Jennifer Lamont Leo
Happy book-birthday to Moondrop Miracle! (Plus a giveaway)
UPDATE: We have our winners! Congratulations to readers Rebekah Jones and “VBB”! Ladies, please send an email to jenny@jenniferlamontleo.com with your mailing address.
Big thanks to everyone who commented. There’ll be another giveaway coming up soon, so let’s stay in touch!
It’s the day every author anticipates with heart-pounding, icy-palmed anticipation. Say hello to MOONDROP MIRACLE!
During the Great Depression, a rich, spoiled socialite must suddenly find a way to support herself and her child. With few marketable skills and more cleverness than cash, she parlays a homemade recipe for skin tonic into a livelihood. In the process she find faith, friendships, and strength of character that run far more than skin deep.
MOONDROP MIRACLE is available in e-book and paperback, and there’s even a large-print edition in case you need a Mother’s Day gift for Grandma.
To celebrate, I’d like to give away 2 signed copies of MOONDROP MIRACLE to my favorite readers (that’d be you!) To enter, just pop on down below and leave a comment. I’ll draw two winners at random on Tuesday, May 5.
COVER REVEAL! The Highlanders
Cue the bagpipes! The Highlanders are coming! Four historical-romance novellas, four authors, four fetching Scotsmen aiming to win your heart. And, yes, one of them is mine. đ
My story, “The Violinist,” takes you to 1915 Idaho. Homesick lumberjack Callan MacTavish despairs of ever seeing his Scottish homeland again. With kindness and patience, music teacher Rose Marchmont reaches a part of Callan’s heart he’d long ago locked away. She sees beyond his rough exterior to the artistic heart beneath. He longs for more than he can offer her, but she doesn’t know about the secret trauma that keeps him from crossing the sea.
Coming this November–pre-order your copy today!
Here Come the Coeds! College Women of Yesteryear
As we celebrate back-to-school time, join Jennifer Leo as she looks back at the life and times of college women in decades past, including Literary Snippets from Lucy Maud Montgomery and more.
If you prefer to read rather than listen, scroll down to find a transcript of this episode.
Show notes:
Jennifer’s novels:
Transcript for Episode 20: Here Come the Co-eds! College Women of Yesteryear
As itâs back-to-school time, I thought it would be fun to talk about collegeâŠspecifically, what college was like for women in our favorite time period of the early- to mid-20th century.
But first, a brief update on my writing life. Iâve just returned from a wonderful three-day writing retreat in Post Falls, Idaho, only about an hourâs drive from my home. I went with several other members of my monthly critique group and it turned out to be a time that was both refreshing and productive. We alternated lots of writing on our own with time spent together, cementing our friendships. For the most part we spent our days writing, interspersed with a nap here or a hike there, and then gathered at mealtimes and watched movies together in the evening. If you enjoy writing, I highly recommend taking a writing retreat, either on your own or with other like-minded writers who are serious about getting stuff done. I think the same could be said about just about any art, from painting to quilting to scrapbooking. Time away can be refreshing as well as productive. Since I live in a quiet household anyway and have few interruptions other than those I impose on myself, I donât know why Iâm so much more productive on retreat, but there it is.
In other news, my historical-romance novella âThe Violinistâ will be published in November in a collection called The Highlanders. As the title indicates, each novella in the collection features a Scotsman. I took my Scotsman and I brought him to North Idaho as a logger in 1915. The other authors in the collection are JâNell Cieselski, Naomi Musch, and Janet Grunst. I hope youâll watch for The Highlanders and give it a read and a review. When it’s time for a sneak peek at the cover, Iâll post it in the show notes over at sparklingvintagelife.com under Episode 20.
My 1930s standalone novel, Moondrop Miracle, alas, has not yet been able to find a home with a publishing house. However, I believe in this story so much that Iâm now planning to indie-publish it through my own company, Mountain Majesty Media. Iâm making some final tweaks and it will go to an editor this fall, and Iâll also be auditioning cover designers soon. If all goes as planned, expect to see Moondrop Miracle in early 2020. And Iâm still writing the first draft of the yet-untitled novel set in Hollywood in the 1930s. I took a break from it to get Moondrop Miracle ready to go to the editor, then Iâll be back at it. And finally, Iâm polishing up a proposal for yet another novel, this one set around the capsizing of the Eastland excursion boat in the Chicago River in 1915. The working title of that one is currently, very unimaginatively, Eastland. If you have a better idea, let me know. The proposal and sample chapters will soon go to my agent to see if any traditional publishers might be interested in publishing it. Iâm still open to entertaining a traditional publishing deal even though independent publishing is seeming more and more attractive on multiple levels.
And if you happen to be in the area, Iâll be speaking at the Idaho Writerâs League Annual Conference in Sandpoint, Idaho, on September 20 and 21, 2019.
So thatâs whatâs been going on with me. Now on to our topic, which is what college was like for women, several generations ago.
Iâve had great fun researching this topic. For the most part, I enjoyed my college years. There were some bad things that happened during that time, to be sure, but there were very good things too. So you need to know that my opinion of college is colored by my own overall positive experience, but I have very little firsthand or even secondhand knowledge of what college life is like today and how it compares. Those of you who are in college now or have kids in college would obviously know more about that than I do.
Another thing I want to say up front is that I no longer think college is right for everyone, especially in this day and age when so many alternatives are available. Of course, for certain careers one needs to credentials and the contacts that only college can provide. But I think nowadays specialized training, trade school or apprenticeships or online learning or other ways to prepare to earn a living are just as valid and often more practical, depending on a personâs life ambition. Iâm also a strong proponent for self-education and lifelong learning no matter what path a personâs formal education takes. So donât take this nostalgic look back at vintage college life and turn it into a blanket endorsement of college for everyone, because it isnât.
All that said, letâs promenade back to peek at college womenâs experience in the early 20th century. As I said, I had so much fun researching college life in that era. Sometimes it sounded like one chafing-dish party after another. Chafing-dish parties were all the rage in womenâs dorms in the 1910s. Hereâs some of what I unearthed.
First, rather than âcollege woman,â youâd be more likely to hear âcollege girlâ or even âco-ed,â which was short for âco-educational.â Prior to the early 20th century, most colleges were segregated by gender. The majority were menâs colleges, plus a smaller number of womenâs colleges. Women were more likely to attend finishing school, if they were from wealthy families, or to either get married or get a job straight out of high school if they werenât. Iâm planning to say more about finishing schools in a future episode of this podcast, so weâll table that topic for now.
But back to colleges. In the late 19th and at the turn of the 20th century we had the land grant colleges which were now opening up coeducationally. It was still much rarer for women to attend college, and rarer still for them to attend colleges right alongside the men, the land-grant colleges notwithstanding. So when the first co-educational colleges came along, the female students themselves were called âco-edsâ while male students were called âstudents.â Youâd see magazine articles written about âFashions for the Co-Edâ or âStudy Tips for the Co-Ed.â In some places, female college students were still called co-eds right up into the 1960s, although by the early â80s when I graduated the term was no longer in use anywhere. We were all just âcollege students.â
I looked up some old student manuals to see what college life was like. It was interesting to see what was deemed important. For example, a womenâs college in the American Southeast in 1927 devoted an entire section on the use of electric lights. Students had to be in their rooms with doors closed and lights out at 10:30 p.m., except on Saturdays 11:30 p.m. However, they were allowed two âlight cutsâ a week when they could keep their light on until midnight for studying. Iâm wondering if electricity was so relatively expensive at that time that it had to be carefully regulated.
That same 1927 manual prohibited walking on the roofs of the buildings, making me wonder if that was a thing. It also prohibited smoking within a radius of ten miles of the college. First offense earned a reprimand. Second offense earned suspension. I have no problem with prohibiting smoking, especially these days when we know how harmful it is to our health, but the ten-mile radius seems a bit excessive, as does the punishment, especially because they didnât have the Surgeon Generalâs Warning about tobacco back then. Interestingly, this particular college was located in Virginia, heart of tobacco-growing country.
Students were also only allowed to go for walks in groups, and the size of the group determined where they could go. For example, two or more students together could walk to certain places, while only six or more could walk other places. And the destinations were very specific: from this farm to that personâs house, or through Dr. So-and-soâs gate as far as the bend in the stream.
Needless to say, gentlemen callers were highly restricted at this college in that era. Men were allowed to call at the college on Saturday evenings between 7:30 and 10:30 and on Sunday afternoons from 3:00-5:45 and 8:30-10:00. Apparently they had to find something else to do with themselves between 6 and 8.
Chaperones were in high demand. âThere are no evening engagements off campus unchaperoned,â the manual intones, âfor safety, to protect students from being misjudged and to safeguard the social good of the college.â A list of approved chaperones was supplied. I think an entire future episode on chaperones, what they were, and what became of them is warranted, donât you?
At this school in 1927, students wore white blouses and dark skirts to classes, but they had to change into a dress for dinner. They could, if they wanted, give the impression of a dress by wearing a white skirt with their white blouse, or a dark blouse with their dark skirt, but no wearing a white blouse and dark skirt to dinner. That was daytime wear. Also, âgirls costumed in knickers or trousers for hiking do not use the front hall after 6 p.m.â
At another school several years later, in 1935, students were prohibited from dancing in public places, although presumably they could do so at private functions. They needed written permission from their parents to ride in an automobile. Their use of electric lights was not so restricted, but if they brought a radio from home they had to register it with the deanâs office, pay an extra fee for it, and have it taken away if they played it too loud.
It would be interesting to see how these rules and regulations compare to the types of activities that are permitted and not permitted on campuses today.
Finally, itâs been a while since Iâve brought you a Literary Snippet, so I want to close out this episode with a few insightful literary snippets about college life fifty or a hundred years ago.
In Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, published in 1912, Anne Shirley earns her teaching credential at Queenâs, a school thatâs close enough to home that she can go home every weekend. Then in Anne of Avonlea she begins her first teaching job. At the end of Anne of Avonlea, sheâs preparing to go to Redmond College to further her education. Before she goes, she meets her neighbor, Mr. Harrison.
âI sâpose youâll be starting off for college in a fortnightâs time?â [said] Mr. Harrison. âWell, weâre going to miss you an awful lot, Emily and me.â
âYes, Iâm going. Iâm very glad with my headâŠand very sorry with my heart.â
âI sâpose youâll be scooping up all the honors that are lying round loose at Redmond.â
âI may try for one or two of them,â confessed Anne, âbut I donât care so much for things like that as I did two years ago. What I want to get out of my college course is some knowledge of the best way of living life and doing the most and best with it. I want to learn to understand and help other people and myself.â
Mr. Harrison nodded.
âThatâs the idea exactly. Thatâs what college ought to be for, instead of for turning out a lot of B.A.âs so chock full of book-learning and vanity that there ainât room for anything else. Youâre all right. College wonât be able to do you much harm, I reckon.â (excerpt from Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery)
In the next book, Anne of the Island, Anne goes off to Redmond. Her love interest, Gilbert Blythe, is also going to Redmond, although they arenât yet an item at this point. In a conversation the night before they leave, he says, âYou look tired, Anne.â
âI am tired, and worse than that, Iâm disgruntled. Iâm tired because Iâve been packing my trunk and sewing all day. But Iâm disgruntled because six women have been here to say goodbye to me, and every one of the six managed to say something that seemed to take the color right out of life and leave it as gray and dismal and cheerless as a November morning.â
âSpiteful old cats!â was Gilbertâs elegant comment.
âOh, no, they werenât,â said Anne seriously. âThat is just the trouble. If they had been spiteful cats I wouldnât have minded them. But they are all nice, kind, motherly souls who like me and whom I like it, and that is why what they said had such undue weight with me. They let me see they thought I was crazy going to Redmond and trying to take a B.A., and ever since Iâve been wondering if I am. Mrs. Peter Sloane sighed and said she hoped my strength would hold out till I got through; and at once I saw myself a hopeless victim of nervous prostration at the end of my third year; Mrs. Eben Wright said it must cost an awful lot to put in four years at Redmond and I felt all over me that it was unpardonable in me to squander Marillaâs money and my own on such a folly; Mrs. Jasper Bell said she hoped I wouldnât let college spoil me, as it did some people; and I felt in my bones that the end of my four Redmond years would see me a most insufferable creature, thinking I knew it all, and looking down on everything and everybody in Avonlea; Mrs. Elisha Wright said she understood that Redmond girls, especially those who belonged to Kingsport, were âdreadful dressy and stuck-up,â and she guessed I wouldnât feel much at home among them; and I saw myself a snubbed, dowdy, humiliated country girl shuffling through Redmondâs classic halls in coppertoned boots.
Anne ended with a laugh and a sigh commingled. With her sensitive nature all disapproval had weight, even the disapproval of those for whose opinions she had scant respect. For the time being life was savorless, and ambition had gone out like a snuffed candle.â (excerpt from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery).
So that passage gives you some idea of the various ways people thought about college education for women in those days. Those were several of the common objections people had to women going to college.
After they arrive at Redmond, Anne speaks to her friend and fellow âfreshette,â Priscilla. In the book a âfreshetteâ is a female first-year student, the female equivalent of a freshman. They talk about how overwhelmed and insignificant they feel as newcomers to campus. Anne says, âI suppose the trouble is we canât forgive big Redmond for not being little Queenâs⊠When we left Queenâs we knew everybody and had a place of our own. I suppose we have been unconsciously expecting to take life up at Redmond just where we left off at Queenâs, and now we feel as if the ground has slipped from under our feet. Iâm thankful that neither Mrs. Lynde nor Mrs. Elisha Wright know, or ever will know, my state of mind at present. They would exult in saying, âI told you so,â and be convinced it was the beginning of the end. Whereas it is just the end of the beginning.â (excerpt from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery)
And then finally, after a few weeks, Anne gets fully into the swing of student life a Redmond. âFor the next three weeks Anne and Priscilla continued to feel as strangers in a strange land. Then, suddenly, everything seemed to fall into focus–Redmond, professors, classes, students, studies, social doings. Life became homogeneous again, instead of being made up of detached fragments. The Freshmen, instead of being a collection of unrelated individuals, found themselves a class, with a class spirit, a class yell, class interests, class antipathies and class ambitions. They won the day in the annual âArts Rushâ against the Sophomores, and thereby gained the respect of all the classes, and an enormous, confidence-giving opinion of themselves. For three years the Sophomores had won in the ârush.â That the victory of this year perched upon the Freshmenâs banner was attributed to the strategic generalship of Gilbert Blythe, who marshaled the campaign and originated certain new tactics, which demoralized the Sophs and swept the Freshmen to triumph.â (excerpt from Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery)
She goes on to describe many other fun doings of college life in that era.
Another delightful book that describes the college experience is Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster, published in 1912. Daddy Long-Legs is an epistolary novel, meaning itâs written in the form of letters. In it, an orphan named Jerusha Abbott has been sponsored by an anonymous benefactor to go to college, under the stipulation that she write to him regularly, keeping him informed of her progress.
So in her letters, when she first gets to college, she says:
The Letters of Miss Jerusha Abbott to Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs Smith [she calls him Daddy Long-Legs because she doesnât know who he is, but she saw him from a distance once and knows he is tall].
Dear Kind-Trustee-Who-Sends-Orphans-to-College,
Here I am! I travelled yesterday for four hours in a train. It’s a funny sensation, isn’t it? I never rode in one before.
College is the biggest, most bewildering placeâI get lost whenever I leave my room. I will write you a description later when I’m feeling less muddled; also I will tell you about my lessons. Classes don’t begin until Monday morning, and this is Saturday night. But I wanted to write a letter first just to get acquainted.
To Mr. Daddy-Long-Legs
1st October
Dear Daddy-Long-Legs,
I love college and I love you for sending meâI’m very, very happy, and so excited every moment of the time that I can scarcely sleep. You can’t imagine how different it is from the John Grier Home. I never dreamed there was such a place in the world. I’m feeling sorry for everybody who isn’t a girl and who can’t come here; I am sure the college you attended when you were a boy couldn’t have been so nice.
My room is up in a tower that used to be the contagious ward before they built the new infirmary. There are three other girls on the same floor of the towerâa Senior who wears spectacles and is always asking us please to be a little more quiet, and two Freshmen named Sallie McBride and Julia Rutledge Pendleton. Sallie has red hair and a turn-up nose and is quite friendly; Julia comes from one of the first families in New York and hasn’t noticed me yet. They room together and the Senior and I have singles. Usually Freshmen can’t get singles; they are very scarce, but I got one without even asking. I suppose the registrar didn’t think it would be right to ask a properly brought-up girl to room with a foundling. You see there are advantages!
My room is on the north-west corner with two windows and a view. After you’ve lived in a ward for eighteen years with twenty room-mates, it is restful to be alone. This is the first chance I’ve ever had to get acquainted with Jerusha Abbott. I think I’m going to like her.
Do you think you are?
LaterâŠThey are organizing the Freshman basket-ball team and there’s just a chance that I shall get in it. I’m little, of course, but terribly quick and wiry and tough. While the others are hopping about in the air, I can dodge under their feet and grab the ball. It’s loads of fun practicingâout in the athletic field in the afternoon with the trees all yellow and red and the air full of the smell of burning leaves, and everybody laughing and shouting. These are the happiest girls I ever sawâand I am the happiest of all!
Thereâs much more to read about Jerusha Abbott and her college experience, including the fact that she changes her name from Jerusha to Judy, because sheâd like to fit in better. So I do recommend, if youâve never read it, Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster.
My final college-related literary snippet is from Campus Melody by Anne Emery. Published in 1955, Campus Melody tells the story of Jean Burnaby, who has received a scholarship to attend Overton College to study piano. I love the description of the campus:
âJeanâs room was in Houghton House, the oldest of four womenâs dormitories at Overton College. An old brick building with high ceilings and Victorian woodwork, the floors slippery with age, the stairs grooved and creaking, it had the prettiest setting of any of the dorms, overlooking the new library, the older campus buildings, and the curve of the Ohio River, beyond which lay the Kentucky hills.
Jean loved everything about the college and her room, including the pink-and-blue curtains she had dreaded. They had turned out to be a dusty aqua with accents of coral and brown in impressionistic squares. The bedspreads were brown corduroy, and Melissa had contributed six lounging pillows covered in coral. Twin bookcases flanked twin study desks with coral blotters, set in the bay window, and each girl thought the otherâs collection of books looked fascinating. Jean and Melissa spent the first week together listening to orientation lectures, filling out questionnaires, attending discussions on possible careers and courses of study. They had gone to two parties for freshman girls, had bought two record albums at the Campus Book and Record Shop, had had one of the famous milk shakes at the Sweet Shop, the favorite village hangout for students, and finally stood in line with two hundred other freshman girls in the big gymnasium to register for classes.â
At first all goes swimmingly for Jean. She has an active social life and keeps up with her classes. At first. Then she runs afoul of the housemother of her dorm, a stately lady with lavender-tinted gray hair. Jean and Melissa come in late one night.
âThe girls ran up the flight of steps to the first floor as fast as their failing wind would permit and found themselves breathless and gasping, facing the housemother who had their cards in her hand.
âYou didnât sign out,â she said with a smile which was meant to be kind and patient. âThat is our first rule, my dears.â
âIâm sorry,â said Jean, trying to think of an excuse and unable to. âIâm afraid we forgot.â
âBeing sorry doesnât help matters much, does it?â Mrs. Buxton smiled cheerily. âI am responsible to your parents for your morals, your conduct, and your study habits. And the only way I can cope with such a heavy responsibility is to have careful attention to the rules. Because,â she said happily, with a gleam of inspiration, âminor infractions lead to major infractions. We must not weaken the foundation lest the walls crumble.â
âWeâll remember next time,â Jean mumbled, feeling like kindergartner.
âIâm sure you will,â Mrs. Buxton agreed amiably. âWeâre not surprised that freshmen find it hard to get used to our ways,â she went on, as if freshmen had had no upbringing before coming to Overton, âbut we do feel that the sooner everyone is accustomed to cooperation, the happier life will be for everyone. Donât you agree?â
Melissa had regained her breath. âWe agree entirely, Mrs. Buxton,â she said obligingly. âThank you so much. Good night.â
Mrs. Buxton looked pleased, if puzzled, at the thanks, and Jean wondered, giggling with Melissa as they climbed to the third floor, if it was hypocritical to agree with someone you disliked about rules you didnât believe in. And what else could you do?â
Well, soon Jean is given a rush by the big man on campus, and adventure ensues from there. If you feel like a fluffy, lightweight read that will nonetheless immerse you in another place, time, and way of looking at the world, look for Campus Melody by Anne Emery.
Todayâs grace note is a copy of my own book, Songbird and Other Stories. This is a collection of four short stories set in the Roaring Twenties, mostly in Chicago and one in northern Idaho. These stories feature characters from my Roaring Twenties series, so if you havenât read that series, this is a great way to get introduced to those characters and to the types of books they are. Theyâre clean and wholesome and fun. I hope you would like them very much. So, to enter in a drawing for a copy of Songbird and Other Stories, simply go to sparklingvintagelife.com/podcast, click on episode 20 and leave a comment. In the comment I would like you to share a favorite memory from your schooldays. It could be college, high school, or elementary school. Just one memory you remember fondly from your schooldays. And in about a week or ten days, I will choose a name at random from those who have commented and you will have your choice of a print book, a large-print book, or an e-book copy of Songbird and Other Stories.
And thatâs it for our show today. I hope youâve enjoyed this little stroll across the college campus of yesteryear. If you have a favorite memory from your college days that youâd like to share, or a favorite novel set on a college campus that youâd like to recommend, feel free to leave a comment at sparklingvintagelife.com/podcast under Episode 20.
3 Favorite Vintage Beauty Products

Take a peek into Jennifer’s medicine cabinet as she shares her three favorite old-time beauty products: items that have been around for decades, even centuries.
If you’d prefer to read rather than listen, scroll down to find the episode transcript.
Show notes:
Inspirational Historical Romance Contest, April 8-17, 2019.
Dr. Bronner’s Pure Castile Soap
“The Christmas Robe” is one of the stories included in Songbird and Other Stories
The Sparkling Vintage Ladiesâ Reading Circle
Jenniferâs fiction:
Youâre the Cream in My Coffee
Jenniferâs blog and newsletter sign-up
Episode 9 Transcript:
Todayâs topic is vintage cosmetics. Specifically, Iâm going to tell you about three old-fashioned beauty products that Grandma and Great-Grandma might have used, and that I still use just about every day.
This topic came up because Iâve recently finished writing a novel about the rise of a fictional cosmetics tycoon in the 20th century. The working title is Moondrop Miracle. Moondrop Miracle the name of a skin tonic that my main character from very humble beginnings expands into an international cosmetics empire. I donât want to give away too much of the story, but in doing research for this novel I investigated a lot of beauty products and their histories. I thought you might like to hear about three of my longtime favorites that have a storied past.
But first, hereâs whatâs going on in my writing life. The novel that I just mentioned, Moondrop Miracle, is currently with my agent and making the rounds of publishers. Iâve yet to hear any feedback on that. Hopefully there will be some nibbles soon. I made progress this week on the 1930s Hollywood novel–still writing the first draft of that one. Starting April 8 through the 17th, Youâre the Cream in My Coffee will be included in a promotion of Inspirational Historical Romance books through BookSweeps. If you enter that contest, youâll have a chance win a set of over 20 inspirational historical romance e-books, and even a brand new new eReader. Iâll put the link in the show notes and you can check out that contest.
And now, on to todayâs topic. Before I begin, I need to remind you that this show is for entertainment purposes only. Iâm not dermatologist or a medical professional of any kind, and this information should not be taken as medical advice. Take what works and leave the rest. Also, I am not paid to endorse any of these products. Iâm only telling you about them because I like them and have used them with good results.
Okay, letâs start with Pondâs Cold Cream. I use this every single day. Every evening I smooth it all over my face, and I wipe it off with a warm, wet washcloth. Some people tissue it off, but I prefer a washcloth. I should also state that you do need a washcloth or tissue or abrasive of some kind. It wonât just rinse off with water.
I looked into Ponds and learned that it was invented in 1846 by an American pharmacist, Theron T. Pond. He discovered that extract of witch hazel could heal small cuts. This was called âPondâs Extract.â A company was formed, and by 1910 both âPondâs Vanishing Creamâ and âPondâs Cold Creamâ were created. The cold cream was for cleansing and the vanishing cream was for moisturizing, so-called because it vanished into the skin and was undetectable.
In the 1920s, Queen Marie of Romania toured the United States. Alert readers might remember that Queen Marieâs tour played a role in my story âThe Christmas Robe.â Anyway, Queen Marie loved the Pondâs products so much that she gave them great publicity. In 1955 Pondâs merged with Chesebrough Manufacturing Company–I hope Iâm pronouncing that correctly–which became Chesebrough-Ponds. And today itâs part of the international Unilever brand. Interestingly, while you donât hear much about Pondâs these days in the U.S., it has a big market in Japan, India, and Thailand.
I donât know if those of you watching the video or looking at a photograph me can tell, but I have rosacea, which is a hereditary skin condition that makes the skin appear quite ruddy and red. I find Pondâs Cold Cream soothing and comforting to my skin. I donât know if itâs actually reduced the rosacea breakouts, but it certainly hasnât hurt, and I love the way it feels on irritated skin. It also removes makeup very well and my skin feels soft and smooth. So thatâs my little unpaid endorsement for Pondâs Cold Cream.
The second product I love is old-fashioned cake mascara. I remember my mother using cake mascara from Maybelline that came in a little red case. Mine is made by Besame Cosmetics in California. Iâll put a link in the show notes. Whatâs great about cake mascara is, not only is it vintage, which right there makes it cool in my book, but it can be used as both mascara and eyeliner. I use this little stiff brush, dampen it, run it over the cake, and apply it to my lashes. Or I use this eyeliner brush, dampen it, run it over the cake, and use it as eyeliner. I like that it goes on very subtly, more subtly than most eyeliners Iâve tried. You can add more coats to build it up if you want. Iâve also heard it can be used to darken eyebrows, although I havenât tried it for that yet. Cake mascara is more expensive than some tube mascaras, but if itâs three products in one, thatâs a bargain. Itâs also paraben-free and cruelty-free and good for sensitive eyes, and has a longer shelf life than tube mascara.
Iâve saved the best story for last. The third old-fashioned product I like very much is Dr. Bronnerâs Pure Castile Soap. The story behind this soap is really interesting. In 1929 a third-generation German-Jewish soapmaker named Emmanuel Heilbronner immigrated to the U.S. Sadly, his parents remained in Germany and perished in the Holocaust. He dropped the âheilâ from the name, âHeilbronner,â because of its association with Hitler. He was also not a medical doctor, but a spiritualist. He developed his own spiritual ideology, sort of a unitarian-humanist philosophy about unifying Spaceship Earth. One day he was preaching about his philosophy at the University of Chicago and was arrested for speaking without a permit. Somehow, this incident led to his being incarcerated in the Elgin Mental Hospital in Illinois. Interestingly, I used to drive past that facility almost every day on my way to work when I lived in Illinois, but I never realized its connection to the soap I like so much. Anyway, after his stint at Elgin, he founded his soap company and printed various writings about his faith on labels of his products. Today Dr. Bronnerâs Magic Soaps is a for-profit company run by some of Emmanuelâs descendents. I love the smell of this soap, minty but not overpowering. Itâs full of good-for-you things like coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, peppermint oil, and sea salt, and itâs certified fair trade. Itâs something I feel good about using, and, I must admit, I find its history fascinating. Itâs amazing what you can find out about ordinary, everyday things if you just scratch the surface a little.
So there you have it. Three old-fashioned products that I still use today. Do you have any oldies-but-goodies in your medicine cabinet that you would swear by? Drop me at email at jenny@sparklingvintagelife.com.
Todayâs Grace Note is VICTORIA magazine. If you appreciate the grace and elegance of earlier eras, you must take a look. Iâve been reading this magazine since the 1990s, and itâs one of the few that I still insist on subscribing to in the print edition. Itâs filled with the most gorgeous photography, home interiors, flowers, profiles of women running colorful, creative businesses, and great travel features. They tour castles and formal gardens and all the things that are dear to my vintage-loving heart, and maybe yours too. In an age of minimalism when so many fashionable trend seem cold, hard-edged, and gray, Victoria offers a breath of color and light. Iâll provide a link in the show notes, which youâll find at sparklingvintagelife.com/podcast under Episode Nine. You can also leave a comment. You can sign up for my newsletter there as well. As always, Iâd love it if youâd subscribe and leave a review at iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.
And Iâll be back next week with another topic in A Sparkling Vintage Life.
Tada! Another cover reveal!
Heeeere’s Dottie! And sweet Charlie, dressed up in his finest. Ain’t Misbehavin‘ will soon be sporting this spiffy new cover to go alongside You’re the Cream in My Coffee. As Dot might say, “Whadja think, sister?”

My Valentine to you: a free eBook of SONGBIRD AND OTHER STORIES

Hiya, Sparklers! If your hair has been turning silver waiting for me to release a new novel, here’s a gap-filler for you. I’ve written four short stories and collected them in a single volume called Songbird and Other Stories. Each story is set in the 1920s and features one of the characters from my novel series: Dot, Marjorie, or Helen. If you enjoyed You’re the Cream in My Coffee or Ain’t Misbehavin’, reading Songbird and Other Stories ought to feel cozy and comfortable, like a visit with old friends. And if you haven’t read those books (what are you waiting for?), Songbird and Other Stories is a great introduction to the storyworld of the Jazz Age. *
Now here’s the really good part: For a limited time, you can download Songbird and Other Stories for FREE at Bookfunnel (giving new meaning to the term “Free Bird”). All I ask is that you consider posting a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads if you like it. (If you don’t like it, maybe you can just let it go gentle into that good night, with apologies to Dylan Thomas.)
Currently Songbird is only available as an eBook, but we’re working on producing a print edition that will be available soon. I know many of you prefer to read “real” books printed on paper, so I’ll let you know just as soon as the print edition is available.
* (Also, unlike so many stories set in that era, these are clean and sweet, something moms, grandmas, and daughters can all share and enjoy.)
Pull Here In Case of Grinch-iness
Readers are calling this short story, “A lovely reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.” I hope it will be a blessing to you, too.
(For those of you who’ve read You’re the Cream in My Coffee and Ain’t Misbehavin‘, “The Christmas Robe” features our beloved Marshall Field’s clerk, Marjorie Corrigan.)
Launch party day!
I was truly blessed today when intrepid readers and friends braved a spring snowstorm to make it to the launch party for Ain’t Misbehavin’. Held at a local coffee shop in Sandpoint, Idaho, the party was the bee’s knees.
It’s a Bouncing Baby Book!
Ain’t Misbehavin’ launches today! To celebrate, I thought you might like to hear the song that inspired the title. While the song was first published in 1929, this clip is from a 1943 movie called Stormy Weather in which the composer, Fats Waller, sings it. It’s been covered by many artists over the years. (If you have a favorite version, please share!) I’ll keep looking for an original 1929 recording to see if it’s any different.
Ain’t Misbehavin’ – We’ve got that covered!
And here it is! The bright and shining cover of Ain’t Misbehavin’, releasing in March 2018.
I think it goes nicely with the cover of the first book:
What do you think?