Retro Customs Worth Reviving
I love lists about beautiful things. I recently stumbled on this list from Veranda called 25 Things That Should Have Never Gone Out of Style.
It is a wonderful list if you enjoy manners, dignity and wholesomeness. I wanted to share some of my favorite things from this list.
1) Handwritten notes:
YES! I talked about this on the blog back in 2015. See it here if you missed it.
2) Recipe cards:
Having grandmas vintage recipe cards are keepsakes
3) Modesty:
REALLY, we do need it!
4) Dressing up:
Again, we do need it! There is nothing more satisfying to me than seeing someone dress to the nines and enjoying it.
5) Baby Books:
I have one for my daughter and she enjoys looking in it all the time. She finds it rewarding to know that I care enough to “keep up” with her life. I still take a photo of her on her first day of school and put it in our photo album. I want her to enjoy these for years to come.
6) Memorizing Phone Numbers:
I grew up in an age where cell phones were a luxury! We had pagers and that was pushing it but I remember every number that was on my pager.
7) Saying “Sir or Ma’am”:
I still say this and we teach our children to do the same.
8) Privacy:
It can been tough trying to find the balance between sharing and keeping things private. But there are some things that you should keep behind closed doors and it should be common sense. But it is not anymore. See my blog post here, here, and here about keeping your life a mystery.
9) Printed photos:
I can’t stress the act of keeping memories enough. I love looking at old photos in albums. I even print off my blog post and keep them in binders. Who knows maybe one day the computers will crash and I won’t have my blog anymore. I want to be able to look back on this and smile and I want my grandchildren to see what I enjoy and be in my world for a moment.
10) Curves:
I have them and honestly who doesn’t?
11) Calling someone:
My husband is very adamant about this. He would rather pick up the phone than text.
12) Doing math in your head:
Yeah, I have seen some young people who were my cashiers and couldn’t do basic math in their head. It was really sad….
13) Knowing your neighbors by name:
Okay, this one I struggle a little with. We HAD some neighbors (they have since move out of the neighborhood). Our daughter’s played together then I let our daughter go over for a sleepover. It took me awhile to let her do this but I did. This mother was such a trouble maker on Facebook (I was “friends” with her) that I knew it was going to be a bad idea. She asked my daughter, “if I was really like that”? I was completely “floored” by this but not surprised. She asked my husband some questions in the past so I knew that she was trying to find dirt on us. Since she was reading my blog and on my page she saw what I posted and just thought I was fake. But the joke was on her, we ended up finding out that they were lying to everyone and telling people that they bought the house that they were in but it turns out they were renting and things just weren’t what they seem. They have since moved and built in a neighborhood near us (going with our builder I might add) and I heard that she painted her house the same color as mine. Now who is not who they seem? Looks like I am the leader and she is the follower.
I have blocked her from my personal Facebook page and will continue to block her from all my social media outlets. She also stole a photo from my blog about some dinning room table ideas and presented it on her page as her own but what she didn’t realize was that one of those photos belong to my friend so I knew that she stole it. She probably still sneaks on here and reads my blog but I try to not let stupid people like that ruin the opportunity for me to meet the other neighbors around us.
14) Paper Address Books:
They are useful just in case that phone shuts down.
15) Teaching Cursive:
This is a beautiful technique to have with you. There was someone whom I met recently that was surprised that I could write in cursive and said that they didn’t learn that in school. How tragic? How do you sign your credit card slips? I wrote about cursive writing back in 2014 see it here.
16) Keeping a Diary:
I think this is a wonderful way to release some emotions and concerns. It is also a way to keep a record of victories and loses. I wrote about it last year see here if you missed it.
17) Drive in Moves:
I loved this as a kid and may have to consider trying this again….
18) Saying Please and Thank You:
There is no question for this. It’s unbelievable to me how rude people really are….
19) Going visiting and having Sunday dinners:
We still have dinners every night as a family.
20) Not using Bad words:
There is nothing more classless then hearing a woman curse on the phone. I try to never use any of these words in private or in public.
21) Table Manners:
Yes, phones have made a mess of things if you ask me. Read my blog post here about that.
22) Hats:
I love seeing the old photos when hats and gloves were worn.
23) Having a real LIVE conversation:
It’s nice to take some time and talk with people. I sometimes start a conversation with someone on the elevator just because I know that they are going to pull out that phone.
and last but certainly not least,
24) Holding the door for someone:
I do this always but I LOVE seeing men do it. I hope shivery isn’t dead.
Well, I hope that you enjoy this list just as much as I did and read the original article from Veranda. They always have the best information on their website.
(photos via Pinterest, list via Veranda.com)
I love this post Mrs. Shockley! in this day in age there is so much that has fallen by the waste side. I love handwritten notes. I actually just mailed a card to a couple that will be celebrating their one year wedding anniversary. I write in my best penmanship (cursive). I remeber writing in cursive as a little girl and I absolutely loved it. I still write that way. Something about writing in cursive is so beautiful. I think it is how the letters flow into one another. I love dressing up and feeling pretty, I love being a woman! I have photo albums that the family and I like to look through. Twice a year we go through our phones and download pictures that we get developed. I then place the pictures in silver frames and display them on end tables. I am a bit old school, I still write numbers down. I lost a phone a year and a half ago, but no worries because the numbers were written down. We say sir and ma'am, a lot here in the south. it shows respect. Plus my time in the military instilled that in me. I love being private, having a sense of mystery. Some people put their whole lives on social media. I have a journal that i write in often. I write about my day, words of encouragement, new words I have learned and bible scriptures. Such a great post!
I knew you would enjoy it! I love the list when I saw it online! It's a shame that these things are consider "retro". It really does sadden me. I get so frustrated with things that I see today. I just feel like we are diving into a black hole. I hope that class becomes a thing of the future soon!
Dear Mrs. Shockley,
What a lovey post. I am happy to see that I still do many of these things….including wearing hats!
I thought of you yesterday. I stopped a small specialty store that I have patronized for years for my stationary, pens, small specialty gifts,etc. The owner has been there for over 20 years and he is retiring. This is so sad for our area, as his store is one of the few 'gracious living' shops that we have. He was selling everything in the store at 60% off. In past years he had sold high end china and had some display, single place settings, available. I looked through all of them and there was a single cup and saucer from Bernardaud in the Galerie Royale pattern in Griege (very light taupe). I have always admired this pattern, after seeing a special on PBS about The Claridge in London. This is the pattern they use for afternoon tea (in a pretty seafoam green).
I thought 'live well every day' and took it to the register, along with a few other goodies. The owner was so kind and said he was hoping it would find a good home and sold it to me for $20.00. I will enjoy my afternoon tea in my new cup and think of The Clardige… living well everyday.
Warmly, Kathleen
Thank you Kathleen for this! Wow, you thought of me? That is a huge compliment. Thank you.
That is really sad to hear about your store. You always feel like a part of you leaves when your favorite store closes. I think that it is wonderful that you are "living elegantly everyday". Please continue to do so.