vintage is better

I collect vintage books. I love the beautiful covers, a lost art in many cases, and I love how much character each individual book has. I also love the history of old books, I love thinking about where they came from, who they belonged to, what adventures they had to end up in my hands and I love the way they smell! I even recently purchased old library check out cards just because I love the way they look in the front of books with all of the stamps, showing when they were checked out on them. But when the old book has a personal history it’s something of a treasure. So when my grandma recently passed away something that really meant a lot to me was my mom and dad with my grandpa’s permission saving some of her books for me, she was an avid reader and cook. One of those books was a WELL loved and used Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, that she and my grandpa received as a wedding gift (on the inside page she neatly wrote her first married address and the date), the binding is falling apart, the pages are dog-eared, and my favorite part, the notes on the recipes including the date she cooked each dish. My dad even remembers the cook book sitting on the counter as my grandma cooked. The sweetest thing is that a few Christmases ago she got me the same (well, almost the same, it’s a lot newer!) cookbook, I didn’t realize it at the time but she was getting me a little something that was such a big part of her experience as a new wife. It’s a sweet reminder of my grandma and when I open the pages and look though her notes I feel like I am learning new things about her and I think about her in a new way. She was once like me, a newlywed, learning to cook for her husband, trying new and failing at new dishes…What a sweet little piece of my family history. I think I am going to shelve the newer one (no, it’s not your eyes the newer version is much larger and heavier) and use my grandma’s for awhile.