. It was sitting on his desk at work one day with a note. How cool is that?🚀 This is a special kind of corporate gift. The 1960s did things in style.

Vintage 1960s space age tie tack

1960s vintage tie tacks and more

This vintage 1960s space age tie tack is like a museum piece in our family. My sons have worn it on their ties once or twice, but we are all nervous about losing it. It was overlooked for years and then recently rediscovered. My sons used to ask my dad if he fought in the Cold War. He would laugh and say, “Kind of.” I love that Cold War era items are now vintage.

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Recommendations for summer math and reading review in the comfort of your home

June 29, 2021 by Chris Leave a Comment

Summer vacation is here, and many students have work to do to be ready for the fall. Especially this year. Here are some short and sweet recommendations for summer math and reading review. Parents can gently guide their children through summer school work in the comfort of their own homes. This year when school ended it took a while to “wrap up” and “unwind” the crazy 2020-2021 school year. Now we are in summer mode and are quite comfortable learning at home.

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Eleventeen Jewelry

April 25, 2021 by Chris Leave a Comment

I inherited my mom’s jewelry boxes a few years ago. These jewelry boxes contained a hodgepodge of jewelry and other trinkets. Each of these pieces are now vintage and represent a special slice of time. I decided never to buy jewelry again. I am in the process of documenting this collection of jewlery and call it Eleventeen Jewelry. I intend to wear many of the pieces. I love vintage jewelry.

Daisy clip-on earrings–one poor daisy is missing its rhinestone center

Some of these now vintage pieces had belonged to my grandma, my great grandma, and even great aunts. Small items passed down through generations. None of it is of high monetary value, but it is all of high nostalgia value.

As a hobby I started documenting each piece of jewelry and called my project Eleventeen Jewelry. Eleventeen was the secret code word I used with my kids when they were little. We adopted this word from one of my kids who always used to say “eleventeen” when learning to count to 20. When I was trying to think of a name for my Instagram account for the jewelry collection, the word Eleventeen just popped in my head and stuck.

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Best old fashioned banana bread recipe for beginners

April 1, 2021 by Chris Leave a Comment

This banana bread is easy to make by using your over-ripe bananas and common ingredients in your kitchen. It is the simplest and best old fashioned banana bread recipe I have tried. It turns out moister and denser and with more banana taste than making it from a boxed mix. Plus, this banana bread gets that slight banana crispiness just on the edge of the crust that takes the whole loaf to the next level. The top of the loaf gets banana-y, moist, and slightly crispy all at the same time. It’s hard to explain. You’ll just have to taste it. This recipe is from my grandma. Our family has been eating this for almost 100 years! I consider this banana bread “retro comfort food.”

freshly baked loaf of banana bread on wood cutting board sliced on one end
Simply the best old fashioned banana bread ever
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10 Most important simple steps to teach your child to read: Step 3

March 14, 2021 by Chris Leave a Comment

Teach your child to sound out words using sound boards and pennies.

This is Step 3 in our series of posts on how to teach your child to read. We want to help parents help their children and we want to make it as simple as possible. Once your child knows most alphabet letters and letter sounds, teach your child how to sound out words. The best way to do this is to make a sound board.  Surprisingly, this step does not involve letters at all.

sound board on white board with pennies to teach children to sound out words
Sound board example.
[Read more…]

Minnesota Hamburger Rice Hot Dish

February 19, 2021 by Chris 21 Comments

This typically Minnesotan hamburger rice hot dish, and for those who don’t know–“hot dish” in the state of Minnesota is just a fancy name for casserole–is at the top of the list of midwestern comfort foods. Ingredients for this dish are cheap and easily on hand. Even if your celery is a little wilty, this hamburger rice hot dish will surely “hit the spot.” Soy sauce, which most Minnesotans have on hand, is a key ingredient, as is cream of mushroom soup.

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10 most important simple steps to teach your child to read: Steps 1 & 2

January 23, 2021 by Chris Leave a Comment

I want to help parents learn how to teach their child to read

During the pandemic I saw firsthand how important parents are in teaching their child to read. As a teacher I could see the results of parental help in my young readers. Help from parents is most crucial for the youngest students who are just learning to read. There are some simple steps parents can take to help teach their child to read. Any parent can follow these steps and work them in to their daily family routine.

sound board made from a white board, magnetic letters and masking tape to teach your child to read

Wondering about homeschooling

I wanted to help my own children get ahead in reading and math and had always wondered about homeschooling. I didn’t think I was patient enough. In fact, I knew I wasn’t patient enough. So, during summer when they were off school I decided to do a pared-down version of it. I called it “home school lite.”

Parents can and should help their children learn to read. If your child attends school, teachers may do the heavy work. However, parents still should be helping from home to ensure their children are making the biggest reading gains possible. If you are teaching your child to read at home. I have some tips for you that may help.

[Read more…]

Reuse and Recycle: Vintage Jewelry

January 19, 2021 by Chris 1 Comment

I love milk glass. It reminds me of my grandma and the 1930s and 1940s. When my mom died suddenly five years ago, I inherited her set of jewelry boxes. In these boxes I found a hodgepodge of vintage jewelry. Most of it was my mom’s from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Some of it was my grandma’s from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. I documented each piece of jewelry and called my collection: Eleventeen Jewelry. I wore the jewelry instead of just hiding it away in jewelry boxes. The vintage earrings and necklaces captured my students’ attention as I taught online. This was a great way to reuse and recylce vintage jewelry.

 Alcoves Home and Eleventeen Jewelry.  Vintage jewelry from the '30s to the '80s white milk glass necklace
Milk glass “chunky” necklace

This vintage jewelry was not valuable but it was cool

I researched much of the jewelry online. None of it was valuable, but all of it was cool. This choker has that vintage 1930s casual feel–I picture my grandma wearing it to a Sunday picnic. I am sure it was her necklace. In fact, I think I did see an old black and white photo of my grandma wearing it. I will have to try to find it.

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Black and White About Me Photo for Alcoves Home

Welcome!  I am Chris, teacher and  mother of four almost all adult kids.  I started this blog during the global pandemic.  Very quickly I had to change with the times.   I was also forced into cooking comfort food just to keep the peace.   Read more about me here.

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